The amendment of rubrics in this part of the Services, which was effected in 1662, completed the directions for continuing the Service after the Collects. Until that time, the prayers for the Sovereign, for the Royal Family, and for the Clergy and People, were printed after the Prayer, We humbly beseech thee, in the Litany; and were followed by the second of our Ember Week prayers, and the Prayer of S. Chrysostom. But it was plain that the Services were not to end with the Third Collect: for, at the end of the Communion Service, six Collects were printed, as they still are, with the provision that they may be said "after the Collects" of Morning and Evening Prayer. Moreover, the inclusion, in the Preces, of prayers for the Sovereign and for the Clergy implied that Collects for {131} them would follow. We may infer that these Services used to end much as they do now. It was therefore a useful improvement to make the rubrics complete, and to print the prayers in this place. Perhaps the six Collects after the Communion Service would be more used, if they had, at the same time, been printed with the Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings.
At the same time, a Rubric was inserted here providing for an Anthem, or musical prayer, to be sung (in places where there are singers), between the Three Collects and the other Prayers.
The Lord's Prayer as set for the Service of prayer.
We have before explained that the Doxology is not added here, but the
Lesser Litany is prefixed to it. The thoughts will now be different
from those which occupied our hearts at the beginning of the Praises.
The following may be suggested:
Hallowed be Thy Name . . . . . . Ask for Reverence.
Thy kingdom come . . . . . . Devotion.
Thy will be done . . . . . . Obedience.
Give us our daily bread . . . . . . Support, Health,
Teaching, Communion.
Forgive us . . . . . . Forgiveness.
Lead us . . . . . . Guidance.
Deliver us . . . . . . Deliverance.
Then the Priest is directed to stand up: thus reminding us again that we are approaching the Majesty on High. The people, though still kneeling, {132} are included in his priestly action, and take an equal share of the petitions, which form the Preces (=prayers L.). Each verse is to be said by the Minister, and its Respond by the People.
A. The Preces.
These interjected prayers do not follow exactly the order of the Collects and Prayers, which are to come next to them. The second couplet belongs to the two prayers, for the King and for the Royal Family: the third and fourth couplets belong to the prayer, for the Clergy and People. The first, fifth, and sixth couplets belong to the first, second, and third Collects respectively. The Great Breviary of 1531, according to the use of Sarum, had the 5th of these couplets as an Antiphon for our 2nd Morning Collect for Peace, to be used at Lauds, and also as an Antiphon at Vespers, for our 2nd Evening Collect for Peace. The Student will find that this using of the old materials is characteristic of the Revision of 1549. All the Preces are from the Day Hours. With the exception of the Couplet just mentioned, they are verses of the Psalms: First Couplet from the 85th Psalm, verse 7: Second, from the 20th, v. 9: Third, from the 132nd, vv. 9 and 16: Fourth, from the 28th, v. 9: Sixth, from the 51st, vv. 10 and 11. The First couplet is that which anticipates the First Collect.
The Second couplet agrees with the Vulgate (Latin), and Septuagint (Greek) Versions of the Psalms. Our Bible and Prayer Book Psalms follow {133} the Hebrew division of the verse: Save, Lord: let the King hear us when we call. The couplet in this place, being taken from the Sarum Service, as a prayer for the King and people, was left in its old form, when the correction was made in the Psalms.
In the Third couplet 'endue' means 'clothe.'