''Morning Exercises'' refers to a religious observance by

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

which started at the beginning of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

Origins

As most of the citizens of London had either a near relation or friend in the army of the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

, clergymen were getting overwhelmed with requests to include prayers for these soldiers in their Sunday services. So a group of them agreed to set aside an hour at 7 am, every morning, with half an hour for prayer and half an hour for a broader exhortation of the population. It was started by

Thomas Case Thomas Case (1598–30 May 1682) was an English clergyman of Presbyterian beliefs, a member of the Westminster Assembly, where he was one of the strongest advocates of Christian government. Although earlier a strong defender of the Parliamentary ...

the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister at

St. Mary Magdalen, Milk Street St Mary Magdalen, Milk Street, was a parish church in the City of London, England, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. Originally constructed in the 12th century, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt. T ...

and continued there for a month. The exercises were then taken up by other churches across the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

. Shortly after

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

also started to host religious lectures between 6 - 8am, not only for local residents, but also for

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. The preachers here included

Edmund Staunton Edmund Staunton (Stanton) (1600–1671) was an English clergyman, chosen by Parliament as President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and a member of the Westminster Assembly. Later he was a nonconformist minister. Life A younger son of Francis ...

, Philip Nye, Stephen Marshall,

Herbert Palmer Herbert Palmer may refer to: *Herbert Palmer (Puritan) (1601–1647), Puritan writer * Herbert James Palmer (1851–1939), Canadian politician, Premier of Prince Edward Island *Herbert Richmond Palmer (1877–1958), British colonial governor *Herb ...

, Charles Herle,

Jeremiah Whitaker Jeremiah Whitaker (1599–1654) was an English Puritan clergyman, and important member of the Westminster Assembly. Life He was born at Wakefield, Yorkshire, in 1599. After being educated at the grammar school there under the Rev. Philip Jack, he ...

and Thomas Hill.

At Cripplegate

After the Civil War the Morning Exercises were continued, with many collected by

Samuel Annesley Samuel Annesley (c. 1620 – 1696) was a prominent Puritan and nonconformist pastor, best known for the sermons he collected as the series of ''Morning Exercises''. Life He was born in Haseley, in Warwickshire in 1620, and christened on the 26th ...

being subsequently published in six volumes.

Preachers published by Annesley

The following list of 75 was published in 1844.

References

{{reflist Puritanism in England