A much-needed guide for the church today
The Westminster Directory for Public Worship, established by the Westminster Assembly in 1644 to replace the Book of Common Prayer, was designed to address the demands of the 1640 Root and Branch petition against the episcopal system and its liturgy. Approved by both the English and Scottish Parliaments, the Directory offered a flexible approach to worship, emphasizing Scripture reading, prayer, and preaching, and providing guidance on sacraments and pastoral care. Developed by a committee known as the Westminster Divines, this directory reflects the regulative principle of worship.
But what can seventeenth-century statements teach the church about contemporary worship today, in the twenty-first century? The Westminster Directory for the Public Worship of God in Modern English, edited by Kevin J. Bidwell and published by Evangelical Press, answers this question among many others, enabling the church to assess its biblical faithfulness as expressed through its public worship practices and preferences. This book follows Bidwell’s 2017 work of a similar nature, The Westminster Standards for Today.
This volume contains a preface by Joseph A. Pipa Jr. and a preliminary essay by Terry L. Johnson on continuity or discontinuity—“Worship from Calvin to Westminster.” Johnson provides the theological foundations of the Directory and discusses its simplicity and spirituality. He also evaluates its contents and influence over the centuries.
The succeeding chapters contain essays on some of the sub-directories in the Directory for Public Worship. This includes contributions from George Curry ("Of the Assembling of the Congregation, and Their Behaviour in the Public Worship"), Timothy K. Hoke ("Of Public Reading of the Holy Scriptures"), Maurice J. Roberts ("Of Public Prayer Before Sermon"), Joseph H. Fowler and Joseph A. Pipa Jr. ("Of the Preaching of the Word"), Johannes M. Muller ("Of Prayer After the Sermon"), Chad T. Bailey ("Of the Administration of the Sacraments"), Kevin J. Bidwell ("Of the Celebration of the Communion"), Roland S. Barnes ("Of the Sanctification of the Lord’s Day"), and Warren J. Peel ("Of the Singing of Psalms").
The Directory itself (in Modern English) is in the following section. Bidwell reformatted it and involved light editing to remove archaic English phrases, but the content and doctrines remain completely unchanged. Bidwell also included appropriate paragraphs to enhance readability. In lengthy sections, he added subheadings to improve memorability of the material.
Aside from its modernized English, I appreciate that it is formatted in a reader-friendly way, which makes it more approachable and pleasant to read. Bidwell has done an exceptional job editing the directory and has succeeded in making it accessible to the church today.
Final thoughts:
The Westminster Directory for the Public Worship of God in Modern English is a pastoral masterpiece and a much-needed guide for the church today, especially at a time when many depart from the foundational teachings of the Bible. I hope to see future works from Bidwell on the other contents of the Westminster Standards.
Marc Daniel
