A general Prayer for the Sick. should be saved was taken away, we found that thy almighty arm is a ready help in time of need. Thou hast chastened us, but not given us over unto death. Nothing is too hard for thee to effect, nor is any thing too great or too good for thee to bestow. Thou hast made us glad through thy work, and we will rejoice in the operation of thy hand. We bless thee, O God, that thou didst not give us over unto death. Many have perished in the ocean, and sunk amidst the waters of the deep, while we remain among the living, to praise thee for thy goodness, and to declare the wonders that thou dost for the children of men. Help us, O Lord, to show forth thy praise by obedience to thy laws; may we ever be mindful of thy goodness, and devote to thee, and to thy service, the lives which thou in mercy hast preserved. Hear our prayers, O Lord, and bless us for the sake of thy Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose name we offer all our prayers and praise. Amen. The following, through inadvertency, was omitted in its proper place. A general Prayer for the Sick, with Collects adapted to some particular Occasions. ALMIGHTY and immortal God, who art the Giver of life and health, and in whom we live, and move, and have our being, we look unto thee as the God of mercy, and our only help in the hour of distress. We acknowledge that sickness, and pains, and sorrows are the dispensations of thy righteous band, and are less than our sins deserve. Remember not, Lord, our offences, neither take thou vengeance of our sins; but spare in mercy, those whom thou A general Prayer for the Sick. hast in love redeemed. Look with compassion upon our infirmities, and for the glory of thy name turn from us those evils which our sins have deserved. In all our troubles, and all the trials of life, may we put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy. Thou hast taught us in thy word, that all things and all events are under the power and the direction of thy wise and good providence; that not a sparrow falls without thy permission, and that all things work together for good to those who love thee, and are called according to thy purpose. If thou be for us, nothing can be effectually against us. Give us grace, we beseech thee, in all things to submit to thy righteousness, and to be conformed to thy will. If the cup of affliction may not, consistently with thy wisdom, pass from us, be it not as we will, O God, but as thou wilt. Grant that we, who have received so much good at thy hand, may never murmur, nor charge thee foolishly when we receive evil. Help us to take the cross and follow Him who patiently endured the pains of mortality, to purchase for us eternal life. Preserve us from all faithless desire that things should be according to our mind. May we rejoice and bless thy holy name, that our afflictions, which comparatively are light, and but for a moment, will, if we are patiently exercised by them, and submissive to thy will, work in us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. May we learn obedience by the things which we suffer, and know that it is good for us to be sometimes afflicted. In the midst of life we are in death, continually liable to calamitous accidents and various diseases. May such visitations be sanctified to our spiritual and eternal good. May seasons of sickness, when we are retired from our worldly occupations, remind us that we are mortal, and be wisely viewed as For Sleep, and Rest, and temporal Comforts. gracious opportunities of raising our thoughts from the world to thee; of attending to the concerns of our immortal souls, and laying up treasures which neither moth nor rust can corrupt. We bless thee, O God, that in the midst of judgment thou rememberest mercy, giving ease to pains, and mingling many comforts with the evils of life; that thou dost not deal with us according to our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities. Justly mightest thou reject our prayer, and take thy Holy Spirit from us. But thou art God, and not as man; thou art a refuge to the needy: a present help in time of trouble. In this confidence, we entreat thee, O Father of mercies, to accept our prayer and intercessions in behalf of this our sick brother, whom we humbly desire to commend to thy compassionate goodness. His case, O Lord, and his wants are all before thee; help, we beseech thee, and bless him according as he has need. Here may be used any of the following Collects which shall be appropriate to the occasion. For Sleep, and Rest, and temporal Comforts. Grant him, O Lord, if it be consistent with thy wisdom, such sleep and quiet rest as may, through thy blessing, refresh his spirits, and recruit his strength. Compose and tranquillize his mind; may he be freed from bodily pains and distress, and from all doubts, needless fears, and faithless apprehensions. May his reason be clear, and his mind be in a suitable state for religious thoughts and meditations. Grant him such temporal comforts as shall help him to make the right improvement from the present visitation. And give him grace to be duly thankful for thy goodness vouchsafed to him at all times, and especially during his present sickness. For Grace to make Improvement. For Patience and Resignation. Whatever may be the pains, and the weakness, and other sufferings, which thou, in thy unerring wisdom, shalt call him to endure, give him grace, we entreat thee, to bear the affliction with patience and resignation to thy holy will, saying, with thy servants of old, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth to him good; though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. May he remember the patience of Job, and the end of the Lord, who, for us men, and for our salvation, endured the cross, despising the shame. May he remember the days that are past, and thy mercies which have ever been of old; that the Lord is pitiful and long-suffering, and that his mercy endureth forever. May a sense of thy daily goodness, and of thy promises in Jesus Christ, help him in patience to possess his soul. According to his days so may his strength be. Knowing that the Lord is just in all his dealings, and righteous in all his ways, give him grace in every trial, and in all things to be resigned to thy holy will. For Grace to make Improvement. We beseech thee, O Lord, in thy merciful goodness, to give him grace to make due improvement under thy chastising hand. Awaken in his mind a just and lively sense of thy power and authority over all thy creatures and all thy works, and cause him to have a greater desire that this affliction should be sanctified to his spiritual benefit, than that it should be removed. May it work in him repentance not to be repented of, and awaken in his mind a serious consideration of the shortness and uncertainty of his continuance in this present world. May he call to remembrance the sins of his For a new Heart and a lively Faith. life past, and plead, in a holy faith, for pardon and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. O hide thy face from his sins, and blot out all his iniquities. May a sense of his weakness add strength to his faith, and seriousness to his repentance, and earnestness to his prayers for pardon and acceptance; and may he so rely upon thy gracious promises, that the language of his soul may be, For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. For a new Heart and a lively Faith. We Thou hast taught us in thy word, that except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God; and that without faith we live in sin. beseech thee to enlighten the understanding of this thy servant, that he may see the wonderful things of thy law; and being convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, may look unto Jesus Christ as the way, and the truth, and the life; and as the only name given under heaven by which men can be saved. Make him sensible of the sinfulness of his nature, and cause him to see the wonders of thy love in sending thy Son into this world, that they who believe in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Awaken in his soul an earnest desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to lay hold on eternal life. Grant him that holy faith in Jesus Christ which renews the heart, and brings forth fruit meet for repentance. Reveal thyself to him as thou dost not to the world; sanctify all his affections, and renew a right spirit within him. May thy promises of pardon, and acceptance in Jesus Christ, be his comfort in life, and his hope in a dying hour, when he shall resign his spirit to thee, as into the hands of a faithful Creator. Remove all doubt and darkness from his mind, and give him a clear understanding of what he must do |