The reform of worship at Strasbourg began with the translation and revision of the low mass into German. In the years that followed, the liturgy of Strasbourg went through a number of revisions and enhancements. However, it continued to maintain its essential shape, that is, a unified liturgy of word and supper. In this it was truly a descendent of the liturgies of the ancient Church. Much of the liturgical development was at the hands of Martin Bucer. In this essay we will explore several of the more significant revisions that Bucer introduced.
The Strasbourg liturgy did not have a sermon at first. But within a year the sermon was added to the Lord’s day liturgy restoring the essential balance of the ancient liturgies that had been lost during the medieval era. Bucer, Zell and others of the reforming party had been preaching for some time in the city before the inclusion of a sermon in the liturgy. Sermons and exegetical lectures were offered whenever possible. The contemporary custom of one sermon a week on Lord’s day morning (with perhaps a second sermon in the evening) is almost as far from the Reformation practice as was the medieval piety from which it arose as a remonstrance. Contemporary Reformed practice of one or two sermons a week falls considerably short of the emphasis on the preaching that marked the Reformation. Sermons were preached, not only on Lord’s day, but also throughout the week.
The inclusion of a sermon was not a liturgical innovation since even the Latin mass preserved the remnant of the liturgy of the Word with its structure of Bible readings. All that was needed was to ascend the pulpit after the lections and preach! Bucer, however, dispensed with the lectionary structure of readings based on the church feasts for the continuous reading and exposition of the books of the Bible. Lord’s day morning preference was given to the gospels. Sadly, this lecto continua method has been replaced in much of the Reformed Churches by a the haphazard "lectionary" of whatever the preacher decides to preach on this week. On Lord’s days at the cathedral the Strasbourg rite expressed that ancient consensus that the assembly of the Lord’s people was a gathering to hear the Word and to eat the Supper. Calvin kept the ancient shape of the liturgy but was unable to implement his convictions on the frequency of the supper. Knox inherited the classic shape from Calvin, but did not share his convictions on frequency. So as a result, only at the cathedral at Strasbourg (and in Basel) did a Reformed liturgy actually recover that ancient unity of sermon and supper on a weekly basis.
A second major development was the incorporation of a confession of sins and absolution within the liturgy. By the end of the ancient period the people’s confession of sin had become a private confession to a priest. In the medieval West the priest assigned the "appropriate" penance for the confessed sins, and forgiveness was granted based on the performance of the required penance. This had become a sacrament in itself and was conducted wholly apart from the Mass. However, the Latin mass included a private prayer of confession for the priest as part of his preparation for the liturgical service. This prayer, known as the Confiteor, was translated by Schwarz into German and said aloud. Though the grammatical form of the prayer remained first person, the intention was that this was to be the prayer of all the people, not just of the priest. Bucer replaced this prayer with a genuine corporate confession, said by the pastor on behalf of all. Eventually, three variant prayers were provided in the liturgy. The structure and content of this confession reveals the profound way that the rediscovered gospel was transforming the Mass into an evangelical service. In the 1539 edition of the liturgy, the Pastor began the service with this exhortation: "Make confession to God the Lord, and let everyone acknowledge his sin and iniquity." Next the Pastor offered a prayer. Of the three variants, the following is the one that would later be used by Calvin and enlarged by Knox. "Almighty, eternal God and Father, we confess and acknowledge that we, alas were conceived and born in sin, and are therefore inclined to all evil and slow to all good; that we transgress thy holy commandments without ceasing, and ever more corrupt ourselves. But we are sorry for the same, and beseech thy grace and help. Wherefore have mercy upon us, most gracious and merciful God and Father, through thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant to us and increase in us thy Holy Spirit, that we may recognize our sin and unrighteousness from the bottom of our hearts, attain true repentance and sorrow for them, die to them wholly, and please thee entirely by a new and godly life. Amen."
Next the pastor declared the forgiveness of sins to all who believed. This was entitled an absolution or words of comfort. It included 1 Timothy 1:17 and this striking declaration: "Let everyone, with St. Paul, truly acknowledge this in his heart and believe in Christ. Thus, in his name, I proclaim unto you the forgiveness of all your sins, and declare you to be loosed of them on earth, that you may be loosed of them also in heaven, in eternity. Amen." This declaration of pardon was followed by congregational singing. Sometimes a hymn or psalm was sung, sometimes the traditional liturgical responses were used. These responses were the Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy) and the Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest). Such congregational singing was also introduced by Bucer. Schwarz’ original German liturgy did not include congregational singing.
Three things were accomplished by this liturgical practice of the public confession of sins. First, the driving principle of the Reform, justification by faith, was placed into the very beginning of the liturgy. The service began with a confession of sins and a mini-sermon in which the minister declared that the only basis for the forgiveness of sins was faith in Jesus Christ. Thus the entire service was rooted in justification and the gratitude that it engendered in the heart. Second, by this 1539 edition Bucer’s views on the office of the minister had matured. He understood that it was the work of the ministry to bind and loose, to forgive and retain sins by the preaching of the gospel. Note the authoritative form of words used. "I proclaim… I declare…" Third, the inclusion of congregational singing provided a means for the people to express their gratitude to God for his mercy. And finally, all of this is "justified" by the quotation of 1 Timothy 1:17 (other verses were used as well). In other words, not only was the principle of sola fide expressed in this brief liturgical pericope, so too was the principle of sola scriptura. Those familiar with Reformation theology will immediately grasp how effectively this liturgy of confession encapsulates the rediscovered evangelical faith. Such a liturgical confession, though not always with an attached absolution, would find its way into almost all the liturgies of the Reformed Churches. The Westminster Assembly’s Directory for the Publick Worship of God included instructions to this effect.
As we mentioned above, Bucer was instrumental in the reintroduction of congregational singing into the worship of the people of God. He sought funding to hire church musicians. Here he significantly differed from Zwingli who removed all singing from the assembly. In 1541 Bucer published a Gesangbuch so that all the parishes would have the same hymns. An example of a Reformed hymn used at Strasbourg (in English translation) can be found in the Trinity Hymnal, # 168, entitled "I Greet Thee Who My Sure Redeemer Art." The tune also is from the same era. It is evident, therefore, that Bucer was not an exclusive psalmodist. In fact, even Calvin used some musical pieces that were not derived from the psalter though he expressed a strong preference for the psalter. Zwingli allowed no singing at all. In other words it is false to think that the Reformed churches were from the beginning committed to the exclusive use of the psalter in singing. They were, however, always committed to the use of the psalter (Zwingli excepted). The title of the 1539 Strasbourg liturgy we have been discussing is Psalter with Complete Church Practice. In our next edition we will consider Bucer’s liturgy for the Lord’s supper.
Dr. Jack Kinneer