What The Bible Revelation Says About God
Reasoning of the kind which Socrates used comes near to proof. But it
can never actually prove the existence of God. The mind of man is so
constituted that it dislikes the notion of Laws without a Lawgiver.
Evolution is a law which is found to hold in many cases, and is often
assumed, with much probability, to hold in other cases. And it is a
Law which exhibits the most beautiful adjustments in its working. We
natu
The Revelation which is written in the Bible, and which has been held
true from distant ages by good men, is a Revelation which appeals to a
higher quality in man than even his intellect. It appeals to his
faith. The Bible evidence of God's existence is consistent with
reason, and grounded on faith.
We should be able to find many texts which state God's existence, His
Unity, His Omnipotence, His Omniscience. We prefer however to refer
the student to whole Books and long passages: such, for instance, as
the training of Israel to worship God--the awe and reverence which
appear in all the language about God--the consistent Holiness of His
character as presented in all the Books. From the first words of the
Bible, In the beginning God created, to its last chapter (Rev. xxi.
5), Behold I make all things new, it is a Revelation of the Creator.
The following may be remembered:
Deut. iv. (35) 39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy
heart, that the LORD he is God in {105} heaven above, and upon the
earth beneath: there is none else. 1 Kings viii. (Solomon's Prayer).
Isaiah xl. 12-31, xlv. Job xxxviii-xli.
The argument of Socrates pointed to a Creator who loves men. The Bible
declares God to be a Loving Father. Deut. xxxii. 6. Is not he thy
father that bought thee? Deut. i. 31. The LORD thy God bare thee, as
a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went. Acts xvii.
22-31. S. Paul at Athens. vv. 24-28. The God that made the world .
. . made of one every nation . . . that they should seek God . . .: for
in him we live, and move, and have our being; . . . as certain even of
your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Further He is revealed as the Father of Jesus. S. John xx. 17. I
ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
S. John xiv. 12, 13 . . . I go unto the Father. And whatsoever ye
shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified
in the Son. S. Matth. xi. 27. All things have been delivered unto me
of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither
knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal him.
The Love of the Father towards men is shown by His tenderness towards
them. Rom. viii. 39, (nothing) shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. v. 8, God commendeth
his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Psalm ciii. describes this tenderness, showing (v. 6) that
God's judgments against oppression are a kindness to the weak. So in
{106} many other places. Note also that vice and crime are an injury
to the wicked, and a burden to others. Hence God's hatred of sin is a
sign of His Love.
Thus the first paragraph of this Creed is an Act of Worship, from
children towards their Father, as well as from the creatures of God's
hand towards their God.
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Forms Of Worship
We have seen that Unity of Intention is necessary to congregational worship. When a few people, animated by the same sentiments, are drawn together by one motive, and incur the same dangers, it matters little whether they use a form of worship or n... The Key-note Of Prayer And Praise
"When ye pray, say, Our Father, &c." S. Luke xi. 2. We can now understand why the Lord's Prayer is used twice in the same Service. The Praises begin with it and the Prayers begin with it. The setting of {17} the Lord's Prayer will always proc... Variety Of Method
The worshippers are divided into two or more parties who take up their parts alternately, or together. It is evident that such a division may be made in many ways. Those which have been adopted in former times have resulted in the survival of five... What The Bible Revelation Says About God
Reasoning of the kind which Socrates used comes near to proof. But it can never actually prove the existence of God. The mind of man is so constituted that it dislikes the notion of Laws without a Lawgiver. Evolution is a law which is found to hol... Worship-forms
We find that, in the Services, shares are distributed to the worshippers in five different ways, which may be called Worship-forms. The Table on p. 21 should be carefully studied. Hooker's description of them (E. P. v. xxxix. 1) is a little diffi... Advent Setting Of Venite
Behold the King cometh. Let us go to meet our Saviour. O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our Salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving: and shew ourselves glad in him with Psalms. ... Anthems
Anthem=Antiphon, fr. antiphonon: so called because two choirs sing alternately. Anthems are of two sorts--simple Anthems and compound Anthems. A simple Anthem is one or more verses (often from Holy Scripture), used to give character to a Psalm... Appeal For Help
The eight versicles which follow next are addressed to Christ, and in most editions of the Prayer Book are separated by a small space from the Verse and Respond, Priest. O Lord, let thy mercy, &c. Answer. As we do put, &c. These eight ... Appendix A
Cartwright, attacking the Prayer Book, 1572 or later, wrote-- "For the singing of Psalms by course and side after side, although it be very ancient yet it is not commendable, and so much the more to be suspected for that the Devil hath gone about ... Benedicite
The Canticle Benedicite omnia Opera is so called from Latin words meaning Bless ye, all Works. Our Services were translated from the Latin Services used in our Church for centuries before 1549: for Latin was the common language of civilised Europ... Benedictus
Benedictus is the Hymn of Zacharias upon the first beginning of the actual Coming of Messiah. "The horn of salvation was virtually raised up when the Incarnation became an accomplished fact" (Godet). The birth of S. John the Baptist was foretold t... Cantate Domino
Passing now to the corresponding Canticle at Evensong, we find Cantate Domino, the 98th Psalm, which, though much briefer, and nearly free from elaborate detail, makes the same acknowledgement of the Almighty Maker, and calls upon His creatures to p... Canticles Which Follow The Second Lesson
We have seen that the Gospel is frequently hidden[1] in the Old Testament Lessons. The unfolding of this hidden thought comes by natural sequence in the Second Lessons. They are chosen from the Gospels, which tell the History of our Lord's Earthly... Dates
The principal dates which are of use in reading this book fall into four groups: 1. The Early Church. 2. The Discussion of the Creed. 3. The Growth of Services. 4. The Growth of the English Services. There is of course a certain a... Dates Connected With The Growth Of The Christian Service Books
A.D. 112. Pliny's Letter. 140. Justin Martyr's 1st Apology. 340-397. Ambrose, Bp of Milan. 347-407. Chrysostom, Bp of Constantinople. Before 400. Clementine Liturgy. 463-474. Mamertus, Bp of Vienne. Litanies. 590-604. Gr... Deus Misereatur
Ps. lxvii., styled by Dr Kay The Spiritual Harvest-Home Song of Israel, is to be applied by us to the Harvesting of Missionaries, when set before our minds in the Second Lesson. It especially refers to the gathering-in of the Gentiles ('all nations... Duplication Of Phrases
It has often been noticed that pairs of words having nearly the same meaning frequently occur in the Prayer Book. This doubling of an idea may be called 'Duplication'. Duplication is of two kinds: either the words coupled together are so nearly ... Easter Eve Setting Of Magnificat
[Transcriber's note: In the following section, in the original book, the material in the right-hand column was italicized. In standard Project Gutenberg practice, such text is (usually) surrounded by underscores (""), but for clarity, that undersco... Examples Of Duplication
1. Exhortation. Parallel. goodness and mercy. assemble and meet together. Progressive. ( acknowledge . . . . . suggesting reluctance. ( confess . . . . . . . " willingness. ( sins . . . . . . . . .... Extempore Worship And Forms Of Worship
There is no such special merit in monotony as to require that the worship of God should be conducted wholly in one method rather than in several. Rather it must be acknowledged that there is merit in variety if it be subjected to dignity and order.... General Scheme Of The Day Hours
We will not enter into the minute differences of structure which are found in one or other of the Day Hours. The following list will show the order of a Service which is nearly identical with each of them.: Our Father, &c. Versicles. Hymn... God's Answer To Confession Is The Absolution Or Remission Of Sins
As an illustration of this we may think of Esther, when she went to make her petition of the King (Esther iv. 2, v. 1-3). The King extending his sceptre gave her permission to speak. ... History Of The Apostles' Creed
The similarity of the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, as they stand in the Prayer Book, {95} suggests the reflection that disputes about the Human and Divine Natures of Jesus caused the enlargement of those parts which refer to Him: and that s... Hymns In The Daily Services
We are about to explain how Hymns are attached to Lessons for purposes of worship. It will be well therefore to consider what a Hymn is, and how we arrived at the present arrangement. We will defer to the chapter on Anthems the consideration of th... Intention And Setting
The same words may serve for Praise and for Prayer. The plainest meaning of "Hallowed be Thy Name" is Praise to God. But it may be also a Prayer to Him to cause His Name to be hallowed. If we have no reason to the contrary, we shall use the Lord'... Introduction
TEXT and SERMON on Confession. The act of CONFESSION. GOD'S ANSWER to Confession. PRAISE. Praise-terminations THE LORD'S PRAYER . . . . . . Thine is the kingdom. ( 1. Interjected Verse... Jubilate Deo
It is scarcely necessary at this time to show that the 100th Psalm is suitable as a Canticle after a Missionary Lesson; for it seems to be assumed that the Old Hundredth, in its metrical form, is an integral and necessary part of a Missionary meetin... Justin Martyr
61. * * * We bring them where there is water; and after the same manner of regeneration as we also were regenerated ourselves, they are regenerated; for, in the Name of God, the Father and Lord of all things, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of... Lessons And Lectionaries
Acts xv. 21. "Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the Synagogues every Sabbath Day." The reference is to the Mosaic regulations which were to a certain extent to be observed by all Christians, out of considerat... Magnificat
Jesus is known to us as the Son of Man: hence His people can use the words of the Blessed Virgin. When she looked forward to His coming, she used words which we can say after reading the Old Testament promises of a Saviour who should come into the ... Map Of The Lessons And Their Canticles
Character of the Lesson Mattins Evensong O. T. Creation and Providence Benedicite Cantate* Need of Redemption Te Deum Magnificat laudamus N. T. The... Morning And Evening Prayer
It must not be supposed that these Services were composed suddenly in their present shape. They are indeed formed on the pattern given by the Lord's Prayer; and they make use of the methods which we have described--Intention, Setting, Key-note, Wor... Names And Titles
The Services of our Church were translated into English in 1549. Many alterations were made at that time. The seven Day Hours were combined into two Services--Mattins and Evensong: the Holy Communion Service was assimilated in some respects to E... Nunc Dimittis
The Evening Service is supplied with a different Hymn of the Advent for its Second Lesson--that of the aged Simeon, when, having waited through his long life for it, he was blessed at last with the sight of the Infant Jesus. Holding Him in his arms... On Pliny's Letter To The Emperor Trajan
[Pliny the younger was Governor of Pontus and Bithynia during some of the early years of the 2nd century. Trajan was Emperor from A.D. 98 to 117. The letter, from which we give some extracts, has been dated (Bp Lightfoot) A.D. 112. It shows that ... On The Addition Of Filioque To The Creed
The Nicene Creed (325) had the words "Proceeding from the Father": the Council of Ephesus (431[1]) decreed that no addition was to be made to the Creed, as there settled. When, however, the question was raised whether we ought not to say "proceedin... On The Greek Origin Of Litanies (p 153)
Litany comes from the Greek litaneia. lite means a prayer; whence (litanos) one who prays; litaneuo to be a person who prays; litaneia a continued prayer. Thus Litany has the meaning of "prolonged prayers." In the (Greek) Liturgy of S. James... On The Lessons In The Day Hours
The Preface to the Prayer Book Concerning the Service of the Church states that, prior to 1549, the old order, for reading the greatest part of the Bible through every year, had been "so altered, broken, and neglected, that commonly when any book of... Origin Of Morning And Evening Prayer
The Services in the Prayer Book may be roughly classed as (1) those which are used every week: and (2) those which are used more rarely. The principal service is the Holy Communion; which is provided with a special Collect, Epistle and Gospel for ea...