waxed worse and worse, and thus proved the inward tendency of our nature to evil. Our sins have been against light, and warnings, and entreaties; against resolutions and vows; against conscience and thy Holy Spirit. And the sentence which dooms us to everlasting punishment is infinitely just. There is no power in us to recover ourselves; and our only hope is in thy boundless mercy through Jesus Christ. Have mercy upon us, O God, according to thy loving kindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin. For the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour, who bore our sins in his own body on the tree, forgive our sins. Accept the offering and the satisfaction, and let the perfect righteousness of the great Surety be reckoned unto us. Give us that faith by which we shall be united to Christ and justified. O reveal thy Son in us, and show him unto us, as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Break the hard, impenitent heart, and convert to thyself such among us as are still in their sins. Grant conviction, and light, and faith, and repentance; and graciously begin a good work in the midst of us from this hour. Most merciful and holy Lord, we thy weak and unholy creatures implore the aid of thy Spirit! Of ourselves we cannot so much as think a good thought. There is a law in our members warring against the law of our mind, and bringing us into captivity. O for holiness, and the image of Christ! O send down thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that we may daily die unto sin and live unto thee. Strengthen us, with strength in our souls, that we may mortify every corrupt inclination and passion; that we may put off every evil habit; that we may hate sin, in deed, in word, and in very thought; that we may escape the 'contagion of bad example; and that we may fulfil every duty. Be pleased to work in us all the graces of the new nature; enabling us to add to our faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly-kindness, and to brotherly-kindness charity. And strengthen us to bear the trials, to perform the duties, and to resist the temptations of our present calling and circumstances. We commend to thee, O Lord, our temporal interests, as to a faithful Creator. Watch over us, and preserve us from the perils of the ocean. Cover our head, in the day of danger, and arm us for every conflict. And in thy good time bring us to our desired haven. Have mercy on our families and friends, and forgive and save our enemies. Bless thy servant, the President of the United States, and all who are in authority. Bless and save our country. Grant us prosperity, righteousness, and peace. Bless our army and navy, and especially those with whom we are called to serve. Bless, O Lord, the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, in our own beloved land, and in all lands. Send forth thy mighty gospel, that it may teach all nations; and let the day dawn when the knowledge of thy glory shall cover the earth as these waters cover the sea. Be pleased, O Lord, to hear our prayers, and to do for us exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think. Sanctify to us the present service, and make thy word effectual to our instruction, conversion, and edification. Be at peace with us, take away our sins, and accept our worship, only for the sake of Jesus Christ our Redeemer. And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, one God, be glory for ever. Amen. V. SERMON. ¶ Here a discourse selected for the purpose may be read. VI. PRAYER. O LORD, we render thee thanks for the teaching of thy blessed word. Forgive all that has been amiss in our manner of receiving it. Cause thy truth to sink into our hearts, and to bring forth fruit in our lives. Convert the unconverted; strengthen the wavering; confirm the feeble; comfort the afflicted. To this end, grant us the out-pouring of thy Holy Spirit, even upon this company; and reveal thy love to us while we are upon the mighty waters. And now dismiss us with thy fatherly blessing, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. VII. A PSALM OR HYMN. VIII. THE CHRISTIAN DOXOLOGY. 34 CHAPTER V. FUNERAL SERVICE. NO.. I. TO BE USED AT SEA. The preparation for the funeral having been made, and the ship's company being reverently assembled, the service may commence with the following passages of Scripture. WHAT is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, swifter than a post they flee away. They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.a There is but a step between me and death." What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet, his breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. Another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. с All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.d I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.e a James iv. 14. c Ps. lxxxix. 48. e Job xvii. 14., Job vii. 6; ix. 25, 26. b 1 Sam. xxvi. 3. d Job xxxiv. 15. If a man die shall he live again? Jesus said unto her, (Martha,) 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. Though after my skin worns 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. 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 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 delivered 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.a 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 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 dishonour, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power: it is sown a natu a Job xiv. 14. John xi. 25, 26. Job xix. 26, 27. 1 Cor. xv. 20, 35, 36, 38, 42, 44, 50, 57. |