Prayer in the House of Mourning

The Standard Prayer Book, tr. by Simeon Singer, [1915], at sacred-texts.com

p. 463

PRAYER IN THE HOUSE OF MOURNING

After the ordinary Daily Service, the following Psalm (xlix.) is read in the House of the Mourner. On those days on which Tachanun (p. 70) is not said, Psalm xvi. p. 460, is substituted for Psalm xlix.

Psalm xlix. For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

Hear this all ye peoples; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: both low and high, rich and poor together. My mouth shall speak wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying to the lyre. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of them that would supplant me compasseth me about, even of them 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: (for the redemption of their soul is costly, and must be let alone for ever:) that he should still live always, that he should not see the pit. For he will see that wise men die, the fool and the brutish together perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. But man that is in glory abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. This is the way of them that are foolish, and of those who after them take pleasure in their speech. (Selah.) Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall be their shepherd: but the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their form shall be for the grave to consume, that there be no habitation for it. But God will redeem my soul from the grasp of the grave: for he will receive me. (Selah.) Be not thou afraid when a man becometh rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for at his death he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived he blessed his soul, and though men praise thee that thou doest well unto thyself, he shall go to the generation of his fathers, who shall never see the light. Man that is in glory, but without understanding, is like the beasts that perish.

p. 464

In addition to the above, other appropriate Psalms, such as Psalms xv., p. 445; xc., p. 26; xci., p. 27; ciii., p. 455; and xxxix., or such passages as Proverbs xxxi. 10–31, p. 180, should be read in the House of Mourning.

Psalm xxxix.

For the Chief Musician, for Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.—I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb, and kept silence, I held my peace, and had no comfort: and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing the fire kindled: then spake I with my tongue: Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; let me know how fleeting I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as handbreadths; and my lifetime is as nothing before thee: surely every man, though he stand firm, is but a breath. (Selah.) Surely as a mere semblance every man walketh to and fro: surely they are disquieted for vanity: 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; 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 chasten man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to waste away like a moth: surely every man is a breath. (Selah.) Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears; for I am a stranger with thee, a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may again be glad, before I go hence, and be no more.

O Lord and King, who art full of compassion, in whose hand is the soul of every living thing and the breath of all flesh, who killest and makest alive, who bringest down to the grave and bringest up again, receive, we beseech thee, in thy great lovingkindness the soul of — who hath been gathered unto his [her] people. Have mercy upon him

p. 465

[paragraph continues] [her]; pardon all his [her] transgressions, for there is not a righteous man upon earth, who doeth good and sinneth not. Remember unto him [her] the righteousness which he [she] wrought, and let his [her] reward be with him [her], and his [her] recompense before him [her]. O shelter his [her] soul in the shadow of thy wings. Make known to him [her] the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore. Vouchsafe unto him [her] of the abounding happiness that is treasured up for the righteous, as it is written, Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the children of men!

O Lord, who healest the broken-hearted and bindest up their wounds, grant thy consolation unto the mourners: put into their hearts the fear and love of thee, that they may serve thee with a perfect heart, and let their latter end be peace. Amen.

Like one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you, and in Jerusalem shall ye be comforted. Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. He will destroy death 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.