The worship of the Church, and the beauty of holiness

by J. A. Regester

The selection of suitable Lessons for each day is a matter of careful arrangement on the part of the Church. There will be found in the front of the Prayer-Book "The Order how the Psalter is Appointed to be Read," and also "The Order how the Best of the Holy Scripture is Appointed to be Read." Four "Tables of Lessons" are given—for Sundays, for Holy-Days, for the forty days of Lent and the Rogation and Ember-Days, and for all the days of the year not otherwise provided for.

Of the two Lessons appointed, one is from the Old, the other from the New Testament. Both are "God's most holy Word," and taking the Lessons from both enables us to see the unity of thought and purpose in the two, and how the promises and predictions of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New.

The most common and, perhaps, the most appropriate lectern is that made in the form of an eagle, standing often upon a globe, bearing the Bible upon its outspread wings. The eagle, because of its lofty heavenward flight, is the symbol of inspiration, and its position upon the globe and its outspread wings remind us how the Word of God is to be carried into all the world.

There are, then, certain thoughts which the lectern should bring us: the reverent honor which "God's most holy Word" should ever receive from us; the privilege of its use as "a lantern unto my feet and a light unto my paths"; our missionary obligations and privileges—to make the outspread wings of the eagle a reality and not merely a symbol.

The Pulpit.—The pulpit suggests the thought of the sacred and important work of the Christian Ministry as preachers of the Word of God.

It is a common thing to hear persons say that they care little for the sermon and speak lightly of preaching. They forget that the preacher is one "sent," that our Lord Himself made preaching one of the great means for the spread of the Gospel and for the salvation of men. And as such persons do not reflect, in this disparagement of preaching, the mind of our Lord, so neither do they represent the estimate of the Church. The Church takes care to provide for it, and that, too, in connection with her most solemn act of worship, the celebration of the Holy Communion. Among the rubrics following the Creed in the Communion Office is this: "Then shall follow the Sermon." So, also, the Church, through the Bishop, demands of the man who comes to be ordained, "Are you determined, out of the Scriptures, to instruct the people committed to your charge?" And when he is ordered a Priest, this is a part of the authority given to him: "Take thou authority to preach the Word of God."

The discharge of this work, to do which the Minister is placed under vow, and for which he is given authority, is one of his most solemn obligations. The pulpit should, then, ever remind us of the loving care on the part of Christ and His Church for our soul's health and our growth in grace, which is thus expressed.

But it should remind us of something else, also,—of a duty on our part.