PSALM 130. De profundis. Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord : Lord, hear my voice. 2 O let thine ears consider well: the voice of my complaint. 3 If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss: O Lord, who may abide it? 4 For there is mercy with thee: therefore shalt thou be feared. 5 I look for the Lord; my soul doth wait for him : in his word is my trust. 6 My soul fleeth unto the Lord before the morning watch, I say, before the morning watch. 7 O Israel, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption. 8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his sins. Glory be. [Or, should it be inconvenient, from inclemency of weather or other cause, to proceed around the Ground, the Bishop, standing in some convenient place upon the Ground, shall say these verses in place of the foregoing Psalms: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Answer. For Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me. Bishop. For why? Thou shalt not leave my soul in hell. Answer. Neither shalt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption. Bishop. But as for me, I will behold Thy presence in righteousness. Answer. And when I awake up after Thy likeness, I shall be satisfied with it.] Then shall the Bishop say: I 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 labors. Lord, have mercy upon us. Our Father. Then shall the Petition for Consecration be presented to the Bishop, with the words Reverend Father in God, we beg you to consecrate this ground for the burial of our dead. The Bishop shall cause the Sentence of Consecration to be read, and shall sign it, and direct its preservation. Then shall he declare the Ground consecrated, and bless it as follows: Good people, by virtue of our sacred office in the Church of God, we have now consecrated, and for ever set apart from all profane and common uses, this ground, to be the resting-place of the dead, until the glorious Resurrection at the last day; in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. The blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be ever upon this place, and sanctify and keep it holy, that it may be a fit resting-place for the bodies of His saints, until the day of the Lord Jesus, when He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. Amen. [The following prayer may be used when there O Lord God, mighty and glorious, and of incomprehensible majesty, Thou fillest heaven and earth with the glory of Thy presence, and canst not be contained within the narrow walls of any house; Yet forasmuch as Thou hast been pleased to declare in Thy holy law, that men should put the remembrance of Thy Name upon places, and in every such place Thou wilt come to us and bless us; we are here now assembled to put Thy Name upon this place, to make it Thy house, to devote and dedicate it for ever unto Thee, utterly separating it from all worldly uses, and to consecrate it wholly and only to the invocation of Thy glorious Name: accept, O Lord, this day's duty and service, sanctify this house with Thy gracious presence, and grant that whatsoever prayers in this sacred place shall be made according to Thy will may be accepted by Thy gracious favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.] Then shall the Bishop add these Collects: O Lord Jesus Christ, who art the Resurrection and the Life, who by Thy Death hast overcome death, and by Thy Rising again hast opened unto us the gate of everlasting life, who shalt send Thine angels and gather Thine elect from all the ends of the earth; We humbly beseech Thee for all those whose bodies shall here be committed to the ground, that they may rest in the hope of resurrection to eternal life, through Thee, O blessed Lord God, who shalt change our body of humiliation that it may be like unto Thy body of glory, according to the mighty working whereby Thou art able to bring all things into subjection to Thyself: who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, One God, world without end. Amen. O eternal Lord God, who holdest all souls in life: We beseech Thee to shed forth upon Thy whole Church in Paradise and on earth the bright beams of Thy light and heavenly comfort, and grant that we, following the good examples of those who have served Thee here and are at rest, may with them at length enter into Thine unending joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Grant, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of Thy blessed Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections we may be buried with Him; and that through the grave, and gate of death, we may pass to our joyful resurrection; for His merits, who died, and was buried, and rose again for us, Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [After this the Bishop, if he see fit, shall speak to the people, for which if desired they may proceed to the Church or Chapel, the Choir leading, and a Hymn being sung. Here, after the address, if one be given, a Hymn may be sung.] Then shall the Bishop dismiss the people with the Blessing. If there be a Celebration The Collect, Epistle, and Gospel shall be: Collect. O 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 those who sleep in Him; We humbly 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; 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 who 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 Epistle. Thess. iv. 13, to the end. The Collect, Epistle, and Gospel for Easter-even may be used in place of the above. At Morning or Evening Prayer, Psalms iv., xvi., xlix. may be used; and as Special Lessons, Gen. xxiii. and St. John xi. 18-47. Form of benediction of a grave in unconsecrated ground, to be used at the discretion of the minister: O merciful God, with whom the death of Thy Saints is precious, and who hast taught us in Thy Holy Word that the bodies of the faithful are members of Christ and temples of the Holy Ghost, and that having been sown in weakness, they will be raised in power; We humbly beseech Thee to sanctify this Grave to be a peaceful resting-place for the mortal remains of our dear brother here departed; and grant, O Lord, that he, with all those that are departed this life in Thy true faith and fear, and are fallen asleep in Christ, may attain to the resurrection of the just, and may have the full fruition of perfect bliss and everlasting glory, both in body and soul, in Thy heavenly kingdom, |