The Directory for Private (Family) Worship #14

Today we complete our look at the Directory for Private Worship with the fourteenth direction and the concluding paragraph. First the last direction.

XIV. When persons of divers families are brought together by Divine Providence, being abroad upon their particular vocations, or any necessary occasions; as they would have the Lord their God with them whithersoever they go, they ought to walk with God, and not neglect the duties of prayer and thanksgiving, but take care that the same be performed by such as the company shall judge fittest. And that they likewise take heed that no corrupt communication proceed out of their mouths, but that which is good, to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers.

The authors of the directory recognise that there will be times in life where members of a family may be away from each other and perhaps thrown together with other Christians. These Christians will greatly desire God’s presence with them, and therefore they ought not to neglect private worship in these peculiar settings. With Christian wisdom, they will determine who should best lead the ‘family’ worship in these times in such a way as to avoid corrupting speech but rather promote speech that edifies.

The concluding paragraph turns to the two main purposes of the Directory.

The drift and scope of all these Directions is no other, but that, upon the one part, the power and practice of godliness, amongst all the ministers and members of this kirk, according to their several places and vocations, may be cherished and advanced, and all impiety and mocking of religious exercises suppressed: and, upon the other part, that, under the name and pretext of religious exercises, no such meetings or practices be allowed, as are apt to breed error, scandal, schism, contempt, or misregard of the publick ordinances and ministers, or neglect of the duties of particular callings, or such other evils as are the works, not of the Spirit, but of the flesh, and are contrary to truth and peace.

Firstly, the aim of the Directions is to encourage godliness amongst the members of the church while suppressing impiety and godlessness. Secondly, the Directions seek to prevent meetings that are liable to lead to error or schism and a disregard of the church authorities. This is an interesting aim that clashes with modern sensibilities. We do not think that the church authorities ought to determine who we meet with and share the Scriptures with. It’s something I haven’t had to think too deeply about. While I wholeheartedly agree that every Christian ought to be a member of a local church and be under the authority and pastoral care of church leaders there, I wonder if it is too high-handed for such a controlled approach to Christians meeting together. Do church leaders have the legitimate (by which I mean God-given) authority to control which Christians meet with others to share Scripture and talk about their faith? While I can see a biblical mandate for elders rooting out heresy and contending with those who are attempting to create schisms, it seems that this would be better done by shepherds knowing the flock well rather than trying to prevent ‘unauthorised’ meetings. Perhaps I’m wrong here. I’d be interested to know if there is a biblical warrant for such a heavy-handed approach.

The Directory for Private (Family) Worship #13

We come now to our penultimate post on the directory for private worship.

XIII. And, because it is not given to every one to speak a word in season to a wearied or distressed conscience, it is expedient, that a person (in that case,) finding no ease, after the use of all ordinary means, private and publick, have their address to their own pastor, or some experienced Christian: but if the person troubled in conscience be of that condition, or of that sex, that discretion, modesty, or fear of scandal, requireth a godly, grave, and secret friend to be present with them in their said address, it is expedient that such a friend be present.

The language here is a little bit difficult. What is being said is that there will be situations where a person might not have someone who is able to give them apt biblical exhortation. Perhaps the situation might be in a family where the head of the household is not a Christian, or new to the faith and ill-equipped for the situation one of the household members finds themselves in. In these situations, when ordinary means, both private (which I take to mean individual Scripture reading and prayer as well as family worship) and public (which I imagine includes the exhortation from the pulpit), have been exhausted and unfruitful, a person is encouraged to seek individual counsel from their own pastor or an experienced Christian. The framers wisely point out that this should be done in a way that avoids potential scandal.

It is interesting to note that this ought not to be the normal way Christians find help. The authors of this directory seem to see this kind of counsel as extraordinary. Building strong Christian homes ought to minimise the need for this kind of counsel. In my experience as a teacher, children from well-grounded homes are far less likely to have mental health issues or require help from others outside of the family.

The Directory for Private (Family) Worship #12

It’s Tuesday, so we take a look at the next direction in the Directory for Private worship.

XII Seeing the word of God requireth that we should consider one another, to provoke unto love and good works; therefore, at all times, and specially in this time, wherein profanity abounds, and mockers, walking after their own lusts, think it strange that others run not with them to the same excess of riot; every member of this kirk ought to stir up themselves, and one another, to the duties of mutual edification, by instruction, admonition, rebuke; exhorting one another to manifest the grace of God in denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and in living godly, soberly and righteously in this present world; by comforting the feeble-minded, and praying with or for one another. Which duties respectively are to be performed upon special occasions offered by Divine Providence; as, namely, when under any calamity, cross, or great difficulty, counsel or comfort is sought; or when an offender is to be reclaimed by private admonition, and if that be not effectual, by joining one or two more in the admonition, according to the rule of Christ, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

We are first reminded of the truth that God requires believers to encourage each other toward love and good deeds. This requirement is especially important in times where the culture at large provides many examples of people who ignore God and live contrary to God’s law and expect others to join them in their rebellion. I am reminded of the situation we Christians find ourselves in here in New Zealand in the 21st century. Many weaker Christians are being sucked into the vortex of rebellion. Many have been incapacitated by the secular worldview that surrounds them. Consequently, we need Christian brothers to spur us on in these times, to help prevent us from either taking on the world’s opinions and ideas, or falling into its sin. This should start in the Christian nuclear family, but extend throughout the Church body.

The creators of the directory desire that every member of the church should see it as their duty through instruction, admonition and rebuke to exhort others to show the grace of God and reject ungodliness and worldly lusts. It’s not something I have seen a lot of in recent years. Culturally, we modern Westerners are individualists, and it comes as a shock to us if someone has the temerity to rebuke us or instruct us. Part of the issue here is that our churches are not as strong as they should be, because we have not developed the kind of community and fellowship that ought to be seen. We don’t want to get too close to each other precisely because people might see our flaws and that could get quite uncomfortable. Rightly, we also want to avoid legalise. Nevertheless, this aspect of the directory was certainly a challenge to me. Sometimes it is hard enough to rebuke or take a rebuke from someone in our immediate family. Taking this out into the community of believers we belong to seems even more daunting. Yet it is a command of Scripture.

The rule continues by highlighting the positive side of encouragement and admonition. Not only do we help our brothers and sisters avoid ungodliness and worldly lusts, we exhort them into godly and sober living. I think an element of this is the older and more mature Christians modeling Christian living as well as promoting a Christian view of the world. We should not only critique pagan approaches to living, for example, the unnecessary putting off of marriage and family for the sake of a career, but we should also encourage a Christian culture – one of marriage, family and lots of children! Again, unfortunately, the promotion of such Christian ideas is something that can be difficult, because much of the church is individualistic and has imbibed the pluralism of the age. We are brought up to believe that we just have to choose the best path for us. An approach to Christian living that highlights some paths as godly and others as ungodly runs counter to this. Furthermore, the promotion of what is a good and right Christian norm can be seen as a rebuke to those who for whatever reason do not fit the norm. When was the last time you heard a sermon on a Christian approach to child-raising that decried the scourge of daycare and instead promoted mothers…well…being mothers? It’s hard for pastors to encourage a godly lifestyle when they are afraid of the pushback from congregations. It takes courage to promote godly Christian approaches to life.

We conclude our brief look at the twelfth direction, by noting the way it highlights comforting the faint-hearted and praying both with and for each other. We live in perilous times, and courage is needed to live as Christians. There will be times where we are the faint-hearted and we need the community of believers to comfort us, and there will be times where we have to comfort those who are faint-hearted. Prayer is going to be a necessary part of this. In such time as these, it is clear that nothing we can do on our own will change anything. We need God’s Holy Spirit to be at work in and through us and our Christian communities.

The Directory for Private (Family) Worship #11

For some time we have been working our way through the Directory of Private Worship. What put me on this track was a sermon where this directory was mentioned, along with the concept that family worship was taken so seriously by the Church that fathers who did not ensure their family engaged in it could be admonished and even debarred from the Lord’s supper. Today we move to the eleventh stipulation.

XI. Besides the ordinary duties in families, which are above mentioned, extraordinary duties, both of humiliation and thanksgiving, are to be carefully performed in families, when the Lord, by extraordinary occasions, (private or publick,) calleth for them.

Though the language is somewhat archaic, I think the general idea is likely clear to most readers. From time to time, it is important for families to go above and beyond normal Bible reading and prayer in their family worship. There are special occasions where it may be necessary for families to humble themselves before God, perhaps in repentance over sin, or even in sorrow over a nation’s sin. Recent laws and proposed laws in New Zealand might be examples of such occasions. At other times, when God works mightily on behalf of his people, special thanksgiving might be appropriate. I’m not sure whether the framers of this directory would have held to special traditions of thanksgiving around the celebration of Christmas and Easter, but I think these are a great way opportunity for both humiliation and celebration in family worship. Both my wife and I were not brought up in ritual following families. Sure there were some traditions, but we have tried to extend this a bit as we raise our children. One that has become a helpful tradition is a celebration of the last supper / Passover meal where we eat roast lamb, drink wine (or grape juice for the children!), wash each other’s feet and read the Passion story.

The Directory for Private (Family) Worship #10

In recent months, I had a young man come to our house and we got talking on some of the spiritual disciplines that took place in our household. I mentioned to him that our family eats breakfast together and there I read the Word to our children and pray as we begin our daily labours. In the evening, after dinner, while we are still at the dinner table we do the same thing. He was surprised at this activity. Despite growing up in a Christian family, this had never been a habit in his family. Today’s direction from the directory for private worship is helpful in this regard.

X. These exercises ought to be performed in great sincerity, without delay, laying aside all exercises of worldly business or hinderances, not withstanding the mockings of atheists and profane men; in respect of the great mercies of God to this land, and of his severe corrections wherewith lately he hath exercised us. And, to this effect, persons of eminency (and all elders of the kirk) not only ought to stir up themselves and families to diligence herein, but also to concur effectually, that in all other families, where they have power and charge, the said exercises be conscionably performed.

In simple English, we are charged to regularly perform the duties expressed in the previous directions and ensure that the day to day busyness of life nor the mocking of those who do not love God do not put us off from fulfilling these duties. The writers of the directory mention both the mercy of God, and recent corrections from God as factors highlighting the importance of private worship. They complete this direction by arguing for the elders or spiritual leaders of the church to ensure they are diligent in exercising themselves in the fulfilment of the rules previously cited, and additionally that they encourage other families to perform them too.

Of great encouragement to me is the fact that in visiting a church recently the pastor made a big deal about the importance of family worship and even provided free books for families seeking to develop in this discipline. Let us encourage each other as brothers and sisters to be faithful in this all important spiritual discipline.

The Directory for Private (Family) Worship #9

Over the last couple of months we have reviewed the directory for private worship point by point. One of the great encouragements has been to see the importance our ancestors placed on family worship. May this focus stir us up to be faithful to develop healthy spiritual patterns in our own families. Today we are looking at the ninth direction which pertains to prayer.

IX. So many as can conceive prayer, ought to make use of that gift of God; albeit those who are rude and weaker may begin at a set form of prayer, but so as they be not sluggish in stirring up in themselves (according to their daily necessities) the spirit of prayer, which is given to all the children of God in some measure: to which effect, they ought to be more fervent and frequent in secret prayer to God, for enabling of their hearts to conceive, and their tongues to express, convenient desires to God for their family. And, in the meantime, for their greater encouragement, let these materials of prayer be meditated upon, and made use of, as followeth.

Essentially the framers of this directory urge every person who can pray to pray, since it is a gift from God. Those who are not so used to praying perhaps because they are young may use set forms of prayer, but at the same time should develop their prayer so that they will more and more be able to express what they ought to in prayer for their family. Then the directory goes on to give some set pointers on what should be included in family prayer.

“Let them confess to God how unworthy they are to come in his presence, and how unfit to worship his Majesty; and therefore earnestly ask of God the spirit of prayer.

“They are to confess their sins, and the sins of the family; accusing, judging, and condemning themselves for them, till they bring their souls to some measure of true humiliation.

“They are to pour out their souls to God, in the name of Christ, by the Spirit, for forgiveness of sins; for grace to repent, to believe, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly; and that they may serve God with joy and delight, walking before him.

“They are to give thanks to God for his many mercies to his people, and to themselves, and especially for his love in Christ, and for the light of the gospel.

“They are to pray for such particular benefits, spiritual and temporal, as they stand in need of for the time, (whether it be morning or evening,) as anent health or sickness, prosperity or adversity.

“They ought to pray for the kirk of Christ in general, for all the reformed kirks, and for this kirk in particular, and for all that suffer for the name of Christ; for all our superiors, the king’s majesty, the queen, and their children; for the magistrates, ministers, and whole body of the congregation whereof they are members, as well for their neighbours absent in their lawful affairs, as for those that are at home.

“The prayer may be closed with an earnest desire that God may be glorified in the coming of the kingdom of his Son, and in doing of his will, and with assurance that themselves are accepted, and what they have asked according to his will shall be done.”

For modern readers, this prayer outline seems pretty serious, and many of us could wish for regular prayer of this nature in our own lives. Having a set outline that you teach your children is a helpful way to approach family prayer. At times we have used the ACTS acronym, which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. This has encouraged me to think more carefully about training my children in prayer.

The Directory for Private (Family) Worship #8

Today we continue our walkthrough of the Directory for Private Worship. The eighth direction focuses on the use of the Lord’s day (Sunday). The authors of the directory are, I think Sabbatarians, and so have a very high view of this day and how it is to be used. Not all Christians have the same understanding of the Lord’s day, but there is certainly wisdom in the following directions for its use.

On the Lord’s day, after every one of the family apart, and the whole family together, have sought the Lord (in whose hands the preparation of men’s hearts are) to fit them for the publick worship, and to bless to them the publick ordinances, the master of the family ought to take care that all within his charge repair to the publick worship, that he and they may join with the rest of the congregation: and the publick worship being finished, after prayer, he should take an account what they have heard; and thereafter, to spend the rest of the time which they may spare in catechising, and in spiritual conferences upon the word of God: or else (going apart) they ought to apply themselves to reading, meditation, and secret prayer, that they may confirm and increase their communion with God: that so the profit which they found in the publick ordinances may be cherished and promoved, and they more edified unto eternal life.

Here they hold the ‘master of the family’ responsible for ensuring the family prepares for public worship on the Lord’s day, and then that all attend public worship. After this, the authors of the directory require that he prays with the family and questions them as to what they have learnt in the service. Then he is to ensure the rest of the day, as far as possible, is spent in catechising (questions and answers on doctrinal truths), and talking about the Scriptures together, or in individual reading, meditation and personal prayer for the purpose. Ultimately, the desire for this manner of spending a Sunday is to ensure that the public worship has the utmost impact and effect on the spiritual lives of those who attend.

How important is this? It certainly seems there is some helpful truth to glean from this approach. I want to focus on the impact of the father on his home and the spiritual lives of his children. Fathers are essential to the health of the Christian faith. This should come as no surprise, but in an age that denigrates masculinity, many in the feminised church will be surprised by statistics like the ones I am about to share from an article by Robbie Low on men and the church. Low shares research that shows the impact fathers have on whether their children will continue in the faith. “In short, if a father does not go to church, no matter how faithful his wife’s devotions, only one child in 50 will become a regular worshipper. If a father does go regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children will become churchgoers (regular and irregular).” The authors of the directory would not have been surprised by this. The face we are is an indication of our denigration of fatherhood.

Fathers intimately involved in the spiritual lives of their children and wife will have an impact. God will see that this faithfulness bears fruit. So this is an encouragement to those of us who are fathers to sow liberally. Let us ensure we take our family to worship, even when we do not feel like it. Let us ensure that we mark out regular time in family life to reflect on what we learn in sermons and in Scripture. Let us encourage our children to develop daily habits of reading and reflecting on Scripture. And let us pray that God in his grace and mercy blesses these efforts.

The Directory for Private (Family) Worship #7

We continue today our look at the Directory for Private (Family) Worship. While I think we can commend the idea of church authorities encouraging families to develop the discipline of regular private worship, there seem to be a number of times where, (according to my cultural sensibilities) the church authorities who have written this directory are potentially overstepping the bounds of their realm of government. Today is another case of this I think.

VII. Whatsoever have been the effects and fruits of meetings of persons of divers families in the times of corruption or trouble, (in which cases many things are commendable, which otherwise are not tolerable,) yet, when God hath blessed us with peace and purity of the gospel, such meetings of persons of divers families (except in cases mentioned in these Directions) are to be disapproved, as tending to the hinderance of the religious exercise of each family by itself, to the prejudice of the publick ministry, to the rending of the families of particular congregations, and (in progress of time) of the whole kirk. Besides many offences which may come thereby, to the hardening of the hearts of carnal men, and grief of the godly.

So what does this mean in more current language? As I understand it, this rule begins with noting that in the past, when the church has been troubled, multiple families have gathered together to worship, and that God has indeed blessed this. However, in times of peace, they believe this ought not to be the normal situation. Why? Firstly, it can hinder the religious exercise of each family. My guess is that when you have a big gathering of families, it might be harder for the father to help individuals in his care than when families meet on their own. The second reason they give for this not being helpful is that it can prove to be to the prejudice of public ministry. In other words, it can cause division and families can tend to sense they do not need the local church when they band together regularly. It can lead to further error and hardening of hearts.

Now once again I see the points that these leaders were making, but I am not sure that this is something we should be making a rule against. Yes, families should be part of a local congregation, and the banding of families together ought to be in the context of a local church. Yes I think there are dangers in the denigration of the public ministry when families think they can replace the local church, but at the same time there are regularly times in Church history when the church is governed by men who do not love Christ, or who are teaching what is not true. It is in these times when rules against families banding together for worship are problematic.

The Directory for Private (Family) Worship #6

In recent weeks we have been slowly working our way through The Directory for Private Worship which the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland approved in 1647. Thus far, we have noted the pleasing concern these church leaders had for the discipline of family worship and their understanding that the health of God’s church relies on the spiritual health of the individual families that comprise it. Today we look at the sixth direction.

VI. At family-worship, a special care is to be had that each family keep by themselves; neither requiring, inviting, nor admitting persons from divers families, unless it be those who are lodged with them, or at meals, or otherwise with them upon some lawful occasion.

This provision highlights the importance of families keeping to themselves when they conduct their private worship. What is meant by this? Well, it’s not a blanket rule. There are legitimate reasons the Assembly saw for worship to be conducted with other families. One example is when sharing a meal with another family.

So what is the thinking behind this direction? It seems likely that this rule is included to protect family worship from being hijacked (see rule 5), and to strengthen spiritual bonds in the family. Because family worship is so important, it is necessary that it is not regularly interrupted by outsiders. This no doubt makes it easier to rebuke and encourage members of the family in their ongoing spiritual warfare.

The Directory for Private (Family) Worship #5

Let no idler, who hath no particular calling, or vagrant person under pretence of a calling, be suffered to perform worship in families, to or for the same; seeing persons tainted with errors, or aiming at division, may be ready (after that manner) to creep into houses, and lead captive silly and unstable souls.

In more modern language, we might say that people who are lazy or have no settled work or home should not be allowed to perform worship in families even if they have a desire to. Why? These kinds of people are likely to introduce error and division into the family and potentially the church. The reference to leading captive silly and unstable souls seems to be a reference to 2 Timothy 3:6 where Timothy is warned by Paul against people who “worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires.”

Now when I initially read this I struggled to see the relevance to our situation today. To be honest, the chance of many Christian families even having regular family worship is not particularly high. So what are the chances of some ‘idler’ coming in and performing worship in families and leading people astray?

Yet when you think about it, there are many idlers and vagrants who are allowed into many Christian homes. We have social media where the clamor of idle, ignorant and bellicose women often reigns supreme. We have the teachings of Hollywood reminding us to ‘be true to ourselves’ and even those prosperity gospel preachers who deceive many ill-taught Christians.

While the original intent of this document lay in a slightly different direction, I think there is a call here for fathers and church leaders to warn against these deceitful teachers and influences. Certainly, fathers should police strongly what influences are allowed in their home via screens. It is our duty to protect our families. But what about our church leaders? If our church leaders used to take steps to stop idlers and ‘vagrant persons’ from creeping into houses and leading unstable souls captive, what ought we to see from our leaders with respect to the current day embodiments of this danger?