LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. ?lielf. f _B H S UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. r THE Burial of the Dead. A PASTOR'S COMPLETE HAND-BOOK FOR FUNERAL SERVLCES, AND FOR THE CONSOLATLON AND COMFORT OF THE AFFLLCTED. 7 Rev. GEORGE DUFFIELD, D.D., Rev. SAMUEL W. DUFFIELD. NEW YORK: FUNK & WAGNALLS, Publishers, \^ AND 12 Dey Street. 1S82. Copyright, 1882, by Funk A Wagnalls. ^^''l <■ ti{%^ '' If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained." — i Tim, iv. : 6. Thb Library OF Congress WASHINGTON CONTENTS. I. SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. I. — I. A Salutation 3 2. A Word of CoJiifort 3 3. The Brevity of Life — a Scriptural Prayer 4 II. — For a Child (1-3) 5 III. — For Young People (1-4) 9 IV. — For Christian Persons (1-5) 15 V. — General Services (1-9) 23 VI. — Scripture Selections (1-9) 57 VII. — The Service of the Protestant Episcopal Church 49 n. WHAT IS DEATH? I. — The Execution of a Sentence 61 11. — The Dissolution of a Union 61 III. — An End.. 1 62 IV. — A Beginning , 62 V. — The Seed-Time of a Future Harvest 62 VI. — The Last Enemy 63 VII. — Sin, the Procuring Cause 63 VIII. — Final Causes of Death 63 . IX. — The Ordering of the Lord. . . 64 IV CONTENTS. X. — God the Author of it 64 XI. — Its Leading Characteristics 64 1. It is Universal 64 2. // is Inevitable 65 3. It is Impartial 65 4. It is Sure 65 5. Its Time Uncertain to Man 66 6. But Ce7'taijt with God 66 7. Without Order 66 8. Near 66 9. Often Unexpected 67 10. Ever Approaching 67 11. To be Kept in View 67 XII. — Death, how Described 67 XIII. — Terminates our Probation 69 XIV. — To BE Prepared for, Temporally 69 XV. — To BE Prepared for Spiritually 70 XVI. — To BE Prepared, one must Believe on Christ 70 XVII. — Fear of Death ; its Causes and Cure 71 XVIII. — Indications of Actual Death 73 XIX. — Departure of the Soul 74 XX. — The Death of the Righteous 75 XXI. — The Death op the Wicked 76 XXIL — Provision for Passing the Dark River 76 XXIII. — Timely Warning to be Given 77 XXIV. — Brief Words for the Dying 77 XXV. — The Body in the Custody of Angels 80 XXVI. — The Intermediate State 80 XXVII. — Grief Finding Utterance Si 1. Lamentation 81 2. Chastening S3 3. Exhortation . 84 4. Consolation 85 CONTENTS. V 5. Resignation 87 6. P^'ecious Promises 88 7. Syjnpathy 89 8. Sorrow ; when Excessive 90 XXVIII. — Advice to the Bereaved 91 XXIX. — Positive Signs of Death 92 XXX. — The Law of Burial 94 III. THE FUNERAL. I. — Dr. Pond on the Duties of the Clergyman ... 97 II. — Preparation for Burial 99 III. — Ministers of Christ to be Sent for 100 IV. — The First Funeral no V. — The Burial of Rachel loi VI. — The Burial of Jesus 102 VII. ^Deprivation of Burial a Calamity 103 VIII. — Burial among Primitive Christians 104 IX. — Cremation . . . , 104 X. — Obituaries, Inscriptions, and Epitaphs 105 IV. HINTS FOR SERMONS AND ADDRESSES. I. — Death in Infancy 109 II. — In Early Life 113 III. — In the Family 116 IV. — In the Church 121 1. Ministers I2i 2. Members 125 3. General 130 VI COXl'EXTS. V. — In the State , 131 1. A Ruler , 131 2. A Public Man 132 VI. — Miscellaneous Topics and Hints 133 VII. — Peculiar and Special Cases 136 1. Suicide 136 2. A " Fallen WomaiH' 137 3. Long Sickness and Pain 139 4. Casualties 139 5. Sudden Death 141 6. Cases of Great Affliction 142 7. Death in Child-Bed. 142 8. A Sailor ... 142 9. A Rich Man 143 10. A Poor Man 143 11. A Repentant Criminal 143 12. A Careless Persoii 143 13. A Witty Man ... 144 14. A Fearsome Death 144 15. A " Sporting Mail' 144 16. A Ti??te of Pestilence 144 VIII. — The Burial of our Lord 144 IX. — The Resurrection in Christ's own Words 147 X. — Heaven 148 XI. — At the Grave (Committal Services) 149 XII. — Benediction 150 INTRODUCTORY. This little book grows out of the experience of four generations, of which the last three have so overlapped as to be, practically, one long pas- torate of nearly four-score years. These texts, topics, hints, and arrangements of Scripture have taken, in our work, the place of other fune- ral forms. For, after a thorough examination of all the published manuals which are accessible to American clergymen, w^e found so much that was incoherent, or abrupt, or unsuitable, that we were driven directly back to the Word of God itself. We have aimed to supply a practical want in a practical way. It will be seen that we have en- deavored to make a convenient volume for the pocket ; whose Services will be easily read in a darkened room ; whose Topics and Texts may be an instant help in any emergency ; and whose discussion of the important theme w^hich has pro- viii INTRODUCTORY, duced it, will lead to hopefulness and comfort in the valley of the shadow of Death. May it be as the '' hyssop that springeth out of the wair' — a living thing from the sepulchre to sprinkle cleansing upon the customs of our grief. George Duffield. Samuel W. Duffield. March, 1882. SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. " But for thee, O Saviour, the grave-stone, the earth, the coffin, are no bounders of thy dear respects ; even after death and burial and corruption, thou art graciously aifected to those thou lovest." — Bp. Hall: ''Lazarus Dead" SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. I. (i) A Salutatio7i, Ps. xx. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble ; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee : send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion. (2) A Word of Comfort, Ps. xxiii. The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul : he leadeth me in the paths of right- eousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, r will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou pre- parest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies : thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life : and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 4 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. (3) The Brevity of Life. (A Scriptural prayer.) Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth and mine age is as nothing be- fore thee. All our days are passed away in thy wrath ; we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are three-score 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. We are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers ; our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. Lord, what is man that thou takest knowledge of him ? or the son of man, that thou makest account of him .^ Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. When I awake I am still with thee. Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust : cause me to know the way wherein I should walk ; for I lift up my soul unto thee. So teach us to number our days that we may ap- ply our hearts unto wisdom. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. Blessed be the LORD forevermore. Amen, and Amen. SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. II. FOR A CHILD. (i) Matt, xviii.-xix. And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and be- come as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the king- dom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. Take heed that ye despise not one of these lit- tle ones ; for I sa}^ unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. Then were there brought unto him little chil- dren, that he should put his hands on them, and pray : and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said. Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me ; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. (2) 2. Sam. xii. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's 6 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, wife bare unto David, 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 the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth : but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead : for they said. Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken un- to our voice : how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead ? But when. David saw that his servants whis- pered, David perceived that the child was dead : therefore David said unto his servants. Is the child dead ? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worship- ped : then he came to his own house ; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done ? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive ; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said. While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept : fori said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may SCRIPTURAL SERVICES.- 7 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. (3) 2 Kings iv. 18-37. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head ! And he said to a lad. Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called unto her -husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. And he said. Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day ? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said. It shall be well. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her ser- vant, Drive, and go forward ; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite : run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her. Is it well with thee ? it is well w^'th thv husband ? is it 8 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, well with the child ? And she answered, It is well. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet : but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone ; for her soul is vexed w^ithin her : and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. Then she said, Did I de- sire a son of my lord ? did I not say, Do not de- ceive me? Then he said to Gehazi. Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way : if thou meet any man, salute him not ; .and if any salute thee, answer him not again : and lay my staff upon the' face of the child. And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child ; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying. The child is not awaked. And when Elisha w^as come into the house, be- hold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands : and he SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 9 stretched himself upon the child ; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro ; and went up, and stretched himself upon him : and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said. Call this Shu- namite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. III. FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. (i) John xi. After that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth ; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do w^ell. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death : but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe ; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. And many of the Jews came to Martha and lO THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him : but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But T know, that even now, w^hatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God w^ill 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. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying un- to him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him ? They say unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him I And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died ? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself Com- eth to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said. Take ye away the stone. Then they took away the stone from the place SCRIPTURAL SERVICES, II where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always : but because of the people w^hich stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes ; and4iis face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them. Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. (2) Ecc. xii. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleas- ure in them ; while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain : in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened. And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; also 12 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the .grass-hopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail : because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets : or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust re- turn to the earth as it was : and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter : Fear God, and keep his commandments : for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (3) Matt. XXV. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them : but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slum- bered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made. Behold, the bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 13 lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil ; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so ; lest there be not enough for us and you : but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came ; and they that were ready went in with him to the mar- riage : and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying. Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said. Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore ; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (4) Mark v. And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name ; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought him great- ly, saying. My little daughter lieth at the point of death : I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed ; and she shall live. And Jesus went with him ; and much people fol- lowed him, and thronged him. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said. Who touched my clothes ? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou. Who touched me ? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 1 4 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. But the woman feaiing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her. Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole ; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said. Thy daughter is dead ; why troublest thou the Master any further ? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spo- ken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue. Be not afraid, only believe. And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John, the brother of James. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep ? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi ; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, (I say unto thee), arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked ; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 15 he charged them straitly that no man should know it ; and commanded that something should be given her to eat. IV. FOR CHRISTIAN PERSONS. (i) I Pet. i. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not aw^ay, reserved in heaven for you. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations : 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 honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ : whom having not seen, ye love ; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory : receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is l6 7'HE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ ; as obedient children; not fashioning your- selves according to the former lusts in your igno- rance : but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation ; because it is written, Be ye holy ; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without re- spect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear : forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers ; but with the ^pre- cious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blem- ish and without spot : who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but v^^as manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory ; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently : be- ing born again, not of corruptible seed, but of in- corruptible, by the word of God, w^hich liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away : but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 17 the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (2) John xiv. Let not your heart be t?roubled : ye beHeve in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions : if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest ; and how can we know the way ? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father ako : and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him. Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip ? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father ; and how sayest thou then. Show us the Father ? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in m.e ? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself : but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me : or else believe l8 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. me for the very works' sake. Veril}^, verily, I say unto you. He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also ; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever ; even the Spirit of truth ; whom the w^orld cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know himi ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless : I will come to you. (3) I Cor, XV. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand ; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures : and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures ; But some man will say. How are the dead raised up ? and with what body do they come ? Thou SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. . 19 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. 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. As is the earthy, such are they also 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 show you a mystery : We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a mo- ment, 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 in- corruption, and this mortal must put on immor- tality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the 20 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 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 beloved brethren, be ye stead- fast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (4) I Thess. iv. and v. 1 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 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 com- fort one another with these words. SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 2i But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, put- ting on the breastplate of faith and love ; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. (5) From the Book of Revelation, 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 tribula- tion, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. There- fore are they before the throne of God, 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 God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the 2 2 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. mount Sion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written' in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder : and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps : and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders : and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 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. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire : and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. And a voice came out of the throne, saying. Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 23 thunderings, saying, Alleluia : for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him : for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white : for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me. These are the true sayings of God. V. GENERAL SERVICES. (i) Ps. xc. Lord, thou has been our dwellingplace in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst 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 a flood ; they are as a sleep : in the morning they are like grass which growx^th 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 w^rath are we troubled. Thou 24 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 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. The days of our years are threescore years and ten ; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow ; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who know- eth the power of thine anger ? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wis- dom. Return, O Lord, how long ? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy ; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen. evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their chil- dren. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us : and establish thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea, the work of our hands estab- lish thou it. (2) 2 Cor. iv. and v. For w^e preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord ; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, w^ho commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of SCRIPTURAL SERVICE'^. 25 God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excel- lency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not dis- tressed ; we are perplexed, but not in despair ; persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not destroyed ; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Je- sus might be made manifest in our body. For which cause w^e faint not ; but though our outward man perish, yet the inw^ard man is re- newed 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 w^hich 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 God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this \yq 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 taber- nacle do groan, being burdened :.not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mor- tality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, w^ho also hath given unto us the 26 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. earnest of the Spirit. Therefqre 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. Where- fore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For 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, w^iether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men ; but we are made manifest unto God ; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For the love of Christ constraineth us ; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead : and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto them- selves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (3) I Cor. XV. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand ; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in mem.ory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 27 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures ; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures : and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve : after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once ; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James ; then of all the apostles. i\nd last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apos- tles, that I am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am : and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain ; but I laboured more abundantly than they all : yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead ? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen : and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God ; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ : whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not 2S THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, Christ raised : and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. Tiien they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are per- ished. (4) I Cor. XV. \Conti7iiLed.^ If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 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 of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made ahve. 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 de- livered up the kingdom to God, 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 God may be all in all. Else what shall they do v\4iich are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all ? why are they SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 29 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, w4iat 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 know^ledge of God : I speak this to your shame. (5) Job iv.-v. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face ; the hair of my flesh stood up : it stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof : an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God ? shall a man be more pure than his Maker ? Behold, he put no trust in his ser- vants ; and his angels he charged with folly : how much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth ? Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the 30 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. ground * yet man is borri unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause : Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth : therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty : for he maketh sore, and bindeth up : he woundeth, and his hands make whole. He shall deliv^er thee in six troubles : yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. In famine he shall re- deem thee from death : and in war from the power of the sword. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue : neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. At de- struction and famine thou shalt laugh : neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field : and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know^ that thy tabernacle shall be in peace ; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. (6) Ps. xlix. Hear this, all ye people ; give ear, all ye inhab- itants of the world ; both low and high, rich and poor, together. i\Iy mouth shall speak of wis- dom ; and the meditation of mv heart shall be of SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 3 1 understanding. I will incline mine ear to a para- ble : I will open my dark saying upon the harp. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the kiiquity of my heels shall compass me about? They that trust in their w^ealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches ; none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him : (for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth forever :) that he should still live for- ever, and not see corruption. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue forever, and their dwelling-places to all generations ; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not : he is like the beasts that perish. This their way is their folly : yet their posterity approve their sayings. Like sheep they are laid in the grave ; death shall feed on them ; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave : for he shall receive me. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased ; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away : his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived 32 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. he blessed his soul, (^and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,) he shall go to the generation of his fathers ; they shall never see light. Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish. (7) Job xiv. 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. And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, and bringest me into judgment with thee ? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? not one. Seeing his days are deter- mined, the number of his months are with thee, thou .hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass ; turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day. For there is hope ol a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground ; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away : yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he ? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decay- eth and drieth up ; so man lieth down, and riseth not : till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 33 Oh that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me ! If a man die, shall he live again ? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee : thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. For now thou numberest my steps : dost thou not w^atch over my sin ? My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. The waters wear the stones : thou washest avv^ay the things which grow out of the dust of the earth ; and thou destroyest the hope of man. Thou prevailest forever against him, and he pass- eth : thou changest his countenance, and sendest him aw^ay. (8) From Ecclesiastes, The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities ; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun ? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh : but the earth abideth forever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where 34 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north ; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again accord- ing to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea is not full : unto the place from jvhence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour ; man cannot utter it : the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be ; and that which is done is that which shall be done : and there is no new thing under the sun-. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new ? It hath been already of old time, which was before us. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever : nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it : and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. That which hath been is now ; and that which is to be hath already been ; and God requireth that w4iich is past. I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked : for there is a time there for ever}^ pur- pose, and for every work. All go unto one place ; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth ? That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man : neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he. Seeing there SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 35 be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better ? For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow ? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun ? A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting : for that is the end of all men ; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter : for by the sad- ness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourn- ing ; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 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 ; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given ta it. It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this ; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand : for he that feareth God shall cojne forth of them all. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all : yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope : for 3^ THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die : but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward ; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished : neither have they any more a portion forever in any thing that is done under the sun. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter : Fear God, and keep his commandments : for this is the whole- duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every se- cret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (9) Matt. XXV. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory : and before him shall be gathered all nations : and he shall sepa- rate them one from another, as a shepherd divi- deth his sheep from the goats : and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, in- SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 37 herit the kingdom prepared for you from the foun- dation of the world : for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I Avas in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in ? or naked, and clothed thee ? or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee ? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. VI. SCRIPTURE SELECTIONS. (i) John xvii. These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heav^en, and said. Father, the hour is comxC ; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee : as thoii hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. iVnd this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I 38 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. have glorified thee on the earth : I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me-6ut of the world : thine they were, and thou gavest them me ; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatso- ever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me ; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them : I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me ; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine ; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the w6rld, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name : those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition ; that the Scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee ; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. ' 39 word ; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world^ even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth : thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word ; that they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. ' And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them ; that they may be one, even as we are one : I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one ; and that the w^orld may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am ; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given m.e : for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the w^orld hath not known thee : but I have known thee, and these have 40 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. known that thou hast sent me. And I have de- clared unto them thy name, and will declare it ; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (2) Heb. xii. 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 chas- teneth not ? But if ye be without chatisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye not sons. Furthermore, w^e have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence : shall v/e not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live ? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleas- ure ; but he for our profit, that w^e might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemetli to be joyous, but grievous : nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Where- fore lift up the hands w^iich hang down, and the feeble knees ; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that w^hich is lame be turned out of the way ; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, with- out which no man shall see the Lord : For ye are not come unto the mount that might SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 41 be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words ; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more : (for they could not endure that which. was com- manded. And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart : and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake :) but ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general 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. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh : for if they escaped not v\^ho refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if w^e turn away from him that speaketh fromi heaven. (3) I Thess. iv. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others w^hich have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God 42 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 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 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. (4) Job xxiii. Then Job answered and said, Even to-day is my complaint bitter : my stroke is heavier than my groaning. Oh that I knew where I might find him ! that I might come even to his seat ! I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. Will he plead against me with his great power ? No ; but he w^ould put strength in me. There the righteous might dispute with him ; so should I be delivered forever from my judge. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there ; and backward, but I cannot perceive him : on the. left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 43 him : he hideth huTiSelf on the right hand, that I cannot see him : but he knoweth the way that I take : when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips ; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. But he is in one mind, and who can turn him ? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me : and many such things are with him. Therefore am I troubled at his presence : when I consider, I am afraid of him. For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me : -because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face. (5) Ps. xviii. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The -Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliv- erer ; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust ; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the -floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sor- rows of hell compassed me about : the snares of 44 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. death prevented me. In my distress I called up- on the Lord, and cried unto my God : he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came be- fore him, even into his ears. He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemyo He brought me forth also into a large place ; he delivered me, because he delight- ed in me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eye- sight. With the merciful thou wilt shew^ thyself merci- ful ; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright ; with the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure ; and with the froward thou wilt shew^ thy- self froward. For thou wnlt save the afflicted people ; but wilt bring down high looks. For thou wilt light my candle : the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. As for God, his way is perfect : the word of the Lord is tried : he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For w^ho is God save the Lord .^ -or who is a rock save ©ur God ? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 45 like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salva- tion : and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. Thou hast en- larged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. The Lord liveth ; and blessed be my Rock ; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. (6) Ps. XX. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble ; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee ; send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion ; remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice ; grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel. We will re- joice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners : the Lord fulfil all thy petitions. Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses : but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen : but we are risen, and stand upright. Save, Lord : let the king hear us when we call. (7) Ps. xxxiv. I will bless the Lord at all times : his praise 46 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord : the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened : and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good : blessed is the man that trustetli in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints : for there is no w^ant to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger : but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto me : I w^ill teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he mxay see good ? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good ; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cutoff the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and deliver- eth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 47 nigh unto them that are of a broken heart ; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous : but the Lord dehvereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones : not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked : and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his serv^ants : and none of them that trust in him shall be deso- late. (8) Ps. xxxix. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue : I will keep my mouth v/ith a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good ; and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me ; while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is ; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand- breadth ; and mine age is as nothing before thee : verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew : surely they are disquieted in vain : he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now. Lord, what wait I- for ? my hope is in thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions : 48 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. make me not the reproach of the foolish. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth ; because thou didst it. Remove thy stroke away from me : I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth : surely every man is vanity. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry ; hold not thy peace at my tears : for I am a stranger w4th thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that 1 may re- cover strength, before I go hence, and be no more. (9) Ps. Ixix. Save me, O God ; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing : I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflov/ me. I am weary of my crying : my throat is dried : mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. O God, thou knowest my foolishness ; and my sins are not hid from thee. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for miy sake : let not those that seek thee be con- founded for my sake, O God of Israel. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time : O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salva- tion. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink : let me be delivered out of the deep w^aters. SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 49 Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O Lord ; for thy loving kindness is good : turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant ; for I am in trouble : hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it ; I am poor and sorrowful : let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bul- lock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be glad : and your heart shall live that seek God. For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. VIL THE SERVICE OF THE PROTES- TANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The Minister, meeting the Corpse and going before it, shall say, I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord : he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. (St. John xi. 25, 26.) 50 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 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. (Job xix. 25, 26, 27.) We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out^. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the Name of the Lord, (i Tim. vi. 7 ; Job i. 21.) Tlien shall be said or sung the following Ant hem ^ taken from the ^gth and got h Psalms. Lord, let me know my end, and the number of my days ; that I may be certified how long I have to live. Behold, thou hast made my days as it were a span long, and mine age is even as nothing in respect of thee ; and verily every man living is altogether vanity. For man w^alketh in a vain shadow, and disqui- eteth himself in vain ; he heapeth up riches, and cannot tell who shall gather them. And now% Lord, what is my hope ? Truly my hope is even in thee. Deliver me from all mine offences ; and make me not a rebuke unto the foolish. When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for sin, thou makest his beauty to consume away, SCRIPTURAL SERVICES 51 like as it were a moth fretting a garment : every man therefore is but vanity. 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. 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 God 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 a sleep ; and fade away suddenly like the grass. In the morning it is green, and groweth up ; but in the evening it is cut down, dried up, and with- ered. 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 : 52 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. we bring our years to an end, as it .were a tale that is told. The days of our age are three-score years and ten ; and though men be so strong that they come to four-score years, yet is their strength then but labor and sorrow ; so soon passeth it away, and we are gone. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. 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 folloiv the Lesson taken from the i^th chapter of \st Corinthians, 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 resur- rection 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 deliv- ered up the kingdom to God, 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 SCRIPTURAL services: 53 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 him- self 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 ? \Vliy 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 w^ith 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 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 quick- ened, 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 flesh ; but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts. 54 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, 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 also 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 show you a mystery : we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twin- kling of an eye, at the last trump : for the trumpet SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 55 shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorrup- tible, and we shall be changed. For this corrup- tible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on in- corruption, 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 beloved breth- ren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abound- ing in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. When they come to the G7^ave, ivhile the Corpse is made ready to be laid into the earth, shall be sung or said, 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 w^e 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. 56 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 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 tlie Body by some standing by, tlie Minister shall say, Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, in his wise providence, to take out of this world the soul of our deceased brother, we therefore commit his body to the ground ; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust ; looking for the general resur- rection 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, and made like unto his own glorious body ; according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself. Then shall be said, or sung, I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, From henceforth, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord : even so, saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours. (Rev. xiv. 13.) SCRIPTURAL SERVICES. 57 Then the Minister shall say the Lord' s Prayer, Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth. As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tres- passes. As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation ; But de- liver us from evil. Ameri, Theji the Minister shall say one or both of the fol- lowing Prayers y at his discretion. Almighty God, with whom do live the spirits of those who depart hence in the Lord, and with w^hom 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 the good examples of all those thy servants, who, having finished their course in faith, do now rest from their labours. And we beseech thee, that we, with all those who 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, 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. 5 8 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. by his holy Apostle Saint Paul, not to be sorry, as men \vithout 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 righteous- ness ; that, when we shall depart this life, we may rest in him ; and that, at the general Resur- rection in the last day, w^e may be found accept- able 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 pre- pared for you from the beginning of the w^orld. Grant this, we beseech thee, O merciful Father, through Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Redeem- er. Aine?i. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fello\v^ship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore= Amen. 11. WHAT IS DEATH? " Birds, beasts, each tree, All that hath growth or breath Have one large language, Death !" Henry Vaugiian: ''The Check,'- WHAT IS DEATH ? I. The Execution of a Sentence. Gen. iii. 19. "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return. ' ' *' We speak of Death as coming in the course of nature. But in the just and proper sense of the words, this is not true. Death does not come in the course of nature. Nattire properly ought to mean the state of things as con- stituted by God. Man's original state is his natural state. It was a state of sinless purity and sinless joy. And in that state of things Death had no place. Death is al- together out of the true course of nature. It is in the course, it is granted, of fallen nature — of nature as sinful and guilty. But of any moral nature, that state is the most //;?natural possible. In one sense only can it be cor- rectly said that the death of man is in the course of nature ; namely, that it is in accordance with the moral require- ments of the divUie nature, and consequently with the eternal and immutable nature aiid fitness of tilings, that penalty should follow trespass ; that sin should infer suf- fering. In that sense Death is in the course of nature — is natural." — Wardlaw. II. The Dissolution of a Union. Ecc. xii. 7. ''Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was : and the spirit shall return to God who gave it. ' ' Strictly speaking, the separation of soul and body is the 62 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. consequence of Death and not the cause of it. The body actually moulders down into indistinguishable earth, and only through the Holy Spirit can we track the spirit of man, on its invisible upward way. III. An End. Ecc. vii. 2. "' That is the end of all men." We live in a variety of relations ; of occupations ; of pleasures ; of sufferings ; of possessions ; of privileges ; of opportunities. Of all these, and of everything else that pertains to earth and to time, Death is the final close. Every marriage must, soon or late, leave a widower or a widow ; evei;y birth a mourning parent or an orphan child ; every growing family bereaved brothers or bereaved sis- ters ; every friendship a solitary friend. *'One event hap- peneth alike to all." IV. A Beginning. Heb. ix. 2"]. ''It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.'' '* After this " — an eternal sleep? annihilation? another period of probatior^? No J After Death God has ap- pointed the Judgment. (Acts xvii. 31.) V. TifE Seed-Time of a Future Harvest. I Cor. XV. 42-45. ''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.'' What an interest then attaches to the last moment of every man's earthl}^ life ! — to the parting breath on which the soul passes away from its mortal tenement ! As Death at that solemn moment finds him — believing or not be- lieving on the only Saviour, reconciled to God or still WHA T IS DBA TH? 63 alienated from him — pardoned or unpardoned — renewed or unrenewed ; so must judgment, so must eternity find him — accepted and saved, or cast away and lost ! In either case what an End ! — because ivhat a Beginning ! VI. The Last Enemy. (Cf. I Cor. XV. 2() ; Rev. xxi. 4, etc.) " The Christian does not look upon Death and the grave with so much of dread and repulsion as did Job : he can look upon them not only without fear, but with feelings of triumph. But this is not because Death and the grave are changed, but because the future is changed — because life and immortality are brought to light in the Gospel. ''The way by which we pass out of the w^orld is still nar- row and dark and cold, though our sharpened vision may see sweet fields beyond, and our quickened ear may catch celestial strains. We should look at Death as it is, as we shall find it, that we may know how to rise above it." — y. P. Thompson, VII. Sin, the Procuring Cause, Rom. V. 12. " By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. *' Draw near to this express image of God, ye ignorant and disobedient children ! See, in his eyes, how the God of thunder and lightning and terror will look at you. Behold, you are the prodigal son, and he is the Father, who sees you, and has compassion, . . . and says, . . . This my son was dead and is alive again. . , ." — Robert Robin^ son (1786). VIII. Final Causes of Death. These are various : I. There must be some mode of exchans^ino- worlds. 64 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 2. And of emptying this world of those whose probatiqn is ended, that there may be room for others to follow. 3. For otherwise the world would have been over popu- lated. 4. Besides, Death teaches us great lessons as to the evil of sin, the vanity of this life, and the infinite im- portance of the life beyond the grave. Time is but the title-page, while eternity is the never-ending volume of existence. But, whatever may be the final causes of Death, its procuring cause is Sin. To evade Sin is to evade Death, but ''there is none righteous, no not one.'' IX. The Ordering of the Lord. Ps. civ. 29. "Thou takest away their breath; they die and return to their dust.'' Ps. xc. 3. ''Thou turnest man to destruction and sayest. Return, ye children of men. (Cf. Job xiv. 20 ; XXX. 2^ \ Is. xl. 6, 7 ; Ps. Ixxx. 16, etc. ) Those, therefore, who teach that " the death of a human being is a natural resuh, as much as that of a worm or a plant," and affirm that to t^ach otherwise is to "slander the Almighty," are not teaching within the Divine Record, but directly against it. X. God, the Author of It. Deut. xxxii. 39. "I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me. I kill and I make alive ; I wound and I heal : neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. " XL Its Leading Characteristics. z. // is universal. JVHA T IS DEA TH ? 65 Ecc. ix. 3. '' There is one event unto all. " (Cf. Josh, xxiii. 14, etc.) Death is never idle. Among the millions of earth there fall on the average, one every second, sixty every minute, 3600 every hour, 86,400 every day ; one in about thirty to thirty-five of the whole population /(fr rt;??;^//;;;. Seventy years is the extreme limit ; thirty-five is the ordi- nary limit, with few exceptions. 2. It is ineviiahle. Ps. Ixxxix. 48. ''What man is he that liveth and shall not see death } "' (Cf. Job XXX. 20; Ecc. viii. 8, etc.)^ The longest life will come to an end. *' The young may die ; the old 7mist die." ,^ J. // is impai'tial. Ecc. ix. 2. "There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. Perhaps this was never seen more clearly than when the two thieves were crucified, with "Jesus in the midst." 4. It is sure. Job XXX. 23. ''I know that thou wilt bring me to death ; to the house appointed for all living. '* Ten thousand human beings set forth together on their journey. After ten years one third at least have disap- peared. At the middle point of the common measure of life but half are still upon the road. Fast and faster, as the ranks grow thinner, they that remained till now become weary and lie down to rise no more. At three-score and ten a band of some four hundred yet struggles on. At ninety these have been reduced to a handful of thirty trembling patriarchs. Year after year they fall in dimin- ishing numbers. One lingers, perhaps, a lonely marvel 66 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. till the century is over. We look again, and the work of Death is finished." — Burgess, 5. lis time uncertain to man. Ecc. ix. 12. " For man also knoweth not his time : as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare ; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. ' ' (Cf. Gen. xxvii. 2 ; Prov. xxvii. i; Jas. iv. 14.) ** Nothing is so sure as death, and nothing so uncertain as the time. I may be too old to live, I can never be too young to die ; I will therefore live ever}^ hour, as if I were to die the nQyii.'^— Divine Breattiings (i6th century). 6. But certain ivith God. Job xiv. 5. ''His days are determined; the number of his months are with thee ; thou hast appointed his bounds, that he cannot pass. 7 . Without order. Job x. 20-22. ''Are not my days few . . . be- fore I go whence I shall not return ; even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death, . . . without any order.'' There is *'no order" (i) as to age, or (2) as to bodily strength or weakness [Job xxi. 24], or (3) as to place, or (4) means of death, or (5) manner of death, or (6) as to character [Ps. xlix. 10], or (7) circumstances, or (8) feelings of men. ^. Near. Ps. xxxix. 5. " Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth and mine age is as nothing before thee '' (Cf. I Sam. XX. 3 ; Mark xiii. 35.) WHA T IS DEA TH ? 67 g. Often unexpected. Isaiah xxviii. 15, 17, 18. ''Because ye have said, \Ye have made a covenant with death, . . . the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies . . . and your covenant with death shall be disannulled/' It is noteworthy that those who are the proudest of their physical powers are oftentimes the nearest to the grave. This particularly holds true of the middle-aged and old, who will frequently, through this feeling, overtax them- selves. 10. Ever approaching. Zach. i. 5. '' Your fathers, w^here are they .^'' The present is the only visible part of the scroll of the generations. Death rolls up the past, as Life unrolls the future. 11. To be kept in vieiv. Ecc. ix. 10. ''Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. ' ' The ancients represented Opportunity as a fair boy, standing tip-toe on one foot and stretching his wings to be gone. In the grave there is no worJ^, for the hand is dust ; there is no device, for the cunning tongue is still ; there is no knoivledge, for the brain is dead ; there is no wisdom, for the thought has perished. (Cf. Ps. cxlvi. 3, 4.) XII. Death is Described as Returning to the dust. Gen. iii. 19 ; Ecc. xii. 7. Gathering to our people. Gen. xlix. '^'^. A sleep. Deut. xxxi. 16 ; Ps. xiii. 3. A harvesting. Job v. 26. The vanishing of a cloud. Job vii. 9 ; Jas. iv. 14. 68 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, Being cut down. Job xiv. 2. Fleeing as a shadow. Job xiv. 2. A great change. Job xiv. 14. A long journey. Job xvi. 22. The King of Terrors. Job xviii. 14. A dream. Job xx. 5. A hunter who lays snares. Ps. xviii. 5, 6. The shadow of the tomb. Ps. xxiii. 4. Flying away. Ps. xc. 10. Ceasing of the breath of life. Ps. civ. 29. Going down into silence. Ps. cxv. 17. The breaking of silver cord and golden bow4. Ecc. ii. 6. A robber. Jer. ix. 21 ; Joel ii. 9. A stroke. Ezek. xxiv. 16. One holding a cup of poison. i\Iatt. xvi. 28. An apparition. Luke ii, 26. God requiring the soul. Luke xii. 20. Yielding up the ghost. Acts v. 10. A serpent deprived of its sting, i Cor. xv. 55. The earthly tabernacle dissolved. 2 Cor. v. i. Putting off the body as a garment. 2 Cor. v. 3, 4. Departing this life."^ Phil. i. 23 ; 2 Cor. v. 8 ; 2 Tim. iv. 6. Putting off this tabernacle. 2 Pet. i. 14. A horseman. Rev. vi. 8. "If thou expect Death as a friend (John xix. 41), pre- pare to entertain him ; if as an enemy, prepare to over- come him (i Cor. xv. 26). Death hath no advantage over us, but when he comes as a stranger." — Quarles. * " Depart" is literally to " start on a voyage" — and "an abundant entrance" alludes to making port with all sail set. Clement of Alex- andria first notices this. IVHA T IS DBA TH ? 69 XIII. Terminates our Probation. Rev. xxii. 11, 12. '' He that is unjust, let him be un- just still : and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still : and he that is holy, let him be holy still.'' (Cf. Ecc. xi. 3; Job xiv. 7-12; Matt. vi. 20; Gal. vi. 7 ; Luke xvi. 26 ; 2 Cor. v. 10, etc.) "The notion of a state of trial after death is alike un- scriptural and unreasonable, (i) God does not need to try men forever, to determine their moral character. (2) Mortal life is long enough, at its shortest, for this purpose. (3) This world is adapted to such a probation (Rom. ii. 6-1 1 ). (4) Heaven is 7iot adapted to it, because it is an end- less reward. (5) Hell is not, because it is an everlasting punishment. (6) If the wicked are to be put on a second probation, why not the righteous also? (7) Short as life is, sinners often finish virtually their stale of trial long be- fore they leave the present world. (Cf. Dr. Alexander's hymn, ''There is a line by us unseen.") (8) There are those who quench the Holy Spirit, and so commit the un- pardonable sin. (9) We are no longer authorized to pray for such persons (Jer. vii. 16; i John v. 16). (10) When is such a second probation to be expected ? Not between death and judgnlent (Heb. ix. 27). Not after judgment, for then Christ resigns his mediatorial office and king- dom (i Cor. XV. 24-2S). Finally (11) Christ says of that season of which death is the beginning, and eternity the continuance, * The night co?neih, when no man can work' (John \y^.^:'—Pond, Death is like the " fixing - solution" of the photog- rapher ; it is the Medusa's head which turns our shifting purposes and actions into stone. XIV. To BE Prepared for. Temporally. 2 Kings XX. I. -'Set thy house in order ; for thou shalt die, and not live. 70 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. Perhaps, in giving this advice, Isaiah thought of Abra- ham, who was careful to settle his family affairs before his death (Gen. xxv. 5, 6). So should you do also. Making your will brings death no sooner. Let it be made justly ; paying your debts and making restitution if you have wronged any one. Let it be made fairly ; providing for your family without invidious distinctions. Let it be made in the fear of God ; honoring Him with some part of your substance, by appropriating it to some pious and charitable use. XV. To BE Prepared for, Spiritually. Heb. xi. 7. " By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house." i^Vide Ps. xxxix. 4, 13 ; xc. 12 ; Amos iv. 12.) (Cf. Mark xiii. ^^ ; John vii. 6, and similar passages, e.g. Rev. iii. 2.) ^* The accurate work of salvation, upon which hangs eternity, can hardly be done in the dim-foul light of dying." — Gauden. '* It is unadvisable to put off the providing of salvation- graces to a death-bed, seeing that it is so difficult then to exercise those that were provided before." — Boyle. *' Death-bed repentance. One case that we should not despair; but one that we should not presume." — Matt. Henry, on Penitent Thief. XVL To BE Prepared, one must Believe on Christ. John xi. 25. ''I am the Resurrection and the Life ; he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." Whether we consider preparation for death as habitual WHA T IS DBA TH ? - 71 (Matt. XXV. 4), or actual (as in Luke xii. 36), one thing is certain : no one is prepared for death who is not prepared for heaven. He must have faith (Mark xvi. 16). He must have repenta^ice (Luke xiii. 3). He must be ''born again'' (John iii. 3 ; i John v. i). If he is born but once, he will die twice (Rev. xx. 14, 15 ; John viii. 24). If he is born twice, he will die but once (Rev. ii. 11). XVIL Fear of Death— Causes and Cure. Heb. ii. 14, 15. ^ ' Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same ; that through death he might de- stroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil ; and deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their liie-time subject to bondage." Analyzing this fear we find, as the first cause, the act of dying itself. No doubt God intended that death should be a remembrancer of human guilt, and therefore He made it what it is. Still, this consideration, of itself, ought not unduly to excite our fears. Physicians tell us that much of what we call the "agony of death," physiologically speaking, is less of agony than of insensibility. The hurried breathing, the "death-rattle," and the turned-u^ eye-ball especially, are only signs that the sufferer has lost all consciousness. Thousands probably have suffered a much greater amount of pain, in illnesses from which they recovered, than in that of which they died. It is by no means a matter of course, that the ''parting struggle" should concentrate into it more of agony than that which has been endured at any previous period. And the popu- lar feeling, perhaps, has more of superstition in it than o^ reason, as warranted by the facts which actually exist. The same thing may be said of the dread of the earth-ivorni, as founded on the over-interpreted English version of Job xix. 26, but for which there is not a semblance of 72 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, truth in the Hebrew;* and of being btaied alive, an event so uncommon with any ordinary care, that only a morbid sensibility would ever give it a second thought. When the muscle loses its irritability and becomes rigid — when there is an indication of incipient putrefaction — the evi- dence is conclusive. The sooner all this class of thoughts is dismissed from the mind, the better. It is not the mere act of dying, so much as the being dead, that should be our chief occasion of solicitude. A second and more important cause for the fear of death is undue attachrneiit to the world. We look at our partner in life, our children, our parents,' our wealth, and we find that a dying hour is but a poor season in which to be weaned from the world. Well saith the son of Sirach, **0 Death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions, unto the man that hath nothing to vex him, and that hath prosperity in all things ; yea, unto him tliat is able to receive meat." (Ecclus. xli. I.) Another cause for this fear of death is, lest in that hour we may ho, foiind without a good hope — like a ship without an anchor (Heb. vi. ig). Worldly-mindedness plants many a thorn in the pillow of the bed of death ; it is but a poor preparation either for death or heaven. Let a man make a business of his religion, and a religion of his business, and his hope, like his piety, will grow "brighter and brighter to the perfect day." The only cure for such fears as these is faith in Christ ; " This, only this, subdues the fear of death — A pardon bought with blood ! with blood divine ! " " Tell those that are drawing down to the bed of death, from my experience," said Sir William Forbes, " that it * " WTiile we suppose common worms in graves, it is not easy to find any there ; few in church-yards above a foot deep/' — Sir Thotnas Browne. " And after this my skin is destroyed," etc. — Raymond : Trans, of Job. WHA T IS DEA TH ? 73 has no terrors ; that in the hour when it is most wanted there is mercy with the Most High, and that some change takes place which fits the sonl to meet its God." So said Howard, the philanthropist: "Death has no terrors for me." So said the good Halyburton : "I, a poor, weak, timorous man, once as much afraid of death as any ; I, that have been man}^ years under the terrors of death, come now in the mercy of God, and by the power of His grace composedly and with joy to look death in the face ! This change is what has been well-named ' dying grace, kept for a dying hour,' and that there is such a thing, none can doubt who hav^e been accustomed to witness the death of true believers in Him who hath abol- ished and destroyed death." (2 Tim. i. 10.) XVIII. Indications of Actual Death. Job xiv. 20. ''Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.'* (Cf. Ps. xxxix ; [J;^^Ecc. xii. 1-7. ''The first signs of death are like those of approaching sleep after deep weariness, but far stronger. At the same time a cold sweat is often perceptible on the face and limbs, and the substance of the flesh is sunken and bloodless. There is, perhaps, an uneasy motion ; the hands seem striving to pick small objects, the grasp is firm, the teeth fixed, the lower lip trembles, the body is stretched out, the extremities are cold. The senses one by one are en- feebled, perhaps extinguished. First the sight fails ; spots and flakes appear before the eye, and the fingers strive sometimes to remove these from the covering of the bed ; the countenances of friends are but imperfectly distin- guished ; the candle held closely shines as if through a thick mist ; darkness comes on. Hearing endures long- est, and often the voice of aflfection and the melody of a hymn are sweet to the last. Sometimes the ear fails not 74 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, until long after the power of utterance has ceased, so that a pressure of the hand answers the affectionate question to which the tongue strives in vain to reply. Meanwhile the breath becomes troubled and irregular, more painful, feebler, shorter. The pulse is irembiiug and almost im- perceptible. First the left ventricle, then the right, loses its motion. There is sometimes a laboring, groaning struggle as if in a dream, while all is fainter and fainter, at every successive moment. Perhaps a convulsive stretch precedes the instant in which, after successive ebbs, the breaih expires." — Burgess. Either through a relaxation of muscles held in firm posi- tions during life by dominant principles or passions, or else through the mere absence of emotional play of feature, the countenance often returns to the appearance it wore in childhood. Startling resemblances to relatives or ances- tors, never before noticed, can oftentimes be seen. The happiest change of all is when the tide of life goes down, and with it all the surges of care from the ocean of the years, which now lies still and quietly sparkles with the light from above. And then one departs with glad face unto the presence of God. XIX. Departurp: of the Soul. 1, It leaves the body. - -- Ecc. xii. 7. ' ' The spirit shall return to God who gave it. " ■ (Cf. Luke xvi. 22 and xxiii. 43 ; 2 Cor. v. 6, etc.) Even heathen nations recognize this thought. 2. Never to retiu'jt until the Resurrection. Job xiv. II, 12. "As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up : so man lieth down, and riseth not : till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. Cf. Job vii. 9, 10; x. 21 : xx. 9; Ps. Ixxxviii. 39.' WHA 7' IS DEA TH ? 75 J. Unintei^esied in Life. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 2^. "Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thme eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. ' (Cf. Job xiv. 2 1 and xxi. 21.) 4. Death puts an end to all ea^'thly projects. Job xvii. II. "My days are past, my purposes are broken off.'' . (Cf. Ecc. ix. 10.) XX. Death of the Righteous. Met with resignation. ^ Gen. 1. 24. To be desired. N'um, xxiii. 10. Removes from coming evil. 2 Kings xxii. 20. Waited for. Job xiv. 14. Met without fear. Ps. xxiii. 4. God is with them. Ps. xxiii. 4. God preserves them. Ps. xlviii. 14. Precious in God's sight. Ps, cxvi. 15. Full of hope. Prov. xiv. 32. Paill of peace. Isaiah Ivii. 2. Full of comfort. Luke xvi. 25. To be with Christ. John xvii. 24. To fall asleep. Acts vii. 60. To put on immortality. i Cor. xv. 53. To have death robbed of its sting, i Cor. xv. 56, 57. To be present with the Lord. 2 Cor. v. 8. It is gain. Phil. i. 21. 76 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, A sleep in Jesus, i Thess. iv. 14. Ends in a crown of life. 2 Tim. iv. 8. In a joyful resurrection. Is. xxvi. 19 ; Dan. xii. 2, etc. Is blessed. Rev. xiv. 13. XXI. Death of the Wicked. Foolish. 2 Sam. iii. '^i. Sad to survivors. 2 Sam. xviii. 9, '^i. Often marked by terror. Job xviii. 11-15. Often sudden and unexpected. Job xxi. 13, 17, 21. Like the death of beasts. Ps. xhx. 14. Without hope. Prov, xi. 7. Is in their sins. Ezek. iii. 19 : John viii. 21. God has no pleasure in it. Ezek. xviii. 23, ^i. This illustrated. Luke xii. 20 ; xvi. 22. Follo^v'ed by punishment. Acts i. 25. Sometimes horrible. Acts xii. 23. XXII. Provision for Passing over the Dark River. Josh. i. II and iii. 4. "Prepare you victuals: for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it ; . . • . .for ye have not passed this way heretofore. ' ' I Tim. i. 15. " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." (Cf. I Cor. XV. 31 ; 2 Cor. iv. 11, etc.) " I have often inquired what there is Within us or with- out us on which a sinner can rest in a dying hour. If it be a holy life, there can be no peace for me — taking the law WHA T IS DEA TH ? 77 of God for my standard ; backslider is my name. Yet I think in this sacred volume I find a hope even for me, the chief of sinners." — Isabella Graham. The following passages were found in Mrs. Isabella Graham's pocket, after her decease, as her " provision" for this purpose. Perhaps if others will turn to them in their own Bibles they may prove equally precious. Ex. xvi. 35 ; Deut. viii. 2-6 ; Josh. iii. 5-17 ; Ps. x. 17 ; xxiii. 4 ; li.; Ixii. i, 2, 5, 7 ; Ixxiii. 24 ; ciii ; cvi. i, 4, 5 ; Is. xl. II, 27-31; xliii. 1-4, 24, 25; xliv. 21-23; xlv. 22, 24 ; xlvi. 4 ; Jer. i. 32 ; ii. 13, 14, 17, 31 ; iii. i, 4, 12, 13, 14, 20-22, 25 ; Lam. iii. 27 ; Ezek. xvi. 63 ; xxxiv. 11- 16, 29-31 ; xxxvi. 25-32; Dan. ix. 3-9: Hos. ii. 19,20; xiii. 9 ; xiv. 1-8 ; Joel ii. 12, 13. Matt, xviii. 11 ; John i. 20 ; iii. 14, 31, 33, 35 ; iv. 10 ; vi. 51, 56, 63 ; vii. 37 ; x. 11 ; xi. 25-27 ; xiv. 18-20 ; xv. 1-8 ; xvi. 13-15; xvii. 20-24; Acts iii. 21 ; i Cor. i. 30 ; iii. 21, 22 ; Gal. ii. 20 ; Eph. i. 6, 7, 12 ; ii. 4-22 ; iii. 14-21 ; iv. 4, 15, 16 ; Col. ii 8, 9 ; iii. 3 ; Heb. iv. 14-16 ; viii. 10-12 ; I John v. 9-1 1. XXIII, Timely Warning to be Given. Isaiah xxxviii. i, ''In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death, and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came unto him and said, Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live. '* I. Friends must speak truthfully to sick friends, and tell the sick the real danger of their case. 2. They must remind them of what is preparation for death. 3. Isaiah did this to a king. 4. Preparation is having part in Christ." — A. Bonar. XXIV. Brief Words for the Dying. Ps. ciii. 13. '' Like as a father pitieth his children, so 7 8 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. the Lord pitieth them that fear him. for he knoweth our frame/' Ps, 1. 3. "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee. Deut. xxxiii. 25. '' As thy day so shall thy strength be. ' ' Ps. cxxvii. 2. "He giveth his beloved sleep.'' Is. li. 12. ''I, even I, am he that comforteth you." Ps. xci. 15. "I will be with him in trouble."" Is. xxvii. 8. '' He stayeth his rough wind in the day of his east wind. '" ]Matt. xiv. 27. " It is I ; be not afraid."' 2 Cor. xii. 9. '']\Iy strength is made perfect iii weak- ness. Is.- xxvi. 3. ''Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace ^ whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. Job xiii. 15. '' Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Hmi." Ps. xlviii, 14. '' He will be our Guide even unto death. '" ' Heb. xiii. 5. ''I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Heb. xiii. 8. ''Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever. Ps. Ixxiii. 25, 26. "Whom have I in heaven but thee .^ and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth ; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Eph. ii. 14. " He is our Peace. " i\mos. V. 8. "Who turneth the shadow of death into the mornino". '' jvi/A T IS BE A rn f 79 I John i. 7. "The bkjod of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Luke xxiii. 42. ''Lord, remember me, when thou comest into thy kingdom." Acts vii. 59. " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."" 2 Tim. iv. 22. "The Lord Jesus Christ be with th}' spirit." (Cf. Ps. xxiii. 4 ; Rev. xxi, 4 ; Deut. xxxi. 8 ; Is. xliii. 1-3, etc.) The use of such Scriptures as these has been well com- pared to cordials, and to " a cool breeze for a burning brow." It is " the Word" who lays His healing hand upon the head. One who touched the waters of Jordan said : " It appeared to me that, at a dying hour, the proper exer- cise of the soul is that of calm waiting, and sure expecta- tion of the coming salvation, rather than the performance of a multiplicity of devotional exercises." It is better, therefore, to speak little, and suggest Scriptures rather than an}^ remarks of our own. " Oh, how sweet I" said a dying saint, " when we are too weak to think of Christ, still to /d'^/ that He is precious " " In such a moment as death our eye must rest on nothing but Jesus. Not on self, not on past experience^ not on our having once believed, but altogether and direct- ly on Him whom we are about to see face to face. Neither are we to look on death, nor think of its sting. We are to think of Him who has made death a ' stingless serpent,' a 'powerless enemy,' a 'lion whose great teeth are broken.'" — A. Bouar. " It was the custom among the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans for the nearest relatives to close the eyes of the dead, as, for instance, the husband for the wife and vice versa, the parent for the child, and the child for the parent ; and where such were wanting, one friend did it for an- other. This was looked for by the aged, and its expecta- So THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, tion brought much greater content of mind than they would otherwise have had. This appears by Gen. xlvi. 4, where Jacob, fearing he should die on his way to Egypt, by reason of his extreme old age or the length of the journey, and be thereby deprived of these funeral cere- monies, God, to remove those fears and comfort him, told him he should die in peace, with his children about him, and particularly that ' Joseph should lay his hands on his eyes,' as the text expresses it, which was as much as to say he should close his eyes and take all other care of his funeral." — Thomas Greenhill (1705). XXV. The Body in the Custody of Angels. Jude 9. ''Yet ]\Iichael the archangel, \vhen contend- ing with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said. The Lord rebuke thee.'' (Cf. The guardian angels in the tomb of Christ : IMatt. xxviii. 2-6 ; ]\Iark xvi. 5, 6 ; Luke xxiv. 2-4 ; John xx. 12 ; also Ps. xci. 11, 12 ; Matt. xxiv. 31 ; Mark xiii. 27.) It would seem, from the Sacred Scriptures, as if the bodies of the saints (as well as their 50uls) were entrusted for the time being to the keeping of the holy angels, — a thought in which there is some very precious consolation, *' It is not a Christian thing to die manifesting indiffer- ence as to what is done with the body. That body is re- deemed ; not a particle of its dust but was bought with drops of Christ's precious blood, and shall put on incor- ruption." — Henry Melvill. XXVL The Intermediate State. "On the death of the body the departing spirit is transported into a condition which, in the light of the Gospel, can just as little be conceived of as one of un- JVHA T IS DBA TH ? 5 r conscious sleep, as one of already completed happiness or misery. Rather must it be looked upon as a state of self-consciousness and of p.rehminary retribution, but, at the same time, one of gradual transition to a great final decision — a transition experienced in a world of spirits, in whose various circles Salvation or Perdition is de- termined above all by the inner state of each/' — Van ^^^^•/(^rs:^?^ (''Christian Dogmatics,'' p. 779). XXVII. Grief finding Utterance. I. Lamentation. Job xxiii. I. '' Then Job answered and said, " 2. Even to-day is my complaint bitter : my stroke is heavier than my groaning. "3. Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat I ''4. I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. " 5. I would know the words w^hich he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. "6. Will he plead against me with his great power .^ No ; but he would put strength in me. ''7. There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered forever from my judge. "8. Behold, T go forward, but he is not there ; and backward, but I cannot perceive him : '' 9. On the left hand, where he doth work, but I can- not behold him ; he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him : '' 10. But he knoweth the w^ay that I take : when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 82 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. '' II. ]\Iy foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not dedined. '' 12. Neither have I gone back from* the command- ment of his hps ; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. ''13. But he is in one mind, and who can turn him ? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. " 14. For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me ; and many such things are wdth him. ''15. Therefore am I troubled at his presence : when I consider, I am afraid of him. "16. For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me : "17. Because I w^as not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face. We have often blessed God that there was a 23d chap- ter of Job as well as a 23d Psalm. If it be an evidence that the Bible is of God, because it fits in so perfectly to all the folds of the human heart, surely we have such evi- dence here. V. 2. Sighs and groans are not improper; anguish must have vent. V. 3. The affliction does not seem right to the sufferer. V. 4. He could present many reasons why it appears to him it should be otherwise. V. 5. He would know God's answer. V. 6. It would not be harsh or arbi- trary. He would even help him to present his case in the best form. V. 7. The result of such a conference would be entirely satisfactory. Vv. 8, g. But, in the absence of such an answer, all is dark. Past, present, future — look at it as he will in any of its relations, he cannot understand it. V. 10. His only refuge is Faith. " It ma}^ be the most impenetrable shade that ever any but David or Adam sat under, lament- ing an Absalom or Cain accursed of God. But here is a ray from the throne: 'He knoweth the way that I iakey WIIA T IS BE A TH ? 83 Vv. II, 12, Others may look upon it as a ''judgment," in which there is no mercy — to him it is a mysteriou-s " dis- cipline." V. 13. God makes no mistakes. It is according to the plan of life that he has marked out for him. V. 14. After all, it is not a singular case ; many fellow-sufferers are in the same furnace. V. 16, 17. Such a thought over- whelms, softens him, weans him from this world, and leads him to desire another and a better. 2, Chastening. Ps. xciv. 12. "Blessed is the man whom thou chas- tenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law. Deut viii. 5. "Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Heb. xii. 6. "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." Heb. xii. 7. "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons ; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not } ' * Heb. xii. 8, "If ye be v/ithout chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye .... not sons. Heb. xii. 11. "Now no chastening for the present seemieth to be joyous but grievous, nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby. Heb. xii. 16. "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them rever- ence : shall we not much rather be in subjection to 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." I Cor. xi. 32. "But when we are judged, we are 84 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. chastened of the Lord, that we should not be con- demned with the world/'* Heb. xii. 12. "Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees." Prov. iii. 11, 12. ''My son, despise not the chasten- ing of the Lord ; neither be weary of his correction : for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth ; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. All the afflicted children of God sustain the same rela- tion to him. Whatever be the different forms of chastise- ment, they may avail themselves of the same promises. Whether on the rack or at the stake, or in the midst of sickness, poverty, or bereavement, their trials are alike perfnitted by Him who " knoweth the way that we take." Not willingly does He afflict, but in faithfulness. Does He throw us into the furnace of affliction — perhaps " seven times heated"? It is that we may "come forth as gold." Does he "prune" us? It is that we may "bear more fruit." Does He "empty us from vessel to vessel" ? It is that we may not rest upon our lees. Does He allow calamity to come upon us as on Job ? It is that we may glorify Him in the fires ! " God has his martyrs still^ J. Exhortation. Ps. xlvi. 10. ''Be still, and know that I am God : I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.'' Is. xlviii. 17. "I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the w^ay that thou shouldest go." Mic. vi. 9. " Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it." Lam. iii. 33, " For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." ^ WHA T IS BE A TH ? 85 Job ix. 12. "Behold, he taketh away ; who can hinder him ? who will say unto him, What doest thou?" Job V. 17, 18. "Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth : therefore despise not thou the chasten- ing of the Almighty : for he maketh sore, and bindeth up : he woundeth, and his hands make whole.'" Ps. Iv. 22. "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee : he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved/' Ps. xlvi. I . " God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Ps. XXX. 5. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Ps. xxvii. 14. "Wait on the Lord : be of good cour- age, and he shall strengthen thine heart : v.ait, I say, on the Lord." • No doctrine is so full of consolation and so adapted to yield support in the hour of affliction as *' Himself hath done it" (Is. xxxviii. 15). The Scripture saints understood it well. Afflictions do not come out of the ground ; do not come up by chance ; are not the result of a blind and un- meaning fate. They are not merely the work of Satan or evil men, or any other second cause. "He woundeth, and His hands make whole I" 4. Consolatmt. 2 Cor. i. 3, 4. "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort ; who comforteth us in all our tribula- tion, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith Ave ourselves are comforted of God."' Is. Ixvi. 13. "As one whom his mother comforteth, so 86 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. will I comfort you ; and ye shall be comforted in Jeru- salem. Is. xli. lo. '' Fear thou not ; for I am with thee : be not dismayed ; for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. " ' Is. xliii. 2. ''When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. " ' Is. liv. lo. ''For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed ; but my kindness shall not depart from, thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be re- moved, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." John xiii. 7. "What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter."' Rom. V. 3-5. "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also ; knowing that tribulation worketh pa- tience ; and patience, experience ; and experience, hope : and hope maketh not ashamed ; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. ' ' 2 Cor. iv. 17. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. ' ' Thank God ! in the hour of trouble we are not left to the mercies of a priest or Levite, but the Good Samaritan Him- self is ever ready to pour in oil and wine into our bleed- ing wounds. There is Balm in Gilead. There is a Great Physician there ! WHA T IS DEA TH ? 87 5. ResigJiation. Ps. cxix. 75. ''I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.'' Job xxxvi. 3. "And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker/' Gen. xviii. 2^. " Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right T ' Matt. xxvi. 39. "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me : nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." I Sam. iii. 18. "It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good. Job ii. 10. "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil .^ In all this did not Job sin with his lips." Ps. xxxix. 9. "I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it.'' Job i. 21. "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord." Acts xxi. 14. " The will of the Lord be done."' Hab. iii. 17,18. " Although the fig tree shall not blos- som, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls : yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.'' Ps. Ixxiii. 25, 26. ^ '' Whom have I in heaven but thee .^ and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. i\Iy flesh and my heart faileth ; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. " Christ bore the cross and suffered the shame, among 88 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. other reasons to teach us how to go through suffering. There is a clear distinction between silence and sullenness. A holy silence is the result of submission to God, confi- dence in Christ, and that consolation which is derived from Him/' — Cecil. "" A sinner has no reason to complain ; and a believing sinner — who has God's favour, support, and consolation^* has no reason to complain." — yohn Nezvton. 6. Precious Promises. Ps. xxxiv. 19. '' Many are the afflictions of the right- eous : but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. ' ' Is. xlii. 3. ''A. bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench : he shall bring iorth judgment unto truth." Ps. cxlvii. 3.. "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." Is. xl. 29. " He giveth power to the faint ; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.'' John xiv. 18. ''I will not leave you comfortless : I will come to you. Ps. 1. 15. ''And call upon me in the day of trouble ; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.'"' 2 Cor. xii. 9. ''My grace is sufficient for thee : for my strength is made perfect in weakness. ' ' • Luke vii. 2"^. "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.*' *' It is not a little remarkable that in the Hebrew there is no special term for promise. That which our version renders "promise" is simply "word" — yes, word — no more. God's word is His promise. With men more may be needed, but with one so true, so loving, so powerful, so unchangeable. His word is enough." — A. Bonar. *' Every promise is built upon four pillars, God's Holi- WHA T IS DBA TH ? 89 ness, which will not suffer Him to deceive ; His Grace or Goodness, which will not suffer Him to forget ; His Truth, which will not suffer Him to change ; and His Power, which makes Him able to accomplish." 7. Syynpathy. Job xix. 21. '' Have pity on me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends ; for the hand of God hath touched me. ' ' Job vi. 14. ''To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend.'' Prov. xvii. 17. ''A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. ' ' Rom xii. 15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. ' ' Heb. iv. 15. " For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.'' John xi. 33-35. '' When Jesus therefore saw her weep- ing, and the Jew^s also weeping that came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said. Where have ye laid him } They said unto him. Lord, come and see. Jesus wept." '' O most blessed mourner, with whose tears thy Saviour mingles His own"! O sympathy most unparalleled ! To each of the two stricken and afflicted ones the Lord ad- dressed the very consolation that was most congenial. To Martha He gave exceeding great and precious assurances, in words such as never man spoke. To Mary He com- municated the groanings of His spirit in language more expressive to the heart than any spoken words could be. With Martha Jesus discoursed and reasoned. With Mary Jesus wept He is a patient hearer if you have anything to say to Him ; and He will speak to you as you are able to bear it. . . . For the sorrow that seeks vent in words, and desires also to be soothed by 90 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. words, there is the Saviour's open ear — there are the Saviour's lips into which grace was poured. For the grief that is dumb and silent, there are the Saviour's tears." — Candlish. '' I do not find, in all God's Bible, anything requiring us to acquiesce in the final destruction of any for whom we have prayed, pleaded, and co'mmitted to Him ; least of all, our offspring whom he has commanded us to train up for Him. ' Children are God's heritage.' I do not say He has given us any promise for the obstinately wicked ; but when cut off, He only requires us to be still, to hold our peace. I do not think He takes hope from us." — From " a consoling letter " of Isabella Graham. 8. Sorrow, whe?t Excessive. 1. When we forget remaining mercies like Jacob. Gen. xxxvii. 35. 2. When we are so absorbed in our own sorrow as to for- get that of others. Phil. ii. 21. 3. When it sours the spirit and excites mourning. Is. xxix. 24. 4. When it preys upon the health. 2 Cor. ii. 7. 5. When it unfits us for our duties. ]Mark xiv. t^S. 6. When we voluntarily excite and stimulate our grief. 2 Sam. xxi. 10. 7. When we become impatient like a bullock unac- customed to the yoke. Jer. xxxi. 18. 8. When, like Jonah at the withering of his gourd, we become angry, and wilh whom .^ Jonah iv. 9. 9. When with the man of Mt. Ephraim we exclaim in the bitterness of our disappointment, ''Ye have taken away my gods, and what have I more T ' Judges xviii. 24. 10. When ours is ''the sorrow of the world, that worketh death." 2 Cor. vii. 10 ; Prov. xvii. 22. WHA T IS DBA TH ? ■ 91 •'Sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. Every other wound we seek to heal ; every other affliction to forget : but this wound we consider it a duty to keep open ; this affliction we cherish and brood over in solitude." — Irvuig. *' There is a kind of delight in sorrow," says Seneca. Yes, there is, but it is a subtile form of selfishness, and eats into the heart as doth a canker. Beware of it as you would beware of poison. XXVIII. Advice to the Bereaved. Is. xl. I. ''Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 1. The Author of your bereavement is God. "Why dost thou strive against him V' Job xxxiii. 13. 2. Your dearest relatives are not your chief good. The Creator is better than the creature, and God is still left to you. Ps. Ixxiii. 25. 3. However unexpected the death of your relative or friend, you enjoyed their societ}- during every moment allotted by heaven. Job xiv. 5. 4. Whatever be your grief for the death of your children, it might have been still greater from their life, 2 Sam. xvi. II. 5. God may have taken him from the evil to come. Is. ivii. I, 2. 6. To be human is to be mortal ; at some time you must part, and this time is the best. Ps. xxxi. 15. 7. Perhaps you said of your child as Lamech said of his : "This same shall comfort us.'' If so, you were building on the sand. Matt. vii. 2(i. 8. The hope of resurrection still remains, {ci) The same body shall be restored. Job xix. 2*]. {b) You will 92 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. recognize it again, i Thess. ii. 19. (c) You will meet, never more to part. Rev. xxi. i ; iii. 1 2. 9. It is as easy for God to revive, as to extinguish, our comforts. Ps. xviii. 28. 10. God can give you something better than you have lost. Is. Ivi. 5. 11. By indulging excessive grief you give advantage to the adversary and dishonour God. Ps. Ixxiii. 13-15 ; Ps. xlii. 3. 12. You have not seen the end of your affliction as yet, so as to understand all its merciful designs. Ps. cxix. 67, 71. Such are some of the "considerations" of the excellent Flavel, which have been tested too long and too often to leave any doubt as to their value. The simple difference between the believer and the un- believer, in times of trial, is just this : The unbeliever, judging of the character of God by the tryijig dispensation^ does not look beyond the circle of his own selfishness. * He judges of the surgeon by the knife and saw and cau- tery, and the present suffering ihat they occasion, rather than by the real design and future gain of such a torture. The believer, on the other hand, judges of his trials by the character of God—oi the nature of the operation by the character of the surgeon. This calamity, he says, is no accident— no chance — no fate — it is the Finger of God. When asked whether he sees the reason of his heavy trial, he says with Dr. Payson : "No ! but, assured that it is God's will, I am just as well satisfied as if I had ten thou- sand reasons." XXIX. Positive Signs of Death. Premature interment is feared by many, and it is im- portant to know the positive signs of death. The princi- pal points are : WHA T IS BE A TH f 93 1. The '' Hippocratic visage.'' — In this ''the nose is pointed ; eyes are sunk ; temples hollow ; ears cold and shrivelled, and with lobes turned up ; skin of forehead hard, tense and dry ; color of face pale, black, livid, or of a leaden hue." 2. The " rigor mortis'' or stiffening of the limbs and body. Carpenter (" Human Physiology," p. 864) requires this rigidity to be well marked. 3. Putrefaction generally begins by a discoloration of the abdomen. Its odor places the fact beyond doubt. 4. Other signs are : loss of elasticity in the eyelids, which remain as they are placed; absence of breath or pulse, though these are not positive indications of death ; and the coldness and insensibility of the body. [See fur- ther on these points Am. Med. Recorder, V., p. 39 ; '' Med- ical Aspects of Death," by Harrison, London, 1852 ; *' On Trance and Catalepsy," Quart. Journal Psychological Med- icine, HI., 647; Wharton & Stille, or Beck's, "Medical Jurisprudence," or any reliable work on Human Physiol- ogy-] 5. If doubt exists as to death, refuse the ice-box. If color, heat, flexibility of limbs, etc., remain, do not per- mit burial. Josat gives 162 instances of recovery from a trance or cataleptic condition. Apparent death was long- est in hysteria, and shortest in concussion of the brain. It lasted in 7 cases from 36 to 42 hours ; 20 cases from 20 to 36 hours; 47 cases from 15 to 20 hours ; 58 cases from 8 to 15 hours ; 30 cases from 2 to 8 hours. Cataleptics feel pain, hear, and think as usual, but are motionless and helpless. Use 7to barbarous methods to re- suscitate them. Proper care will prevent all mistakes. Bodies turn in their coffins from other reasons than a struggle for life, e.g. development of gases. After death the hair and beard and nails frequently grow ; food sometimes digests ; the kidneys and liver occasionally secrete as before ; and it is reported that the teeth increase, now and then, in size. 94 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, XXX. The Law of BuR'iAL. From a report presented by Samuel B. Ruggles (see H. T. Tuckerman's article in the Chrisiian Examine?', November, 1856, p. 338) we take the following concise statement of the rights inherent in relatives of the de- ceased. It is there demonstrated : — " I. That neither a corpse, nor its burial, is legally sub- ject in any way to ecclesiastical cognizance, nor to sacer- dotal power of any kind. " 2. That the right to bury a corpse and to preserve its remains is a legal right, which the courts of Jaw will rec- ognize and protect. '*3. That such right, in the absence of any testamentary disposition, belongs to the next of kin. " 4. That the right to protect the remains, includes the right to protect them by separate burial, and to select the place of sepulture, and change that at pleasure. *'5. That if the place of burial be taken for public use, the next of kin may claim to be indemnified, for the ex- pense of removing and suitably re-interring the remains." Cemeteries have rules of their own which can be easily obtained, and which no general guide could well supply. The word "cemetery" itself means ''sleeping-place." In a similar manner the Jews called their burial-places by such names as ' '' house of assembly, ' ' ' ' hostelry, ''place of rest/'' ''place of freedom.*'" ''field of the weepers, " " house of eternity, " " house of life. ''O eloquent, just, and mighty Death! Whom none could advise, thou hast persuaded ! What none have dared, thou hast done ! And whom all the world hath flattered, thou only hast cast out of the world and diespised ! Thou hast drawn together all the far-fetched greatness, all the pride, cruelty, and ambition of man : and covered it all over with these two narrow words : Hie jacet.*^ —Sir Walter Raleigh : Conclusion of his "' History of the World." III. THE FUNERAL. "The life of a Christen man is nothynge but a readines to dye, and a remembraunce of death." Hugh Latimer : Seventh Sennon before Edw. VI, THE FUNERAL. I. The Duties of the Clergyman. The late Rev. Enoch Pond, D. D. (Professor for many years in the Theological Seminary at Bangor, Me.), has given such explicit and capital directions concerning funeral services, that we condense them here from his ' ' Young Pastor' s Guide. '" ' 1. A minister has no option ; he must attend them. They are matters in which his feelings, duties, and inter- ests are equally involved. 2. The mode of attending funerals is different in dif- ferent places. But the services embrace always an address and a prayer. In the country they are often of more general importance than in town. 3. The services, including hymns and Scripture, should be appropriate. There should be no same?iess and iini- forinity. Let the peculiarities of the case direct the minister how to adapt his services. 4. Let the manner of the speaker be sympathetic, sub- dued, and tender. If a man love his people it can hardly be otherwise. He can be faithful and tender, too. 5. The services should be short. ]\Iost funeral pray- ers. Dr. Pond thinks, are too long, either because they are too general, or too particular. 6. The reasons for brevity are plain. There must be 98 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. time to see the face, to attend the body to the grave, and to return. 7. The true object of funeral addresses is not so much to eulogize the dead, as to instruct, comfort, and benefit the Hving. 8. It may be proper to speak of the vices of the de- ceased, when these have resulted in ruin : but only in the way of charity and kindness — if at all. 9. Let the speaker trace the overruling providefice of God. 10. Let him show this as the true ground of comfort. It comforted Eli: ''It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good.'"' i Sam. iii. 18. 1 1 . Consolation can be drawn often from the character of the dead. ]\Iourners are always partial friends, and they love to hear a kind word from their minister. But the minister must keep soberly within the truth. 12. Other consolations are those of religion, in case one has died in hope and peace. In cases of rather doubtful piety one had best be silent He need disturb no hopes, but he must be careful not to lower the standard of Christian living. 13. Dr. Pond objects to saying openly that the dead are lost. The inference is hard enough to bear. 14. Funeral sermons generally are to be discouraged — • especially wjien one is expected to take the Sabbath for them. It certainly ought not to be expected. Indeed, one may remark, that of late years it is unusual to look for a formal discourse, unless the dead person has held public positions or possessed extended influence. 15. Very properly, too, Dr. Pond opposes Sunday THE FUNERAL. 99 funerals. And if the ministers of our various towns and cities combined to oppose all but those which were im- perative, there would be a marked advantage gained. 1 6. As to going beyond one's own pa7'ish, Dr. Pond counsels prudence and wisdom. Let one not be used to encourage churches, or communities, in depending upon other pastors, and refusing to have what they are well able to support. We may add that Christian and ministerial courtesy strictly require, that one should never supersede a brother minister, in the duty w^hich belongs to him as the pastor of the dead. Nor should families neglect that polite and kindly treatm.ent of the clergyman, which, when forgotten, makes this part of his duty sometimes both difficult and delicate. 17. Finally, let the minister be punctual. Anything but dilatoriness at a funeral ! II. Preparation for Burial. ' ' When we have received the last breath of our friend and closed his eyes," says good Jeremy Taylor, ''there is a time to w^eep and lament, as he is worthy. Some- thing is to be given to custom, something to fame, to nature, and to civilities, and to the honor of the deceased friend. "When thou hast wept a while, compose the body to burial : which, that it be done gravely, decently, and charitably, we have the example of all nations to engage us, and of all ages of the world to warrant ; so that it is against common honesty, and public fame and reputation, not to do this office. "It is good that the body be kept veiled and secret, lOO THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. and not exposed to curious eyes ; or the dishonors brought by the changes of death discerned and stared upon by impertinent persons. ^'Let it be interred after the manner of the country, and the laws of the place, and the dignity of the person. For so Jacob was buried with great solemnity, and Joseph's bones were carried into Canaan, and devout men carried Stephen to his burial, making great lamentation over him. And so our blessed Saviour was pleased to ad- mit the cost of Mary's ointment, because she did it for his burial. In this, as in everything else, as our piety must not pass into superstition, or vain expense, so neither must the excess be turned into parsimony, and impiety to the memory of the dead. III. Ministers of Christ to be sent for. Acts ix. 36-39. ''Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas : this woman was full of good works and alms- deeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days that she was sick, and died :- whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And foras- much as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto hirn two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. Every one who dies in a Christian land is entitled to a Christian burial, and the minister who refuses such ser- vice has little sympathy with the apostle or with Barnabas, the "Son of consolation," and least of all with his Master. '' Learn much of Christ in such an hour," says McCheyne. " Study Him at the grave of Lazarus (John xi.); at the gate of Nain (Luke vii.), and also ' within the veil' (Rev. i. 18)." THE FUNERAL, lOI IV. The First Funeral. Gen. xxiii. 2-4, 19, 20. ''And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. And iVbraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you : give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight And after this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before IMamre : the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. And the field and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying-place by the sons of Heth."' " I. Here is deep feeling for a fellow-pilgrim's death. 2. Here is the pilgrim feeling increased : anew he con- fesses that he is but a stranger here. 3. Here is faith as well as feeling, for therefore it is he buries Sarah in Canaan. He believes the word of God about that land, and he looks forward to resurrection by Him who is to be revealed there. 4. These are the accompaniments of the yfrj-/ /2m^r<^/ mentioned in the Bible." — A, Bonar. V. The Burial of Rachel. Gen. xlviii. 7. ' ' And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me, in the land of Canaan, in the w^ay, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath : and I buried her there, in the way of Ephrath ; the same is Beth-lehem. In these broken sentences one can almost hear the sighs and heart-throbs of the departing patriarch. The scene of Rachel's death was just as vivid before his mind, as though it had occurred but the day before. (Cf. Abraham's burial. Gen. xxv. g ; Isaac's, Gen. xxxv. 29 ; Jacob's, Gen. 1., and Abner's, 2 Sam, iii. 31.) I02 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. \Other inslances : — Aaron, Deut. x. 6, Saul, 2 Sam. ii. 4, 5 ; I Chron. x. ii, I2 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 12-14. Samson, Judges xvi. 31. The head of Ishbosheth, 2 Sam. iv. 12. Rehoboam, i Kings xiv. 31. Asa, i Kings xv. 24. Jehosh- aphat, I Kings xxii. 50. Ahaziah, 2 Kings ix. 27, 28. Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxxii. 33. Ananias and Sapphira, Acts V. 6, 9, 10.] VI. The Burial of Jesus. ''And now when the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, ... a good man and a just,. . . who was a disciple of Jesus, . . . who went in boldly unto Pilate and craved the body of Jesus. And w^hen Pilate knew of the centurion that Jesus was already dead, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and came and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, who brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound i.t in the linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre hewn out of the rock, where- in was never man laid, which belonged to Joseph. And there was Mary ^Magdalene and ]\Iary, the mother of Jo- ses, sitting over against the sepulchre, and beheld where he was laid. And they returned and prepared spices and ointments.'' — Gospels in Harmony. Joseph and Nicodemus — the two Marys — the fine linen the winding-sheet — the spices — the new sepulchre — the " sitting over against the sepulchre." — How suggestive all these incidents to the " disciples of Jesus" ! ''All the thoughts and exercises of my mind are em- ployed in the tomb of Jesus. He is dead — I die with Him. THE FUNERAL, 103 To please Him I will mortify my sinful flesh. All my desires and lusts will I take captive. I will bury them in His grave. Never shall they rule again in me. His death shall be my life. If I die with Him I shall also live with Him. I will wet His grave with the tears of penitence. My heart shall be the fine clean linen into which I will wrap Him. Thus will His sufferings bless my soul. I will seal up His remembrance in my heart. Love shall be the seal. When I die I shall die in His arms. Delightful rest shall I enjoy there. His shroud shall be my ornament ; His coffin my grave." — Old Writer. *'The good man placed the body of Jesus in a tomb in the rock where yet never man was laid. Let there be hewn out oi your rocky hearts, not a sepulchre for the dead, but a residence for the living Christ." — Fto))i extem- pore speech of Dr. John Hall. "Looking into the perfect law of liberty" is, literally, *' stooping down and looking in." When we have done so we find that the Christ, whom no mere words can hold in their rocky embrace, has risen and comes to call us by our very name. Happy are we if we are able to say " Rabboni !" VII. Deprivation of Burial a Calamity. Ecc. vi. 3, 4. "If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, sO that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that < he have no burial ; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. For he cometh in' with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness." (Cf. Deut. xxviii. 26 ; i Kings xvi. 4 ; xxi. 23, 24 ; 2 Kings ix. 10, "^"i ] Ps. Ixxix. 2 ; Is. xiv. 19 ; Jer. vii. ^'^ ; xvi. 4 ; xxv. 33 ; xxxiv. 20 ; Mark vi. 29 ; Acts ii. 29, etc.) I^^Ezek. xxxix. 11-16. The important inference to be drawn from this loss of 104 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. burial, is that of the sacredness of the human body. He who bids us render our bodies to his service, teaches us to honor them even after death. VIII. Burial AMONG PRniiTivE Christians. In the early ages of the Church, when, to use a strik- ing figure of Jerome, ''the blood of Christ was yet warm in the veins of His disciples," they were distinguished by their care for the dead, and their sympathies with the afflicted. Their funeral solemnities they celebrated with gravity and propriety, with the intent of showing due re- spect to the deceased, and of administering consolation to the survivors. Their funeral services were performed as a public religious duty ; and this is one of the three points in which they were commended by the apostate Julian. "The early Christians were accustomed to entertain cheerful views of death, as a soft and gentle slumber, from which they awoke to a joyful immortality. The com- mon emblems of death on their sepulchral monuments were an anchor, a lyre, a harp, a ship under full sail ; or a phoenix, a crown, a palm, or other symbols of hope, and of victory, and of joy." — Coleman : "Ancient Christianity." IX. Cremation. This was purely a heathen practice. Dr. Becker, in his '' Charicles," gives an exhaustive sketch of Greek funereal customs, it is interesting to observe how many of these we have made our own — ^.^., the right of a corpse to burial ; the anointing and washing of the body and the use of the white shroud ; the employment of garlands of flow- ers ; the laying out of the dead and the attendance of the relatives and friends : the burial on the third dav ; the THE FUNERAL. 105 procession following the bier, which is borne by relatives or friends : the final burying in a wooden or stone coffin. But we have his high authority for saying that burning was no more frequent than burying. We have Christian- ized the ordinary Greek ceremonies — omitting the obolus between the teeth and the honey-cake by the hand. But we will find it hard to adopt the idea of cremation, in the face of the evident dislike to it in scripture. The ''burn- ings of the kings" were not the burning of their bodies, but of fragrant woods and incense (2 Chron. xvi. 14 ; Jer. xxxiv. 4, 5). (Cf. I Sam. xxxi. 12 ; Amos ii. i ; vi. 9, 10.) X. Obituaries, Inscriptions, and Epitaphs. I. The Obitua7y is a notice of a person' s death, accom- panied by a brief sketch of his life and character. Brev- ity, truth, fitness, and force are essential qualities. In obituaries it seems proper to mention salient features and incidents of the life — fine characteristics — distinguished public and private services — and, under certain circum- stances, the peculiar nature of the death. Fulsome flat- tery or eulogy is wrong. A just, discriminating, and manly tribute to the memory of the deceased, executed in good taste, is always best. 2. Monumental Inscriptions, " It is natural that filial piety, parental tenderness, and conjugal love, should mark with some fond memorial the spot where the once loved form now moulders into dust. A marble monument, with an inscription palpably false, or ridiculously pompous, is as really offensive to true taste as I06 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. the skull and cross-bones. . . . The style of such in- scriptions is usually too diffuse." — Alexander Knox. J. Epitaphs. Legh Richmond says, ^'I have often lamented .... that some of the inscriptions were coarse and ridiculous ; others absurdly flattering ; many expressive of senti- ments at variance with the true principles of the word of God ; not a few barren and unaccompanied with a single word of useful instruction to the reader. ... I wish that every gravestone might not only record the names of our deceased friends, but also proclaim the name of jesus, as the only name given under heaven whereby men can be saved. '' The first requisite in an epitaph is that it should speak, in a tone which shall sink into the heart,- the general lan- guage of humanity as connected with the subject of death — the source from which an epitaph proceeds ; of death and life. To be born, and to die, are the two points in which all men feel themselves to be in absolute coin- cidence." — Wordsworth, IV. HINTS FOR SERMONS AND ADDRESSES. •' In the Scriptures he finds four things ; precepts for life, doctrines for knowledge, examples for illustration, and prom- ises for comfort : these he hath digested severally." George Herbert : "A Ffiest to the Temple.'' IV.— HINTS FOR SERMONS AND ADDRESSES. I. Death in Infancy. Jer. xxxi. 15-17. "Thus saith the Lord, 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. Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears : for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord ; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border." I. The human sense of loss. 2 The divine comfort. 3. The reward of work. 4. The hope for the children. Matt. xix. 14. " But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me ; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. I. "Redemption," says Mercein,"^ "placed the first child in its mother's arms." 2. The less we know of evil wisdom the easier it is to " come to Jesus. '^ 3. We are forbidden to forbid them. 4. Heaven is their happiest place ; the city is "full of boys and girls playing in the streets" (Zech. viii. 5). 2 Kings iv. 26. '' Run now^, I pray thee, to meet her, ■^ "Childhood and the Church," p. 19. no THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, and say unto her, Is it well with thee ? is it well with thy husband ? is it well with the child ? And she answered. It is well. ' ' "Whatever has been His will is well — grandly well — well even for that in me which feared, and in those very respects in which it feared that it might not be well. The whole being of me, past and present, shall say: it is in- finitely well, and 1 would not have it otherwise." — George MacDonald. This was : i. Death by a summer sickness. 2. A sud- den death. 3. The death of an only child. — The light of faith is brighter because of the rifted cloud through which it shines. Gen. xxi. 16. ''For she said, Let me not see the death of the child. ' ' Hagar, — The mother's struggle. i. It was her child. 2. It was a child whom she hoped to see in a high station: 3. The grief and disappointment over the impending death. [This is not the child of prayer and promise that Isaac was.] Sol. Song vi. 2. '' My beloved is gone down into his garden, . . . to gather lilies." I. How pure they are ! 2. Yet how easily they sully and fade ! 3. He who loves them gathers them soon. 4. It is the Beloved and it is His garden. 2 Sam. xii. 2^^. "But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast } can I bring him back again } I shall %o to him, but he shall not return to me.*' I. Persistent grief is always wrong, because it is useless. 2. We shall go to the children. 3. We are led thus to think more of heaven, for it makes it more homelike to have the children there. 21^^ David's sin was the scribe of his sorrow. His crime had a resurrection in his grief. Note : that we TEXTS, TOPICS, AND HINTS. ill may repent and be forgiven, but God does not intend that we should /^r^3, 34. ''And the king lamented over Ab- ner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth ? Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters : as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him. Ps. Ixxxii. 6, J. ''I have said, Ye are gods; but ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.'"' Ezek. xix. 11, 12. "And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, alid her stature was ex- alted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to ihe ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit : her strong rods were broken and withered ; the fire consumed them.'' The death of good rulers is a great affliction. Jer. xli. 2. '' Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made gov- ernor over the land. Death by assassination. Cf. Eglon, Judges iii. 20. Is. xl. 23. '' That bringeth the princes to nothing ; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity." VI. Miscellaneous Topics and Hints. Ps. xxxvi, 9. " For with thee is the fountain of life : in thy light shall we see light. 134 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. God, the author of life and the fountain of life. Not light beyond only, but light here. In His light : not in philosophy, nor in occupation, nor in amusement, nor in unavailing regret, nor in fancies that we have communica- tion with the departed, but in the true consolations of re- ligion. "And the Life was the Light of men" (John i. 4). Ps. xlvi. I. '' God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." "A help to be greatly found in distresses" is the literal version. A centre in which to come to rest, a-s from cen- trifugal force ; a centre from which to begin anew, as from centripetal force. The tendency in grief is to expend it- self in action, or to shut itself away in contemplation. This avoids both extremes. Ps. xlix. 4. ''I win incline mine ear to a parable : I will open my dark saying upon the harp." The story of death is indeed a '' dark saying." Let us treat it — i. By way of parable : in showing its resem- blances and analogies of instruction. 2. By way of har- mony : in reducing its disorder to melody, if we can. Ps. xxxix. 4. '' Lord,- make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is ; that I may know how frail I am." Ps liter: *' That I maybe certified how long I have to live." Marginal reading : *'What time I have here." Sepiuagint : "That I may know what comes afterward." M. Henry : " Lord, give me wisdom and grace to con- . sider it (Deut. xxxii. 29), and to improve what I know concerning it." Jam. Fauss. and Brown : *' Lit. * when I shall cease.' " A.Bonar: "A pilgrim-spirit, one journeying through a world of vanity and praying at every step to be taught and kept in the will of God." Hebrew : **I will know how leaving off I am." The text suggests : i. The shortness of life. 2. The im.portance of right opinions. TEXTS, TOPICS, AND HINTS. 135 3. The help into trust upon God, which comes from the consideration of our own weakness and inevitable fate. Matt. ii. 15. "And was there until the death of Herod." The word here for death is *' end." It was the close of Herod's hopes and power. There was nothing afterward. His life was simply an obstruction. Ps. Iv. 19. ''Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God." It is an unfortunate matter to have an easy and prosper- ous and sheltered life, in such a view as this. The soul requires to be shaken out of its security. Note : the blessings of the unconverted are often a final source of doubt and of regret. How much have they understood them ? and valued them ? Ps. cvii. 43. "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord." Notice the construction of the Psalm. The chorus is : '* O that men would praise the Lord/' etc. The anti- chorus is : " Then they cried unto the Lord," etc i. The " redeemed of the Lord" are here instructed. 2. So are "fools," i.e. the thoughtless and ignorant and foolish. 3. So are " they that go down to the sea in ships." 4. So are the tillers of the land. The text is the sum of all these things, a message to Christians, to the impenitent, and to the toilers by sea and by land. Ps. Ixxiii. 3, 4. "For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death : but their strength is firm." ''•Then understood I their end"; " How are they brought into desolation as ifi a moment" ; " They are utterly con- sumed with terrors." To be used, not by way of sever- ity, but by contrast with the Christian, " Bands," i.e. pains 136 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. — the idea being that the wicked often have an easier phys- ical death than the righteous. We should covet, not the temporary, but the eternal riches. Mark ix. 10. ''And they kept that saying with them- selves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean." This was after the Transfiguration, i. The " saying" was that the Son of Man should rise from the dead. 2. Moses (whom God buried, Deut. xxxiv. 6 ; Jude 9) and Elijah iwhom God translated, 2 Kings ii. 11) appear and talk with Jesus, coming there from heaven, as did the voice (2 Pet. i. 16-18). VII. Peculiar and Special Cases. I. Suicide. Job X. I. " My soul is weary of my life." Contrast this with Paul : ''Who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?" and Christ : " My soul is exceed- ing sorrowful even unto death." 'To learn to say *'Thy will be done" puts the possibility of suicide entirely away. Cf. Ecc. ii. 17 ; iv. 2, 3. Job iii. 20-22. " Wherefore is hght given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul ; which long for death, but it cometh not ; and dig for it more than for hid treasures ; which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave V ' This is the old problem of existence. To cut the Gor- dian knot is not to untie it. The seatfnel must remain at his post until relieved. *' In every man's life come awful moments when he must meet his fate — ' dree his weird ' — alone. Alone, I say, if he have no God — for man or woman cannot aid him, TEXTS, TOPICS, AND HINTS. 137 cannot touch him, cannot come near him." — George Mac- Donald, Num. xi. 15. ''And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight ; and let me not see my wretchedness/' And this was Moses ! "What a battle-giound is the soul of man! We are given up to those gods^ those monsters, those giants — our thoughts. Often these terrible belligerents trample our very souls down in their mad cowfixziy — Victor Htigo. Job vii. 15, 16. ''So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. I loathe it ; I would not live alvvay : let me alone ; for my days are vanity." Death desired, through utter weariness. Cf. Rev. ix. 6 ; Jonah iv. 3, 8. Jer. XX. 18. "Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame V ' There will be present at the funeral of a suicide — i. The " shamed" ones. 2. The curious ones. 3. The scoffers and skeptics. 4. The perplexed Christians. Their ques- tions will be the same thought put in different shapes, and this text will serve as a focus into which to collect them. (Cf. Ahithophel^ 2 Sam. xvii. 23 ': yiidas, Matt, xxvii. 5 ; Saul^ I Sam. xxxi. and i Chron. x. ; Hainan, Esth. vii. 10 ; Samscfi, Judges xvi. 29, 30.) 2. A fallen woman. 2 Kings ix. 34. " Bury her : for she is a king's daugh- ter. ' ' I. We are not to refuse to perform such a funeral service. 2. We are to remember that she was " a king's daughter." 3. For the sake of what she was we must " take up ten- derly" what she is. 138 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. This is the key note of Hood's '* Bridge of Sighs." (^^* To take texts or themes for such occasions after the fashion of the old divines (see Mather's ''Magnalia") is neither wise nor right. Is. xlvii. 7, 8. ''And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for- ever : so that thou didst not lay these things to thy^eart, neither didst remember the latter end oi it. Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else besides me ; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children. The "social evil" involves the serious fact that many are elevated by it from poverty and loneliness, into a transient wealth and to the centre of admiration. They say, (i) " We shall be ladies always." They forget (2) the " latter end" of it all. They sometimes (3) refuse wifehood and motherhood. But (4) there is an end to it all. (5) That end comes very soon, ordinarily within three or five 3-ears. John viii. 7. ^' So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them. He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." "John vii. 53 to viii. 11 is the second and most extended omission [in the Revised New Testament] from John's Gospel. It is omitted by the Sinaitic, the Alexandrine, the Vatican, the older Parisian, and four later uncials, and by cursive 33; but in the Alexandrine and older Parisian and two of the later uncials — that is, in, half of the uncials which omit the passage — there is a blank space, in- dicating that something is omitted ; the text being erased or its copying deferred. It is found in the Cambridge, D, and other uncials, in the cursives generally, in the Lat. Vulgate, as it is in the * Koine Ekdosis ' of the Greek Church ; while Greek and Latin fathers, cited bv Poole TEXTS, TOPICS, AND HINTS. 139 and Tregelles, refer to the omitted narrative as found in John's Gospel. It is omitted as spurious by Tregelles ; and it is put in brackets by the English revisers." — Dr. G. W. Samson : '' Revisers' Text Unauthorized." Shall the servant of Christ avoid the responsibility of a sermon to men on such an occasion ? John viii. 11. '' iVnd Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee : go, and sin no more.'' This, for one who has died repentant. Compare Jos. vi. 17 (with Heb. xi. 31 and Jas. ii. 25) ; Matt. xxi. 31, 32 ; Luke vii. 37. J. Cases of long sickness, pam, and iveariJtess, Job iii. 22. " Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave. ' ' Death long desired and welcome. *' I go out of life," said Cicero, " as from an inn and not from a home." Job iii. 17. '' There the wicked cease from troubling ; and there the weary be at rest." Rest: I. From the perplexities and trials of life. 2. From its burden and its toil, 3. From its longing and its fatigue. Is. xxxiii. 24. ''And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick : the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." What aland ! No sickness ; no sorrow; no sin. The "inhabitant": i7i?<^. " neighbour." Th.Q neighbourliness oi the other world. 4. Death by casualties. 2 Sam. ii. 23. " Howbeit he refused to turn aside : wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him ; and he fell down there,' and died in the same place ; I40 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still/'* ^ The unexpected '^ hinder end" of the spear smote Asahel. Cf. 2 Kings ix. 24. Also I Kings xxii. 34 (with- 2 Chron. xviii. 33), the bow '' drawn at a venture." Judges ix. 53. '' Anda certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull." " All to" is an abbreviated form of " altogether." Lev. X. 5. ''So they w^ent near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp ; as Moses had said.'' These were Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. They were burned to ashes and gathered up from the flame. Luke xiii. 4. ''Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem .^ (Cf. I Kings XX. 30; Job i. 19.) Men cannot be too careful how they undertake to inter- pret "judgments," lest one day they be measured out of their own bushel and fall short. 2 Sam. XX. 12, 13. "And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still. When he was removed out of the highsvay, all the people wxnt on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.'' " So strong in human hearts the thought of death," and therefore the wisdom of cgnnecting with every death some gospel truth. TEXTS, TOPICS, AND HINTS. 141 5. Sudden Death, I Sam. XX. 3. ''And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes ; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved : but truly, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. ' ' Nearness of death. " We term sleep a death, and yet it is waking that kills us and destroys those spirits that are the house of life." — Sir Thomas Bi'owne. 1 Sam. iv. 15, 18. ''Now Eli was ninety and eight years old ; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died : for he was an old man, and heavy.'' Death from a broken heart. " The good old man, after ninety and eight years, sits in the gate, as one that never thought himself too aged to do God's service. . . . No sword of a Philistine could have slain him more painfully, neither know I whether his neck or his heart were first broken." — Bp. Hall. Prov. xxvii. i. "Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.'"' '* O that we had spent but one day in this world thorough- ly well !'* — Thomas a Kempis. (Cf. Jas. iv. 13, 14 ; Ecc. ix. 10, 12 ; Ps. xxxix. 4 and xc. 12 ; Heb. ii. 15.) 2 Cor. V. 10. "We must all appear before the judg- ment 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.'' 142 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD, Death a summons to judgment. " If / am not for me, who shall? — If I am 07ily for me, what am I? — And if not now, when?'' — Attributed to R. Hillel. Ecc. xii. 13, 14. ''Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter ; Fear God, and keep his commandments : for this is the whole duty of man. P'or God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.'' " The expression in the original — ' This is the whole of man,' — has not, that I am aware of, any parallels by which it might be illustrated. The supplement of the word duty destroys its evidently designed comprehensiveness. It is not only the whole duty, but the whole honor, and interest, and happiness of man." — Wardlaw. 6. Fo)' those who have beeii ?jmch afflicted. Ps. Ixxi. 20. ''Thou which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.'' Rev. vii. 14." " These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Matt. xi. 6. "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. " 7. Death in child-bed. Rachel. Gen. xxxv. 16. Phinehas wife, i Sam. iv. 19. 8. A sailo?' ' s death. Ps. Iv. 8. "I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest. Ps. cvii. 29, 30. "He maketh the storm a calm, so TEXTS, TOPICS, AND HINTS. 143 that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet : so he bringeth them unto their desired haven/' Rev. XX . 1 3 , ^ ' And the sea gave up the dead which were in it/' p. A rich man. Ps. xlix. 6, 7. ''They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches ; none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him." Job xxix. 18. "Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand." Luke xii. 20. " But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee : then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided .?'" "Man," says the Talmud, "'is born with his hands clenched, he dies with his hands wide open. Entering life, he desires to grasp everything; leaving the world, all that he possessed has slipped away." 10. A poor man, Luke xvi. 22. ''And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom/' 11. A repeniajit criminal. Luke xxiii. 43. "And Jesus said unto him. Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in para- dise. ' ' 12. A careless person. Job xiv. 10. " But man dieth and wasteth away : yea, man giveth up the ghost and where is he T' 144 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. I J, A zvitty man. Ecc. vii. 3. ''Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better." 14. A fearsome death. Job iv. 15. ''Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up/' i^. A ' ' spoj'tmg man. Job ix. 25. " My days are swifter than a post/' Rev. vi. 8. " And I looted, and behold a pale horse : and his name that sat on him was Death/"' Prov. xvi. '^'^. "The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord/' 16. For a lime of pestilejice. Lam. ii. 21. "The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets : my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword ; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger ; thou hast killed, and not pitied/' Cf. Ex. xii. 30. VIIL The Burial of Our Lord. [Condensed from Townsend's Arrangement of the New Tes- tament.] iVnd after this, when the even was come, because it was the Preparation (that is the day before the Sabbath), there came a rich man of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, named Joseph, an honorable counsellor ; and he was a good man, and a just ; who also himself waited for the Kingdom of God ; being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews (the same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them) ; this man came, and went in TEXTS, TOPICS, AND HINTS. 145 boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus : and besought Pilate, that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead ; and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead ? And when he knew^ it of the centurion, Pilate gave him leave ; and commanded the body to be delivered to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and he came, therefore, and look the body of Jesus. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth ; and there came also Nicodemus (which at the first came to Jesus by night), and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in clean linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was cruci- fied there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepul- chre, and [Joseph] laid the body in [this] his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock, w^herein was never man yet laid. And he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, beheld where he was laid. And the women also which came wdth him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments ; and rested the Sabbath day, according to the commandment. In the end of the Sabbath, very early in the m.orning, the first day of the week, while it was yet dark, as it began to dawn came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary unto the sepulchre. 146 thb: burial of the dead. And behold ! there had been a great earthquake ; for the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it His countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow, and for fear of him the keepers did shake and be- came as dead men. And many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many. And [the women] said among themselves, at the rising of the sun, ' ' Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre .?" for it was very great. And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away from the sepulchre. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side clothed in a long white gar- ment ; and they were affrighted. [But] the angel an- swered and said unto the women, ' ' Fear not ye ; for I know that ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was cruci- fied ; he is not here ; for he is risen. And they went out quickly from the sepulchre, with fear ; neither said they anything to any man, [but] with great joy. did run to bring his disciples word. Peter therefore went forth and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they both ran together ; and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down and looking in saw the linen clothes lying ; yet went not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him and went into the sepulchre and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also TEXTS, TOPICS, A. YD HINTS. 147 that other disciple and he saw and believed ; for as vet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without, at the sepulchre, weeping. IX. The Resurrection, in Christ's Own Words (from John). John xiv. 1-3. " Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my FatheVs house are many mansions ; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. x\nd if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also. ' ' John xi. 25, 26. " 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 V. 25. ''Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they that hear shall live. John V. 28, 29. '' 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 that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." John vi. 40. ''And this is the will of him that sent me, that everv one w^hich seeth the Son, and believeth on 14^ THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. him, may have everlasting hfe : and I will raise him up at the last day/' John vi. 51. ''I am the living bread which came down from heaven : if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever : and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which 1 will give for the life of the world." John vi. 58. "This is that bread which came down from heaven : not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead : he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.'"' John xvi. ^'^. " These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation : but be of good cheer ; I have over- come the world. X. Heaven. Rev. vii. 9-17. ''After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, a'nd 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 God 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 worshipped God, saying. Amen : Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever 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 TEXTS, TOPICS, AND HINTS. 149 great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, 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 God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. XL At the Grave. * (z. ) From the Service of the Protestant Episcopal Church, ^ Then, while the earth shall be cast upon the Body by some standing by, the Minister shall say: '' Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, in His wise providence, to take out of this world the soul of our deceased brother^ 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 w^orld 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, and made like unto His own glori- ous body ; according to the mightv working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself." (2.) A Form of Committal to the Earth. It is written, '' Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt ^ In case of burial in a vault or tomb, the words, " this recep- tacle prepared for the dead/' may be substituted for '* earth "or "ground." ISO THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. return.'* And we know that soon or late we too must go the way of all the earth. But we believe in One who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. In the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we therefore commit this body to the ground ; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust : trust- ing to find in Him our comfort in this life, and in the world to come life everlasting. And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God, shall be praise evermore. Amen ! (j. ) Another Form of Committal. We have come here to lay our dead out of our sight. But we sorrow not as those who have no hope. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, we commit all that is mortal of this our brother to the earth whence he came : earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. And to Him who sitteth on high, in whose hand are the keys of death and hell, we look for that resurrection of the body whereof He was the first-fruits from the dead. XII. Benediction. ' ' Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ ; t-o whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." If