The Prayer Book Explained Part 19

There is the Lord's Prayer _set_ for prayer (see p. 16), at the beginning of the Prayers, to strike the keynote. Verses and Responds follow next, asking for such things as will be again asked for, in the Collects which are to come after them. The Collects may be divided into two cla.s.ses, viz.,

1. Those for spiritual needs--_First, Second, and Third Collects_.

2. Those for physical needs, and earthly relations.

Worship-Forms used in the Prayer Service.

See _Table of Worship-Forms_ (p. 21).

The Preces are Interjectional. The Collects are of the Amen form. The Anthem should be {128} Antiphonal. The Litany, when used, contains examples of four of the Worship-forms. Thus, the attention of worshippers is arrested, and their unity of heart and voice maintained.

Another purpose is served by the mutual relation in which these forms stand to one another. We shall show, in the Chapter on the Litany, that a Collect may be preceded by a Verse and Respond, which antic.i.p.ate briefly the prayer of the Collect. Thus the Verse and Respond, which are Interjectional, belong to the Collect. This tie between Interjectional prayers and Amen prayers is very remarkable in the Morning and Evening Services. Six couplets of Interjected prayers, which for the sake of distinction are called Preces, antic.i.p.ate the pet.i.tions of the six (or more) Collects which follow. They correspond Couplet and Collect, Couplet and Collect; and, being grouped so that all the couplets come first, the whole prayer Service is made one.

The Anthem is used to strengthen this unity. Unfortunately the Revisers stopped short of making an Antiphoner, or Anthem-book; but we may suppose that the provision made here for Anthems was intended as a promise of such a book. Our Hymn Books, which were recognised, when, in 1879, shortened Services were permitted, contain a good number of suitable hymns admitting antiphonal arrangement. They should supply some grave thought of G.o.d's help, or Christ's mediation, or our dependence on Him. The Anthem is a bond of union, not a musical interruption. (See Chap. xiv.)

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THE PRAYER SERVICE.

I. Preces and Collects. Morning and Evening Rubrics.

The directions concerning the Services are to be found in the Rubrics: which are placed either (1) in the Prefaces and Tables at the beginning of the Prayer Book; or (2) at the beginning or end of a Service; or (3) at some break or pause in the Service. By the correction of mistakes, the later Revisions have left very little ambiguity; but some instances remain, which may usually be interpreted by the a.n.a.logy of other parts of the Book. A plain instance is the omission of a direction that the Sermon is to be preached from the pulpit: but it is directed that after it the Priest shall return to the Lord's Table.

Bishop Cosin who took a leading part in the Revision of 1661-2, and had been preparing notes for it for about 40 years, made the remark: "the book does not everywhere enjoin and prescribe every little order, what should be said or done, but take it for granted that people are acquainted with such common, and things always used already."

The two Services, which are here considered together, are still printed together as parts of the same Chapter (see p. 25): and the Morning Service has always had rubrics which applied to both Morning and Evening: (see Rubrics, about the use of _Gloria Patri_ after Canticles, cf. p. 4: and about the First Lessons).

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Before 1662 a rubric, after the Canticles at Evensong, referred back to Mattins for directions &c. about the rest of the Service. The Second and Third Collects, being different from the Morning Collects, were, of course, printed in full: everything else was read from the Morning Service.

In 1662 the Evening Service was for the first time printed out in full.

The words of the Evening rubric about the Collects were retained, and not made like the Morning rubric: also the words _all kneeling_, which were, at that time, added to the Morning rubric, were, through forgetfulness, not added to the slightly different Evening Rubric. The word _all_ includes the Minister; for the people are already kneeling.

The Rubrics after the Collects.

The amendment of rubrics in this part of the Services, which was effected in 1662, completed the directions for continuing the Service after the Collects. Until that time, the prayers for the Sovereign, for the Royal Family, and for the Clergy and People, were printed after the Prayer, _We humbly beseech thee_, in the Litany; and were followed by the second of our Ember Week prayers, and the Prayer of S.

Chrysostom. But it was plain that the Services were not to end with the Third Collect: for, at the end of the Communion Service, six Collects were printed, as they still are, with the provision that they may be said "after the Collects" of Morning and Evening Prayer.

Moreover, the inclusion, in the Preces, of prayers for the Sovereign and for the Clergy implied that Collects for {131} them would follow.

We may infer that these Services used to end much as they do now. It was therefore a useful improvement to make the rubrics complete, and to print the prayers in this place. Perhaps the six Collects after the Communion Service would be more used, if they had, at the same time, been printed with the Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings.

At the same time, a Rubric was inserted here providing for an Anthem, or musical prayer, to be sung (in places where there are singers), between the Three Collects and the other Prayers.

The Lord's Prayer as set for the Service of prayer.

We have before explained that the Doxology is not added here, but the Lesser Litany is prefixed to it. The thoughts will now be different from those which occupied our hearts at the beginning of the Praises.

The following may be suggested:

Hallowed be Thy Name ... ... Ask for Reverence.

Thy kingdom come ... ... Devotion.

Thy will be done ... ... Obedience.

Give us our daily bread ... ... Support, Health, Teaching, Communion.

Forgive us ... ... Forgiveness.

Lead us ... ... Guidance.

Deliver us ... ... Deliverance.

Then the Priest is directed to stand up: thus reminding us again that we are approaching the Majesty on High. The people, though still kneeling, {132} are included in his priestly action, and take an equal share of the pet.i.tions, which form the Preces (=prayers L.). Each verse is to be said by the Minister, and its Respond by the People.

A. The Preces.

These interjected prayers do not follow exactly the order of the Collects and Prayers, which are to come next to them. The second couplet belongs to the two prayers, _for the King_ and _for the Royal Family_: the third and fourth couplets belong to the prayer, _for the Clergy and People_. The first, fifth, and sixth couplets belong to the first, second, and third Collects respectively. The Great Breviary of 1531, according to the use of Sarum, had the 5th of these couplets as an Antiphon for our 2nd Morning Collect for Peace, to be used at Lauds, and also as an Antiphon at Vespers, for our 2nd Evening Collect for Peace. The Student will find that this using of the old materials is characteristic of the Revision of 1549. All the Preces are from the Day Hours. With the exception of the Couplet just mentioned, they are verses of the Psalms: First Couplet from the 85th Psalm, verse 7: Second, from the 20th, _v._ 9: Third, from the 132nd, _vv._ 9 and 16: Fourth, from the 28th, _v._ 9: Sixth, from the 51st, _vv._ 10 and 11.

The First couplet is that which antic.i.p.ates the First Collect.

The Second couplet agrees with the Vulgate (Latin), and Septuagint (Greek) Versions of the Psalms. Our Bible and Prayer Book Psalms follow {133} the Hebrew division of the verse: _Save, Lord: let the King hear us when we call_. The couplet in this place, being taken from the Sarum Service, as a prayer for the King and people, was left in its old form, when the correction was made in the Psalms.

In the Third couplet '_endue_' means 'clothe.'

In the Fifth couplet the Respond appears to allege the want of earthly helps as the reason why we ask G.o.d to give us peace. Since it is obviously impossible that this is the meaning, it will be well to enquire what other meaning there may be. The last verse of the 4th Psalm has the same thought; _I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest: for it is thou, Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety_. If the word only be omitted, the reason appears at once to be that G.o.d's protection suffices to a.s.sure us of safety. The introduction of the word, _only_, adds the thought that no other protection would suffice.

The same two thoughts are united in the Respond _Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O G.o.d_. It is as though we said, 'Give us Peace, because thou hast the power; and we trust no other power.'

This couplet was the Antiphon, in the Day Hours, to both the collects for Peace; and must be taken as including both peace from "the a.s.saults of our enemies," and "that peace which the world cannot give." It is suitable both to a time of External Peace, and also to a time when war, with Peace for its object, is raging round us: the a.s.saults, also, of temptation are at times disturbing to our peace, in the sense which is involved in this couplet.

The Sixth Couplet belongs to the Third Collects {134} which ask for spiritual guidance, and spiritual light--_Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see G.o.d_.

B. The Collects.

The Books formerly used in Church.

In a pa.s.sage of the Prayer Book Preface of 1549, which was not struck out until the last Revision in 1662, it was said that "by this order the Curates shall need none other books for their public service, but this book and the Bible." The simplification of the Services has made it possible for everyone to find his way easily through the Prayer Book. The progressive inventions of printing, and of fine paper, have made it possible for him to have the books always with him.

Before the reign of Edward VI. the Services, though printed, were not contained in one book. Before the invention of printing the books were of necessity numerous. We may mention some of them.

A book of Lessons--Legenda; of Antiphons--Antiphonarium; of Psalms--the Psalter: these were required for the Day Hours. As an abbreviation of them, sufficient for practical purposes, the Breviary was arranged. A portable form of it was called Portiforium. The Breviary was printed in four volumes on the Continent, but in England had only a Winter Volume and a Summer Volume.

For the Occasional Services,--the Services which mark the great events of a Christian's life, beginning with Baptism and ending with Burial, they had the Manual.

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For the Holy Communion, they had the Missal; including (1) the Gradual, which was an Antiphoner, or book of the musical parts of the Service; (2) the Lectionary, or book of the Epistles; (3) the Evangelistarium, or book of the Gospels; and (4) the Sacramentary. The Sacramentary contained, amongst other things, the Collects.

We have already referred to the combination and simplification of the Breviary Services, which have given us our Morning and Evening Prayer.

We must now observe that many of our Collects come from the Sacramentaries.