Tuesday Prayers by Lancelot Andrewes

Lancelot Andrewes (1555 – 25 September 1626) was an Anglican priest and bishop in England, where he served “on the committee of scholars that produced the King James Translation of the Bible, and probably contributed more to that work than any other single person. It is accordingly no surprise to find him not only a devout writer but a learned and eloquent one, a master of English prose, and learned in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and eighteen other languages.” ^[1] During his life, Andrewes “prepared for his own use a manuscript notebook of Private Prayers, which was published after his death” – The Private Devotions and Manual for the Sick of Launcelot Andrews. ^[2] “The material was apparently intended, not to be read aloud, but to serve as a guide and stimulus to devout meditation.” ^[3]

Easter “is the day on which the very essence of what it means to be human is transformed and elevated in Christ – the first day of a new creation that neither negates nor overpowers the old but restores and raises it up.” ^[4] One of the ways we celebrate the joyful season of Eastertide is through our lectionary readings recalling the Creation and focusing on renewal in Christ. Another way we celebrate is through prayer. Included in Andrewes’s manual are prayers for each day of the week, each day recalling God’s act of creation. These prayers serve as wonderful meditations during Eastertide.

Below are excerpts of Lancelot Andrewes’s prayers for Tuesday from The Private Devotions and Manual for the Sick of Launcelot Andrews.

O GOD, thou art my God; early will I seek thee. ^{—Psalm lxiii. 1.}

Blessed art thou, 0 Lord, who, as on this day, didst gather together the waters into the sea, and lettest the dry land appear.^{— Gen. i. 9.}

Who didst also bring forth the seed of grass, and of the tree yielding fruit after his kind.^{— Verse 11.}

Lo! the depths and seas, as in a bottle ;^{—Job xxxviii. 37.}

The lakes, rivers, and fountains;

The earth; the continent and islands;

The mountains, hills, and vallies;

The fields, the meadows, and the lawns:

Green grass, and corn, and hay:

Herbs and flowers,

For food, luxury, and medicine;

Trees yielding fruit; Fruit for wine, oil, and spices;

Things under the earth, for the use of man,

Metals and minerals,

Stones and coals:

Blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke.^{—Joel ii. 30.} _[5]

TURN, O Lord, I beseech thee, My levity into carefulness, My listlessness into self-defence, My conscious error into indignation, My sin into godly fear, My transgression into vehement desire, My iniquity into zeal, My abomination into revenge! _[6]

[5] [6]

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Citations:

[1] Kiefer, J. E. (n.d.). Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop and Scholar. Biographical sketches of memorable Christians of the past. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/252.html 

[2] Ibid. 1

[3] Ibid. 1

[4] Balsbaugh, J. (2019, April 22). Easter Monday and the New Creation. Veritas Journal. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://veritasjournal.org/2019/04/22/easter-monday-and-the-new-creation/ 

[5] Andrewes, Lancelot. The Private Devotions and Manual for the Sick of Launcelot Andrews (Kindle ed., p. 1097). Kindle Edition. 

[6] Ibid. 5, P. 1155