But if a man, either by reason of extremity of sickness, or for want of warning in due time to the Curate, or for lack of company to receive with him, or by any other just impediment, do not receive the Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood; the Curate shall instruct him, that if he do truly repent him of his sins, and stedfastly believe that Jesus Christ hath suffered death upon the cross for him, and shed his Blood for his redemp tion; earnestly remembering the benefits he hath thereby, and giving him hearty thanks therefore; he doth eat and drink the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ profitably to his soul's health, although he do not receive the Sacrament with his mouth. When the sick Person is visited, and receiveth the Holy Communion all at one time, then the Priest, for more expedition, shall cut off the Form of the Visitation at the Psalm [In thee, O Lord, have I put my trust, &c.] and go straight to the Communion. In the time of the Plague, Sweat, or such other like contagious times of sickness or diseases, when none of the Parish or Neighbours can be gotten to communicate with the Sick in their houses, for fear of the infection; upon special request of the diseased, the Minister may only communicate with him. THE ORDER FOR THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. HERE is to be noted, that the Office ensuing is not to be used for any that die unbaptized, or excommunicate, or have laid violent hands upon themselves. The Priests and Clerks meeting the Corpse at the entrance of the Church-yard, and going before it, either into the Church, or towards the Grave, shall say, or sing, (a) v. 20. "Now, &c." St. Paul had been noticing the objection, "that there "is no resurrection of the dead;" and had observed, "that if the dead rise not, "then had not Christ risen;" and here he asserts triumphantly that Christ is risen, and concludes from thence, that the dead shall also rise. (b) v. 23, 24. "Afterwards they that are "Christ's at his coming: then cometh the "end, &c." There are many passages which seem to import that the Apostles Name of the Lord. 1 Tim. vi. 7. Job i. 21. After they are come into the Church, shall be read the 39th and 90th Psalms, or one of them. Then shall follow the Lesson, taken out of the fifteenth Chapter of the former Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. 1 Cor. xv. 20. Now (a) is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward (6) they that are Christ's at his coming. 24. Then cometh the end, had an expectation that before the generation of men then living should be gone, at the time so often referred to, as "the "coming," or "day of the Lord," they should receive some signal mark of glory, the final judgment should take place, and the world should end. According to Matt. xxiv. 3. our Saviour was asked "what should be the sign of his coming, "and of the end" (as we translate it) "of the world ;" and in his answer he says, among other things, "this Gospel when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and 25. For 66 power. "of the kingdom shall be preached in "all the world for a witness unto all "nations, and then shall the end come, "Matt. xxiv. 14." and after other characteristics which clearly looked forward to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, he says, "verily, I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." What we translate the world," might perhaps mean "that age of the world," the time when the Jewish establishment should be overthrown, and Christ's kingdom be considered as commencing, but the disciples might mistake its meaning, and might suppose that "the end of all the peo ple upon earth" was really the thing intended. St. Peter says, I Pet. iv. 7. "The end of all things is at hand." In 2 Pet. iii. 10. he says, "The day of the "Lord will come as a thief in the night : "in which the heavens shall pass away "with a great noise, and the elements "shall melt with fervent heat, the earth "also, and the works that are therein "shall be burnt up." In 1 Thess. iv. 15. St. Paul says, "This we say unto you 66 by the word of the Lord, that we "which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not pre"vent," (i. e. come before,) "them which 66 are asleep," (i. e. the dead,) 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 remain, "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." In 2 Tim. iv. 1. St Paul adds to the mention of Jesus Christ, "who shall "judge the quick and the dead at his "appearing, and his kingdom;" and in the same chapter, v. 18. he says, "the "Lord shall deliver me from every evil "work, and will preserve me unto his 66 heavenly kingdom," as if he expected that kingdom before he himself should die. In 1 Pet. iv. 5. he speaks of them whom he addresses as persons "who shall "give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead," as if the judg he must reign, till (c) he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27. For he (d) hath put all things 66 ment were then at hand. In 1 Pet. i. 13. he exhorts them to " gird up the loins of "their mind," (that is to have their minds in a proper state) and to be sober, and hope to the end. In v. 51. infra, St. Paul says, we shall not all sleep, but we shall "all be changed; in a moment, in the "twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, "(for the trumpet shall sound) and the "dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." And Philipp. iii. 21. St. Paul says, "we look for the Saviour, the "Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change "our vile body that it may be fashioned "like unto his glorious body." So 1 John iii. 2. ante, 73. Other passages will occur upon further pursuing the point, and this mistake of the Apostles, (if they really were mistaken, and if the effect of these passages is not misapprehended,) so far from disparaging their writings, appears to furnish very strong, (not to say irresistible,) critical evidence, that those in which the mistake occurs were written before the destruction of Jerusalem, that is, in less than 40 years after the cruci fixion; and this is a point of no inconsiderable importance. Our Saviour had said, (Matt. xxiv. 36.) "of that day and "hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels "of heaven, but my Father only." So that it might be part of the plan of Providence that as to the period and particulars of that day, even the Apostles should be left to conjecture only; and if these epistles had not been written until after the event, this mistake in them could not have occurred. See ante, 73. note on 1 John iii. 2. Tillotson's 129th Serm. and Whitby, note on Matt. xxiv. 3. Mr. Locke says, "it was a received opinion amongst the Jews, that when the Mes"siah came, the just should rise, and live "with him for ever. Locke's 2d Vindi"cation, 298." (c) v. 25. "Till, &c. This may allude to the passage in the prophetic Psalm cx. 1. "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit "thou on my right hand, until I make "thine enemies thy footstool;" or to Ps. viii. 27. “Thou hast put all things in "subjection under his feet." (d) v. 27. "He," i. e. "God." under his (e) 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. 28. 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. 29. Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead (f), if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead? 30. and why stand we in jeopardy (g) every hour? 31. I protest by your (h) rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32. If after the manner of men I have fought (i) with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? “Let us eat (4) and drink; for "to-morrow we die." 33. Be not deceived (): evil communications corrupt good manners. 34. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. 35. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? 36. Thou fool, that which thou (e) "His," i. e. "Christ's." (f) v.29. "For the dead," i. e. (probably)" for Jesus Christ, in his Name," for if the dead rise not, then, according to v. 13. 16. Christ is not risen, he is still dead. See Rom. vi. 3. ante, 191. (g) v. 30. "In jeopardy," i. e. "subject "to persecution, &c." Should we be so mad as to expose ourselves as we do, had we not the fullest conviction of Christ's resurrection? Though St. Paul was not converted until after our Saviour's ascension, yet what passed upon his own conversion, and the miraculous power he received, left him no room for doubt! (h) v. 31. For " your," some read "our," which depends upon the change of a single letter; but whether it were his rejoicing or theirs, he protests thereby, that he is daily in a situation equal to or as bad as death. (i) v. 32. "Fought, &c." This probably alludes to something which had happened to him at Ephesus. (k) "Let us eat, &c." If it be true that the dead rise not, then might we follow this advice, attend to present gratification, the gratification of the body, and disregard futurity. He alludes to Isaiah xxii. 13. sowest is not quickened, except it die: 37. and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare (m) grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 38. but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. 39. All flesh is not the same flesh : but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 40. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41. 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. 42. So also (n) is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption; 43. it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44. it is sown a natural (0) body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45. And so it is written, "The first (p) man Adam was (1) v. 33. "Be not deceived, &c." Checking the thought in verse 32. (m) v. 37. " Bare," i. e. (probably) "without any body." (n) v. 42. "So also, &c." i. e. " in the re"surrection the body shall be celestial, differing in kind and in glory from the ter"restrial body; the one, the earthly, being "corruptible, dishonourable, weak, and "subject to the infirmities of human na"ture; the other, the heavenly one, incor"ruptible, honourable, glorious, powerful, "and free from all human imperfections." (o) v. 44. For "natural," the reading should probably be "animal." Tuxixò, not φυσικὸν, man in his animal state here " on earth." This refers (p) v. 45. "The first, &c." to Gen. ii. 7. "The Lord God formed "man of the dust of the ground, and "breathed into his nostrils the breath of "life; and man became a living soul." The present translation does not perhaps shew so clearly as might be the contrast St. Paul intends. The meaning seems to be this; "The first Adam was made" (as we read of him in Genesis) " a living "soul," (i. e. with the breath of life in himHH 4 "tory (z)." 55. O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory (a)? 56. The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law (b). 57. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58. Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. "made a living soul," the last Adam brought to pass the saying that is was made a quickening spirit. 46. How-written, "Death is swallowed up in vicbeit, that was not first (q) which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47. The first man (r) is of the earth, earthy; the second man (r) is the Lord (s) from heaven. 48. As (t) is the earthy, such are they that are earthy and as (t) is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49. And as we have borne the image of the earthy (u), we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (u) 50. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood (r) cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51. Behold, I shew you a mystery. We shall not all sleep (y), but we shall all be changed, 52. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality; then shall be (9) v. 46. "Not first, &c." " As Adam, "who had nothing beyond the natural or "animal state of man, was before Christ, "so man must first be in a natural or "animal state; his spiritual state is to "follow." (r) v.47. "The first man," i. e. " Adam ;" "the second man," i. e. " Jesus Christ." (s) "The Lord from heaven." Does not this import his pre-existence and divinity ? Ο Κύριος ἐξ ἐρανῶ with the article: properly, "the Lord out of heaven." (t) v. 48. "As, &c.” i. e. “ as was Adam, so is man on earth; as was Christ, so "shall man be in heaven." (u) v. 49. "The earthy," i. e. " Adam;" "the heavenly," i. e. "Jesus Christ." (x) v. 50. " Flesh and blood," i. e. "bodies in their natural state." See the queries in verse 53. When they come to the Grave, while the Corpse is made ready to be laid into the earth, the Priest shall say, or the Priest and Clerks shall sing ; 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 we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased? Yet, O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty, O holy and most merci (y) v. 51. "Not all sleep." See note on verse 24. (z) v. 54. "In victory," or "for ever." This is from Is. xxv. 8. where, in looking forward to the times of Christ's kingdom, is this passage, "He will swallow up "death in victory," (or, for ever)" and "the Lord God will wipe away tears from "off all faces, and the rebuke of "his people shall he take away from off "all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken " it." (a) v. 55. This verse, with a very small alteration, is from the Septuagint trans lation of Hos. xiii. 14. The passage there is, "O death, where is thy punishment? "O grave, where is thy sting?" sẽ i δίκη σε θάνατε; τῷ τὸ κέντρον σε, ἄδη; and the Greek here is, ẽ σe, Sávale, là xév7pov, sẽ σε, άδη, Τὸ νίκος ; (b) v. 56. "The law." For, according to Rom. iii. 20. "By the law is the know "ledge of sin;" and Rom. iv. 15. “where no law is, there is no transgression." Then while the earth shall be cast upon the Body, by some standing by, the Priest shall say, FORASMUCH as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our dear brother here departed, we therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ; who (c) shall change our vile body, that it may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working, whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself. Then shall be said, or sung, unto me, I HEARD a voice from heaven, saying "Write, From henceforth "blessed are the dead which die in the "Lord:" even so saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours. Rev. xiv. 13. the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity; We give thee hearty thanks, for that it hath pleased thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful world; beseeching thee, that it may please thee of thy gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom: that we, with all those that are departed in the true faith of thy holy name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The Collect. O MERCIFUL God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is (d) the resurrection and the life, in whom whosoever believeth shall live, though he die; and whosoever liveth and believeth in him shall not die eternally; who also hath taught us, by his holy Apostle Saint Paul, not to be sorry, as men without hope, for them that sleep in him; We meekly beseech thee, O Father, to raise us from the death of when we shall depart this life, we may sin unto the life of righteousness; that rest in thee, as our hope is this our brother doth; and that at the general resurrection in the last day, we may be found acceptable in thy sight, and receive that blessing, which thy wellbeloved Son shall then pronounce to all that love and fear thee, saying, Come (e), ye blessed children of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world: Grant this, we beseech thee, O merciful Father, through Jesus Christ our Mediator and Redeemer. Amen. |