The Prayer Book Explained | Page 9

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.)
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Walter Travers was Reader at the Temple Church in London, when (1585) Richard Hooker was appointed to be Master of the Temple. Travers had been a friend and favourite of Thomas Cartwright, a severe critic of the Order and Discipline of the Church of England. Travers took up the criticisms, and so attacked Hooker that the latter in self-defence wrote his Books on The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity (1592), wherein he replies to Cartwright's and Travers' criticisms.
The Worship-forms have been in use for so long that it is scarcely possible to discuss their origin. The traces of them in the Bible are interesting:
1. Amen. 1 Cor. xiv. 16; Rev. xxii. 20.
2. Responsorial or Interjectional. S. Luke ii. 13, 14.
3. Anthem. Exodus xv. 21; Isaiah vi. 3.
4. Litany.
5. Preceded. Exodus xxiv. 7, xix. 7, 8, xx. 18-21.
The Prayer Book furnishes examples of Praise and Prayer in each Form, excepting the Litany Form, which is used only for Prayer. But there is no reason why that also should not be used for Praise: the 136th Psalm will show how this might be done.
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THE FIVE KINDS OF WORSHIP FORMS
(See Hooker, Eccl. Pol. v. 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
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APPENDIX A.
Cartwright, attacking the Prayer Book, 1572 or later, wrote--
"For the singing of Psalms by course and side after side, although it be very ancient yet it is not commendable, and so much the more to be suspected for that the Devil hath gone about to get it so great authority, partly by deriving it from Ignatius' time, and partly in making the world believe that this came from heaven, and that the Angels were heard to sing after this sort," &c.
To this Hooker (Eccl. Polity, v. 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