Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Revised Litany

I thought I'd post my attempt at revising the 1662 BCP for American soil. As I've stated elsewhere on this blog, I think it is the best Anglican liturgy out there and I hope it can be published and revised, minimally, so that more Anglicans can experience it.


THE LITANY

The Litany is appointed to be sung or said after Morning Prayer on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and at other times appointed by the Ordinary.

O GOD the Father of heaven:
have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world:
have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
O God the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son:
have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, three Persons and one God:
have mercy upon us miserable sinners.
Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins: spare us, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us for ever.
Spare us, good Lord.
From all evil and mischief; from sin, from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all blindness of heart; from pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From fornication, and all other deadly sin; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From lightning and tempest; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion; from all false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word and Commandment,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation; by thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; by thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By thine Agony and bloody Sweat; by thy Cross and Passion; by thy precious Death and Burial; by thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Ghost,
Good Lord, deliver us.
In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our wealth; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgement,
Good Lord, deliver us.
We sinners do beseech thee to hear us, O Lord God: and that it may please thee to rule and govern thy holy Church universal in the right way,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to bless and preserve our Rulers and Magistrates [especially __________], giving them grace to execute justice and to maintain truth;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to illuminate all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, with true knowledge and understanding of thy Word; and that both by their preaching and living they may set it forth, and show it accordingly;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 

That it may please thee to send forth laborers into thy harvest;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to bless and keep all thy people,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give to all nations unity, peace, and concord,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give us an heart to love and dread thee, and diligently to live after thy commandments,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give to all thy people increase of grace, to hear meekly thy Word, and to receive it with pure affection, and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to bring into the way of truth all such as have erred, and are deceived,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to strengthen such as do stand; and to comfort and help the weak-hearted; and to raise up them that fall; and finally to beat down Satan under our feet,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to succour, help, and comfort all that are in danger, necessity, and tribulation,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to preserve all that travel by land or by water, all women labouring of child, all sick persons, and young children; and to shew thy pity upon all prisoners and captives,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to defend, and provide for, the father-less children, and widows, and all that are desolate and oppressed,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to have mercy upon all men,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give and preserve to our use the kindly fruits of the earth, so as in due time we may enjoy them,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give us true repentance; to forgive us all our sins, negligences, and ignorances; and to endue us with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, to amend our lives according to thy holy Word,
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
Son of God: we beseech thee to hear us.
Son of God: we beseech thee to hear us.
O Lamb of God: that takest away the sins of the world;
Grant us thy peace. O Lamb of God: that takest away the sins of the world;
Have mercy upon us.
O Christ, hear us.
O Christ, hear us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.


OUR Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

O Lord, deal not with us after our sins.
Neither reward us after our iniquities.
Let us pray.

O GOD, merciful Father, that despisest not the sighing of a contrite heart, nor the desire of such as be sorrowful: Mercifully assist our prayers that we make before thee in all our troubles and adversities, whensoever they oppress us; and graciously hear us, that those evils, which the craft and subtilty of the devil or man worketh against us, be brought to nought, and by the providence of thy goodness they may be dispersed; that we thy servants, being hurt by no persecutions, may evermore give thanks unto thee in thy holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for thy Name's sake.

O GOD, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us, the noble works that thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them.

O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for thine honour.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen.
From our enemies defend us, O Christ.
Graciously look upon our afflictions. Pitifully behold the sorrows of our hearts.
Mercifully forgive the sins of thy people. Favourably with mercy hear our prayers.
O Son of David, have mercy upon us. Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear us, O Christ.
Graciously hear us, O Christ; graciously hear us, O Lord Christ. O Lord, let thy mercy be shewed upon us;
As we do put our trust in thee.
Let us pray.

WE humbly beseech thee, O Father, mercifully to look upon our infirmities; and for the glory of thy Name turn from us all those evils that we most righteously have deserved; and grant that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy, and evermore serve thee in holiness and pureness of living, to thy honour and glory; through our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

A Prayer of Saint Chrysostom.
ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests: Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.

2 Corinthians 13
THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The petition for christian civil rulers (as given in the 1892) could be interpreted either for King or President, so it could be placed in either location, before or after the clergy. It seems like it really depends on context and immediate assumptions. As usual, Anglicans solve problems with calculated ambiguity. By inserting brackets for the president, I think you clarify what sort of 'civil ruler' is indeed being prayed for. I tend to favor the 1892 unmodified, but this is good.

The Hackney Hub said...

I'd like to edit the 1662 in the manner I did above and self-print in a small booklet with the Daily services, Communion, Collects, and Psaler at a low price so people could begin using the 1662 BCP. But I have no idea about the copyright status of the BCP outside of England.

James said...

I believe it is considered to be in the public domain outside of England. Though circumstances in the 18th century were certainly different as regards copyright, the 1662 prayer-book was adapted for local use back then. I think that such a work would not be an infringement of copyright.

By the bye, if you like I can send you copies (by e-mail) of the original 1662 Table of Lessons and Proper Lessons for Sundays and Holy-days that I have made. I compared three different sources to make a 1662 lectionary that is clear to modern eyes and uses current conventions for Scripture citation. I found a couple of errors that have been corrected, and should any more be found I will upload an update to the Classical Anglican Yahoo group found here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/classicalAnglican/ For that matter, you can download it from there.

James

The Hackney Hub said...

James,

How does the original lectionary differ from the 1871 version? I've been using the 1871 because it's what's printed in the copy of 1662 that I have.

PS, I'd like that, you can e-mail it to thehackneyhub@hotmail.com

James said...

Sent.

In short, the 1871 Table of Lessons was devised to provide shorter readings for Morning and Evening Prayer, possibly in preparation for the Shortened Services Act passed in 1872. The original provides a full chapter for each lesson (in some cases two for shorter chapters) except on a few Holy-days. It more rigorously adheres to Cranmer's principle of OT once, NT thrice in the year than later Anglican lectionaries do.

The Religious PĂ­caro said...

Might it not be a good idea to include travelers by air as well as by land and water?

The Hackney Hub said...

Bill,

That is a good idea. I really didn't do much changing in this draft. Maybe one of the existing petitions could be tweaked to add that sentiment?