loyalty to her Rubrics, would suggest that it should be made as practically impossible for the Congregation to remain silent during their parts of the service, as it is for the Minister to remain silent during his parts of the service. The Choir is a musical reserve force, which should be ordinarily, or at least often unemployed; and should never be used to relieve either the Minister or the Congregation from the plain duty of obedience to the Rubrics. The Choir exists not to encourage breaches of the Church's law, but to ennoble its observance; and, therefore, the Choir should be, I repeat, often silent and unemployed; but always ready to assist, now the Minister, and now the Congregation, in the rendering of the glorious chants, doxologies, and solemn supplications, to which ordinary voices cannot do full justice.

All this is well understood, and is effectively put in practice, in the synagogue. Sometimes the Choir assists the Minister, and sometimes it assists the Congregation but oftener it is silent; and the Congregation are obliged to respond without assistance. At times both the Minister and Choir rest, while the Congregation, without any external aid, proceed with the chanting of long portions of their Liturgy. This occasional silence of both the Minister and Choir, while the entire responsibility of continuing the service rests upon the Congregation, is obviously a most effective means of promoting united Congregational Worship. It almost forces the people to respond.

(4) I have already referred (in the Second Section of this Chapter) to the immense advantage which is obtained in synagogue worship, by placing the leaders of the worship (namely, the Reader and Choir) in the middle of the people whose worship they are to lead. The devotional importance of this arrangement can

hardly be exaggerated. Human voices have for human hearts a mysterious sympathetic power-a leading, uplifting, stimulating, cheering power-which no dead music from instruments of wood or metal can ever possess; and this power-which goes to the very heart of religious devotion-diminishes rapidly (like many of the other forces in nature) as the distance over which it is exercised increases. Every yard of distance makes the human voice less human, and more like the cold and dead voice of a musical machine. Isolating the Reader and the Choir in a chancel-or still worse, putting the Reader alone in the chancel, and the Choir in a remote Western gallery-are most unfortunate arrangements; and are in obvious violation of the most fundamental principles of congregational worship. I suppose we can hardly hope to free ourselves from these customary arrangements, although we must deplore them. I fail to see what business either readers or choristers have in our chancels, except during the celebration of the Holy Communion, or when "Alms and Oblations" are presented. If, however, Matins were chanted in the body of the church, a joyous Procession of Ministers and Choristers to the Lord's Table, with suitable music, might well follow; and would be a beautiful and appropriate introduction to the highest act of Christian worship.

(5) The ancient rite of Confirmation in the Jewish Church-although entirely different from the Christian rite which bears the same name-is peculiarly interesting to us, in connection with the subject of this volume, as showing the conscientiousness and thoroughness with which Jewish parents train their children to take part in the chants and responses of Public Worship.

Up to the age of 13, every Jew is considered a minor in things spiritual. His parents are held to be respon

sible for his faith and actions: but this responsibility ceases when, at the age of 13, he is admitted by Confirmation as a full and responsible member of the Jewish Church.

On one occasion, I had the privilege of being present at the Confirmation of a Jewish boy. It took place about the middle of the Saturday (Sabbath) morning service in the synagogue. There was a pause in the usual service, during which the boy, wearing the white super-vesture or Tallith, rose from his seat in the body of the synagogue, and walked up alone to the Readers' desk, on the great central platform. There were three or four readers at the desk: they gave the boy a warm and kindly welcome: they then opened the book before him, showed him the place, and stood in silence, while he-with a clear, sweet, welltrained voice-proceeded with the singing of the service. The contrast between the sweet simple tones of the child's voice, and the strong heart-stirring chants in which the large congregation responded to him, was very touching and beautiful. When he had chanted several prayers, and extracts from Scripture— in all, occupying about 20 minutes-there was a pause in the service, during which many of the congregation made offerings to God (in money), accompanying the offerings with short ejaculatory prayers for the boy. When the boy was returning to his seat, the members of the congregation whom he passed shook hands with him. The Reader then proceeded with the service, towards the end of which the boy again left his seat, and stood alone before the Pulpit. A minister now entered the Pulpit, and stood in silence, while the boy recited a profession of faith, with pious resolutions for a holy life, and prayers to God for strength and grace. Then the Minister read from the Pulpit a short, impressive, and

very practical exhortation to the boy, upon his duties to God, to his parents, to society, and to himself; and concluded by giving him (but without the laying on of hands) the ancient Blessing from Num. 6. 24-26, "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee, &c.:" after each verse of which the congregation chanted a hearty Amen. Then the boy withdrew to his seat amid an absolute torrent of fervent prayers for him, chanted by the whole assembly, ministers, choir, and people.

This deeply interesting and impressive rite seemed to reveal one of the most obvious and effective means of securing congregational responding, namely, careful early training in chanting the services. If each worshipper, in our churches, were, at the early age of 13, trained to stand up in the Reading Desk, and chant the service alone, leading the worship of the whole congregation, we should soon have hearty services. A congregation, all of whom had been so trained in childhood, would afterwards find no difficulty in chanting the confessions, creeds, responses, and psalms. Our people do not respond, because they cannot: and they cannot respond, because really united and steady responding is a matter of some difficulty; and they have never been taught to do it. They have perhaps been scolded for not responding; but they have never received the careful early training without which really good responding is an impossibility.

PART V.

Christian Worship.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN WORSHIP.

1. The Primitive Christian Synagogues.-2. Primitive Christian Worship Responsive, Congregational, and Musical.-3. Laodicean Music.— 4. Primitive Christian Liturgies.-5. Silent Prayers and Reverent Worship.

1.-The Primitive Christian Synagogues..

THE GOSPEL Revelation is as full of teaching with respect to Christ as the Mosaic Revelation is with respect to the sacrifices which pointed to Christ. Both Revelations are essentially Sacrificial: that of Moses dealing with sacrificial types; and that of the Gospel, with the Sacrificial Archetype. The Mosaic Code describes, with great fulness and particularity, the numerous typical details of the Levitical Sacrificial Ritual. The Gospel writers describe with equal fulness and particularity everything connected with the One tremendous archetypal Sacrifice on Calvary.

The Gospel Revelation swept away for ever the elaborate Sacrificial Ritual of the Levitical Code, which had received its fulfilment in Christ. But, as I have already pointed out in this volume,1 the abrogation of

1See above, Pages 359-367, on the Contents and Omissions of the Mosaic Law.