The Prayer of Manasseh
Do you remember King Manasseh from 2 Chronicles 33? Chronicles forthrightly informs us of his record as one of the worst kings of Judah. “He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger (v6).” Yet, unlike so many of the other unfaithful kings, Manasseh truly repented! “When he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers (12).” 2 Chronicles also mentions a fascinating, but easily overlooked detail, about this truly awful yet truly repentant king. Verses 18 and 19 mention that his prayer of repentance to God was written down in two books, The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and The Chronicles of the Seers. Those two record books have been lost to time. But wouldn’t it be fascinating to read the deeply repentant prayer of King Manasseh? What would such an evil king pray when he truly turned to God?
If you were to purchase Anglican Liturgy Press’s Holy Bible with Apocrypha, you would find a book towards the end called, The Prayer of Manasseh! This prayer/book isn’t even found in most Roman Catholic Bibles. However, the Eastern Orthodox do include it as part of their canon of Scripture. Is this prayer the actual prayer of King Manasseh?! Almost certainly not since all the evidence points to the copies we have of this prayer being composed centuries after Manasseh had died. More likely, a talented liturgist/musician attempted to imagine what that lost prayer of such a terrible but profoundly repentant king would have sounded like. That liturgist then composed a deeply moving and beautiful prayer that later Christians would enjoy implementing. It became deeply ingrained in the life of the Eastern Church and never completely faded away from the memory of the Western Church.
As Anglicans, you might have even prayed a version of this prayer before! It can be found on page 81 of the 2019 BCP, KYRIE PANTOKRATOR, A Song of Penitence [It was also in the ’79 BCP]. Both the Anglican liturgical adaptation and the full “Prayer of Manasseh” are quite beautiful and moving with phrases like “Now I bend the knee of my heart.” This liturgical prayer reminds us of the beautiful and biblical truth that even the worst of sinners (1 Tim 1:15) who truly repents can turn to the mercy and kindness of our God of perfect justice and mercy. Thanks be to God!
O Lord Almighty, God of our ancestors, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous offspring; you who made heaven and earth with all their order; who shackled the sea by your word of command, who confined the deep and sealed it with your terrible and glorious name; at whom all things shudder, and tremble before your power, for your glorious splendor cannot be borne, and the wrath of your threat to sinners is unendurable; yet immeasurable and unsearchable is your promised mercy, for you are the Lord Most High, of great compassion, long-suffering, and very merciful, and you relent at human suffering. O Lord, according to your great goodness you have promised repentance and forgiveness to those who have sinned against you, and in the multitude of your mercies you have appointed repentance for sinners, so that they may be saved. Therefore you, O Lord, God of the righteous, have not appointed repentance for the righteous, for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who did not sin against you, but you have appointed repentance for me, who am a sinner. For the sins I have committed are more in number than the sand of the sea; my transgressions are multiplied, O Lord, they are multiplied! I am not worthy to look up and see the height of heaven because of the multitude of my iniquities. I am weighted down with many an iron fetter, so that I am rejected because of my sins, and I have no relief; for I have provoked your wrath and have done what is evil in your sight, setting up abominations and multiplying offences. And now I bend the knee of my heart, imploring you for your kindness. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge my transgressions. I earnestly implore you, forgive me, O Lord, forgive me! Do not destroy me with my transgressions! Do not be angry with me forever or store up evil for me; do not condemn me to the depths of the earth. For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent, and in me you will manifest your goodness; for, unworthy as I am, you will save me according to your great mercy, and I will praise you continually all the days of my life. For all the host of heaven sings your praise, and yours is the glory forever. Amen.
John Laffoon
Deacon and Minister
to Youth and Families