The Service of Prayer. III. The Litany . . . . . . . . . 153
Ancient Litanies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Rogation Litanies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Structure of the Litany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
i. Our cry to Christ, 159. ii. Our cry to the Father, 170.
iii. Appeal for help, 171. iv. Pressing anxieties of
the moment, 172. v. Final Commendation of our
prayers to Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
_Appendix C. Lessons in the Day Hours_ . . . . . . . . . . 173
_Appendix D. Pliny's Letter to Trajan_ . . . . . . . . . . 174
_Appendix E. The addition of Filioque_ . . . . . . . . . 176
_Appendix F. Greek origin of Litanies_ . . . . . . . . . . 177
_Tables of Dates_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
{1}
CHAPTER I.
EXTEMPORE WORSHIP AND FORMS OF WORSHIP.
There is no such special merit in monotony as to require that the
worship of God should be conducted wholly in one method rather than in
several. Rather it must be acknowledged that there is merit in variety
if it be subjected to dignity and order. For a certain measure of
variety arrests and engages the attention of the worshippers and
sustains their interest.
VARIATIONS OF WORDS AND PHRASES. Much has been said from time to time
concerning Extempore Prayers and Extempore Praise, as opposed to those
which are more carefully prepared and agreed upon.
The discussion has been somewhat confused by the misuse of the word
Extempore. Prior to the invention of Printing every one who had to
conduct Services was required to know them by heart, so as to be able
to say them without book. The fact that he used no book did not make
the prayers extempore. In like manner one who is about to conduct the
prayers of a Congregation may carefully prepare his subjects, phrases,
and words, so as to avoid disorder in the subjects and unfitness in the
words. His prayers in that case are not strictly extempore.
{2}
If however he determines to leave the order of subjects and the choice
of words and phrases to the impulse of the moment, his thoughts may
travel too fast, or too slowly, or too irregularly for the essential
result: for the blessing which Christ promised is to those who _unite_
in worship. (S. Matth. xviii. 19, 20.)
When a few people gather together with the same difficulties,
temptations, dangers, sins, successes, a truly extempore prayer may be
made by one of them without creating any discord of desire amongst the
rest: but as soon as the congregation begins to include men and women
of different occupations, tempers, ideas, talents--if moreover the
persons for whom intercessions should be made are widely scattered and
very variously employed--it becomes necessary to supplement by careful
preparation the impulses of any one who leads the worship of a
congregation. There is also great advantage in choosing the best
phrases for expressing and including the worship of all.
We cannot doubt that the earliest prayers of the Collect form had local
colouring; but those which have survived for our use are so expressed
as to include many local applications, and a very great variety of
circumstances.
Further, it will be clear that an extempore prayer may be part of a
form of Service, just as much as a printed prayer. If the Service is
composed of, The short Prayer, a Lesson, the long Prayer, the Sermon
and several Hymns at fixed, or unfixed, places, the Service is a form.
The description of the Holy Communion in the time immediately after the
death of S. John the Evangelist (Justin Martyr, _Apology_ i. 65-67, {3}
see p. 58) shows us a form which provided for the essentials of such a
service, with prayers, praises, lessons, offertory, Consecration,
Communion, in order, although he who conducted the Service had a
certain amount of liberty in using parts of it.
We may assume then that forms are good, and that it is good to have
preparation and order and chosen phrases. The next question is how to
provide for that Variety which shall sustain interest and engage the
mind of the worshipper in the great business of his Service.
We may consider Variety of method, Variety of singing, and Variations
in the component parts of the Service.
(_a_) Variety of Method. The worshippers are divided into two or more
parties who take up their parts alternately, or together. It is
evident that such a division may be made in many ways. Those which
have been adopted in former times have resulted in the survival of five
Varieties for general Congregations [see chap. III. f.].
(_b_) Variety in Singing. There were of old four methods of singing
the Psalms:
1. Direct or Choral. 2. Antiphonal. 3. Responsorial. 4. Continuous.
1. The _Direct_ or Choral Singing was done by the whole choir:
2. The _Antiphonal_ by the two halves of the choir alternately:
3. The _Responsorial_ by the Priest and choir alternately:
4. The _Continuous_ by the Priest alone.
{4}
A careful study of the Rubrics will show that great liberty is allowed
in the Prayer Book in respect to the singing.
There is a Rubric in the Morning Service which prescribes the manner of
saying or singing Gloria Patri, viz. that it is to be Responsorial.
The order is that after the Morning and Evening Canticles _As it was in
the beginning_, &c. is to be an answer to _Glory be to the Father_, &c.
And this order may be found also after the Versicles of Mattins and
Evensong, _O Lord, open thou our lips_. It might be inferred from this
that the Psalms and Canticles were intended to be sung in the same way.
But it is more likely that it was designed to continue an ancient
freedom of choice which is now represented in our custom of using the
Antiphonal Method when we sing, and the Responsorial when we say them.
The division of Gloria Patri into two verses was, no doubt, intended in
any case. The Prayer Book does not recommend the fourth method; many
rubrics indicate that the congregation should take a substantial share
in the services with voice and heart.
(_c_) Variations in the Component Parts of Services.
1. Praise and Prayer.
2. Variations;
from Service to Service,
" Day to Day,
" Week to Week,
" Morning to Evening,
" Season to Season.
{5}
CHAPTER II.
ORIGIN OF MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER.
The Services in the Prayer Book may be roughly classed as (1) those
which are used every week: and (2) those which are used more rarely.
The principal service is the Holy Communion; which is provided with a
special Collect, Epistle and Gospel for each week, and for Holy Days of
special importance as being connected with the Lord's life on earth, or
with His immediate disciples.
The weekly Collection, enjoined by S. Paul in the churches of Galatia
and Corinth (1 Cor. xvi. 2), suggests that the Holy Communion was from
the first the usual Sunday Service. And this is confirmed when we find
S. Paul making a rapid journey from Greece to Jerusalem (Acts xx. 16),
but waiting seven days at Troas so as to be with the disciples there
upon the _first day of the week, when they came together to break
bread_ (Acts xx. 6, 7): cf. also a similar sojourn at Tyre on the same
voyage (Acts xxi. 4). But the Holy Communion was not the only regular
Service. Peter and John went to the Temple (Acts iii. 1) _at the hour
of prayer, being the ninth hour_. _Peter went up upon the housetop to
pray_ (Acts x. 9) _about the sixth hour_.
{6}
Cornelius saw the vision _about the ninth hour_ (Acts x. 3). _They
were all together in one place_ (Acts ii. 1) upon the day of
Pentecost--and it was _the third hour of the day_ (Acts ii. 15). These
hours may have been suggested to them as Christians by the solemn
scenes of the crucifixion of our Lord (S. Mark xv. 25, 33, &c.)[1].
The constant sense of responsibility and danger tended, of course, to
the frequent assembling for united prayer. It was natural to adopt
some such method as that in Psalm lv. 17, evening, morning and noon
(cf. Daniel vi. 10).
To these were added others: in the 3rd century for example we hear of
one at dawn and one at sunset: the former, being especially a praise
service, came to be known as _Lauds_ or _Mattin-lauds_; the latter was
soon called _Vespers_ (vesper=evening).
In the 4th century we hear of two more, making up the _seven times a
day_ of Psalm cxix. 164. During this growth of daily services there is
sometimes a {7} doubt whether the night Service is included in the
reckoning: but eventually we find for the daytime Mattin-lauds, Prime,
Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline.
The precise time of each is not defined by its name. If Mattins (i.e.
Lauds) was not finished when Prime was due, these two Services were
united.
But the office for Terce might be said at the 2nd hour or at the 3rd:
and in like manner Sext belonged to any of the three hours before 12;
and None to the three hours between 12 and 3.
Thus the day was divided into portions of three hours each: each
portion had its own Service, named from its close, but said at a
variable time according to the appointment of the Ordinary[2]. The
tendency was to appoint an early part of the three hours for the
Service; and this is visible in the word 'noon,' if it is true that 12
o'clock is so named from the custom of saying None at that time.
_Compline_ (completorium) is so called from its completing the services
of the day.
It will be noted that many of the names of Church Officers and many
other terms having a technical Church meaning are Greek in their
derivation. Archangel, Angel, Bishop, Priest, Deacon, Church,
Ecclesiastical, Apostle, Prophet, Martyr, Baptism, Epistle,
Evangelical, are instances of this; and many languages show by these
and other terms that Christian Churches derive much of their
organization from times and places where the Greek tongue was prevalent.
{8}
It might be thought perhaps that the Latin derivation of the names of
the Day Hour services would imply a more local and a Western Source for
these Hours of Prayer. But some of them are, as we have shown, very
early in their origin, and indeed there is evidence from books that
something of the same order was very early observed in the Eastern
parts of Christendom also.
This frequency of Services had a great charm for men who lived together
and worked together in communities, with no great distance between
their work and their Church, and who were able to fit their day's tasks
and necessary meals to the intervals between the Services.
It was not so suitable for mixed occupations or for isolated houses:
and as populations increased, it became evident that a less frequent
assembly would be more conducive to united worship.
GENERAL SCHEME OF THE DAY HOURS.
We will not enter into the minute differences of structure which are
found in one or other of the Day Hours. The following list will show
the order of a Service which is nearly identical with each of them.:
Our Father, &c.
Versicles.
Hymn.
Several Psalms divided into portions by
_Glorias_ and _Antiphons_.
{9}
Several Lessons divided by Responses.
Canticles.
Lesser Litany. Our Father, &c.
Versicles.
Creed.
Versicles.
Confession.
Collects.
Thus they followed the general division of worship into Praise and
Prayer. By enlarging one portion and diminishing another a special
character was given to certain Services. Thus Lauds was made joyful by
having many psalms.
The chief Lessons from the Bible were read in the Mattins Service when
it was said before Lauds. The union of those two Services resulted in
the omission of many of the Psalms. (See Preface "Concerning the
Service of the Church" in our Prayer Book.)
The Day Hour Services were not precisely alike even in their outline:
but they had a certain similarity which suggested the plan which has
been adopted in the Morning and Evening Services of the Book of Common
Prayer.
There were always two parts,--Praise: and Prayer.
[3]Each of these parts began with the Lord's Prayer. The Praise part
always had something of the nature of Psalms and Lessons: the Prayers
always had Collects. The Praises had Praise-versicles and the Prayers
had Prayer-versicles. Also as time went on Litanies became usual for
special days of the week.
{10}
It was easy therefore to recast the seven Services in the shape which
they now have.
_Praise_. The Lord's Prayer.
Versicles.
Psalms.
Lessons.
Creed.
_Prayers_. The Lord's Prayer.
Versicles.
Collects.
Thanksgivings.
NAMES AND TITLES.
The Services of our Church were translated into English in 1549. Many
alterations were made at that time.
The seven Day Hours were combined into two Services--Mattins and
Evensong: the Holy Communion Service was assimilated in some respects
to Eastern Liturgies: the rules of variation for days and seasons were
simplified: interruptions were avoided by the omission of many Verses
and Responds, Antiphons, &c.: better provision was made for continuous
reading of Holy Scripture.
The change from Latin, which had once been a commonly-spoken language,
to the language spoken in England is the alteration which produced the
greatest effect upon congregational worship, and the smallest amount of
difference in the worship itself: for if you understood both languages
it would not matter to you which of them you used.
{11}
The Latin prayers had been known by their first words. Just as we now
know a prayer as _Our Father_, or a doxology as _Glory be to the
Father_, so formerly they were known as _Pater Noster_, and _Gloria
Patri_. Some of these titles have survived. _Credo_ (_I believe_) has
been shortened into _Creed_. We use as a Creed the Hymn _Quicunque
vult_ (Whosoever will). The Canticles still are known by their first
words in Latin, _Te Deum, Benedicite_, &c., and so is the 95th Psalm,
_Venite, exultemus Domino_.
The _Lesser Litany_ is a name given to the three petitions,
_Lord, have mercy upon us._
_Christ, have mercy upon us._
_Lord, have mercy upon us._
They are used before the Lord's Prayer as an Invocation of the Holy
Trinity.
We proceed to examine the foundation of this order in worship.
The model bequeathed to us by Our Lord is known to us as _The Lord's
Prayer_, often called "_Our Father_" from the first words.
[1] Haec sunt septenis propter quae psallimus horis:
Matutina legat Christum qui crimina purgat.
Prima replet sputis. Causam dat Tertia mortis.
Sexta cruci nectit. Latus ejus Nona bipertit.
Vespera deponit. Tumulo Completa reponit;
which may be translated:
Seven are the hours at which we sing and pray;
Mattins for Christ who takes our sins away,
Prime shows Him mocked, and Terce says why He died.
Sext shows His Cross, and None His pierced side.
Vespers His taking down commemorates,
And Compline how they buried Him relates.
Thus day by day we sing and pray Christ and Him crucified.
[2] The Ordinary, i.e. the Ordinary judge in such matters, viz. the
Bishop.
[3] See p. 16.
{12}
CHAPTER III.
THE MODEL.
THE LORD'S PRAYER.
"After this manner therefore pray ye." S. Matth. vi. 9.
The pronouns used in the Lord's Prayer are 'Thy,' 'us,' 'our.' It is
the voice of a people speaking to God. Even in private we may not pray
for self alone; we must include our friends, neighbours, and all others.
For this reason the Lord's Prayer is singularly adapted to the services
of a congregation. Its petitions are short and direct, and therefore
easily thought by every one at the same moment. This is an important
point, because unity of intention is the essence of congregational
worship. (S. Matth. xviii. 19, 20.)
Notice the order of the pronouns in the seven petitions:
( Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy. ( Thy Kingdom come.
( Thy Will be done.
( Give us this day our daily bread.
( Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive
Us, our. ( them that trespass against us.
( Lead us not into temptation.
( Deliver us from evil.
{13}
There are, it appears, two motives which prompt a man to worship God.
One of these is God; Man himself is the other.
a. Two Kinds of Worship.
Worship means 'worthiness,' and thence 'regarding anyone as worthy.'
For this reason a magistrate is called 'his worship'; and a guild or
company is called 'worshipful.' In the Marriage Service the man says
to his wife "I thee worship" because he sets her before all else. In
Wyclif's Bible (S. Matth. xix. 19) we find "Worschipe thi fadir and thi
moder." In old days _any act of mind or body acknowledging the
worthiness of another was an Act of Worship_. In later days the word
'Worship' has been limited.
_Limitation_ 1. Since God alone is perfectly worthy, worship is now
ascribed usually to God alone: _any act of mind or body acknowledging
the worthiness of God may still be called an Act of Worship_. For
instance, in Col. iii. 17-iv. 1, the duties of mankind in daily life
are set forth as a constant acknowledgment of the presence of God. The
repetition of the word (_kurios_) meaning 'Lord' and 'master'--10 times
in 10 verses--falls on the ear like a peal of bells, calling us to make
daily life an unbroken Worship of God.
_Limitation_ 2. We ought not to forget that life is all one piece; and
that the word Worship should describe what we do and say outside our
prayers, as well as what we say and think in prayer and praise. The
word is, however, more commonly limited to words and thoughts. These
two limitations lead us {14} to a second definition of worship as
_words and thoughts which acknowledge the worthiness of God_. We have
nearly abandoned the word as describing the honour paid by one creature
to another, and but rarely use it of acts of the body.
God is always the object of Worship: but the subject of worship is
two-fold--we may speak of ourselves or we may speak of our God. When
we chiefly think of God in worship we call it Praise: when we chiefly
think of ourselves we call it Prayer.
These are then the two kinds of Worship--Praise and Prayer. It is
evident that the Lord's Prayer teaches us to put Praise in the higher
place.
b. Praise and Prayer.
Praise. There are two ways in which respect is paid to a man, viz. (1)
Outspoken praise, (2) Deference to his words. In like manner we praise
God (1) by dwelling with joy and gladness on His perfections; and (2)
by listening with reverence to His Word.
Prayer, on the other hand, is that kind of worship which acknowledges
God as the Source of all our help. Our needs are necessarily in our
minds when we pray. We think of them in order to ask Him to help us;
and we think of them again when we thank Him for the help which we have
already had.
Thanksgiving might be coupled with Praise because its aim is to glorify
God: but as its motive is the thought of human wants which have been
already supplied, Thanksgiving is placed with the Prayers, which also
relate to human wants.
{15}
We must therefore expect to find in Worship;
I. Praise. (1) Declaration of God's excellence.
(2) Attention to His Word.
II. Prayer (3) Petitions for grace and help.
(4) Thanksgivings for grace and help.
c. Intention and Setting.
The same words may serve for Praise and for Prayer. The plainest
meaning of "Hallowed be Thy Name" is Praise to God. But it may be also
a Prayer to Him to cause His Name to be hallowed. If we have no reason
to the contrary, we shall use the Lord's Prayer as an act of Praise and
Prayer--Praise in its first three petitions, Prayer in its last four.
If, however, we want to ask Him to cause His Name to be hallowed and
His Kingdom to come and His Will to be done, we can turn it all into a
prayer.
This direction of our minds into a certain channel is called
'Intention'.
We have already said that Unity of Intention is the essence of
congregational worship. Hence the Intention must be the same in all
the worshippers if they use words suitable for both Praise and Prayer.
If one is saying "Hallowed be Thy Name" and thinking chiefly of God's
holiness, his Intention will be different from that of a neighbour who
is thinking chiefly of the wickedness of sin. We need some agreement,
that our intention may be the same.
This agreement might have been left to the knowledge of those who take
part in the Service. They might have been expected to learn what the
intention is, at each place when the Lord's Prayer is said. Or it
might {16} have been stated in a Rubric, or direction, at the head of
the Prayer. Neither of these methods is adopted in the Book of Common
Prayer. Instead of them, the Prayer itself is so arranged as to
proclaim the Intention.
When it is to be used for Praise, the words "_for thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory, for ever and ever_" are placed at the end:
when it is to be used for Prayer, the Lesser Litany "_Lord have mercy
upon us, Christ have mercy upon us, Lord have mercy upon us_" is placed
at the beginning.
It is convenient to call this the 'setting'.
When the Lord's Prayer is 'set' for Praise, every petition in it is to
be said with that _intention_. We shall then unite in praising God for
the glory of His holy Name, the majesty of His Kingdom, the power of
His Will, and also as the Giver, the Forgiver, the Leader and
Deliverer. The thought of our weaknesses will be as much as possible
left out, that we may rejoice in the perfections of God.
In like manner, when the Lord's Prayer is 'set' for Prayer, the thought
of human wants will be present in every petition. We have great need
to pray that God will cause His Name to be hallowed, His Kingdom to
come, and His Will to be done, on earth as in heaven, as well as to ask
Him for the necessaries of life, the forgiveness of sins, guidance, and
deliverance from evil.
d. The key-note of Prayer and Praise.
"When ye pray, say, Our Father, &c." S. Luke xi. 2.
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., lxxxix., 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 circumstances they derived some of their forms of
Worship from the Synagogue.
Forms assist 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 God.
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. xxxix. 1) is a little difficult to make out; but it
will be found to verify our table. (See Appendix A, pp. 22, 23.)
{20}
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.
{21}
THE FIVE KINDS OF WORSHIP FORMS
(See Hooker, _Eccl. Pol._ v. xxxix. 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
{22}
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. xxxix. 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 God 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 pass, in the hearing of God Himself, and in the
presence of His holy Angels, so many heavenly acclamations,
exultations, provocations, petitions, 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 assent 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 God whose name they magnify;
[Sidenote: Litany] or _when he proposeth unto God 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 God, _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 God 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 God 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.
{24}
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.
THE ORDER FOR
MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER,
DAILY TO BE SAID AND USED THROUGHOUT
THE YEAR.
_The Morning and Evening Prayer shall be used in the accustomed Place
of the Church, Chapel, or Chancel: except it shall be otherwise
determined by the Ordinary of the Place. And the Chancels shall remain
as they have done in times past._
_And here is to be noted, that such ornaments of the Church, and of the
Ministers thereof, at all times of their Ministration, shall be
retained, and be in use, as were in this Church of England, by the
authority of Parliament, in the second year of the reign of King Edward
the Sixth._
The importance of the above heading has been lost sight of, through the
manner of its printing. In most Prayer Books it will be found on a
page by itself or at the foot of a Table of the Golden Numbers. It is
really the heading of a chapter which contains both {26} Morning and
Evening Service. Until the last Revision of the Book in 1662, the
chapter containing Morning and Evening Prayer was closed after the
Athanasian Creed with a Rubric _Thus endeth the Order of Morning and
Evening Prayer throughout the whole Year_. Although that Rubric has
been omitted, this heading includes both Services in one Chapter.
EVENING PRAYER] This part of the chapter, prior to 1662, was not
printed out in full; only the variations from Morning Prayer were set
forth.
DAILY TO BE SAID AND USED] See Preface--_And all Priests and Deacons
are to say daily the Morning and Evening Prayer, either privately or
openly . . . the Curate . . . shall say the same in the Parish Church
or Chapel where he ministereth_.
ornaments of the Church] The Canons of 1604 order a number of things
to be provided at the charges of the parish, which may be included
under this head, such as Communion Table, Pulpit, Reading-desk, Font,
Alms-chest, Alms-basin, Vessels for Holy Communion, Bible, Common
Prayer Book, Book of Homilies, Parchment Register Book and Coffer. It
would not be easy to make a complete list of things authorised by this
Rubric and elsewhere.
and of the Ministers thereof] The discussion of the meaning of the
Ornaments of the Ministers belongs chiefly to the Communion Service.
There has been no question that for Morning and Evening Service a
Surplice and Hood are ordered to be worn.
the second year of the reign of King Edward the Sixth] The reference
is to the {27} statute of the year 1548-9, whereby the first (English)
Revision was enabled to be enforced by law. Edward VI.'s reign began
on Jan. 29, 1547. This statute passed the House of Lords on Jan. 15th,
1548-9, and is referred to in the statute of 1552 as belonging to the
second year of King Edward VI., although the session lasted into his
third year.
THE ORDER FOR MORNING PRAYER, DAILY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
This fresh heading is necessary because the former included the Order
for Evening Service. Morning and Evening Prayer (called also Mattins
and Evensong: see Table of Proper Lessons) are two divisions of the
same chapter.
These two Services are very much alike. The map on the next page shows
their construction.
An examination of this map will show that the plan of the Lord's Prayer
is closely followed. There are two parts and an introduction. Of the
two parts Praise comes first, as in the Lord's Prayer.
Each of the two parts begins with the Lord's Prayer, which is arranged
with a setting so as to mark the character of what follows.
Every piece of the Praise portion is set with a Praise-Termination, or
Doxology: and this portion includes both kinds of Praise, viz.
Outspoken Praise, and Reverent Hearing of God's Word. In like manner
the Prayer portion includes the two kinds of Prayer, viz. Petition for
the wants of men, and Thanksgiving for what they have received.
{28}
Thus these two Services are formed in obedience to the rule that we are
to take the Lord's Prayer as our model (S. Matth. vi. 9).
INTRODUCTION.
TEXT and SERMON on Confession.
The act of CONFESSION.
GOD'S ANSWER to Confession.
PRAISE.
_Praise-terminations_
THE LORD'S PRAYER . . . . . . Thine is the kingdom.
( 1. Interjected Verses )
PSALMS ( 2. xcv. (at Mattins) ) Gloria Patri.
( 3. Special, i.--cl. (as )
( appointed) )
LESSONS ( 1. Old Testament . . . Canticle 1 or 2,
( 2. New Testament . . . Canticle 3 or 4.
THE APOSTLES' CREED . . . . . . Amen.
PRAYER.
THE LORD'S PRAYER.
PRECES or Interjected Verses anticipating the Collects.
( 1. for spiritual needs,
COLLECTS ( ANTHEM or Choral Prayer uniting the
( two kinds of Collect,
( 2. for physical needs and earthly relations.
{29}
In 1552 the Introductory portion was prefixed. _Confession_, which
formerly occurred in the Prayers, had been omitted in 1549. It now
forms the Introduction.
The reason for this beginning is set forth in a short sermon which is
usually known as the _Exhortation_, and has, like other sermons, a
Text, commonly known as a _Sentence_ (see Rubric at the head of the
Sentences). This is in accordance with very ancient custom[1], and
with the very natural sense that man must receive permission before he
approaches God.
God's answer to Confession is The _Absolution_ or _Remission_ of Sins.
As an illustration of this we may think of Esther, when she went to
make her petition of the King (Esther iv. 2, v. 1-3). The King
extending his sceptre gave her permission to speak.
The Sentences
are 11 verses, chosen, 5 from the Psalms, 4 from the Prophets, 2 from
the Gospels, 1 from the Epistles. They represent either man's cry to
God (Nos. 2, 3, 7, 9, 10) or God's call to man (Nos. 1, 4, 5, 8, 11) or
both (No. 6).
{30}
The Exhortation.
_The Scripture moveth us_] The Sentences supply 11 such places, but
there are many more to be found in the Bible. The word "moveth" has
the same meaning as when a resolution is moved at a meeting.
_When we assemble and meet together_ in Church] Four reasons are
given, viz. the four great occupations of Worship, without regard to
their order in the Service. We have already pointed out that
_Thanksgiving_ and _Prayer_ spring from the sense of man's wants and
his dependence on God; and that the _Reading of God's Word_ in these
Services is not for study but for _Praise_. We shall therefore find
the Thanksgiving after the Prayers, and the Lessons (or Lections) of
Holy Scripture amongst the Praises.
The Confession.
The capital letters indicate that this was to be, as it were, dictated
to the people, sentence by sentence: and the Rubric implies the same.
It will be remembered that books were scarce when this Rubric was
prepared. Literal obedience to it is often very impressive, and a real
addition to the solemnity of the act. On ordinary occasions in some
Churches, the Minister leads the Confession without the formal
separation of each clause from the next.
The expressions, used here to acknowledge the wickedness of sin and the
defects of human life, will seem to be excessive whenever we are making
light of {31} our faults. But in proportion as we realise the
perfection of God's holiness, we shall find them suitable to every
shade of defect and sin.
The comprehensive humility of this Confession is designed to include
both modified faults and grave offences--whether by commission,
omission or indolence. The full acknowledgment of the different forms
of sin is followed by prayer for mercy and recovery, relying upon the
promises declared in Jesus Christ.
The Absolution.
As God's answer to Confession, this is pronounced by God's own
messenger. The messenger must have full credentials; i.e. a Deacon
must not say the Absolution.
Both here and in the Confession, the _Titles and Attributes_ of God
should be noticed. His power and mercy were made the grounds of our
appeal to Him. His mercy and authority are now made the grounds of His
answer. The fulness of the declaration of them gives emphasis to the
declaration of pardon which follows.
We find four parts in the Confession and the same parts in the
Absolution, viz.
1. The Title and Attributes of God.
2. The substantial part, i.e. Confession or Absolution.
3. The prayer which is founded thereon.
4. The appeal through our Lord.
{32}
Rubrics.
Before the invention of printing (15th century), the directions in Law
Manuscripts had been written in red, in order to distinguish them from
the Statutes. This distinction had been made also in Service Books and
it has been continued to our own time. But every sheet which contains
both black and red letters requires to be twice passed over a printing
press. Hence, for cheap books, italics are used instead of red letters
to distinguish the directions from the prayers, &c. The directions are
called Rubrics (from Lat. _ruber_=red) whether the distinction is made
by the colour or the type.
The rubrics about the Confession and the Absolution were in 1662 made
more clear. The habit had grown up in some churches for the Priest to
say the Absolution kneeling. The word _all_ was therefore inserted in
the rubric about Confession, and the words _standing, the people still
kneeling_ were added to the rubric about Absolution. Thus _all
kneeling_ includes the minister.
This Introductory Part of the Service was composed for the Revision of
1552, and was then printed only in the Morning Service, with a rubric
ordering it to be used _at the beginning of Morning Prayer, and
likewise of Evening Prayer_. In 1662 it was first printed out in full
in the Evening Service, and the rubric was altered to agree therewith.
_Simplification of rubrics_. One aim of the Revisers was simplicity of
rules. As they sought Variety of worship without excess, so they
desired Order of {33} worship without complexity of regulations.
Anyone, looking casually over the Prayer Books of the Sarum and other
Uses before 1549, will be struck at once by the redness of many of the
pages. This redness indicates rubrics, and helps us to realise what is
meant in the Prayer Book Preface (Concerning the Service of the Church,
Section 2) by _the number and hardness of the rules called the Pie, and
the manifold changings of the Service_[2].
In order to provide for the many occasions when a difference was to be
made, rubrics had been multiplied and inserted at the places to which
they applied. The Revisers (1) collected as many as possible at the
beginning of each Service, or at the end; and (2) reduced the number of
rubrics thus collected together, by reducing the number of variations
which were to be provided for.
Duplication of Phrases.
It has often been noticed that pairs of words having nearly the same
meaning frequently occur in the Prayer Book. This doubling of an idea
may be called 'Duplication'.
Duplication is of two kinds: either the words coupled together are so
nearly identical in meaning that one is but a repetition of the other;
or else the {34} second word shows an advance upon the first. The
former kind may be called 'parallel duplication' and is used for
emphasis: the latter kind may be called 'progressive duplication',
because it is used to represent the living idea which advances even
while it is being uttered. Instances of both abound in this part of
the Service, as well as in the Collects and other prayers which we
shall notice later on.
Examples of Duplication.
1. _Exhortation_.
Parallel. _goodness_ and _mercy_.
_assemble_ and _meet together_.
Progressive.
( _acknowledge_ . . . . . suggesting reluctance.
( _confess_ . . . . . . . " willingness.
( _sins_ . . . . . . . . . the outward act.
( _wickedness_ . . . . . . the inward fault.
( _dissemble_ . . . . . . pretend they are not there.
( _cloke_ . . . . . . . . cover them up.
( _requisite_ . . . . . . what we should like.
( _necessary_ . . . . . . what we must have.
( _pray_ . . . . . . . . . ask earnestly.
( _beseech_ . . . . . . . " more earnestly.
( humble, lowly ( attitude with regard ) Distrust
( ( to the past ) of Self.
(
( penitent ( attitude with regard ) Shame for
( ( to the present ) sin.
(
( obedient ( attitude with regard ) Resolution
( ( to the future ) to leave
( ) the sin.
{35}
2. _Confession_.
Parallel. _erred_ and _strayed_.
Progressive.
( _device_ . . . . . . . . . . an act of the mind.
( _desire_ . . . . . . . . . . an act of the heart.
( _left undone_ . . . . . . . Omission.
( _done_ (wrongly) . . . . . . Commission.
Cf. _sins, negligences and ignorances_ Litany.
( _spare_ . . . . . . . . . . with regard to the past.
( _restore_ . . . . . . . . . " " " the future.
( _godly_ . . . . . . . . . . duty to God.
( _righteous_ . . . . . . . . " " man.
( _sober_ . . . . . . . . . . " " self.
3. _Absolution_.
Parallel. _declare_ and _pronounce_.
_truly_ (with truth), _unfeignedly_ (without pretence).
Progressive.
( _death_ . . . . . . . . . . Life is something more than
( _turn and live_ . . . . . . the absence of death.
( _power_ . . The Priest . . may pronounce.
( _commandment_ . . must "
( _Absolution_ . . . . . . . . unloosing.
( _Remission_ . . . . . . . . putting away.
( _pardoneth_ . . . . . . . . (Fr. _pardonner_) God forgiveth.
( _absolveth_ . . . . . . . . (Lat. _absolvo_) God looseth the
sinner.
( _repent_ . . . . . . . . . . looking at Self.
( _believe_ . . . . . . . . . " " God.
{36}
( _pure_ . . . . . . . . . . . absence of evil.
( _holy_ . . . . . . . . . . . presence of good.
( _repentance_ . . . . . that our present lives may
( please God.
( _God's Holy Spirit_ " our remaining lives
( may please Him.
It will be clear that if we keep from sin repentance is more intimately
connected with our present lives than with the future. Yet both
repentance and the gift of the Holy Spirit are required for life now
and hereafter.
[1] S. Basil, _ad Clerum Neoc. Ep._ 63, Tom. 2, 843 D, quoted by
Wheatley, says that "the primitive Christians in all Churches,
immediately upon their entering into the House of Prayer, made a
confession of their sins to God with much sorrow and concern and tears,
every man pronouncing his own confession with his own mouth."
So Ezra (ix. 5, 6, &c.) and Daniel (ix. 1-19) approached God with
Confession.
[2] The Pie. Three explanations are offered of this word. (1)
_pi_=the first letter of the word _pinax_ _a chart_, i.e. the Table of
Lessons, &c. (2) Pie,--as in magpie, piebald,--from the two colours of
the page. (3) Litera picata--the pitch-coloured letter--which began
each several order in the rules.
The title of the Sarum Breviary makes Pie equivalent to Breviary or
Portiforium. The most attractive derivation is that which associates
it with the Greek word for a chart or map.
{37}
CHAPTER V.
PRAISE.
I. The Psalms.
Every part of the Praise portion of the Service has a
Praise-Termination. We have already seen that the "intention" of the
Lord's Prayer is marked for praise by a Termination, viz. _for thine is
the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever_.
This praise-termination belongs to the Lord's Prayer, and is not used
for anything else. In like manner, other forms of praise have their
own terminations. Thus Psalms and Lessons are used for praise and have
praise-terminations.
When a Psalm is used for praise, its termination is _Glory be to the
father_, &c.
When a Lesson is used for praise, its termination is a Canticle--i.e.
one of the Bible songs of praise (from the Latin _canticulum_, a little
song, a sonnet).
When the Creed is used for praise, since nothing can be added to the
facts of God's Being and Work except the will to recite them devoutly,
its praise-termination is _Amen_.
{38}
The first Lord's Prayer.
The Lord's Prayer may be regarded as a brief summary of the acts of
worship which come after it. Much care is required in order to use its
familiar words with due devotion. When it is used, as here, for
Praise, the following may be taken as examples of the thoughts which
should accompany its several phrases.
Our Father, God is Love.
Which art in heaven, God is a spirit.
Hallowed be Thy Name, God's Holiness.
Thy Kingdom come, God's Power.
Thy Will be done, God's Perfectness.
In earth as it is in heaven, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord
God Almighty.
Give us this day our daily Every good gift is from
bread, above.
Forgive us our trespasses, The mercy of the Lord
is from everlasting to
everlasting.
Lead us not into temptation, Thou art about my path
and about my bed.
Deliver us from evil, With power He commandeth
the unclean spirits, &c.
The Ladder of Praise.
The various parts of the Praise portion of the Service are not
repetitions of the same ideas. We {39} have first, in the Psalms, the
simpler thoughts about God. The First Lesson, taken from the Old
Testament, advances to higher or more complex thoughts in Praise of
Him. The next stage is reached in the Second Lesson; and the Apostles'
Creed crowns the whole. Thus a _Ladder_ of praise is made whereby we
climb up to the thought of God in His Perfect Being, which is the very
essence of Real Worship.
The first steps in this ladder are made by the use of the Book of
Psalms, which is divided into sections for these daily Services, and so
arranged that they supply different Psalms for 30 mornings and 30
evenings. If there are 31 days in the month, those for the 30th day
are repeated on the 31st: in February, the (29th and) 30th are omitted.
There are many words which originally meant a Song, but in course of
time have come to mean a special kind of song, or the music which
belongs to a song. Thus _Cantus_, a song, gives us _Chant_, the music
of a psalm verse; and _Canticle_, a psalm after a Lesson. _psalmos_, a
song, gives us _psalm_, a hymn, but not metrical, _hymnos_, a song,
gives us _hymn_, a song in metre.
Versicles and Psalms.
Before the Psalms begin there is an injunction to praise the Lord
exchanged between the Minister and the People. Four other Versicles
and Gloria Patri are interposed after the Lord's Prayer--all in the
form of Verse and Respond.
{40} Ps. li. 15 is the Psalmist's grateful cry when his sin was
forgiven and his praises began to break forth.
Ps. lxx. 1 supplies the second couplet.
The _Gloria Patri_ follows these Psalm verses.
The Venite exultemus Domino, briefly called _Venite_, is the 95th
Psalm. The Rubric provides that it is to be said every day, but not
twice on the 19th day[1]. It is the first of the Morning Psalms, and
formerly was sung with an Anthem (see Chapter XIII.) which was known as
the Invitatory, and varied with the Season.
Antiphonal, i.e. alternate, singing dates from the services described
in 1 Chronicles vi. 31-33, 39, 44, from which it appears that there
were three choirs of singers--one in the centre, and one on either
hand. Thus the interchange of replies from either side and a chorus of
all the voices were provided, 1 Chron. xvi. 7-9 makes it clear that the
Psalms were sung, as indeed the word Psalm (from Gr. _psallo_, I sing)
implies. See also Neh. xii. 24.
The Authorised Version (A.V.) of the Bible is a translation made at the
beginning of James I.'s reign, after the Hampton Court Conference (Jan.
1604). It was published in 1611 with a title-page stating that it was
"appointed to be read in churches." There is, however, no evidence of
any formal adoption of it until the statement made in the Preface of
the {41} Prayer Book (1662) that "such portions of Holy Scripture as
are inserted into the Liturgy," "in the Epistles and Gospels
especially, and in sundry other places . . . are now ordered to be read
according to the last Translation." It is evident that this "last
Translation" is the Version of 1611: for the Epistles and Gospels are
quoted from it in the Prayer Book of 1662. The Translation of 1611,
then, is that from which are to be taken "such portions of Holy
Scripture as are inserted into the Liturgy." This appears to be the
_general_ rule of the Prayer Book of 1662. But that Prayer Book gives
authority to various exceptions. The most notable of these is the
provision, in a footnote to _The order how the Psalter is appointed to
be read_, "that the Psalter followeth the division of the Hebrews and
the translation of the great English Bible, set forth and used in the
time of King Henry the Eighth and Edward the Sixth."
If it be asked why the words of the Psalms should be sung as in the
Great Bible when other translations have superseded it for Lessons,
there is an easy answer. Books were not cheap or common in the 16th
and 17th centuries. Many people had sung them so often as to know them
by heart. A comparison of the Bible and Prayer Book translations will
show that there was no large gain to be set against the loss of
congregational worship which must have resulted from changes. The
Bishops' Bible supplanted the Great Bible in 1568, and the Authorised
Version was made in 1611. Both in 1604 and in 1662 the Revisers
decided to retain the Version of 1539-40 (the Great Bible) so far as
the Psalms and Canticles {42} were sung in the Churches. This is
plainly not an oversight in 1662, for the Revisers altered the words of
the note in the Preface, without changing the sense.
Psalms in Daily Services.
The Preface, "Concerning the Service of the Church," states that "the
ancient Fathers have divided the Psalms into seven portions, whereof
every one was called a Nocturn," and that "the same was . . . ordained
. . . of a good purpose and for a great advancement of godliness"; but
"of late time a few of them have been daily said and the rest utterly
omitted." A writer of the ninth century says that S. Jerome, at the
bidding of the Pope on the request of Theodosius, arranged the Psalms
for the Services of day and night in order to avoid the confusion
arising from variety of uses[2]. S. Ambrose was a contemporary of S.
Jerome but died more than 20 years before him. There are considerable
differences between the plan which S. Ambrose gave to his diocese of
Milan, and the plan which we may believe was generally given at the
same time to the Churches of the rest of Western Europe. But they are
similar in many respects. In both, a division was made between the
first 109 psalms,--which were mainly allotted to the night services,
i.e. to those which were afterwards called Mattins,--and the rest which
were mainly allotted to the Evening Service (Vespers). We suppose that
the division, mentioned in the {43} Preface, "into seven portions"
refers to those 109 Psalms.
Of these 109, 18 were used at other Services, leaving 91 for Mattins,
viz. 19 on Sunday and 12 each for the week days. The Ambrosian
arrangement of them was for a fortnight.
The Greek Church divides the whole Book into 20 portions and takes
them, two portions at Mattins and one at Vespers, beginning on Saturday
night, omitting Sunday Vespers, and taking, on Friday, the 19th, 20th
and 18th portions.
Thus we see that a weekly singing of the Book of Psalms is derived from
a very ancient time, when the division of the Eastern and Western
Churches of Europe had not occurred.
The Sarum order, which we suppose was that which is referred to in the
Preface as having been "corrupted" by omissions, had the 109 Psalms
allotted to Mattins, as above described. For Vespers, there were five
each day from cx.-cxlvii., omitting the 118th and 119th, 134th, 143rd
and, as explained below[3], reckoning the 147th as two. All these were
taken in order as they stand in the Bible. Those which were left out
were allotted to other Services, as, for instance, iv. to Compline,
lxiii. to Lauds, &c., &c. Psalm cxix. was to be said through every
day, 32 verses at Prime, and 48 verses each, at Terce, Sext and None.
{44}
Lauds was the great Praise Service of the day, and had a very beautiful
arrangement of its Psalms which always ended with one of the O.T. hymns
followed by Psalms cxlviii.-cl. The O.T. hymns on the seven days of
the week were _Benedicite_: Isaiah xii.: Isaiah xxxviii. 10-20: 1 Sam.
ii. 1-10: Exodus xv. 1-19: Hab. iii.: Deut. xxxii. 1-43.
The beauty of many of these arrangements is undeniable: but they were
rather intricate; and in practice they broke down.
Our revisers retained the underlying principles. By spreading the
course over 30 days they made it possible to use it all. They retained
the 95th Psalm as the first Psalm of every day; and also the principle
of having two daily Services at which Psalms occupied an important
place.
There are Special Psalms for six days in the year--the four great
Festivals, Christmas, Easter, Ascension, and Whitsun Day, and the two
great prayer-days, Ash-Wednesday and Good Friday. The Preface explains
that these Special Psalms are to be sung instead of the ordinary Psalms
on those days; and authorises the use of Special Psalms approved by the
Ordinary on other days.
In using the Book of Psalms as a book of worship we must remember what
was said of the _Intention_ of our minds in respect to parts of the
Services. There are many Psalms which supply us with the best Prayers
in trouble, penitence or any anxiety. But when using them in these
Services our Intention is not Prayer but Praise, and the thought of God
must inspire our devotions.
{45}
It will often help us if we remember that God's Righteousness is
infinite, as well as His Mercy. It is impossible for man in his
present state to reconcile perfect Righteousness and perfect Mercy: for
Righteousness will have nothing to do with sin, while Mercy forgives
it. These two characteristics of God are revealed to us through Christ
in Whom Righteousness and Peace are united; cf. Ps. lxxxv.
The Psalms, composed by various people at different times, very
frequently are the utterances of men in trouble: and they often sketch
the thoughts or actions of the Ideal Man, in one or other of the four
characters which answer to God's Righteousness and God's Mercy. For,
in response to God's Righteousness, man must be (1) perfectly
_penitent_, and (2) in imitation of God, must _detest sin_: in
imitation of God, (3) he must be perfectly _forgiving_, and in response
to God's mercy, (4) he must have _trust and peace_. The Psalmists
exhibit human nature at its best, but it is human nature all the
time--human nature finding God and associating itself with the Ideal
Man.
Thus the Psalms often rise to the conception of the Messiah; and, even
when that is not their thought, they proceed from other thoughts to
Rest in God and Praise of His Holy Name.
The most difficult Psalms for worship are those which regard sin with
horror, but express the horror without mercy. Man is unable to hold
the two qualities of Righteousness and Mercy simultaneously. We find
it difficult in these days to detest sin because we are learning the
quality of mercy.
{46}
Much of the poetic force of these songs depends on the local incidents
of Israel's history and the scenery of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
While we use the words, we must also use our imaginations to transfer
the great thoughts to our own experience: for those local colours are
the clothing of thoughts which belong to all men in their relation to
God.
Over all these endeavours to use the Psalms properly in the Praise part
of our Services, the ruling idea is that which we have already stated,
viz. that God in these things is to be glorified.
[1] A practice is found, in some churches, of singing this Psalm on
Sundays but not when it is read in the ordinary course of the Psalms.
We believe that this is due to a misinterpretation of the Rubric.
There is just as much reason for singing it on the 19th as on any other
day.
[2] _Dict. of Chr. Antiq_. "Psalmody." H. J. Hotham.
[3] The "division of the Hebrews" (see Note in Preface on the Order of
the Psalter) is followed in our Prayer Book and Bible. The Septuagint
and Vulgate unite Psalms ix. and x. and divide cxlvii. into two psalms,
viz. _vv._ 1-11, _vv._ 12-20.
{47}
CHAPTER VI.
PRAISE.
II. The Lessons.
A. The Study of the Bible a help to worship.
The Bible is read in Church as an incentive to the praise of God. It
supplies thoughts of God which are then offered up to Him, as Praise,
in the words of the Canticles. It is therefore necessary that we
should _understand_ the Bible Lessons as well as our abilities will
allow, and that we should _endeavour_ to find in those Lessons
everything which will inspire us to honour and love God.
There are two distinct requirements. A book may help us to
_understand_, but the _endeavour_ to find God in the Bible depends on
ourselves: our Lord has described it in the words _He that hath ears to
hear let him hear_.
In order to understand the Bible when we hear it read, we should study
it at home. Some elementary aids to the study of it may be useful
here; for further help we shall want books specially prepared for that
{48} purpose, such as the Cambridge Companion to the Bible and The
Cambridge Bible for Schools, &c.
1. The Old Testament and the New Testament agree together: they have
the same principles of morality, worship and doctrine. God's guidance
of the writers is seen in this--the Old Testament, written at different
times in the centuries before our Lord was Born, was such that the
Gospel of the Revelation in Jesus was able to fit into it. As S.
Augustine says,
"Novum Testamentum in Vetere latet,
Vetus Testamentum in Novo patet."
See also Article VII.
2. The failure of man to live well is shown in the Old Testament.
Though he had favourable conditions and a holy law of life, a pure
system of worship, and the discipline of warning and correction, the
Israelite failed. Hence the Old Testament continually teaches (_a_)
that God governs, (_b_) that man needs a Saviour.
3. The Old Testament consists of 3 parts (_a_) the Law and History,
(_b_) the Psalms and Proverbs, (_c_) the Prophets.
(_a_) The Law and History part includes the books from Genesis to
Esther, and relates the progress of the people of God from its
separation as a family and its growth to be an important nation, to the
downfall of its independence, and its partial recovery. The writers
were a succession of prophets, who continually point to the hand of God
in the events which they record.
(_b_) The Psalms and Proverbs part includes the books from Job to the
Song of Solomon, and contains {49} many Hymns of prayer and praise;
also discussions of deep problems of human nature and our relation to
God (Job and Ecclesiastes); together with other things which stir us to
a life of goodness and worship.
(_c_) The Prophets are not arranged in order of time at which they
lived. The four Books which come first are called the Four Greater
Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel: and are followed by the
Twelve Lesser Prophets. To find the place in the Lesser Prophets it is
sufficient to remember Hosea, Joel, Amos as the three which are placed
first; and Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi as the three prophets after
the Captivity, and therefore placed last. Isaiah should be read with
parts of Kings and Chronicles, and Haggai and Zechariah with the Books
of Ezra and Nehemiah; and others in like manner according to their
period.
4. The New Testament consists of 3 parts--(_a_) The History, (_b_) The
Epistles, (_c_) The Revelation of St John.
(_a_) _S. Luke's_ History is in two volumes--the Gospel, which recounts
our Lord's Life from His Birth to His Ascension (note here the number
of His Parables): and the Acts of the Apostles, which continues the
history from His Ascension to the (first) imprisonment of S. Paul at
Rome. _S. Matthew's_ Gospel corresponds to S. Luke's Gospel,
recounting our Lord's Life from His Birth, with many of His sayings
about the Kingdom of Heaven, and especially the Sermon on the Mount.
_S. Mark's_ Gospel is similar to the two former. It recounts
particularly the details of the various scenes of our Lord's Life, {50}
and shows how frequently He retired for meditation,--"a living picture
of a living man[1]." _S. John's_ Gospel, written long after the
others, shows the three witnesses--the spirit and the water and the
blood--that bear record that Jesus is the Son of God (1 S. John v. 8).
(_b_) The Epistles are not in chronological order. S. Paul's Epistles
are placed first, then S. James, S. Peter, S. John and S. Jude. Of S.
Paul's Epistles, those to Churches come before those to Timothy, Titus
and Philemon. Of his Epistles to Churches, the order in the Bible is
Rom., Cor., Cor., Gal., Ephes., Philip., Col., Thess., Thess. They fit
into the History in the following groups: (I) Acts xvii.,--1 and 2
Thess,, (II) Acts xix. 22 to xx.,--1 and 2 Cor., Gal., Romans, (III)
Acts xxviii.,--Philip., Col., Ephes., Philemon, (IV) _after_ the
imprisonment described in Acts xxviii.,--1 and 2 Tim. and Titus. The
Epistles to Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon (a Colossian Christian)
seem to have been sent by the same messenger. The Epistle to the
Hebrews may have been written by S. Paul; but, as that is doubtful, it
has been placed after those which are surely his. The Epistles which
follow are called "General," because they are addressed to Christians
scattered about in various countries. S. James and S. Peter have many
references to the Sermon on the Mount. S. John dwells upon Love as the
foundation upon which a Christian builds his life--the Love which God
has shown us, and the Love which we have for Him and for one another.
{51}
(c) The Revelation of S. John, written perhaps before the time when
Jerusalem was besieged (A.D. 68-69), carries our thoughts away from the
glories of the Jerusalem which was about to be destroyed, to the New
Jerusalem and its glories, in Jesus Christ and His Church.
5. The Apocrypha supplies First Lessons for 21 days between Oct. 27 and
Nov. 18; and also for the evenings of Innocents' Day and S. Luke's Day.
Article VI. quotes S. Jerome's description of the Apocrypha, where he
says "the other books the Church doth read for example of life and
instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any
doctrine."
These notes will, we hope, prompt the reader to make a study of the
Bible not only for the guidance of his life, but also for the amendment
of the offering which he makes to God in the Services of the Church.
B. Lessons and Lectionaries.
Acts xv. 21. "Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach
him, being read in the Synagogues every Sabbath Day." The reference is
to the Mosaic regulations which were to a certain extent to be observed
by all Christians, out of consideration for those Christians who were
also Jews: _be sure that thou eat not the blood, for the blood is the
life_ was a precept which would create a difficulty in a Jewish
Christian's mind if a Gentile Christian disregarded it. Similarly as
to meats offered to idols (cf. 1 Cor. viii. 10-13).
There was then in the Synagogues of the first century a "First Lesson"
from the Law.
{52} Acts xiii. 27. "The voices of the prophets which are read every
Sabbath Day." There was then in the Synagogues a "Second Lesson" from
the Prophets.
Acts xiii. 15. "After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the
rulers of the Synagogue sent unto (Paul and his companions), saying, Ye
men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people,
say on."
The passage selected from the Law was associated with a passage
selected from the Prophets--there was a Lectionary for Sabbath
Services. The present Jewish Lectionary associates Isaiah i. 1-28 with
Deut. i. 1-iii. 22 as the Lessons for the Sabbath of Temple
Desolation[2].
In S. Paul's Exhortation which followed (_vv._ 16-41) there are, in
_vv._ 17-19, three words rarely found in the Bible, but of their rare
use one ("exalted") is found in Is. i. 2, and the others in Deut. i.
31, 38 ("suffered their manners" and "gave for an inheritance").
The reference, in _v._ 20, to "judges" is also to be noted in
connection with Is. i. 26. Bengel reasons that we may safely conclude
that the two Lections on that day were those which we have just
mentioned as associated together in the present Jewish Lectionary[3].
S. Luke iv. 15-20. Jesus . . . taught in their Synagogues--came to
Nazareth--"entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the
sabbath day, and stood {53} up for to read. And there was delivered
unto him the book of the prophet Esaias." It appears from what follows
(_vv._ 17-20) that the Lord read Isaiah lxi. 1, 2, either instead of
the appointed passage from Isaiah, or after He had read the appointed
passage. For Isaiah lxi. does not now appear in the Jewish Lectionary,
and we know no reason for its omission now, if it was included before.
In any case what He said about it, He said as the Exhorter[4]. They
divided the Law into 53 or 54 portions, and read the whole of them
between one Feast of Tabernacles and the next, whether the Sabbaths
were 50 or more. Each portion was divided into seven parts, read by
seven different Readers (a Priest and a Levite being the first two).
This Lesson apparently stood alone until in B.C. 163 Antiochus
Epiphanes forbade the use of the Pentateuch. Lessons from the Prophets
were used instead, and were not discontinued when the use of the
Pentateuch was restored. Thus arose a practice of having a First
Lesson from the Law, which they called Parascha (or, _Division_), and a
Second Lesson from the Prophets, called Haphtarah (or, _Conclusion_).
The word _Holy_ was said before and after the First Lesson and a
Doxology before and after the Second Lesson--an arrangement similar to
our own. We may, indeed, believe that we derived from the Jews this
and other uses of our Services. For we read in Acts vi. 7 that a great
company of the priests were obedient to the faith, and {54} in Acts
xviii. 7, 8 that at Corinth, when they ceased to be able to go to the
Synagogue, the ruler of the Synagogue himself went with them to the
worship and teaching which they carried on in a house hard by. It
would not be surprising, then, if the worship thus begun was arranged
after the old pattern to which they were all accustomed. For there
are, not a few, proofs in the Acts of the Apostles that in those early
days they attended the Services of the Temple at Jerusalem, and of the
Synagogues in other places.
Justin Martyr[5], writing in defence of Christianity to the Emperor of
Rome, describes the Holy Communion Service of his time as comprising
two Lessons--one from the Prophets and the other from the Apostles,
i.e., we suppose, the Gospels; a stage nearer to the two New Testament
Lessons which are read at the Communion now. The use of an Old
Testament and a New Testament Lesson at Daily Prayers may be a survival
of the intermediate stage as described by Justin.
A Lectionary is a Table of Lessons arranged for a year. Our Table of
Epistles and Gospels is derived from one which has been attributed to
S. Jerome. The Sermons of his age show that there were stated Lessons
for particular days[6]. Moreover, certain variations in the
manuscripts of the New Testament are explained by the early use of
books in {55} which the Lessons for the days were written out in
full[7], called Lectionaries or Evangelistaria.
The principle which governs our own Lectionary is that the Bible shall
be read through[8]. The books are taken in order, beginning with
Genesis, S. Matthew, and Acts on January 2, and going straight on, with
two exceptions. First exception: Isaiah's clear prophecies of Messiah
are deferred to Nov. 18 &c., so as to be read in Advent. Second
exception: Revelation is read in the latter half of December.
The effect of beginning the New Testament in two places on Jan. 2 is
that it is read twice through in the year--once at Morning Prayer and
once at Evening Prayer.
For Sundays a different arrangement is made with regard to the Old
Testament. The Sunday year begins with Advent, which is the season
occupying twenty-eight days before Christmas. Selections from Isaiah
are read on these four Sundays, on Christmas Day, and on the four or
five Sundays which usually follow Christmas before Septuagesima. At
Septuagesima we are anticipating Lent and the Passion: Genesis
therefore supplies the Lessons, followed by Exodus at Passion-tide, and
the other books in regular course.
To this brief description we may add that Proper Lessons, specially
chosen from Old and New Testament, are appointed for special Sundays
and special {56} Holy Days. These take the place of those which appear
in the regular list for the same days. If two special days coincide,
the minister may read the Lessons of either, except that, on Advent
Sunday, Easter Day, Whitsunday and Trinity Sunday, the Lessons for
those days are to be read.
The principles of this arrangement have been in use since 1549;
alterations in its details were made in 1559, 1604, and 1871.
In 1559 the Apocrypha was appointed for many of the Saints' Days, which
nevertheless were left with their Old Testament Lessons in the
Calendar. Thus these latter were invariably unread.
In 1604 this defect of the Calendar was corrected by moving the Lessons
forward to make room for the Proper Lessons, and omitting some few of
those which "might best be spared."
Until 1871 the New Testament was read through _thrice_ in the year, the
Lessons being usually whole chapters. And the Gospels were always
Morning Lessons, and the Epistles and Acts always Evening Lessons.
Revelation was almost altogether omitted.
From 1604 till 1871 the First Lessons from Sept. 28 until Nov. 23 were
from the Apocrypha--eight weeks. The Apocrypha Lessons continue now
only from Oct. 27 to Nov. 18.
The principle of selection has in all these changes been recognised;
but always subordinate to a larger principle of reading in Church the
whole Bible. Prior to 1871 the two Books of Chronicles were not read,
being regarded as sufficiently represented by the corresponding
chapters from the Books of the Kings. In {57} 1871 eighteen Lessons
from the Chronicles were introduced in place of the corresponding
passages in the Kings.
We shall find in the next chapter that all these Lessons in Church are
to be thought of in connection with their attendant Canticles--so that
a Lesson and its Canticle form an act of Praise: "as after one angel
had published the Gospel (S. Luke ii. 10-12) a multitude joined with
him in praising God, so when one minister hath read the Gospel, all the
people glorify God" (S. Luke ii. 13, 14)[9].
Rubric. _Then shall be read distinctly_, &c.] The words of this
rubric were altered to some extent in 1662, the only notable change
being the alteration of "The minister that readeth" to "He that
readeth." The object of the change seems to be that one who is not
'the minister' may read the Lessons. The minister is still directed to
declare where they begin and end.
He is to turn himself so as to be heard: and Canon 80 requires the
churchwardens to provide a "Bible of the largest volume." A desk or
Lectern is therefore implied as one of the 'Ornaments of the Church.'
It is usually assumed that the Congregation sits during the Lessons
except when the Gospel is read in the Communion. Probably there were
not seats for them when the rubrics were drawn up: custom has
authorised their addition to the list of 'ornaments.' The movable
seats, bequeathed by incumbents to their successors or others as they
thought fit, are not recognised by any words in the Prayer Book.
{58}
APPENDIX B.
JUSTIN MARTYR, _Apol._ I. 61-67.
61. * * * We bring them where there is water; and after the same
manner of regeneration as we also were regenerated ourselves, they are
regenerated; for, in the Name of God, the Father and Lord of all
things, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost, they
then receive the washing of water: for, indeed, Christ also said,
_Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven_. * * * *
65. But after thus washing him who has professed, and given his assent,
we bring him to those who are called brethren; where they are assembled
together, to offer prayers in common both for ourselves, and for the
person who has received illumination, and all others everywhere, with
all our hearts, that we might be vouchsafed, now we have learnt the
truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the
commandments, that we may obtain everlasting Salvation. We salute one
another with a kiss when we have concluded the prayers: then is brought
to the President of the brethren, bread, and a cup of water and wine,
which he receives; and offers up praise and glory to the Father of all
things, through the Name of His Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and he
returns thanks at length, for our being vouchsafed these things by Him.
[Here follows a brief description of this special Eucharist after a
Baptism which we omit in order to give the longer description below.]
{59}
67. * * * And on the day which is called Sunday, there is an assembly
in the same place of all who live in cities, or in country districts;
and the records of the Apostles, or the writings of the Prophets, are
read as long as we have time. Then the Reader concludes: and the
President verbally instructs, and exhorts us, to the imitation of these
excellent things: then, we all together rise and offer up our prayers;
and, as I said before, when we have concluded our prayer, bread is
brought, and wine, and water; and the President, in like manner, offers
up prayers, and thanksgivings, with all his strength; and the people
give their assent by saying Amen: and there is a distribution, and a
partaking by every one, of the eucharistic elements (_ton
eucharistethenton_); and to those who are not present, they are sent by
the hands of the deacons * * *.
_Library of the Fathers. S. Justin's Works._
[Antoninus Pius, to whom Justin addressed his two Defences, was Emperor
of Rome from 138 to 161. The first of the two is that from which the
above quotation is taken: its date has been placed as early as A.D.
139, and as late as A.D. 150. Justin's Martyrdom has been dated A.D.
166. His description of Services refers therefore to the 50 years
which followed the death of S. John the Apostle.]
[1] Cambridge Companion.
[2] Speaker's Commentary on Isaiah, Appendix A.
[3] _etropophorese_ and _etrophophorese_. 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. passage 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 Saturday 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.
{60}
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.
{61}
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 God 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 God 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_=God 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 associated 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.
{64}
The rearrangement of the Day Hours in 1549 gave an opportunity to
associate 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*
Need of Redemption Te Deum Magnificat
laudamus
N. T. The Coming of Christ Benedictus Nunc dimittis
The Spread of the Gospel Jubilate* Deus
misereatur*
* Added in 1552.
* * * * * * * *
THE TE DEUM PRINTED SO AS TO SHOW ITS STRUCTURE.
[Transcriber's note: In the original book, each of the following 13
items was printed on a single line. In this e-book, they have been
split at a logical point, usually a colon (:).]
1. TE Deum[1] laudamus, TE Dominum confitemur:
TE Aeternum Patrem[1] omnis terra veneratur.
2. TIBI omnes angeli, TIBI caeli et universae potestates:
TIBI Cherubim et Seraphim[2] incessabili voce proclamant.
3. SANCTUS SANCTUS SANCTUS DOMINUS DEUS SABAOTH[2]:
PLENI SUNT CAELI ET TERRA MAJESTATIS GLORIAE TUAE[2].
4. TE gloriosus Apostolorum chorus, TE Prophetarum laudabilis numerus:
TE Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
5. TE per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur ecclesia:
Patrem immensae majestatis.
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium.
Sanctum quoque Paracletum Spiritum.
6. TU Rex gloriae, Christe: TU Patris sempiternus es Filius.
7. TU ad liberandum suscepturus hominem non horruisti Virginis uterum:
TU devicto mortis aculeo aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
8. TU ad dexteram Dei sede(n)s in gloria Patris:
Judex crederis esse venturus.
9. TE ergo quaesumus famulis tuis subveni quos pretioso
sanguine redemisti:
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria munerari.
10. Salvum fac populum tuum Domine et benedic haereditati tuae[3]:
et rege eos et extolle illos usque in aeternum[3].