ment and this soul, now at her departure and at the day of judgment; that, in the terrors of that day, this soul may stand upright, supported by the arms of thy eternal mercy. Amen. IV. Let not this soul carry along with her the infirmities of her present state, but be immured with a guard of loving and blessed spirits to defend her against all the hostilities and incursions of evil angels. Now she shall see what she never saw, and hear what she never heard, and know what was never revealed below; O grant that she may have aids that here she never did need, even mighty assistances in proportion to her new and stranger state, that whatsoever is in the darkness or in the fire, in the secret regions of wrath, and the horrible places of torment and fearful expectations, may not afflict or affright the lamb of thy flock, the price of thy blood, the child of thy kingdom, and the portion of thine own inheritance. Amen. V. O sweetest Jesu, say unto this soul, This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise;' say unto this soul, Fear not, for it is my Father's pleasure to give thee a kingdom;' let this soul dwell in safe and pleasant regions; and be supported with the hope of God, comforted with a holy conscience, rejoice in a confirmed pardon, be recreated with the visitation of angels, and walk in white whithersoever the Lamb shall go. Amen. VI. Give unto this decaying, dying body a blessed and a glorious resurrection; to this weary and afflicted, this penitent and redeemed soul, a portion in the blessed sentence of thy right hand amongst the blessed children of thy Father, who shall receive the kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of the world. Amen. VII. Remember, O God, the good things which, by thy grace, and by the aids of thy Holy Spirit, thy servant hath done in all his life; and remember not his evil deeds which, by the weakness of the flesh, and the temptations of the devil, and the evil contingencies of this world, have afflicted and humbled the soul of thy servant: remember thy holy Son did die for these; and thy Holy Spirit was the cause of those; and for whom thou hast given thy Son, and to whom thou hast given thy Spirit, give thine eternal pardon, and thine eternal glories; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. After the Soul is departed, the Minister may say this Prayer in behalf of the living Friends and Relatives of the dead. Almighty God, who governest all things in heaven and earth with infinite wisdom and infinite mercy, and bringest good out of evil, comfort out of sorrow, and after a gentle visitation dost refresh thy children with the light of thy countenance, with the blessings of thy providence, with the returns of thy grace, and the comforts of thy Holy Spirit; have mercy upon this family, and return to them all with thy loving-kindness, exchanging their present sorrow into the advantages of holiness and blessing. Be thou now and ever what thou gloriest in,-a Father of the fatherless, a Husband to the widow, a God of comfort to them that, mourn in secret. Grant that thy servants may not weep as men without hope, nor murmur at thy dispensation, nor complain of any thing but themselves, nor desire any thing but that thy will be done, nor do any thing but what is agreeable to thy holy word and commandment. And grant that when thou smitest any of us, it may increase thy fear in us, and when thou doest good to any of us, in smiting or forbearing, in chastising or comforting, it may increase thy love in us: and let thy Holy Spirit so prevail over all our wills and understandings, our affections and the outward man, our interests and our hopes, that we may live in this world pleasing to thee, and may go out of this world with the peace of a holy conscience, and may have a joyful resurrection in the last day, to a participation of the glories of God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The Blessing. The Lord bless you, and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you, and give you peace. The blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and abide with you, and be your portion for ever and ever. Amen. Prayers and Devotions to be used at the Burial of the Dead. The Minister, before the Corpse entering at the Church-door, may begin with one or more of these Sentences. A GOOD name is better than precious ointment and the day of death, than the day of one's birth. It 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. I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, yea, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall not die for ever. It is appointed to all men once to die, and after death comes judgment. I would not have you to be ignorant concerning them which are asleep, that we sorrow not even as others without hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. After the Corpse is set down in the Body of the Church, let Morning or Evening Prayer be read according to the time of the day, with this difference only: instead of the usual Psalms, read Psalın xxxix. Psalm xlix. Psalm xc. For the first Lesson read Job, xiv. or xix. After the first: Lesson, read. Psalm lxxxviii. For the second: Lesson.. read 1 Corinth, xv. from verse 12 to the end. After the second Lesson read Nunc Dimittis. Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word::. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c. After the usual Prayers are done, then the Corpse being carried to the Grave, the Minister shall read this Lesson. ECCLESIASTES xii. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease, because they are few, and those that look out of the windows, be darkened; And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond-tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets : Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. People. Blessed be God. The Minister, while they are preparing to inter the Corpse, shall say this Psalm. The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death. I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell: neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: when I awake, with thy likeness I shall be satisfied. ...Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is the fulness of joy, and at thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore. Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c. When the Corpse is in the Grave, the Minister shall say, Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, to take to himself the soul of our dear brother here departed; we lay his body in the ground; for out of it was it taken; dust it is, and unto dust it does return; but we lay it down in a sure and certain hope of the resurrection from the grave. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then those, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we be ever with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Let us pray. Lord, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. Our Father which art in heaven, &c. I. O Almighty God, with whom do live the spirits of the just men made perfect, we give thee humble thanks that thou hast delivered the soul of thy servant ["N. N.] from the calamities of this life, putting a period to his sin and to his pains; O be pleased shortly to fill up the numbers of thine elect, and hasten thy kingdom; and to us thy servants grant that we may die to sin and live to righteousness, living a holy and a gracious life, peaceable and blessed; that when we have * Bishop Taylor seems to be of opinion, that to name the deceased adds solemnity to the service. |