The Prayer Book Explained Part 24

Danger, Necessity, and Tribulation are in progressive order of calamity. In danger, the calamity may be avoided--we want support for our own strength: in necessity, the blow has fallen--we want help at once from outside: in tribulation, the disaster has come--we want comfort.

If we have understood Progressive Duplication, we shall at once see that Wreathing is used in unison with it.

It is convenient to describe the 1st section of the Litany, as consisting of four subsections, viz. Invocations, Deprecations, Obsecrations, and Intercessions. The Invocations are said by the Minister, and repeated by the congregation. The prayers of the other sub-sections formerly were also said twice; but, since 1549, are said in two parts, the congregation making the respond which contains the prayer. This is done {162} not only for variety, but to a.s.sist the blind, or unlearned, in uniting their voices with the rest of the people. It is moreover an exercise of the privilege of approach to G.o.d, granted by our Lord (1 Pet. ii. 5; S. Matth. xviii. 19, 20), which is sometimes forgotten in thoughts of the ministry which He appointed.

_Progressive Duplication &c._

The groups of sins and sufferings from which we desire to be delivered supply instances of progress, from that which is less, to that which is more, serious. Most of these are obvious, and call for no further remark.

Deprecations (Prayer for deliverance).

1. _Spare thy people, O Lord_: Joel ii. 17.

2. _Crafts and a.s.saults_: The crafty enemy is one who cannot, or dare not, attack openly. Hence a.s.saults imply greater strength, or greater courage, than crafts.

3. Of personal defects, _Blindness of heart_ may be due at first to causes for which we are not responsible. _Pride_ is that which is too well satisfied with itself: _Vain-glory_ is that which seeks admiration from others; _Hypocrisy_ is that which seeks admiration on false pretences.

_Envy_ is the desire to injure, and grows into _Hatred_, which has perhaps a vestige of candour that is absent from _Malice_.

3 and 4. _Deadly sin_. All sin is deadly unless it is forgiven by G.o.d; on the other hand "after we have {163} received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and by the grace of G.o.d we may arise again, and amend our lives," "the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such" (Article xvi.). It should be remembered that our Lord has taught us to interpret the Commandments inclusively, so that they comprise all duties, and all sins--envy, hatred, and malice, as well as murder, for instance. The old distinction between deadly sins and venial sins has in it only an element of truth. Those named deadly sins were Pride, Covetousness, l.u.s.t, Envy, Gluttony, Anger, Sloth. Of these Pride, l.u.s.t, and Envy are mentioned here, being notable amongst sins which war against the Soul. Two phrases here include all sins: "all deadly sin," and, "the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil." It is not easy to decide whether such a sin as Idleness falls under the head of Covetousness, or Sloth, or Pride; nor whether it is a deceit of the World, the Flesh, or the Devil. These cla.s.sifications do, however, help in self-examination, and sometimes suggest helps in the battle against our sins.

5. _Plague, Pestilence, and Famine_ form a group in which we see that Famine is the most serious, because it attacks the whole community.

Plague is a disease which befalls us as a blow (_plege_); Pestilence is a disease which spreads from one to another. Science tends to enlarge the host of pestilences, and diminish the number of death-blows which cannot be explained. It is apparent that a disease which spreads through a community is more dreadful than one which singles out one person or many.

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_battle, murder, and sudden death_, are blows which may fall upon us; it is not prayer that we may be delivered from being soldiers, and from the crime of murder.

6. _sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion_: sedition is the thought; conspiracy, the plan; and rebellion, the action--of a subject against the Government.

_false doctrine, heresy and schism_: false doctrine is the thought; heresy, the plan; and schism, the action--of a Churchman against the Church, and its Lord.

_hardness of heart_, is a disposition to disobey what we know to be the command of G.o.d. If not checked, it grows into actual _contempt of His Word and Commandment_.

Obsecrations. (Entreaty mentioning the plea.)

7 and 8. _Incarnation_: S. John i. 14; Rom. i. 3.

_Nativity_: S. Luke ii. 11. Circ.u.mcision: S. Luke ii. 21.

_Baptism_: S. Matth. iii. 16.

_Fasting and Temptation_: S. Luke iv. 1, 2.

_Agony and b.l.o.o.d.y Sweat_: S. Luke xxii. 44.

_Cross and Pa.s.sion_: S. Matth. xxvii. 41-46; Heb. v. 7.

_Death and Burial_: S. Mark xv. 44, 45.

_Resurrection_: S. Matth. xxviii. 5-7.

_Ascension_: Acts i. 9; 1 Tim. iii. 16.

_The Coming of the Holy Ghost_: Acts ii. 32, 33.

9. _Tribulation, Wealth, Death, Judgment_ are the four times of special need.

Tribulation is derived from thres.h.i.+ng, or crus.h.i.+ng.

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Wealth is well-doing, or welfare. Prosperity and Adversity are both times of temptation.

Intercessions. (Prayer for others.)

10. _Universal_ is equivalent to Catholic.

11. _Governor_ refers to the relation of the Sovereign to the Church.

12. _faith, fear, and love_, an ascending order of submission to G.o.d.

_affiance_=trust.

11, 14. The names of the Sovereign, and of the Royal Family, vary in these pet.i.tions. A Prayer Book of 1682 has King Charles, Queen Catherine, and James Duke of York. In 1801, King George, Queen Charlotte, George Prince of Wales, and the Princess of Wales. In 1850, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and Albert Prince of Wales. The date of a Prayer Book is sometimes omitted from a t.i.tle page, but may be learnt from these pet.i.tions more accurately than from the Table of Moveable Feasts. It is, I believe, left to the Sovereign to say who is to be mentioned, and by what t.i.tles.

15. _Bishops_: successors of the Apostles as Overseers of the Churches (1 Tim. i. 3; 2 Tim. ii. 2; t.i.t. i. 5, ii. 15). The word _epirkopos_(= overseer) is contracted into Bishop in many languages, with slight differences, e.g. Old English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Cornish. In Spanish it becomes Obispo; in Italian, Vescovo; in French, eveque.

_Priests_: successors of the Elders, or Presbyters, who ministered in congregations (Acts xx. 17). As the Bishop has the Oversight of many congregations with their Priests and Deacons, so the Priest {166} has the Oversight of one congregation, or Parish. In this sense he might be called Overseer, or Bishop, of that Parish, and S. Paul's use of this word in 1 Tim. iii. has suggested that, while the Apostles lived, the word Bishop was used as much in this sense as in the other. When the word Bishop was required for the Apostolic office, the word Priest remained for the second Order of the ministry. Priest is contracted from Presbyter, and appears with slight variations in many languages.

_Deacons_. The Seven appointed in Acts vi. are not there called deacons, but they are a.s.sumed to be the first who were appointed to that office, or order of the Ministry. In some ancient churches they retained the practice of having seven deacons.

The word means Minister, and has come from the Greek into many languages with slight variations. Like the word Bishop, it is used in the N.T. of other orders of the Ministry (S. Paul, 1 Cor. iii. 5; 2 Cor. iii. 6; Eph. iii. 7, &c.: Epaphras, Col. i. 7: Tychicus, Eph. vi.

21: Timothy, 1 Tim. iv. 6: Archippus, Col. iv. 17). Although in 1 Tim.

iv. 6 the word is used of Timothy, who was receiving commandment as overseer of all the Clergy at Ephesus, we find in 1 Tim. iii. 8-10 that Deacons were already Church Ministers, with official duties (1 Tim.

iii. 10)[6].

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shew it _accordingly_: i.e. shew it in accordance with their preaching.

The "teaching" and "living" must agree together.

16. The Council of the King of England had, from of old, the duty of making, or approving, the choice of the King, and advising him on matters of state, and of law. Many of its duties have been deputed to Committees, to Judges, and to Parliament. The Cabinet of Chief Ministers of State may be regarded as a Committee of the King's Council.

In the reign of Charles II., when the Prayer Book was last revised, the Council was still the body whose advice guided the King, although it was growing too large for the secrecy which is often necessary in such weighty matters. It is still a very great honour to be made a Privy Councillor, but the Privy Council very seldom, or never, meets for business except by its Committees, which are not chosen by the Council.