The Language Of Worship

I grew up reading the King James Version of the Bible. That’s what my Dad had on his bedside table, and that’s what we used in church and Sunday school. I think the thees and thous and unfamiliar vocabulary made the Bible that much more special, and made me treasure the words that much more.

When I recall verses that I memorized as a child, the words are in the King James language, like the 23rd Psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

In the Episcopalian church, we use a more modern translation of the Bible, so I have had to re-learn the words of The Lord’s Prayer (“… Forgive us our … debts? trespasses? sins?”). But I have come to love the language of The Book Of Common Prayer. I love this prayer of thanks:

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us.
We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

From time to time I still encounter unfamiliar words at church, usually in an old hymn. A few weeks ago, it was “unction” that sent me to the dictionary.

From more Google searching, it seems that this word might be more familiar to Catholics (“Extreme Unction” is another name for “Last Rites”), but I had no idea what it meant when we sang, “Thy unction grace bestows.” (You can read the lyrics and hear the melody of the hymn here).

Do you prefer to contemporary or traditional worship language?