Open Thou Mine Eyes
(Lancelot Andrewes)
Today is the Feast day of one of my true heroes, Bishop Lancelot Andrewes. A deeply knowledgeable and skilled scholar of Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek, as well as a profoundly devout man of humble prayer, 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. He was chairman of the project that produced the Authorized Version of the Bible produced under James I in 1610, the "King James Bible." He personally translated about a third of the KJV Old Testament, and edited most of the entire version. One of the greatest writers in the history of the English language, it was he that produced the version of Psalm 23 most known by English speakers through the ages ("The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want..."). His 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.
His Preces Privatae ("Private Prayers") include the following words, in a prayer for grace:
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.
Here is a setting of the text by John Rutter.
Grace and Peace, Fr. Tony
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