his iniquities, through the only Redeemer of lost souls. If the sufferings of his body seem so grievous, how shall his soul bear thy wrath for ever! O give him repentance unto life! Let thy Spirit renew his heart, and sanctify his affliction, to take away his sins, and to make him partaker of thy holiness. Lord, spare him a little, to make better preparation for his great change, before he goes hence, and be no more seen. He dreads to appear before thy bar in an unpardoned and unholy state: renew his days on earth; and renew his mind, that he may live to God and Christ, to holiness and heavén. He has abused thy patience and forbear ance, lost his precious time, and forfeited life and hope. He foresaw this day, but he took no warning. He is in dread of his sins, and of thy justice and holiness. O eternity! Lord, try him once more with a day of grace. Cut not off his time, till he is ready for eternity. He condemns himself, but do not thou condemn him. Sanctify him by thy Spirit, wash him in thy Son's blood, and give him such a sight of heaven by faith and hope, that he may willingly die, and come to thee. His sin hath abounded, let thy grace much more abound. Glorify thy grace in Christ by his pardon, acceptance, and eternal life. Through the all-sufficient Saviour let him be reconciled to thee, adopted into thy family, and be made an heir of glory, and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. Whe ther he lives or dies, he desires to be thine. To thee, O thou God and Father of mercies, he gives, up himself; and O that he could with joyful confidence call thee his reconciled God and Father! Though he deserves nothing but to dwell for ever with condemned spirits, yet fill him now with thy grace and love, and at death receive him to thy glory, that with angels and saints he may praise his Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier for ever and Amen. ever. A confession of sin and petitions for pardon, to be frequently used by the sick himself, for his humiliation. See p. 127, 157. I CONFESS, O Lord, and lament before thee my innumerable sins of omission and commission; "the pride and naughtiness of my heart;" my neglect of the means of grace, and the hope of glory; the violations of my conscience; the vanity of my mind; the violence of my passions; the want of love to thee, my God, and thy Son Jesus Christ, the compassionate Redeemer; the coldness and wanderings of my devotions; my earthlymindedness; my carnal security; my unthankfulness amidst abundant mercies; my impatience in time of affliction; my unbelief, and hardness of heart; my sinful conduct towards my fellow-creatures; and the dishonour I have in many instances brought on thy holy name. These sins, O Lord, I acknowledge; and that I have committed them against much light, and great love. I deserve to fall under the curse of that law, which I have broken, and to be deprived of all the blessings of that Gospel, which I have, alas! too often disregarded. But spare me, O Lord, spare me: punish me not according to my deserts; deliver me from those dreadful evils, to which I have exposed myself by sinning against thee. Mercifully receive this my confession; grant me true repentance; assist me by thy Holy Spirit; and bring me at length to those mansions of bliss promised to every sincere believer in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A prayer for one who is seemingly past all hopes of O THOU, who art" the God of our lives, and "the length of our days," (Deut. xxx. 30.) the Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor of men, and the ever-present Helper of those who put their trust in thee, look with an eye of compassion on this our afflicted brother, (or sister,) who appears to be drawing nigh to the borders of eternity. Be gracious unto him according to the necessity of his case, and the multitude of thy tender mercies in Christ Jesus. In the closing scenes of his life place him under thine almighty arm of defence, and support. Ease his dying bed; enlighten the dark" valley of the shadow of death;" give him the inward comforts arising from the fundamental truths of the Gospel, its merciful invitations, and the glorious prospect it opens to our view, terminating in eternal life. Enable him to overcome the sharpness of death, and render his passage from this world to the next not only safe, but as little painful as the nature of the disease and other circumstances will permit. Let death, so dreadful to many, appear to him as a friendly messenger, to introduce his soul into the habitations of the blessed. What follows between the crotchets may be added or [Forgive him, gracious God, that he has no better answered his obligations; that he has no better improved his time and advantages; that he has so little studied thy will and thy glory; and that he has been so careless in the performance of the duties of his various connections and relations; that he has so little promoted the goodness and happiness of his fellow-creatures, and that he has been so negligent in the requisite improvements he ought daily to have made in religious habits, and an heavenly temper. Spare him, O Lord, spare him, notwithstanding his aggravated sins, and avert from him the judgments he has so justly deserved.] Be thou "his strong hold and resort" while in this world, and his eternal portion in the next; so that, whenever thou shalt be pleased to remove him hence, he may have some hope through the means of grace of dwelling with thee in glory everlasting, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord, Redeemer, and Advocate. Amen. A prayer to be used with a dying person. See page 112. GREAT God, thou livest for ever, but we are all dying creatures we have no power over our own lives to retain our spirits when demanded by thee: our breath is in thine hand; and thou dost whatever pleaseth thee in heaven, and amongst the inhabitants of the earth. Thou hast brought down this our brother to the gates of death, "to the "sides of the pit." (Isaiah xiv. 15.) Thou we know art also able to raise him up, and to restore him to life; but as thou seemest to take away all hope of longer life on earth, we resign him to thee, our God, to do with him what seemest good in thy sight only cast him not off for ever, shew mercy to his soul now in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment. As thou deniest all intercession for more time, and leavest us little or no ground to pray for his recovery, we beg a safe passage for him, some hope and comfort in his last hours; and when the soul launches into eternity, may it be the care of some kind angel, and be carried up to heaven. And, seeing every man in his best estate is vanity, that there is no man living who shall not see death, let us all be preparing to go to our long home, that, when our turn to die cometh, we may not quit this mortal scene with an heavy heart, confused accounts, and dreadful fears; but may depart in peace, sleep in Jesus, and find ourselves safe in our Redeemer's love, on the other side of the grave. Raise up others to repair the breaches thou hast made and art making in families, towns, and churches; and may we be "followers of them "who through faith and patience inherit the pro"mises*." Let us remember how short our time is, a vapour, a shadow, which quickly passes away; how sure death is, and how awful eternity: by these considerations may we be hastened to fulfil our course, work, and journey, that we may finish all well. We earnestly pray, that this may be the happy case of each of us, through the merits of our Lord and only Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. A prayer with one who is oppressed by anxious doubts and unreasonable fears as to his spiritual state. See p. 28. From Mr. Kettlewell. O LORD, our God, we come unto thee in behalf of this thy servant, whose soul is cast down, and disquieted within him, from an apprehension that he is under thy displeasure, and will not be accepted by thee. He questions whether he has not too much presumed on the goodness and safety of his condition, without a proper foundation for it: and for this the sorrows of his heart are enlarged, and he is brought very low. To thee therefore we pray on his account, that thou wouldest be pleased to hear him speedily, and to bring his scul out of prison. Remove from him we entreat thee all frightful apprehensions, all perplexing doubts and scruples about his duty, which will either hinder him from doing it at all, or make him to do it heavily, and with a troubled mind. * Heb. vi, 12. |