The Prayer Book Explained Part 3

We can now understand why the Lord's Prayer is used twice in the same Service. The Praises begin with it and the Prayers begin with it. The setting of {17} the Lord's Prayer will always proclaim what kind of Service is beginning[1]. Thus the Lord's Prayer is made to strike the key-note of the Service, or part of a Service, to which it is prefixed.

e. Forms of Worship.

We have seen that Unity of Intention is necessary to congregational worship. When a few people, animated by the same sentiments, are drawn together by one motive, and incur the same dangers, it matters little whether they use a form of worship or not. Whatever words are used in their name, their unity of intention is secured by the fact that they have no diversity of desires.

If the small body becomes a large one and times grow peaceful, diversity of desires will destroy unity of worship unless they adopt a form.

Forms of worship should, if possible, unite the most diverse features of character, occupation, danger, trial, suffering, joy, &c. in the expressions of Praise or Prayer which are common to them all. Local colouring and personal references are admissible only when they arouse a common emotion. The Lord's Prayer {18} is in this, as in other respects, an ideal Form of Worship.

Christian Worship began amongst people who were already accustomed to Forms. The Jews had Psalms for Worship (1 Chron. xvi. 4-43), and two Lessons in their Synagogue Service (Acts xv. 21, First Lesson: Acts xiii. 27, Second Lesson). The two Lessons were followed by the Exhorter (Acts xiii. 15; St Luke iv. 16, 17).

The word _Amen_, being Hebrew, gives further evidence of the derivation of the first Christian forms from the Synagogue Services, with, of course, a Christian character infused into them (1 Cor. xiv. 15, 16; cf. Deut. xxvii. 15-26).

Amen, as a Hebrew adjective, means _firm, faithful_; and, as an adverb, _verily_, or, as the Catechism explains it, _so be it_. "Its proper place is where one person confirms the words of another, and adds his wish for success to the other's vows and predictions" (Gesenius). Each of the first four Books of the Psalms ends with it--see Psalms xli., lxxii., lx.x.xix., cvi.

For some time the first Christians were able to resort to the Temple and Synagogues, and both worship and teach there (Acts ii. 46, iii. 1, 3, 8, 11, v. 12, 21, 25, 42: xiii. 5, 14, xiv. 1, xvii. 1, 2, xix. 8).

They were joined by a number of the Priests (Acts vi. 7) whose help in arranging the services would bring a considerable influence in the same direction. At Ephesus (Acts xix. 9) a division arose in the Synagogue, causing S. Paul and the Christian disciples to remove into a school.

At Corinth, for a similar {19} reason, they set up the Christian worship in the next house to the Synagogue, and the Ruler of the Synagogue went with them (Acts xviii. 7, 8). It is not very surprising that under these circ.u.mstances they derived some of their forms of Worship from the Synagogue.

Forms a.s.sist the mind to take its due part in the worship which we offer to the Almighty. Worship is offered with body, mind and spirit.

If one of these encroaches on the others, their share is in danger. If the tongue and the knees and the hands are too much engaged in it, the mind grows weary or idle. If the mind is too busily employed, the spirit has a diminished share, or the body is indolent. It is necessary to provide occupation for the mind, but not to occupy it in following great mental efforts for which it is unprepared. If the mind is unprepared, it no sooner reaches one point than it has to follow the speaker to another; and thereby the spirit loses its power of speeding the utterance to the throne of G.o.d.

f. Worship-Forms.

(See Table, p. 21. Cf. Chap. I, p. 3.)

We find that, in the Services, shares are distributed to the worshippers in five different ways, which may be called Worship-forms.

The Table on p. 21 should be carefully studied. Hooker's description of them (E. P. v. x.x.xix. 1) is a little difficult to make out; but it will be found to verify our table. (See Appendix A, pp. 22, 23.)

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Walter Travers was Reader at the Temple Church in London, when (1585) Richard Hooker was appointed to be Master of the Temple. Travers had been a friend and favourite of Thomas Cartwright, a severe critic of the Order and Discipline of the Church of England. Travers took up the criticisms, and so attacked Hooker that the latter in self-defence wrote his Books on _The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity_ (1592), wherein he replies to Cartwright's and Travers' criticisms.

The Worship-forms have been in use for so long that it is scarcely possible to discuss their origin. The traces of them in the Bible are interesting:

1. Amen. 1 Cor. xiv. 16; Rev. xxii. 20.

2. Responsorial or Interjectional. S. Luke ii. 13, 14.

3. Anthem. Exodus xv. 21; Isaiah vi. 3.

4. Litany.

5. Preceded. Exodus xxiv. 7, xix. 7, 8, xx. 18-21.

The Prayer Book furnishes examples of Praise and Prayer in each Form, excepting the Litany Form, which is used only for Prayer. But there is no reason why that also should not be used for Praise: the 136th Psalm will show how this might be done.

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THE FIVE KINDS OF WORSHIP FORMS

(See Hooker, _Eccl. Pol._ v. x.x.xix. 1.)

Examples-- Examples-- Prayer Praise

1. The Minister AMEN form The Collects Prayer of offers and the Consecration People endorse in Holy it Communion (see 1 Cor. xiv. 16)

2. Minister and Responsorial, Hymn at Sursum Corda People pursue or Ordination of in Holy different lines INTERJECTIONAL Priests Communion interrupting form Preces before Versicles one another Collects before Psalms

3. The Congregation Antiphonal, "From our The Psalms form two or ANTHEM enemies, &c." in Mattins companies which form --8 verses in and reply to one the Litany Evensong another

4. The Minister LITANY The main body names the subject form of the Litany and the People offer the prayer (or praise)

5. A portion of PRECEDED The Lesson and Holy Scripture prayer or Commandments Canticle is read and the praise in Holy prayer or praise Communion completes it as an Act of Worship

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APPENDIX A.

Cartwright, attacking the Prayer Book, 1572 or later, wrote--

"For the singing of Psalms by course and side after side, although it be very ancient yet it is not commendable, and so much the more to be suspected for that the Devil hath gone about to get it so great authority, partly by deriving it from Ignatius' time, and partly in making the world believe that this came from heaven, and that the Angels were heard to sing after this sort," &c.

To this Hooker (_Eccl. Polity_, v. x.x.xix. 1) replies--

"And if the prophet David did think that the very meeting of men together and their accompanying one another to the House of G.o.d should make the bond of their love insoluble, and tie them in a league of inviolable amity (Ps. lv. 14); how much more may we judge it reasonable to hope that the like effects may grow _in each of the people towards other_, in them [Sidenote: Anthem] all towards their pastor, and in their pastor towards every of them, between whom there daily and interchangeably pa.s.s, in the hearing of G.o.d Himself, and in the presence of His holy Angels, so many heavenly acclamations, exultations, provocations, pet.i.tions, songs of {23} comfort, psalms of praise and thanksgiving: in all which [Sidenote: Amen] particulars, as when _the pastor maketh their suits and they with one voice testify a general a.s.sent thereunto; or when he joyfully beginneth, and they with like alacrity follow_, dividing [Sidenote: Interjection] between them the sentences wherewith they strive which shall most show his own and stir up others' zeal, to the glory of that G.o.d whose name they magnify; [Sidenote: Litany] or _when he proposeth unto G.o.d their necessities, and they their own requests for relief in every of them; or when he lifteth up his voice like a trumpet_ to proclaim unto them the laws [Sidenote: Preceded] of G.o.d, _they adjoining_, though not as Israel did by way of generality, a cheerful promise, 'All that the Lord hath commanded we will do,' yet that which G.o.d doth no less approve, that which savoureth more of meekness, that which testifieth rather a feeling knowledge of our common imbecility, _unto the several branches thereof several lowly and humble requests_ for grace at the merciful hands of G.o.d to perform the thing which is commanded; or when they wish reciprocally each other's ghostly happiness, or when he by exhortation raiseth them up, and they by protestation of their readiness declare he speaketh not in vain unto them; these interlocutory forms of speech, what are they else, but most effectual, partly testifications, and partly inflammations, of all piety?"

[1] There are two or three apparent exceptions which on examination prove the rule. At the beginning of the Communion Service the intention is so plain and the _Lord have mercy_ is repeated so often with the Commandments, that it is left out before the Lord's Prayer.

At Baptism and Confirmation there is no setting, probably because the Thanksgiving close of those services has the character of both Praise and Prayer: and this certainly is the effect of the double setting in the Churching Service.

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CHAPTER IV.

MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER.

It must not be supposed that these Services were composed suddenly in their present shape. They are indeed formed on the pattern given by the Lord's Prayer; and they make use of the methods which we have described--Intention, Setting, Key-note, Worship-forms--which have always been the methods used by the Church as far back as we have any evidence. But from time to time alterations have been made in the details. The Lord's Prayer has, for example, been used as a key-note for Praise without its Doxology; or Confession has been placed amongst the Prayers; or Psalms have been more used, and Lessons less used. In spite of such variations, the general principles may be traced in all Church Services; and much interesting study may be spent on the comparison of our Services with those which preceded them.

We have already said something (Chap. II.) about this, and when we study these two Services in detail, it is very important to remember that they grew out of the older Services. The daily Psalms and Lessons {25} might be rearranged, the number of versicles increased or diminished, the rule about varying the saying of a Creed, or an Alleluia, might be altered: but it is the same pattern with the same methods of worship now, as it was when the Services were all said in Latin and when each Diocese in this country had some differences from all the other Dioceses.

We will now proceed to consider these two Services in their details.