Make him satisfied and settled in a right understanding of all good things, and careful in the observance of them; and do thou dispel by the light of thy countenance all these mists of darkness, which cloud and obscure his soul, that he may not be unnecessarily dejected and distrustful of himself, or dishonourably doubtful of thee. Deliver him rom all his offences, which may provoke thee to hide thy face from him, and make him so much a stranger to thy peace and comfort; and cause him to be delighted with doing thy will, and to place his chief satisfaction in so acting, as is most agreeable to thee. Enable him to look beyond those doubts and fears, which so frequently obstruct his comforts here, to that blessed state, where there are neither doubts nor fears; and may he derive present support from the hope of attaining to it, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A prayer with one who is grievously tormented by wicked and blasphemous thoughts. See p. 29. From Mr. Kettlewell. MOST gracious God, who alone by the power of thy Spirit art able to cure our sickness, and overcome the unruliness of our minds, protect this our brother, we humbly and earnestly entreat thee, against all profane doubts and mistrusts of thy truths, and against all blasphemous thoughts and suggestions relating to divine things, which either his own melancholy and disordered fancy, or the busy and wicked foe of mankind, are ready to represent and suggest to him. Never suffer such thoughts, O God, to stagger and weaken his faith, to obstruct him in his Christian course, nor to be by their wearisome conflicts a pain and burden to his life. Preserve him not only from the sin, but (if it may seem good to thy fatherly wisdom) from the temptation of such conflicts, and from the trouble and sorrow of them. Yet, if it be thy blessed will to permit these terrifying and blasphemous thoughts to harass him for his trial and humiliation, make him sensible, O Lord, for the comfort of his disturbed mind, that they will not be imputed to him as a sin, unless he yield to the temptation by cherishing such thoughts. Convince him, that in thy sight he is not guilty while he neither believes nor gives place to them, nor alters either his faith or his practice. Let him know that these distrustful and blasphemous thoughts are the sin of Satan, who, to try and tempt him, wickedly suggests them; not his, who, instead of hearkening to them, and complying with them, immediately resists them, as soon as he perceives them, and rejects them with horror and indignation. O that during this trial he may learn to depend wholly on thee, without whom he can do nothing; and that he may learn to bear with himself, and to shew patience under it, as under every other affliction and trial of thy ordering or permitting; trusting to thy grace to assist him, and to thy mercy to accept him, whilst he is humbly labouring under these trials, and to thy goodness to deliver him from them in thy due time, for the sake of our Lord and only Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. A prayer with one who is under religious melancholy. From Mr. Jenks. • MOST good and gracious God, thou knowest our frame, and art a God full of compassion, to pity and relieve thy creatures in sickness or in health. Look down, we humbly beseech thee, with thy wonted compassion, and remember in tender mercy the work of thine hands, our discon solate brother, thus troubled in soul. Thy wrath lies hard upon him, and all thy waves are gone over him. They disturb his peace, oppress his mind, and make him unfit to use his reason, or discharge his duty. O thou, who spakest the winds and waves into obedience and calmness, settle and quiet his discomposed thoughts; speak peace and satisfaction to his troubled mind, and give him comfort and sure confidence in the sense of thy pardon and love. Lord, help his unbelief, and increase his faith. Though he now walks in the valley and shadow of death, let thy rod and thy staff comfort him. Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. In the multitude of the thoughts and sorrows which he has in his heart, O let thy comfort come, and refresh his soul. Be thou pleased, O Lord, to deliver him from this sad calamity, and ease him of the load which lies so heavy upon his spirit; and shed on him a beam of thine heavenly light, to scatter and dispel all the clouds and darkness which now rest upon his mind. Direct him to the proper means for his help, and so bless and prosper them, that they may be effectual to promote his recovery from this doleful state. Incline his ears to wholesome counsels, and fashion his heart to receive due impressions. Gracious Father, pity his frailty, and forgive his sin; heal him, O Lord, both in soul and body, and so rebuke his distemper, that his disquieted soul may return to its rest. Raise him up, and make him whole, yea, make haste, O Lord, to shew such mercy on him, even for thine own mercies' sake, in Jesus Christ our blessed Saviour and Redeemer. Amen, A prayer which may be used by one under great dejection of mind. MOST blessed and gracious God, who only canst heal a wounded spirit, and quiet a troubled mind, look with pity on that load of misery and oppression I feel within me, but am not able to express. Unto thee do I pray for help, O thou great Physician both of body and soul. Uphold and comfort my weak and dejected spirit; strengthen it against all inordinate vain fears and terrors. As thou alone canst relieve me, so unto thee I pray for relief. O hear my most earnest supplication, and make me to possess an easy, quiet, and cheerful spirit. My trust is in thee: I ask this, O Lord, as the greatest of blessings thou canst bestow on me next to the pardon of my sins: I ask it, because I cannot enjoy any other of thy blessings without it; I ask it of thee, because thou alone canst give it. And, if thou art pleased to glorify thy goodness in granting this my most earnest request, then will I endeavour to serve thee faithfully with a cheerful and most thankful heart, and glorify thy goodness all the remainder of my life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A prayer with one who is in a state of despair. See p. 31. From Mr. Lewis. ALMIGHTY God, the aid of all who need, and. the helper of them who flee to thee for succour, accept we beseech thee the prayers which we now put up for this our brother, labouring under the dismal apprehensions of thine anger. O who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry! His flesh trembles for fear of thee, and he is afraid of thy judgments. He is not able to bear up under the thoughts, that thy "mercy is clean gone," and < that thou wilt shew him favour no more. But do not thou, O God, enter into judgment with him. Make him sensible, that though"the "wages of sin be death, yet the gift of God is "eternal life;" that thou desirest not the death of a sinner, and art not willing that any should perish; that thou always punishest less than we deserve, and in the midst of judgment rememberest mercy. Set this home on his mind, that so he may be brought off from his distrust of thy mercy, and from thinking his sins unpardonable. Preserve him from all temptations to self-destruction. Either remove the suggestions, or enable him to withstand them. Keep him in the observance of every duty enjoined. Continue him in the use of the ordinances of the Gospel; and though he finds no present comfort in them, yet grant him perseverance, in hope that at last he shall receive the blessings and advantages of them. Let thy grace be sufficient for him in all his trials and distresses, and bring him, we humbly entreat thee, from this despairing condition, to rejoice in the better knowledge and practice of his duty. "From "thy wrath and from everlasting damnation, good "Lord, deliver him," for his sake who suffered on the cross, and there made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. Hide not thy face from him, but revive his despairing soul with a sense of thy love, the hopes of thy pardon, and the joy of thy salvation, that so he may be raised again from this state of despair, and may shew with gladness what thou hast done for his soul. All which we humbly beg in the name and for the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ the righteous. Amen, |