Preface by Martin Luther.
First of all, I would like to kindly ask, also for God's sake, all those who want to see or follow this order of ours in the divine service, that they do not make a necessary law out of it, nor entangle or trap anyone's conscience with it; but rather, use Christian freedom according to their liking, as, where, when, and for how long things are convenient and demanded. For we also do not let such things proceed in the opinion that we want to master anyone in this or govern them with laws; but, since the German Mass and divine service are being insisted on everywhere, and there are great complaints and annoyances about the various ways of the new Masses, that each one makes his own: Some out of good opinion, some also out of presumption, that they also bring up something new and also appear among others and are not bad masters; as then happens to Christian freedom all the time, that few of them need it other than for their own pleasure or benefit and not for God's glory and the neighbor's betterment.
2 Although it is up to each person's conscience how he needs such freedom, and no one is to be denied or forbidden it, we must nevertheless see to it that freedom is and should be the servant of love and of one's neighbor. Where it happens, then, that people are annoyed or misled by such diverse customs, we are truly obliged to retract freedom and, as much as is possible, to create and leave it, so that people may improve and not be annoyed by us. Since this outward order is of no importance to our conscience before God, and yet can be useful to our neighbor, we should strive in love, as St. Paul teaches, to be of one mind and, to the best of our ability, to be of the same manner and disposition, just as all Christians have the same baptism, the same sacrament, and no special thing is given to anyone by God.
3 However, I do not want to request herewith that those who already have their good order, or can make it better by God's grace, let it go and give way to us. For it is not my opinion that all of Germany should adopt our Wittenberg order. It has never happened before that the monasteries, convents and parishes were equal in all respects; but it would be fine if in each dominion the divine service were conducted in the same way, and the surrounding towns and villages parted equally with a city; whether those in other dominions also kept the same or did something special about it, should be free and unpunished. For in sum, we do not make such an order for the sake of those who are already Christians. For they have no need of these things, for which they live not; but they live for our sakes, who are not yet Christians, that they may make us Christians; they have their worship in the Spirit.
(4) But for the sake of those who are yet to become Christians, or who are to become stronger, such an order must be established, just as a Christian does not need baptism, the Word and the Sacrament as a Christian, for he already has everything, but as a sinner. But mostly it is for the sake of the simple and the young people, who should and must be trained and educated daily in the Scriptures and God's Word, so that they become accustomed to the Scriptures, skillful, able and knowledgeable in representing their faith and teaching others in time, and helping to increase the kingdom of Christ. For the sake of such, one must read, sing, preach, write and write poetry, and where it would be helpful and conducive to this, I would have all the bells rung and all the organs whistled and everything sounded that could sound. For this is why the papal services are so damnable, that they have made laws, works and merit out of them and thus suppressed the faith, and have not directed them to the youth.
The devil does not order them in the way the ancients did, nor do they order them in the way the ancients did. This is the devil; in which way the ancients did not order nor set them.
5 There are three differences between the service and the mass. First of all, there is a Latin one, which we have let go out before and is called Formula Missae. I do not want to abolish or change this herewith; but as we have kept it with us until now, so it shall still be free to use it where and when it pleases us or causes us to do so. For in no way do I want to let the Latin language be completely eliminated from the church service; for I am all for the sake of the youth. And if I could, and the Greek and Hebrew languages were as common to us as the Latin, and had as much fine music and singing as the Latin has; then one Sunday after another we should hold mass, sing and read in all four languages, German, Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
(6) I do not think much of those who speak only one language and despise all others. For I would gladly raise up such youth and people, who even in foreign lands could be useful to Christ and speak with the people, so that we would not be like the Waldensians in Bohemia, who have so caught their faith in their own language that they cannot speak intelligibly and clearly with anyone, unless he first learns their language. But the Holy Spirit did not do this in the beginning; he did not wait until all the world came to Jerusalem and learned Hebrew, but gave all kinds of tongues for preaching, so that the apostles could speak wherever they went. I would rather follow this example; and it is also right that the youth should be trained in many languages; who knows how God will use them in time? The schools were also founded for this purpose.
(7) Secondly, the German mass and service, of which we are now speaking, are to be ordered for the sake of the simple laity. But these two ways we must thus go and let happen that they are publicly celebrated in the churches before all the people.
Among them are many who do not yet believe or are Christians, but the majority are standing and gawking so that they may also see something new, just as if we were holding services in the midst of the Turks or pagans in an open square or field. For here is not yet an orderly and certain assembly in which Christians could be governed according to the gospel, but is a public provocation to faith and Christianity.
(8) But the third way, which should have the right kind of evangelical order, should not be done so publicly in the square among all the people, but those who earnestly wanted to be Christians and confess the gospel with hand and mouth should sign their names and assemble in a house alone for prayer, reading, baptizing, receiving the sacrament and practicing other Christian works. In this order, those who are not Christian could be known, punished, corrected, expelled or put under ban according to the rule of Christ, Matt. 18:15 ff.
9 A general alms could also be given to the Christians, which they would willingly give and distribute among the poor according to the example of St. Paul, 2 Corinthians 9:1, 2, 12. Here, there would be no need for a lot of singing. Here one could also have a short, fine way with baptism and sacrament and focus everything on the word and prayer and love. Here one should have a good short catechism about faith, ten commandments and Our Father. In short, if one had the people and persons who earnestly desired to be Christians, the order and way would soon be made.
(10) But I cannot and do not yet order or establish such a church or assembly. For I do not yet have people and persons for it; so I do not see many who urge it. But if I have to do it and am urged to do it, so that my good conscience cannot prevent it, I will gladly do my part and help as best I can. However, I will leave it at the said two ways, and publicly among the people such service to practice the youth and the others to faith.
I have to call and provoke, besides the sermon, to help, to encourage, until the Christians who are serious about the word find themselves and stop, so that it does not become a scandal, if I wanted to drive it out of my head. For we Germans are a wild, rough, raging people, with whom it is not easy to do anything, unless it is the greatest need.
11. well, in God's name. First of all, in the German church service, a rough, simple, simple, good catechism is necessary. Catechism is called an instruction, so that the pagans, who want to become Christians, are taught and instructed what they should believe, do, leave and know in Christianity, therefore they called the apprentices Catechumenos, who were accepted for such instruction and learned the faith before they were baptized. I do not know how to make this teaching or instruction simpler or better, because it has already been given from the beginning of Christianity and has remained until now, namely the three pieces: The ten commandments, the faith and the Lord's Prayer. In these three pieces there is, simply and briefly, almost everything that a Christian needs to know.
12 This instruction must now be done, because there is not yet a special congregation, so that it is preached in the pulpit at certain times or daily, as necessity demands, and at home, in the evening and in the morning, it is recited or read to the children and servants, if they are to be made Christians. Not only that they learn the words by heart, as has been done up to now, but ask them from piece to piece and let them answer what each of them means and how they understand it. If one cannot ask everything at once, then one piece is taken up, and the next day another. For if the parents or caretakers of the youth do not want to have this trouble with them, either by themselves or by others, no catechism will ever be prepared, unless a special congregation is set up, as has been said.
13. Namely, they should be asked, "What are you praying?" Answer: The Lord's Prayer. "What is it that you say, 'Our Father who art in heaven'?" Answer: That God is not an earthly Father, but a heavenly Father, who has given us in the
Heaven wants to make rich and blessed. What do you mean by "hallowing your name"? Answer: That we may honor and keep his name, that it be not profaned. "How then is it profaned and desecrated?" Answer: If we, who are to be his children, live wickedly, teach and believe unjustly, and so on, what God's kingdom is called, how it comes about, what God's will is called, what daily bread is called. etc.
14 So also in faith. "How do you believe?" Answer: I believe in God the Father. Then from piece to piece, according to the time, one or two at a time. So, "what does it mean to believe in God the Father Almighty?" Answer: It means when the heart trusts in Him completely and relies on Him for all grace, favor, help and comfort, both temporally and eternally. "What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ, his Son? Answer: It means, if the heart believes, that we would all be eternally lost, if Christ had not died for us. etc.
(15) So also in the Ten Commandments one must ask what the first, the second, the third and other commandments mean. Such questions may be taken from our prayer booklet, in which the three parts are briefly explained, or they may be done differently, until the whole sum of the Christian mind is put into two parts, as into two little bags in the heart, which are: Faith and love.
(16) The bag of faith has two bags; in the one bag is the piece that we believe, as we are all corrupt, sinners and condemned through Adam's sin, Rom. 5:12, Ps. 51:7. In the other bag is the piece that we are all redeemed from this corrupt, sinful, condemned nature through Jesus Christ, Rom. 5:18, Jn. 3:16. 5, 18. Joh. 3, 16. The little bag of love also has two bags; in the one is the piece that we should serve and do good to everyone as Christ did to us, Rom. 13, 8. in the other is the piece that we should gladly suffer and tolerate all kinds of evil, 1 Joh. 3, 16.
(17) When a child begins to understand that he should be accustomed to bring with him from the sermon the sayings of the Scriptures, and to tell his parents when he is about to eat at table, just as in the old days it was done.
Latin, and then put the sayings into the sacks and bags, as one puts the pennies and dimes or florins into the pocket. As, the little bag of faith is the little golden bag; into the first bag go this saying, Rom. 5, 12.: "From one sin they are all sinners and have been condemned"; and Ps. 51, 7.: "Behold, in sins I was conceived, and in in iniquity my mother bore me." That is two Rhenish florins in the little bag. Into the other bag go the Hungarian florins, as this saying, Rom. 4:25: "Christ died for our sins, and rose again for our righteousness"; item, Jn. 1:29: "Behold, this is the Lamb of God, which bareth the sin of the world." That would be two good Hungarian florins in the bag.
18) Let the bag of love be the silver bag; into the first bag go the sayings about doing good, as Gal. 5:13: "Serve one another in love." Matth. 25, 40: "Inasmuch as ye do it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me." That would be two silver pennies in the small bag. Into the other bag go this saying, Matth. 5, 11: "Blessed are you, if you are persecuted for my sake." Hebr. 12, 6: "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, but chasteneth every son whom he receiveth." These are two chasteners *) in the booty.
(19) And let no man think himself too wise here, and despise such child's play. Christ, because he wanted to draw men, had to become man. If we are to raise children, we must also become children with them. If God wanted such children's play to be well practiced, in a short time one would see a great treasure of Christian people, and that rich souls would become in the Scriptures and knowledge of God, until they themselves made more of these little things, as loci communes, and fasted the whole Scripture. Otherwise, they go to the sermon every day and go away again, just as they came; for they think that nothing is worth more than the time it takes to hear the sermon.
no one thinks to learn or retain anything from it. Thus many a man hears preaching for three or four years, and yet does not learn that he can respond to a piece of faith; as I well experience every day. Enough is written in books, but not everything has been driven into the hearts.
From the service.
Because the greatest and most important part of all worship is to preach and teach God's word, we preach and read like this: On the holy day or Sunday, we leave the usual epistles and gospels, and have three sermons: early at five or six, we sing several psalms as at matins. After that, the epistle of the day is preached, mostly for the sake of the servants, so that they may also be cared for and hear God's word, although they could not be in other sermons. Then an Antiphon and the Te deum Iaudumus (i.e. Great God we praise you), *) or Benedictus (i.e. Praised be the Lord) **) around each other with a Our Father, Collecte and Benedicamus Domino (i.e. Let us praise the Lord!) †)
In the afternoon at Vespers, before Magnificat, the Old Testament is preached one after the other. In the afternoon, during Vespers, before the Magnificat (††), the Old Testament is preached in order, one after the other. But that we keep the Epistles and Gospels divided according to the time of the year, as before, is the reason, we know nothing special to reprove in such a way. So it is with Wittenberg at this time, that many are there who are to learn to preach in the places where such division of the epistles and gospels still goes on and perhaps remains. Because one may then deny the-
*) The beginning of a hymn or canticle attributed to Ambrose and Augustine.
D. Red.
††) The beginning of the hymn of praise of Mary by Elisabeth: Es erhebe meine Seele den HErrn etc., Luc. 1, 46-55. which was sung towards the end of the vespers. D. Red.
234 E. 22.235-237. B. Of the ten commandments in particular. Third commandment. W. X, 277-279. 235
If we want to be of use to them and serve them without any harm to us, we let it be so; but we do not want to reproach those who take the whole books of the evangelists before them. Herewith, we consider, the layman has enough preaching and teaching; but whoever desires more, will find enough on other days.
On Monday and Tuesday morning there is a German lecture on the Ten Commandments, on faith and the Lord's Prayer, on baptism and the sacrament, so that these two days may preserve and strengthen the catechism in its proper understanding. On Wednesday morning, however, there is a German lecture; for this, the evangelist Matthew is completely ordered that the day should be his own, because he is a fine evangelist to teach for the congregation, and the good preaching of Christ, done on the mountain, describes and firmly encourages the practice of love and good work.
23) But the evangelist John, who teaches the faith in a powerful way, also has his own day, Saturday afternoon at vespers, so that we have two evangelists in daily practice. Thursday, Friday, early in the morning, have the daily weekly selections in the Epistles of the Apostles and what is more in the New Testament. Herewith are ordered lection and sermon enough to keep God's word in pregnancy, without what still are lections in the high school for the scholars.
24 For the boys and students to practice in the Bible, they must sing several psalms in Latin every day during the week before the lesson, as they have been accustomed to do until now at matins. For, as has been said, we want to keep and train the youth in the Latin language in the Bible. After the psalms, the boys read one chapter after the other, two or three, in Latin from the New Testament, after which it is long. Then another boy runs the same chapter in German, to practice it, and if someone of laymen would be there and listen. After that they go with an antiphon to the German lection. After that, they go to the German lection with an antiphon, as mentioned above. After the lection, the whole group sings a German song. After the lection, the whole congregation sings a German hymn, and then they secretly say the Lord's Prayer.
conclude with the Benedicamus Domino, as is customary.
25 Similarly, at vespers, they sing some of the vesper psalms as they were sung before, also in Latin with an antiphon, followed by a hymn, if there is one. After that they read again one after the other, two or three, in Latin from the Old Testament a whole or half chapter, after that it is long. After that, a boy reads the same chapter in German, then the Magnificat in Latin with an antiphon or hymn, then an Our Father in secret and the Collecte with the Benedicamus. This is the daily service during the week in towns where there are schools.
Of Sunday for the laity.
We leave the vestments, altar, and lights until they are all gone, or until it pleases us to change them. But whoever wants to do otherwise here, we let it happen. But in the proper mass among true Christians, the altar should not remain as it is, and the priest should always turn to the people, as no doubt Christ did in the Lord's Supper. Well, that can wait for its time.
27 But for the beginning we sing a spiritual song or a German psalm, primo Tono (i.e. in the first key)*), in the way, as follows:**)
I will praise the Lord all the days of his life.
Praise shall be in my mouth forever.
**) Regarding the notation as well as the performance, the following should be emphasized:
1. the key determines the note k (ka) and can be placed on different lines, depending on how k is to be denoted. The key determines the note e (ut) and can also be on different lines.
2. the note symbols do not express the duration of the notes, but only the pitch, and thus have no value in themselves for the rhythm; rather, it is the text that determines the rhythm.
My sea shall boast of the Lord, that the people may hear and rejoice.
Praise the Lord with me, and let us
with a-an-der his-name-raise.
When I sought the Lord, he answered me;
and rescues me from all my fear.
Those who see from him will be enlightened;
and their face will not be disgraced.
When he cried out, the Lord heard him,
and helped him out of all his needs.
The angel of the Lord is encamped around them,
The character of the whole chant is a sustained, modulated speaking, a speaking in tones. The character of the entire song is a sustained, modulated speech, a speech in tones.
3. the opening and closing modulations require somewhat slower movement in performance.
I -" ' " s
so fear him; and help him 'out. Tastes
and see how kind the Lord is: well
7^' ' ' " ' ' ^-11-, "
the man who trusts in him. Fear