The Prayer Book Explained Part 9

[3] _etropoph.o.r.ese_ and _etrophoph.o.r.ese_. These two rare Greek words differ from one another by a single letter which is _p_ in one and _ph_ in the other. The former has the best MS. authority: the latter ('bore as a nurse') is probably right. But, in either case, S. Paul must have had the Deut. pa.s.sage in his thoughts.

[4] See Reland's _Hebrew Antiquities_.

[5] See Appendix B, p. 58.

[6] Thus S. Chrysostom regards Genesis as belonging to Lent, and preached a homily to explain why the Acts are read in public between Easter and Whitsunday. He also advises that the Sat.u.r.day and Sunday Lessons should be privately read during the previous week.

[7] Thus a few MSS. read "The end is enough" in S. Mark xiv. 41; "the end" having been placed in a Book of Lessons, after the word "(It) is enough," because the Lesson ended there. See Prebendary Scrivener's Art. in _Dict. of Christian Antiq._ s.v. Lectionary.

[8] See Appendix C.

[9] S. Ambrose quoted by Hook, _Ch. Dict._ s.v. Hymn.

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CHAPTER VII.

PRAISE.

III. Hymns in the Daily Services.

We are about to explain how Hymns are attached to Lessons for purposes of worship. It will be well therefore to consider what a Hymn is, and how we arrived at the present arrangement. We will defer to the chapter on Anthems the consideration of those Hymns that may be described as Prayers set to music. Many Psalms may be described in this way, and in the Commination the 51st Psalm is used as a Prayer (see the Rubric there). But if our intention be Praise, most of those Prayer-psalms lend themselves to Praise, and are so used in this Service before the Lessons, as we have just seen. In like manner metrical Hymns are to be found in our Hymn-books which are in their plain sense prayers rather than praises.

In the Day Hour Services we find metrical Hymns--at Lauds, Vespers and Compline after the Bible "Chapter," and, at the other Services, before the Psalms. They were in Latin, and some of them have been translated and are known to us in our Hymn-books.

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Of the Office Hymns well known in modern Hymn-books, _Now that the daylight fills the sky is a good example_.

We have, moreover, in the Prayer Book itself, two translations of the Hymn _Veni, Creator Spiritus_ formerly sung at Lauds throughout Whitsun week.

The longer form of it, more a paraphrase than a translation, appeared in the Ordination Services in 1550; the shorter translation, which is so well known, in a Book of Devotions made by John Cosin in 1627, where are found also translations of other Day Hour Hymns, the book being designed from the Breviary.

When in 1661 Cosin had become Bishop of Durham and was taking a leading part in the last revision of the Prayer-Book, his translation of _Veni, Creator Spiritus_ was placed before the older paraphrase in the Ordination Services.

It is interesting to compare the Day Hour Hymns with the translations which are to be found in Hymn-books.

In _Hymns Ancient and Modern_, the following examples are found:--1, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 38, 45, 47, 55, 75, 85, 87, 88, 90, 95, 96, 97, 125, 128, 144, 152, 153, 156, 157, 158, 430, 483, 509, 622. The renderings are not equally close; but they give a good idea of the place in worship which they occupied in the Day Hours. They will be found to dwell on the thoughts of praise to G.o.d called forth (_a_) by the sunshine and the beauties of nature, (_b_) by the work of the Holy Spirit. When the Hymn followed the Capitulum, a Canticle came next.

The Capitulum, or Little Chapter, was one or two verses from the Bible specially {62} chosen for the day; and the Hymn was directly connected in subject with it.

Thus, at Lauds on Whitsunday, the Capitulum was, _When the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place_ (Acts ii. 1), and the Hymn which followed immediately was _Come, Holy Ghost_ (H. A. and M. 157); and _Benedictus_, which came next, had an Antiphon, _Receive ye the Holy Ghost_, &c. (S. John xx. 22, 23).

These beautiful combinations show us that the Canticle after a Lesson is designed to respond to the message of the Lesson, and to make with it an act of Praise. We must dismiss from our minds all idea that our Services were put together in a zigzag fashion, introducing something different as soon as any Psalm or Lesson has been said. The Service-makers valued variety of expression and method within reasonable limits; but the Service itself proceeds from point to point in a regulated progress. When the metrical Hymns were struck out, the Canticles and the Lessons were left united together.

The Canticles.

The word Canticle means "little song" or "little chant," just as versicle means "little verse," and particle "little part."

It has long been used to signify the Hymns from the Old and New Testaments which were introduced into the Christian Services.

It will be seen that these Bible hymns are affixed {63} to the Lessons.

They are commonly known by the words with which they begin in Latin: thus

_Te Deum laudamus_=Thee G.o.d we praise.

_Benedicite, omnia Opera_--Bless ye, O all Works.

_Benedictus_=Blessed.

_Jubilate_=O be joyful.

_Magnificat_ (_mea anima_)=(My soul) doth magnify.

_Cantate Domino_=O sing unto the Lord.

_Nunc dimittis_=Now thou lettest depart.

_Deus misereatur_=G.o.d be merciful.

The 1st and 2nd chapters of S. Luke supply three of these; viz.

Magnificat, Benedictus, and Nunc dimittis. The Psalms supply three, viz. Jubilate (100th), Cantate Domino (98th), and Deus misereatur (67th).

_Benedicite, omnia, Opera_ is part of the Hymn given in the Apocrypha as sung by Shadrach (Ananias), Meshach (Misael), and Abed-nego (Azarias), when they walked in the burning fiery furnace.

_Te Deum laudamus_ is a very ancient Latin Hymn which may have been already very old when it became a.s.sociated with the name of S. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (375-397). We show its Bible origins in Chapter VIII.

The Canticles have been sung in the Services for many centuries.

_Benedictus_ and _Benedicite_ are found in the Holy Communion Service--supposed to date about 600--of the Gallican Church; in the Day Hours _Benedictus_ was sung at Lauds; _Magnificat_ at Vespers; _Nunc dimittis_ at Compline; _Te Deum_ at Mattin-Lauds; _Benedicite_ and _Jubilate_ at Lauds on Sundays.

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The rearrangement of the Day Hours in 1549 gave an opportunity to a.s.sociate the Canticles more closely with the Lessons.

We show in another chapter the connection which exists between the Lessons of the Old and New Testaments, and the alternative Canticles provided for each, both at Morning and Evening Prayer.

Meanwhile it will be well to learn the following table.

MAP OF THE LESSONS AND THEIR CANTICLES.

Character of the Lesson Mattins Evensong

O. T. Creation and Providence Benedicite Cantate*