The Prayer Book Explained | Page 8

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,