of Thy holy Church, that we may come to those unspeakable joys, which Thou hast prepared for all that love Thee, from the foundation of the world. Amen. O HOLY and ever-blessed Spirit, who art one with the Father and the Son, and who dwellest in all Thy saints, to comfort and quicken them; comfort us, we beseech Thee, in the prospect of death, with the hope of the resurrection of the just, and abide in us, that these mortal bodies may be quickened, and fashioned like unto our Saviour's glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. Amen. O HOLY and adorable Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier of our bodies and souls, we humbly confess our sins, and acknowledge them as the cause of our misery and death; and that, on account of our sins, Thou art justly displeased. Yet, through infinite mercy in Jesus Christ, we implore Thee, blot out our transgressions, wash us from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin. O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty, O holy and most merciful Saviour, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death. Amen. THOU knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts: shut not Thy merciful ears to our prayer; but spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty, O holy and merciful Saviour, Thou most worthy Judge eternal, suffer us not, at our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from Thee. But keep us in everlasting fel lowship with the Church triumphant, and let us rest together in Thy presence from our labors; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. Here may follow a short Sermon or Exhortation; after which the Minister shall say: Let us pray. ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, the consolation of the sorrowful, and the support of the weary, who dost not willingly grieve or afflict the children of men; look down in tender love and pity, we beseech Thee, upon Thy servants, the bereaved household, whose joy is turned into mourning; and according to the multitude of Thy mercies be pleased to uphold, strengthen, and comfort them, that they may not faint under Thy fatherly chastening, but find in Thee their strength and refuge; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. OUR Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen. After which the funeral shall proceed to the grave. At the grave, when the coffin has been let down, the Minister shall say: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another. I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con cerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Let us pray. ALMIGHTY GOD, who by the death of Thy Son Jesus Christ hast destroyed death; by His rest in the tomb hast sanctified the graves of the saints; and by His glorious resurrection hast brought life and immortality to light, so that all who die in Him abide in hope as to their bodies, and in joy as to their souls; receive, we beseech Thee, our unfeigned thanks for that victory over death and the grave which He has obtained for us and for all who sleep in Him; and keep us who are still in the body, in everlasting fellowship with all that wait for Thee on earth, and with all that are around Thee in heaven, in union with Him who is the Resurrection and the Life: who liveth and reign eth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. 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 ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust: looking for the general resurrection in the last day, and the life of the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. Let us pray. M. Lord, have mercy upon us. M. Lord, have mercy upon us. M. Lord God, the Son, in the bosom of the Father, Saviour of the world; C. Be gracious unto us. M. By Thy human birth; by Thy prayers and tears; by all the troubles of Thy life; by the grief and anguish of Thy soul; by Thine agony and bloody sweat; by Thy bonds and scourgings; by Thy crown of thorns; by Thine ignominious crucifixion; by Thy sacred wounds and precious blood; by Thine atoning death; by Thy rest in the grave; by Thy glorious resurrection and ascension; by Thy sitting at the right hand of God; by Thy power to save; C. Hear us, and save us, Lord Jesus. M. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world; C. Have mercy upon us, and grant us Thy peace. Amen. After which the Minister shall close the service with the Apostolic Benediction. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. |