Comfortable Words
The King James Bible of 1611, a model of straightforward English made for reading aloud.
The King James Bible of 1611, a model of straightforward English made for reading aloud.
The final prayer of the Litany in the Book of Common Prayer.
This Collect was appointed as the closing prayer of the Litany in the English Book of Common Prayer of 1549. In later editions, it was added to Morning and Evening Prayer, and it was also attributed to St John Chrysostom (347-407), as it comes originally from the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, the holy communion service of the Eastern churches.
However dark the night of doubt, day is sure to come.
In October 1773, William Cowper was broken by a nightmarish attack of the depression that had clouded his life for almost twenty years. His neighbour the Revd John Newton had encouraged Cowper to write hymns to keep the depression at bay, but after his breakdown he never wrote another. Samuel Greatheed, who preached at Cowper’s funeral, said that this, his last, was composed during a solitary walk in the fields, and expressed a faith that always reasserted itself once the fits had passed.
As Mr Great-heart guides his companions into the Valley of Humiliation, he bids them listen to the song of a shepherd boy.
In the second part of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, a little band of believers enters into the Valley of Humiliation. As they make their way down into the valley, Mr Great-heart calls a halt and bids the others listen to the song of a shepherd boy, tending his father’s sheep on the hillside.
Mr Valiant-for-Truth reflects on what is needed for a Christian on the way to his reward.
In the second part of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Mr Valiant-for-Truth has been explaining why he has not turned aside on his pilgrimage as Mr Fearing and Mr Despondency had. He sums up with some lines of verse which have become one of the best-loved of all hymns in English.
A hymn to God asking him to send his Holy Spirit on us, and make us fit to sing with the choir of saints in heaven.
St John tells us that Jesus Christ promised to pray to the Father, and ask him to send his Holy Spirit on the Church after Christ had gone up to his heavenly kingdom. Remembering this promise, Charles Wesley appeals to God to renew his gift daily.