Broad is the road that leads to death...

"The fearful soul that tires and faints,
And walks the ways of God no more,
Is but esteemed almost a saint,
And makes his own destruction sure."

What a horrible spectre, that I could be a hypocrite and deceived, thinking I'm fine, "almost a saint" -- and miss the way. O Lord, give me that true faith that perseveres.

An abiding benefit of hymns is that we sing them repeatedly. We Anglicans reap the same benefits in the prayers that are repeated each Sunday during the Prayers of the People, which contain petitions, praises, and thanksgivings that ought always to be made in every place at all times.

Some months ago, in connection with a homily which had as an application an exhortation to commit evil deeds and evil men to the righteous judgment of God, I noticed that our weekly set prayers contained nothing of this sort, other than what might be considered implicit in the prayer for those in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity.

Consequently, from that Sunday ever since, after that general prayer for those facing various trials and needs, we pray this:

Lay Reader: Almighty God, who hast promised to put all enemies of your Anointed One under His feet, render unto evil and wicked men who persecute your Son and the members of His body the judgment that is right for their evil and wicked deeds. [Especially do we pray for ...]. Comfort and save those who suffer for the sake of Jesus and deliver them out of the hand of their enemies. Lord in your mercy,...

Congregation: Hear our prayer.

I ought also to have mentioned a special prayer service, rarely done these days, called "A Commination or Denouncing of God's Anger and Judgements against Sinners" which was customarily done on Ash Wednesday (forming the service for that day before the imposition of ashes), and at other times as the bishop might direct.

It is an edifying and instructive service to pray, particularly as it should be done -- by a congregation led by its elder(s). The text from the 1662 BCP may be found here:

http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp1662/occasion/commination.html

Thank you, Phil and Clearnote Choir!

Love,

Brian

CRS,

Please notice that Tim did not say, "One of the things contributing to the femininity of much of our musical worship...", but rather "effeminacy". Effeminacy does not equal femininity. Femininity is a good thing. Furthermore, Tim's statement was not in reference to this or that particular song, but rather to the general state of worship music in the church today.

Effeminacy occurs when the feminine aspects of worship dominate the masculine, whereas it should be the other way around. One way this manifests itself is when we have scads of songs about God as our lover and friend and none about God as our Lord, Captain, and Judge, who leads us into battle and avenges the blood of the saints.

y'all need to sing some shapes! Go find a sacred harp or christian harmony singing in your area- fasola.org. It's a great opportunity for witness- many believers sing, but so do many secular hobbyists. You will love the raw, unfettered worship of the singing, the rough-hewn power of it, and the texts by Isaac Watts and so many others that speak clearly of the judgement, power, wrath and love of our almighty God.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJE2tAC0cbA&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dz7hOWvJHU&feature=related

CRS; quick note. Feminine is great. Effeminacy is the cringe-inducing attempt of a man to model femininity. It doesn't look the same all the time--manly men of many ages have worn pink well, for example--but in general, effeminacy is the male abdication of male roles (father, leader, pastor) in favor of female roles (nurturer, mother, etc..).

So if you've got a pattern of emphasizing female roles to the exclusion of male roles in church--music singing only of the woman's perspective, sermons ignoring God's Fatherhood, and such--you have basically emasculated the church and made it effeminate. And then people who do so wonder why the men aren't there--at least not men worth giving a ring to.

"And then people who do so wonder why the men aren't there--at least not men worth giving a ring to."

Also, I don't think you should choose your hymns based on what will increase attendance.

LP,

Two recent posts, one by Doug Wilson and the other by myself, should go a long way to answering your questions...

http://www.dougwils.com/Liturgical-Notes/your-worship-service-might-be-effeminate-if.html#JOSC_TOP

http://www.baylyblog.com/2011/08/masculine-worship-thrashing-guitars-and-lots-of-dm.html

Blessings,

Jody,

Hello, are you male or female?

I don't want to be taken as an authority on masculinity, I was just stating an opinion.

CRS

Wonderful song. In addition to Goostly Psalmes, curious ones should check out "Rivers of Delight" — by the Word of Mouth Chorus—an old (ca. 1979) collection of sacred harp/shapenote songs (available in iTunes). Includes Windham and many others.

One note on the musical genre which might enflame the comments on effeminacy: in these songs the melody is usually sung by the tenor section, not the soprano as we have become accustomed to. Wonderful concept: men leading singing!

And you can visit www.fasola.org for a good overview of the genre.