K. Edward; as, 1. In the omission of Apocryphal lessons, of which it reserves only a few from the books of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus for Saints' Days. II. In the Psalms, Epistles, Hymns, and Sentences, which are given according to the new translation. III. In the substitution of Presbyter for Priest throughout. IV. In its proper Psalms for Whitsunday morning. v. In the use of 'Dominus regit me' for the 'Benedicite.' vi. In the Creed of S. Athanasius, where the following variations occur:- -' He therefore that would be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.' And, 'For as the reasonable soul &c., so he who is God and man is one Christ'.' VII. In the Litany which reads, 'govern thy holy Catholic Church universally,' &c. VIII. In the insertion of a prayer for the Ember weeks, and of the Catechism on the Sacraments. IX. In the addition to the Calendar of some Scottish Saints. Thus, drawn up and finished after an interval of twenty years since the first designment of a Liturgy for the Scotch Church, this Book was ratified by the Royal Proclamation in the December of 1636. And if it resembled the original English formulary in its principal office, it suffered even a more untoward fate than its predecessor. It found the nobility of Scotland strongly disaffected to the court of England, and the nation in general inimical to all form and discipline under whatever shape, and both very hostile, whether to the pride or to the superstitions (as they alleged) of the Episcopate; and it seemed, to use the language of Fuller, as if this ill-fated book was destined "to bear the blame of their breaking forth into more dangerous. designs, as when the cup is brim full before, the last, though least superadded drop is charged alone to be the cause of all the running over." Such being the case, it was by no means difficult to persuade the multitude, that the Service Book, 1 John i. 8. For material variations in the language and order of the New Scotch Communion Service, see p. xxxv. Pref. x Psalms xlv. xlvii. instead of xlviii. lxvii. [cxlv. 1549.] In Abp. Laud's letter to the Bp. of Dunblane the following observation is made upon changes proposed in the Athanasian Creed;"In the Creed of Athanasius, we can agree to no more emendations, no not according to our best Greek copy, than you shall find amended in this Book :"-viz. the two already referred to. Ꮓ The second of those in the present English Book. In the Collects for the Day, where the two Books of Edward differ, the Sc. Lit. generally follows the latter. which was to be introduced without the general consent of the Church or the nation, was an infringement of civil and religious liberty, and the first step towards restoring the idolatries and abominations of the Romish mass. The imprudent postponement of the first reading of the book from Easter to the 23rd of July, 1637, also supplied them with additional opportunities of organizing the opposition. The consequence was, that when the Dean of Edinburgh entered upon the Service on the latter day in the High Church, the rabble instantly set up a dreadful uproar, shouting, ‘A Pope,' 'Antichrist,' and otherwise exhibiting the most ungovernable passion. The Bishop who was present reminded them of the sacredness of the place, but this only infuriated them the more. The magistrates, however, at last succeeded in driving them from the church, which was no sooner done than they commenced a violent assault from the outside. Notwithstanding these interruptions, the Service for the morning was gone through, as it was also with rather less disturbance in most of the other churches. In the evening a repetition of the same excesses was prevented by the interference of the Lord Chancellor and the council. But the Liturgy had now received a blow from which it never afterwards recovered. The commotions which in rapid succession sprang from this as their ostensible source, and the concessions by which they were fed and nourished, may be found in the histories of those times. For the present it will suffice to say, that on the 22nd of September following, it was judged expedient to revoke the Service Book and the Canons, in the hopes of appeasing the popular ferment, by the sacrifice of that which had caused it. In the November of the next year (1638) the general assembly undertook for themselves to condemn episcopacy as antichristian, and to depose and excommunicate the Bishops for refusing to submit to them. Such in a few words was the beginning and the end of that famous Liturgy, which can scarcely fail to be an object of interest or curiosity, whether for its own intrinsic Skinner's Eccl. Hist., Letters 45, 46. "Various reasons were suggested for delay, arising from prudential motives on the part of some of the king's servants, and from disaffection or treason on the part of others. The more aged prelates were desirous that a longer period should be allowed for conciliating the minds of the people." Dr. Russell's Hist. p. 133. excellence, or as an office designed for a kindred Church, or for the tragical events with which its name stands connected. THE BOOK OF 1662. But the foregoing Book, unsuccessful as it was in accomplishing the immediate end for which it had been composed, was destined to exercise a material influence upon the Service Book of England. It has been seen indeed that the tendency of each revision of the Prayer Book from the year 1552, was to set forth more prominently the doctrine as well as the discipline of the Church. But in the Liturgy of Scotland the sacrificial signification of the Eucharist, and most of the primitive forms belonging to this principal rite of the Church, were restored without fear and without reserve. It remains to be seen to what extent the same spirit was infused into the Book of the Restoration. The final revision of the Book of Common Prayer was made in the year 1661. During a period of upwards of fifteen years previously, the Offices of the Church had been prohibited, and the Presbyterian Directory authorized by ordinance of Parliament in its stead. The calamities and scandals of that time were now producing in the minds of all well-disposed men, a strong reaction in favour of the ancient state of things; a feeling not a little increased by the exorbitant demands of the Presbyterian party in reference to the ritual and government of the Church. The Royal declaration from Breda had already held out to them the prospect of liberty to tender consciences, and the condescension or facility manifested by the King in several audiences with their representatives, had certainly raised expectations which could only end in disappointment. These interviews were shortly followed by a paper of proposals from the Ministers, which were promptly responded to by the Church. And here it immediately appeared that the dif ferences between the two parties were too wide to be capable of accommodation. The one would be satisfied with nothing less than a new Liturgy, or at least an effectual reformation of the old, with the use of varying forms to be b The two documents above referred to may be found in the Life of Baxter; the former entitled 'The First Address and Proposals of the Ministers,' p. 232. The Answer of the Bishops is given at p. 242. employed at the discretion of the minister: and as to ceremonies, they conceived that the worship of God was perfect without such admixtures, which in their estimation drew too near to the significancy and moral efficacy of the Sacraments themselves. The other pronounced the offices of Common Prayer to be unexceptionable, and that they could not be too strictly enjoined: and they were unwilling to part with the ceremonies, as being clearly of opinion that the satisfaction of some private persons ought not to overrule the peace and uniformity of the Church. Such was the posture of the controversy when his Majesty set forth his declaration of the 25th of October, 1660, concerning ecclesiastical affairs. This instrument stated, amongst other things, that in compassion towards those who scrupled the use of the Common Prayer, none should be punished or troubled for not using it, until it had been reviewed and effectually reformed; and it left the ceremonies of the Church during the interval to the discretionary use of the minister. On the 25th of March, 1661, a commission was issued to twelve of the Bishops, and as many representatives of the Presbyterian interest, with nine coadjutors on either side, empowering them to proceed at once to the revision. The place fixed upon for the meeting was the Master's lodgings in the Savoy. The duration of the conference was to be limited to the four calendar months next ensuing. The principle by which they were to be guided, was "to compare the existing book with the most ancient liturgies,—to make (if occasion required) such reasonable amendments as should be agreed upon to be needful,-and to avoid (as much as might be) all unnecessary abbreviations of the forms and liturgy." The result of their deliberations was to be certified to the King for his approval. On the motion of the Bishop of London, and after much opposition from the Presbyterians it was arranged that they should deliver their exceptions, and additions to the Liturgy in writing. To these c For the names of the Commissioners and for the Commission itself, see Statutes No. xi. at the end of the volume. d The paper of exceptions was given in to the Bishops on the 4th of May. The additions were by Mr. Baxter. "I made it," says he, "an entire the commissioners representing the Church, returned answers after the same manner. This was followed towards the close of the commission by a personal conference on the subject of the papers exchanged, and by a statement from the nonconformists, distinguishing between the things which they charged as sinful, and others which they opposed upon the grounds of inexpediency. Of the objections alleged against the doctrines and practice of the Church in her two great services, the principal of which are to be found in the appendix, the reader is left to judge for himself. They have probably ceased to be matters of much interest now, except as they helped to elicit from the Church of that time an explicit statement of her sense upon some chief articles of the faith, and of the importance which she then attached to certain points occasionally overlooked, if not altogether abandoned, in these latter days. The conference, as might have been anticipated from the discordant materials of which it was composed, broke up without concession on either side; and on the last day (the 24th of July, 1661) it was mutually determined that each party should deliver to the King this general report :-"That the Church's welfare, that unity and peace, and his Majesty's satisfaction, were ends upon which they were all agreed, but as to the means they could not come to any harmony." And this was the end of that assembly and commission. But on the 8th of May, and whilst the controversy was still pending, a Convocation was summoned by Abp. Juxon, to meet at St. Paul's; and in the course of their sessions a form of Prayer was provided for the 29th of May, and likewise an office for the Baptism of Adults. At about the same time also the new House of Commons, irritated perhaps at the proceedings of the nonconformists, and not without some insinuations that his Majesty's condescension had raised their spirits to an insupportable degree of insolence, evinced great impatience that the Liturgy was so long in preparatione. They even went so far as to make search for the original of K. Edward's Second Book', and on the ninth of July forwarded to the Upper House a Bill for the Uniformity of e Continuation of the Life of the Earl of Clarendon, p. 149. f Dr. Cardwell's History of Conferences, p. 376. |