# Second Helvetic Confession
## Chapter 23 - Of the Prayers of the Church, of Singing, and of Canonical Hours
True it is that a man may lawfully pray privately in any tongue that he does understand; but public prayers ought, in the holy assemblies, to be made in the vulgar tongue, or such a language as is known to all. Let all the prayers of the faithful be poured forth to God alone, through the mediation of Christ only, out of a true faith and pure love. As for invocation of saints, or using them as intercessors to entreat for us, the priesthood of our Lord Christ and true religion will not permit us. Prayer must be made for the magistracy, for kings, and all that are placed in authority, for ministers of the Church, and for all necessities of churches; and especially in any calamity of the Church prayer must be made, both privately and publicly, without ceasing.

Moreover, we must pray willingly, and not by constraint, nor for any reward; neither must we superstitiously tie prayer to any place, as though it were not lawful to pray but in the church. There is no necessity that public prayers should be in form and time the same or alike in all churches. Let all churches use their liberty. Socrates, in his History, says, ‘In any country or nation whatsoever, you shall not find two churches which do wholly agree in prayer.’ The authors of this difference, I think, were those who had the government of the churches in several ages. But if any do agree, it deserves great commendation, and is to be imitated by others.

Besides this, there must be a mean and measure, as in every other thing, so also in public prayers, that they be not over-long and tedious. Let, therefore, most time be given to the teaching of the Gospel in such holy assemblies; and let there be diligent heed taken that the people in the assemblies be not wearied with over-long prayers, so that, when the preaching of the gospel should be heard, they, through wearisomeness, either desire to go forth themselves or to have the assembly wholly dismissed. For unto such the sermons seem to be over-long which otherwise are brief enough. Yea, and the preachers ought to keep a mean.

Likewise the singing in sacred assemblies ought to be moderated where it is in use. That song which they call the Gregorian Chant has many gross things in it; wherefore it is upon good cause rejected by our Church, and most other Reformed churches. If there be any churches which have faithful prayer in good manner, without any singing, they are not therefore to be condemned, for all churches have not the advantage and opportunity of sacred music. And certain it is by testimonies of antiquity that, as the custom of singing is very ancient in the Eastern churches, so it was long ere it was received in the Western churches.

In ancient times there were no such things as canonical hours; that is, fixed prayers framed for certain hours in the day, and therein chanted or often repeated, as the Papists’ manner is: which may be proved by many of their lessons, appointed in their hours, and divers other arguments. Moreover, they have many absurd things (of which I say no more) that are well omitted by our churches and replaced by matters more wholesome for the universal Church of God.
