Responses. Short sentences, so called from their being the answers of the people to the officiating min- ister. The design of responses is. by giving to the peo- ple a part in the service, to quicken this devotion and engage their attention. It is much to be regretted that congregations do not in general join in the parts of the service allotted to them, as such neglect is the means of making our worship appear to many both cold and formal. Anciently all the people were allowed to join in psalmody and prayers, and make their proper re- sponses. Of the latter there were several. (1.) Amen. This, iii the phraseology of the Church, is denomina- ted oraiionis signaculum, or devotee concionis responsio, and intimates that the prayer of the speaker is heard, and approved by him who gives this response. (2.) Hallelujah. This was adopted from the Jewish psal- mody, particularly from those psalms (cxiii-exviii) which were sung ai the Passover, called the Great Hillel, or llallel. The use of this phrase was tir-t adopted by the Church at Jerusalem, and from this was received by the other churches, and was restricted to the fifty days between Easter and Whit -Sunday. In the Greek Church it was expressive of grief, sorrow, and penitence, while in the Latin it denoted a joyful spirit. (:i.) Hosanna. The Church, both ancient and modem, has ascribed to this word a meaning similar to that of hallelujah. The true signification is ■■ Lord save" (Psa. cxviii, 25). (I.) "0 Lord have mercy" — Kuplt eXInffOJ'. The Council of Vaison, A.I). 192, canon .".. ordained that this response should be introduced into the morning and evening worship, ami into the public religious sen ice. Gregory the Great introduced a threefold form, " 0 Lord," " Lord have mercy." •■ Christ have mercy." (.">. i " Glory, glory
in the highest," in use on festive occasions in the .">th century, and in general use in the 7th century. (6.) "The Lord be with you;" " Peace be with you." ordained by lie < ouncil of Braga, A. I). 561, to be the uniform salutation of bishops and presbyters when addressing the people. I he last-mentioned salutation alone « a- in use in the Greek Church. See Col, man. Christ. Aniiq. ,• Eden, '/'//< "/. Diet, b. v.
Responsorii Psalmi mean either the repetition
of tin- veiaeS by the people, or the repetition of the last words of the psalm, with the addition of the -amen" or the doxology; or that the psalms were so selected as to correspond to the subject of the lessons which had been read. — Eadie, Eccles. Cyclop, s. v.
" Psalmody."
Ressnunt, Red- cliffe Church, Bristol.
Ressaunt (probably l'r. restentir)^ an old English term for an ogee-mould- ing. It was also applied to other archi- tectural members that hail the inflect- ed outline of this moulding.— Parker, Gloss, of A rchitect. s. v.
Rest, or Repose, was enjoined upon the Israelites on the Sabbath day for the glory of God, in that he rested after the six days of creation. See SABBATH.
Pest also signifies a fixed and secure habitation. •• Ve shall go before your brethren until the Lord shall give resl to your brethren, as well as to you. and until ye are
come int., the land whither ye are ^'oing to possess it" ( Dent. iii. 20). So also Deut. \ii. 9 i •• For ye are not as yet come to tin- resl and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you," i. e. you are not as yet set- tled in that laud which you are to possess. Naomi savs to Ruth, "My daughter, shall I not seek resl for thee, that il may be well with thee?"( Ruth iii. 1 I -i.e. I shall endeavor to procure you a settlement David, speaking of the ark of the covenant, which till bis time had no fixed place of settlement, says. "Arise. () Lord, into thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength" (Psa. exxxii. 8). Likewise Eccles. xxxvi. 15: "O be merciful unto Jeru- salem, thy holy city, the place of thy rest."
Rest has the following figurative meanings: to lean, or trust in (2 Chron. xxxii, 8) ; to coniinui faced I I-a. li. 4); to come to an end (E/.ek. xvi. 12; xxi, 17); cease from war (Josh, xiv, 15),
Pest, like sleep, is in the Scriptures sometimes used as the symbol of death. Thus the patriarch exclaims, "For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept; then had I been at rest, with kings and counsellors of the earth" (Job iii, 13); and thus a charge is given to Daniel: "Go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand iu thy lot at the end of the days" (Dan. xii. 13). This phrase also occurs in 1 Sam. xxviii, 15; Job xi, 18; Acts ii, 2G; Rev.vi, 9; and is common on Jewish monuments for the dead, as •■.May his rest be in the garden of Eden, with the other just men of the world." "May his soul rest in peace till the Comforter come." "May his rest be in the garden of Eden, with other ju>t men. Amen, amen, amen, Selah."
In a moral and spiritual sense, rest denotes a cessa- tion from carnal trouble and sin (Matt xi. 28, 29). Fi- nally, it is used to represent the tixed and permanent state of repose enjoyed by the blessed in heaven; and to this Paul makes an application of what is said of the settlement of the Israelites in the Laud of Promise : " I sware to them in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest," i.e. into the land of Canaan (Psa. xcv, 11). '•Therefore." says Paul ( lleb. iii. 17 19; iv, 1-3), -as they could not enter therein by reason of their un- belief, let us be afraid of imitating their example: for we cannot enter but by faith." etc. See SaBBATISH.