tion may work out for him an eternal weight of glory. Support him under his pains, till it shall please thee to grant him ease and comfort. And, however thou shalt deal with him, let him not repine at thy correc tion, nor sin in charging thee foolishly. Make him sensible, that thou doest nothing but what is wise and just; nothing but what thy servant shall one day have cause to bless and praise thee for doing. And let this consideration teach him to glorify thee in the time of his visitation, by an humble submission to thy will, and a sincere reformation under thy providential dis pensations; that thou mayest visit him in mercy and love, shew him the joy of thy salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A prayer for one who is troubled with acute pains of the gout, stone, colic, or any other bodily distemper. (From Mr. Spinkes.) O BLESSED God, just and holy, who dost not willingly afflict the children of men; withhold not, we beseech thee, thy assistance from this thy servant in the extremity of his pain. His sorrows are increased, and his soul is full of trouble. He has none to flee unto for the ease and mitigation of his agonies but to thee, O Lord. He freely owns that his sufferings are infinitely less than he has deserved; yet, since they pierce deep, and are become almost too heavy for him to bear, we presume to call upon thee for aid; and to entreat thee, not to punish him according to his deserts. "For if thou shouldest be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who may abide it?" Spare him therefore for thy mercy's sake; and correct him "not in thine anger, lest thou bring him to nothing." Endue him with that patience which may enable him cheerfully to submit to thy chastisement; and grant him an unfeigned repentance for all his sins. Comfort his soul, which melteth away for very heaviness, and let thy loving mercy come unto him. Sanctify this thy fatherly cor rection to him, that it may be for thy glory, and his advantage. And when thy gracious ends in afflicting him shall be accomplished, which we know are not for thy pleasure," but for his profit, give him, we be seech thee, a fresh occasion to rejoice in thy saving health; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A prayer for a person in the small-pox, or any such-like raging infectious disease. O GRACIOUS and merciful Father, the only giver of health, look down, we beseech thee, with an eye of compassion, upon thy miserable and disconsolate servant, from whom thou hast taken this great and valua ble blessing; and, instead of it, hast filled every part of his body with a sore disease. Teach him, O Lord, and teach us all from hence, to consider how soon the beauty of life is blasted, like a flower, and our "strength dried up like a potsherd," that we may not put our trust in any of these transitory things, but in thee only, the living God, who art able to save and to destroy, to kill and to make alive. Our brother, whom we now behold a spectacle of misery, was lately, like one of us, in perfect health. But now" thou makest his beauty to consume away, as it were a moth fretting a garment. Thine arrows stick fast in him, and thy hand presseth him sore; so that there is no soundness in his flesh, because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in his bones by reason of his sin. "O, reject him not utterly, but take thy plague away from him. Return, O Lord, and that speedily; for his spirit faileth. O leave him not in his distress: for though the world may fcrsake him, his sure trust is in thee. To thee, O Lord, does he cry; to thee doth he stretch forth his hands; his soul thirsteth after thee as a barren and dry land. Lord, all his desire is before thee, and his groaning is not hid from thee. Comfort him therefore again now after the time that thou hast afflicted him, and for the days wherein he hath suffered adversity." Put a stop, O Lord, we beseech thee, to this raging infection, and say to the destroying angel," It is enough." Protect us under the shadow of thy wings, that we may not "be afraid of any terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pesti lence that walketh in darkness; nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noon day?" but that, with ease in our minds, and health in our bodies, we may serve thee cheerfully all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A prayer for a person in a consumption, (From Mr. Jenks.) O MERCIFUL God, thou hast long kept thy servant under thy chastening hand; thou hast made him acquainted with grief; and his sickness is even become his familiar companion: yet, O blessed Lord, grant that he may not be impatient under thy chastisement, who art pleased to wait so long for the return of a sinner: but let him remember that thou hast kind intentions, even in thy bitterest dispensations; that thou "chastenest him whom thou lovest, and scourgest every son whom thou receivest." Teach him, O gracious Father, to see love in thy rod, and justice in all thy dealings that he may humble himself under thy mighty hand; that he may think it good for him to have been afflicted, and patiently wait for thy loving kindness. Yet, that his faith may not fail, nor his patience be overcome, give him ease and relaxation from his pain, and a happy conclusion of this long visitation. In the mean time, grant that he may neither despise thy chastening, nor faint under thy rebukes; but employ the time which thou lendest, and improve the affliction which thou continuest, as a gracious opportunity for his spiritual advantage; that, under the decays of the body, the inner man may be renewed day by day; and that whatever appertains to his everlasting salvation, may be promoted and perfected through the riches of thy grace, and the multitude of thy mercies in Jesus Christ. Amen. A prayer for a person who is lame in his sickness. (From Mr. Lewis.) O ALMIGHTY God, who " art eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame," have pity, we entreat thee, on thy servant: help him in his distress, and bless, we pray thee, the means made use of for his cure. Make him sensible of thy design in visiting him with this affliction: cause him to remember, how in his strength and health he followed his own devices, and the desire of his own heart; and let him see, that thou hast lifted up thy hand against him, for this very purpose, that he may learn to walk more humbly with thee, and turn his feet to thy testimonies. Deliver him from the painful confinement under which he labours, and grant him again the happiness of enjoying the comforts of life, and of worshipping thee in thy sanctuary, with the "voice of joy and praise." But, O Lord, not our will, but thine be done. Thou knowest better what is good for us, than we ourselves; and it is in wisdom that thou afflictest us. Give thy servant patience, that he may bear his pains without murmuring, and wait the time of his deliverance from them without uneasiness; satisfy him of thy care over him, and thy tender regard to him; and in thy good time restore him to his former, strength and vigour, that he may give thanks to thee in the great congregation: through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. A prayer for one that is bed-ridden. (From Mr. Lewis.) O LORD our God, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, have compassion, we entreat thee, on the helpless condition of thy servant; support his spirits, which are ready to droop under affliction: refresh his mind, which is apt to be uneasy and melancholy at the thought of perpetual confinement. Give sleep to his eyes, and rest to his weary thoughts. Cause him to meditate on thee in the night watches; to" commune with his own heart;" and, in his solitude, "to search and try his ways," that he may see wherein he hath erred, and may turn unto thee with all his soul, and with all his strength. Let this affliction be the means of preparing him for the enjoyment of thy presence, in which is fulness of joy; and let him be the more patient under it for that reason. Make him thankful that thou hast by this expedient preserved him from the company of those whose evil communication might have corrupted his heart, and hast taken him out of a world, by the snares and temptations of which he might have been prevailed upon to forsake thee, and turn from the way of thy commandments. Grant, O Lord, that he may not render himself unworthy of thy favour, by murmuring and repining; but that he may use the leisure and opportunity now given him, to make his peace with thee, and be fitted for the enjoyment of an inheritance among the saints in light; through thy mercy in Jesus Christ our Saviour and Redeemer. Amen. A prayer for a person troubled in mind, or in conscience. [Visitation Office.] O BLESSED Lord, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comforts, we beseech thee, look down in pity and compassion upon this thine afflicted servant. Thou writest bitter things against him, and makest him to possess his former iniquities; thy wrath lieth hard upon him, and his soul is full of trouble. But, O merciful God, who hast given us thy holy word for our learning, that we through patience, and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope: give him a right understanding of himself, and of thy threatenings and promises; that he may neither cast away his confidence in thee, nor place it any-where but in thee. Give him strength against all temptations, and heal all his infirmities. Break not the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax. Shut not up thy tender mercies in displeasure, but make him hear of joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Deli ver him from the fear of the enemy: lift up the light of thy countenance upon him, and give him peace, through the mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Another for the same, or for one under deep melancholy and dejection of spirit. (From Mr. Jenks.) O MOST gracious Lord, thou knowest our frame, and art full of compassion to thy servants under their trou. |