The second paragraph of the general rubric at the beginning of the order for Morning and Evening Prayer was struck out, and the following passage was inserted instead:—“Whereas the surplice is appointed to be used by all ministers in performing divine offices, it is hereby declared, that it is continued only as being an ancient and decent habit. But yet, if any minister shall come and declare to his Bishop that he cannot satisfy his conscience in the use of the surplice in divine service, in that case the Bishop shall dispense with his not using it, and if he shall see cause for it, he shall appoint a curate to officiate in a surplice.” The new paragraph was afterwards scored down the side, the following memorandum being appended:—“This rubric was suggested but not agreed to, but left to further consideration.” Another memorandum followed in these words, “A Canon to specify the vestments.”
Numerous verbal alterations were introduced into the Litany,—“sudden death” being altered into “dying suddenly and unprepared;” and new versicles and responses were inserted, “From all infidelity and error, from all impiety and profaneness, from all superstition and idolatry,—Good Lord deliver us.” With the Litany it was proposed to connect the rehearsal of the Ten Commandments, and the response, “Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.”
COMPREHENSION.
To the Prayers and Thanksgivings upon several occasions were added two new forms: one a prayer to be said before receiving the Communion, another a prayer for any time of calamity. Forty-two new Collects were composed; and in the administration of the Lord’s Supper, after the Ten Commandments, came the insertion of the Beatitudes, with this petition after each of them, “Lord, have mercy upon us, and make us partakers of this blessing.” Here, and throughout the whole Prayer-Book, for the title priest is substituted that of minister. In the office for Baptism of Infants, the presentation of children for that purpose by godfathers and godmothers is acknowledged as an ancient custom to be continued; it is added, that if any person comes to the Minister, and tells him he cannot conveniently procure godfathers and godmothers for his child, and that he desires the child may be baptized upon the engagement of the parent or parents only, in that case the Minister, after discourse with him, if he persists, shall be obliged to baptize such child, or children, upon the suretiship of the parent, or parents, or some other near relation or friends. If any Minister objected at his institution to use the sign of the cross, the Bishop might dispense with that particular, and name a Curate to act for him. In reference to the doctrine of Regeneration, the form of Baptism remained the same as before.
Large additions were made to the Catechism and to the Confirmation Service, the prayers after the last answer being considerably modified; and a new prayer and exhortation prepared for the confirmed, who were required to stay and listen to it.
1689.
The “Solemnization of Matrimony,” with several verbal changes, remains substantially unaltered; but in “the Order for the Visitation of the Sick,” together with fresh interrogatories, there is this important change in the words of absolution: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to His Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in Him, of His great mercy, forgive thee thine offences; and upon thy true faith and repentance, by His authority committed to me, I pronounce thee absolved from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
In the Burial Service the word “dear” before the word “brother” is struck out; so are the words “as our hope is this our brother doth.” “Through any temptations” is substituted in place of the expression “for any pains of death;” and the last prayer but one is so altered that the latter portion becomes quite different. It runs thus: “We give Thee hearty thanks for that it hath pleased Thee to instruct us in this heavenly knowledge, beseeching Thee so to affect our hearts therewith, that seeing we believe such a happy estate hereafter, we may live here in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God; that being then found of Thee in peace without spot and blameless, we may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in Thy eternal and everlasting glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
COMPREHENSION.
No one who takes the trouble to read through the report of these tedious proceedings but must be astonished at the extent of the proposed alterations. They prove that some of the Episcopalian Divines who took part in the revision of 1689 must have been a very different class of men from the Episcopalian Divines who took part in the revision of 1662. Calamy became acquainted with the alterations, and said he thought if the scheme had been carried out, it would “have brought in two-thirds of the Dissenters.”[159] No doubt a considerable number might have been satisfied, but I consider Calamy to have been too sanguine in his expectation; his expectation resting mainly on what he knew of Presbyterians, who were much more disposed to return to the Establishment than were brethren of other denominations. But in addition to circumstances already mentioned unfavourable to Comprehension, the triumph of Presbyterianism in Scotland, which involved the abolition of Prelacy in that country, produced in Prelatists a great deal of bad feeling, and stood in the way of the present attempt; this obstacle was greatly increased by Nonconformist attacks at the time upon the use of Liturgies, and by a constantly augmenting number of Nonconformist ordinations. Besides, although extensive alterations came under discussion, very few Episcopalians were disposed to go to such lengths as were proposed; some who were active in the affair were also cautious, and an immense majority outside the Committee utterly disliked the whole business, and were opposed to any alteration whatever in the formularies.[160]