Death Made Comfortable, Prayers 3
PRAYERS.
I. For Recovery of Sight.
LORD, pity me, who have my Eyes always closed, and all my Days turned into Night. I cannot see, what I eat or what I drink, and †Is. 59. 10.I grope for the wall, and stumble in the Light as in the Dark. For the Light, which maketh all things manifest about us, and reviveth and maketh glad both Man and Beast, is no Light to me, but I am Dark at Noon-Day.
Oh! Support and comfort me in this my Adversity, and restore my Sight to me again, if it may seem fit to thee. Consider, Lord, how greatly it serves, for my comfort and safety. And restore it to me, for I seek to thee, and thou art prone to pity me, and thou only who gavest it canst restore it. Yea, do thou restore it, O! my God, that I may again behold the marvelous Greatness, and the rich and various Beauty of thy Creatures; and devoutly admire and praise the Glories, of thy Wisdom, Power, and Goodness, which they set forth daily before our eyes. And above all, that I may return to read thy Holy Word, to instruct and comfort me, and to make me perfect in the way of my Duty, and of obtaining thine everlasting Mercy, thro' Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
II. For Patience under the want of it.
1.
AND in this state of Bodily Blindness, O! Righteous Lord, I do not in the least complain of thee for laying it upon me. For thou hast continued the use of my Eyes much longer unto me, than I have been careful to use and employ them for thee. And because I would not take care to govern them virt…ously and wisely, nor shut them up or restrain them my self, thou hast shut them up in Darkness.
For they had taken me off, O! Holy Father, from minding thee, to mind Worldly Pomp and show, and to fix themselves in Clay. They were grown greedy and unsatisfied in beholding Vanity. They had often †Mat. 18▪ 9.made me to offend. And 'tis better to want Eyes, than to be made to offend by them; and to enter into Life being Blind, rather than having Eyes without Innocence to be cast into Hell fire.
So that I humbly submit to this Blindness, O! my God, and meekly accept of it, both as the punishment of mine iniquities, and as a means to cure and prevent them. And if it be thy Pleasure to have me rest under it, or whilst it is so, thy Blessed Will be done. And I will not only submit to thee, but will still thankfully adore and praise thy Name, thro' Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
2.
AND I will consider, O! Gracious Lord, that if my Blindness makes my Soul to have less pleasure in this World, it makes it also to have less danger from it. For in this World, I should see more, that is fit to insnare, than to benefit my Mind; and my Eyes would let in more Tryals than true Injoyments, and meet with more to afflict than to delight me.
And I will thankfully remember, O! Father, that by thy Mercy I was not born Blind, but had long injoyed the use of my Eyes before I lost them, yea, and after I had most justly deserved to lose them. Thou wast graciously pleased to lend them to me, till I had been conversant in thy Holy Word, to direct and comfort me. And till I had seen much of what was to be seen in this World, and till more Days would have brought little but the same Sights over again. And by thy Grace I†This within the Hooks, or other Passages, the Persons must use or omit, as suits with their own case. [had first dispatch'd such Business and Affairs, as are of most importance and concern to me in this Life, and] was come to have much less need of my Eyes before they were taken from me, and I was call'd from beholding Vanity, to mind thee and make sure the one thing necessary, thro my Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
3.
YEA, and still thro' thy Mercy, O! Dear God, I have my Hearing perfect, to supply the want of my Eye-sight. And altho' I have now no use of my own Eyes, yet I have of others, and can still see any thing with theirs. [And what I once learn from them, I now remember much better by thy help than I used to do, whilst I had my own Eyes to trust to, and am in less need of any Eyes to see it for me over again.]
And therefore instead of repining that I have lost my Eyes, I will adore and thank thy Goodness, O! Blessed Lord, which has so well provided me for this loss, and doth now so comfortably make it up to me otherways. But above all, which gives me an Heart, that can still look up to thee, and take comfort in thy Promises, when my Eyes can no longer look upon this World, or delight in its Gayeties. And which supports me in my dark estate, with the Blessed Hope of receiving Eyes at the Resurrection of the Just, which always see clear and never grow dim; and which can bear the brightness of thy Presence, and shall always Feast themselves in beholding thee, and all Heavenly Glories, thro' Jesus Christ my only Saviour and Redeemer. Amen.
3. For Good use of their Blindness, and proper Helps under it.
AND whilst thou takest from me the use of my Eyes, O! Merciful Lord, take from me also the Lust of my Eyes. And let me by no means doat any more on Riches, or on Beauty, or on the Pomp and Gayety of any Earthly things, since now I can no longer Feast my Eyes therewith. But instead of coveting and greedily hearkning after the same, make me as a Dead Man to them. For Death has already invaded my Earthly Tabernacle, and is come up at the Windows. And I have out-lived my Eyes, which as they had commonly been the first inlets of sin: so now thy justice has made them the first inlets of Death too.
And since my Eyes are kept from looking abroad, keep my mind from looking abroad too. Let my thoughts busie themselves at home, in searching out and setting straight mine own ways, and in meditating on thy Laws and Promises. I cannot say, as others may, that I am still called off from this good Employment of them, by the sight of outward Objects, or by the Cares of men of Business. Oh! then, that I may be more intent therein, as wanting much of other Persons hindrances and excuses.
And make me remember, O! my God, that thus to know and behold thee, is to see with Angels eyes. And that altho' Flesh and Blood cannot see God, yet Faith doth. And that whilst thou art pleased to clear up my Faith which is the eye of my Soul, and to make it strong and lively to discern what will please thee, and what will save and comfort me in the next World; it matters less tho' I remain dark, to what is apt to insnare and afflict me in this World.
And whilst I want my Eyes to inform me at every turn what passes, Lord, quicken my Attention, that I may give the more heed when I am told of the same; and strengthen my Memory, that I may not need still to be told of it again. And now my own Eyes are no longer serviceable to me, give me faithful Friends and Servants about me, that I may safely trust to theirs. And let thy Care and good Providence be to me instead of my Eyes, and of all other Comforts and Conveniences which my Blindness deprives me of, thro' Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour, Amen.
Our Father, &c.
III. Devotions on the loss of Hearing.
Scriptures.
WHO hath made mans mouth, or who maketh the Dumb or Deaf? have not I the Lord, Exod. 4. 11.
The hearing Ear, and the seeing Eye, the Lord hath made even both of them, Prov. 20. 12.
In that day, the Ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, Isa. 35. 5.
And the deaf shall hear the words of the Book, Isa. 29. 18.
He said be opened, and straightway his Ears were opened, Mark 7. 34, 35.
But above all, O! Lord, give thy … Heart, 1 King. 3. 9.
And that is better whilst the Ears of my Body are shut, than to have Ears, and not to Hear, Ezek. 12. 2.
Or Hearing to hear, but not to understand, Act. 28. 26.
And when the Ears of the Body are open, the Ear is not fill'd w…th hearing, nor the Eye satisfied with seeing.
And the thing which has been heard or seen, it is that which shall be heard or seen again; and that which is done, is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the Sun, Eccl. 1. 8, 9.
Yea, and in hearing much evil, is much trouble, and just Lot in hearing, vexed his righteous Soul from day to day, with the unl…wful Deeds, and filthy Conversation of the wicked, 2 Pet. 2. 7, 8.
Thou shalt not curse the Deaf, nor put†Deut. 27. 18. a stumbling-block before the Blind, but fear the Lord, Lev. 19. 14.
Glory be to the Father, &c.