O Lord, let Thy mercy lighten upon the King, our Lord, the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, the Royal Family, and all that belong to them; give unto them, O Lord, length of life, that they may be for a blessing to us, and for a pattern of 'godliness. Grant unto our King a long and prosperous reign; defend the royal army, and all true servants of the King and his country; teach them to think, as becometh Christians, of the oath they have taken, and make their service to be blessed to Thy honour, and the good of their country. Bless us and all ' other dominions of the King; help every one in his need; and be the Saviour of all men, more especially of Thy faithful 'people. Deliver us from an evil, impenitent death; and, finally, bring us all to Thine everlasting kingdom in heaven, 'through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Choir. Amen. Amen. Amen. • Minister. Our Father, which art,' &c. [A hymn is here generally sung by the congregation, selected from the authorized hymn-book, during which the officiating Minister retires, and ascends the pulpit; the hymn ended, the Sermon is introduced by a short address, during which the text is cited, and a short prayer, appropriate to the subject, is said, at the discretion of the Minister.] Minister. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord 'show the light of His face upon thee, and be merciful unto thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen. Choir. Amen. Amen. Amen. As regards the Sermon, after the Prayer for Blessing, there follows, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with you all, Amen;" or, after a short introductory prayer, the text of the sermon is generally given out; both of which the congregation stand up to hear, as they do likewise to receive the Blessing, which is given at the end of the sermon. When the Blessing is given from the altar, one of the Collects may be said or sung before it is given. When there is no Communion, divine service ends with the hymn that is sung in conclusion; but when there is a Communion, the minister appointed to officiate advances, while the hymn is being sung before the altar, and says— Dearly beloved in the Lord, forasmuch as we are now minded to hold the commemoration feast of our Lord Jesus Christ, the which was ordained by Him for the strengthening and 'confirming of our faith; therefore, let a man examine himself, as the Apostle Paul exhorts us so to do; for this Holy Sacra'ment is given for the comfort and peace of such troubled con'sciences as confess their sins, fear God, and desire redemption; when they are steadfastly purposed to amend their lives, to 'flee from sin, and to lead a righteous life. And because that we must acknowledge ourselves to be guilty sinners, and of 'ourselves unable to help ourselves, so Christ, the Son of God, our beloved Lord, has had mercy upon us, and for the sake of our sins became Man, in order that for our good He might 'fulfil the law of God, and might take upon Himself and endure ' death, and all other things, which we have deserved by our 'sin. To make this His death of power for us, He ordained His Holy Supper, to the intent, that whosoever should eat of this bread, and drink of this cup, believing in the words of 'Jesus Christ there spoken, (and in the signs received,*) might dwell in Christ, and Christ in him, and have everlasting life. 'We have here to show forth His memory and His death, that He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. Thanking God for these His unspeakable mercies, let each one of us take up our cross and follow Him, having love one 'towards another, according to His commandment, even as He 'loved us; for we are all one body, inasmuch as we all partake ' of one bread, and drink of one cup. But whoso cateth of this bread, and drinketh of this cup unworthily, that is, with an • impenitent heart, without faith in the promise of God, without being reconciled, and without purpose of amendment, he is 'guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and reaps damnation, 'from which may God mercifully deliver us all. 6 6 'Minister. Kneel down, and hear attentively (vernehmet) the 'words of the Institution (einsetzungs Wörte).† [The Minister here turns to the altar, and repeats the words of Institution; the congregation listens to them, kneeling, and stands up after the blessing has been given, The peace of our Lord,' &c.] Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the night in which He was 'betrayed, took bread, gave thanks, and brake it, and gave it 'to His disciples, and spake, Take, eat, this is My body + which ' is given for you: do this in remembrance of Me. This may be omitted, if desired. The idea of consecration is not in the expression einsetzung. It means properly authoritative institution; as, for example, Das Heilige Abendmahl, is von Jesu Christo eingesetz worden,' The Holy Eucharist was instituted by Jesus Christ. Einweihung in the German comes nearest to the signification of the Latin Consecratio. Die Elemente (brod und wein) müssen erst engeweiht seyn, um das Leib und Blut des Herrn zu werden,' The Elements must be first consecrated, in order to become the Body and Blood of the Lord. 'Likewise after supper he took the cup, gave thanks, and spake, Take this and drink ye all of it, for this cup is the New • Testament in My blood, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins: do this, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. [Here the minister turns himself again to the congregation, and says,] 'Minister. The peace of the Lord be with you all. Amen. Let us pray. Lord, who by thy death gavest life to the world, deliver us 'from all our sins and from all evil; give us the power to will 'to continue true to thy commands; and suffer us not to depart 'from Thee, who with the Father and the Son reignest world 'without end. Amen. Choir. Amen. Amen. Amen. 'Choir. Oh, Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the ' world, Good Lord, deliver us. Oh, Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, Oh, Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, [While the above is being sung, the delivery of the elements begins, and is continued until all have received, during which any appropriate hymn or hymns may be sung by the congregation.] Minister, at the delivery of the bread, Take and eat, saith our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; This is My body, which is given for you: do this in remembrance of Me. At the giving of the cup, Take and drink ye all of this, saith our Lord and Saviour 'Jesus Christ; this cup is the New Testament in My blood, ' which was shed for you: do this in remembrance of Me, When the Communion is ended, the minister says, "Minister. Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, we give Thee hearty thanks 'for the unspeakable mercy which we have received, by being 'made partakers of Thy holy supper; we humbly pray Thee, 'that Thou wouldest assure us of the working of Thy Holy Spirit, in like manner as we have now received Thine holy sacrament, that we may with steadfast faith receive and ever hold fast Thy divine grace herein promised to us all, forgiveness of sins, and communion with Christ. We thank Thee, Almighty God, that Thou hast refreshed us by Thy divine grace, and we pray Thee, of Thy divine mercy, that this our service may be to the strengthening of our faith in Thee, to 'the increase of brotherly love towards all men, and to our growth in godliness and all other Christian virtues, through 'Jesus Christ our Lord, who, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, reigneth for ever. Amen. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord let His face shine upon thee, and be merciful 'to thee. 6 The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen. 'Choir. Amen. Amen. Amen. 'Final hymn, sung by the congregation." * The authorized Hymn Book (Gesang Buch), contains 876 hymns, and was published in the same year with the new edition of the Agende. A Commission, consisting of Brescius, Küster, Marat, Neander, Ritschl, Schleiermacher, Spilleke, Theremin and Wilmsen, with some others who died before the work was completed, were appointed by King Frederick William III. to make a suitable selection of hymns, to form an accompaniment to the New Liturgy, out of the vast multitude of such compositions which have inundated Germany, as well as all other Protestant countries, since the Reformation. The idea of forming such a collection was first broached at one of his late Majesty's provincial Synods, in the year 1817, when the Commission was D. Place where the Officiating Minister stands. The Morning Service on Sundays and Festival days ought not to exceed the time of one hour, or, at most, one hour and a half. The Consistory, however, has the power to grant permission for a longer service in places were it may be desired. first appointed to undertake the work. The principle of selection will be sufficiently explained by the following extract, taken from the Preface: 6 Among the objects which the Commission were required to 'have in view, and to obtain which they have laboured with unremitting diligence, have been, first, to make a careful examination of all the older Church songs, dating from the time of the Reformation, up to the middle of the last century, from which as great a number as possible were to be chosen of such as were remarkable for depth of feeling, or powerful expressions ' of piety, especially if they happened to be among those most 'known and esteemed in this town and province (Berlin). A like 'attention was enjoined upon the Commission, to be paid to such of the more recent Church Hymns, which, by their extensive circulation, had earned a sort of citizenship, with the proviso, that they should be found to be not altogether 'deficient in poetical worth, that the moral contained in them 'should not seem too confined and unconnected with the doctrines of the Christian faith, and that they should not be more adapted for private edification than public use in the Church. In all which cases, the Commission had no other alternative but to supply their places with others, notwithstanding that "these might be less generally known. 6 Thirdly, The undersigned have made a point of showing no exclusive partiality to any of the several modes of viewing the doctrines of the Christian faith, and of refusing a place to none, which, as an expression of pious feeling, could be in anywise reconciled with evangelical truth, and the purposes of a book 'intended for general use in the Church.' The remainder of the Preface is occupied by a notice of the care that has been taken that all the hymns admitted into the collection should be adapted chiefly to the older standard melodies long in use; and ends with the announcement that their labours, although they are themselves very conscious of the imperfections of their work, have received his Majesty's approbation and official sanction. It must be superfluous to say how fruitless it would be to pretend to convey to an English reader any idea of what this Hymn Book contains-876 hymns, selected upon the avowed principle of finding room for the representative of every shadow and colour of opinion that has existed, or can be supposed to have existed, since the days of Luther. It is a very kaleidoscope of Hymnology. The Collections with which we are acquainted in this country, plentifully showered down as they have been, νιφάδεσσιν εοικότα χειμεριῆσιν, upon individual churches, by their |