I was brought up in a village community in Surrey where the only Primary school to attend was a Church of England school. In those dark ages (c.1960-1966) the school and village church were very much intertwined and we were taught the catechism where we had to state that our names were given to us by our God parents at our baptism. My father was quite upset about this, as we were Brethren and didn't practise 'infant baptism' as we would now call it. However, apart from this hiccough, we did learn some very beautiful prayers from the Book of Common Prayer.
In more recent times I have been involved in playing the organ for Morning Prayer in a local Anglican church where I was once again reminded of the beauty of the poetry in the Book of Common Prayer and the skill with which it was crafted. I found this a great enhancement to my own spiritual development, particularly in the area of personal prayer and intercession and reading and studying the Bible as part of my daily Christian pilgrimage. When you find it hard to pray because of overwhelming circumstances in life, the Book of Common Prayer can be a great aid to overcoming a spiritual 'block'. Even though the language may seem old to us now, there is a rhythm and pace to it which calms the troubled soul and helps to put things in an eternal perspective rather than a time/space constraint. Someone reminded me recently, "when confronting a problem, ask yourself the question, Will this be important to me in five years time?"
What a lot of people fail to realize is that the Book of Common Prayer is one of the main pillars on which the modern English language rests, along with the King James Version of the Bible and Shakespeare. The Book of Common Prayer may also be regarded as a cornerstone of the Reformation which was fired by Martin Luther in Germany, the baton being taken up in England by Henry VIII and the Elizabethan Reformers such as John Knox later on.
After a number of revisions, the version of the Book of Common Prayer most widely used is that of 1662, incorporating the book of Psalms which differs slightly from the King James Version in that it was translated from the Latin Vulgate. I want to share with you what I consider to be some real poetic gems from the Psalter, followed by some set prayers which I have found helpful in my own Christian devotion and personal walk with God.
Psalm 95, Venite, exultemus
O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving: and shew ourselves glad in Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God: and a great King above all gods. In His hand are all the corners of the earth: and the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is his, and He made it: and His hands prepared the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: and kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is the Lord our God: and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts: as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me: proved me and saw my works. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said: It is a people that do err in their hearts, for they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath: that they should not enter into my rest.
Psalm 98, Cantate Domino
O sing unto the Lord a new song: for He hath done marvellous things. With His own right hand, and with His holy arm: hath He gotten Himself the victory. The Lord declared His salvation: His righteousness hath He openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered His mercy and truth toward the house of Israel: and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God. Shew yourselves joyful unto the Lord, all ye lands: sing, rejoice, and give thanks. Praise the Lord upon the harp: sing to the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving. With trumpets also and shawms: O shew yourselves joyful before the Lord the King. Let the sea make a noise, and all that therein is: the round world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands, and let the hills be joyful together before the Lord: for He is come to judge the earth. With righteousness shall He judge the world: and the people with equity.
Evening Prayer Collect
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by Thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Communion Prayer, for Easter
But chiefly are we bound to praise Thee for the glorious Resurrection of Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord: for He is the very Paschal Lamb, which was offered for us, and hath taken away the sin of the world: who by His death hath destroyed death, and by His rising to life hath restored to us everlasting life. Therefore with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Thy glorious Name; evermore praising Thee, and saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory: Glory be to Thee, O Lord most High. Amen.
Crucifixion Resurrection Ascension
More information and history of the Book of Common Prayer can be found on the website of the Prayer Book Society, at http://www.pbs.org.uk/
To hear a high quality sung version of Choral Evensong, where the Psalms are sung to probably the highest standard in the world, try this link. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tp7r
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