§ 344. Then the priest casting earth upon the corpse, shall say, I COMMEND thy soul to God the Father Almighty, and thy body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of resurrection to' eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile Charles II. 1662. 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 God 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 advantag eth 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 God. 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 God giveth it a body, as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same In Scotch ed., 1637, "Presbyter." body, that it may be like to his glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself. § 345. Then shall be said or sung, I HEARD a voice from heaven, saying unto me: Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Even so saith the Spirit, that they rest from their labours. 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 God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all In eds. 1604, and afterwards, "unto." In eds. 1552, the reference is omitted; in eds. 1637 and 1662, Rev. 14. 13. Apoc. xiv. i 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 pass 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 God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my be loved 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. § 346. Let us pray. WE commend into thy hands of mercy, most merciful Father, the soul of this our brother departed, N. And his body we commit to the earth, beseeching thine infinite goodness, to give us grace to live in thy fear and love, and to die in thy favour: that when the judgment shall come which thou hast committed to thy well beloved Son, both this our brother, and we, may be found acceptable in thy sight, and receive that blessing, which thy well beloved Son shall then pronounce to all that love and fear thee, saying, Come, ye blessed children of my Father: Receive the kingdom prepared for you before the beginning of the world. Grant this, merciful Father, for the honour of Jesu Christ our only Saviour, Mediator, and Advocate. Amen. $347. This prayer shall also be added. ALMIGHTY God, we give thee hearty thanks for this thy servant, whom thou hast delivered from the miseries of this wretched world, from the body of death and all temptation; and, as we trust, hast brought his soul, which he committed into thy holy hands, into sure consolation and rest: Grant, we beseech thee, that at the day of judgment his soul and all the souls of thy elect, departed out of this life, may with us, and we with them, fully receive thy promises, and be made perfit altogether, thorough the glorious resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. $348. These psalms with other suffrages following are to be said in the church, either before or after the burial of the corpse. I AM well pleased that the Lord hath heard the voice of my prayer. That he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. Dilexi, quo niam. Psalm cxvik. The snares of death compassed me round about, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I shall find trouble and Second Edw. VI. 1552. [The Prayers 346, 347 and the Psalms following, are omitted in this and in all subsequent editions, but the latter part of the first prayer will be found incorporated in the prayer at the end of the Office, see § 352, p. 386.] Elizabeth, 1559. [The above Prayers, &c., are omitted.] James I. 1604. [The above Prayers, &c., are omitted.] In one ed., 1549, mispr. Psalm clxxvi, heaviness, and I shall call upon the Name of the Lord, (O Lord), I beseech thee deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous, yea, our God is merciful. 1 The Lord preserveth the simple: I was in misery, and he helped me. Turn again then unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath rewarded thee. And why thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living. I believed, and therefore will I speak but I was sore troubled. I said in my haste: all men are liars. What reward shall I give unto the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me? I will receive the cup of salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will pay my vows now in the presence of all his people : right dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints. Behold (O Lord) how that I am thy servant : I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid, thou hast broken my bonds in sunder. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the Name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord, in the sight of all his people, in the courts of the Lord's house, even in the midst of thee, O Hierusalem. Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c. PRAISE the Lord, (O my soul), while I live will I praise the Lord yea, as long as I have any will sing praises unto my God. O put not your trust in princes, nor in of man, for there is no help in them. being, I Lauda, ani any child ma, mea. Psal. cxlvi. Note that this Psalm is to other that fol For when the breath of man goeth forth, he shall be said after the turn again to his earth, and then all his thoughts loweth1. perish. 'This appears thus in three eds., 1549; in one ed. the order is given correctly. Blessed is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help : and whose hope is in the Lord his God. Which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is which keepeth his promise for ever. Which helpeth them to right that suffer wrong, which feedeth the hungry. The Lord looseth men out of prison, the Lord giveth sight to the blind. The Lord helpeth them up that are fallen, the Lord careth for the righteous. The Lord careth for the strangers, he defendeth the fatherless and widow as for the way of the ungodly, he turneth it upside down. The Lord thy God, O Sion, shall be King for evermore, and throughout all generations. Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c. O LORD, thou hast searched me out, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting, and mine uprising thou understandest my thoughts long before. Domine, probasti. Psalm cxxxix. Thou art about my path, and about my bed, and spiest out all my ways. For lo, there is not a word in my tongue, but thou (O Lord) knowest it altogether., Thou hast fashioned me, behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me, Such knowledge is too wonderful and excellent for me : I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go then from thy Spirit? or whither shall I go then from thy presence? If I climb up into heaven, thou art there if I go down to hell, thou art there also. Second Edw. VI. 1552. [The preceding Psalms of the 1549 edition are all omitted in ed. 1552, and subsequent editions. The next rubric, with the lesson, follows on immediately after § 345, see p. 377-1 Elizabeth, 1559. [The above Psalms are omitted.] James I. 1604. [The above Psalms are omitted.] |