liturgy which is composed of sacred elements, much more adds gravity to a liturgy, the composition of which is essentially human. It ought not, therefore, to be revised by the Church, except at long intervals, and with great carefulness; and these intervals are more capable of being prolonged if the liturgy has been framed according to a true conception of a liturgy, and not as a dogmatic treatise.-It ought, certainly, to express the faith of the Church, but, if I may say so, the faith of the Church in its contemplative mood.—Much more should the preacher abstain from making alterations on his own responsibility, unless on occasions of real necessity-public events, calamities, &c.—The minister is bound to the liturgy, which does not belong to him, which is rather the voice of the flock, and to which he only lends his individual voice. That the people should be chained to a form, the meaning of which is not apprehended by them, is to be dreaded as an evil, and by no means to be desired; still it is desirable that something fixed and immutable should belong to worship. Let the people be, up to a certain point, kirklich, that is to say, attached to the forms of their worship: this does not appear necessarily to involve formalism.2 Costume.-Harms gives a singular explanation of costume, which is, he says, designed to conceal either too great bodily advantages, or too great bodily imperfections. The idea of costume, according to us, is to efface or to cover the individual and the man of the passing age. In proportion as spirituality increases in a people, a special costume becomes less necessary, is even repugnant.—I believe that, in this respect, we must follow the rules of the church to which we have attached ourselves, and follow them freely and unhesitatingly. Celebration of rites.-[The minister ought to be very careful lest he should be led to perform certain rites, such as marriage and baptism, in a too careless and unimpressive manner. That which is a daily act for him is always a solemn act for others. 1 A German adjective, from the word kirche-church, to which the cognate word ecclesiastical does not, in our use of it, correspond.-ED. 2" Wine which has evaporated till only dregs are left." All this is better contrived in some liturgies than in our own, [which, in these respects, is poor.] The greater deficiency there is in the text and form of the liturgy, the greater necessity is there for the minister to put his own spirit into these rites, to give them a rythm and an emphasis, to animate them by an interior disposition corresponding to them.'-Bengel 2 recommends in these cases a great accuracy, [the hearers inferring easily from inconstancy in these exterior acts, an indifference to the doctrines belonging to them.] This carefulness is consistent with liberty and familiarity.—Some ministers, wishing to shun affectation or a formal gravity, have, on the other hand, affected an indecent familiarity. They do not wish that God should be addressed as an earthly king, and, accordingly, they speak to him as a familiar. Prayer is the medium [which should be offered] Avec la liberté d'un fils devant son père, Et le saint tremblement d'un pécheur devant Dieu3-with the freedom of a son in the presence of his father, and the holy trembling of a sinner in the presence of God. Reception of catechumens.-The Ordinances of our church allow us to receive them separately, provided this be in the presence of the colleagues of the pastor, if he has any, and the assessors of the consistory. The Lord's Supper.-I take our church as it is, as identical with the body politic,-except so far as the individual will of each man may determine otherwise. The discipline, in this position of the church, is reduced to the collective warning and admonition addressed from the pulpit even to scandalous sinners, -and the individual admonition which the pastor must give to those who are known to him, whom he expects to see at the table. The new law is silent as to form. The old regulations direct the pastor, as he presents the bread and wine, to employ "the words of our Lord," which are assuredly the words which 1 "Animate these solemnities," says Bossuet. * BENGEL'S Leben, by BURT, Stuttgard, 1831, p. 112, § 30. 8 Hymn by M. Adolphe Monod, No. 102 of the Chant Chrétiens. • Ordonnances ecclésiastiques pour le pays de Vaud. Berne, 1773, p. 13. instituted the ceremony. The Ordinances add, that all the communicants shall receive, without distinction, the bread and the wine in the same manner, that is to say, I suppose, with the same words. Our usage is not in conformity with this rule, which appears to me a very good one. There is more than one inconvenience in addressing each person in a different way. The repetition of one sacramental word is grave, imposing, and does not exhaust its impressiveness.1 It is legitimate and perfectly legal to give the Lord's Supper to sick persons at their own houses; but this should be done with solemnity, and there should be communion, that is to say, not only should some persons be present, but some should partake of the Supper with the sick person.2 As to Baptism, without asserting that the administration of it in the house of the parents ought to be absolutely refused; I believe that this should be done as seldom as possible, were it only that the people, in general, may be preserved from a too common error on the subject of baptism.3 [The pastor ought to watch, that everything may be done decently in his church, that all may proceed in good order, both at the entrance and the exit of the congregation, and during service. It will be well for him not to allow the plate to circulate. The sound is uncongenial, and it may force people to give, which is an evil and opposed to liberty. It would be better to place some receptacle at each door. It is of little importance that the collection should suffer, which is not improbable,] "if there first be a willing mind," 2 Cor. viii. 12. Moreover, says St. Paul, "Ye had notice before, that the same (the contributions) might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness. For God loveth a cheerful giver," 2 Cor. ix. 5, 7. 1 In the church at Basle, the following words are addressed to each communicaut, "Das blut unsers Herrn Jesu Christi stärke und erhalte euch ins ewige leben." The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen and sustain you unto life eternal. 2 BENGEL'S Leben, p. 114. 8 See the Actes du Synode de Berne, ch. xxi., pp. 40, 43. Singing is more essential to worship than is ordinarily thought. [It is a language which God has given to man, whereby to express thoughts and feelings which are inexpressible by ordinary language.] Besides what we have already said of it, (that worship, as a whole, ought to have a character of song), it is the act which visibly unites the whole congregation, which assigns to believers an active share in public worship, and in which their liberty is more entire. The materials for song are, in general, prescribed to us, but we ought to avail ourselves of the law which allows a liberty of selection. We sing too much or too little; we might sing little and more frequently,—perhaps, three times is the most convenient. It will be well to sing immediately after the discourse, [rather than after the prayer which follows it. This gives a little rest both to the minister and to the hearers, and enables them to gain some self-possession.] Funerals are the only part of worship which take place out of the enclosure of the temple, since baptism and the Lord's Supper are only, in exceptional cases, administered elsewhere. -We cannot allow religion to be visibly absent from funerals; this would be showing less piety than is shown by pagans. Now, it is the pastor who renders religion visible; and, considering the general mental advance that is going on, if the pastor is wanting there, some one else will take his place and render his absence more visible, to the great damage of his character. I would wish the minister never to be absent from the house of mourning, or from the cemetery. [In many houses, before the departure of the funeral company, the pastor offers a prayer: but this is not enough. He ought to be at the funeral, and, on that occasion, there ought to be another service, either near the tomb or in the church. Some Scripture expressions and a prayer are sufficient in all cases.] SECTION SECOND. TEACHING. CHAPTER I. PREACHING. § 1.-IMPORTANCE OF PREACHING AMONG THE FUNCTIONS OF THE MINISTRY. WHAT is preaching? It is the explanation of the word of God-the exposition of Christian truths, and the application of those truths to our hearers, and all this is done before the assembled congregation-I might say in public, since in the view of the church, of the multitudes, or the masses, the church is a large school, open to all comers. We have, in the first place, spoken of worship, and then of preaching, which is an accompaniment of worship, and which we may consider as forming a part of it, although worship speaks to God, and preaching speaks of God; but we can only speak worthily of God when we raise our souls to him, and, therefore, preaching which does not partake of the nature of worship is not true preaching. These things which are separated in a lower region become merged and united in a higher region.1 But, leaving this, let us see what place God himself has 1 On the relative importance of preaching in the pastoral office, see HARMS, i. 37-39. |