April 10: William Law, Priest, 1761

The Collect of the Day

William Law

Almighty God, whose servant William Law taught us to hear and follow your call to a devout and holy life: Grant that we, loving you above all things and in all things, may seek your purpose and shape our actions to your will, that we may grow in all virtue and be diligent in prayer all the days of our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be all honor and glory now and for ever. Amen.

William Law

Almighty God, whose servant William Law taught us to hear and follow your call to a devout and holy life: Grant that we, loving thee above all things and in all things, may seek thy purpose and shape our actions to thy will, that we may grow in all virtue and be diligent in prayer all the days of our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honor and glory now and for ever. Amen.

2 Peter 1:3–11
Psalm 1
Matthew 6:1–8

“If we are to follow Christ, it must be in our common way of spending every day. If we are to live unto God at any time or in any place, we are to live unto him in all times and in all places. If we are to use anything as the gift of God, we are to use everything as his gift.” So wrote William Law in 1728 in A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life.

This quiet schoolmaster of Putney, England could hardly be considered a revolutionary, and yet his book had near-revolutionary repercussions. His challenge to take Christian living very seriously received a more enthusiastic response than he could ever have imagined, especially in the lives of Henry Venn, George Whitefield, and John Wesley, all of whom he strongly influenced. More than any other man, William Law laid the foundation for the religious revival of the eighteenth century, the Evangelical Movement in England, and the Great Awakening in America.

Law came to typify the devout priest in the eyes of many. His life was characterized by simplicity, devotion, and works of charity. Becausehe was a Non-juror, who refused to swear allegiance to the House of Hanover, he was deprived of the usual means of making a living as a clergyman in the Church of England. He therefore worked as a tutor to the father of the historian Edward Gibbon from 1727 to 1737.

Law also organized schools and homes for the poor. He stoutly defended the sacraments and scriptures against attacks by the Deists, and he spoke out eloquently against the warfare of his day. His richly inspired sermons and writings have gained him a permanent place in Christian literature.

Law died at Kings Cliffe on April 9th, 1761.

Lessons and Psalm

First Lesson

Psalm

¹Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful!

²Their delight is in the law of the Lord, *and they meditate on his law day and night.

³They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *everything they do shall prosper.

⁴It is not so with the wicked; *they are like chaff which the wind blows away.

⁵Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.

⁶For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, *but the way of the wicked is doomed.

Gospel

³His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. ⁵For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, ⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, ⁷and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. ⁸For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹For anyone who lacks these things is nearsighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. ¹⁰Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. ¹¹For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.