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always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

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,

MA

AN 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 God 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 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.

Then, while the earth shall be cast upon the Body by some standing by, the Priest shall say,

FORASMUCH as

it hath pleased Almighty God, 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.

I

Then shall be said, or sung,

Heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, from henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord; even so, saith the Spirit,

for they rest from their labours.

Then the Priest shall say,

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

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4

UR Father which 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 trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

A

Priest.

LMIGHTY God, with whom do live the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity; we give thee hearty thanks, for that it hath pleased thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful world; beseeching thee, that it may please thee, of thy gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom; that we, with all those that are departed in the true faith of thy holy Name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen..

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The Collect.

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 them that sleep in him; we meekly 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, as our hope is this our brother doth; 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 that 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 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the

fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore.

THE

THANKSGIVING OF WOMEN AFTER CHILD-BIRTH, COMMONLY CALLED,

THE CHURCHING OF WOMEN.

The Woman at the usual time after her Delivery, shall come into the Church decently apparelled, and there shall kneel down in some convenient place, as hath been accustomed, or as the Ordinary shall direct: and then the Priest shall say unto her,

F

ORASMUCH as

it hath pleased Almighty God of his goodness

to give you safe deliverance, and hath preserved you in the great danger of Child-birth; you shall, therefore, give hearty thanks unto God, and say,

I

(Then shall the Priest say the cxvith Psalm.)

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.

The snares of death compassed me round about, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me.

I found trouble and heaviness, and I called 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.

The Lord preserveth the simple; I was in misery, and he helped me.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.] - The high strain of eloquence, the beauty, grandeur, and solemnity, of the whole of this Order for the Burial of the Dead, are attributes universally acknowledged.

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; in the courts of the Lord's house, even in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

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.

E

Or, Psalm cxxvii.

XCEPT the Lord build the house their labour is but lost that build it.

Except the Lord keep the city the watchman waketh but in vain. It is but lost labour that ye haste to rise up early, and so late take rest, and eat the bread of carefulness; for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Lo! children, and the fruit of the womb, are an heritage and gift that cometh of the Lord.

Like as the arrows in the hand of the giant, even so are the young children.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.

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 the Priest shall say,

Let us pray.

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Ο

UR Father which 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 trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Minister.

O Lord, save this woman thy servant;
Who putteth her trust in thee.
Be thou to her a strong tower
From the face of her enemy.
Lord, hear our prayer;

And let our cry come unto thee.

Let us pray.

Almighty God, we give thee humble thanks for that thou hast vouchsafed to deliver this woman, thy servant, from the great pain and peril of Child-birth; grant, we beseech thee, most merciful Father, that she, through thy help, may both faithfully live and walk according to thy will, in this life present, and also may be partaker of everlasting glory in the life to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Woman that cometh to give her Thanks, must offer accustomed Offerings; and, if there be a Communion, it is convenient that she receive the holy Communion.

A COMMINATION,

OR DENOUNCING OF GOD'S ANGER AND JUDGMENTS AGAINST

SINNERS;

WITH CERTAIN PRAYERS, TO BE USED ON THE FIRST DAY OF LENT, AND AT OTHER TIMES, AS THE ORDINARY SHALL APPOINT.

:

After Morning Prayer, the Litany ended according to the accustomed manner, the Priest shall, in the Reading-Pew or Pulpit, say,

BRETHREN, in the Primitive Church there

was a

godly discipline, that, at the beginning of Lent, such persons as stood convicted of notorious sin were put to open penance, and punished in this world, that their souls might be saved in the day day of the Lord; and that others, admonished by their example, might be the more afraid to offend.

Instead whereof, (until the said discipline may be restored again, which is much to be wished,) it is thought good, that, at this time, (in the presence of you all) should be read the general sentences of God's cursing against impenitent sinners, gathered out of the seven and twentieth Chapter of Deuteronomy, and other places of Scripture; and that ye should answer to every Sentence, Amen: To the intent that, being admonished of the great indignation of God against sinners, ye may the rather be moved to earnest and true repentance; and may walk more warily in these dangerous days; fleeing from such vices for which ye affirm, with your own mouths, the curse of God to be due.

Fleeing from such vices for which ye affirm, with your own mouths, the curse of God to be due.] -It has been causelessly objected to the Commination, "that the People, in answering Amen to the denunciations of the Minister, curse themselves, or their neighbours; or, express their wishes that the threatened curses may come to pass. This construction, however, of the appointed answers, is to be ascribed only to the common rendering of the Greek word Amen, by the English words, So be it; and a disregard of the express terms of address of the Priest, (the subject of this note) in which the part of the People is distinctly stated to be, not that of wishing, but only of affirming the truth of what the Priest, from Scripture, pronounces.

"Amen," is not originally or properly an adverb of wishing, but affirming; being derived from a root, signifying 'truth, whence it is so often translated "verily," in the Gospels; and Jesus, who is The Truth, is called The Amen, Rev. iii. 14.-Dean Comber. Thus, the answer "Amen," in this service of the Church, is the affirmation of the truth of the several declarations; and thus the real meaning of the answers, "Amen," throughout the Liturgy, is plainly to be perceived. It is an expression of assent, or of consent, as the occasion may be; and between which two operations of the mind there are only shades of difference. "Amen" signifies, not "So be it, but "So it is;" or, at other times, "To this we consent, or are consenting; we say the same as has been said; this we say all." It means, truly, in truth, this is truth, so it is; or, as in other cases (as, after Prayers and Thanksgivings,) "This is what we approve of, or concur in; what has been said, we say also:" and it is in this latter sense, and in this only, that the word is to be rendered by "So be it."

C

URSED is the man that maketh any carved or worship it.

molten image, to

And the people shall answer and say, Amen.

Minister.

Cursed is he that curseth his father or mother. Amen.

Cursed is he that removeth his neighbour's land-mark. Amen.
Cursed is he that maketh the blind to go out of his way. Amen.

Cursed is he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, the father

less, and widow. Amen.

Cursed is he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. Amen.
Cursed is he that lieth with his neighbour's wife. Amen.
Cursed is he that taketh reward to slay the innocent. Amen.

Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, and taketh man for his

defence, and in his heart goeth from the Lord. Amen.

Cursed are the unmerciful, fornicators, and adulterers, covetous persons, idolators, slanderers, drunkards, and extortioners. Amen.

Now, seeing that all they

Minister.

are

accursed (as the prophet David beareth err and go astray from the commandments of God; let us (remembering the dreadful judgment hanging over our heads, and always ready to fall upon us) return unto our Lord God, with all contrition and meekness of heart; bewailing and lamenting our sinful life, acknowledging and confessing our offences, and seeking to bring forth worthy fruits of penance. For now is the ax put unto the root of the trees, so that every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. It is a fearful thing to fall into the, hands of the living God; he shall pour down rain upon the sinners, snares, fire and brimstone, storm and tempest; this shall be their portion to drink. For, lo! the Lord is come out of his place to visit the wickedness of such as dwell upon the earth. But who may abide the day of his coming? Who shall be able to endure when he appeareth? His fan is in his hand, and he will purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the barn; but he will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. The day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night: and when men shall say, Peace, and all things are safe, then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as sorrow cometh upon a woman travailing with child, and they shall not escape. Then shall appear the wrath of God in the day of vengeance, which obstinate sinners, through the stubbornness of their heart, have heaped unto themselves; which despised the goodness, patience, and long-sufferance, of God, when he calleth them continually to repentance. Then shall they call upon me, (saith the Lord) but I will not hear; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me; and that, because they hated knowledge, and received not the fear of the Lord, but abhorred my counsel, and despised my correction. Then shall it be too late to knock, when the door shall be shut; and too late to cry for mercy, when it is the time of justice. O terrible voice of most just judgment, which shall be pronounced upon them, when it shall be said unto them, Go, ye cursed, into the fire everlasting, which is prepared for the devil and his angels. Therefore, brethren, take we heed betime, while the day of salvation lasteth; for the night cometh when none can work. But let us, while we have the light, believe in

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