t in directing the worship of God's house. The use of liturgical
forms is a relapse into legalism, a consent to be taught to pray as
"John taught his disciples." True, there may be extemporaneous forms
as well as written forms, praying by rote as well as praying by the
book. Against both habits we simply interpose the higher teaching of
the Spirit, as belonging especially to this dispensation, in which the
Father seeketh worshipers who "worship in Spirit and in truth." To
pray rightly is the highest of all attainments. And it is so because
the secret lies {151} between these two opposites; a spirit supremely
active while supremely passive, a heart prevailing with God because
prevailed over by God. "O Lord," says a high saint, "my spirit was
like a harp this morning, making melody before thee, since thou didst
first tune the instrument by the Holy Spirit, and then didst choose the
psalm of praise to be played thereon." Most solemn and suggestive
words these have always seemed: "The Father seeketh such to worship
him." Amid all the repetition of forms and the chanting of liturgies,
how earnestly the Most High searches after the spiritual worshiper,
with a heart inwardly retired before God, with a spirit so sensitive to
the hidden motions of the Holy Ghost that when the lips speak they
shall utter the effectual inwrought prayer that availeth much!

If any shall interpose the objection that what we are saying is too
high to be practical, it may be well to confirm our position by the
witness of experience. We are not speaking of pulpit prayers
especially, in what we have said. The universal priesthood of
believers, which the Scriptures so plainly teach, constitutes the
ground for common intercession, for "the praying one for another" which
is the distinctive feature of the Spirit's dispensation The prayer
meeting, therefore, in which the whole body of believers participate,
probably comes nearer the pattern of primitive Christian {152} worship
than any other service which we hold. To apply our principle here,
then, what method is found most satisfactory? Shall the service be
arranged beforehand, this one selected to pray, and that one to exhort;
and during the progress of the worship, shall such a one be called up
to lead the devotions, and such a one to follow? In a word, shall the
service be mapped out in advance and manipulated according to the
dictates of propriety and fitness as it goes on? One, after many