Over at Reformed Catholicism, Kevin Johnson has commented on the vespers service James Jordan led at the Auburn Avenue Pastors Conference a few weeks ago.

I don’t always, but in many ways, i do agree with his analysis of the service in question, and i also agree with him about Presbyterians trying to chant like they’re Anglicans. The fact is that Presbyterians are Presbyterians for more reasons than their Church government. We have a particular way of worshipping, and we have an inherent distaste for categorically imposed forms of worship. Not every Presbyterian has a problem with the way the Book of Common Prayer is set up and/or worded (i, for instance, am perfectly comfortable with it), but there are Presbyterian ministers (or laymen) whose consciences are bothered by doing certain things that the Prayer Book prescribes.

One thing i found funny about the post, though, was Johnson’s seeming self-refutation. In the first part of the post, he argued for the Prayer Book, and he argued against innovations on it (changing wording of the collects, for instance) because it was just better to have that tradition behind it. But then, at the end of the post, he argued for the validity of the Reformed practice of singing metrical psalms rather than chant verbatim psalms based on the argumet that it was their tradition, that they are not used to chanting, and that, because it is unfamiliar, they will not do it all that well (all true in my experience). That seemed to me to refute the point he had made previously about how the Prayer Book was just better and that there shouldn’t be any innovation on its tradition. If that’s true for the Prayer Book, why isn’t it true for psalm chanting as well? Could it be that Johnson is doing precisely what he derides, and making those kind of liturgical decisions based on his own preferences and predilictons? If not, how does he justify the difference between saying that, if one likes some things in the Prayer Book, he should follow it verbatim or not at all, and saying that one has freedom to follow the Reformed tradition of metrical rather than verbatim (chant) psalm singing? After all, the Reformed practice of questioning tradition and seeking to improve upon it is itself a Reformed tradition. In that regard, when they do that, they’re still just following the Reformed tradition.

The truth is that Presbyterian worship is Presbyterian worship, whether you’re talking about the prayers you pray or the songs you sing. Reformed and Presbyterians have a strong tradition in both regards (which includes set forms within congregations, but that are not universal; being, rather, recommended forms for worship). I don’t think anyone would say Jim Jordan isn’t a quirky Presbyterian, but he’s still fleshing out being a High Church Presbyterian, and that’s something that all Presbyterians are going to have to get used to again since the Puritan minimalists are loosing their long-held domination in the Presbyterian and Reformed world.

The note explaning the celebration of the Epiphany is as follows:

[The Epiphany, or Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, is celebrated on the sixth day of January.]

O God, who by the leading of a star didst manifest Thy only begotten Son to the Gentiles; mercifully grant that we who have now come to know Thee here by faith, may be conducted to the full vision of Thy glory hereafter in heaven: through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Almighty and most merciful God, by whose will Thy well-beloved Son, the Saviour of the world, was circumcised in His Spotless flesh, to put honor on the law which He had come to fulfill; grant unto us, we beseech Thee, the true circumcision of the spirit, whereby being inwardly purged from all worldly and carnal lists, we may offer ourselves unto Thee a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable through Jesus Christ: to whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be honor and glory, world without end. Amen.

The note explaining the celebration of St. John the Evangelist’s Day is as follows in the liturgy:

[The Festival of St. John is celebrated on the second day after Christmas, because he was the bosom friend of Jesus, and has most fully unfolded the mystery of the Word made flesh for our salvation.]

Shine graciously upon Thy Church, we beseech Thee, O Lord; that being enlightened by the doctrine and filled with the mind of Thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist, Saint John, whom Jesus loved, it may come at last into Thy beatific presence and enjoy the rewards of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The note explaining the celebration of St. Stephen’s Day is as follows in the liturgy:

[The Festival of St. Stephen, the first martyr, is celebrated on the first day after Christmas, to symbolize the idea that the terrestrial birth of our Saviour is immediately followed by the death, that is, the celestial birth, of His martyrs.]

As we honor on this day, O Lord God, the memory of Thy blessed martyr, St. Stephen; grant unto us grace, we beseech Thee, to follow his faith and charity; that however sorely tried by the contradiction of sinners, we may be able, like him, to look steadfastly up into heaven, and to commend even our enemies to the pardoning mercy of our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ: to whom with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be honor and glory, world without end. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given us Thy only begotten Son to take our nature upon Him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; grant that we, being regenerate and made Thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by Thy Holy Spirit after the image of this same blessed and glorious Christ: who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

(After a short lesson making use of various Scriptures, the liturgy calls for the congregation to pray this prayer.)

All kneeling.

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who dost admit Thy people unto such wonderful communion, that partaking by a divine mystery of the Body and Blood of Thy dear Son, they should dwell in Him and, He in them; we unworthy sinners, approaching to Thy presence, and beholding Thy glory, do abhor ourselves, and repent in dust and ashes. We have sinned, we have sinned, we have grievously sinned against Thee, in thought, in word, and in deed, provoking most justly Thy wrath and indignation against us. Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; our iniquities, like the wind, have carried us away. The remembrance of our transgressions and shortcomings fills us with sorrow and shame. Yet now, O most merciful Father, have mercy upon us; for the sake of Jesus Christ, forgive us all our sins; purify us, by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit, from all uncleanness in spirit and in flesh; enable us heartily to forgive others, as we beseech Thee to forgive us; and grant that we may hereafter serve Thee in newness of life; to the glory of Thy holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

Here the Minister shall rise and say:

The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, grant unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the yes of your understanding being enlightened that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe; according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.

And now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end.
R. Amen.

The whole Congregation now rising, the Minister shall proceed:

The Lord be with you.

R. And with thy spirit.

Lift up your hearts.

R. We lift them up unto the Lord.

Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.

R. It is meet and right so to do.

It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, Lord God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.

Thou didst in the beginning create all things for Thyself. By Thy word were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of Thy mouth. The armies of the invisible world, angels and archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers; the glorious firmament on high, sun, moon, and starts; the earth and all the fulness thereof; all are the work of Thy hands, and all are upheld by Thee continually in their being, as they stand by Thee, likewise, in their appointed order and course.

Thou also at the first didst make man in Thine own image, and after Thine own likeness, and dist set him over the works of Thy hands, endowing him with the excellent gift of righteousness, and forming him for immortality. And when afterwards, through the fraud and malice of Satan, he fell by transgression from that first estate, Thou didst not leave him still to perish utterly in his fall, but wast pleased to raise him up again and to restore him to the joyful hope of everlasting life, by the promise of redemption through Jesus Christ; who, being God of God, very God of very God, dwelling in the bosom of the Father with unspeakable blessedness from all eternity, at last when the fulness of the time was come, came down from heaven, and became man, for us men and for our salvation.

For all Thy mercies and favors, known to us and unknown, we give Thee thanks. But most of all, we praise Thee, the Father everlasting, for the gift of Thine adorable, true, and only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, who by His appearing hath abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. We bless Thee for His holy incarnation; for His life on earth; for His precious sufferings and death upon the cross; for His resurrection from the dead; and for His glorious ascension to Thy right hand. We bless Thee for the giving of the Holy Ghost; for the institution of the Church; for the means of grace; for the hope of everlasting life; and for the glory which shall be brought unto us at the coming, and in the kingdom, of Thy dear Son.

Thee, mighty God, heavenly King, we magnify and praise. With patriarchs and prophets, apostles and martyrs; with the holy Church throughout all the world; with the heavenly Jerusalem, the joyful assembly and congregation of the first-born on high; with the innumerable company of angels round about Thy throne, the heaven of heavens, and all the powers therein; we worship and adore Thy glorious name, joining in the song of the Cherubim and Seraphim, and with united voice, saying:

Here let the people join aloud in the Seraphic Hymn.

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!

(At this point, the Minister proceeds into the words of institution, which are quoted from 1 Corinthians 11, with bracketed directions for the minister to take bread and cup at the appropriate time and directions to break the bread at the appropriate time.)

Let us pray.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, send down, we beseech Thee, the powerful benediction of Thy Holy Spirit upon these elements of bread and wine, that being set apart now from a common to a sacred and mystical use, they may exhibit and represent to us with true effect the Body and Blood of Thy Son, Jesus Christ; so that in the use of them we may be made, through the power of the Holy Ghost, to partake really and truly of His blessed life, whereby only we can be saved from death, and raised to immortality at the last day.
R. Amen.

And be pleased now, O most merciful Father, graciously to receive at our hands this memorial of the blessed sacrifice of Thy Son, which we, Thy servants, thus bring before Thy divine Majesty, according to His own appointment and command; showing forth His passion and death; rejoicing in His glorious resurrection and ascension; and waiting for the blessed hope of His appearing and coming again. We are not worthy in ourselves to offer unto Thee any worship or service. Wherewith shall we, sinners of the dust, come before the Lord, or bow ourselves before the most high God? We bring unto Thee, O holy and righteous Father, the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, Thine adorable, true, and only Son, in whom Thou hast declared Thyself to be well pleased, and through the offering of whose body once for all, full satisfaction has been made for the sins of the world. Have respect unto this glorious sacrifice, we beseech Thee, in union with which we here offer and present unto Thee, at the same time, O Lord, the reasonable sacrifice of our own persons; consecrating ourselves, on the altar of the gospel, in soul and body, property and life, to Thy most blessed service and praise. Look upon us through the mediation of our great High Priest. Make us accepted in the Beloved; and let His name be as a pure and holy incense, through which all our worship may come up before Thee, as the odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.
R. Amen.

Remember in mercy we beseech Thee, Thy Church militant throughout the whole earth. Let her ministers be clothed with righteousness, and her priests with salvation. Build up her desolations; restore her disorders; heal her divisions; and grant unto her prosperity, safety, unity and peace.
R. Amen.

We commend unto Thee especially this particular church and congregation, pastor, elders, deacons, and people, beseeching Thee to accept their piety and faith, and to increase towards them Thy heavenly grace, so that they may come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
R. Amen.

We pray for all estates of men in Christian lands; for kings, princes, and governors, and for the people committed to their charge and care; especially for Thy servant, the President of the United States, and for all the rulers of this land and nation. Make us a righteous people, and give us power to serve Thee in quietness and peace.
R. Amen.

Vouchsafe unto us, we beseech Thee, favorable weather, that the fruits of the earth may ripen and be gathered in for us in due season; and be pleased of Thy great goodness to preserve us from war, pestilence, and famine.
R. Amen.

Send forth Thy light and Thy truth unto the ends of the earth; cause the glorious Gospel of Thy grace to be proclaimed among all nations; and powerfully incline the hearts of men everywhere, that they may hear and obey the joyful sound.
R. Amen.

Regard in tender compassion those among Thy people, who are called to suffer heavy affliction, or sore temptation and trial of any kind; and be Thou graciously nigh unto them with Thy divine help, according to all their need.
R. Amen.

Especially do we commend unto Thee those departing this life; let the arms of Thy love be round about them in their last hour; defend them against the assaults of the Devil; enable them joyfully to commit their spirits into Thy hands; and so receive them to Thy rest.
R. Amen.

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named; we rejoice before Thee in the blessed communion of all Thy saints, wherein Thou givest us also to have part. We praise Thee for the holy fellowship of patriarchs and prophets, apostles and martyrs, and the whole glorious company of the redeemed of all ages, who have died in the Lord, and now live with Him for evermore. We give thanks unto Thee for Thy great grace and many gifts bestowed on Those who have thus gone before us in the way of salvation, and by whom we are now compassed about, in our Christian course, as a cloud of witnesses looking down upon us from the heavenly world. Enable us to follow their faith, that we may enter at death unto their joy; and so abide with them in rest and peace, till both they and we shall reach our common consummation of redemption and bliss in the glorious resurrection of the last day.
R. Amen.

Here let the people join aloud in the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Then the Minister shall say:

Almighty God, the Father everlasting, from whom all blessing and power proceed, shed down upon you abundantly the riches of His heavenly grace.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of His body the Church, who holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, and walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, send forth His light and His truth, and guide you in the way of eternal salvation.

The Holy Ghost, the Comforter, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, come down upon you in His glory, and take up His habitation in your hearts henceforth and forever.
R. Amen.

The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

(Please note: i know that my own practice of not capitalizing the first person singular pronoun may give some the impression that i can’t capitalize properly, the reader should understand that there is an inconsistency in the capitalization and formatting in the Revised Liturgy, and i have done my best to recount here just what is in the book before me.)

Prayer before Baptism:

Almighty and everlasting God, who of Thy great mercy didst save Noah and his family in the ark by water; and also didst safely lead the children of Israel, Thy people, through the Red Sea, figuring thereby Thy holy baptism; and by the baptism of Thy well beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in the river Jordan, didst sanctify water to the mystical washing away of sin: we beseech Thee for thine infinite mercies, graciously to look upon this child, to wash him, and sanctify him with the Holy Ghost, that he being delivered from Thy wrath, may be received into the ark of Christ’s Church, and being steadfast in faith, joyful through hope, and rooted in charity, may so pass the waves of this troublesome world, that finally he may come to the land of everlasting life, there to reign with Thee, world without end, through Jess Christ, our Lord, Amen.

Prayer after Baptism:

We yeild Thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased Thee, through the mystery of Thy holy Baptism, to deliver this child from the power of darkness, and to translate him into the kingdom of Thy dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. And we humbly beseech Thee to grant that he, being dead unto sin and living unto righteousness, and being buried with Christ in His death, may crucify the old man and utterly abolish the whole body of sin; and that, as he is made partaker of the death of Thy Son, he may also be made partaker of His resurrection; so that finally, with the residue of Thy Holy Church, he may be an inheritor of Thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
R: Amen.

From the Short Form of the Baptismal Service, Prayer before Baptism:

O God, the Father, who hast created this child for Thy praise; we place it in Thy merciful hands, that it may please Thee to make it an heir of immortality and glory.

O God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, we bring to Thee the purchase of Thine own blood, that it may please Thee to save it from sin and death.

O God, the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, we consecrate unto Thee what has been born of the flesh, that it may be born of water and of the Spirit.

And now unto Him who creates, unto Him who redeems, and unto Him who sanctifies, the holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, ever one God, be honor and glory, world without end. Amen.

Well, i had a pleasant surprise today. A couple of weeks after i purchased it, a liturgy book i purchased on a lark on Ebay finally arrived today. Of course, one reason i bought it was that i have always been interested in Christian liturgy and forms of worship, and prayer books and liturgy have been of great interest to me since i became Reformed. Since i was introduced to the writings of John Williamson Nevin, i appreciated his Calvinistic principles as well as his High Church leanings. Along with him, i have all but rejected “Puritan Presbyterianism”—though, i haven’t abandoned Presbyterianism, because i don’t believe you have to be a Puritan or follow the Neo-Puritan path in order to be a good Presbyterian.  

One of things that i had long looked for was the much maligned Revised Liturgy of the Reformed Church in the United States (AKA, the old German Reformed Church). Mark Horne has part of Nevin’s defense of that liturgy (the baptismal part) on his website, but even beyond the defense of it, i wanted the actual liturgy itself so i could read what all the fuss is about. I inquired on several email lists i frequent about the liturgy, but no one knew where i might find a copy of it.

Well, i didn’t even think about it when i bought it, because the description of the book just said “Liturgy of the Reformed Church.” However, i was very pleasantly surprised this morning when the mail came and i opened up my package and saw that it was the very liturgy in question. It is the Revised Liturgy of the Reformed Church (US) which that Church so wrangled over in the middle of the 19th century. It’s not the best copy, but it is complete.

Some observations just from skimming through it:

• The overwhelming bulk of this book is taken up with lessons for the feasts and seasons of the Church year. The seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Pentecost, and the “Church Season” (what today most people call “Ordinary Time”) are all present, including some minor days in there (like St. Stephen’s Day, St. John the Evangelist’s Day, Innocents’ Day, and Christ’s Circumcision, which is New Year’s Day). All of the proper Scriptural lessons and collects are included in the lirugy.
• There are scores and scores of prayers included for all occasions of the Church. In addition to the proper lessons and collects of the days, canticles and prayers are included for festival days. These are full petitions that, on the various occasions, replace the general petition included in the regular order of worship. There are also a great many litanies for use in worship (i.e., the responsive prayers, where the congregation gives a refrain in response to the petition made by the minister or other leader).
• Of course, there are also forms for the administration of the two sacraments, confirmation, marriage, visitation of the sick, ordination and installation of officers, excommunication and restoration, laying of a cornerstone of a church building, consecration of a completed church building, consecration of a burial ground, reception of immigrants (understandable in a Church comprised almost wholly, at the time, of first- or second-generation immigrants from Europe and particularly Germany), burial of the dead, and family prayers. There is also a guide (it is not exactly a form or liturgy) to private devotion. Finally, there is a selection of psalms and hymns (no musical notation; 104 psalms/hymns, and 9 doxologies at the very end) arranged according to various topics and occasions.
• There is copious use of the “Glory Be” prayer (what we call the Gloria Patri, and Presbyterians usually sing it only) in many of the various contexts, especially as a response to Scripture readings.
• In the liturgies for the sacraments, there is strong instrumental language, that God would accomplish what the sacraments signify, not along with somehow unexplained, but in and through the sacramental activity. And, of course, the prayers after the sacraments speak with full confidence that God has indeed accomplished in the sacrament precisely what the sacrament signifies. This goes along with the very purpose Nevin gave in his defense of the liturgy, that the sacraments would be seen as of great importance and that the grace promised always be seen as being present objectively to all those who receive the sacraments—of course, with the understanding that those and those only who receive with true and proper faith will subjectively receive the grace.
• There is repeated reference to what may be assumed is the the front central part of the sanctuary as the altar; it is where the Lord’s Supper is celebrated, where the minister stands at particular times in the services, where candidates for various purposes come and present themselves before the Church, &c. Strange that reference, i thought.

I will be typing in or scanning in the text from the liturgy here and there here on the blog. If there is anything in particular that you would like to have or read from the liurgy, let me know so i can see about typing or scanning it in particular.

Here’s a Table Talk article from some years ago—back when Steve Schlissel and those who call him friend and brother weren’t persona non-grata among the typical Reformed and Presbyterian circles.

I have to say that Rev. Schlissel expresses one aspect of my own longing with regard to the desire to see a truly Covenantal community in the Church. We are so separated and individualized in our thinking and interaction—whether it is as Presbyterians, as Americans, or as Westerners, i don’t know.

I pastor a congregation of roughly 25-30 people; do you know how very hard it is to plan an event where people are willing or able to attend? Of course, with a congregation our size, it’s no use in trying to go through with an event it if we aren’t sure that more than half our congregation will actually attend. When we have even one family who doesn’t show for church on the Lord’s Day, our worship suffers, and i confess that, in spite of knowing in my heart that i am still ministering to Christians who need the Word, i personally feel very discouraged and empty, just becasue i know that, in some cases, people simply didn’t feel like making it to worship. There is also something very discouraging to me when i have poured my heart and the Word out before the sheep in my care, and i get a handshake, a “Good sermon, preacher,” and a “Yeah, i know what you meant about that” (in reference to an illustration i used), but people all go their own separate ways and don’t want to spend time with one another, or talk about anything except whether the Redskins or the Steelers are going to go all the way this year. I don’t say this because i hope someone in my congregation will read this and do so (i don’t think anyone in my congregation reads this blog), but i feel very discouraged that my own parishioners don’t show me and my family or each other any hospitality—oh, i can go over and visit, and i and my family will always be welcome (no question), but no one ever calls up and says, “We’d love to have you over for dinner this Friday,” or “Would you like to join us for a bite to eat after church Sunday?” Everyone just does their own thing with their own families.

But people just don’t think the way orthodox Jews do, as Schlissel says. I remember in college one of my professors (the class was “Kingdom and Kingship in the OT,” i think) showed Fiddler on the Roof to the class—not to try and get people to understand Jews, become Jews, or even to think that Russian Jews in the late 19th/early 20th century could show us what Israel was like in Saul and David’s time, but to show what it means to live a radically God-centered life. It was really very enlightening in that respect and in the respect that Schlissel speaks of as well. Of course, there are lots of individualistic ideals inserted into the movie and play that make us 21st century viewers who wouldn’t otherwise think about it sympathetic and judgmental of those times and their practices, but for me, the movie illustrates a cohesiveness that the Covenant community can provide to a community that has nothing else and faces uncertainty all around—and if a Christless Covenant can do that, how much more one in which Christ has drawn us all together and made us members of his mystical body.

Alright. Enough of that. (Yes, Tim, those are both fragments.)