WE beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, etc.
There seems nothing very seasonal about this collect. It makes no clear reference to the main themes of Passiontide. Likewise, it makes no clear reference either to the epistle (with Paul’s allegorical interpretation of Genesis themes) or to the temple controversy in the gospel: both of which can easily be connected with Passiontide.
While not particularly seasonal, the collect is a very typical Prayer Book prayer. The collect begins with the first words of the petition, ‘We beseech thee,’ which are then followed by the brief address, ‘Almighty God’. The substance of the petition follows the address and asks that God ‘mercifully…look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul’.
No idea is more central to Prayer Book religion than the mercy of God. In the Book of Common Prayer (1928 American) the word ‘mercy’ occurs 249 times; ‘mercies’ occurs 38 times; ‘merciful’ 112 times; ‘mercifully’ 40 times; ‘mercy’s’ three times; and ‘mercy-seat’ once. The total is close to 450 occurrences. For a contrasting example, nouns and verbs related to ‘judge’ and ‘judgement’ occur about 150 times. Even ‘love’ and its forms, as a noun, verb, and adjective, including compounds such as ‘loving-kindness’, only occur about 325 times. It is, therefore, quite typical that the substance of this collect’s petition begins with the adverb ‘mercifully’.
What God’s mercy is called upon to do here is ‘to look upon [his] people’. In the Bible God ‘looks’, ‘beholds’, ‘sees’, and also ‘visits’ people for two main reasons. When God looks upon or beholds people who are sinning and erring, the consequence is judgement. When God looks upon his people who are faithful, particularly when they are suffering, his beholding is salvific: he looks upon them for their relief and salvation. Obviously, this collect anticipates and prays for the positive possibility, since those to be visited are God’s ‘people’ and the requested visitation is to be performed ‘mercifully’. The positive nature of God’s action in this case is further reinforced by the request that it result from his ‘great goodness’.
More particularly, God is petitioned here to look upon his people so that they may be ‘governed and preserved evermore’. These two verbs, ‘governed and preserved’, are related but different. The difference is in our perception, not in God: for God’s will is perfectly simple, complete, absolute, and undifferentiated. The final word, ‘evermore’, which modifies both ‘govern’ and ‘preserve’ suggests this simplicity: God has from all eternity willed his governance and preservation of his people. Despite this essential simplicity when seen, as it were, from God’s perspective, when we look upon Providence, we make distinctions within it. These distinctions in the human perspective mirror our own acts of will.
The first verb, ‘governed’, approaches the matter under the aspect of God’s power. God governs, controls, ordains, and rules his people. God governs all things, but his governance of his people meets a glad acceptance from his people, while his foes resist and hate that governance.
The second verb, ‘preserved’, approaches the matter under the aspect of preservation, perseverance, and endurance. Those whom God predestines, he gracefully preserves under his governance ‘evermore’.
Finally, in this world we pray for such governance and preservation ‘both in body and soul’. We know, of course, that the body will die and that both body and soul will from time to time be tried and troubled. We know that under God’s providential care such trials and troubles are inevitable and ultimately for the good. Nonetheless, we may pray, following the example of our Lord himself, that such trials and troubles may pass us by as much as may be, as God wills in his beneficent governance of all.
Anglican Catholic Liturgy and Theology 