Prayer for a sick person, with small hope of recovery. A Prayer for a sick Person, when there appeareth small hope of recovery. (From the "Order for the Visitation of the Sick.") O Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need; we fly unto Thee for succour in behalf of this Thy servant, here lying under Thy hand in great weakness of body. Look graciously upon him, O Lord; and the more the outward man decayeth, strengthen him, we beseech Thee, so much the more continually with Thy grace and Holy Spirit in the inner man. Give him unfeigned repentance for all the errors of his life past, and stedfast faith in Thy Son Jesus; that his sins may be done away by Thy mercy, and his pardon sealed in heaven, before he go hence, and be no more seen. We know, O Lord, that there is no word impossible with Thee; and that, if Thou wilt, Thou canst even yet raise him up, and grant him a longer continuance amongst us : yet, forasmuch as in all appearance the time of his dissolution draweth near, so fit and prepare him, we beseech Thee, against the hour of death; that after his departure hence in peace, and in Thy favour, his soul may be received into Thine everlasting kingdom, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, Thine only Son, our Lord and Saviour. AMEN. Suitable Collects, 21 and 23. "THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER THAN I." "When sorrows arise, and when dangers are near, My refuge is sure, whilst I'm resting on Thee, Life's tempests will come, and when billows of care If in sickness, or health, in joy, or in woe. G. R Delevante. PRAYER FOR THE SAME WHERE THERE APPEARETH TO BE NO HOPE OF RECOVERY. O, The hope of Israel!-The Saviour thereof in time of trouble!; when all other hope and help fails, it is not in vain to seek unto Thee for succour, who canst bring back from the mouth of the grave, and quicken the very dead: and where Thou art not pleased any further to prolong the temporal life, yet canst deliver from eternal death, and bring safe to blessedness and glory. This beautiful prayer is taken from "Offices of Devotion," by the Rev. B. Jenks,-re-edited, altered, and improved by the Rev. Charles Simeon, Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. Prayer on behalf of a sick penitent, We think it too late to beg the recovery of Thy servant, O Lord, now that he seems to us to be going the way of all flesh, and just launching forth into his everlasting condition. But, though the time of his departure appears to be at hand, yet we cannot think it too late to beg Thy mercy for him, as long as life is in him: and, as we cannot but be greatly concerned for him, so we know not how to express this our concern for him better than in beseeching Thee to be good and gracious unto him. O Lord, our God, leave him not, nor forsake him; but support and assist him, now, in his sorest extremities, and in his last agonies, when he has to conflict with the King of Terrors. Let him find the most sweet and seasonable aid from Thee, the God of his salvation: and take him not out of this life, till Thou hast fitted him for a better. O, Thou ever-living God, stand by our brother in the dying hour. Secure him in Thy hands from the enemies of his soul; and finish all that is wanting of the work of Thy grace upon his heart, Freely and fully pardon him, and deliver him from all his sins; and fit him to appear with comfort and rejoicing, in Thy blessed presence. O, make his departure easy, and full of peace and hope. Carry him safe through the valley of the shadow of death; and let him find a joyful admission into the everlasting Kingdom of his Lord. Into Thy hands, O Lord, we commend his spirit. O, Thou Father of mercies, be merciful to him, and receive his departing soul: and, when he is numbered among the dead, let him be also numbered among the redeemed and blessed of the Lord,-for His sake, who died for sinners, and rose again, and lives, and is alive for evermore, and has the keys of death and of Hell. To Thy mercy, in that Blessed Saviour of the world, O most merciful Father, we now humbly recommend him, beseeching Thee to be all in all to him, and infinitely better than we are worthy, or able, to ask for him. Let him be Thine, O merciful Creator, in life, and death, and for evermore, through the all-sufficient merits and mediation of Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ, our all-prevailing Advocate and Redeemer. AMEN. where there appeareth to be no hope of recovery. * (And this Prayer may be added.) Father! we humbly thank Thee that Thou hast given Thine only begotten Son to take upon Himself the ransom of our sins. We do now beg Thee to have mercy upon us; and to let the agony and bitterness of that death take away the sting and bitterness of our death; through the sprinkling of the precious blood of Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN. * This beautiful and simple prayer was composed by "D. W.,"a sinner who had found peace in the near prospect of death, and whose repentance was a wonderful trophy of the grace of God. It was taken down by a lady, (in Jamaica,) as it came from the lips of the dying penitent. EDITOR. COMMENDATORY PRAYERS BEFORE DEATH. The Last Prayer of the Righteous. "The hour of my departure's come; I come, I come, at Thy command; Logan. 1.-COMMENDATORY PRAYER ON THE DEATH OF A BELIEVER. O most gracious and merciful Father! Thou art pleased to make known to us Thy will to call our brother hence. We commend his spirit into Thy hands! We implore Thee by Thy great goodness and mercy! Thou didst first call him into being; and didst breathe into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul. Thou didst invite him, and receive him into Thy holy Church; and didst embrace his soul in the arms of Thy mercy, and put Thy Spirit within him. *This Prayer_was composed specially for this work by the Right Reverend Reginald Courtenay, D.D., the good Bishop who presides over the Diocese of Jamacia; and to whom, under God, I owe my position as a Minister in the Church of Christ. EDITOR. Suitable Collects,-28, 29, 30, or 31. |