MARRIAGE SERVICE In the presence of the All-seeing you are to be united in holy marriage, or dained of God. It hath in it "the labors of love, the delicacies of friendship, the blessings of society, the union of hearts and hands." Into this state," Divine in its origin, sacramental in its signification," you are now to enter. You are aware that these obligations are not to be lightly assumed, but seriously, and in the fear of God. to be your Do you take wedded wife, and as a faithful Christian husband, will you love her, honor her, and cherish her in health and in sickness, in joy and in sorrow, until death shall separate you? [The same to be said to the bride (addressing them both by their first names). Then hand the ring to the bridegroom with these words :] With this ring, the symbol of perfection and of eternity, you plight to each other your truth, your honor, and your love. [The ring being placed on the bride's hand by the bridegroom, the minister pronounces the man and the woman married in these terms:] I pronounce you husband and wife. What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. PRAYER O Thou Bountiful Giver! We thank Thee for our countless blessings, but especially now for the sacred affections implanted in our hearts, and for all the happiness that comes, and all the help, from the union and communion of our souls. We bless Thee for Thy goodness to these Thy servants, and implore Thy continued blessing on them in the holy and tender connection which has now been formed between them. Aid them, Gracious Father, to fulfil faithfully the vows of love and fidelity which they have now exchanged before Thee. May they love Thee supremely; so shall their love for each other endure. Grant them all the blessings of the state into which they have now entered. If Thou shouldst give them bountifully of earthly good, or if Thou shouldst visit them with loss and privation, may their joys be doubled, and their sorrows divided by mutual affection. And, having Thee for their Almighty Friend and Guide, may they pass blamelessly through this life, and when parted by death may it be in the hope of a reunion in that higher condi |