Deus Misereatur

  Since the early days of my Christian trek, one of my devotional partners has been The Book of Common Prayer , specifically the 1662, 1928, 1979, and 2019 iterations. So my interest was piqued by the title of a new 230-page softback, “Worship by Faith Alone: Thomas Cranmer, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Reformation of Liturgy”. This manuscript was penned by Zac Hicks, pastor of Church of the Cross in Birmingham, Alabama. And it is one of the latest installments in IVP Academic series “Dynamics of Christian Worship”. The author’s thesis is how the Reformation emphasis on how justification is by faith alone shaped Cranmer’s liturgical revisions and reforms. The author’s aim is bigger than just a narrow set of interests. His goal is to attempt “to build a cumulative case for how the vision of formational power of the naked gospel can be unleashed in the worship services of the people of God” (xv). This easy-to-read dossier is geared to liturgists, worship leaders, pastors, theol...

Book of Common Prayer by Anglican Church in North America My rating: 5 of 5 stars It had to happen sooner or later. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) has been playing around with an updated version of the Book of Common Prayer for years (I have some of those trial runs in my library). Finally, they have landed on an 812 page standardized volume, the "Book of Common Prayer (2019)". I actually picked up the deluxe edition, which is an imitation leather binding, but all the inner details are the same. I will say, after using it for a month, I'm pleased (overall) with what I have found. The way it is printed makes it easy on the eyes, and many of the details between its covers are quite satisfying. If you're looking for a way to shape and form your daily devotions and prayers (morning, midday, evening, and night time) this volume is very useful. The internal matter of this Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is too big to dissect in depth and detail. I will simply...

As I spend time writing my book on sober-mindedness, I have been led along various side paths that have been good for my soul. One of those side paths came about as I reflected on sober-mindedness, Titus 2.11-12, and a prayer I have used thousands of times in morning prayer for confession of sin. This prayer is the General Confession of Sin in the Book of Common Prayer: ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind In Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most mercifu...

I have been thinking about the suicide bombings in Istanbul, Turkey. I spent 2 years in Turkey from 1981-83, at an Airbase close to Adana (not far from Tarsus). I was converted there, baptized there, and cut my teeth on the Bible there. So what happens in Turkey has a personal interest for me. But also what has happened there is happening in other places, destroying other lives, harming other communities. And so, in this regard, I draw your attention to three prayers, the first two are from the Book of Common Prayer-1928 and the last one from the Book of Common Worship-1993 : In the time of war and tumults   O ALMIGHTY God, King of all kings, and Governor of all things, whose power no creature is able to resist, to whom it belongeth justly to punish sinners, and to be merciful to those who truly repent; Save and deliver us, we humbly beseech thee, from the hands of our enemies; abate their pride, assuage their malice, and confound their devices; that we, being armed wit...

O ALMIGHTY God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men; Grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (1662 Book of Common Prayer) As I have pondered this prayer for years, it has drawn my mind to  a similar vein of sentiment found in St. Augustine. For example,  “I longed for honors, money, marriage, and you laughed at me. In these desires I underwent most bitter crosses, but in this you were too gracious to me to allow anything to grow sweet to me which was not yourself. ( . . . ) It does indeed make a difference where a man’s joy comes from” (“Confessions,” VI.6);  and  “Give what you command, and command what you will. ( . . . ) For he loves you too little who loves anything else with you...

In my personal devotional prayers, I regularly follow the Book of Common Prayer. It's something I've done for years. It has helped keep me stay glued into the larger struggles of the Church throughout the centuries. This coming Sunday will be the 2nd Sunday in Lent. The prayer (known as a Collect) for this Sunday goes as follows: ALMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. To help us reflect on the content of this prayer, it would be good to read excepts from C. Frederick Barbee and Paul F. M. Zahl:  “The progression of the thought here is, like so many of the Collects, both devastating to the human being on his own terms, and at the same time hopeful. First, we admit to God the plain fact that “we ha...

“ O LORD , we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen” (1928 Book of Common Prayer ). Clergy, congregations and denominations often struggle with direction, sustainability and viability, especially in cloudy, complex seasons; or at least, one hopes that they do. The human predicament we find ourselves in makes fidelity difficult at times because we live in the twilight between the passing away of darkness and dawning of the light (1 John 2.8b).  True enough, God has entrusted us with his Holy Scriptures and guided the Church in her understanding of the Word of God throughout the millennia. Nevertheless, not every circumstance, or societal moral mess, is covered in a clearly marked way. That means each generation of the Church, in a greater or lesser degree, mu...

This prayer has been on my mind and heart for a long while. I thought it time to post it with a few very short reflections: O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. It appears this prayer has roots that go as far back as 1714. It is found in the 1928 and 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Give us grace to lay to heart : It is the Spirit of God who gifts his church with unity (Ephes...

Since the supreme ambition of a congregation (and all it’s educational, evangelistic, missional activities) is to draw all into the worship of Almighty God, then what do we do with those who can’t read? This may appear a strange question at first. Yet almost every church service I’ve been in, whether Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, etc requires some hefty amounts of reading. Whether it’s reading the hymns, or the Scriptures, or responsive prayers, or confessions of faith. If a congregation is doing what it’s supposed to do, then the assembly will have to include non-reading children, illiterate adults, and aging older people whose eyes have gotten to a place where reading is a serious challenge. Are these, Christ’s vulnerable ones, to be marginalized, removed from the great assembly, left to be silent while the readers verbally worship? It’s really not so strange a question after all. There are several ways congregations have attempted to remedy this, some be excluding the non-re...