The Book of Common Prayer Part 54

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and with thine ears consider my calling: hold not thy peace at my tears.

For I am a stranger with thee: and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

O spare me a little, that I may recover my strength: before I go hence, and be no more seen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

_Domine, refugium_. Psalm xc.

Lord, thou hast been our refuge: from one generation to another.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever the earth and the world were made: thou art G.o.d from everlasting, and world without end.

Thou turnest man to destruction: again thou sayest, Come again, ye children of men.

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday: seeing that is past as a watch in the night.

As soon as thou scatterest them, they are even as asleep: and fade away suddenly like the gra.s.s.

In the morning it is green, and groweth up: but in the evening it is cut down, dried up, and withered.

For we consume away in thy displeasure: and are afraid at thy wrathful indignation.

Thou hast set our misdeeds before thee: and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

For when thou art angry, all our days are gone: we bring our years to an end, as it were a tale that is told.

The days of our age are threescore years and ten; and though men be so strong, that they come to fourscore years: yet is their strength then but labour and sorrow; so soon pa.s.seth it away, and we are gone.

But who regardeth the power of thy wrath: for even thereafter as a man feareth, so is thy displeasure.

O teach us to number our days: that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Turn thee again, O Lord, at the last: and be gracious unto thy servants.

O satisfy us with thy mercy, and that soon: so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.

Comfort us again now after the time that thou hast plagued us: and for the years wherein we have suffered adversity.

Shew thy servants thy work: and their children thy glory.

And the glorious majesty of the Lord our G.o.d be upon us: prosper thou the work of our hands upon us, O prosper thou our handy-work.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

_Then shall follow the Lesson taken out of the fifteenth chapter of the former Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians_.

1 Cor. xv. 20.

Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's, at his coming.

Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to G.o.d, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. [For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that G.o.d may be all in all. Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? I protest by your rejoicing, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not: for some have not the knowledge of G.o.d: I speak this to your shame.

But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: but G.o.d giveth it a body, as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.]

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of G.o.d; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality; then shall be brought to pa.s.s the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to G.o.d, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

| _With the sanction of the Bishop the pa.s.sage in the preceding_ | _lesson marked with square brackets may be omitted_, | | _Or one of the following lessons may be subst.i.tuted_: | | St John v. 24.

| | Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and | believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall | not come into condemnation; but is pa.s.sed from death unto life.

| Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, | when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of G.o.d: and they | that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so | hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given | him authority to execute judgement also, because he is the Son | of man.

| | St John vi. 37.

| | All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that | cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from | heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent | me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of | all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should | raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him | that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth | on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at | the last day.

| | St John xi. 21.

| | Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my | brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou | wilt ask of G.o.d, G.o.d will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy | brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he | shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said | unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth | in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever | liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

| She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the | Christ, the Son of G.o.d, which should come into the world.

| | 2 Cor. iv. 16.

| | For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, | yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, | which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding | and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things | which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the | things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are | not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of | this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of G.o.d, an | house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this | we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house | which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not | be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, | being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed | upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that | hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is G.o.d, who also hath | given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always | confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we | are absent from the Lord: (for we walk by faith, not by sight:) | we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the | body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, | that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For | we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that | every one may receive the things done in his body, according to | that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

| | 1 Thess. iv. 13: | | I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning 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 G.o.d bring with him. For | this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are | alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent | them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from | heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with | the trump of G.o.d: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then | we 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 | ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these | words.

| | Rev. vii. 9.

| | After this I beheld, and, lo, a great mult.i.tude, which no man | could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and | tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed | with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a | loud voice, saying, Salvation to our G.o.d which sitteth upon the | throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about | the throne, and about the elders, and the four beasts, and fell | before the throne on their faces, and wors.h.i.+pped G.o.d, saying, | Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and | honour, and power, and might, be unto our G.o.d for ever and ever: | Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are | these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

| And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These | are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed | their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

| Therefore are they before the throne of G.o.d, and serve him day | and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall | dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any | more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For | the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, | and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and G.o.d | shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

| | Rev. xxi. 3.

| | And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the | tabernacle of G.o.d is with men, and he will dwell with them, and | they shall be his people, and G.o.d himself shall be with them, | and be their G.o.d. And G.o.d shall wipe away all tears from their | eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor | crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former | things are pa.s.sed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, | Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for | these words are true and faithful.

| | _After the lesson the officiating minister may, in the Church,_ | _say_ Let us pray, _and one or more of these prayers following:_ | The Collects for_ Advent Sunday, Palm Sunday, Easter Eve, | Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity, _the fifth Collect at the_ | _end of the Communion Service of the Book of Common Prayer_, | "Almighty G.o.d, the fountain of all wisdom, etc."; _the prayer_ | _at the end of the Litany_, "We humbly beseech thee, O Father, | etc."; _the prayers ent.i.tled _Commemoration of the Faithful | Departed _in the additional Occasional Prayers; and this prayer_ | _following_: | | _A Prayer for those in sorrow_.

| | O heavenly Father, whose Blessed Son Jesus Christ did weep at | the grave of Lazarus his friend: Look, we beseech thee, with | compa.s.sion upon those who are now in sorrow and affliction; | comfort them, O Lord, with thy gracious consolations; make them | to know that all things work together for good to them that | love thee; and grant them evermore sure trust and confidence in | thy fatherly care; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. _Amen_.

| | [_This prayer may be said also in any time of calamity_.]

| | _The minister may conclude with_ the Lord's Prayer _and_ The | grace of, etc. _Or one or more of the foregoing prayers may be_ | _said at the grave, or with the expressed sanction of the Bishop_ | any other prayers from the Book of Common Prayer may be said_ | _whether in the Church or at the grave_.

| | _If the weather be inclement or the relations of the deceased_ | _desire it, any or all parts of the service may be said in the_ | _Church_ (_or in the_ _house_) _except the Committal to the_ | _ground_.

_When they come to the grave, while the corpse is made ready to be laid into the earth, the Priest shall say, or the Priest and Clerks shall sing:_

Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.

In the midst of life we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased?

Yet, O Lord G.o.d most holy, O Lord most mighty, O holy and most merciful Saviour, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death.

Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not thy merciful ears to our prayer; but spare us, Lord most holy, O G.o.d 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.

_Then, while the earth shall be cast upon the body by some standing by, the Priest shall say_,

Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty G.o.d of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our dear _brother_ here departed: we therefore commit _his_ body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working, whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself.

| _An alternative form of Committal to the ground_.

| | Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty G.o.d in his wise providence | to take unto himself the soul of our _brother_ here departed: 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 our Lord | Jesus Christ, who shall fas.h.i.+on anew the body of our humiliation | that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to | the mighty working whereby he is able to subject all things to | himself.