O most mighty Lord God, who reignest over all the
kingdoms of men, Thou hast power in thy hand to cast down, and to
raise up, to save thy servants, and to rebuke their enemies, and in
all ages hast given victory to thy people, effecting by small
numbers, what man cannot do by the multitude of an host. Let thy
ears be now open unto our prayers, and thy merciful eyes upon our
trouble and danger. [. . .] Never let lust or cruelty, ambition of
empire or thirst of blood, the greediness of spoil, or the
pleasures of a victory make us either to love war or to neglect all
the just ways of peace; and grant unto the army such piety and
prudence, such happy circumstances and blessed events, that none of
them may do any act unbecoming Christians, disciples, and servants
of the Prince of Peace. Do thou, O God, bless them in all their
just actions and necessary defences, that they may neither do, nor
suffer, wrong. [. . .] The race is not to the swift, nor the battle
to the strong; and a horse is counted a vain thing to save a man;
but our trust is in the name of the Lord our God; he is our
strength and our defence; for it is thou, O Lord, who canst,
indifferently, save, with many or with few. [. . .] Hear us, O
Lord, for the glory of thy name, for thy loving mercy and for thy
truth's sake, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Jeremy Taylor, from Prayer for
the Army and Navy in Time of War
JEREMY TAYLOR (1613-67) was an Anglican priest, first supported
by Archbishop Laud, who served as chaplain to King Charles I. He
served during the Civil War as a chaplain to the Royalist army.
With other Royalist sympathisers, he took refuge in Wales when the
fortunes of the Royalists declined, and became chaplain to the Earl
of Carbery.
After the Restoration, Taylor moved to Ireland, where he was
enthroned as Bishop of Down & Connor. Despite his association
with the Royalist cause and frequent defence of Anglican
prerogatives, however, and perhaps in part because of the setbacks
for his own cause, Taylor was also to voice his support of
religious tolerance and prophetic freedom in Liberty of
Prophesying (1647).
Here a theological expansiveness is supported by a style that is
less richly allusive than that used in some of his more richly
ornate sermons. None the less, it helped to contribute to a
Latitudinarianism that was embraced by a number of thinkers of the
time, and which accepted that the Church was broad. Such
expansiveness, however, can be seen in many areas of Taylor's
considerable writing; his essay "On the measures and offices of
friendship", for example, contributed to a debate current at the
time over the part played by women in friendship, supporting the
female poet Katherine Philips in her defence of women's inclusion
in what had previously been regarded as an exclusive relation.
This prayer illustrates such a broad and expansive approach in
its attitude to war. It steers a careful path between expressing a
partisan petition for success, and the recognition that God will
uphold those who seek his will, of whatever allegiance.
It presents human conflicts as always secondary to the purposes
of God, whose victory may be effected by "small numbers"