Answ. I have so far opened that in the family directions, that I will now only say, 1. That eucharistical worship is the great work of the day; and that it should be kept as a day of public thanksgiving for the whole work of redemption, especially for the resurrection of our Lord.[324]
2. And therefore the celebration of the sacrament of the Lord's supper was always a chief part of its observation in the primitive churches: not merely for the sacrament's sake; but because with it was still joined all the laudatory and thanksgiving worship. And it was the pastor's work so to pray, and praise God, and preach to the people, as tendeth most to possess their souls with the liveliest sense of the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, on the account of our redemption.
3. Though confession of sin and humiliation must not be the chief work of the day, yet it may and must come in, as in due subordination to the chief. 1. Because there are usually many persons present, who are members only of the visible church, and are not fit for the laudatory and rejoicing part. 2. Because while we are in the flesh, our salvation is imperfect, and so are we; and much sin still remaineth, which must be a grief and burden to believers: and therefore while sin is mixed with grace, repentance and sorrow must be mixed with our thanksgivings, and we must "rejoice with trembling." And though we "receive a kingdom which cannot be moved," yet must our "acceptable service of God be with reverence and godly fear, because our God is a consuming fire."[325] 3. Our sin and misery being that which we are saved from, doth enter the definition of our salvation. And without the sense of them, we can never know aright what mercy is, nor ever be truly glad and thankful. But yet take heed that this subordinate duty be not pretended, for the neglecting of that thanksgiving which is the work of the day.
[324] Psal. xcii. 1-5; cxviii. 1-3, 15, 19, 23, 24, 27-29; Acts xx. 7, 9; Rev. i. 10; Acts xxiv. 14, 25, 26, &c.; Psal. xvi. 7-10; 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2.
[325] Psal. ii. 9-11; Heb. xii. 28, 29.
Quest. LXXXIII. May the people bear a vocal part in worship, or do any more than say, Amen?
Answ. Yes:[326] the people should say Amen; that is, openly signify their consent. But the meaning is not that they must do no more, nor otherwise express their consent saving by that single word. For, 1. There is no scripture which forbiddeth more. 2. The people bear an equal part in singing the psalms; which are prayer, and praise, and instruction. 3. If they may do so in the psalms in metre, there can no reason be given but they may lawfully do so in the psalms in prose; for saying them and singing them are but modes of utterance; both are the speaking of prayer and praise to God: and the ancient singing was liker our saying, than to our tunes, as most judge. 4. The primitive christians were so full of the zeal and love of Christ, that they would have taken it for an injury and a quenching of the Spirit, to have been wholly restrained from bearing their part in the praises of the church. 5. The use of the tongue keepeth awake the mind, and stirreth up God's graces in his servants. 6. It was the decay of zeal in the people that first shut out responses; while they kept up the ancient zeal, they were inclined to take their part vocally in their worship; and this was seconded by the pride and usurpation of some priests thereupon, who thought the people of God too profane to speak in the assemblies, and meddle so much with holy things.
Yet the very remembrance of former zeal, caused most churches to retain many of the words of their predecessors, even when they lost the life and spirit which should animate them. And so the same words came into the liturgies, and were used by too many customarily, and in formality, which their ancestors had used in the fervour of their souls.
6. And if it were not that a dead-hearted, formal people, by speaking the responses carelessly and hypocritically, do bring them into disgrace with many that see the necessity of seriousness, I think few good people would be against them now. If all the serious, zealous christians in the assembly speak the same words in a serious manner, there will appear nothing in them that should give offence. If in the fulness of their hearts, the people should break out into such words of prayer, or confession, or praise, it would be taken for an extraordinary pang of zeal; and were it unusual, it would take exceedingly. But the better any thing is, the more loathsome it appeareth when it is mortified by hypocrisy and dead formality, and turned into a mockery, or an affected, scenical act. But it is here the duty of every christian to labour to restore the life and spirit to the words, that they may again be used in a serious and holy manner as heretofore.
7. Those that would have private men pray and prophesy in public, as warranted by 1 Cor. xiv. "Ye may all speak," &c. do much contradict themselves, if they say also that a layman may say nothing but Amen.