Use the good - neglect not the best
Let us pray (in silence) [to share the fullness of resurrection life] or [that we may put God at the heart of our lives]
pause
Eternal God,
protector of all who put their trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy;
fill us with your mercy and your grace
that with you to rule and guide
we may so use the good things of this present life
that we do not neglect things of eternal worth;
through Jesus, the Christ,
risen and alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
NZPB p.639
Common Worship (CofE) Trinity 4:
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
BCP (USA) Proper 12:
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
Increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that, with you as our ruler and guide,
we may so pass through things temporal,
that we lose not the things eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Reflection
The version in the BCP is:
O GOD, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ's sake our Lord. Amen.
"Finally" in Cranmer's made a (too?) strong division between "temporal" and "eternal". The removal of "good" by him (restored by NZPB above) could suggest that we also find God in difficult, not so good times. But the return of "good" in the NZPB version can highlight that the "temporal"/ "things of this present life" are also "good" - against the position that encourages a view that this world is a distraction, and we need to avoid it as much as possible, flee it, to focus primarily on a "spiritual" reality. It is to be hoped that the NZPB version does not encourage such a dualistic view, in which someone would be so heavenly minded they were of no earthly use! The ambiguity of the word "service" for worship and for work is not an ambiguity we should seek to eliminate.
History
It is a prayer that has threads akin to 2 Cor 4:13-18.
In the Gregorian Sacramentary it was used for fourth Sunday after Pentecost (no. 1138). The Sarum Missal, Trinity 4, BCP (1549 onwards), Trinity 4.
The initial phrase is the same as in a collect in the Gelasian sacramentary (no. 1548) and the Gallican Bobbio missal (no. 442).
Cranmer removed “good” it has been restored in NZPB, but not in BCP (USA) or Common Worship (CofE). NZ has reworked the result clause.
The 1962 Missale Romanum had:
Protector in te sperantium, Deus,
sine quo nihil est validum, nihil sanctum:
multiplica super nos misericordiam tuam;
ut, te rectore, te duce,
sic transeamus per bona temporalia,
ut non amittamus aeterna.
This was translated in St. Andrew’s Bible Missal (1962) as:
O God, guardian of those who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing holy,
increase your mercy towards us.
With you as our ruler and guide,
may we pass through the good things of this world,
so as not to lose those of the world to come.
For the 1970 revision, the final two lines were changed:
Protector in te sperantium, Deus,
sine quo nihil est validum, nihil sanctum:
multiplica super nos misericordiam tuam;
ut, te rectore, te duce,
sic bonis transeuntibus nunc utamur,
ut iam possimus inhaerere mansuris.
(literally, the last two lines would be:
we may so use things that pass away
as to be able to adhere to that which will endure.)
ICEL has translated this as:
God our Father and protector,
without you nothing is holy,
nothing has value.
Guide us to everlasting life
by helping us to use wisely
the blessings you have given to the world.
This is used by Roman Catholics on the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, the same day as BCP(USA)'s provision above.