Early in the prayer, we are reminded that what we are coming to is a meal. We are invited as guests to a table where God is the generous host, not an altar where we make an offering to appease God\u2019s wrath. The rubric refers to the piece of furniture as \u201d\u02dcthe Lord\u2019s Table\u2019 or, in earlier versions, \u201d\u02dcGods borde\u2019. We shall explore below what it is that we receive at this meal.<\/p>\n
This prayer creates in us an attitude of humility, helplessness, and dependency on God. We do not deserve to be here. We have no suitable garment of our own to wear to the feast. The contrast is repeatedly drawn between what we do not have and what God does, between what we are not and what God is: \u201d\u02dcnot\u201d\u00a6 trusting in our\u201d\u00a6 but in thy\u201d\u00a6 We are not\u201d\u00a6 But thou art\u201d\u00a6\u2019 Cranmer alludes to our Lord\u2019s encounter with the Syro-Phoenician woman, who says, \u201cEven the dogs under the table eat the children\u2019s crumbs\u201d\u009d (Mark 7.28). This allusion is double-edged, for it expresses both great humility and great faith, as seen by our Lord\u2019s commendation of the woman in the gospel accounts.<\/p>\n
The Prayer of Humble Access has the same dynamic. It does not leave us in a state of hopelessness and despair. Although \u201d\u02dcwe do not presume to come\u201d\u00a6 trusting in our own righteousness\u2019, God\u2019s many, varied (\u201d\u02dcmanifold\u2019) and great mercies combined with his unchanging essence (\u201d\u02dcthe same Lord\u2019) mean that we do presume to come. Praying this prayer is an enactment of the gospel of God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n