Pastoral Prayer and Communities of Faith

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms:

Dying to Self and Helping our Neighbor to Worship in Holiness and Truth

Good Morning,

I noted last week that we will be taking two-weeks to go through the section of the Westminster Directory of Public Worship on the prayer after the sermon. While Reformed worship has largely functionally stayed the same since the earliest days of the Churches of Scotland, Geneva, and Holland it is within the purview of the elders of a local church to set up and order the service with their own wisdom and prudence. When we do stuff is a circumstance guided by the situation. Here in the DPW it seems the Lord’s Prayer for instance was often utilized at this time after the sermon, rather than after the opening prayer as we do at Bethany.

There also seems to be some parts that I include in the pastoral prayer, matters such as the moral needs of the nation, the civil authorities, and providential happenings in the world around us contained in this prayer. Again, that’s all up to the man praying and the men given by God to lead the people in devotional exercises on the Sabbath Day, It is not a hard and fast rule. As we’ve seen before the only requirements for Biblically oriented worship is that there is Scripture reading, men and women sing praises to Jesus, the minister teachers and feeds the people in the preaching of the word, and he then offers prayers unto the Lord. The time and place is wholly free and at the liberty of the moment. So as we read the below let us take that in mind just a bit.

Here’s the section for today:

And because the prayer which Christ taught his disciples is not only a pattern of prayer, but itself a most comprehensive prayer, we recommend it also to be used in the prayers of the church. And whereas, at the administration of the sacraments, the holding publick fasts and days of thanksgiving, and other special occasions, which may afford matter of special petitions and thanksgivings, it is requisite to express somewhat in our publick prayers, (as at this time it is our duty to pray for a blessing upon the Assembly of Divines, the armies by sea and land, for the defence of the King, Parliament, and Kingdom,) every minister is herein to apply himself in his prayer, before or after sermon, to those occasions: but, for the manner, he is left to his liberty, as God shall direct and enable him in piety and wisdom to discharge his duty.

The prayer ended, let a psalm be sung, if with conveniency it may be done. After which (unless some other ordinance of Christ, that concerneth the congregation at that time, be to follow) let the minister dismiss the congregation with a solemn blessing.

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