The Exaltation of the Soul, Prayer 119 – Prayer 122
A Prayer to be said for the Sick by them that visit him.
O Merciful Father, who art the Lord and giver of life, to whom belongeth the issues of death, we thy children here assembled, do acknowledge that in respect of our manifold sins, we are not worthy to ask any blessing for our selves at thy hands, much less to become suiters to thy Divine Majesty in the behalf of others, yet because thou hast promised, that the prayers of the righteous shall avail much with thee, in the obedience therefore of thy commandment, and in confidence of thy gracious promise, we are bold to become humble suiters to thy Divine Majesty in the behalf of this our dear Brother or Sister, whom thou hast visited with the chastisement of thy own fatherly hand, we could gladly wish the restauration of his health, and a longer continuance of his life, and Christian-fellowship amongst us; but for as much as it appeareth, as far as we can discern that thou hast appointed by this visitation to call for him out of this mortal life, we submit our wills to thy blessed will, and humbly entreat thee, for Jesus Christ his sake, and the merits of his bitter death and passion which he hath suffered for him, that thou wouldest pardon and forgive unto him all his sins, as well that wherein he was conceived and born, as also the offences and transgressions which ever since to this day and hour he hath committed, in thought, word and deed, against thy Divine Majesty; cast them behind thy back; remove them as far from thy presence as the East is from the West; blot them out of the book of thy remembrance; lay them not to his charge; wash them away with the blood of Christ, that they may never be more seen; and deliver him from all the Judgments which are due unto him for all his sins, that they may never trouble his conscience, nor rise in judgment against his soul; and impute unto him the Righteousness of Jesus Christ, whereby he may appear righteous in thy sight; and in his extremity at this time we beseech thee look down from Heaven upon him with those eyes of grace and compassion, wherewith thou art wont to look upon thy children in their affliction and misery; pity thy wounded servant, like the good Samaritan; for here is a sick soul that needeth the help of such a heavenly Physician, O Lord, increase his faith, that he may believe that Christ died for him, and that his blood cleanseth all his sins; and either asswage his pain, or else increase his patience, to endure thy blessed will and pleasure in all things: And good Lord, lay no more upon him than thou wilt enable him to bear: heave him up unto thy self with those sighs and groans that cannot be expressed; make him now to see what is the hope of his calling, and what is the exceeding greatness of thy mercy and power towards them that believe in thee; and in his weakness, O Lord, shew thou thy strength; defend him against the suggestions and temptations of the Devil, who as in all his life-time, will now in his weakness seek to assail him, and to devour him; oh save his soul, and reprove Satan, and command thy holy Angels to be about him, and aid him; and chase away all evil and malignant spirits far from him; make him more and more to loath the world, and desire to be loosed, and to be with Christ; and when that good hour and time shall come, wherein thou hast determined to call for him out of this present life; give him grace peacefully and joyfully to yield up his soul into thy merciful hands, and do thou receive him unto thy mercy, and let thy blessed Angels carry him into thy Kingdom; make his last hour his best hour, his last words his best words, his last thoughts his best thoughts, and when the sight of his eyes is gone, and his tongue shall fail to do his office, grant O Lord, that his soul with Stephen may behold Jesus Christ in Heaven ready to receive him; and that thy Spirit within him may make requests for him with sighs that cannot be expressed. Teach us in him to read and see our own ends and mortality, and therefore to be careful to prepare our selves for our last end, and put our selves in readiness against the time that thou shalt call for us in the like manner. Thus, O Lord, we recommend this our dear Brother (or Sister) thy sick servant, unto thy eternal grace and mercy in that prayer which Christ our Saviour hath taught us, saying, Our Father which art in Heaven, &c.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, thy love, O heavenly Father, thy comfort and consolation, O holy Spirit, be with us all, and especially with this thy sick servant, to the end, and in the end. Amen.
LEt them read often unto the sick some special Chapters of the holy Scriptures; as the 14th and 19th chapters of Job, the 34th chapter of Deuteronomy, the two last chapters of Ioshua, the 17th chapter of the first of Kings, the 2d, 4th, and 12th chapter of the 2d of Kings, the 38th, 40th, and 65th chapters of Isaiah, the history of the passion of Christ, the 8th chapter to the Romans, the 15th chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians, the 4th of the first to the Thessalonians, the first of the second Epistle to the Corinthians, the first and the last of St. James, the 11th and the 12th to the Hebrews, the first Epistle of Peter, the three first, and the three last chapters of the Revelations, or some of these, exhorting the sick to wait upon God by faith and patience, till he send for him; and praying the Lord to send them a joyful meeting in the Kingdom of Heaven, and a blessed resurrection at the last day, that then they may depart at their pleasure, in the peace of God.
A Prayer in time of imminent Danger.
O Most merciful Father, though my sins are many and grievous, that I may rather expect the effects of thine anger, than so great a deliverance as to deliver me from my present great danger, yet, O Lord, since thy mercies are over all thy works, and thou never failest to relieve all those who with humble and unfeigned repentance come to thee for succour, it were to multiply, not to diminish my transgressions, to dispair of thy heavenly favours; wherefore I humbly desire thy Divine Majesty, that thou wilt not only forgive all my sins, but also free me out of the hand of mine enemies, and protect me from the malice of my cruel adversary; but if thy wrath, and my hainous sins and offences will not otherwise be satisfied, than by suffering me to fall under my present afflictions, thy will be done; yet with humble importunity I do, and shall never leave to implore the assistance of thy heavenly Spirit, that my cause, as I am thy distressed servant, may not suffer through my weakness, or want of courage. O Lord, so strengthen and enlighten all the faculties of my mind, that with clearness I may shew forth, and manfully endure this bloody tryal, that so my sufferings may not only glorifie thee, but likewise be a furtherance to my salvation hereafter; grant this, O heavenly Father, for his sake who suffered for me, even Jesus Christ the Righteous. Amen.
A Prayer of Thanksgiving for any great Deliverance.
O God, my God and Father, thou hast strangely preserved and rescued me from all evil, and for the glory of thine own Name, thou hast diverted the Arrow that was directed against me; what am I, O Lord, and what can I do, or what have I done, that thou shouldest do this for me? I am, O God, a miserable sinner, and I can do nothing without thy mighty grace, and I have done nothing by my self, but what I am ashamed of; and I have received great mercies, and miracles of providence: I see, O God, that thy goodness is the cause and measure of all my hopes, and all thy good, and upon the confidence and greatness of that goodness, I humbly beg of thy sacred Majesty, to keep and defend me from all evil, by thy wise providence, to lead me into all good, by the conduct of thy Divine Spirit; and where I have done amiss, give me pardon; and where I have mistaken, give me pity; and where I have been injured, give me thy favour, and a gracious exchange, that I may serve thee here with diligence, and hereafter may rejoyce with thee, and love thee, as I desire to love thee, and as thou deservest to be loved, even with all the powers and degrees of passion of essence, to eternal Ages, in the inheritance of Jesus Christ, whom I love, for whom I will not refuse to die, to whom with thee, O gracious Father, and the holy Spirit, be all glory and honour, love and obedience, for ever and for ever. Amen.
A Prayer wherewith to conclude all our Devotions.
ALmighty God, who hast promised to hear the Petitions of all them that ask in thy Sons Name, I beseech thee mercifully to encline thine ears unto me, who have now made my prayers and supplications unto thee, and grant that those things which I have faithfully asked in thy Sons Name, according to thy Will, may be effectually obtained to the relief of my necessity, and to the setting forth of thy glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Blessing.
THe Peace of God which passeth all understanding, the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, the Vertue of Christs blessed Cross and Passion, be with me, and all mine, now and at the last hour. Amen.
FINIS.
End of the text · Richard Allestree, The Exaltation of the Soul (1678)