THE CHURCH PRAYER.

THIS title sufficiently denotes that the object of our paper is to examine and describe the prayer of the believing people of God in their assemblies for Christian worship, and not the general subject of prayer, or its particular use in relation to the individual disciple. It is not the question of how "thou when thou prayest' art to enter thy closet and shut the door and pray to the Father in secret, but the question answered by our Lord when He said, "when ye pray, say, Our Father."

The distinctive grounds for Christian public or common prayer are to be found in the giving of the injunction and the form for such prayer by our Lord, in Matt. vi, and Luke xi, and in the passages Matt. xviii, 19, I Tim. ii, 1-4, and the several instances of the practice of united prayer found in Acts i, 13, 14; ii, 46, etc.

It will be interesting and instructive to look with some detail at the earliest examples of the use and place of prayer in congregational worship.

THE GENERAL PRAYER.

The Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians* presents, at some length, the prayer of the Roman congregation at Rome about the year 96 A. D. The prayer is not presented as a mere incident of the Epistle, but has an important relation to the whole, which may be said to lead up to it. It bears all the marks of a careful composition. Balance and rhythm are carefully studied, and almost every alternate expression is selected and adapted from some part of the Old Testament. It is distinctly a general prayer. Beginning with an elaborate invocation of God, arranged, for the most part, in antithetical sentences, there follow special intercessions for the needy, the wanderers, the hungry, the prisoners, etc.

• Appendix, Lightfoot, p. 269.

(xxxv)

After this comes a general confession of sins and prayer for forgiveness and help. It closes with a prayer for unity, (especially appropriate in view of the tone of the whole Epistle), "Give concord and peace to us and to all that dwell on the earth, as Thou gavest to our fathers when they called upon Thee." After this comes an intercession for rulers. The whole closes with a dox

ology.

The prayer, again, may be analyzed as consisting of two parts, each beginning with a hymn to God. The first part has ten petitions, for the needy and suffering of every sort. The second part has nine petitions, essentially related to the development of the moral life, through the forgiveness of sins, and increase of spiritual strength.*

Lightfoot concludes from the examination of the prayer that "there was at this time no authoritative written liturgy in use in the church at Rome, but the prayers were modified at the discretion of the officiating minister. Under the dictation of habit and experience, however, these prayers were gradually assuming a fixed form."

As the prayer is found in an Epistle, and not in connection. with any account of the regular order of worship in the Church, we have no indication of its place in the liturgy.

Justin Martyr, (b. 114, d. 165 A. D.), living at Rome when he wrote, gives an account in two passages, of the worship of the Church at his time. The liturgy, as he describes it, consisted of I. The reading of "the Memoirs of the Apostles or the Writings of the Prophets."

2.

The Sermon, "the president verbally instructs."

3. Prayer, "then we all rise together and pray.”

4.

The Oblation, "bread and wine and water are brought to the president."

5. Prayer of Thanksgiving, "the president, in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings according to his ability, and the people assent, saying, Amen." †

The prayer following the sermon, of whose contents nothing is said in the connection above, is further described in another place, where he tells of the welcome given to the newly baptized, who is to be brought to the place "where those who are

* Meusel's Handlexikon, sub. v. Kirchengebet, + Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I. p. 186.

+ Ibid,

p. 185.

called brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized person and for all others, in every place, that we may be counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be good citizens and keepers of the commandments so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation." After the prayer the kiss of peace is given, and then the order of the service is identical with that just given.

In the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, ch. 10, a work ascribed to a period as early as 120 A. D., the order of the celebration of the Eucharist is described as including first, a prayer of thanksgiving concerning the cup, then concerning the broken bread. Then, "after ye are filled," (an expression which seems to render it evident that the Agape is understood as preceding), another giving of thanks takes place. The form here supplied includes thanks for God's name, for knowledge, faith and immortality made known through Jesus His servant, for the creation of all things, for spiritual food and drink, and concludes, "Remember Thy Church, deliver, make perfect, gather it from the four winds, sanctified, into Thy Kingdom."

*

The Apostolic Constitutions, (from the close of the third century, but undoubtedly representing largely the usage of an earlier date), offer us the "earliest form in which liturgical arrangement, to any extent, is found." In the second book of the Constitutions, one account of the Eucharistic liturgy is found. The order given is, first, the Scriptures are read. Then the presbyters and bishop exhort, and after this, all rise, and looking toward the East, after the penitents and catechumens have gone out, pray to God, eastward. The oblations, the announcements, "Let no one have any quarrel against another," "Let no one come in hypocrisy" and the kiss of peace follow, and then the deacon prays for the whole Church, for the whole world and the several parts of it, and for the fruits of it, for the priests and the rulers, for the high priest and the king, and for the peace of the universe. After this the "high priest" prays for peace upon the people, and blesses them with the O. T. benediction. Then the bishop prays for the people, and says: "Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thine inheritance which Thou hast obtained with the precious blood of Thy Christ, and hast called a royal priesthood Ante-Nicene Fathers, pp. 421, 422.

and an holy nation." "After this let the sacrifice follow, the people standing and praying silently. And when the oblation has been made let every rank by itself partake of the Lord's body and precious blood in order, and approach with reverence and holy fear, as to the body of their King."

The eighth book is regarded as of later date than the others, but in the character of its material and the influence it had upon later forms of devotion, it is of great significance. It presents a much fuller form of worship, in which the exceedingly large place given to prayer, and the great length of many of the prayers is very noticeable. It may be thus summarized:

1. Scripture Reading, from the "Law, Prophets, Epistles, Acts and Gospels."

2. Salutation, in the form of the N. T. Benediction, and Response, "And with thy spirit.”

5. Bidding Prayer for the Catechumens, who are then dismissed.

6. Bidding Prayer for Energumens. Both these prayers are to be said by the deacon. After each is a prayer by the bishop, and the dismissal of those prayed for, the following prayers after the same manner.

7. Bidding Prayer for the Baptized. Prayer by the bishop. Dismissal.

8. Bidding Prayer for the Penitents. Prayer by the bishop. Dismissal.

9. Bidding Prayer for the Faithful. This is a truly General Prayer. The people are called upon to pray for the world, all the holy churches, the Catholic and Apostolic Church, the parish in this place, every bishop and our bishop, other bishops and parishes named, for presbyters, deacons, readers, singers, virgins, widows and orphans, for all in the Church, for those in marriage and child-bearing, the sick, those that travel by water or by land, those in the mines, in banishments, prisons or bonds, in bitter servitude, for enemies and persecutors, for wanderers, for infants of the Church, and for one another.

IO. The "High Priest" Prays. His prayer, however, not being nearly so long as the bidding prayer, nor taking up its objects in detail.

II. Salutation, "the peace of God be with you all," and

Response.

12.

13.

14.

The Kiss.

Salutation and Response as at first.

The Sursum Corda.

15. The Preface, continuing without interruption into the Thanksgiving. Of extreme length, containing within it, and as a part of it, the Consecration and Oblation.

16. Another Bidding Prayer for the Faithful, general in its character, followed by prayer by the bishop.

17.

Distribution.

18. Bidding Prayer.

It is noteworthy, in comparing this liturgy with later ones, that it lacks the Lord's Prayer.*

The liturgies of St. James, (Palestine), of St. Mark, (Alexandria), of St. John, (Gallican, Mozarabic and Ephesian), and of St. Peter, (Roman), all begin with a prefatory prayer; the first two provide for a prayer after the Lections, and the first three put the prayer variously referred to as the "prayer for all conditions," the "prayer for the Church Militant," or the "prayer for the Church," in much the same relative position in reference to the whole service.

A glance at the material cited indicates that in the early worship of the Church common prayer had a recognized and prominent place. Its purpose and spirit were fully apprehended. Cyprian's statement, "Publica est nobis et communis oratio, et quando oramus, non pro uno, sed pro toto populo oramus quia totus populus unum sumus” is exemplified in all the forms which have remained to us. "The Church prayer always regards the need of the whole congregation, and therefore maintains a certain spiritual tone. According to their content and form the oldest congregational prayers that have come to us bear this character, as well as those in the agenda of the century of the Reformation. Not until the time of Pietism was the appreciation of the distinction between the subjectively-christian, and the churchly prayer gradually lost. The Illumination, however, no longer had any idea of what true prayer is." †

*

The distinction, referred to in the quotation, between the

Apostol. Const. Ante-Nicene Fathers, book VIII, p. 483, ff.

+ Harnack, in Zoeckler's Handbuch, Vol. IV. p. 432.