6-Why I Use the Book of Common Prayer

6-The text is immediately below. Below that 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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Then likewise he shall say,

"Priest: Lord, open thou our lips.

Answer. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise."

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Observations:

1. The Church or individual using the BCP has confessed his sins. He has considered and appropriated the Word of God with its plenipotent potency. He has embraced the infallible promises and assurances of forgiveness and absolution. He has exercised justifying faith in Christ alone. The LORD’s prayer followed. We considered this earlier. A google search at the blogsite will pull up earlier comments on "Why I Use the Book of Common Prayer."

2. In the "versicles" at hand, we offer our imploring prayer for the divine opening of the worship of praise, the hearing of God’s Word, our responses to God’s Word, and further prayers that follow. Again, Anglicans are a people who corporately pray. It is at Book of "Common" Prayer, that is, it is a book for the "commoners" or Churchmen, a book used throughout the national church--during the heydays when Anglicanism was the norm rather than the exception (as here in enthusiast-land).

3. Quite notably, the service is Augustinian like the Engish Reformers. Take away the divine blessing and enablement and one has a dead formality. Nothing exposes the "deadness" of worship than a worshipper "deadly" reading his prayers.

a. O Lord, open thou our lips. Answer. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.

b. This reflects the ethos of Psalm 119 and that God and God alone empowers praise and worship.

c. One correspondent with our blogspot, a Reformed Anglican pastor, noted that some people dislike the “Anglican penitential flavour” of the Prayer Book. There may be some truth to that on first glance—that those who unfamiar and first-time users of the book might draw that conclusion. The claim is unfounded, premature, and reflects lack of exposure to the services.

d. However, having noted that above, let no Anglican take a back-seat to these enthusiasts thinking they have the “corner” on Praise & Worship. They equate their loudness, drum-driven enthusiasms and narcissistic sense of superiority with genuine piety. The Anglican earnestly prays and desires that his lips, mind and heart would be opened to praise God. How often we've heard and patiently endured their fruitless objections.

e. Let Anglicans resist this modern nonsense. Why? We are at this point beseeching God “to open our lips” and, as a consequence of justification and our redemption, then we “open our mouths and show forth thy praise.” The jaws move, the lips move, the tongue is employed, the heart is engaged, the mind is thinking and is focused. There's even "joy deep, deep down, moving joy." Undergirding this prayer is the Sovereign God who does that, helping, enabling, and encouraging our praises. Where two or three are gathered in His name, there is Christ.

f. This is exactly what is done when we move forward in the service. There are a few more versicles, but then—momentarily in seconds, we say or sing the 95th Psalm. Again, we use God’s infallible Word for praise. We highly prefer singing. This scribe uses the Covenanter Psalter for the congregational ease and simplicity of the tunes. Some have used the Anglican chant, although that can be difficult for a congregation to learn or use. Here's how we move from the versicles to the 95th Psalm, entitled the Venite.

1. “O Come, let us sing unto the Lord…

2. “Let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation…

3. “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving…

4. “Let us show ourselves glad in Him…

5. And so forth throughout the Psalm.

6. Who can complain here about no praise and worship among Anglicans?

g. Never let any non-BCP user say or accuse us of “poor praise” or that we are subdued by our Biblical form. That’s the enthusiast talking.

h. “Our lips shall show forth thy praise.”

1. That is, “our tongues,” in a known language, not the Babylonics, histrionics and theatrics of confused tongues that Pentecostal Babylonians babble about. Yeah, press on others. If the English Reformation did nothing else, it surely advanced informed use of the English tongue for worship, not the Latin. It advanced literate and intelligible worship.

2. This is a separate issue, to wit, Pentecostal blabbing. That can be handled in the comments section if further inquiry is desired.

3. We pray in the English language.

4. We use recognized sentences, syntax, words and message throughout the service.

5. We say and sing all this audibly, corporately, intelligently (mind, Romans 12.1-2), heartily (Ps.95.1-2) and with decency and good order (1 Cor.14.40).

6. Are there any further objections? If so, raise them in the comments section and we'll deal with them.

Interpretation:

Dependent fully upon His Majesty, His graciousness, and His Majestic Presence, the Prayer Book Anglican earnestly prays and seeks that his lips, mouth, mind, heart and soul will praise the LORD. What a great prayer we find as we enter more fully into divine worship---having proceeded from and through the Confession of Sin, Absolution, and the LORD's Prayer.

Application:

1. Humble, if needed, the bluster of enthusiasts' objections. Teach where opportunity is afforded. This includes, but is not limited to: Presbyterians and Reformed who churlishly ditched this book in the 17th century. (Being a literate and orderly tradition, many are more reasonable about it these days, may it be noted.) All this surely applies to the objections of the Baptists and other enthusiasts. Some will be offended that we refer to a literate tradition--Christianity is built upon a Book, a Bible, the Word of God. We make no apologies for being committed to intelligent, thinking, reasoned, hearty and full-souled c0mmittment to God's Word. If you need further inquiry, step up and put it in the comments section. The objection is often one of jealousy and, itself, one over which hearty repentance is needed. Clearly, a high schooler can understand these words. Younger people learn these prayers from memory, instructively, even evangelistically in some cases.

2. Do as you have prayed. "Open the mouth" and intelligently, heartily, and fully sing His Praises...which are to come shortly with the Venite of Psalm 95.

3. Teach Anglicans the importance of this point. Unabashedly, put the non-lits on the justifiable defensive..where they belong. They are the new comers to history.