The Prayer Book Explained | Page 8

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