5-Why I Use the Book of Common Prayer

This is #5 and we are still looking at "Morning Prayer."

#5- The text is immediately below. Below the text are my own observations, correlation, interpretation, and applications.

Why I use the 1662 Book of Common Prayer for daily and evening Prayers?

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The people shall answer here, and at the end of all other prayers, Amen.

If no priest be present the person saying the service shall read the Collect for the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, that person and the people still kneeling.

Then the Minister shall kneel, and say the Lord's Prayer with an audible voice; the people also kneeling, and repeating it with him, both here, and wheresoever else it is used in Divine Service.

"OUR Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen."

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Observations:

1. Three rubrics or instructions with varied directions of order: the people shall say Amen following collects, the use of the 21st Sunday after Trinity if led by a non-cleric, the use of the Lord's Prayer (notice the word "shall," directive in nature), the minister shall speak audibly, and all are kneeling. The "audible" element was a Reformation point of insistence: no "Mumbling Matins," but clear and distinct prayers. One accustomed to this worship experiences substantive culture shock with forms of "irreverence" and "unseemly" worship. Some may think us mean or judgmental, but we'll take our lead from Scriptures on the manner of approach to His Majesty.

2. The BCP uses the King James version. We would love to see a BCP in modern, updated English, although we’ve been acculturated and accustomed to the KJV for decades...and without apology. It's still an excellent version. Objections to use of modern English, however, is traditionalism and, from our perspective, a tad hidebound. We respect the traditionalists and their insistence on the King James, but we've moved beyond that. Some continuuing American Anglican jurisdictions have been notorious for having clergy that are ill-trained; they admit it; we've seen it too. As such, they are not exercised in the rigours of exegesis typically and rightly associated with the Confessional Catholics of Reformation Churches, such as the Reformed, Presbyterian and Lutheran traditions, e.g Westminster, Concordia. We are working with the ESV and finding it quite good thus far.

3. I don’t have immediate access to notes—at hand—for an explanation of the requirement of the Collect for the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity for the non-cleric leading the service, which is presumed in the rubric. I'm not sure what drove this inclusion. As a collect, it's excellent. The Reformed Episcopal book does not have this for Morning Prayer. We'll infer that this is an additional prayer beyond what a cleric would use.

4. 21st Sunday after Trinity is an excellent and godly prayer: “Grant, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” What Churchman can find Biblical fault here?

5. People kneel during Prayers and they pray together. It’s not just a Presbyter kneeling, but the congregation kneeling...doing the “prayer work in concert and symphony,” as it were. Leitourgos means work and service. Prayer is work and an ordinary means of grace. It is "work," glorious work--involving mind, heart and body. Easy believism of charismania and entertainment is not in view and is foreign to the ethos of the book. It's not "preliminaries with a sermon attached."

6. It has become extremely difficult to be in services that never kneel. While we’ve been patient for many years and have served in numerous wider contexts (broader evangelical, mainline Protestant), liturgical worship with working priests—praying together, kneeling together, with a priest praying among fellow priests—is no longer optional, but required for this scribe. Culture? Yes, of course. Biblical, absolutely...unless we can be shown otherwise. Formative, instructive and shaping of worship? Yes. It shapes culture as much as reflects it. It's just not going to work to say, "Well, that's Anglicanism and its cuIture." Rather, "It is the Bible shaping Anglican prayers and culture." It reflects an extremely "High" theology of the Truine God. We may even sound bigoted and prejudiced to some; we definitely favour and believe it a better approach to worship than what is on offer widely. We'll risk the "slings and arrows" of the inexperienced--without schooling in it--while we cling to prayers saturated, from front to back end, from God's Word. Show us something more Biblical? Some will say, "This is just too confining," to which we say, "Any more confining than the close exegesis of Scriptures required in good pastors? Any more confining than singing hymns? Or for Presbyterians, any more confining than your Confessions? Or for the Baptists and Charismatics, we realize you prefer `Easy Listening' and enthusiastic worship, but any more confining that the demands of preachy preachers...who are pretty confining and demanding?"

7. Some have noted that use of the Lord’s Prayer rises to level of “vain repetitions.” Or, that by repeated use, we think God will hear us more. We’re not taken by either objection; it assuredly has good answers. If you wish to raise the objections, raise them in the comments section and we’ll answer them.

8. We cite Jesus as our authority. “2 And he said to them, "When you pray, say, `Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.…’” (Luke 11.2, ESV). 2ειπεν δε αυτοις οταν προσευχησθε λεγετε πατερ αγιασθητω το ονομα σου ελθετω η βασιλεια σου. The force of the verb is a present continuous, plural imperative. “…Say…” (λεγετε ) The sense is: “You shall say and shall pray this continuously with the following words…” If there are objections to Christ’s sovereignty here, may it be noted.

9. Similarly at Matthew 6.9 (ESV): “Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” 9ουτως ουν προσευχεσθε υμεις πατερ ημων ο εν τοις ουρανοις αγιασθητω το ονομα σου. The force of the verb is similar. “Pray.” (προσευχεσθε ). The sense is: “You shall pray and this continuously so.” Given that we are to teach the nations, baptizing them in His name, to do “whatsoever” Jesus commanded us, the Lord’s Prayer is in view. Liturgy is instructional as well as a biblical vehicle for praying…and a good one.

10. This Prayer has commendably been preserved and used in Roman, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran circles. It is occasionally used in Reformed services in my experience (there may be exceptions), but the rule has been otherwise. If there are wide exceptions, please comment in the comments section. We believe the Directory of Worship requires it, but we’ll need to check. Any Reformed commentators are welcome to advise. I can never recall it being used in worship services at Westminster Seminary, Philadelphia.

11. Wide tracts of evangelical services omit this Prayer routinely. Who authorized that?

12. Some dispensationalists have claimed that the Lord’s Prayer does not apply to this dispensation but to a “future kingdom.” That’s another story.

13. Most Reformation catechisms recognize the importance of the Lord’s Prayer.

14. We’ll append one in a separate post, although it is one of many.

15. Again, daily use of the Lord’s Prayer is directed in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer with good reasons.

Correlations:

1. Studies of non-liturgical services, although this would be difficult since they appear to have none.

2. Review of Owen’s negative comments on liturgy.

Interpretation:

There are no good reasons on offer to dispense and dispatch the Lord's Prayer for daily, evening and weekly worship services.

Application:

1. Use until death.

2. Recognize that worship is "spiritual work" involving the total person: mind, soul and body. Work is involved in singing Psalms, hymns, hearing of God's Word read and hearing of God's Word preached. There is discipline, personal self-discipline, under God's aegis and government, in the matter of prayer.

3. Study the theology of the Truine God, anthropology, Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology and eschatology of the Book of Common Prayer.