'Peculiar mercies vouchsafed to the mother of our Lord': the Magnificat at Evensong

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we turn to the Magnificat at Evensong.

It was first spoken by the Virgin Mary, when her cousin Elizabeth addressed her as the mother of our Saviour ... It begins with a general thanksgiving: and praises God, for his peculiar mercies vouchsafed to the mother of our Lord: for all his goodness, and loving kindness, displayed in the acts of his general providence; and more especially for the redemption of the world, promised to the patriarchs, and now on the eve of being fulfilled, by the birth of the Messiah.

In the person of Christ, the types and predictions of the law, and the prophets, were accomplished. The recitation therefore of this hymn, with propriety succeeds the first Lesson, which is taken out of the books of the Old Testament. So early as the beginning of the sixth century, Magnificat was sung in the daily service of the western church, and it is still retained in the evening offices of reformed churches upon the continent, as well as in our own.

Note how Shepherd acknowledges - and does so at the outset - that the Magnificat celebrates God's "peculiar mercies to the mother of our Lord". He immediately affirms, in other words, the definitively Marian character of this canticle.

He also points to the distinctive place of the Magnificat in Anglican piety, coming as it does after the Old Testament reading at Evensong. The words of the Blessed Virgin Mary, therefore, reflect her place in the mystery of salvation, for the One she carries in her womb, when the Magnificat is first proclaimed, is He in whom the promises of Yahweh to prophets, priests, and kings find their fulfillment.

Finally, Shepherd notes that the singing (and it is interesting that he does say it was "sung") of the Magnificat at evening prayer is a practice of over centuries of the Western churches, continued by "the reformed churches upon the continent". This was primarily seen in Luther's retention of the Magnificat at Vespers; in the words of the reformer, "It is a fine custom, too, that this canticle is sung in all the churches daily at vespers".

Comments

Why I support the ordination of women: a High Church reflection

A number of commenters on this blog have asked about my occasional expressions of support for the ordination of women to all three orders. With some hesitation, I have decided to post a summary of my own views on this matter. The hesitation is because I have sought on this blog to focus on issues and themes which can unify those who identify with or have respect (grudging or otherwise!) for what we might term 'classical' Anglicanism (the Anglicanism of the Formularies and - yes - of the Old High Church tradition). Some oppose the ordination of women (and I have friends and colleagues who do so, Anglo-Catholic, High Church, and Reformed Evangelical). Some of us support it (again, friends and colleagues covering a wide range of theological traditions). Below, I have organised my thinking around 5 points (needless to say, no reference to Dort is implied). 1. The Declaration for Subscription required of clergy in the Church of Ireland states: (6) I promise to submit ...

How the Old High tradition continued

Charles Gore's 1914 letter to the clergy of his diocese, ' The Basis of Anglican Fellowship ', can be regarded as a classical expression of the Prayer Book Catholic tradition. A key part of the letter - entitled 'Romanizing in the Church of England' - addressed the "Catholic movement", questioning beliefs and practices within it which tended to "a position which makes it very difficult for its extremer representatives to give an intelligible reason why they are not Roman Catholics". Gore provides the outlines of an alternative account and experience of catholicity within Anglicanism, defined by three characteristics. What is particularly interesting about these characteristics is their continuity with the older High Church tradition. Indeed, the central characteristic as set out by Gore was integral to High Church claims over centuries: To accept the Anglican position as valid, in any sense, is to appeal behind the Pope and the authority of t...

Pride, progressive sectarianism, and TEC on Facebook

Let me begin this post with an assumption that will be rejected by some readers of laudable Practice , but affirmed by other readers. Observing Pride is an understandable aspect of the public ministry of TEC. On previous occasions , I have rather robustly called for TEC to be much more aware and respectful of the social conservatism of the Red states and regions in which it ministers. A failure to do so risks TEC declining yet further into the irrelevance of progressive sectarianism. At the same time, TEC also obviously ministers in deep Blue states and metropolitan areas - and is the only Mainline Protestant tradition in which a majority of its members vote Democrat .* With Pride now an established civic commemoration, particularly in such contexts, there is a case for TEC affirming those aspects of Pride - the dignity of gay men and lesbian women, their contribution to civic life, and their place in the church's life - which cohere with a Christian moral vision. (I will n...

laudable Practice

Search This Blog