The Prayer Book Explained

by Percival Jackson

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 Coming of Christ Benedictus Nunc dimittis

The Spread of the Gospel Jubilate* Deus misereatur*

* Added in 1552.

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THE TE DEUM PRINTED SO AS TO SHOW ITS STRUCTURE.

[Transcriber's note: In the original book, each of the following 13 items was printed on a single line. In this e-book, they have been split at a logical point, usually a colon (:).]

1. TE Deum[1] laudamus, TE Dominum confitemur:
TE Aeternum Patrem[1] omnis terra veneratur.

2. TIBI omnes angeli, TIBI caeli et universae potestates:
TIBI Cherubim et Seraphim[2] incessabili voce proclamant.

3. SANCTUS SANCTUS SANCTUS DOMINUS DEUS SABAOTH[2]: PLENI SUNT CAELI ET TERRA MAJESTATIS GLORIAE TUAE[2].

4. TE gloriosus Apostolorum chorus, TE Prophetarum laudabilis numerus:
TE Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.

5. TE per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur ecclesia:
Patrem immensae majestatis.
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium.
Sanctum quoque Paracletum Spiritum.

6. TU Rex gloriae, Christe: TU Patris sempiternus es Filius.

7. TU ad liberandum suscepturus hominem non horruisti Virginis uterum:
TU devicto mortis aculeo aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.

8. TU ad dexteram Dei sede(n)s in gloria Patris:
Judex crederis esse venturus.

9. TE ergo quaesumus famulis tuis subveni quos pretioso
sanguine redemisti:
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria munerari.

10. Salvum fac populum tuum Domine et benedic haereditati tuae[3]:
et rege eos et extolle illos usque in aeternum[3].

11. PER SINGULOS DIES BENEDICIMUS TE[4]: ET LAUDAMUS NOMEN TUUM IN SAECULUM ET SAECULUM SAECULI[4].

12. Dignare Domine die isto sine peccato nos custodire:
miserere nostri Domine, miserere nostri[5].

13. Fiat misericordia tua Domine super nos quemadmodum
speravimus in TE[6]:
in TE Domine speravi, non confundar in aeternum[7].

[1] Isaiah ix. 6. [2] Isaiah vi. 3, cf. Rev. iv. 8. [3] Psalm xxviii. 9. [4] Psalm cxlv. 2. [5] Psalm cxxiii. 3. [6] Psalm xxxiii. 22. [7] Psalm xxxi. 1 and lxxi. 1.

Note. Some readers will at first sight be afraid of the Latin form of the Te Deum. It is however so important to the clear understanding of this beautiful Hymn that we hope they will piece together the English words and their Latin equivalents.

The task will not be really difficult, for most of the words are almost
English already.

It will not surprise them to find that Tu is Thou, and Te Thee, that Tibi is To Thee, and Dominum Lord, and so on. We think that most of the words will be understood by any one who is familiar with the English.

Aculeo, in line 7, means sting, and crederis esse venturus means Thou-art-believed to-be about-to-come.

To face p. 65]

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CHAPTER VIII.

PRAISE.

IV. Te Deum laudamus.

This ancient Latin Hymn of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ has in many Service-books been attributed to S. Ambrose and S. Augustine. One of the stories is that they sang it in alternate verses when the latter was baptized by the former, A.D. 386. We shall presently show that it is composed on a very elaborate plan, and is very far from being an extempore Hymn. Its earlier verses are founded on expressions in Isaiah (vi. 3, ix. 6).

Its concluding part has not always been in the form which has become familiar to us: in its present shape it may be regarded as the survival of the best of the different forms. The verses of this part as they now stand are obviously taken chiefly from the Psalms (xxviii. 9, cxlv. 2, cxxiii. 3, xxxvi. 22, xxxi. 1 or lxxi. 1).

The following lines of an early morning hymn, found in the Alexandrine MS. of the Bible, are very similar to the verses which we have numbered 11 and 12:

"Day by day will I bless Thee and praise Thy name for ever, and for ever and ever. Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin."

{66} There is a sentence in S. Cyprian also (De Mortalitate, p. 166, ed. Fell) quoted in the notes in illustration of line 4, which must have been borrowed from the Te Deum, or lent to it.

It is not easy to determine whether an elaborate composition of this description, designed evidently for worship, is more likely to lend or to borrow any particular phrase. The Psalm verses, and verses &c. from Isaiah, are evidently borrowed by the Hymn. Perhaps this suggests that the composer was likely to have borrowed, rather than lent, the other passages. On the other hand, a Hymn founded on Scripture, carefully composed, and well known in worship, is precisely the source most likely to be quoted in other Hymns and in books.

We said that Te Deum is a Hymn of the Incarnation, and that it is an elaborate composition.

It is necessary to examine these points at some length. And first we must get rid of the modern way of printing it out in 29 verses. Many of them are half-verses quoted from the Psalms and Isaiah: and when we have begun to restore these with their colons, we find that the other verses answer to the same treatment. In short, most of the verses should be read two together with a colon to separate them for singing purposes. Having thus restored the Hymn to its original lines, we find that it consists of 13 verses in 3 Stanzas, the first and third having five lines each, and the middle Stanza having three lines. The three lines of the Middle Stanza correspond to the three divisions of our Saviour's Existence—(1) before He was made Man—(2) when He {67} lived on Earth—(3) after His Ascension (see the Latin Form). The Saviour's Existence, from the Eternal Beginning on to the Eternal Future, is the central thought of the Hymn. The dual form of each line in this Middle Stanza proves it to be a separate Stanza. The Incarnation is its theme—The Incarnation and its Antecedents and Consequences.

Tu Rex . . . . . . . . . . Tu Filius . . . . . .
Tu non horruisti . . . . . Tu aperuisti . . . .
Tu in gloria . . . . . . . Judex venturus . . .

The prominent place, in each line, of the pronoun Tu—Thou—is here to be noticed. It is characteristic of this middle Stanza that each of the three phases of the Saviour's existence is expressed by two thoughts which are included in one line. The pronoun Tu introduces each of the thoughts in each line, except the last of the three. The completeness of the summary of the Lord's Existence is a strong argument for treating these three lines as a Stanza: and the use of the pronoun Tu confirms the argument.

For turning to the First Stanza, we find each line has three thoughts. The prominent word in the first line is TE—Thee—and occurs three times. Similarly in the second line TIBI—to Thee: and in the fourth line TE. The last line of this Stanza varies, it is true, as the last line of the middle Stanza does, but retaining a triple thought, viz. the Holy Trinity. The third line has the Ter-Sanctus.

Thus the 1st Stanza, by its form, is separated from the 2nd Stanza, and the 2nd from the 3rd in like manner.

For, in the Third Stanza although TE is still {68} prominent as the first word, it is very sparingly introduced afterwards—once in the 11th line, and twice in the 13th. Here again we notice a variation with the object of marking the Stanza's last line, for in the last line TE occurs twice. The word Domine supplants Te in the 10th and 12th lines, and appears with Te twice in the 13th line.

The elaborate arrangement of the Hymn has been exhibited so as to eliminate the notion of an extempore composition. Its method however is worthy of some further consideration.

It will be evident that it proceeds on the idea of a centre thought in each Stanza, with thoughts balanced on each side. Thus in the 1st Stanza the centre thought (line 3 Latin Version) is the praise of Heaven and Earth (Isaiah vi. 3), addressed to Christ (see S. John xii. 41) by the Seraphim. The Choirs of Heaven are mentioned in the 2nd line, and those of earth in the 4th. The 5th line recurs to some of the thoughts of the 1st and the 3rd lines. Thus the 1st and 5th, the 2nd and 4th lines are balanced about the Song of Praise which forms the middle line.

So again, in the and Stanza, the centre thought is our Lord's Earthly Life with His Eternal Pre-existence on one side and His Eternal Glory now and hereafter on the other.

And further, the centre thought of the 3rd Stanza is the Praise expressed in the 11th line, Day by day we magnify Thee, and we worship Thy name ever world without end. This line corresponds to the 3rd line, the Ter-Sanctus, which is the centre of the 1st Stanza. The first and third Stanzas are hereby made {69} to balance one another around the middle Stanza, both in the number of their lines and the plan of their arrangement.

Noting now that the plan and method of the Hymn are governed by the centre line and the centre thought in all the respects to which we have referred, we cannot fail to notice afresh that the Redeemer's Earthly Life is the centre thought of the whole Hymn—the centre line of the centre Stanza around which everything is grouped.

The division of the Hymn into Stanzas is, we suppose, conclusively proved. We may further infer that the Te and Tibi of Stanza i. are addressed to the same Person as the Tu of Stanza ii. and the Te of Stanza iii. i.e. to Christ. Stanzas ii. and iii. are evidently so addressed, and Stanza i. could not, we think, have made the pronouns so prominent without having the same reference.

It may however be objected that lines 1, 3, and 5 cannot be addressed to Christ. A little consideration will show that they can.

(a) Te Deum laudamus may be translated we praise thee O God. But the more obvious translation is we praise Thee as God, especially as it comes with we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord. The two Latin phrases are exactly parallel, so that if it is to be We praise Thee, O God, it should also be we acknowledge Thee O Lord.

Now the acknowledgement of the Godhead and Lordship of Christ was very likely to be stated in an early Hymn, far more than the acknowledgement that God is God. The Titles—God, Lord, Father {70} everlasting—which are here acknowledged, appear to be suggested by Isaiah ix. 6. For there the Lord of Hosts which is wonderful in counsel (Isaiah xxviii. 29) is expressed as Wonderful, Counsellor, and is followed by The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father. It is a passage acknowledged to refer to Christ, who is therefore recognised as Lord of Hosts (being wonderful in Counsel), Mighty God, Everlasting Father.

(b) Line 3. S. John (xii. 39-41), referring to our Saviour's rejection, quotes Isaiah vi. and adds These things said Isaiah when he saw His glory, and spake of Him. This reference to Isaiah's vision, when he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne and heard the Seraphim sing the Ter-Sanctus, will be a sufficient justification of the use of line 3 in an address to Christ.

(c) Line 5. As to the inclusion of the three Persons of the blessed Trinity in a doxology at the close of this Stanza, it is quite usual in Christian Hymns of all ages to guard the thought of the equality of the Persons of the Godhead by means of a doxology. As an instance we may quote Conditor alme siderum (Hymns A. and M. 45).

The position of the doxology in this Canticle should be noticed. We know of no other instance of its being placed at the close of the first, or anywhere but at the close of the last, Stanza. The reason for this variation seems to be that the last Stanza here has to some extent the nature of a prayer.

The following Greek hymn, attributed to St Basil, was printed by Archdeacon France in Preces Veterum {71} cum Hymnis Coaevis as of the 2nd, or at latest the 3rd, century:

phos ilaron agias doxes
athanatou patros
ouraniou agiou makaros
iesou Christe
elthontes epi tou eliou dusin
idontes phos esperinon
umnoumen
patera kai uion kai agion pneuma theou
axios ei en kairois umneiothai
phonais osiais
uie theou zoen o didous
dio o kosmos se doxazei
AMHN.

Keble's well-known translation (Hail, Gladdening Light) is to be found in Hymns Ancient and Modern, No. 18, as well as in Lyra Apostolica. The transition in the address from Christ to the Holy Trinity, and back again, presented no difficulty: rather it is a very suitable recognition of the Divine nature of Jesus.

Te Deum is evidently a Latin composition, and the exact meaning of its words and phrases must be sought in the Latin form of it.

Some various readings and translations may be worthy of notice.

1. Te Deum, 'Thee as God.'

Aeternum Patrem is substituted for the Vulgate reading, Patrem futuri saeculi.

The English Bible accepts it as the best rendering of the Hebrew in Isaiah ix. 6, but R.V. gives Father {72} of Eternity in the margin. The thought of Christ as Father to us is to be found in Isaiah viii. 18, quoted in Heb. ii. 13, where the writer is showing the complete human nature of Christ.

4. Prophetarum laudabilis numerus. Cyprian (De Mortalitate) has the words "There the glorious company of the apostles, there the fellowship (numerus) of exulting prophets, there the innumerable crowd of martyrs." It will perhaps be questionable whether laudabilis should not be taken as equivalent to exulting—full of praise (to God) rather than worthy of being praised.

Candidatus is 'white-robed'; 'noble' would be candidus.

Venerandum, trans. 'honorable,' is to be understood as 'deserving to be reverenced.'

5. Immensae. Here translated infinite, in the Creed of S. Athanasius incomprehensible. Literally unmeasured.

7. Ad liberandum, 'to set (him) free.'

Suscepturus hominem, 'when about to take man,' i.e. human nature.

8. Sedens, 'sitting,' is the reading in two MSS., and would agree with the absence of the second Tu in this line. Sedes means 'Thou sittest.'

Crederis esse venturus, 'art believed to be about to come.'

9. Numerari or munerari. In the Old English character it is sometimes difficult to distinguish where the seven strokes of the letters mun are to be divided into letters. A MS. at Exeter looks more like m u n, which is the reading of the two Irish MSS. referred to {73} above, and the reading of my own black letter Breviary (1524).

Heb. xi. 6 has the thought that God rewards a man who loves Him. Cf. also Jer. xxxi. 16, 'thy work shall be rewarded'[1].

The word numerari means 'to be counted, enrolled in a numerus or fellowship.' Cf. Prophetarum numerus, above.

12. Die isto, translated this day. It may be thought that the reference is to 'that day' as in 2 Tim. i. 12, 18, iv. 8, viz. the Judgment Day. Several of these lines would favour that reference.

13. "Lighten" is used in the Prayer Book in two senses, both derived from Anglo-Saxon words,—to illuminate, as in the 3rd Evening Collect, Lighten our darkness, and in the Ordination Hymn, Lighten with celestial fire:—but here, to "alight" or come down, cf. Deut. xix. 5; Gen. xxiv. 64 and xxviii. 11; 2 Kings v. 21 and x. 15, &c.

Non confundar in aeternum. This might more obviously be translated, "I shall not be confounded for ever." It is not inconsistent with the prayerful tone of this Stanza, that most of its lines express more hope than fear. That the closing words should be at once humble and confident would suit well with the character of this Hymn of praise.

On the other hand the words themselves are borrowed from two Psalms (xxxi. 1 and lxxi. 1), where they must be rendered as a prayer. It is therefore {74} preferable to take them here in the same sense. Latin scholars know that the use of non with the imperative occurs elsewhere, being apparently regarded as though compounded with it.

Note on the Doxology in Te Deum.

Te Deum is the only one of the Psalms and Canticles which is not provided with Gloria Patri at the end of it.

The obvious reason for this exception is that it is the only one which contains a Gloria Patri in the middle of it.

We have already said that an ascription of Praise to the Holy Trinity is in this case more appropriate at the end of the first Stanza than at the end of the third, because the third Stanza has a prayerful character introduced into its words of praise.

The steps by which the doxology grew in Te Deum may be conjectured. The sentence which was required in the fifth line to complete the ascription of Praise to Christ would be an acknowledgement of His Sonship. For such an acknowledgement has not yet occurred. Using the words of the Hymn, we should expect

Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur ecclesia
Patris venerandum verum unigenitum Filium.

Here the Father and the Son are mentioned. The addition of the words

Sanctum quoque paracletum spiritum,

and of epithets to express the majesty of the Father {75} would complete the sentence and express the equality of the Persons.

Te per orbem sancta confitetur ecclesia
Patris immensae majestatis
Venerandum verum unigenitum filium,
Sanctum quoque paracletum spiritum.

But the two genitives, Patris, majestatis, suggest the accusative Patrem; and already the addition of Spiritum has suggested the inclusion, under Te, of the Three Persons.

[1] The word 'reward' is frequently to be found in the English Bible where the Vulgate has reddo.

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CHAPTER IX.

PRAISE.

V. The Canticles continued.

The position which the _Te Deum _occupies in the morning is that of Respond of the whole people to the message of the Old Testament. We have found that the Te Deum is a Hymn of the Incarnation; hence it is especially appropriate as a Respond to those Old Testament Lessons which contain, or imply, the promise of the Saviour's Birth and Work on Earth. Gen. iii., Isaiah viii., Malachi iii. may be taken as examples: but there are very many which relate the doings of men in such a way as to leave the hearers waiting and wishing for the adoption which comes to us through Christ.

Some of them set forth the facts which show our miserable state without Christ. Others contain predictions of the life which He came on Earth to lead. Thus the Christian worshipper seeing the Christ wanted, promised, foretold, or the world waiting, groaning in pain, suffering, responds to such Lessons with this Hymn of the Incarnation.

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In the evening the place is occupied by another Hymn of the
Incarnation—Magnificat (doth magnify)—the Song of the Blessed
Virgin when the Birth of the Saviour was assuredly promised to her.

The Blessed Mother's words of greeting to the promise and assurance are very sacred, and may be regarded as the most suitable possible for any human being very near the Lord. The words of Isaiah, Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given will often come to the worshipper's mind, when he uses her words to express his praise after the 1st Lesson.

Sometimes however the connection of the Old Testament Lesson with the Incarnation may with advantage be omitted in favour of another line of thought and praise.

Lessons which declare the great acts of Creation, Providence, and Government by God sometimes contain but remote reference to the Redeeming work of Christ: and for such Lessons another Canticle is provided, viz. Benedicte omnia Opera (Bless ye all works) for the morning, and Cantate Domino (O sing unto the Lord) for the evening.

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 world.

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1. God my Saviour. This is the meaning of the name Jesus. The names Jesus and John were given designedly: naturally, therefore, they supply leading thoughts to the two Hymns which are especially associated with our Lord's Birth, and the birth of His forerunner (cf. Benedictus throughout, but especially vv. 4, 5, 6).

5. The name, John, suggests God's mercy.

7. The name, Mary, may have prompted the word exalted.

9. In this verse we can trace Zacharias=God hath remembered; John=God's mercy; and Elizabeth=God's oath.

The Song of Hannah in 1 Sam. ii. exhibits many points of similarity and contrast, when compared with this Hymn.

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 Europe.

Benedicite shares with other Canticles and with many parts of the Services the custom of being known by its first words in the Latin books.

We said that Te Deum laudamus not only had its name from the Latin Service Books, but is of Latin origin whether composed by Hilary of Arles, Hilary of Poictiers, or Ambrose and Augustine. But Benedicite, {79} though it has now a Latin name, is of Greek origin. It is a translation of part of the Greek additions to the Book of Daniel. In Daniel iii. the 23rd verse records how the Three Children of Israel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (i. 6), having come to great office in Babylon (ii. 49), and refused to fall down and worship the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar (iii. 18), were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. The 24th verse proceeds thus:

"Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose up in haste," and told his counsellors that he saw four men walking in the fire without hurt.

At this point, between verses 23 and 24, there is a sort of pause in the action. It might be filled up by a mark indicating that some short time elapses. The Greek Version inserts 68 verses: consisting of a prayer of Azariah (Abed-nego), a few verses of narrative, and 40 verses of praise including the 32 verses which have been sung in the Church Services of many countries and many centuries.

The Hymn calls upon all God's creatures to worship Him—collectively in the first verse, afterwards in groups.

First group. Heavenly powers.

Second group. Earthly powers.

Third group. Earth and its component parts.

Fourth group. Men.

Notice first the leading verse of each group: 2. Angels—9. Winds (spiritus)—18. Earth—26. Children of men. The classification in the groups is evidently influenced by the 1st chapter of Genesis. In v. 4 the Waters above the firmament (Gen. i. 7) are {80} divided from the Wells, Seas, Floods of vv. 21, 22. The former appear here as Heavenly Powers, the latter as creatures of God in the Earth.

The Showers and Dew of v. 8 are regarded as coming from Heaven. They appear therefore in group 1, but in its last verse, so that the transition is easy to the earthly powers amongst which they might have been placed.

The second group includes the forces of Nature which more distinctly surround us on earth. There is some uncertainty in the various versions of this section. The Prayer Book, following, as usual, the Great Bible of 1539, has Dews and Frosts in v. 10, meaning probably Dews and Hoar Frosts. The Bible (A.V.) has Hoar Frosts coupled with Snows. It has Fire and Heat and also, in some Versions, Cold and Heat, but omits Winter and Summer. Sometimes there is contrast in the couples and sometimes the forces coupled together are of the same sort.

In group 3, Earth is called up first as including the rest, which progress from that which does not move to that which does, ranging through the inanimate moving things, such as budding things and water, and the animate creation, such as move in the sea, the air and, whether wild or tame, upon the earth.

Group 4 begins, like group 3, with an inclusive term "Children of Men": and proceeds through Israel, as God's People, and Israel's Priests, as God's special choice, to those who really serve God whether in this life or after it; concluding with the specially present service of the holy and humble, and, in particular, Ananias, Azarias, and Misael.

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All these Creatures of God's hand, whether animate or inanimate, or the
Forces which are behind both, are challenged to praise their Maker.
They are called up in twos and threes, a great army, representing all
the visible and invisible hosts of Heaven and Earth.

In connection with this Hymn we should read Gen. i., Psalm civ., and
Psalm cxlviii.

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 praise Him in their various orders in very similar fashion. Here however the climax is reversed. Beginning with human beings and God's mercy to them, and notably to Israel, we pass on to the sea, the world, the floods, the hills and all the inhabitants, returning at the end to the people and God's justice and judgment.

In both these Canticles, the thought is present that those, who do what God designs that they should do, are thereby praising Him. Hills, and valleys, and seas, are thought of as if they were human beings: they rejoice, and sing, and clap their hands, when ungrudgingly and with all the beauty and generosity of their best nature they carry out the Will of God. When man does the like, of his own will and in his {82} own place, he also sings, and makes great the praise of God.

v. 2. With his own right hand, and with his holy arm. Several passages in Isaiah (li. 9, lii. 10, lix. 16, lxiii. 5) use this figure to represent God's invincible might.

Other phrases of Isaiah (lii. 7-10) are to be traced in this Psalm. The Lord the King, "Thy God reigneth": declared his salvation, "publisheth salvation": all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God, "all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." O sing unto the Lord . . . let the hills be joyful, "Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places."