Be praised, O Lord Christ, for preserving our ashes, and regarding our bones, and giving us back all the good friends that death had taken. The sorrow of our heart was great in that life.
Now sorrow is gone, and that joy is come which no man shall take from us....
Blessed be God the Father who has given us this glory.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, who purchased this treasure for us with His blood.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit who made this joy known to us in the Gospel.
O beloved angels of God, assist us in praising our God, that our alleluia may be sung with power.
O elect and blessed children of God, let your voices resound to the glory of God our Savior.
As for ourselves, let us offer up every vessel, though, utterance, and deed to God forevermore.
Let us sing praises to God who has granted us a blessed departure from the former world, strengthened us in death, and preserved us unto eternal life.
--Valerius Herberger, The Great Works of God, p. 312.
I must get at reading Herberger soon, very soon.
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