Saturday 20 October 2012

THE ANGLICAN BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER: ITS VIRTUES & VICES (Part 10)

THE ANGLICAN BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER:
ITS VIRTUES & VICES

OR

THE ALTERNATIVE WESTMINSTER DIRECTORY OF PUBLIC
WORSHIP (1645) CONSIDERED

Being the substance of a paper first presented to the
1989 Westminster Conference in London

by Dr Alan C. Clifford

PART 10

The Priority of Preaching

Thus the major concern of the Assembly was to restore preaching to a place of prominence in public worship. Here one detects the great difference in priorities between Anglican and Puritan worship. Not that the Anglican Reformers had neglected the great necessity of preaching, at least in principle. Indeed it had been Cranmer's intention that after Morning prayer, the Litany and Ante-communion, a 'sermon or homily' should be preached. The excellent Books of Homilies50 were intended as a basis for the reformation of preaching. However, as the Prayer Book became more established, the sheer length of the liturgy left little or no time for a sermon. Practice rather than intention thus justifies Dr. Kenneth Brownell's observation that 'Anglican worship is primarily priestly' whereas 'Reformed worship is primarily prophetic'.51 The truth is that Anglican worship was only semi-reformed. and under the iron hand of Queen Elizabeth, who disliked Puritans AND preaching,52 the prophetic features of the English Reformation became smothered by more priestly elements. Thus, in the spirit of Calvin's letter to the Duke of Somerset, the Westminster Assembly was determined to ensure that 'good trumpets' would have plenty of time to preach. Accordingly, the Directory declares that 'Preaching of the word, being the power of God unto salvation, and one of the greatest and most excellent works belonging to the ministry of the gospel, should be so performed. that the workman need not be ashamed, but may save himself, and those that hear him.'

Whatever our former FIEC president means by saying that the sermon is a 'relatively modern invention', we have the Puritans to thank for reasserting its importance. When the centrality of preaching is attacked by those ostensibly in the Puritan tradition, it is high time to remember our roots. For all that is best and most enduring in the history of evangelicalism has been due to the God-honoured, Spirit-anointed preaching of Christ and him crucified. We must not be ignorant of Satan's devices. He is always opposed to preaching. The introduction of drama and dance among so-called evangelicals gives him  as well as others  great pleasure, for the gap between truth-obscuring 'dramatic worship' and the truth-corrupting theatricalism of the Mass is no great chasm! 
One trusts it is not necessary in this conference to labour these points. But, for us to be self-critical for a moment, a thorough study of the Directory's excellent pronouncements on preaching would not only complete a preacher's education; it would help us to avoid the sometimes valid criticism one hears about modem Reformed preaching. For instance, the preacher should not simply dish up dull, undiluted systematic theology. Truth must be made to live. After all, doesn't the prince of darkness prefer dull, dark sermons too? So 'illustrations, of what kind soever, ought to be full of light'. More generally, the Westminster divines were clearly aware that mere orthodoxy of sentiment, soundness of education, competence in knowledge, correctness of pulpit utterance and dignity of gesture are not enough. True, as John Caiger made clear in his helpful exposition53 of the Directory's teaching on preaching, Puritan preaching was intellectual, biblical, theological, pastoral, and spiritual. And what ensures this balanced character of true preaching? The preacher's own personal walk with God. According to the Directory, he must have 'his senses and heart exercised in (the holy scriptures) above the common sort of believers; and by the illumination of God's Spirit, and other gifts of edification, which (together with reading and studying of the word) he ought still to seek by prayer, and an humble heart'. Without this priority, sermons will be little more than arid dissertations and preaching nothing but unspiritual oratory. And if preaching is to be the highlight of Reformed worship, powerless preaching is all the excuse our detractors need to go elsewhere and do something different! May we heed the words of the greatest preacher Puritanism ever produced, Richard Baxter: 'Nothing is more indecent than a dead preacher, speaking to dead hearers the living truths of the living God'.54

To be practical, the Westminster divines didn't expect that every preacher should conform to a rigid Puritan equivalent of the Anglican stereotype with his sanctimonious grin and parsonic voice! They weren't out to crush individuality. As surely as Cranmer's style was not Calvin's, so Bunyan was not to ape Baxter, nor was Goodwin to duplicate Gouge. So, the Directory's 'method is not prescribed as necessary for every man...but only recommended, as being found by experience to be very blessed of God'. But whatever our homilectic method, our ministry should be 'Painful' rather than negligent, 'Plain' for all to understand, 'Faithful' in seeking Christ's honour alone, 'Wise' in the use of reproof, without personal passion or bitterness, 'Grave', so as not to make preaching appear contemptible  there must be no attempt to entertain  and 'Loving' or 'affectionate', that our hearers may see our only concern is 'to do them good'. Lastly, he who teaches others must be seen to be 'taught of God, and persuaded in his own heart, that all that he teacheth is the truth of Christ; and walking before his flock, as an example to them in it; earnestly, both in private and public, recommending his labours to the blessing of God, and watchfully looking to himself, and the flock whereof the Lord hath made him an overseer'. If preaching was in need of reformation according to these criteria 350 years ago, God forbid that we should say anything less today!

=========================================================================

May I draw your attention to this website where you will discover something about John Calvin's evangelistic preaching.  He was primarily a preacher of the Gospel, and you will get a flavour of Calvin's evangelistic preaching when you buy this book.

No comments: