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Dearly
beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God,
and in the presence of this company, to unite
___________ and ___________ in holy matrimony.
Marriage was ordained by God in Eden and confirmed
in Cana of Galilee by the presence of the Lord
Himself, and is declared by the inspired Apostle
Paul to be honorable among all men. It is
therefore, not to be entered into unadvisedly or
lightly; but reverently, soberly and in the fear
of God. It is fitting, therefore, that we should
on this occasion, begin by asking God's blessing
on this marriage service. Let us pray.
Pastor --
Who gives this woman to be married to this man?
Bride's
Father -- Her mother and I do.
Marriage
is a joyous occasion. It is connected in our
thoughts with the magic charm of home, and with
all that is pleasant and attractive as being one
of the most important events of our lives. It its
sacredness and unity it is like the mystical
relation between Christ and His Church and is
therefore the most significant and binding
covenant known in human relations.
From the
Story of Creation in the book of Genesis: For God
created man in His own image . . . then the Lord
formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living being . . then the Lord God said,
"It is not good that the man should be alone; I
will make a helper fit for him" . . . So the Lord
God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and
while he slept took one of his ribs, and closed up
its place with flesh. And the rib which the Lord
God had taken from the man He made into a woman
and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
"This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my
flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man." Therefore a man leaves his
father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and
they become one flesh.
Again, let
us hear the Word of God from the New Testament,
the writings of Paul: "Live life then with a due
sense of responsibility, not as men who do not
know the meaning and purpose of life but as those
who do. Make the best use of your time, despite
all the difficulties of these days. Don't be vague
but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of
our Lord. Thank God at all times for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And 'fit in
with' each other, because of your common reverence
for Christ."
"You wives
must remember to adapt yourselves to your
husbands, as you submit yourselves to the Lord,
for the husband is the 'head' of the wife in the
same way that Christ is the Head of the Church and
Savior of His body . . . but remember, this means
that the husband must give his wife the same sort
of love that Christ gave to the Church when He
sacrificed Himself for her . . .
In
practice what I have said amounts to this: Let
every one of you who is a husband, love his wife
as he loves himself, and let the wife honor and
love her husband."
It is your
duty, ___________, to be to ___________ a
considerate, tender, faithful, loving husband: to
support, guide and cherish her in prosperity and
trouble; to thoughtfully and carefully enlarge the
place she holds in your life; to constantly show
to her the tokens of your affection, to shelter
her from danger, and to cherish for her a manly
and unalterable affection, it being the command of
God's Word, that husbands love their wives, even
as Christ loved the Church and gave His own life
for her.
It is your
duty, ___________, to be to ___________ a
considerate, tender, faithful, loving wife; to
counsel, comfort and cherish him in prosperity and
trouble; to give to him the unfailing evidences of
your affection; to study, as time passes to make
the place he holds in your heart, broader and
deeper; to reverence and obey him, and to put on
the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is,
in God's sight, an ornament of great price. His
Word commanding that wives be subject unto their
own husbands even as the church is subject unto
Christ, and forsaking all others to cling to him
with a love which fails not as long as you both
shall live.
Let me
charge you both to remember, that your future
happiness is to be found in mutual consideration,
patience, kindness, confidence, and affection. It
is the duty of each to find the greatest joy in
the company of the other; to remember that in
interest as in affection you are to be henceforth
one and undivided.
If you are
ready to assume the obligations and duties before
God, as I have defined them, you will unite your
hands and pledge your love and your lives to each
other.
Pastor --
Do you, ___________, standing in the presence of
God and these witnesses, solemnly pledge your
faith to ___________ . Do you promise to live with
her according to God's ordinance in the holy
estate of matrimony; do you promise to love her,
comfort her, honor, and keep her, in sickness and
in health, and forsaking all others, keep yourself
only unto her, and through God's grace to promise
to be to her a faithful and devoted husband as
long as you both shall live?
Groom -- I
do.
Pastor to
Groom -- ________ , have you a token of your love
for ___________ ?
(The best
man hands the ring to the Minister.)
Pastor to
Bride -- ________ , do you receive this ring in
pledge of the same on your part?
Bride -- I
do. (Groom puts ring on bride's finger.)
Pastor to
Bride -- ________ , have you a token of your love
for ___________ ?
(The maid
of honor hands the ring to the minister.)
Pastor to
Groom -- ________, do you receive this ring in
pledge of the same on your part?
Groom -- I
do. (Bride puts ring on groom's finger.)
The
wedding ring is the outward and the visible sign
of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two
hearts in endless love. The circle, the emblem of
eternity; the gold, the type of what is least
tarnished and most enduring--it is to show how
lasting and imperishable is the faith now pledged.
Let the ring, a fit token of that which is
unending, continue to be to you both a symbol of
the value, the purity, and the constancy of true
wedded love, and the seal of the vows in which you
have both pledged your most solemn and sacred
honor.
By the
authority committed unto me as a Minister of the
Gospel of the Church of Christ, I declare that
___________ and ___________ are now husband and
wife, according to the ordinance of God and the
law of the State of ___________ , in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, Amen.
Dear Ones,
I strongly charge you both as husband and wife, to
preserve sacredly the privacies of your own home,
your marriage state, and your heart. Remember our
Lord's urgent counsel: "What God hath joined
together let not man put assunder". Therefore, let
no one ever presume to come between you, or to
share the joys or the sorrows that belong to you
two alone |
