Supplemental Service Orders: I. Sing! A Song Service...

In my last post, I hoped that I would analyze other service orders trying to do other things. I thought that this would come a long while off, but lo and behold, in the mail the other day I got a CPH trinket from 1932, from one of my best supporters, Bruce Radtke. The full title is Sing! A Song Service Featuring Hymns by Great Lutheran Hymn-Writers. No doubt, orders like these will become everyday again, as we near the 500th anniversary of the nailing of the 95 theses.

1. Prelude.
2. Stanzas 1, 5-7 of "Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice," LSB 556 (ELHB 310). These verses tell the tale of Christ's incarnation and suffering on earth. This puts us in mind of what God in Christ has done for us.
3. Introit and collect. The introit (Make a joyful noise...) sets the tone of the whole service in the line "for praise is comely for the upright." Again this is a reminder that we have been acquitted and we are so thankful that we bust out in song.
Let me simply give the collect, updated, and then speak on it.

Lord God, heavenly Father, we come before Your presence with singing. You are our God: You- not we- have made us, redeemed us, and hallowed us. We are Your people and the sheep of Your pasture. Fill our hearts with true thankfulness for Your kindness and goodness, so that our hands and lips show forth Your praise continually; through Jesus Christ, our Lord... Amen.

The collect again highlights how and why we praise. It also- like the opening hymn- proclaims what God in Christ has done. "We are Your people..." even hints at the line in the Venite of the Matins Service, "we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand."
4. Stanzas 1-4 of "Now I Have Found the Firm Foundation," LW 360 (ELHB 312). This hymn also emphasizes acquittal. For some reason the last stanza (6 in LW) is excluded, even though it reads "I'll sing Your mercy great and true," which would continue to press the theme of "Our acquittal leads us to thank God."
5. Stanzas 1-4,6 of "Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide," LSB 585 (ELHB 110). This is a good hymn that asks Christ to be with us and preserve us through His Word.
6. All of "May God Bestow on Us His Grace," LSB 823-4 (ELHB 480). The hymn is a prayer that God's Word would bless His people into praising Him.
7. Scripture Lessons (Eph. 5:15-21 or Psalm 147 or Psalm 100)
8. All of "O Christ, Our True and Only Light," LSB 839 (ELHB 475). This hymn prays that God would shine His Word on people still "walking in darkness." Stanza five again highlights the notion of singing because of what Christ has done, saying "That they... such grace with wondering thanks adore...."
9. Address.
10. Offertory.
11. Stanzas 1-3, 12 of "Commit Whatever Grieves Thee," TLH 520 (ELHB 525). The idea, I think, is that we offer to God, not our works but our cares and burdens.
12. Lord's Prayer.
13. Benediction.
14. All of "All Glory Be to God on High," LSB 947 (ELHB 261). Again, the theme is praising God for what He has done in Christ.
15. Postlude.

Overall, this is an ok service. It emphasizes that since God has acquitted us, we sing His praises. It reminds us that we worship God for what He has already done for us. Yes, it could have been stronger, but compared to many hymn services I have come across this is not bad.

Understanding the Divine Service: Overall

It's been a while, but... looking at the Divine Service as a whole, 3 major themes emerge. First, the Divine Service celebrates the incarnation, when God the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Service of the Word builds up to the hearing of God's Word by greeting Him, praising Him, and asking the Holy Spirit to open our ears, mind, and body to Him. And yet the focus is very much on the fact that the Word is coming to us. (This is why it might be best to have the lessons read, and even the sermon given, from within the midst of the congregation.) Then the Service of the Sacrament builds up to the eating and drinking of the Word-Made-Flesh, again by greeting Him, praising Him, and asking the Holy Spirit to make us worthy partakers of Him. Again, the focus is very much on the fact that the Word-Made-Flesh is coming to us.

Second, the Divine Service models the life of the believer. Just like our baptism/acquittal shoves us into walking the path of righteousness, so also the Invocation is the catalyst for the rest of the Divine Service; like the Christian life is spent receiving Christ’s Spirit and doing His work, so also everything after the Invocation is for the believer’s sanctification. And what is sanctification, but seeing one's utter need for and full dependence on Christ? Thus, the back and forth rocking of the Law and Gospel, cradled in the many parts of the Divine Service (Confession then Absolution, Kyrie then Gloria, etc.), mimics the believers' acknowledgement of their need for Christ (hallowing) and the joy that comes from getting Him (hallowed living).

In this way, the Divine Service has a decidedly missional focus. Furthermore, the almost constant recitation of Who Christ is and what He has done for His people (in the Gloria/Hymn of Praise, Creed, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Nunc Dimittis, Prayer of Thanksgiving, etc.) mimics the kind of witness that believers give, not merely in the layout of words or because the witness comes from the joy of getting Christ, but in the fact that since the witness is scripted, the worshiper need only read the words given them, so as to repeat them out loud. This is almost exactly like the Holy Spirit speaking words of witness, Mark 13:9-11.

So, if one were to summarize the whole Divine Service, one might say that Christ comes down into the midst of His people and changes their lives, turning them from looking down at their navels, and up, out at their neighbor in need.

(In posts to come, I hope to talk about other themes and doctrines, and orders of service that might portray them.)