ed.

It has often been asserted, that the Jews had a liturgy when our Lord
ministered in their synagogues; but the proof adduced in support of this
statement is far from satisfactory; and their prayers which are still
extant, and which are said to have been then in use, must obviously have
been written after the destruction of Jerusalem. [215:1] It is, however,
certain that the Christians in the apostolic age were not restricted to
any particular forms of devotion. The liturgies ascribed to Mark, James,
and others, are unquestionably the fabrications of later times; [215:2]
and had any of the inspired teachers of the gospel composed a book of
common prayer, it would, of course, have been received into the canon of
the New Testament. Our Lord taught His disciples to pray, and supplied
them with a model to guide them in their devotional exercises; [215:3]
but there is no evidence whatever that, in their stated services, they
constantly employed the language of that beautiful and comprehensive
formulary. The very idea of a liturgy was altogether alien to the spirit
of the primitive believers. They were commanded to give thanks "in
everything," [215:4] to pray "always _with all prayer and supplication_
in the spirit," [215:5] and to watch thereunto "with all perseverance
and supplication _for all saints_;" [215:6] and had they been limited to
a form, they would have found it impossible to comply with these
admonitions. Their prayers were dictated by the occasion, and varied
according to passing circumstances. Some of them which have been
recorded, [215:7] had a special reference to the occurrences of the day,
and could not have well admitted of repetition. In the apostolic age,
when the Spirit was poured out in such rich effusion on the Church, the
gift, as well as the grace, of prayer was imparted abundantly, so that a
liturgy would have been deemed superfluous, if not directly calculated
to freeze the genial current of devotion.

Singing, in which none but Levites were permitted to unite, [216:1] and
which was accompanied by instrumental music, constituted a prominent
part of the temple service. The singers occupied an elevated platform
adjoining the court of the priests; [216:2] and it is somewhat doubtful
whether, in that position, they were distinctly heard by the majority of
the worshippers within the sacred precincts. [216:3] As the sacrifices,
offerings, and other observances of the temple, as well as the priests,