The Prayer Book Explained | Page 7

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.

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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.
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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.
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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