him, when thine arrows went abroad, and slew many of his less vicious companions! He continued unadmonished by thine admonitions. He has been unaffected by thy mercies, and his sins at length have found him out to his shame and confusion. Deliver his soul from the pangs of that eternal punishment which he deserves. Look in his behalf, O God, on the face of thine Anointed. He has often imprecated damnation on himself and others; forgive him these hellish crimes, and let him find mercy. Mercy, mercy, we ask for him, and we ask it for the sake of our blessed Lord thy Son Jesus Christ. * Alas, how hard is his heart! Strike thou the rock, and the waters of penitent sorrow shall flow. He has (as it were) struggled for his destruction, and strove to pluck down ruin on his guilty head; yet let not thine anger burn against him for ever. O cast a look of compassion on him. Receive his spirit whenever he dies, and he will be one of the greatest monuments of thy grace. It is an omnipotent action to save the most undone! Spare, pardon, bless, even him, who confesses, that he is one of the vilest of the sons of men: raise him from a sick bed, restore his health, and may he live to praise thee, and finally be received into thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ. Amen. A prayer with one who is in a doubtful state. See page 9. ALMIGHTY God, the Creator of all things, adored be thy power and wisdom, in all the works of thine hands. When we consider the human frame, formed for an existence not only in the present, but in a future state of happiness or misery, may we be suitably impressed with a sense of the value of our immortal souls. Grant, O Lord, that this our sick brother, who is now afflicted with this disease, which reminds him of the certainty of death, may have such a sense of his situation as a sinner, that he may be truly concerned about the salvation of his soul. Teach him to consider the cause of his present affliction, and the ends to be answered by this dispensation of Providence. Nor let him be thoughtless of what may be the event of it, but remember, that he may, and will be, summoned to appear before thee as the Judge of the world. May he look on his former conduct, and examine it by thy holy law. So teach him by thy Spirit, that he may see the evil of sin, and truly repent of it. May he examine his heart, and not be deceived with the false hope of salvation, if destitute of "repentance unto life," and saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant, we earnestly beseech thee, O Lord, that this sickness may be the means of purifying his heart, and leading him to Christ, the only Redeemer of sinners. Let him not depart out of this world till his peace with thee be secured, and he be prepared by thy grace for a state of endless joy, through the operation of faith in Jesus Christ, thy Son, and our Lord. Amen. A prayer with one in a good state. O GOD of all grace and mercy, look with an eye of compassion on this thy sick servant, and have mercy on him, through the mediation of thy wellbeloved Son. He has sinned against thee, yet he has hope, when he looks to thine infinite mercy through Christ, the Redeemer, and to the covenant of grace. We plead for him the sacrifice and merits of thy Son, and the promises of forgiveness through him. He condemns himself, but do not thou, O Lord, condemn him." Cast him "not away from thy presence," nor sentence him to depart from thee with the workers of iniquity. Are there not multitudes in heaven who were once like him and us sinners on earth? Let thy mercy also be glorified in his forgiveness and salvation. He asks not for liberty to sin again, but for deliverance from every sinful inclination. Give him the renewal of thy Holy Spirit, even a new and divine nature, that he may be "holiness to the "Lord." Enlighten him with the saving knowledge of thyself, and thy Son Jesus Christ. Fill him with thy love, that his heart may wholly delight in thee. Let thy kingdom and glory, thy word and thy ways, be his and our frequent meditation. Let our treasure be in heaven; and there let us daily converse. Put thy fear into our hearts, that we may never depart from thee. Let this world be crucified to us, and we to the world, by the cross of Christ. Enable us to walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Keep us from ever "walking in the coun"sel of the ungodly, or standing in the way of sin· 66 ners, or sitting in the seat of the scornful." Bless us with all the means for our sanctification and salvation. May we never forget the covenant of our God. Help us by thy Spirit to quench the first motive of sin; and so fortify us against all temptations, that we may be more than con"querors through him who hath loved us." Prepare us for sufferings and death, that we may yield our departing souls into the faithful hands of our Redeemer. We beseech thee by thy word and Spirit to convince and convert unconverted sinners, and to turn them" from darkness to light, and from the "power of Satan to God," that they also with us may receive the forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among them who are sanctified "by faith, "which is in Christ Jesus." In him may we be found and accepted, both living and dying; and to him be everlasting praise. Amen. A prayer with one under grievous pain. See p. 45. O GOD, our refuge and strength, who art a present help in the time of trouble, we most earnestly beseech thee graciously to look down upon this our sick brother, and to send him ease and comfort, if it be thy blessed will, in this time of his very great distress. We acknowledge, O Lord, the justice of thy dealings with him, and that he has deserved much greater pains than he now feels. May he never therefore murmur or repine under any affliction thou seest fit to lay upon him. Give him a meek and quiet submission to thy will, that he may wait with patience till thou shalt think fit to deliver him. Suffer not the extremity of his pain to transport him into any rash or unbecoming expressions, or cause him to entertain an hard thought of thy providence; but whatever evil, pain, or sorrow he may feel, let him still love thee, still believe thee to be a kind and merciful Father, even whilst thou art smiting and correcting him. And, O blessed Lord, that he may be enabled to do this, strengthen and support him in thy great mercy with the consolations of thy Holy Spirit, and lay no more on him than thou wilt enable him to bear. We know that thou canst deliver him in thee therefore do we trust. Sanctify this grievous affliction to him, this violent pain; and suffer not the torment of it to shake the constancy of his soul, nor the length of it to weary out the strength of his patience. May it produce in him the fruits of a sincere repentance; and may death be to him not an object of horror, but of hope. O Lord, hear these our petitions for him: 0 Lord, help him for thy mercy's sake in Christ Jesus, our most gracious Redeemer. Amen. A prayer with one who is fretful in his sickness. From Dr. Dodwell. GRACIOUS God, who has taught us that we are here in a state of trial, and hast proved it to us equally by the use of the comforts which attend our health, and of the distresses which attend us in time of sickness, give us grace to shew our sense of this by such behaviour under each of these conditions, as is suitable to our belief in this state of trial. Make us, who enjoy soundness and strength of body, thankful for these blessings, and temperate in the enjoyment of them, and make this our fellow-creature, who is now afflicted with sickness, resigned in his condition, and patient under his sufferings. Cause him to reflect, that this is now the proper trial and expression of his duty; that it is the principal virtue which his present circumstances require, and almost the only one which his growing infirmities permit him to practise. And, since his patience, though enjoined and accepted by thee, does not extend to thee; since it cannot be profitable to thee, his God; yet, as it cannot but be so to himself and friends, make him to consider his tender, grateful conduct to them, as the proper method of testifying his dutiful resignation to thee. Let him shew his content * * See Worthington's Great Duty of Self-resignation to the Divine Will, one of the books on the Society's list for promoting Christian knowledge; which well deserves repeated perusals, especially by the sick. |