26 May 2022

Praying with the Psalms in Easter:
26 May 2022 (Psalm 92)

The Stadttempel synagogue in Vienna … Franz Schubert produced a setting in Hebrew of Psalm 92 for the synagogue (Photograph courtesy Jews of New York)

Patrick Comerford

Today is Ascension Day, and later today (26 May 2022) I hope attend the Ascension Day Eucharist in the Church of Saint Mary and Saint Giles, Stony Stratford (7.30 pm).

But, before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections in this season of Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 92:

In the Authorised Prayer Book, one of two prayerbooks I regularly use for prayers and reflections on Friday evenings, the former Chief Rabbi, Lord (Jonathan) Sacks, describes Psalm 92 as ‘a song for the Sabbath Day.’

Lord Sacks recalls that by the 12th century, the custom existed to say Psalm 92 as a song of welcome to the Shabbat. He says this psalm was understood by the Sages as ‘a song for the time to come, for the day which will be Shabbat and rest in life everlasting.’

The Tzfat mystics, including Rabbi Isaac Luria, developed the custom of saying special psalms and songs of welcome to Shabbat, including six extra psalms (95-99 and 29), before singing Psalm 92.

Lord Sacks says Shabbat is ‘not merely a day of rest, it is a rehearsal within time, for the age beyond time when humanity, guided by the call of God, moves beyond strife, evil and oppression, to create a world of harmony, respecting the integrity of creation as God’s work, and the human person as God’s image.’

He continues: ‘At that time people looking back at history will see that though evil flourished “like grass”, it was short-lived, while the righteous grow slowly but stand tall “like the cedar of Lebanon.” Because our time perspective is short, we seem to inhabit a world n which evil prevails. Were we able to see history as a whole, we would know that good wins the final victory; in the long run justice prevails.’

A popular story connected with Psalm 92 involves Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, known widely as the Maharal, a great sage who lived in Prague during the reign of the Emperor Rudolph II in the 16th century.

Rabbi Loew is said to have been endowed with supernatural gifts that he combined with the four elements: fire and water were represented by his assistants, air was represented by the rabbi himself, and earth was found in the Golem. He brought these together bring to life the Golem, a sculpture moulded from the mud of the riverbed in Prague.

The Golem grew stronger and stronger. Instead of heroic deeds, he became more-and-more uncontrollable and destructive. Rabbi Loew was promised that anti-Semitic violence would end in Prague once he destroyed the Golem.

One day, the Golem was found uprooting trees and destroying the rabbi’s home while the rabbi was in the synagogue singing Psalm 92. The rabbi rushed out to remove the tablet from the Golem’s mouth. Fearing the Golem could fall into the wrong hands, Rabbi Loew smeared clay on the Golem’s forehead, turning emet into met, so that the Hebrew word for truth became the Hebrew word for death and life was taken out of the giant’s body.

Rabbi Loew put him to rest in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue. The rabbi then returned and continued to sing Psalm 92 … and so, it is said, the Old-New Synagogue in Prague is the only place in the world where this psalm is sung twice.

A few months before he died in 1828 at the age of 31, the composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828) produced a setting in Hebrew of Psalm 92, Tov Lehodot La’Adonai (‘It is good to give thanks to the Lord’), for Vienna’s main synagogue, the Stadttempel on Seitenstettengasse.

The Jewish community had asked Beethoven in 1825 to compose a cantata for the dedication of the Stadttempel. He was unable to accept the commission, although he apparently carried out a preliminary study of Musik der alter Juden, perhaps with this in mind. Instead, the cantata was written by Josef Deschler (1742-1852), a kappelmeister at the Stephansdom, Saint Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, and Franz Schubert wrote his setting of Psalm 92 for the choir of the synagogue.

The musicologist Elaine Brody suggests in Schubert Studies: ‘Sulzer was meticulous in his text-setting; he must have advised Schubert on these matters.’ Schubert could have fulfilled his commission by writing music to a German translation. Instead, he decided to work with the Hebrew language.

Schubert’s Psalm 92 sounds like many of his other melodies and part-songs. Elaine Brody is of the opinion that, stylistically, his setting of Psalm 92 ‘resembles church music more than synagogue music; it displays no characteristic Hebrew melody.’

‘The righteous … grow like a cedar in Lebanon’ (Psalm 92: 12) … a young girl with a violin and her friend beneath a cedar tree at Curraghchase Forest Park near Askeaton, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 92 (NRSVA):

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day.

1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5 How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!
6 The dullard cannot know,
the stupid cannot understand this:
7 though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction for ever,
8 but you, O Lord, are on high for ever.
9 For your enemies, O Lord,
for your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.

10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have poured over me fresh oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
15 showing that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Mission in Australia.’ It was introduced on Sunday by Peter Burke, Manager at Mission and Anglican Community Engagement AnglicareSA.

The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (26 May 2022, Ascension Day) invites us to pray:

Lord, help us to focus on care and justice in all we do. May we look after each other and challenge exclusion wherever we see it.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow



Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

An evening walk to Saint Andrew’s
Church, Great Linford, a church
with Saxon foundations

Saint Andrew’s Church in Great Linford, one of the ancient churches in Milton Keynes (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Patrick Comerford

Late one evening, as darkness was beginning to close in around Milton Keynes, two of us had a late lunch in the Black Horse in Great Linford and then walked along a stretch of the Grand Union Canal to Saint Andrew’s Church, Great Linford, one of the ancient churches in Milton Keynes.

Saint Andrew’s Church is the only place in Milton Keynes where definitive in situ evidence of late Saxon occupation has been discovered. Nestling in the north-west corner of the grounds of Great Linford Manor Park, in the grounds of a 17th century manor house built by the Pritchard family, Saint Andrew’s has seen many changes and modifications over the centuries.

The name Linforde, which appears in the Domesday Book in 1086, refers to an area with two settlements on each bank of the River Ouse. The name Linford probably refers to the point of the river crossing where there were lime or linden trees. By the 13th century, these two settlements were in separate parishes, known as Little Linford to the north of the river and Great Linford to the south.

Excavations beneath the nave suggest a late Saxon or very early Norman church stood on this site, with a simple nave and small chancel. At some time in the 12th century, the present church tower was abutted to the earlier nave and chancel and the westernmost wall of the old nave was demolished. However, the roofline survives within the east face of the tower, within the present nave roof.

Over the following centuries, many other demolitions, extensions and alterations to the fabric of the building can be traced, while the internal fixtures and fittings have also been much repaired and altered to accommodate changing tastes and uses. The church today consists of the tower, nave, chancel, south aisle and porch, north chapel and north porch, along with a recently added vestry.

A section of late mediaeval tile pavement has survived too, and at one point, the church may have had a steeple, and an effigy of a Green Man dates from the mediaeval period.

Saint Andrew’s Church is the only place in Milton Keynes where definitive in situ evidence of late Saxon occupation has been found (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The earliest reference to a chapel at Great Linford appears in a charter dated 1151-1154. The first recorded rector of Saint Andrew’s was Geoffrey (or Galfridus) de Gibbewin in 1215. At the time of his death in 1235 he was insane, although he died not at Great Linford, but at Osney Abbey in Oxfordshire.

The barest hints remain of mediaeval paintings in Saint Andrew’s include a fragment of 13th century red scroll on the exposed parts of the tower arch. When the 18th century wooden panelling on the north wall of the nave was removed, at least three periods of painted decoration were discernible, of which the earliest was a fragment of inscribed scroll that points to the prior existence of a large image.

A fragment found on the west wall of the chancel depicted a series of red and yellow skeletal legs. It is speculated that this would have been an image of the three living and the three dead, intended as an allegorical warning against the emptiness of earthly ranks and riches. Another fragment of a ‘doom painting’ was found on the chancel arch.

The Manor of Great Linford was held by the Butler family of Kilkenny until 1560 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The Pipard family held the manor from the 1180s until 1310, and seemed to be engaged in something of a tussle for ownership with the Butler of Ormond after the marriage of John Pipard’s daughter to an Edmund Butler. King Edward II briefly took control of the on the death of Edmund Butler in 1321, and restored the manor to John Pipard in 1323. But by 1328 the Butlers had regained the manor.

James Butler (1420-1461), 5th Earl of Ormond, was a staunch supporter of the House of Lancaster and after the Yorkist victory at Towton, he was beheaded at Newcastle on 1 May 1461. The manor then passed through a number of hands, first to a Richard Middleton and his heirs, then in 1467 to Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV and future wife of Henry VII.

She was followed by Gherardo di Bernardo Canigiani, a representative in London of the Medici bank of Florence, which was lending vast sums of money to Edward IV to shore up the crown. When Henry VII became king in 1485, ending the War of the Roses, he annulled the act of attainment against the Butlers, who remained Lords of the Manor until 1560. Between 1322 and 1535, members of the Butler family of Ormond presented no less than 18 rectors of Great Linford.

The Lords of the Manor of Great Linford held the advowson of the parish or the right to nominate the rector until 1560, when Queen Elizabeth I granted it to a William Button and Thomas Escourt from Wiltshire. By 1590, the advowson had been acquired by Edward Kimpton, a London merchant, who appointed the Revd Richard Napier, who was Rector of Great Linford for over 40 years until he died in 1634.

The coat of arms of King Charles II in the church, damaged when the coved ceiling was added in 1707, may date from the 1660s.

Sir William Prichard replaced the mediaeval manor and built the almshouses (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The wealthy London merchant Sir William Prichard (or Pritchard) became the new Lord of the Manor in 1678. He knocked down and replaced the mediaeval manor and built the almshouses in the manor grounds. He died in 1705 and was buried in a family vault beneath the church.

His widow Sarah contributed to refurbishing the church in 1707. The mediaeval chancel was demolished and the original material was used to rebuild on the same foundations, while the nave was completely refurbished. The south aisle was also demolished and a new simple narrow replacement built, and the south porch was remodelled. The steeple may have been removed at this time.

The village of Great Linford grew in importance following the construction in 1800 of the Grand Junction Canal and associated wharf to serve Newport Pagnell.

The Revd Christopher Smyth was curate in 1836-1838. Other curates who lived at the Rectory included the Revd Lawson Shan, the Revd Edmund Smyth and his son the Revd William Smyth. The Revd Sidney Herbert Williams played a significant role in the management of Saint Andrew’s School on the High Street.

The Revd William Andrewes Uthwatt (1793-1877) was the titular Lord of Great Linford Manor from 1855, but rarely visited the area, and appointed the Revd Francis Litchfield as rector in 1838. Litchfield was Rector of Great Linford in 1838-1876, but he was an absentee pluralist who lived at Farthinghoe in Northamptonshire. Instead, curates lived in the Rectory in Great Linford.

After the weight of the tower had unsettled the foundations and distorted the tower arch, the church was refurbished in 1884. A new baptismal font was presented to the church by the Clode Family, Mrs Uthwatt gave a new lectern, and a new organ was installed in 1887 by Mr Atterton, of Leighton Buzzard, with an organ recital by Mr B Wilford, of Newport Pagnell.

By 1911, the Uthwatts were no longer living at the Manor House, which was rented to the Mead family. But in 1922, Thomas Andrewes-Uthwatt appointed his son, the Revd Henry Andrewes-Uthwatt, as Rector, and the Uthwatt family continued to present until 1932.

Saint Andrew’s Church has been changed, altered and refurbished over the centuries (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The 12th century tower is the oldest part of the present church. Saint Andrew’s has three good examples of 15th to 17th century brasses commemorating Sir Roger Hunt and his wife Joan, Thomas and Elizabeth Malyn and Anne and John Uvedall. A large white marble monument on the west wall of the north chapel commemorates Sir William Pritchard and a similar one on the east wall recalls Thomas and Catherine Uthwatt, later owners of the manor.

Considerable refurbishment works took place in the early 18th century including rebuilding the chancel, south aisle and porch. The pulpit also dates from 1707. Saint Andrew’s has a full set of six bells made by Joseph Eyre and installed in 1756.

A late medieval timber roof of the King Post type and carved bosses were revealed during the work in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the mediaeval wall paintings were plastered over at the time, the mediaeval stained glass was removed, a small 13th century holy water stoup inside the north door was damaged.

The late 19th century saw the addition of new stained glass, oil lights, furniture, remodelled pews and heating. The large limestone font probably dates from the late 19th century. The most valuable items of church plate are on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Linford Manor is now owned by Pete Winkelman, wchairman of Milton Keynes Dons FC. The former stables and associated gate houses are now an Arts Centre. The former almshouses are not in use, but they are scheduled to be restored.

In response to the changes introduced by the new city of Milton Keynes, Saint Andrew’s was redecorated in 1980, with the addition of a vestry, kitchen and toilet, and the pews were removed and replaced by individual seating. The work was assisted by the Archaeology Unit of Milton Keynes Development Corporation.

Saint Andrew’s Church serves the Great Linford, Giffard Park, Blakelands and Redhouse Park areas. It is one of the six churches in the Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership in north-east Milton Keynes, which serves the areas of and near Bradwell, New Bradwell, Stantonbury, Great Linford, Downs Barn and Willen.

Ministry at Saint Andrew’s is shared between several lay and ordained ministers, and three licensed ministers look after Saint Andrew’s, sharing pastoral leadership: Canon Chuks Iwuagwu, the Rev David Lewis, a Baptist minister, and Colin Taylor.

Saint Andrew’s is a member of the Quiet Garden Movement that nurtures low cost, accessible, outdoor space for prayer, contemplation, rest and inspiration in a variety of settings. The garden beside the church is always open and on Sundays in August the church is open for afternoon teas from 2 to 5 pm.

Saint Andrew’s Church, Great Linford, is one of six churches in the Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership in north-east Milton Keynes (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)