On appreciating the Old & Good through encounter with its contemporary equivalent

It is reasonably certain that anything composed since the 1970s, and it is highly probable that anything that will be created in the next decade or more, as public liturgies will not compare favorably with the texts of the public services in The Book of Common Prayer (first English edition, 1549; latest USA edition, 1928). That is, will compare in quality as texts to be read aloud as forms of public worship which address God, the Father, in a suitably humble and reverent manner in the Name of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

To make these claims is not to say that it is impossible to worship the eternal and infinite Holy Trinity addressing the Three Persons as “You;” rather, it is to say that developing an excellent form of prayer language in contemporary English is a tremendously difficult task and that the contemporary Church is still a long way from attaining this goal. Thus, if any of us is wholly satisfied with the “You”-language used to address God in modern hymns and liturgies, then he or she has possibly set his/her aim too low, and is probably offering to God something less than the best that is possible.

There is, I believe, great value (for those who address God as “You”) in returning to the classic English texts of prayer and worship such as The Book of Common Prayer and the King James Version of the Bible and The English Hymnal (or another older Hymn Book). Returning, that is, to explore the quality, the style, the content and the doctrine of these texts, and to regain a vision of what it is to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and in an excellent (yet understandable) form of words.

To assist in this task of visiting and appreciating classic texts, the Prayer Book Society has just published, Worshipping the LORD in the Anglican Way. Traditional Texts and Prayers from “ The Book of Common Prayer” (1928) in Parallel with Functional Equivalents in Contemporary English for Comparison and Study (July 2005).

On one side of the page is the classic text and on the other is a modern equivalent addressing God as “You.” The idea is that people used to modern liturgy will begin with the modern form of the text and then read the classic, and, possibly, see the merits and qualities, as well as style and doctrine, of the classic!

To buy a copy ($12.50 including postage) call 1 – 800- 727-1928 or write to the Prayer Book Society, P.O. Box 35220, Philadelphia, PA 19128-0220 Multiple copies available at much reduced price.

The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon MA., D.Phil (Oxford)