09-Order For The Burial Dead, Selections
ORDER
FOB THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD.
[f Circumstances attending particular cases differ so entirety that ministers must use their own discretion as to what mode of conducting this service will most promote the honor of God and the edification of the people. The following principles, however, are unquestionably true and to be followed as general rules, With few exceptions, personal reference and eulogy should have no place, but the entire service should be occupied with reading the Scriptures and acts of direct worship.
It is never the duty of the minister to declare the deceased to have died finally impenitent. God is the only Judge. The inference in many cases, suggested by the facts, will be plain and terrible enough. The minister should always be careful not to imply, oy use of Scriptures or otherwise, the salvation of men whose lives and deaths have possessed no marked Christian characteristics.], [It is suggested that the selection marked I, be used as a General Service, and that, when suitable, the selections marked below as If. or III. or IV. or V. or VI. be introduced after the seventh paragraph, as marked below.}
72 BUKIAL OF THE DEAD. 73 x I.
GENERAL SERVICE.
MAN that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower and is cut down, he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not. Job 14:1-2. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him; and his righteousness unto children’s children, to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. Psalms 103:15-18.
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou had^t formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Thou turnest man to destruction, and sayest, Return, ye children of men.. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them away as with 74 MANUAL OF FORMS. a flood: they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down and withereth. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath; we spend our years as a tale that is told. Psalms 90:1-9.
We must all appear before the judgment 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. 2 Corinthians 5:10.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour ie coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, 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 judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they tha;
BURIAL OF THE DEAD 75 have done evil unto the resurrection of dam nation. John 5:25-29.
Oh that they were wise, that they under stood this, that they would consider their latter end! Dent, 32:29.
[Here introduce Selections II, III, IV, V, or VJ, </.s> one or oilier in tijiproprialc to tltc case, and then proceed UN folloics, [llaving readied the place of burial, the minister sluill say:], 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. John 11:25-26.
[ Then, while the earth is cast upon the coffin by some standing by, th<i minister shall say:], Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God to take out of this world the soul of our departed brother, we therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. And we look for the general resurrection in the last day, and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ; at whose second coming in glorious majesty to judge the world the earth and the sea shall give up their dead; and the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in him shall be changed 76 MANUAL OF FORMS. and made like unto his glorious body, ac cording to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
[If appropriate: 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, 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 that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.], Let us pray, Almighty God, who by the death of thy dear Son Jesus Christ hast destroyed death, by his rest in the tomb hath sanctified the graves of the saints, and by his glorious resurrection hath brought life and immortality to light; receive, we beseech thee, our unfeigned thanks for that victory over death and the grave which he hath obtained for us and for all who sleep in him; and keep us in everlasting fellowship with all that wait BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 77 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 reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
AMEN.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who, in thy perfect wisdom and mercy, hast ended for thy servants departed the voyage of this troublous life, grant, we beseech thee, that we who are still to continue our course amidst earthly dangers, temptations and troubles may evermore be protected by thy mercy, and finally come to the haven of eternal salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you all, evermore.
AMEN.* * The above prayers are borrowed by permission from the book of the Reformed (Dutch) Church in America.
78 MANUAL OF FORMS.
II.
SELECTIONS RELATING TO THE DEATH OF YOUNG CHILDREN. A VOICE was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Jer. xxxi.
15.
Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them and blessed them.
Even so, it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. Matthew 18:14. And the Lord struck the child,... and it was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted and went in and lay all night upon the earth. And it came to pass on the seventh day that BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 79 the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead. But when David perceived that the child was dead,... he arose from the earth and washed, and anointed himself and changed his apparel and came into the house of the Lord and worshiped... And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. 2 Samuel 12:15-23. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Ill SELECTIONS RELATING TO THE SUDDEN DEATH OF PERSONS IN MIDDLE
LIFE. FOR what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14.
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Man knoweth not that which shall be, foi who can tell him when it shall be? There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war. Ecclesiastes 8:7-8.
He draweth also the mighty with his power; he riseth up, and no man is sure of life... They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way, as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. Job 24:22-24.
One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. Job 21:23-26.
Take ye heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is,... for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning: lest com ing suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch.
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IV.
SELECTIONS APPLYING TO THE DEATH OF THE AGED.
WE spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten, and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away. Psalms 90:9-10. And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hun dred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.
Genesis 47:9. The hoary head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness. Prov. xvi. 31. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing, to show that the Lord is upright. He is my rock;
82 MANUAL OF FORMS. and there is no unrighteousness in him. PB xcii. 12-15.
Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age; like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. Job 5:26.
V.
SELECTIONS RELATING TO THE DEATH OF BELIEVERS, AND THE GLORY THAT FOLLOWS. AND 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.
Revelation 14:13. But 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 God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 83 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 God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and re main 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. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:6. But 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 from 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 firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have 84 MANUAL OF FORMS. 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 tilings shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him, that God may be all and in all.
Else what shall they do which are bap tized 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? But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool,... 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 bv)dy as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the dame flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial: but the glory BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 85 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 dishonor, 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... And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly... Behold, I show 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 86 MANUAL OF FORMS. 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 bo to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ! 1 Corinthians 15:20-”) 7. And I saw a new heaven, and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jeru salem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God 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 passed away. Revelation 21:1-4.
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VI.
SELECTIONS WHICH SET FOKTH THE DESIGN AND GRACIOUS CONSOLA TIONS OF AFFLICTION.
ALTHOUGH affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; yet man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. Job 5:6-7.
Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. Psalms 119:67; Psalms 119:71; Psalms 119:72.
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chas tening of the Almighty. For he maketh sore and bindeth up: he woundeth and his hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. Job 5:17-19. For the Lord will not cast off for ever, but though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his 88 MANUAL OF FORMS. mercies. For lie doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. Lam. iii.
31-33. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them rever ence; shall we not much rather be in subjec tion unto the Father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteous ness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees... Ye are come to Mount Sion, and unto the city of the liv ing God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an MANUAL OF FOKMS. 89 innumerable company of Angels, to the Gen eral Assembly and Church of the First Born which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect; and to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. Hebrews 12:5-12; Hebrews 12:22-24. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:5. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more ex ceeding 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. 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. And not only so, but we glory in tribu lations also; knowing that tribulation work eth patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. Romans 5:3-4. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, 90 MANUAL OF FORMS. for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. James 1:2-3; James 1:12. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the ap pearing of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7.
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. Isa. xlix. 13. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment- out with everlasting kindnes will I havt mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.