downloadTheology & History
Calvin: The Form Of Church Prayers, Strassburg Liturgy (1545) Part II
Although there is considerable diversity within the Reformed community, it is fair to say that the ideas of John Calvin strongly influenced Reformed worship practice. Calvin's Strassburg Liturgy is presented below.
We pray thee also, O faithful Father and Saviour, for all those whom thou hast ordained pastors of thy faithful people, to whom thou hast intrusted the care of souls and the ministry of thy holy Gospel. Direct and guide them by the Holy Spirit, that they be found faithful and loyal ministers of thy glory, having but one goal: that all the poor, wandering, and lost sheep be gathered and restored to the Lord Jesus Christ, the chief Shepherd and Prince of bishops, so that they may grow and increase in Him daily unto all righteousness and holiness. Wilt thou, on the contrary, deliver all the churches from the mouths of ravening wolves and from all mercenaries who seek their own ambition or profit, but never the exaltation of thy holy name alone, nor the salvation of thy flock.
We pray thee, now, O most gracious and merciful Father, for all men everywhere. As it is thy will to be acknowledged the Saviour of the whole world, through the redemption wrought by thy Son Jesus Christ, grant that those who are still estranged from the knowledge of Him, being in the darkness and captivity of error and ignorance, may be brought by the illumination of thy Holy Spirit and the preaching of thy Gospel to the straight way of salvation, which is to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Grant that those whom thou hast already visited with thy grace and enlightened with the knowledge of thy Word may grow in goodness day by day, enriched by the spiritual blessings: so that all together we may worship thee with one heart and one voice, giving honor and reverence to thy Christ, our Master, King, and Lawgiver.
Likewise, O God of all comfort, we commend unto thee all those whom thou dost visit and chasten with cross and tribulation, whether by poverty, prison, sickness, or banishment, or any other misery of the body or affliction of the spirit. Enable them to perceive and understand thy fatherly affection which doth chasten them unto their correction that thy may turn unto thee with their whole heart, and having turned, receive full consolation and deliverance from every ill.
Finally, O God and Father, grant also to those who are gathered here in the name of thy Son Jesus to hear His Word (and to keep His holy Supper), that we may acknowledge truly, without hypocrisy, what perdition is ours by nature, what condemnation we deserve and heap upon ourselves from day to day by our unhappy and disordered life. Wherefore, seeing that there is nothing of good in us and that our flesh and blood cannot inherit thy kingdom, may we yield ourselves completely, with all our love and steadfast faith, to thy dear Son, our Lord, the only Saviour and Redeemer:
To the end that He, dwelling in us, may mortify our old Adam, renewing us for a better life, *by which thy name, according as it is holy and worthy, may be exalted and glorified everywhere and in all places, and that we with all creatures may give thee true and perfect obedience, even as thine angels and heavenly messengers have no desire but to fulfill thy commandments. Thus may thy will be done without any contradiction, and all men apply themselves to serve and please thee, renouncing their own will and all the desires of their flesh. *In this manner, mayest thou have lordship and dominion over us all, and may we learn more and more each day to submit and subject ourselves to thy majesty. In such wise, mayest thou be King and Ruler over all the earth, guiding thy people by the sceptre of thy Word and the power of thy Spirit, confounding thine enemies by the might of thy truth and righteousness.
*And thus may every power and principality which stands against thy glory be destroyed and abolished day by day, till the fulfillment of thy kingdom be manifest, when thou shalt appear in judgment.
*Grant that we who walk in the love and fear of thy name may be nourished by thy goodness; and supply us with all things necessary and expedient to eat our bread in peace. Then, seeing that thou carest for us, we may better acknowledge thee as our Father and await all good gifts from thy hand, withdrawing our trust from all creatures, to place it entirely in thee and thy goodness.
*And since in this mortal life we are poor sinners, so full of weakness that we fail continually and stray from the right way, may it please thee to pardon our faults by which we are beholden to thy judgment; and through that remission, deliver us from the obligation of eternal death in which we stand. Be pleased, therefore, to turn aside thy wrath from us, neither impute to us the iniquity which is in us; even as we, by reason of thy commandment, forget the injuries done to us, and in instead of seeking vengeance, solicit good for our enemies.
*Finally, may it please thee to sustain us by thy power for the time to come, that we may not stumble because of the weakness of our flesh. And especially as we of ourselves are so frail that we are not able to stand fast for a single moment, while, on the other hand, we are continually beset and assailed by so many enemies—the devil, the world, sin, and our own flesh never ceasing to make war upon us—wilt thou strengthen us by thy Holy Spirit and arm us with thy grace, that we may be able to resist all temptations firmly, and preserve in this spiritual battle until we shall attain full victory, to triumph at last in thy kingdom with our Captain and Protector, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Commentary: This prayer is primarily intercessory, concluding with a paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer (here marked with asterisks for: Your Name be hallowed, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, Give us our daily bread, Forgive our sins, Lead us not into temptation but deliver from evil). Note that the daily bread is physical, earthly food; the model prayer is concerned with all matters, including the ordinary nourishment of this life. The 1542 Strassburg text does not have the paraphrase, but after the recitation of the Lord's Prayer, the minister is instructed to explain it to the people. There is a significant addition to this prayer in 1559, intercession for those Christians who are being persecuted for their faith.
Text: [The Manner of Celebrating the Lord's Supper]
Rubric prefixed to the Supper service:
"It is proper to observe that on the Sunday prior to the celebration of the Lord's Supper, the following admonitions are made to the people: first, that each person prepare and dispose himself to receive it worthily and with such reverence that it deserves; second, that children may certainly not be brought forward unless they are well instructed and have made profession of their faith in church; third, that if strangers are there who may still be untaught and ignorant, they proceed to present themselves for private instruction. On the day of the Lord's Supper, the Minister touches upon it in the conclusion of his Sermon, or better, if there is occasion, preaches the whole Sermon about it, in order to explain to the people what our Lord wishes to say and signify by this mystery, and in what way it behooves us to receive it."
Commentary: In the Strassburg text the Supper service is also prefaced by an essay explaining the meaning and character of the Supper and the whole service. This essay includes references to the giving of alms for the poor, and Calvinists considered koinonia (fellowship, communion) or love a necessary part of right worship (see Introduction). There are no rubrics in Calvin's service, however, to indicate when the alms collection was to be made. The medieval "offertory" was the presentation of the host and wine for the sacrifice of the Mass, so Protestants eliminated it (see below). Most instituted a collection for the poor, but often did not include it in their rubrics. It is fairly clear that Calvin collected alms during the Supper service in Strassburg, and he certainly believed it should be done, but this alms collection cannot easily be assigned a precise place in the order.
The minister moves from pulpit to table. In Geneva the minister recited the creed in the name of the people. Geneva gives no instructions about preparing the table, though it was probably done at this point. The simple language—or omission—was intended to lessen the ceremonial focus on the material elements (and the idea of sacrifice).
Text: Then, after the accustomed prayers have been offered, the congregation, in making the confession of the faith, sings the Apostles Creed to testify that all wish to live and die in the Christian doctrine and religion. Meanwhile, the minister prepares the bread and wine on the table. Thereafter he prays in this fashion:
Inasmuch as we have made confession of our faith to testify that we are children of God, hoping therefore that He will take heed of us as a gracious Father, let us pray to Him saying:
Heavenly Father, full of all goodness and mercy, as our Lord Jesus Christ has not only offered His body and blood once on the Cross for the remission of our sins, but also desires to impart them to us as our nourishment unto everlasting life, we beseech thee to grant us this grace: that we may receive at His hands such a great gift and benefit with true sincerity of heart and with ardent zeal. In steadfast faith, may we receive His body and blood, yea Christ Himself entire, who, being true God and true man, is verily the holy bread of heaven which gives us life. So may we live no longer in ourselves, after our nature which is entirely corrupt and vicious, but may He live in us to lead us to the life that is holy, blessed, and everlasting: whereby we may truly become partakers of the new and eternal testament, the covenant of grace, assured that it is thy good pleasure to be our gracious Father forever, never reckoning our faults against us, and to provide for us, as thy well-beloved children and heirs, all our needs both of soul and body. Thus may we render praise and thanks unto thee without ceasing and magnify thy name in word and deed.
Grant us, therefore, O heavenly Father, so to celebrate this day the blessed memorial and remembrance of thy dear Son, to exercise ourselves in the same, and to proclaim the benefit of His death, that, receiving new growth and strength in faith and in all things good, we may with so much greater confidence proclaim thee our Father and glory in thee; through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord, in whose name we pray unto thee, as He hath taught us.
Our Father which art in heaven, [hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as in heaven so also on earth. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.]
Commentary: Note the emphasis on real communication of Christ's body and blood and benefits. For Calvinists, the Lord's Supper is a gift which God gives to the church, not a sacrifice which the church offers to God.
Text: Then the Minister says:
Let us hear how Jesus Christ instituted His holy Supper for us, as St. Paul relates it in the eleventh chapter of First Corinthians:
I have received of the Lord, he says, that which I have delivered unto you: That the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, took bread: And when He had given thanks, He brake it and said, Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner, when He had supped, He took the cup saying: This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do proclaim the Lord's death till He come. Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink of this cup unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup. For whosoever eateth and drinketh unworthily, taketh his own condemnation, not discerning the Lord's body.
Commentary: 1 Corinthians 11:23–29. Also in Geneva; Strassburg 1542 has only verses 23–26.
Text: We have heard, my brethren, how our Lord observed His Supper with His disciples, from which we learn that strangers and those who do not belong to the company of His faithful people must not be admitted. *Therefore, following that precept in the name and by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, I excommunicate all idolaters, blasphemers, and despisers of God, all heretics and those who create private sects in order to break the unity of the Church, all perjurers, all who rebel against father or mother or superior, all who promote sedition or mutiny; brutal and disorderly persons, adulterers, lewd and lustful men, thieves, ravishers, greedy and graspy people, drunkards, gluttons, and all those who lead a scandalous and dissolute life. I warn them to abstain from this Holy Table, lest they defile and contaminate the holy food which our Lord Jesus Christ gives to none except they that belong to His household of faith.
Moreover, in accordance with the exhortation of St. Paul, let every man examine and prove his own conscience to see whether he truly repents of his faults and grieves over his sins, desiring to live henceforth a holy life according to God. **Above all, let him see whether he has his trust in the mercy of God and seeks his salvation wholly in Jesus Christ and, renouncing all hatred and rancor, has high resolve and courage to live in peace and brotherly love with his neighbors.
***If we have this witness in our hearts before God, never doubt that he claims us as His children, and that the Lord Jesus addresses His Word to us, to invite us to His Table and to give us this holy Sacrament which He imparted to His disciples.
And yet, we may be conscious of much frailty and misery in ourselves, such that we do not have perfect faith, but are inclined toward defiance and unbelief, or that we do not devote ourselves wholly to the service of God and with such zeal as we ought, but have to fight daily against the lusts of our flesh. Nevertheless, since our Lord has granted us the grace of having His Gospel graven on our hearts so that we may withstand all unbelief, and has given us the desire and longing to renounce our own wishes that we may follow His righteousness and His holy commandments: let us be assured that the sins and imperfections which remain in us will not prevent Him from receiving us and making us worthy partakers of this spiritual Table. For we do not come here to testify that we are perfect or righteous in ourselves. On the contrary, by seeking our life in Jesus Christ we confess that we are in death. Know, therefore, that this Sacrament is a medicine for the poor sick souls, and that the only worthiness which our Lord requires of us is to know ourselves sufficiently to deplore our sins and to find all our pleasure, joy, and satisfaction in Him alone.
Above all, therefore, let us believe those promises which Jesus Christ, who is the unfailing truth, has spoken with His own lips: He is truly willing to make us partakers of His body and blood, in order that we may possess Him wholly and in such wise that He may live in us and we in Him. And though we see but bread and wine, we must not doubt that He accomplishes spiritually in our souls all that He shows us outwardly by these visible signs, namely, that He is the bread of heaven to feed and nourish us unto eternal life. So, let us never be unmindful of the infinite goodness of our Savior who spreads out all His riches and blessings on this Table, to impart them to us. For in giving Himself to us, He makes a testimony to us that all that He has is ours. Therefore, let us receive this Sacrament as a pledge that the virtue of His death and passion is imputed to us for righteousness, even as though we had suffered them in our own persons. May we never be so perverse as to draw away when Jesus Christ invites us so gently by His Word. But accounting the worthiness of this precious gift which He gives, let us present ourselves to Him with ardent zeal, that He may make us capable of receiving it.
To do so, let us lift our spirits and hearts on high, where Jesus Christ is in the glory of His Father, whence we expect Him at our redemption. Let us not be fascinated by these earthly and corruptible elements which we see with our eyes and touch with our hands, seeking Him there as though He were enclosed in the bread or wine. Then only shall our souls be disposed to be nourished and vivified by His substance when they are lifted up above all earthly things, attaining even to heaven and entering the Kingdom of God where He dwells. Therefore let us be content to have the bread and wine as signs and witnesses, seeking the truth spiritually where the Word of God promises that we shall find it.
Commentary: Strassburg 1542 only gives a rubric, instructing the minister to excommunicate impenitent sinners, exhort all to a proper participation, and then the minister, the deacon, and the people receive communion. Calvin is usually remembered for his excommunication of the unworthy, and unworthiness is usually understood morally. In fact, one might be suspended from the Lord's Supper as easily for ignorance as for improper behavior. The participation in the Supper requires at least a minimum understanding of the Gospel and faith (see above). Here the moral does come to the fore (*), but note that the most important thing about worthiness is not moral purity but trust in God's mercy and loving relationships with one's neighbors (**). This becomes particularly evident (***) in the description of who is welcomed—not the perfect, but those who recognize their need and trust only God.
Text: That done, the Minister, having informed the people that they are to come to the holy table in reverence, good order, and Christian humility, first partakes himself of the bread and wine, then administers them* to the deacon, and subsequently to the whole congregation, saying:
Take, eat, the body of Jesus, which has been delivered unto death for you.
And the deacon offers the cup, saying:
This is the cup of the new testament in the blood of Jesus, which has been shed for you.
Commentary: Asterisk indicates "it" changed to "them." Geneva 1542 simply says "ministers" distribute the bread and wine to the people; from other sources we know that the pastor was assisted by deacons and elders. The words of delivery are not found in Strassburg 1542 or Geneva. Having deacons give the cup was a common patristic practice adopted by Calvinists. The deacons meant here are those whose primary work was the care of the poor and afflicted and whose other activity in the liturgy was the collection of alms.
Text: Meanwhile, the congregation sings the Psalm: "Louange et Grace" (Praise and thanks).
Commentary: "Praise and grace" are the opening words of Psalm 138. In Geneva during the communion, people sang psalms or heard some appropriate part of Scripture read.
Text: The thanksgiving after the Supper:
Heavenly Father, we offer thee eternal praise and thanks that thou hast granted so great a benefit to us poor sinners, having drawn us into the Communion of thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, whom thou hast delivered to death for us, and whom thou givest us as the meat and drink of life eternal. Now grant us this other benefit: that thou wilt never allow us to forget these things; but having them imprinted on our hearts, may we grow and increase daily in our faith, which is at work in every good deed. Thus may we order and pursue all our life to the exaltation of thy glory and the edification of our neighbor; through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, who in the unity of the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth with thee, O God, forever. Amen.
Commentary: According to Calvinist understanding, thanksgiving is the right sacrifice we offer to God, and gratitude, a key to worship.
Text: After thanks has been given, the Canticle of Simeon is sung: "Maintenant Seigneur Dieu" (Now, Lord God).
Commentary: Luke 2:29–32. The Song of Simeon does not appear in the Genevan liturgy until 1549.
Text: Then the Minister dismisses the congregation by pronouncing the Benediction used on Sunday.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be merciful unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and keep you in virtuous prosperity. Amen.
Commentary: Numbers 6:24–26. This was the normal dismissal in all Calvin's liturgies, daily as well as Sunday.