MERCIFUL God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life, in whom whosoever believeth shall live, though he die, and whosoever liveth and believeth in Him shall not die eternally; who also hath taught us, by his holy Apostle Saint Paul, not to be sorry, as men without hope, for those who sleep in Him; we humbly beseech Thee, O Father, to raise us from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness; that, when we shall depart this life, we may rest in Him; and that, at the general resurrection in the last day, we may be found acceptable in Thy sight, and receive that blessing which Thy well-beloved Son shall then pronounce to all who love and fear Thee, saying, Come, ye blessed children of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Grant this, we beseech Thee, O merciful Father, through Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Redeemer. Amen.

THE

HE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all, evermore. Amen.

Sentences and Prayers.

To be used during the Burial Service at the discretion of the Minister.

JUST

UST and true are Thy ways, Thou King of Saints: Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of Thy seat.

Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? It is the Lord, let Him do what seemeth to Him good.

We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Sorrow not, brethren, for them that are asleep, even as others who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we shall also appear with Him in glory.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words:

MERCIFUL God and heavenly Father, who hast taught us in Thy holy word that Thou dost not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men, we would draw near to Thee at this time in behalf of these Thy servants, upon whom Thou hast laid Thy chastening hand. In all their trouble may their confidence remain firm in Thy goodness and mercy. May they bow before Thee in submission to Thy will, and in the fulness of resignation may they say with the patriarch of old, "The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." May this affliction conduce to their eternal good; may

it wean them from the world and lead them nearer to the Saviour's cross. May they repair for comfort, not to the empty cisterns of earth, but to Thee, the Fountain of Life; and do Thou out of Thine abundance refresh their weary souls with the consolations of Thy grace and with foretastes of that better world where separation and sorrow shall never be known. We ask it in the name of Jesus Christ our merciful Saviour. Amen.

L

FOR A HUSBAND LOSING HIS WIFE.

OOK with pity, we beseech Thee, O merciful Father, upon the sorrows of Thy servant for whom our prayers are especially offered. In Thy wisdom Thou hast seen fit to visit him with trouble and to bring distress upon him. Remember him, O Lord, in mercy; sanctify Thy fatherly correction to him; endue his soul with patience under his affliction and with resignation to Thy blessed will; comfort him with a sense of Thy goodness, lift up Thy countenance upon him and give him peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

R

FOR A WIFE LOSING HER HUSBAND.

EGARD especially, O Lord, with an eye of compassion this Thy servant, bereaved of her earthly partner and friend. Mercifully grant that, in the depth of her sorrows, the light of Thy countenance may be her comfort, the gifts of Thy grace and the promises of Thy blessed word her refuge and strength. Sanctify to her this Thy fatherly chastisement, and meekly submitting to the wisdom of Thy dispensation, may she realize the fulness of Thy promise to be the widow's God, now and forever. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

DE

Amen.

FOR CHILDREN DEPRIVED OF ONE OR BOTH PARENTS. EFEND, O Lord, we beseech Thee, these bereaved children with Thy heavenly grace, that they may continue Thine forever, and daily increase in Thy Holy Spirit more and more, until they come to Thine everlasting kingdom. Let Thy fatherly hand ever be over them; let Thy Holy Spirit ever be with them, and so lead them in the knowledge and obedience of Thy word, that in the end they may obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

FOR ALL PRESENT.

GOD, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered; Make us, we beseech Thee, deeply sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; and let Thy Holy Spirit lead us through this vale of misery, in holiness and righteousness, all the days of our lives: That, when we shall have served Thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, having the testimony of a good conscience; in the communion of Thy Church; in the confidence of a certain faith; in the comfort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope; in favor with Thee our God, and in perfect charity with the world. All which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

IN

N the instance of mortality before us, Thou dost solemnly teach us that death is the end of all men. Grant us who are living, grace to lay it to heart; so to lay it to heart, as to live above the world, to seek Thy favor, to study Thy will, to observe Thy laws, and in all our actions to aim at Thy glory, at the salvation of our own souls, and the souls of our fellow-men. When we go the way of all the earth, may Thy presence go with us, to sustain and comfort us, to lead us to a rest eternal in the heavens. Spare us, good Lord, spare us, O merciful Father, till we have truly repented of our sins, and made our peace with Thee, our offended Judge. For Thy Son Jesus Christ's sake, forgive us our sins. For His sake turn away Thine anger from us; enter not into judgment with us; but after the multitude of Thy mercies look upon us, and visit us with Thy salvation. Quicken us, Almighty God, from the death of sin unto a new and holy life; that being partakers of the death of Thy Son, we may also be partakers of His resurrection, of perfect and endless bliss both in body and soul in Thy heavenly kingdom. And may the good examples of all those who have departed this life in the true faith of Thy holy name, and the hope of their eternal blessedness, excite us to press with the more earnestness towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. In whose name alone we offer up our petitions. Amen.

ASS

SSIST us mercifully, O Lord, in these our supplications and prayers, and dispose the way of Thy servants towards the attainment of everlasting salvation; that among all the changes and chances of this mortal life, we may ever be defended by Thy most gracious and ready help, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE

HE Lord bless us and keep us: The Lord make His face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us: the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, and give us peace, both now and evermore. Amen.

Upon committing the body to the deep, let the following words be said:

FORASMUCH as it hath pleased Almighty God, in His wise Providence, to

take out of this world the soul of our deceased brother, we therefore commit his body to the deep, to be turned into corruption, looking for the resurrection of the body when the sea shall give up her dead, and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who, at His coming, shall change our vile body, that it may be like His glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby He is able to subdue all things to Himself.

In Connection with the Preceding Service at the Discretion of the Minister.

IT

T is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. There the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. And they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain, thee. Though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies; for He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.

My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth: That the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven. If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

They brought young children to Him that He should touch them; and His disciples rebuked them that brought them. But when Jesus saw it He was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

And the Lord struck the child, and it was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself if we tell him that the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead; therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead ? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshiped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

PRAYERS.

LORD GOD, who alone art the author and disposer of our life, from whom our spirits have come, and to whom they shall return; We acknowledge Thy sovereign power and right both to give and to take away, as seemeth to Thee good. And we beseech Thee that unto all thy righteous dealings we may yield ourselves with patience and resignation, remembering that in faithfulness Thou dost always afflict us, and for Thy mercy's sake. Hear us and save us, for Christ's sake. Amen.

ALMIGHTY God, who out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast ordained strength, and madest infants to glorify Thee by their death; Mortify and kill all vices in us, and so strengthen us by Thy grace, that by the innocency of our lives, and constancy of our faith even unto death, we may glorify Thy holy name. And we beseech of Thee to be nigh in Thy tender compassion to these afflicted ones. Bless them with Thy consolation. Fill their bleeding hearts with Thy love; and make the night of their grief to be light with Thy presence. Deliver us all, we pray Thee, from the bondage of our sins, so that we may be free from the fear of death, and be ready at Thy coming. Sanctify us by Thy Holy Spirit, that whether we live we may live unto the Lord, or whether we die we may die unto the Lord; yea, whether we live or die, may we be the Lord's. We ask it for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.