St. Peter's 

Anglican Church

Lancelot Andrewes

Bishop of Winchester

and Teacher of the Faith,

d. 1626

Lancelot Andrewes by Simon de Passe line engraving, 1618

Prayer:

O Lord and Father, our King and God, by whose grace the Church Was enriched by the great learning and eloquent preaching of thy servant Lancelot Andrewes, but even more by his example of biblical and liturgical prayer: Conform our lives, like his, we beseech thee, to the image of Christ, that our hearts may love thee, our minds serve thee, and our lips proclaim the greatness of thy mercy; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Lancelot Andrewes by John Payne, after Unknown artist line engraving, 1635

"Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626), Bishop of Winchester, was 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. His sermons were popular in his own day, but are perhaps too academic for most modern readers. He prepared for his own use a manuscript notebook of Private Prayers, which was published after his death. The material was apparently intended, not to be read aloud, but to serve as a guide and stimulus to devout meditation." [1]

"Andrewes was one of the foremost Caroline Divines, the writers of theology and spirituality of the period of James I and Charles I. His sermons were known for their scholarship and high degree of polished rhetoric; his scriptural arguments against Roman Catholic critics of the Elizabethan settlement on the one hand and against puritan fundamentalism on the other in large part created the "Middle Way" (Via Media) that is identified as the hallmark of Anglicanism." [2]

"He had little time for Puritans and non-conforming sectarians—they wanted to undermine the authority of the Queen and the Church, and besides, were way too focused, he thought... on their own private interpretation of scripture." [3]

"Andrewes’ commitment to the catholic tradition and faith of the Church, to sacramental life in Christ and private prayer, and his service as King's Almoner (managing funds for the poor) and as a pastor and Bishop were all exemplary. One of his students in a eulogy after his death said that Andrewes was “an angel in the pulpit.” [4]

"His Preces Privatae ("Private Prayers") include the following words, in a prayer for grace." [5]

Open Thou mine eyes that I may see,

incline my heart that I may desire,

order my steps that I may follow,

the way of Thy commandments.

O Lord God, be Thou to me a God,

and beside Thee none else,

none else, nought else with Thee.

Vouchsafe to me, to worship Thee and

serve Thee in truth of spirit,

in reverence of body,

in blessing of lips,

in private and in public.

"Andrewes wrote the following prayer about old age not long before his death in 1626 at age 71." [6]

Evening Prayer

The day is gone,

and I give Thee thanks, O Lord.

Evening is at hand,

make it bright unto us.

As day has its evening so also has life;

the even of life is age, age has overtaken me,

make it bright unto us.

Cast me not away in the time of age;

forsake me not when my strength faileth me.

Even to my old age be Thou He,

and even to hoar [white] hairs carry me ;

do Thou make, do Thou bear, do Thou carry and deliver me.

Abide with me, Lord, for it is toward evening,

and the day is far spent of this fretful life.

Let Thy strength be made perfect in my weakness.

Day is fled and gone, life too is going, this lifeless life.

Night cometh, and cometh death, the deathless death.

Near as is the end of day, so too the end of life.

We then, also remembering it,

beseech of Thee for the close of our life,

that Thou wouldest direct it in peace,

Christian, acceptable, sinless, shameless,

and, if it please Thee, painless, Lord, O Lord,

gathering us together under the feet of Thine Elect,

when Thou wilt, and as Thou wilt, only without shame and sins.

Remember we the days of darkness, for they shall be many,

lest we be cast into outer darkness.

Remember we to outstrip the night doing some good thing.

Near is judgment;

a good and acceptable answer

at the dreadful and fearful judgment-seat of Jesus Christ

vouchsafe to us, O Lord.

By night I lift up my hands in the sanctuary, and praise the Lord.

The Lord hath granted His loving-kindness in the day time;

and in the night season did I sing of Him,

and made my prayer unto the God of my life.

As long as I live will I magnify Thee on this manner,

and lift up my hands in Thy Name.

Let my prayer be set forth in Thy sight as the incense,

and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.

Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God, the God of our fathers,

who hast created the changes of days and nights,

who givest songs in the night,

who hast delivered us from the evil of this day

who hast not cut off like a weaver my life,

nor from day even to night made an end of me.

"What follows is a brief extract from the section for Thursday Morning. The reader will note that he commemorates three events associated with Thursday: (1) the creation of air and water animals (mostly birds and fish) on the Fifth Day of Creation as described in Genesis 1; (2) the institution of the Sacrament of the Lord's supper by Our Lord Jesus Christ on the evening before He was crucified (Matthew 26); and (3) the Ascension of Our Lord into heaven forty days after His resurrection (Acts 1)." [7]

Commemoration

Blessed art Thou, O Lord

Who didst bring forth of water

moving creatures that have life,

and whales,

and winged fowls:

and didst bless them,

so as to increase and multiply.

The things concerning the Ascension:

Set up Thyself, O God, above the heavens

and Thy glory above all the earth.

By thine Ascension

draw us withal unto Thee, O Lord,

so as to set our affections on things above,

and not on things on the earth.

By the awful mystery of Thy Holy Body and Precious

Blood in the evening of this day:

Lord, have mercy.

Faith

Coming unto God,

I believe that He is,

and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him:

I know that my Redeemer liveth;

that He is the Christ the Son of the Living God;

that He is indeed the Saviour of the world;

that He came into the world to save sinners,

of whom I am chief.

Through the grace of Jesus Christ

we believe that we shall be saved

even as our fathers withal.

I believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

Thanksgiving

O my Lord, my Lord, I thank Thee

For that I am,

that I am alive,

that I am rational:

For nurture,

Preservation,

governance:

for education,

citizenship,

religion:

For Thy gifts of grace,

Nature,

estate:

For redemption,

Regeneration,

instruction:

for calling,

recalling,

further calling manifold:

For forbearance,

Longsuffering,

long longsuffering towards me,

many times,

many years,

until now:

For all good offices I have received,

Good speed I have gotten:

For any good thing done:

For the use of things present,

thy promise

and my hope

touching the fruition of the good things to come:

For my parents honest and good,

Teachers gentle,

benefactors always to be had in remembrance,

colleagues likeminded,

hearers attentive,

friends sincere,

retainers faithful:

For all who have stood me in good stead

By their writings,

their sermons,

conversations,

prayers,

examples,

rebukes,

wrongs:

For these things and all other,

Which I wot of, which I wot not of,

open and secret,

things I remember, things I have forgotten withal,

things done to me after my will or yet against my will,

I confess to Thee and bless Thee and give thanks unto Thee,

And I will confess and bless and give thanks to Thee

all the days of my life.

What thanks can I render to God again

For all the benefits that He hath done unto me?

Holy, Holy, Holy

Thou are worthy, O Lord and our God, the Holy One,

To receive the glory and the honour and the power:

for Thou hast created all things,

and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.

Citations:

[1] Kiefer, J. (n.d.). Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop and Scholar. Retrieved September 07, 2020, from http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/252.html

[2] The Very Rev. Dr. Anthony Hutchinson. (n.d.). An Angel in the Pulpit (Lancelot Andrewes). Retrieved September 07, 2020, from http://ellipticalglory.blogspot.com/2019/09/an-angel-in-pulpit-lancelot-andrewes.html

[3] Ibid. 2

[4] Ibid. 2

[5] Ibid. 2

[6] Ibid. 2

[7] Kiefer, J. (n.d.). Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop and Scholar. Retrieved September 07, 2020, from http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/252.html