From the landing of the Mayflower through the American Revolution, the majority of free-church clergy probably spent more time interacting with worshipers around the Communion table than they did preaching from pulpits. The services that follow reflect Puritan worship as well as the general approach to worship in the separatist congregations—Baptist, Congregational, Independent.
Introduction
At the Communion table, close to the worshiping congregation, the clergy often presided with lay leaders. Standing at the table with the people, the clergy began the service with prayers of thanksgiving and later led prayers of intercession incorporating concerns spoken out or written by the laity. All continued to stand for singing led by laity. Often from the table, clergy read the Scriptures interspersed with exegesis so that the Word would be heard truly and actively. Then the clergy went into the pulpit to give their sermons, applying the Bible to any of a wide range of issues related to God’s kingdom on earth. Immediately after the sermon, as worship continued, they came down from the pulpit and sat at the table to answer the congregation’s questions and hear witnessing by laity who were free to agree or disagree with what was said in the sermon. From the table, clergy gave thanks and gave the bread and wine to lay leaders who distributed Communion to the people. After more singing, the people often gave their offerings at the table. Communion was celebrated as often as each Sunday or at least once a month.
Text:
Prayers of Thanksgiving and of Intercession
All stood for prayer with hands lifted above their heads in the biblical manner enjoined in 1 Timothy 2:8; and the prayers were all extemporaneously spoken, whether by the pastor, teacher, or others.
Singing of Psalms
All stood to sing a psalm before (and sometimes after) the time devoted to the opening of Scripture, sermon, exhortations, and questions. As some of the Psalms have as many as 130 lines, it would take 15 minutes to sing some (and twice that long if lined out). (Since our service is reflective of 18th-century worship as well as 17th we will be singing the music of Isaac Watts as well as the Psalms.)
Reading, Expounding and Preaching the Word
Cotton notes that there was no dumb reading of Scripture; for the reading of Scripture included expounding. In expounding to aid understanding, the reader of Scripture would make brief comments between the lines of Scripture, with extended comments just before and immediately following the Scripture reading.
During the sermon, members of the congregation took notes. From these, parents would later question their children on the matter of the sermon. Also, from such notes, small study groups would later in the week discuss the sermons with both those who had been present and others who had been unable to attend the service.
Exhorting and Questioning by Laity
After preaching and returning to his seat, the ordained or lay leader of worship called upon “any other of the Brethren whether of the same Church or any, to speak a word of Exhortation to the people.” The time of exhorting was accompanied by the questioning of the minister on the matter of the sermon.
Celebrating the Lord’s Supper
Cotton wrote of “celebrating” the Lord’s Supper and noted that they administered it “once a month at least” in the Sunday morning worship. “After the celebration of the Supper, a Psalm of thanksgiving is sung (according to Matt. 26:30) and the church is dismissed with a blessing.”