An objection has been made to the Liturgy of the English Church that it involves vain repetitions and a useless prolixity. It is replied, repetition is one thing, but a vain repetition quite another. The repetitions in the Liturgy are principally in the cry "Have mercy upon us," and in the use of the Lord's Prayer twice, or at most thrice, in the longest services, and in the responses in the Litany and the Decalogue. Reference is also made to the example of our Saviour who prayed thrice in Gethsemane, "saying the same words" (Matthew 26:44). Further, the petitions which we address to Heaven must, for the most part, have the sane general drift; and there can be no advantage in arranging them in a perpetually changing dress, nor will they be the better received because of their novelty.,
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More