'Sung by the Jewish church': the Jubilate at Matins

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we turn to the Jubilate, the alternative to the Benedictus after the second lesson. Locating this psalm in the Temple liturgy, Shepherd points us to how use of the Jubilate is a sign that the Church "wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree":

It is said to have been composed by David upon occasion of a public thanksgiving, and was sung by the Jewish church at the oblation of the peace offering, as the priest was entering into the temple.

The appropriateness of the Jubilate following the reading of the New Testament lesson, particularly from the Gospels, is noted. Significantly, this also emphasises the unity of the covenants, that the God of Israel is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:

And immediately after hearing the Gospel of peace, it is a form of praise perfectly suitable to every Christian assembly. For the divine attributes here celebrated, gracious goodness, everlasting mercy, never-failing truth, and parental care, are in the Gospel most fully displayed.

There is, in other words, a theological richness to the use of the Jubilate at Matins. It is by no means a poor alternative to the Benedictus, for the Jubilate embodies and celebrates the truth that, in Christ, we "are no more strangers and foreigners", that we "walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham".

Comments

Why I support the ordination of women: a High Church reflection

A number of commenters on this blog have asked about my occasional expressions of support for the ordination of women to all three orders. With some hesitation, I have decided to post a summary of my own views on this matter. The hesitation is because I have sought on this blog to focus on issues and themes which can unify those who identify with or have respect (grudging or otherwise!) for what we might term 'classical' Anglicanism (the Anglicanism of the Formularies and - yes - of the Old High Church tradition). Some oppose the ordination of women (and I have friends and colleagues who do so, Anglo-Catholic, High Church, and Reformed Evangelical). Some of us support it (again, friends and colleagues covering a wide range of theological traditions). Below, I have organised my thinking around 5 points (needless to say, no reference to Dort is implied). 1. The Declaration for Subscription required of clergy in the Church of Ireland states: (6) I promise to submit ...

How the Old High tradition continued

Charles Gore's 1914 letter to the clergy of his diocese, ' The Basis of Anglican Fellowship ', can be regarded as a classical expression of the Prayer Book Catholic tradition. A key part of the letter - entitled 'Romanizing in the Church of England' - addressed the "Catholic movement", questioning beliefs and practices within it which tended to "a position which makes it very difficult for its extremer representatives to give an intelligible reason why they are not Roman Catholics". Gore provides the outlines of an alternative account and experience of catholicity within Anglicanism, defined by three characteristics. What is particularly interesting about these characteristics is their continuity with the older High Church tradition. Indeed, the central characteristic as set out by Gore was integral to High Church claims over centuries: To accept the Anglican position as valid, in any sense, is to appeal behind the Pope and the authority of t...

1928 practices and the 1979 book: unthinking conservatism or popular piety?

Those responsible for Earth & Altar - a new blog emanating from a group within TEC - are to be congratulated for an excellent contribution to wider Anglican discussion and debate. The commitment to "an expansively conceived credal orthodoxy as fully compatible with LGBTQ inclusion, gender equality, and racial justice" is an important part of a wider retrieval of creedal orthodoxy within what we might call the post-liberal generation. It is in this spirit that I want to respond to a recent post on the site by Andrew McGowan , Dean of the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and Professor of Anglican Studies at Yale Divinity School. Against the background of another round of "ill-defined" liturgical revision in TEC, he understandably urges that a fuller reception of the 1979 BCP should occur before further reforms. In doing so, however, he takes aim at what he describes as "clinging to the ritual structures of 1928" while using the text of 1979. We ...

laudable Practice

Search This Blog