Favorite Collect
My favorite Collect of late, called “The Collect for the Renewal of Life” comes from the liturgy for Morning Prayer. It says,
“O God, the King eternal, who dividest the day from the
night and turnest the shadow of death into the morning:
Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep
thy law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that,
having done thy will with cheerfulness while it was day, we
may, when the night cometh, rejoice to give thee thanks;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
“The Book of Common Prayer,” p. 56
At first glance, it seems like a straightforward prayer — that God, who has divided night from day, now that day is here, will drive all wrong desires far from us, incline our hearts to keep His law and guide our feet into the way of peace. I often imagine God driving away all our wrong desires as Jesus drove away the merchants and money changers from the Temple.
Similarly, another image of God inclining my heart to keep His law and guide my feet into the way of peace is of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who uses His shepherd’s crook to gently tap my ankles onto the right path.
When God answers these petitions, I will have done His will cheerfully during the day and can rejoice and give Him thanks when the night comes.
However, I realized that this Collect also has another layer of meaning. In Scripture, day and night symbolize two other realities: (1) life and death, and (2) before Christ returns and when He returns.
Do you recall Jesus’ parable of the bridegroom coming late at night and the foolish bridesmaids with lamps empty of oil (Matthew 25:1-13)? Or the parable of the master who returns unexpectedly at night and finds his servants either asleep or awake (Mark 13:32-37)? In other words, we pray this Collect not just for our working days, but for all our days. And having obeyed Christ with joy in our hearts every day, we will not be lacking but be filled with joy and thanksgiving when we rise to meet Him or He descends and returns to us.
This is a worthy Collect! I hope that this Collect becomes a favorite for you as you seek to live a life filled with rejoicing and thanksgiving to our God.
