intolerable misery, and to teach us a holy religion, and to forgive us an infinite debt; give me thy Holy Spirit, that my understanding and all my faculties may be so resigned to the discipline and doctrine of my Lord, that I may be prepared in mind and will to die for the testimony of Jesus, and to suffer any affliction or calamity, that shall offer to hinder my duty, or tempt me to shame or sin or apostacy: and let my faith be the parent of a good life, a strong shield to repel the fiery darts of the devil, and the author of a holy hope, of modest desires, of confidence in God, and of a never-failing charity to thee my God, and to all the world; that I may never have my portion with the unbelievers, or uncharitable and desperate persons; but may be supported by the strengths of faith in all temptations, and may be refreshed with the comforts of a holy hope in all my sorrows, and may bear the burden of the Lord, and the infirmities of my neighbour by the support of charity; that the yoke of Jesus may become easy to me, and my love may do all the miracles of grace, till from grace it swell to glory, from earth to heaven, from duty to reward, from the imperfections of a beginning and still growing love, it may arrive to the consummation of an eternal and never-ceasing charity, through Jesus Christ the Son of thy love, the anchor of our hope, and the author and finisher of our faith: to whom with thee, O Lord God, Father of heaven and earth, and with thy Holy Spirit, be all glory, and love, and obedience, and dominion, now and for ever. Amen. Acts of Love by way of Prayer and Ejaculation; to be used in private. O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory so, as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Psal. lxiii. 1, &c. I am ready not only to be bound, but to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts, xxi. 13. How amiable are thy tabernacles, thou Lord of Hosts! My soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. : Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they will still be praising thee. Psal. lxxxiv. 1, 2, 4. O Blessed Jesu, thou art worthy of all adoration, and all honour, and all love thou art the wonderful, the counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace; of thy government and peace there shall be no end: thou art the brightness of thy Father's glory, the express image of his person, the appointed heir of all things. Thou upholdest all things by the word of thy power; thou didst by thyself purge our sins: thou art set on the right hand of the Majesty on high thou art made better than the angels; thou hast by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Thou, O dearest Jesus, art the head of the church, the beginning and the first-born from the dead: in all things thou hast the pre-eminence, and it pleased the Father, that in thee should all fulness dwell. Kingdoms are in love with thee: kings lay their crowns and sceptres at thy feet, and queens are thy handmaids, and wash the feet of thy servants. A Prayer to be said in any affliction, as death of children, of husband or wife, in great poverty, in imprisonment, in a sad and disconsolate spirit, and in temptations to despair. O eternal God, Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, with much mercy look upon the sadnesses and sorrows of thy servant. My sins lie heavy upon me, and press me sore, and there is no health in my bones by reason of thy displeasure and my sin. The waters are gone over me, and I stick fast in the deep mire, and my miseries are without comfort, because they are punishments of my sin: and I am so evil and unworthy a person, that though I have great desires, yet I have no dispositions or worthiness toward receiving comfort. My sins have caused my sorrow, and my sorrow does not cure my sins: and unless for thy own sake, and merely because thou art good, thou shalt pity me and relieve me, I am as much without remedy, as now I am without comfort. Lord, pity me; Lord, let thy grace refresh my spirit. Let thy comforts support me, thy mercy pardon me, and never let my portion be amongst hopeless and accursed spirits for thou art good and gracious; and I throw myself upon thy mercy. Let me never let my hold go, and do thou with me, what seems good in thy own eyes. I cannot suffer more than I have deserved: and yet I can need no relief so great as thy mercy is: for thou art infinitely more merciful than I can be miserable; and thy mercy, which is above all thy own works, must needs be far above all my sin and all my misery. Dearest Jesus, let me trust in thee for ever, and let me never be confounded. Amen. Ejaculations and short Meditations to be used in time of Sickness and Sorrow: or danger of Death. : Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee". Hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble, incline thine ear unto me when I call: O hear me, and that right soon. For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burnt up, as it were with a firebrand. My heart is smitten down and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread and that because of thine indignation and wrath: for thou hast taken me up and cast me down: thine arrows stick fast in me, and thine hand presseth me sore. There is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure; neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sin. My wickednesses are gone over my head, and are a sore burden too heavy for me to bear. But I will confess my wickedness, and be sorry for my sin. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine indignation, neither chasten me in thy displeasure P. Lord, be merciful unto me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee 9. Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness, according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences. O remember not the sins and offences of my youth: but according to thy mercy think thou upon me, O Lord, for thy goodness. Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness: and cleanse me from my sin. Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, from thy all-hallowing and life-giving presence and take not thy Holy Spirit, thy sanctifying, thy guiding, thy comforting, thy supporting, and confirming Spirit from me. ▪ Psal. cii. 2-4, 10. 9 Psal. xli. 4. • Psal. xxxviii. 2-4, 18. * Psal. li. 1. P Psal. vi. 1. * Psal. li. 2, 10, 11. O God; thou art my God for ever and ever: thou shalt be my guide unto death". Lord, comfort me, now that I lie sick upon my bed: make thou my bed in all my sickness". O deliver my soul from the place of hell: and do thou receive me". My heart is disquieted within me, and the fear of death is fallen upon me *. Behold thou hast made my days as it were a span long, and my age is even as nothing in respect of thee; and verily every man living is altogether vanity. When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for sin, thou makest his beauty to consume away, like a moth fretting a garment: every man therefore is but vanity. And now, Lord, what is my hope? truly my hope is even in thee. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and with thine ears consider my calling: hold not thy peace at my tears. Take this plague away from me: I am consumed by the means of thy heavy hand. I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me a little, that I may recover my strength, before I go hence and be no more seen. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: O quicken me according to thy word. And when the snares of death compass me round about, let not the pains of hell take hold upon me a. An Act of Faith concerning the Resurrection and the Day of Judgment, to be said by Sick Persons, or meditated. I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, though my reins be consumed within me. Job. xix. 25, &c. God shall come and shall not keep silence: there shall go before him a consuming fire, and a mighty tempest shall be stirred up round about him: he shall call the heaven from above, and the earth, that he may judge his people ". 0 blessed Jesu, thou art my judge and thou art my advocate: have mercy upon me in the hour of my death, and in the day of judgment. See John, v. 28, and 1 Thess. iv. 15. Short Prayers to be said by Sick Persons. O holy Jesus, thou art a merciful high-priest, and touched u Psal. xlviii. 13. Psal. xxxix. 6. Psal. xli. 3. Psal. xlix. 15. a Psal. cxvi. 3. * Psal. lv. 4. b Psal. 1. 3, 4. with the sense of our infirmities; thou knowest the sharpness of my sickness and the weakness of my person. The clouds are gathered about me, and thou hast covered me with thy storm my understanding hath not such apprehension of things as formerly. Lord, let thy mercy support me, thy Spirit guide me, and lead me through the valley of this death safely; that I may pass it patiently, holily, with perfect resignation; and let me rejoice in the Lord, in the hopes of pardon, in the expectation of glory, in the sense of thy mercies, in the refreshments of thy Spirit, in a victory over all temptations. Thou hast promised to be with us in tribulation. Lord, my soul is troubled, and my body is weak, and my hope is in thee, and my enemies are busy and mighty; now make good thy holy promise. Now, O holy Jesus, now let thy hand of grace be upon me: restrain my ghostly enemies, and give me all sorts of spiritual assistances. Lord, remember thy servant in the day when thou bindest up thy jewels. O take from me all tediousness of spirit, all impatiency and unquietness: let me possess my soul in patience, and resign my soul and body into thy hands, as into the hands of a faithful Creator, and a blessed Redeemer. O holy Jesu, thou didst die for us; by thy sad, pungent, and intolerable pains, which thou enduredst for me, have pity on me, and ease my pain, or increase my patience. Lay on me no more, than thou shalt enable me to bear. I have deserved it all and more, and infinitely more. Lord, I am weak and ignorant, timorous and inconstant, and I fear, lest something should happen that may discompose the state of my soul, that may displease thee: do what thou wilt with me, so thou dost but preserve me in thy fear and favour. Thou knowest, that it is my great fear, but let thy Spirit secure, that nothing may be able to separate me from the love of God in Jesus Christ: then smite me here, that thou mayest spare me for ever: and yet, O Lord, smite me friendly: for thou knowest my infirmities. Into thy hands I commend my spirit; for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth. Come, Holy Spirit, help me in this conflict. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. [Let the sick man often meditate upon these following promises and gracious words of God.] |