Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present (Hardcover)

Reformation Worship

Author: Jonathan Gibson

Transforming Christian Worship - Twenty-six liturgies, including historical introductions that provide fresh analysis into their origins, are invaluable tools for pastors and worship leaders as they seek to craft public worship services in the great tradition of the early Reformers.

Christians learn to worship from the generations of God's people who have worshipped before them. We sing Psalms, because thousands of years ago, God's people sang them. 500 years ago, the leaders of the Reformation transformed Christian worship with the active participation and understanding of the individual worshiper. Christian worship today is built on this foundation. Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey have made Reformation worship accessible, by compiling the most comprehensive collection of liturgies from that era, newly translated into modern English from the original German, Dutch, French, Latin, and early English.

The structure of the liturgies, language, and rhythm continue to communicate the gospel in Word and Sacrament today. They provide a deep sense of God’s call to worship and an appreciation for the Reformers as, first and foremost, men who wanted to help God’s people worship. This book will also be of great interest to theological scholars and students who wish to understand early Reformation leaders. A useful tool for individuals, Reformation Worship, can be used as a powerful devotional to guide daily prayer and reflection.

By providing a connection to the great men of the Reformation, Gibson and Earngey hope that through their work readers will experience what John Calvin described to be the purpose of all church worship: To what end is the preaching of the Word, the Sacraments, the holy congregations themselves, and indeed the whole external government of the church, except that we may be united to God?

–––––––––– Table of Contents ––––––––––

• Preface
• Conventions
• Table of Full and Abbreviated English Titles
• English Titles for Latin Chants
• English Terms for Latin Terms
• Glossary of Liturgical Terms

1. Worship: On Earth as It Is in Heaven

• Jonathan Gibson

2. Soli Deo Gloria: The Reformation of Worship

• Mark Earngey

3. Worshiping in the Tradition: Principles from the Past for the Present

• Jonathan Gibson & Mark Earngey

4. Form of the Mass (1523); German Mass (1524)

• Martin Luther

5. The Testament of Jesus Christ (1523); Form and Manner (1526)

• Johannes Oecolampadius

6. German Mass (1524)

• Diebold Schwarz

7. Act or Custom of the Supper (1525)

• Huldrych Zwingli

8. The Manner and Way (1533)

• Guillaume Farel

9. Christian Order and Custom (1535)

• Heinrich Bullinger

Short Work on Rites and Regulations (1559)

• Ludwig Lavater

10. Danish Church Order (1537)

• Johann Bugenhagen and Peter Palladius

Order of the Church in Denmark (1548)

• Miles Coverdale

11. Church Practices (1539)

• Martin Bucer

12. Form of Ecclesiastical Prayers (1545, 1542, 1566)

• John Calvin

13. Book of Common Prayer (1549 and 1552); Collects (1552)

• Thomas Cranmer

14. Form and Method (1555)

• John à Lasco

Christian Ordinances (1554)

• Martin Micronius

15. The Practice of the Lord’s Supper (1550); Form of Prayers (1556); Book of Common Order (1564)

• John Knox

16. Palatinate Church Order (1563)

• Zacharias Ursinus, et al.

Psalms of David (1567)

• Peter Dathenus

17. Middelburg Liturgy (1586)

• The English Puritans of Middelburg

Appendix: Orders of Worship

Bibliography of Original Works

Endorsements:

“Much is written today about Reformed worship without a lot of engagement with formative liturgies of our tradition. This well-selected collection makes it easier to see in concrete, practical terms how the truths of God’s Word shaped the worship of God’s people. I’ll definitely be using this in class.” —Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

“This is a long, dense book filled with five-hundred-year-old liturgies, so you might not believe me when I say I am absolutely thrilled that this volume is seeing the light of day. Every Reformed and Presbyterian pastor with a book budget should get this on their shelves. The vision for worship presented in these pages is refreshing, reverent, realistic, and just what we need in our day. Corporate worship rooted in the Reformation can be, and should be, so much more than four songs, a sermon, and a closing prayer.” —Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church (Matthews, NC) Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte, NC)

"In this extraordinary volume, the Reformation is played out, not on the vast scale of European nations, but in the simple, familiar terrain of the Sunday Service. What did the Reformation look like in church? That’s the question this volume answers with care, specificity, and helpful interpretive essays, with lots of primary sources. Having read this book thoroughly, I can say that I've been personally helped by it spiritually. The gospel is presented in the form and substance of these beautiful examples of corporate worship, from which we have much to learn today. I highly recommend you buy, read, and then use this book." —Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC; President

“Concern for the proper worship of God was central to the Reformation, even as it is central to our most important theological debates today. Nothing is more important than our understanding of worship, for our concept of worship is inescapably tied to our understanding of God and his sovereign authority to reveal the worship he desires, deserves, and demands. This book reminds us that worship matters and must be dictated by the Bible. Reformation Worship is a unique and valuable resource that both pastors and laypeople can turn to repeatedly for biblical wisdom on corporate worship.” —R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary