In 1858, a committee composed of Schaff, Nevin, and others published A Liturgy, or, Order of Christian Worship for the German Reformed Church. It contains a number of features that modern Presbyterian and Reformed Christians would do well to reflect on and recover as a regular part of worship.
One of these is a section of “Primitive Forms,” which includes such things as the Creeds, the Lord’s Prayer, the Magnificat (Luke 1.46-55), the Benedictus (Luke 1.68-79), the Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2.29-32), the Seraphic Hymn (Isaiah 6.3), and the Te Deum, among others.
This section also includes a version of the Litany, slightly different from the version found in the Book of Common Prayer but very close over all.
(This material–that is, the “Primitive Forms”–would be included, with a different ordering, about a decade later in the Order of Worship for the Reformed Church in the United States, which also includes the Nicene Creed pointed for chanting.)
The Liturgy of 1858 is widely available in PDF, but I thought it might be useful to have some parts of it easily accessible in a form that can be copied and pasted. To that end, I’ve transcribed the Litany below.
The Litany.
On the basis of Ancient Latin Litanies.
O God the Father in heaven: have mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the World: have mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son: have mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, three persons and one God: have mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us.
Remember not, Lord, our offences ,nor the offences of our forefathers; neither take Thou vengeance of our sins: spare us, good Lord, spare Thy people, whom Thou has redeemed with Thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us forever.
Spare us, good Lord.
From all evil and harm; from the power of sin, and the snares of the devil; from Thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all blindness of heart; from pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all impure lusts and desires; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From lightning, tempest, and earthquake; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from all disasters by land and by water; from battle and murder, and from sudden death,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From tumult and riot; from sedition and rebellion; from heresy and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of Thy word and authority,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation; by Thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; by Thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By Thine Agony and bloody Sweat; by Thy Cross and Passion; by Thy precious Death and Burial; by Thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension; and by the Coming of the Holy Ghost,
Good Lord, deliver us.
In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our wealth; in the hour of our death, and in the day of judgment,
Good Lord, deliver us.
We sinners do beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord;
Son of God, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That it may please Thee to keep us in all time of temptation and heaviness; to comfort and help all the weak-hearted; to raise up them that fall, and finally to beat down Satan under our feet;
We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord.
That it may please Thee to succor, help, and comfort all that are in danger, necessity, and tribulation;
We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord.
That it may please Thee to preserve all travellers and strangers, all women in the perils of child-birth, all sick persons, and young children, and to show Thy pity upon all prisoners and captives;
We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord.
That it may please Thee to defend and provide for the fatherless children, and widows, and all that are desolate and oppressed;
We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord.
That it may please Thee to have mercy upon all men,
We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord.
O Son of God, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God that takest away the sin of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God that takest away the sin of the world,
Grant us Thy peace.
O God, merciful Father, who despisest not the sighing of the contrite, nor rejectest the desire of the sorrowful: be favorable to our prayers which in our afflictions that continually oppress us, we pour out before Thee; and graciously hear them, that those things which the craft of the devil or man worketh against us, may be brought to nought, and by the counsel of Thy goodness be dispersed; so that being hurt by no persecutions, we may evermore give thanks unto Thee in Thy holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed: give unto Thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that our hearts may be set to obey Thy commandments, and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may by Thy protection pass our time in peace and quietness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
