Lancelot Andrews' Private Devotions

I mentioned Lancelot Andrews (1555-1626) in my sermon yesterday. He was a bishop in the Church of England, a chaplain to Queen Elizabeth, an apologist for King James I, a scholar appointed to work on the King James Version of the Bible, and a man of prayer. His "Private Devotions" remains helpful and inspiring for one learning to be a "self-feeder."

I shared that the early church (200-400 ish) taught people that the way to deal with temptation was to memorize the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer and say them frequently. In this way one would know what to believe, to whom to pray, and what to pray. Bishop Andrews confessed / prayed the Creed every day in some form as part of his private devotions.

His daily prayers were framed around six parts: (1) Meditation and Adoration, (2) Confession of Sin, (3) Prayer for Grace, (4) Confession of Faith, (5) Intercession, and (6) Thanksgiving.

He gives an example for us of how to pray the Creed, day by day - beyond reciting verbatim. On the "Second Day" he did literally say the Apostles' Creed, with the following tag at the end: "And now Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in Thee; in Thee, O Lord, have I trusted, let me never be confounded." I'll share several of his entries this week. (The book I have is by Alexander Whyte, "Lancelot Andrewes and his Private Devotions.")

Below is the Confession of Faith from "First Day" (of the week). This is the longest one.

I believe, O Lord, in Thee,
Father, Word, Spirit, One God;
that by Thy fatherly love and power all things were created;
that by Thy goodness and love to man
all things have been gathered together into one in Thy Word,
Who, for us men and for our salvation,
became flesh,
was conceived, was born,
suffered, was crucified,
died, was buried,
descended, rose again,
ascended, sat down,
will return, will repay;
that by the forth-shining and operation of Thy Holy Spirit
hath been called out of the whole world
a peculiar people, into a commonwealth of faith in the truth and holiness of life,
in which we are partakers of the communion of saints
and forgiveness of sins in the world,
and in which we look for the resurrection of the flesh
and the life everlasting in the world to come.
This most holy faith once delivered to the saints I believe, O Lord;
help Thou mine unbelief,
increase Thou my little faith.

And vouchsafe to me
to love the Father for His love,
to reverence the Almighty for His power,
to Him, as unto a faithful Creator, to commit my soul in well doing.
Vouchsafe to me to partake
from Jesus of salvation,
form Christ of anointing,
from the only begotten Son of adoption;
to serve the Lord
for His conception, in faith,
for His birth, in humility,
for His sufferings, in patience and in impatience of sin;
for His cross, to crucify occasions of sin,
for His death, to mortify the flesh,
for His burial, to bury evil thoughts in good works,
for His descent, to meditate upon hell,
for His resurrection, upon newness of life,
for His ascension, to set my mind on things above,
for His sitting on high, to set my mind on better things on His right hand,
for His return, to fear His second appearing, for His judgment, to judge myself ere I be judged.
From the Spirit
vouchsafe to me to receive the breath of saving grace,
in the holy Catholic Church
to have have my own calling, sanctification, and portion, and fellowship of holy things,
prayers, fastings, groanings
watchings, tears, sufferings,
for assurance of the remission of sins,
for hope of resurrection and translation to eternal life.