Soon after Easter (April 12), 1528 (Part 6)

The Instructions for the Visitors of Parish Pastors in Electoral Saxony is published and distributed. Today’s Quotation comprises the beginning of the fifteenth section of the Instructions, concerning daily worship in the congregations.

Quotation:

[continued from the previous post]

Daily Worship in the Church

Furthermore, since in many places the old ceremonies have been discarded altogether and little is read or sung in the churches, we have arranged that the following procedures should be followed henceforth in churches and schools and especially in places where there are many people, such as in cities.

First, in the daily matins in the church, three psalms may be sung, either in Latin or in German. On the days when there is no sermon, a lesson can be read by the preacher, for example, from Matthew, Luke, the first epistle of St. John, the two epistles of Peter, St. James’s epistle, or some of St. Paul’s epistles, as well as the epistles to Timothy, Titus, the Ephesians, and Colossians. And when those have been read through, you should start again from the beginning. Whoever reads the lesson should then exhort the people to pray the Lord’s Prayer for some general need, especially for what is happening at the time, such as for peace or food, but especially for God’s grace that he would protect and rule over us. Then the whole congregation may sing a German hymn and the preacher can read a collect. [1]

In the evening, it would be excellent if one sang three Vespers psalms, [2] in Latin and not German, for the sake of the students, to accustom them to the Latin. Then follow the simple antiphons, hymns, and responsories. [3] After that, a German lesson could be read from Genesis, Judges, or Kings. After the lesson, the Lord’s Prayer should be said. Then one might sing the Magnificat [4] or Te deum laudamus or Benedictus, [5] Quicumque vult salvus esse [6] or simple preces [7], so that the youth also stick close to the Scriptures. Then the whole congregation may sing a German hymn and the priest can conclude with a collect.

In small communitites where there are no students, there is no need to sing the daily offices. But it would be good to sing something when there is preaching. During the week, there should be preaching on Wednesdays and Fridays. A pastor should also give serious attention to choosing the books [of the Bible] that are useful and not too difficult for preaching. Faith is to be preached, without forgetting true Christian repentance, God’s judgment, fear of God, and good works (in the sense we have already indicated and explained). For without repentance one cannot have or understand faith. [to be continued in the next post]

Notes

[1] The collect is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. The name comes from Latin collēcta, a term used in Rome as early as the 5th century. The Latin word collēcta meant the gathering of the people together (from colligō, “to gather”) and may have been applied to this prayer as said before the procession to the church in which Mass was celebrated. It may also have been used to mean a prayer that collected into one the prayers of the individual members of the congregation. For example, a collect on the passion of Christ by Martin Luther (1533):
“Almighty Father, Everlasting God, Who didst permit Thy Son to suffer the anguish of the Cross for us, so that Thou might drive the power of the enemy from us: Grant us that we may so commemorate and give thanks for His Passion that we may thereby obtain forgiveness of sin and redemption from eternal death; through the same Thy Son.”

[2] I.e., evening hymns.

[3] Liturgical Components of the Vespers Service.

[4] Mary’s song of praise. [Luke1:46-55]

[5] The hymn of Zechariah. [Luke 1:68-79]

[6] The so-called Athanasian Creed. Its Latin name and opening words are Quicumque Vult (or Quicunque Vult), meaning “Whosoever wishes.” Melanchthon gives a slightly longer title: “Whosoever wishes to be saved.” The Athanasian Creed is almost certainly not by Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 297 – 373). For one thing, it was composed in Latin and Athanasius wrote in Greek. It is accepted as one of the three ecumenical creeds in Lutheranism (see the Augsburg Confession and Book of Concord) and is considered authoritative by many Protestant churches, as well as the Roman Catholic Church.

[7] Breviary prayers; i.e., prayers in the form of versicles and responses.