Lancelot Andrewes · 55 of 61

A Litany of Depreciation

A LITANY OF DEPRECATION

Father, the Creator, Son, the Redeemer Spirit, the Regenerator, destroy me not, whom Thou hast created, redeemed, regenerated. Remember not, Lord, my sins, nor the sins of my forefathers; neither take vengeance for our sins, theirs, nor mine. Spare us, Lord, them and me, spare Thy people, and, among Thy people, Thy servant, who is redeemed with Thy precious blood; and be not angry with us for ever. Be merciful; be merciful; spare us, Lord, and be not angry with us for ever. Be merciful; be merciful; have pity on us, Lord, and be not angry with us to the full. Deal not, O Lord, deal not with me after mine inquities . neither recompense me according to my sins; but after Thy great pity, deal with me; and according to the multitude of Thy mercies, recompense me; after that so great pity, and that multitude of mercies, as Thou didst to our fathers in the times of old;— by all that is dear unto Thee. From all evil and adversity, in all time of need; from this evil and this adversity, in this time; raise me, rescue me, save me, O Lord. Deliver me, O Lord, and destroy me not. On the bed of sickness; in the hour of death; in the day of judgment, in that dreadful and fearful day; rescue me, Lord, and save me;— from seeing the judge’s face overcast, from being placed on the left, from hearing the dreadful word, Depart from Me, from being bound in chains of darkness, from being, east into the outer darkness, from being tormented in the pit of fire and brimstone, where the smoke of the torments ascendeth for ever. Be merciful, be merciful, spare us, pity us, O Lord: and destroy us not for ever, deliver and save us. Let it not be, O Lord; and that it be not, take away from me, O Lord, hardness of heart, desperateness after sinning, blindness of heart, contempt of Thy threats, a cauterized conscience, a reprobate mind, the sin against the Holy Ghost, the sin unto death, the four crying sins; the six which forerun the sin against, the Holy Ghost. Deliver me from all ills and abominations of this world, from plague, famine, and war; earthquake, flood, and fire, the stroke of immoderate rain and drought; blast and blight; thunder, lightning and tempest; epidemic sickness, acute and malignant, unexpected death; from ills and difficulties in the Church, from private interpretation, from innovation in things sacred, from heterodox teaching; from unhealthy enquiries and interminable disputes, from heresies, schisms; scandals, public and private, from making gods of kings, from flattering of the people, from the indifference of Saul, from tie scorn of Michal, from the greediness of Hophni, from the plunder of Athaliah; from the priesthood of Micah, from the brotherhood of Simon and Judas, from the doctrine of men unlearned and unestablished, from the pride of novices, from the people resisting the priest:— from ills and difficulties in the state, from anarchy, many rulers, tyranny, from Asher, Jeroboam, Rehoboam, Gallio, Haman, the profligacy of Ahithophel, the foolishness of Zoan (Isa. xix.), the statutes of Omri, the justice of Jezebel, the overflowings of Belial (Ps. xviii. 4.), the courage of Peor, the valley of Achor, pollution of blood or seed, incursion of enemies, civil war, bereavement of good governors, accession of evil and unprincipled governors; from an intolerable life, in despondence, sickness, ill‑fame, distress, peril, slavery, restlessness: from death in sin, shame, tortures, desperateness, defilement, violence, treachery; from death unexpected, from death eternal.