The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-10-06

praise, prayer, the administration of the
sacraments, and the declaration and ex-
position of the Word. An exhaustive
treatment of the subject would oblige us to
notice the influence exerted by the Refor-
nation on each of these acts, and the rela-
tive place assigned to each of them, and
also to notice the change effected in the
form of the place of worship, the shrine,
the material house of God, and in the
new kind and degree of sanctity with
which it was invested. But, without
specifying these changes in detail, it is
to be said that they were effected under
the domination of great formative ideas,
for which the word Reformation stands.
Out of the reign of these ideas sprang the
traits by which our worship, broadly
speaking, is distinguished. These shall
endeavor briefly to describe and to de-
fend.
l. Of these, the first is what we call
simplicity, and what others call baroness
or nakedness. We and these others NAV
agree, perhaps, in describing it by the
statement that the Reformation broadly
speaking, divorced worship and fine art,
which mad been married In the Medieval
Church. Contemplating the simplicity
or badness of the worship we have thus
inherited, all of us, it may be, are at
times disposed to believe that any
changes in the reformed practice here
after to be made, may well be made in
the line of return to Medieval worship;
and the question may we'll be, as it is
often asked, whether the interests of
spiritual and Scriptural religion would
not be promoted by church services
among us, in which fine art should lend
Its treasures to excite devotion. Speak
ing broadly, as brevity demands, do not
hesitate to say that the divorce of the fine
arts and worship by the Reformation,
was an inestimable blessing to man.
Nor until sin shall have been DESTROYED
may we safely reunite them. Then only
will the union be without peril to man.
The New Jerusalem, whose form is per-
feet, whose streets are gold, whose gates
are pearls, and whose adornment is the
glory of all earthly kings, may not de-
scend from heaven until man himself is
perfected This, to call it a theory, is
the theory on which the worship of the
Reformed Churches is based, and hold
it to be justified. The Hebrews were de-
ficient, as we know, in artistic percep-
ton, and how utterly barren their re-
cords are of mention of artistic products.
The prohibition of images of the deity
was announced at Sinai. The Cherubim
In the most holy place were not artistic
representations. No skill of delinea-
ton could make the Cherubin other than
unsightly objects to the eye." If YOU
should select a scene, which by no posi-
blllty could be made pleasing, outside OF
Greece, you would select the character
lstic act of the Hebrew Ritual. The
blood-stalned priest at the altar plung-
ing his knife into the victim. Or turn
to those great visions in Hebrew poetry
in which alone we see anything like an
image of the deity. Take the most sub
lime of them all. All of us recall the de-
scription of the Son of God and man
which opens the revelation of st. John
who in reading, has not felt in some de-
gree what the Apostle felt? "And when I
saw him, fell at his feet as dead" And
have we not been tempted to think of it
as an artistic achievement greater than
the Apollo Belvidere or the Venus
Victrix? But the truth is that it is not
artistic at all AS Archbishop Trench
has well said, This description of the
gloriied Lord, sublime as a purely men
tai conception, becomes intolerable if we
give it outward form and expression and
picture him with this sword proceeding
out of his mouth, these feet as burning
brass, and this hair white as wool" So
1T is with every vision that brings man
into the presence of God. The. impress
sion they leave upon us now is ethical
and spiritual just because it is not ar
tistic.
II. Without dwelling longer on this
trait of our worship, as Reformed Church
es, it is but Just to say thatit is simply
negative. The change thus noticed was
destructive, and, therefore, if the Refor-
nation was more than a destructive re-
volution, if it was reformation. we
may expect to find positive trait which,
associated with this negative feature, de-
termined our forms Of public worship.
l mention this positive trait in saving
that when by the Reformation art was
dethroned, truth was exalted to the place
which art had filed in worship. The
Reformed Churches became the heirs.
not OF elaborate services, but of detailed
confessions, in which the Word of God
was announced as the supreme rule of
faith, and the truth was declared and in