There have been several liturgical books used in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Presently, the primary liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is The Book of Common Worship of 1993, published in cooperation with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
These books are not commonly used in the pews, but are resources for pastors in the preparation for Sunday worship, as well as for devotional use by church members and seminarians. Portions of these books are frequently found in the church bulletins, functioning as liturgical booklets in many Presbyterian churches.
The Presbyterian Service Book and The Directory For Worship American Presbyterians have both a directory for worship and a service book. There is often a confusion over the distinction between the two, and over the role of each. A "Directory for Worship" is a part of the constitution of the church and thus has the authority of church law. It provides the theology that undergirds worship, and includes appropriate directions for worship. It sets forth the standards and the norms for the ordering of worship. It does have fixed orders of worship or liturgical texts.
The church's service book, on the other hand, provides orders and texts for worship. It is in harmony with the directory and is approved for voluntary use. Where both a directory and a service book coexist, as in those churches served by the Book of Common Worship (1993), the service book sets forth, in orders of services and in liturgical texts, the theology and norms described in the directory. Service books have a longer history in the Reformed tradition than directories, and most churches in the Reformed community do not have directories but do have service books.
Service books of the 16th and 17th centuries Reformed churches in the sixteenth century used service books. Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer, and John Calvin all prepared worship forms for use in the congregations. John Knox, following Calvin, prepared The Forme of Prayers and subsequently a service book, the Book of Common Order, for use in Scotland. Liturgical forms were in general use in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Holland, England, and Scotland.
However, the Reformation in England and Scotland after the death of Thomas Cranmer was formed in a very different context from that on the continent, where entire political entities were Reformed. The Reformed were thus able to prepare their own service books without interference. In England and Scotland those seeking to carry the reform from the continent had the difficult task of reforming within a state church hostile to Genevan-inspired reform. Even after the Scottish kirk was reformed under John Knox, it continued to endure English political and religious pressures, resulting in bitter conflict with the English crown.
As the contending party in a state church, the Puritans were vulnerable. The liberty of the church to order its life and worship in harmony with the Word of God was threatened. The Puritans felt under attack by both church and nation. It was in worship that the conflict raged. The Puritans’ struggle for liberty put them in direct conflict with those who had power to legislate the content of the service book and to require its use. Initially, the Puritan conflict was not about opposition to the propriety and use of a service book.
The Puritans proposed their own service books. Rather, the conflict was about a service book that was being imposed upon the Puritans that did not reflect their concerns. The struggle ultimately drove the Puritans to join forces with the separatists. As a result, both the English Puritans and the Scots were forced into a more radical liturgical position than that of the reform on the continent, which did not have to face such issues. Whereas the Reformers were in a position to reform the forms of worship, the political and ecclesiastical situation compelled the Puritans, for the sake of liberty, to reject the forms thrust upon them.
It was in this context that the Westminster Directory for the Publique Worship of God, devoid of liturgical text, was created in 1644, under the influence of Puritans and separatists. This directory was destined to play the dominant role in shaping the worship of American Presbyterians. It was at this moment in history that Puritans and Scots settled in the New World. They were the nucleus that initially shaped American Presbyterianism. Puritan views thus dominated the way the church took root in American soil. Opposition to service books continued even though the Puritans were no longer engaged in a struggle for liberty. The agenda remained, even though the context had changed.
In keeping with their Puritan legacy, Presbyterians who settled in the New World chose to be served by a directory for worship rather than a service book. Colonial Presbyterians had the 1644 Westminster Directory available to them until, in 1788, the Westminster Directory was revised for use in the United States and subsequently adopted by the first General Assembly. Two generations after the first General Assembly, things began to change.
Service books in the 19th century In the middle of the nineteenth century a movement emerged among American Presbyterians and other Reformed churches that sought to restore a liturgical tradition that was both Reformed and catholic, and thus to recover the values associated with use of a service book.
Individuals began to write service books for use by Presbyterians. Toward the end of the century, demand for such resources prompted the publishing house of the northern Presbyterians to produce collections of liturgical forms.
But it was the southern General Assembly that first extended official sanction to liturgical forms. In 1894 a directory for worship was adopted for use in the southern church that contained liturgical formulas, and liturgies for marriages and funerals were appended to it. Nine years later, the northern General Assembly was ready to respond positively to overtures calling for a book of services.
Book of Common Worship (1906) In 1903, in response to the growing expression of a need for worship forms, the northern General Assembly approved overtures calling for the preparation of a book of services. The Book of Common Worship of 1906 became the first liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. It was the result of overtures from the Synod of New York and the Presbytery of Denver. Henry Van Dyke was the chairperson of the committee charged with the publication of the book. Although American Presbyterians had a directory for worship to guide them in liturgical matters, the approval of a service book gave official recognition to the value of liturgical orders and texts in shaping worship.
The book relied heavily on the liturgical reforms of the Church of Scotland and incorporated much of the liturgical tradition from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. It provided for celebrating Holy Communion and included liturgies for morning and evening worship services as well as ancient forms of Eucharistic prayers based on Eastern Orthodox liturgies. Prayers and texts were written for festivals and seasons of the liturgical year, which at the time of publication was not universally accepted in the Presbytery. Various orders were written for Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination, and other ordinances. For the first time, A Treasury of Prayers, a collection of ancient and contemporary prayers, was included. The prayers were drawn from within the Reformed tradition and from within the Church catholic. One such example was the use of the Prayer of St. John Chrysostom,The Book of Common Worship of 1906, p. 26 a departure from the Reformed principles and a look into the pre-denominational period. Congregational participation was encouraged with the provision of responses and unison prayers. Finally, the book included an extensive selection from Psalms and Canticles; the latter's titles were given in Latin (Magnificat; Nunc Dimittis, Te Deum laudamus etc.), also a significant departure from the Reformed tradition.
Many Presbyterians were angered by what they felt was a loss of liberty in worship and criticized "canned prayers." In the General Assembly meeting to approve the book, one commissioner threw the book across the room and said, "Faugh! It smells of priestcraft." Another speaker responded, "This is not van Dyke's prayer book. It belongs to every member of the committee you appointed. It is not a liturgy. It's not a ritual. It does not contain 'canned' prayers. It contains great live prayers of our fathers. Are you going to tell the man who wants to use this book that he can't have it?"
Although not fully embraced, the 1906 edition paved the way for a continuing tradition of liberty in Presbyterian worship in America, balanced with written resources for worship.
Book of Common Worship (1932 and 1946) By 1928, the 1906 edition began to appear dated. Responding to popular demand, the General Assembly appointed a 1929 committee chaired by Van Dyke to revise the Book of Common Worship. The revised edition was published in 1932 as the second liturgical book of the church and an expanded version of the 1906 publication.
During the course of the committee's work, Van Dyke addressed the critics of the 1906 edition: "We can see no force in the thoughtless opposition of such a book which is represented by the rather irreverent phrase, 'canned prayers.' The Bible and the service books of Calvin, Knox and the other reformers, all contain written forms of prayer. All our hymns are written. Yet no one is foolish and crude enough to protest against 'canned praise.' The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man is acceptable though it be written." Texts for additional festivals and seasons were added and rudimentary lectionary was included.
It is significant that the southern General Assembly approved it for use by its congregations, and when presented to the 1931 General Assembly, there were no speeches against 'canned prayers', and the book was unanimously approved. Van Dyke called The Book of Common Worship of 1932 "his last labor" of life before he died in 1933.
Several years later, the northern General Assembly established a permanent committee to monitor the liturgical needs of the church and to periodically propose revisions of the Book of Common Worship. This underscores the importance that the Office of the General Assembly gave to the service book at that time.
A thoroughgoing revision of the Book of Common Worship resulted in a third edition published in 1946. Those who prepared this book had the advantage of increasing ecumenical liturgical scholarship and of more knowledge about the worship of the Reformers. This edition of the service book provided for still greater congregational participation. It contained expanded resources for Sunday morning and Sunday evening worship and for the celebration of the Lord's Supper. The reading of scripture in worship was given emphasis by the addition of a complete two-year lectionary from the Church of Scotland's Book of Common Order, published in 1940. The liturgical year also received increased emphasis, with prayers included from the service books of other churches.
The Worshipbook (1970) In 1955 the northern General Assembly called for another revision. As the committee appointed to revise the Book of Common Worship began its work, it was confronted with the great disparity between the Directory for Worship and the Book of Common Worship. The committee reported back to the assembly that it could not proceed until a new directory was adopted to replace the existing one, which for the northern church had remained virtually unchanged since its adoption nearly one hundred and seventy years earlier.