let it not be by reading Plays or Romances or foolish and undue Ideas of Love and Honour which feed or revive vain thoughts nor by Play or other things fit to excite Passion or exercise Covetousness but in pastimes of least lightness and fewest temptations and used with moderation remembring that on a sick-bed when a mans time is almost spent 't is not for him to cast about how to pass away his time but how to redeem and improve it Let the reading which is read to him and the conversation which is held with him be suitable to one in his condition Not light to lessen his seriousness nor in any thing vicious uttering things either against Modesty or against Piety or against Justice or against Charity All which may either leave ill impressions upon him by giving his spirit a tincture of the same or bring him into a snare by thinking that he has been wanting in reproof thereof out of too little respect to God and too much to the speakers by either of which he is the worse for them But let all that passes be fit to suit the seriousness and preserve the innocence and help on some virtues but hinder none that are befitting a Person in his condition Whereof I shall say more in the ensuing directions CHAP. II. Of settling his Accounts and securing his Peace with God by Repentance Faith and Continuance in the Vnity of the Church BUT whilst this care is taken for the Body the chief thing which he has to employ himself in on his Sick-bed after the settlement of his Worldly Estate is to take care of his Soul This must exercise his own thoughts when he is by himself And for this he must call in the assistance of the guides of Souls Sending for the Elders of the Church that they may Pray over him and assist and Comfort him by words spoken in their due Season and Administer to him the Word and the benefit of Absolution and the Holy Communion resolving and assisting him in all things that may be needful for the finishing of his Repentance the support of his Spirit or the Peace of his Conscience And in this Care of his Soul these things are chiefly to employ his own thoughts or his Guides assistance 1. To settle his Account and secure his Peace with Almighty God And in care of this let his work be 1. To finish his Repentance And in order thereto let him carefully review all his past life and the present frame and habit of his Mind And let him diligently observe what is good in either and with all Humility thank God for it and take comfort in it and what is amiss in both and work himself up into true contrition for the same affectionately bewailing his extream folly and unworthiness therein And let him fix holy deliberate and unreserved purposes against all his former Offences And make all due and reasonable satisfaction for all Wrongs done by him to any Persons by any ways And take care of the payment of all his just Debts And seek Reconciliation where he has given any just Offence And forgive those who have injured or disobliged him And break off his Iniquity by Righteousness or by being more abundant in Alms-Deeds and consummate and finish any good designs which he had piously laid in his Health and would not lose the reward thereof by having them dropt at his Death And in these ways of expiating Sins let him earnestly begg God's Pardon and comfortably hope for the same through the Merits of Jesus Christ. And in the care of paying his Debts and making Restitution or giving Charitable or Pious Gifts if he can let him settle and finish them himself before his own Death and not refer all to a Will and leave the accomplishment and recompence of so rewardable purposes to the contingencies of time and the Fidelity Kindness or care of Executors Sometimes indeed the Surprize of Dying Persons is so great that they must leave these things to others And sometimes the Persons intrusted are fit to serve the Dying Persons ends and really do serve them to advantage But this is not ordinarily to be trusted to if he can help it For why should he think they will make more dispatch or find fewer delays and put offs in doing these things for him than he did in doing them for himself He has a quicker sense of his own burdens and of his own desires and longings than another ordinarily can or will have and if for all that he shall delay to disburden his own Soul and consummate his own desires and purposes when he may why may not they do so too And on this point let him often say A broken and a contrite Heart Lord thou wilt not despise I acknowledge my transgressions and my Sins are ever before me Wash me throughly from mine iniquities and cleanse me from my Sins Amen Lord be merciful to me a Sinner Amen Oh let the Blood of Iesus cleanse me from all my Sins Amen Lord I have Sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son make me as one of thy hired Servants Amen Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us Amen 2. To shew forth his Faith which he may do by often repeating his Creed I believe in thee O God! the Father Almighty and that thou art the maker of Heaven and Earth And I believe in thee O Jesu Christ that thou art Gods only Son and our Lord. I believe that thou wast conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin mary That thou didst Suffer under Pontius Pilate wa st Crucified Dead and Buryed and descendest into Hell That thou dist rise again the third day from the Dead That thou didst ascend into Heaven and there now sittest at the Right Hand of God And that from thence thou shalt come again to Judge both the Quick and the Dead I believe in thee also O! Holy Ghost I likewise believe that my Blessed Saviour had and hath and whilst the World lasts ever will have on Earth an Holy Catholick Church And that in this Church there is to be a Communion of Saints I believe also that therein is to be had Remission of Sins And after Death I believe there shall be a Resurrection of the Body both for good and bad and a Life Everlasting for the Righteous Amen And let him often say Lord I Believe Help thou mine unbelief Amen Lord increase my Faith Amen All this O! Lord I stedfasty believe Oh! keep me from having my Portion among unbelievers Amen Lord I thank thee that I have been instructed in this Belief and Professed it in my Life Amen Lord keep me from wavering or any ways doubting of the same in my weakness Amen Lord give me the comfort of this belief at my death and make me find the Blessing of it after death Amen And if the
them not refrain going to Church for such a certain space of Time or number of Weeks after a Dear Wife or Husbands Death as the manner of some is which I think is a very ill chosen expression of Grief or Ceremony of Mourning For this looks as if we were out of Humour with God because he has taken our Friend from us and is very unsuitable to that Patience and Thankfulness which we ought to express and to that Devotion which we not only ought but need to use on such occasions For these Changes should not make us less Religious but more and call us to God and his House and Service instead of Driving us from them The House of God is the House of comfort and in our affliction we have the more need to run to it to be eased of our Sorrows as well as to show our intire Submission and Service to that most Wise and good Hand which has now Disposed of our Friend and in his Due time will Dispose of us too to his own mercy And as for the Mourning of the Surviver when God has this way parted dear Pairs the Memory of the Deceased should not easily wear off but stick fast and long with the Living as is very fit both in Respect to the Dead and in Decency and due Regard to the censure of the Wise and Sober part of the World And unless the Circumstances or needs of Families are very extraordinary and Pressing for them to change their condition sooner they should at least wait the Time which Custom and good Report have fixed in mourning for the Dead before they forget their Sorrows or hearken to any motions of exchanging them for new Joys Lastly the Executors and nearest Relations may still further shew their kindness and careful Respect and Deserve well of their Deceased Friends by being very studious to keep Peace among themselves and if any Clauses of the will are not clearly worded or any matters about the Estate are left lyable to Dispute by Composing them amicably among themselves without fuits that the contentions of the Living may not spoil or disparage the Kindness nor ever be laid by God or men to the Neglect or carelessness of the Dead By fulfilling their Wills punctually and giving to every one at their Time with Good-will and without unnecessary trouble or Delays what is really intended for them and Due to them thereby Yea by having Regard to what was fit for them to Order tho' they forgot to Order it Or what they needed to Order but could not as Payment of Debts which they left not Estate enough to pay The Law indeed will not compel them to pay beyond Assets or what the Deceased has left them to pay out of But Natural Affection and the Virtue of Gratitude in near and dear Kindred especially in Children towards their Parents may call for more than any humane Law doth For Children have received abundance from their Parents and if ever they see them brought to want they ought to look upon themselves as much in their Debt and greatly obliged in Gratitude to requite them if they are able which St. Paul calls shewing Piety at home Especially to shew this Piety in doing such things for them as they would most Desire to be done for themselves And if these Deceased Relations had Liberty to speak their own mindes to us I belive we should hear that nothing lyes nearer to their Hearts or would be more for their Ease or Comfort than doing Justice for them where they owe it or paying their just Debts is And therefore to take these up according to our Ability and Circumstances and reasonably to content and satisfie their Creditors is a Great and Noble part of Religious Piety towards them and a most Rewardable instance of Gratitude and Natâ—ral kindness Which is of the more account as being shown towards those who tho' heretofore they have done much more for us yet now can doe nothing either for us or for themselves and as being thereby an Office full of Humanity and Generosity as well as of Gratitude and Piety Thus much I thought fit to premise for a Brief Direction to Sick or Dying Persons how to manage and employ themselves when call'd by God to these Conditions and also to the surviving Relations how to discharge their Parts well upon the Death of Friends But for a more full Assistance and Direction of their Practice or Devotions I have laid together some choice Scriptures and Composed particular Prayers fit to Guide their Practice and express their Devotion on the several Duties and Exigencies of the State of Sick or Dying men or of the surviving Kindred when their Friends are taking from them And these are contained in the Pages following Prayers and Devotions FOR The State of Sickness Scriptures for the Duties and Needs of Sick Persons Psal. 39. and 130. Job 7. Matt 25. to v. 14. 2 Cor. 5. to v. 12. Psal. 77. and Psal. 6. Isa. 38. Heb. 12. I. Sickness and Afflictions are sent and ordered by Almighty God and come on Errands of Mercy AFfliction cometh not forth of the dust neither doth trouble spring out of the ground For God maketh sorâ— and bindeth up he woundeth and his hands make whole Job 5. 6. 18. I kill and I make alive I wound and I heal neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand Deut 32. 39. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten Rev. 3. 19. Even as the Father doth the Son in whom he delighteth Prov. 3. 12. For what Son is he whom the Father Chastneth not So that if ye endure chastning God dealeth with you as with Sons But if ye be without chastizement whereof all are partakers then are ye Bastards and not Sons Hebr. 12. 7 8. You only have I known of all the Families of the Earth therefore I will punish you for all your Iniquities Amos 3. 2. Behold then happy is the Man whom God correcteth Job 5. 17. For when we are judged we are chastned of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the World 1 Cor. 11. 32. And 't is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn thy Statutes Psal. 119. 71. Our Earthly Fathers indeed chastned us after their own pleasure but he for our profit that we might be partakers of his Holiness Heb. 12. 10. So that I know O! Lord thy Iudgments are Right and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me Psal. 119. 75. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be World without end Amen And this Glory be to the Father c. may be added at the end of all the following Collections of Scripture when they are used Devotionally II. How they are to be received I. With Repentance of their Sins BY sin came death and death hath passed upon all men because all have sinned Rom.
lasting Interests throwing away thy favour and future Joys for empty shows and shadows and a blessed Eternity for moments of Vanity I reflect on all this O! Merciful God with bitterness and with a Spirit wearied with mine own ways I see and lament my own folly and abhor mine own vileness on account thereof I wish with all my Soul that those Sins had never been done and would take any way to undoe them and most earnestly desire and fnlly purpose by thy Grace that I may do so no more God be merciful to me a self-condemning and repenting Sinner 3. LOrd I am burden'd and heavy laden with my Sins Oh! Do thou who callest out to the heavy laden to seek refreshment at thine Hands give me ease I confess them and desire above all things else that I may utterly forsake them Let me according to my Promise find Mercy From mine Heart I forgive all Persons who have offended me even my bitterest Enemies and most earnestly entreat thee that thou wouldst forgive them Oh! Do thou who offerest forgiveness to those who are ready to grant it for Jesus Christ's sake forgive me I repent unfeignedly of all my Sins and am ready to make all just amends at least as far as I am able to any whom I have ever injured whether they be of low or of high Degree or even the highest of all O! God of all Grace perfect my Repentance and accept it and blot out all my misdeeds as thou engagest to do unto all those who sincerely repent of the same I know O! Blessed Jesus that there is no Name but thine whereby I can obtain Pardon And I trust only to the fulness of thy Merits and to the faithfulness of thy gracious Promises and to the abundance of my Heavenly Father's Mercy and Loving Kindness to me a great and miserable but an Humble Contrite Penitent Sinner Forgive them all O! Blessed Father Remembring not my Deservings but the pityableness of my Weakness and thy Dear Sons infinite Merits and thine own boundless Mercies and most precious Promises Let me here have thy Peace and be admitted hereafter to stand for ever in thy â—resence for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake Amen Our Father c. For carrying on this duty of Repentance the sick person may likewise make use of the Prayer for Profession of Godly Sorrow for Sins and of Resolutions of New Obedience and of the Profession of the Fruits of Repentance and the Conditions of Forgiveness and of the Prayer for Pardon of sins in the Office for Penitents And for comforting and quieting his Conscience against Fears and Scruples he may be supplyed with Hymns and Prayers in the Office for Persons troubled in mind all which are in the Companion to the Penitent II. Prayers for an Heart to be Liberal in Alms-Deeds when any Persons are about to make their Will or to accompany Repentance at any time leaving out the Passages within the Hooks which particularly refer to their last Wills I. O! Almighty Father thou gavest me all my worldly Estate that I should employ it for the convenient support of my self and of my Family and of the â—oor and Needy And when I come to thee I can have nothing to carry along with me but a strict account how I have laid it out Give me Grace therefore I earnestly intreat thee after I have made a wise provision for my Family out of it with a free and glad heart to give good Portions thereof to the poor who are thy Receivers or to Religious and Pious uses that when I can no longer possess my Estate I may come with joy to give up my account of it and that when my worldly Goods can no longer profit me my good disposal thereof may thro the Merits of my only Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen 2. AND whatsoever I give to the Poor or to pious uses for thy sake give me the Heart O! Lord to do it with a good Will and with a Liberal Hand For thou O! My God hast freely given the whole of this Estate to me and therefore it is not for me to be narrow and niggardly in these Returns of a small part thereof which I make to thee And these Pious and Charitable Gifts alas Have been far too few and too poor and slender all my life and therefore I need to supply that Defect by being more liberal therein at my Death And what I thus give out of it O! Blessed Jesu is to thy poor Members who are all my near Kindred and Brethren in the Spirit Yea Lord by such Acts of Mercy I know that iniquity is purged And by this use of the Mammon of unrighteousness I may make my self Friends in thy Presence And the Poors Prayers and Thanksgivings for any relief or comfort which they have received by my means may heap Blessings on my head whilst I live and help much to recommend me to thy mercy and gracious Acceptance when I die So that these Gifts to them O! Blessed Lord are the truest way I have of giving to my self and are much more for my own relief than for theirs And I do and will look upon them as a laying up Treasure for my self in Heaven and making a Return of my wealth for my own use and behoof in another Life And reckon that what I wisely give in this kind I take and carry away with me to stand me in stead in the most needful time of thy mercy thro' Jesus Christ my Lord and only Saviour Amen â— A Prayer at the Oblation or giving of our Alms or on alloting any sums to charitable or Pious uses O! Blessed Lord I humbly intreat thee Graciously to accept of this poor return of the worldly Substance which thou hast committed unto me I offer it to thee for the use of thy poor Members whom I look upon as my poor Brethren I offer it with an Heart that is truly sorrowful for all my Sins and thankful for all thy Mercies that seeks acceptance for it only for the sake of thy Sons merits and from thy mere Grace and Favour and that is ashamed for its having made the offering no sooner and now for offering no more And all my Alms and Repentance I present and put into thy Hands O! Holy Jesu in the Communion of Saints and in the Unity of thy Holy Church which is thy Body and Spouse and whereto thou hast given the precious Promises of Grace and Pardon and eternal Life O! Father in the Unity of this Body let me find mercy And accept mine Alms as an Oblation of a sweet Savour and supply and perfect all my Wants and purge away all my Sins thro' the merits of my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ Amen Our Father which art c. III. Prayers for Trust in God in Sickness I. O! Almighty Lord under all my weakness and pains of Body and uncertain Prospects for my self and for
Amen 8. A Prayer of Friends for the Sick when they are Light-headed or apprehend danger thereof LORD in this extremity of pain and sickness keep thy Servant in his Senses and let him not want the use of Reason when he stands most in need of its Succors Let not his Disease transport him into vane or violent Ravings And much less let the Enemy abuse his Fancy when he himself has lost all good use thereof and possess it with any frightful or ungodly Thoughts and Illusions But whatever he says or doth amiss or indecent under such Disturbance and alienation of mind impute not the same to him as his sins O! Lord whilst his Reason can neither understand nor refuse them and whilst that which takes away the use of his Reason from him is only his Disease which is of thy sending But impute them to the busie working of the Adversary upon an ungovern'd imagination And give thy Servant his Senses again that he may disclaim all the evil which he said or did whilst he knew it not and that he may watch against the Enemy and may see his own wants and earnestly implore thy Grace and Mercy for the supply thereof through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour Amen X. PRAYERS for certain kinds of Sickness I. For Women with Child Scriptures for Women with Child 1. Before their Travail UNTO the Woman God said I will greatly multiply thy Sorrow and thy Conception in Sorrow shalt thou bring forth Children Gen. 3. 16. For the Woman being deceived was first in the Transgression Notwithstanding she shall be saved in Child-bearing if she continue in Faith and Charity and Holyness with Sobriety 1 Tim. 2. 14 15. And when she is in Travail she hath Sorrow because her hour is come But as soon as she is deliver'd she remembreth no more the anguish for joy that a man is born into the World Jo 16. 21. 2. In Travail LORD my heart is sore pained within me and the Terrors of Death are falâ—'n upon me Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me and horror hath over-whelmed me Ps. 55. 4 5. But what time I am afraid I put my trust in thee Ps. 56. 3. Lord I beseech thee deliver my soul Ps. 116. 4. Oh! Be not thou far from me nor seem as if thou heardest not Shew some token upon me for good and make haste to help me O! Lord Ps. 38. 21. 22. and 88. 17. 3. After Delivery she may express her Devotion in one of the Hymns in the Office for Churching of Women or in this following I Love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplicacations Because he hath inclined his ear unto me therefore will I call upon him as long as I live The sorrows of death compassed me and the pains of hell got hold upon me I found trouble and sorrow Then called I upon the Name of the Lord 116. 1 2 3 4. And in the day when I cryed he answered me and strengthened me with strength in my soul Ps. 138. 3. When I sought him he heard me and deliver'd me from all my fears Ps. 34. 4. Oh! Sing unto the Lord all ye Saints of his and give thanks at the remembrance of his Holiness Psal. 30. 4. Ye that fear the Lord praise him For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted neither hath he hid his face from me but when I cryed unto him he heard me And my praise shall be of him in the great Congregation I will pay my Vows before them that fear him Psal. 22. 23 24 25. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be World without end Amen Prayers for Women with Child 1. A Prayer for a breeding Woman and against Miscarriage to be used at any time before Travel O! Almighty Lord who in thy Mercy hast given me an hopeful Conception carry it on I humbly intreat thee to an happy Deliverance in thy due time Oh! let not my Child fare the worse for mine Offences nor deal with it according to my Deserts but according to thy own tender Mercies Give it its due shapes and full growth and preserve me from all Frights or evil Accidents which may cause me to miscarry and in great Love and Pity both to it and me bring it into the World at its full Maturity And Bless it in mind O God as well as in Body Endow it with an understanding capable to know thee and with an Heart well disposed and strongly bent to fear thee Sanctifie it from the Womb and receive and reckon it for thy Child as soon as it is mine lent to me for my Comfort but ever reserved and employ'd by thee for thy Service and Glory And Lord if it may please thee make it easie to me in the breeding and in the bearing and bringing forth also when the time shall come And grant that in both I may always bear my Burden with Patience and look up to thee with Faith and receive thy Mercies with all Humility and Thankfulness thro' Jesus Christ my Lord Amen 2. A Prayer when the time of Travel draws near GIve me Grace O! merciful God to look for the pangs and throws of Travel which now draw near unto me with holy Fear and humble Confidence in thee Let me not come to meet them O! Almighty Father in a stupid or careless Security as one insensible how much the smart and peril of this State do need thy help and mercy For nothing is fitter to show us our weakness nor calls more for the Succours of thy strength And therefore I disclaim all Confidence in my Self or other humane means and humbly seek to thee and give my Self and my poor Babe up for lost unless thou art pleased to stand by me But when I see how much I need thee let me not mistrust thee O! my God For thou art prone to shew Pity and my pangs will be strong to move it And the Preservation of my sweet Babe which has done nothing against thee will call aloud to thy mercy to deliver me Thou art ready to hear us and to help us O! Lord because of thy Promise And my Trust is that thy Power and Goodness will not be wanting to support and deliver me in this Case because I see thou daily dost extend the same to support and deliver others and because thou hast several times heretofore done the same to my Self And therefore O! Father I cheerfully commit my self into thy hands And look to find mercy from thee as one who absolutely needs thee and humbly trusts to thee For mine eyes are unto thee O! God and to thee alone to give me convenient Courage to meet my pangs and strength to bear them and to give me Patience to wait on thee and a safe Deliverance at thy due time for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake Amen III. Prayers in time of Travel
or ungodly Shifts if ever I come to be pinched with Persecution or adversity or to Comply with any things unworthy and misbecoming my Self or Displeasing unto thee And when I can leave noe Children to support my Name and Memory let me have Good Deeds O! Dear God and a Life of unblemish'd integrity and Honor to doe the same for me Oh! that I may be remembred after I am Dead for acts of true Piety and Charity which give the truest and most lasting fragrancy However let me leave behind me the memory of a truely Religious humble and Virtuous Carriage for the imitation of all that knew me Especially O! Holy Father let a Constant course of Obedience and Godlyness recommend me thro the Blood of thy Son to thy Approbation And tho among Men I am quite forgotten yet let me be Graciously remembred and received by thee when thou reckonest up and callest over the Number of thy Children for my Dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen Trinuni Deo Gloria THE CONTENTS THe Preface Directions for an Holy and an Happy Death Chap. 1. OF Settling Worldly Affairs and Care of the Body in Sickness p. 1. Chap. 2. Of Securing Peace with God in Sickness p. 10. By Profession of Repentance p. 11. and of Faith p. 14. and of Continuance in the Vnity of the Church p. 17. Chap. 3. Of Carriage under Sickness p. 22. and Particularly of Trust in God p. 23. Of Resignation p. 29. and I of Thankfulness p. 32. Chap. 4. Of Patience under Sickness p. 39. and Spending Sick Bed Hours â—p 51. and ministring to Sick Persons p. 53. Chap. 5. Of Carriage at the Approach of Death and in the last Extremitiâ—s p. 58. Chap. 6. Of Care and Treatment of the Dead p. 68. Devotions for the State of Sickness I. A General Prayer for the Duties and Needs of Sick Persons p. 129. and one out of the Office of Visitation p. 131. and Scriptures about the mercifull ends of Sickness p. 79. II. Prayers and Scriptures for their particular needs and duties I. For Repentance in Sickness and the several expressions of it Scriptures p. 82 c. and Prayers p. 133 c. II. For an Heart to give Alms and at the time of giving them Scriptures p. 85. and Prayers p. 143 c. III. For Trust in God and on the chief aâ—ts and Branches of it and motives to it in Sickness Scriptures p. 88 c. and Prayers p. 147 c. IV. For Faith in Gods Promises under Sickness Scriptures p. 96 c. and Prayers p. 160 c. V. For Resignation under Sickness Scriptures p. 100. and Prayers p. 162 c. VI. For Thankfullness under Sickness Scriptures p. 99. and Prayers p. 168 c. VII For Patience under Sickness both 1. The chief Acts and expressions of it Scriptures p. 100 c. Prayers p. 176 c. 2. the Helps to it p. 186. c. 3. the motives to it Scriptures p. 107. Prayers p. 189 c. And this 1. Towards God p. 175 c. 2. Towards Friends and Attendants Scriptures p. 108. and Prayers p. 180 c. 3. Towards our selves under the Heaviness and Brokenness of our own Spirits Scriptures p. 109. and Prayers p. 183 c. VIII For Spiritual improvements by Sickness Scriptures p. 110. and Prayers p. 196 c. IX For the Bodily needs and Desires of Sick Persons viz 1. For ease under Pains Scriptures p. 111 c. and p. 119. Prayers p. 201 c. and on Receipt thereof p. 117 and 204. 2. For strength under the same p. 205. 3. For Deliverance from them Scriptures p. 115 c. Prayers p. 206. 4. For longer Respite and Recovery p. 207 c. 5. On Taking Physick Scriptures p. 120. Prayers p. 210 c. 6. On want of sleep Scriptures p. 118. Prayers p. 212 c. 7. On excess of sleep p. 214. 8. On their being Light-Headed p. 216. X. For Certain kinds of Sickness viz. I. For Women with Child both Scriptures and Prayers 1. Before Travel p. 218 and p. 222 c. 2. In Travel p. 219 and p. 225 c. 3. After Delivery p. 220 and 229 c. with a Prayer for her Child p. 233. II. On the Loss of Eye-sight both Scriptures p. 235 c. and Prayers 1. For Recovery of Sight p 238. 2. For Patience under the want of Eye sight p. 239 c. 3. For Good use of Blindness p. 243. III. Vnder the Loss of Hearing both Scriptures p. 245 c. and Prayers 1. For Recovery of Hearing p. 247 c. 2. For Patience under the want of Hearing p. 249 c. 3. For Good use of Deafness p. 253. 4. A Thanksgiveing on Recovery from Blindness or Deafness p. 254. IV. For a Sick Child p. 256 c. V. In Times of Common Infection Scriptures p. 259 c. Prayers p. 260 c. VI. In Behalf of Natural Fools and Mad-men p. 264 c. VII For Attendants about the Sick Scriptures p. 122 c. and a Prayer p. 267. XI A Thanksgiveing for Recovery from Sickness Scriptures p. 124 c. and Prayers p. 269 c. Devotions on the Apprehension or Approach of Death I. ON the Prospect of ones own Death Drawing near Scriptures p. 274 c. Prayers p. 283 c. II. On willingness to Dye Scriptures p. 276 c. and Prayers p. 285 c. III. Against Fear of Death Scriptures p. 279. Prayers p. 289 c. IV. Against Presumption Scriptures p. 280. A Prayer p. 293. V. In the last Agonyes Scriptures p. 281. and Ejaculations and Prayers p. 295 296 c. with a Prayer against Sudden Death p. 300. Devotions upon the Death of Friends I. WHen a Friend Dyes Scriptures p. 302 c. and Prayers p. 305 c. A Prayer when they think God is angry at them when he takes away their Friends p. 312. When these Losses come close after one another p. 314. For Learning thereby to â—it loose to the World and be more fix'd in the Love of God p. 315. II. When a Friend is taken away in his Prime Scriptures p. 304. Prayers p. 316. III. When he is taken away by a violent untimely Death p. 318 c. IV. On the Death of Friends who had lead ill Lives and gave noe Comfortable Proofs of Repentance at their Deaths p. 322 c. V. On the Death of a Child p. 325 c. VI. When one is made Childless or is like to Dye without Children Scriptures p. 305. A Prayer p. 328 c. Books ERRATA PAge 14 line 24. read descendedst p. 20 marg r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 21. the word Peace is set after l. 4. which should make the liue before it p. â—â— l. pennlt for put after Sufferings p. 35. l. 3. r. bâ— p. 44. l. 8. after sickness add Amen p. 63. l. 15. r. sense of to the last p. 78. l. 4. r. taken p. 99. l. â—3 r. hast p. 140. l. 12. for my
9. 10. He taketh pleasure in them who hope in his mercy Ps. 147. 11. He is a very present help in trouble Ps. 46. 1. And behold we account them happy which endure Ye have heard of the patience of Iob and have seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is very pityful and of tender mercy Jam. 5. 11. They shall not be ashamed who wait for me Isa. 49. 23. And my soul wait thou only upon God for my expectation is from him Ps. 62. 5. Wait for his mercy but go not aside lest ye fall Cleave unto him and depart not away that thou mayst be encreased at thy last end Ecclus. 2. 3 7. 5. To Querulousness and accusing God It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth He sitteth alone and keepeth silence because he hath born it upon him He putteth his mouth in the dust if so be there may be hope Wherefore doth a living man complain A man for the punishment of his sins Lam. 3. 27 28 29 39. I was dumb I opened not my mouth because thou didst it Ps. 39. 9. I was as a man that heareth not and in whose mouth are no reproofs Ps. 38. 14. For shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him He that reproveth God let him answer it But behold I am vile what shall I answer thee I will lay my hand upon my mouth Job 40. 2 4. He was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth He is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter and as a Sheep before her Shearers is dumb so he openeth not his mouth Isa. 53. 7. Motives to Patience Shall we receive good at the hands of God and shall we not receive evil Job 2. 10. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord Job 1. 21. Shall the clay say unto him that fashioned it what makest thou Is. 45. 9. And why doth a living man complain yea a man for the punishment of his sin Lam. 3. 39. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him Mich. 7. 9. And the Lord doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men v. 33. If need be we are in heaviness 1 Pet. 1. 6. And because all need all are partakers of chastisements Heb. 12. 8. Even Jesus tho he were a Son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered Heb. 5. 8. So that it is out of very faithfulness that he afflicteth us Ps. 119. 15. And whom be loveth he correcteth even as a Father the Son in whom he delighteth Prov. 3. 11. For when we are judged we are chastned of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world 1 Cor. 11. 32. He chasteneth us for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness Heb. 12. 10. As Gold in the Furnace hath he tryed them and received them as a burnt-offering He proved them and found them worthy of himself and having been a little chastized they shall be greatly rewarded Wisd. 3. 5 6. And these light afflictions which are but for a moment work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory 2 Cor. 4. 17. Glory be to the Father c. 2. With Patience towards our Friends and Attendants Be patient towards all men 1 Thess. 5. 14. With all lowliness and meekness with long-suffering forbearing one another in love Eph. 4. 2. Be gentle shewing all meekness to all men Tit. 3. 2. And be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry Ecclus. 7. 9. For he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly Prov. 14. 29. And a man that hath friends must shew himself friendly Prov. 18. 24. 3. With patience with our selves and with the heaviness and brokenness of our own Spirit under Sickness 'T is wrong said that God is hard reaping where he has not sown and gathering where he has not strow'd Matt. 25. 24. For 't is only where much is given that much shall be required Luke 12. 48. He remembreth that we are but flesh Ps. 78. 39. He himself bore our sickness Matt. 8. 17. And had the feeling of our infirmities And it behoved him to have so in all things that he might be a merciful High-Priest Heb. 2. 17. and c. 4. 15. He attends unto our cry when we are brought very low Ps. 142. 6. And will not forsake us because our strength faileth Ps. 71. 9. Dying as well as living we are the Lords Rom. 14. 8. And fall asleep in him 1 Thess. 4. 14. Glory be to the Father c. VI. Of Improvements thereof to Spiritual Advantages THat I should not be exalted above measure there was given me a thorn in the flesh 2 Cor. 12. 7. She did not know that I gave her Corn and Wine and Oyl Therefore will I return and take away my Corn in the time thereof and my Wine in the season thereof Hos. 2. 8 9. And I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offences and seek my face in their affliction they will seek me early Hos. 5. 15. When my Heart is overwhelmed lead me to the Rock that is higher than I Ps. 61. 2. So that altho' for the Time no afflâ—ction seemeth joyous but Grievous yet afterwards it yieldeth the Peaceable Fruits of Righteousness to those that are exercised thereby Heb. 12. 11. For he chastiseth us for our profit that we may be partakers of his Holiness Heb. 12. 10. Glory be to the Father c. 3. Scriptures for the Bodily needs and desires of Sick Persons I. For Ease and Strength 1. To pour out their Grief and Complaints BEhold all Flesh is Grass and all the goodliness thereof is as the Flower of the Field The Grass withereth the Flower fadeth because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it but the word of our God shall stand for ever Is. 40. 6 7 8. When thou Lord with Rebukes dost correct man for iniquity thou makest his Beauty to consume away like a Moth Surely every man is Vanity Ps. 39. 11. Thou hast weakned my strength in the way and shortned my days Ps. 102. 23. Thine Arrows O Lord stick fast in me and thy hand Presseth me sore There is no soundness in my Flesh becaâ—se of thine Anger neither is there any Rest in my bones because of my Sin I am troubled I am bowed down greatly I go mourning all the day long I am feeble and sore broken I have roared by reason of the Disquietness of my Heart My Heart panteth my Strength faileth me as for the Light of mine Eyes it also is gone from me My Lovers and my Friends stand aloof from mâ— sore and my Kinsmen stand afar off Ps. 38. 2 3 6 8 10 11. My Spirit is overwhelmed within me and my Heart within me is Desolate Ps. 143. 4. My Soul also is sore troubled but Lord how long wilt thou Punish me Ps. 6. 3. 2. To Pray for ease and mitigation thereof And
within me thy comforts Lord delight my Soul Ps. 94. 19. Glory be to the Father c. 3. On taking Physick Man liveth not by Bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Mat. 4. 4. And it was neither Herb nor mollifying Plaster that restored them to health but thy word O! Lord which healeth all things For thou hast power of Life and Death thou leadest to the Gates of Hell and bringest up again Wisd. 16. 12 13. He that is our God is the God of Salvation and unto God the Lord belong the issues from Death Ps. 68. 20. The Lord hath created Medicines out of the Earth and he that is wise will not abhor them And with such doth he heal men and taketh away their Pains For of the most High cometh healing and he hath given men Skill that he might be honoured in his marve lous works Ecclus. 38. 2 4 6 7. My time is in thy hand therefore I trust in thee O Lord Ps. 31. 14 15. Oh! Send thy word and heal me and deliver me from my Destruction Ps. 107. 20. Glory be to the Father c. V. For Attendants about Sick Persons I. HE that is ready to slip with his feet is as a Lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease Job 12. 5. But to him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his Friends Job 6. 14. For a Friend loveth at all times and a Brother is born for adversity Prov. 17. 17. And if your Soul were in my Souls stead I would strengthen you with my mouth and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief Job 16. 4 5. But my Brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook and as the stream of brooks they pass away As Brooks that are blackish with Ice wherein Snow is hid What time they wax warm they vanish when it is hot they are consumed out of their place Now ye are nothing you see my casting down and are afraid Yea you dig a pit for your friend Job 6. 15 16 17 21 27. II. Whether one member suffer all the members suffer with it or one member rejoyce all the members rejoyce with it 1 Cor. 12. 26. Distribute then to the necessity of Saints and weep with those that weep Rom. 12. 13 15. And he that sheweth mercy let him do it with chearfulness v. 8. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love which ye have shew'd towards his Name in that ye have ministred to the Saints and do Minister Heb. 6. 10. I was sick and ye visited me In as much as ye have done it to the least of these my Brethren ye did it unto me Mat. 25. 36 40. And this is pure and undefiled Religion to visit the Fatherless and Widows in their affliction Jam. 1. 27. And the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning for by the sadness of the Countenance the Heart is made better That is the end of all men and the living will lay it to his heart Eccles. 7. 2 3 4. Glory be to the Father c. VI. An Hymn of Thanksgiving for Recovery from Sickness IN my wrath I smote thee but in my favour have I had mercy on thee Is. 60. 10. The Lord hath chastned me sore but he hath not given me over unto death Ps. 118. 18. In love to my soul he hath delivered it from the pit of corruption for he hath cast all my sins behind his back Is. 38. 17. O! Lord my God thou hast considered my trouble thou hast known my soul in adversities Ps. 31. 7. Thou healest the broken in heart and bindest up their wounds Psal. 147. 3. And I cryed unto thee and thou hast healed me And hast turned for me my mourning into dancing thou hast put off my Sack-cloath and girded me with gladness To the end that my Glory may sing praise to thee and not be silent O! Lord my God I will give thanks unto thee for ever Ps. 30. 2 11 12. My Mouth shall shew forth thy Righteousness and thy Salvation all the day For I know not the numbers thereof And my Lips shall greatly rejoyce when I sing unto thee and my Soul which thou hast redeemed Psal. 71. 15. 23. O! Sing unto the Lord ye Saints of his and give thanks at the Remembrance of his Holiness Ps. 30. 4. And ye that fear the Lord trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield Ps. 115. 11. To the upright he maketh light to arise in the darkness Ps. 112. 4. For his Anger endureth but a moment in his Favour is Life Weeping may endure for a Night but Joy cometh in the Morning Psal. 30. 5. I will offer the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and will call upon the Name of the Lord Ps. 116. 17. And I will pay thee my Vows O! God which my Lips have uttered and my Mouth hath spoken when I was in trouble Psal. 66. 13 14. I will not hide thy Righteousness within my Heart I will declare thy Faithfulness and thy Salvation I will not conceal thy Loving Kindness and thy Truth from the great Congregation Psal. 40. 10. I will pay my Vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his People In the Courts of the Lord's House in the midst of thee O! Jerusalem Praise ye the Lord Psal. 116. 18 19. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be World without end Amen PRAYERS FOR THE Duties and Needs OF SICK PERSONS I. A General Prayer for things needful under Sickness O! Almighty and most Righteous Lord who makest sore and bindest up and in whose Hands are the Issues of life and death Give me Grace to look upon this my Sickness as of thy sending â—nd to own both the justice and the mercifulness of thy Visitation and of my suffering therein and to look up to thee for strength to bear and for Grace to profit by the same It comes O! My God as thy scourge for my sins which is to make me see them and avoid them And as thy Medicine to cure my Spiritual Diseases and repair in me the Decays of thy Grace And as thy Fiery Tryal which is to prove my Virtues and to purge away my Dross And Lord Let it not miss of serving and effecting in me all these Gracious purposes And make all my thoughts under the same to be only thoughts of Love and Thankfulness of Holy Resignation and Obedience unto thee and of humble hope in thy Mercy And suffer me not to fall into impatience or mistrust of thy Love and Gracious promises or into any evil and indecent carriage which will add to my guilt if I die or to my remorse and shame if I live Temper my Sorrows also O! Father to my weakness and support me under them by thy Comforts And direct and recompence the labours and kindness of
thy word be verified unto thy Servant and let me not be ashamed or Disappointed of my Hope I trust and depend on thee do not thou fail or forsake me Leave me not under my Troubles but relieve and comfort me according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted me and turn my Mourning into Joy that they who love thee may see it and learn thereby to Praise thy mercy and to put their trust in the same thro' Jesus Christ our Lord Amen 6. Prayers of Sick or dying Persons for trusting God with their Friends or Kindred I. LOrd if thou seest fit to call me home to thy self by this Sickness when I am taken from my Wife and Children and from those who under thee depend on me give them Grace I earnestly intreat thee to betake themselves to thee I commit them to thee O! God of mercy and truth for they are thine and with thee the Fatherless find mercy Yea thou art the Father of the Fatherless and the judge of the Widows and will shew thy self might to plead their cause And my Heart is at ease to have them lodged in thy care where they are infinitely safer and will be infinitely happier and better provided for than ever they could be in mine or in any others without thine I freely commit them to it O! Blessed Lord having my self always found the â—lessing of being under it and of trusting to it And I beg no greater Blessing for them than that they may ever have thy good Providence for their Inheritance in this world and thy Peace for their Portion in the world to come for Jesus Christ's sake Amen 2. When I am gone O! my dear God they are thrown upon thee who art the Husband of the Widow and the Father of the Fatherless And Lord as thou art their Father provide against all their wants and Protect them from all wrongs Supply to them by thy kind Providence what they want in outward helps And altho' they have none to Counsel them where they are unskilful and unexperienced nor to right them where they are injured nor to furnish and supply them where they are unprovided yet will thy Spirit be the best Guide and thy Care and thy Blessing will abundantly make up all At my Departure O! Father they are bereft of their earthly stay But thou art better than Friend or Husband or Father or Mother Yea than allot her supports put together Oh! then do not thou leave them but when I am gone stay thou still with them And be thou to them whatsoever I would be and more than I could be if I were still employ'd by thee to take care of them And enable them evermore to place their love and delight in thee and to fix their Trust and Confidence in thy mercy Oh! that thâ— Will and Honour may always be their care that so their needs and welfare may always be thine And keep them from polluting themselves with any things which may forfeit thy Fatherly Care and Providence and Cry louder against them than their destitute Circumstances do for them Train them up good Lord stedfastly in thy Fear and preserve them from all the Evils and Temptations of this world and bring them safe at last to the Joys and Blessedness of that to come for Jesus Christ's fake Amen 3. Another Prayer for the Widows and Orphans c. for Trusting God with themselves O! Blessed Lord the more we are bereaved of other supports the more do thou strengthen our Faith and Confidence in thy self Make us know that we can never be destitute whilst we have thee to take care of us and that no earthly Provision is or can be so good to us as being intitled to thy good Providence For it is thy Goodness O! dear God that supplys and supports us by any earthly Friends They are only means of thy Providence and Instruments whereby thou takest care of us And thy good Providence which sends us Comforts or supplies by them when it removes them can and will find out other ways and do the same without them So that we are never without Friends and faithful helpers whilst we have thee to stand by us And thou Holy Father still remainest and thy Mercy is still the same altho this most dear and desired means of conveying the Blessed Effects thereof upon us is withdrawn Yea thou art nearer to us and more concern'd to help and provide for us now they are gone Oh! then that we may look up unto thee more than unto them and rest our Hearts more on thy staying with us than on theirs And that being taken off from earthly Dependances we may now depend more intirely upon they Promises and place our chiefest Security and Comfort in thy Love throâ— Jesus Christ our Lord Amen Our Father c. IV. Prayers for Faith in Gods Promises under Sickness I. O! Almighty Lord who relievvest our weakness by the belief and hope of thy Promises under all my weariness I take Comfort and amidst all my Temptations I rest my Soul upon thy word For under the load and guilt of my Sins I trust to the Blood of Jesus and to thy sure Promises of Forgiveness upon our true Repentance And under the Sense of their strength and of my own weakness I trust to the Promises of thy Spirit and Grace And amidst all the Decays and Miseries of this mortal Body I trust to thy sure Promises of â—mmortality I trust to thy Promises O! Father to be with me in all my Sicknesses and Sorrows to temper my afflictions to my infirmities and to give me strength in Proportion to my Needs to ease and rid me of my Pains or to support me under them whilst I live and to turn them all to my advantage in the end and to receive me to thy self when I die for my dearest Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen 2. AND Lord let not the Adversary shake my Faith of these Gracious Promises nor let my own weakness ever betray me once to doubt of them For thou art true and canst not deceive us Thou art the faithful God who keepest covenant and mercy for ever Thy Promises are all yea and Amen And thy word is tryed and is a sure Buckler to all who trust to it Even when we think thee far off thou art near at hand to us and remembrest our Sorrows and thine own Promises when we fancy thou hast forgot them Oh! then that I may trust to thy word which shall surely be verified in its time And keep stedfastly in the Expectation that all these Mercies shall be made good unto thy Servant and Patient in waiting till thou graciously and plentifully fulfillest the same for Jesus Christ's sake Amen Our Father c. V. Prayers for Resignation to the Will of God under Sickness I. O! Almighty and most merciful God my Sorrows are great and my Flesh is weak and sore wearied
dost in great mercy Pity my weakness and provide for it For 't is thy mercy that lays not too much upon me 'T is thy mercy that I am brought down by degrees and am not consumed suddenly 'T is thy mercy that thou wast not soon nor wilt be long angry with me 'T is thy mercy that makes my Bed in my Sickness that considereth my weakness and supporteth me and considereth my Pains and shortneth them and always in due time gives me ease or intermission from them 'T is thy mercy O! dear God that ordereth Comforts for me continually to sweeten my Distresses to me and that makes thee still to be most near unto me at those times when I stand most in need of thee So that altho' I am Sick O! my God yet I am not forsaken For Blessed be thy Name my Griefs are not beyond measure and my Burden is not without help nor my Sufferings without hope and comfort wherewith in thine abundant Mercy thou daily temperest them and sustainest me thro' Jesus Christ my Lord Amen 3. I Bless thee O! most gracious Lord for sending this Sickness upon me which thou sendest to shew thy Love and Care of me and to do me good For if my Body were not sick thou seest my Soul would be sick Yea alas it has been very Sick and this Sickness of my Body comes to cure it For in thus Correcting me when I had gone astray thou art putting an end O! God to my wandring Thou sendest these Sorrows to open my ears to discipline when Mercies would not open them and to reclaim me and set me in the way of Pardon So that this dealing shows that thou hast not rejected me as an outcast or Alien but still lookest upon me with thoughts of Mercy and treatest me as a Son And Blessed be thy Mercy O! Father of Mercies which by these Pains and Sorrows of my Body hast given my Spirit rest from the wearisome importunity and Sollicitations of Lust and Envy Blessed by thou who hast thereby dullâ—d the edge of my covetous Desires and laid asleep my worldly Cares and brought down my ambitious and aspiring thoughts and humbled Self-conceit by shewing me that I am but sin and folly dust and misery Blessed be thou who hast thereby calld me off from incumbring my self with many things which now I see cannot profit me to mind the one thing necessary and from minding worldly Vanities to spend my thoughts upon thy Laws and Promises and from placeing my confidence in my Self to place it only and wholly in thee And since my Sickness doth thus shew me thy Love and cure my Spirit and set on my Felicity it shall please me O! God when it pains me And I will confess to the Glory of thy Truth and Goodness that thou out of very Faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled even because I need it and because by thy Grace I shall receive much benefit by it thro' my Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen 4. I Bless thee O! Lord for all the innumerable Mercies which I have received from thee most bountifully and seasonably in all States and Conditions of my Life and thro' all the days and years of it And for that I have long received good at thy hands before I am brought now to receive Evil. I owe thee infinite thanks for a Life of health before this Confinement to my Bed of Sickness and for the long and sweet relish I have had of worldly Comforts before my Disease has rendred them unsavory And my present Pains and Sorrows O my God do not make me forget thy past or present Mercies nor go about to lessen them nor shall they by thy Grace ever make me out of humour with thee or unthankful for them Yea instead of giving thee less thanks for them by reason of this change of my Condition I wll give thee more because my present want of them has taught me better how to prize and value them And I do Bless and I will Bless the Lord that gave and Bless him still after he has taken away I Bless thee for that I still injoy much Good and cannot in the least blame thee that I have some evil but thank thee abundantly that I have no more And above all that under all my present Misery I am comforted with the Sense of thy Love and with the Blessed hopes of everlasting Peace and Joy thro' Jesus Christ my Lord Amen VII Prayers for Patience under Sickness I. A General Prayer for Patience O! Merciâ—ul Lord now I am called to the State of Sickness which is a Tryal of Patience give me Grace to shew Patience under the same that is not to be wearied and cannot be reproved Enable me O! Father to shew a quiet and composed Patience that is without tumult of troubled Thoughts and discontented Passions A submissive and resigned Patience that is without reluctance to thy Will or Rebellious murmurings A Patience of hope that doth not sâ—â—k under my Burdens nor is driven by â—he smart of my Pains to 〈…〉 Love or Care or 〈…〉 And a Thankful 〈…〉 sensible of my Comforts and Supports as well as of my Sicknesses and that owns all my present Sufferings to be far below my deserts and all my past and present Mercies to be infinitely above them And make me perfect O! my God in this Patience Let me tarry thy leisure and not be hasty Let me wait on thee and not grow weary But bear all whilst I have any thing to bear in comfortable hopes of thy Strength to support my present Weakness and of thy Mercy to ease and deliver me at last either by a more healthful Life or by an happy Death thro' the Merits of Jesus Christ my Lord Amen 2. For Patience without reluctance or Disquietness LOrd I humble my Self under thy mighty hand and submit to thy Visitation I submit my Self willingly and will not strive or make resistance I kiss the Rod instead of Quarrelling with it and accept of it quietly as of the punishment of mine iniquities Yea thankfully as of the Restorer of mine innocence And in this Patience O! Holy Father do thou still continue and preserve my Spirit composed and quiet and easie to my Self Since it is thy Will thus to afflict me bow my Will to thine and make me willing to bear it And bearing it willingly let it not anger or discontent me Yea O! my God I trust to thee to lay no more upon me than I can bear Oh! let that Trust keep me without Fears and Distractions under my Burdens I bear only what I most justly deserve Oh! let that stop me from complaining Nay I bear infinitely less than I have deserved and still injoy abundance of Mercies after I have deserved to lose all Oh! then let me not fall to accuse thee for thine inflictions but rather to accuse my self for my evil Deserts and to thank thee for my most
undeserved Comforts Set a watch upon my Tongue therefore O! righteous Lord and suffer it not to vent it self in any fretful or froward Speeches nor to make my Sufferings seem bigger or my Comforts and Supports seem fewer or thy most tender and undeserved Mercies to me in my Distress seem less than they really are But if the painful agitation of my Spirits must issue out in Crys Lord let my Crys be not at all to accuse but only to justifie thy Visitations and to express my own Sorrows and implore thy Mercy and seek help from thy Grace thro' our Lord Jesus Christ Amen 3. For Patience without Dejection of Spirit and without Hastiness for ease AND help me O! Almighty God to bear my Load without being cast down For whatever my Burden be I have thee for my support and therefore should not faint or sink under it Thy sure Promises are my Confidence and thy Almighty power is my defence O! then let not any Greatness of my Tryals or Sense of my own weakness make me afraid And give me long Patience in bearing and waiting O! my God if my relief from thee doth not come suddenly And let me not foolishly prescribe to thee by what means or Medicines thou shalt ease me under my Maladies or deliver me from them or at what time thou shalt do it For 't is more than enough for me if I may be allowed to have these Mercies at all tho' by any means or at any time and it is always best for me to have them in thy way and at thy time Thou knowest best how to succour and save me and when it will most sensibly affect me and serve thee Oh! then that I may six no times of ease to my self but expect them from thee That I may tarry thy leisure and not think thee long That I may Patiently abide if thou delayest and not mistrust thee Yea Patiently abide always and not grow weary but still think with my self yet a little while and he will shew forth his Mercies and fulfill his Promises and I shall find the ease and deliverance which my wearied Flesh desires in the exchange of my Sickness either for the Comforts of health or for the rest and joys of Paradice throâ— my dearest Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen 4. For Patience with Friends and Attendants I. AND together with this Patience towards thee give me Patience O! merciful Lord towards all those who friendly or charitably minister to me and attend about me Keep me from being humorsome and shewing Crossness to their good Counsels or from being causelesly angry and Exceptious against their kind Services And if any evil Accidents or Indiscretions happen let me not fall unquietly to aggravate them or burst out into any passionate or opprobrious words thereupon But enable me always O! Father to shew my self pleased and obliged with the least kindness which they do for me or about me and to â—nterpret all mis-chances favourably and to pass over things with Ease and Gentleness which are not done for me to my desire And on all occasions to make it my study to give them no more trouble than needs to help me nor any cause to repent of their officious care or to grudge at what they do for me which as I receive with Thankfulness so I humbly beseech thee in thy goodness most mercifully to repay to them and theirs for Jesus Christ's sake Amen 2. AND Lord let me ever bethink my self that my own Pains and and Weaknesses will keep me troublesome to my self and that whilâ—t I am so I am in no good Disposition to be pleased with others altho ' what they do for me be really fit to please me were I in a â—emper to be pleased with it as I ought to be And that 't is very hard even for a discreet and kind Care to do all things acceptably to a pained and sickly Body And therefore that I ought to take all well and not to quarrel with what they do for me which is always well meant and done kindly yea and it may be wisely too tho' it happens not to hit with my diseased Fancy Oh! then Holy Father that I may consider upon every occasion of offence with them that at the best I am very troublesome to them And that all they do for me is out of kindness which should be kindly taken That much of it is pure Charity which in this Estate I cannot recompence to them by taking their troubles upon me as they do mine upon them And that it is a small thing to return Good-will and hearty thanks where I have nothing better to repay And to be pleased with their love and kindness tho' I am not eased by their Performance And to study to please them with my kind acceptance who have no other aim than to oblige and ease me by their friendly and charitable Offices and when they can do no more for me themselves to seek to thee for the rest and recommend me by their Prayers to thy help and mercy thro' Jesus Christ our Lord Amen 5. For Patience with ones self and with the Heaviness and Brokenness of their own Spirit under Sickness I. O! most Gracious God when I am most burden'd with my heavy Load of Pains and Weaknesses give me Grace I humbly intreat thee to gather up what thoughts and powers I have left and to employ them all to bear it Patiently And when I am a little more at ease let me be sure to praise thee for the ease I find and to improve my ease and return thee Thanks in a tribute of Godly Prayers and of holy thoughts and Meditations Make me look upon my Prayers O! Lord as my surest support and as my best Employment And enaable me always to be glad of any helps in them and of any ease and leisure for them and to be sincerely careful then to put them up the best I can But when I do this the best I can let me not fear that it will offend thee or endanger me because in this State of Pain and Sickness I can do it no better For my Bodily indispositions and my troubled Fancy and broken Thoughts O! my God are part of my Disease wherewith thou tryest my Patience And as thou expectest from me that I should bear with them as with an affliction of thy sending so thou wilt Graciously bear with them too for our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen 2. FOR thou O! merciful God considerest our State and makest all just and reasonable allowances for the weakness of it And therefore thou wilt not exact of me to seek to thee with the Vigour and strength of healthy Faculties or with such uninterrupted continuance and attendance as requires the same after thou hast taken my health and strength away But thou dost and wilt accept O! Gracious Lord of a feeble Prayer from a faint and feeble Spirit and of a short one from a mind
of broken thoughts which is soon spent and wearied and cannot attend to any thing long Nay thou Graciously acceptest even of a Sigh or a Groan or a devout Wish or of a sudden Breathing and short Act of holy Love or of humble Resignation of Faith or of Patience when the decays and Drowsiness of a Spirit almost spent and ready to faint will suffer us to put up nothing else Oh! then that I may bear with my self and with the feebleness and faintness of my own Spirit in my religious Services under my Sickness And when I am the most languid and liveless in any spiritual Acts make me remember that 't is thy Blessed Will to send this State of weakness upon me And that all the while I am bearing thy Will patiently I am pleasing thee and that every moments Resignation of my Will thereto is an holy Offering Let me consider that I recommend my self to thee by the patience of hope and by meek Suffering when I have no strength left to do it by Labour and Action Nay that in the hight of my Disability even my weakness and Bodily indispositions are vocal for me and move thy Pity which in thy due time will give me ease and Deliverance from them and Graciously allow for my Faintness and accept of my poor Services under the same thro' the Merits of our most Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen 6. A Prayer for the helps to Patience O! Blessed Lord under all my Grief and Misery help me I humbly and earnestly beseech thee to all those good Dispositions and wise Thoughts and Considerations which may make it easie to me Keep me humble O! God and I shall quietly stoop to my Burden and not complain Teach me to deny my self and my own desires and I shall contentedly bear my Cross. Let me have hope in thee as an Anchor of rest and keep me from doubting of thy Love and from mistrusting thy Grace and sure Promises and I shall bear up under my Load yea bear up with Comfort and in thy due time see an happy end thereof Give me Peace in my own mind and I shall be the stronger to endure the troubles of this World and thy Comforts in my Soul shall support and defend me against all the Storms and Tumults that are raised in my Body And Lord let me not stand to reckon up my Sorrows after they are past and to renew them to my Self by calling them over again in a painful Remembrance Especially let me not aggravate them to my Self by envious Reflections and discontented Comparisons with the easier state of others Nor let me anticipate them by frightful Imaginations before they come and when by thy Grace they may very likely never come or any other ways create Sorrows to my self where really thou dost not send them But keep me from all such Reflexion on them as serves not to reform me but only to afflict me and as tends not to enable me to bear my Pains but only to give Strength and quickness to them and Feebleness and Trouble to my self And Grant O! Holy Father that forgetting still what is past I may every moment set my self with all my might to bear what lyes upon me at present And that under the same my thoughts may all busie themselves in justifying thy Goodness and Arraigning mine own wickedness and in casting about how I may bear my Affliction patiently and devoutly and learn Obedience thereby and how I may be comforted under it at present and turn it to my everlasting ease and joy in the end thro' Jesus Christ my Lord Amen 7. Prayers containing Motives to Patience I. LOrd make me Patient under all I suffer because it is thy doing and my Deserving Make me look upon my Afflictions as Tokens of thy Love and Care of me which are not sent upon me till they are needful for my good and for thy Glory and which tho' they are troublesome are yet exceding wholsome For they come to keep my Soul from being corrupted and lost by Ease and Pleasures and to cure me of my Errors and earthly Afflictions and of my Forgetfulness of better things and to raise my Heart to thee on whom it should always fix and from whom it should never stray And keep me sensible O! Almighty God that impatience doth only double my Disease That it makes me troublesome to others but most of all unto my self And that it provokes thy wrath instead of diverting it and makes more severity necessary to break my Spirit when less will not suffice to bend it to thy Yoke Whereas humble Submission to thy Will O! Lord is the readiest way to have mine own and my bearing thy Rod with Faith and Patience and hearkning to the voyce thereof is the readiest way I can take of hastning on my own Deliverance For when there is no hindrance thereto from other wise ends of thy Providence thou art wont to grow weary of using the Rod after it has show'd us our Errours and art inclined to spare us when we submit our selves Not smiting us for any pleasure and delight thou takest in the Pains of thy Servants but to bring down our Spirits and to purge away our Sins that we may be fit and duely qualified for thy Love and for our own everlasting Happiness thro' the Merits of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen 2. AND tho' my Pain and Sickness is hard to be born O! Gracious God yet keep me ever mindful that there is need of much heat in the Furnace to fine the gold and to purge away the Dross That I need to bear some Hardships to prevent worse and cannot be torn from my Sins and from thy Wrath without some violence Yea Lord that it is a Favour to me and very desireable to be visited with these short Pains which thy Grace and my Patience will turn at last into durable Joys rather than to be let alone in my Sins to lye down without ease or remedy in everlasting Torments And whilst I am bearing my hard Lot make me know O! Father that all thy Promises of Grace and help in time of need are sure and stedfast That thou tenderly considerest my weakness both in sending of my Sorrows and in proportioning of my Succours That thou hearest all my Groans and pitiest them and wilt find a cure or put and end to them in thy due Time And that thou art most ready to accept of my humble Repentance to appease thy wrath making such allowances for my frailty and Forgetfulness as our needs do require and as thine infinite Mercy and Goodness and thy Gospel Promises do bid us comfortably hope for thro' the Merits and Mediation of our only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ Amen 3. AND whatever my Hardships and Sorrows be O! God of Patience and of all Consolations make me consider that this World is the place of Sorrow and Trouble whereof all must expect to bear their share That
we need these Embitterments of Life to reconcile us to the thoughts of Death and to awaken our Preparation for it That Patience is one of the principal Virtues which we have to learn and exercise whilst we Live And that if the exercise of it is hard it will answerably be exceeding happy and most highly rewarded And let me remember moreover O! Lord that the more Tryal we have here of our own Patience the more Proof we have withal of thy Grace and Faithfulness and the greater is our hope of a more abundant joy and Blessed recompence And that a little waiting and endurance usually lets us see how good and Gracious thou art in removing what lyes hard upon us However that the Rest and Comforts of the next World will abundantly satisfie and make amends for all Yea and even here O! Lord let me consider that Patience under my Burdens makes them lighter and my Condition better giving me present ease in this Life as well as more abundant hopes in the Life to come That 't is best for thy Will to take place of mine and to chuse for me both whether and when and how I shall be eased of them And that if I struggle against thy Will I cannot resist it But by bearing it patiently I do not only submit to necessity but shew an Act of Obedience and Duty which will please thee and in the end will far more profit me than my Pains do at present afflict me thro' my Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen 4. AND Grant me Grace O! Lord always to bear in mind that I am here but as a Stranger and that these Decays will carry me home That whilst I am here in the Body I am absent from the Lord and still as I am leaving my Body I am hastning to him And that my poor Soul is now a cloggâ—d and a close Prisoner in Flesh and these Pains and Weaknesses are come to set it free And let me remember O! Father that these Sorrows which I endure in my passage to Rest and Peace are common to men Nay they are the Lot of good men who are often exercised with a greater measure thereof because here is all the Place of their evil things They are not only incident to us but Profitable for us and the best have need of them For even the Blessed Jesus himself tho he were a Son yet learned he Obedience by the things which he suffered He bore the Cross before he wore the Crown and we are first to suffer that we may also Reign with him And I willingly submit to follow where my Blessed Lord has lead the way and to take Pain and Sorrow in my passage to everlasting Life and Joy as he has done before me Only O! my God be thou with me as thou wast with him and let me have thee for my Support and Comfort under all my Sorrows whilst I live and for my Blessed Portion when I die thro' Jesus Christ my Lord Amen VIII Prayers for Spiritual Improvements by Sickness I. O! Most Gracious and Merciful God I receive this sickness as thy Monitor to put me upon considering and amending the Errors of my Life and on making preparation for my Death And let no flattering hopes of life O! Lord delay or slacken my Repentance or keep me from setting my Soul in order But give me Grace to make use thereof as if I were sure it would be what for ought I know it may be a Sickness unto Death And therefore let me now begin to repent of all my sins with that exactness as he should do who thinks this is like to be the last time And to order all my Actions with that uprightness and holy care as befits him who is going to give an account of them And to be so perfect in putting on all the Dresses of a Religious Spirit as he who expects to have no place afterwards for filling up any Omissions And on my Sick-bed Holy Father let Holy Prayers be my Employment and Delight And make me look on shewing Patience and exercising Faith and perfecting Repentance to be my business for those remaining moments which I have still to spend on earth Oh! Let me have as little to do with Vanity and as much intercourse with thee my God and exercise of all Heavenly Thoughts and Virtues as I can that being used to that blessed Employment of Beatified Spirits I may be fit for their Society and prepared everlastingly to injoy thee in Glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen 2. AND Lord do thou whose Glory it is to bring good out of evil and Light out of Darkness turn my sickness which comes as the punishment of my sins into the means of my obedience Make it the instrument of thy Grace to bring me to my self and to call me off from Sin and Folly which have been the Parents of all our pain and misery Let it bring Innocence and Watchfulness to my Spirit and peace and comfort therein and then my Afflictions shall pass for Favours and I will give thee thanks and praise for my Correction When it wasts and brings down my Spirits O! Father cause it also to tame and bring down my Passions and all violent Motions In my low Estate make me meek and lowly And let the sense of my wants and weakness cure me of all Self-Confidence and carry me out wholly to depend on thee Under the Terrors of thy Power possess me with holy awe and fear And whilst my pains make me forgetful of other things let me not remember the wrongs I have received nor be high in resentments of them Let the dulness also of my Senses O God mortifie all Carnal Appetites and the unsavoryness of all worldly Vanities cure me of all inordinate fondness for them Oh! Make my love of Earthly things and all my sinful Lusts and Self-esteem to die before me and let my Sickness kill them and save my Soul alive And grant O! Lord that the trouble which I find there is in wanting thy Mercies may keep me duly sensible of them and thankful for them whilst I enjoy them And let the feeling of these Sorrows in my self touch me with Pity and Compassion for the Sufferings of others whensoever I see them exercised therewith And make me ever think O! Holy Father that I get more in being thus made better and wiser by my Afflictions than in being deliver'd from them And count nothing so good for me as to be brought thus to know my self and to know and serve thee and to be put in the sure way of obtaining thine everlasting Mercy thro my most Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen 3. AND if as my outward man decays my inward man be thus renewed I will bless thy Name O! Merciful God for the kindness of these hard Providences and acknowledge to thy praise that thou in very Faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled For thou
to Life or Death as thou pleasest only in both to thy Mercy And whether living or dying let me still please thee and be thou my Portion Oh! Perfect my Repentance and purge away all my sins And give me Patience whilst I live and Peace when I die and after that the happiness to see thy Face in a Blessed Eternity which thou hast prepared and promised to all that truly fear thee thro Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen 3. A Prayer for her Child PReserve my tender Child O! Father and let its own weakness and my Cries commend it to thy Blessed Care Preserve it to be regenerated and born again by Baptism and thereby made thine own Child by Adoption which is infinitely a greater Blessing both to it and me than thy making of it mine Keep it also afterwards in Health and Safety And as it increases in Years and Stature let it increase withal in Wisdom and in thy Fear I beg not for it Wealth or Greatness but Wisdom to know and serve thee For O! Lord I do not desire Life either for my self or it but that we may live to thee and grow daily in Love and Thankfulness for all thy Mercies and in Faith and Patience and all holy Obedience which may fit us both for ever to injoy thee thro' Jesus Christ our only Saviour and Redeemer Amen Afterwards when she comes to be Churched besides the accustomed Offering to the Minister she may add a Gift of Alms to the Poor as a proper and acceptable Tribute of Thanks and Praise Alms being as fit to attend and recommend our Thanksgivings as they are to inforce our Prayers And let her not forget the Churches Admonition to compleat her giving Thanks by Receiving the Holy Sacrament if there be a Communion that day or so soon as there shall be one II. Devotions on the Loss of Eye-sight to be read to them by some Friends for them to Meditate upon or to joyn in Scriptures I. WHO hath made the Seeing and the Blind Have not I the Lord Ex. 4. 11. And the Lord openeth the eyes of the Blind Ps. 146. 8. He hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the Poor and recovering of Sight to the Blind Luk. 4. 18. Lord I grope for the wall and stumble at Noon-day as in the Night I wait for Light but behold obscurity for brightness but I walk in darkness Is. 59. 9 10. Lord I beseech thee that I may recover my sight Receive thy sight thy faith hath saved thee Luk. 18. 41 42. But if I must not receive it in my Body however open the Eyes of my Soul that I may behold wondrous things out of thy Law Ps. 119. 18. 2. The Light of the Eyes indeed rejoyceth the Heart Prov. 15. 30. For truly the Light is sweet and a pleasant thing it is for the Eyes to behold the Sun Eccl. 11. 7. But the Eye is not satisfied with seeing Eccl. 1. 8. For as Hell and Destruction are never full so the Eyes of Man are never satisfied Prov. 27. 20. And the Lust of the Eyes is not of the Father but of the World 1 Jo. 2. 16. So that we need to make a Covenant with our Eyes Job 31. 1. And if thine Eye offend thee pluck it out and cast it from thee It is better for the to enter into Life without Eyes rather than having Eyes to be cast into Hell-fire Mat. 18. 9. Besides in seeing much we see much evil and it may be thou shalt be mad for the Sight of thine Eyes which thou shalt see Deut. 28. 34. And just Lot in seeing vexed his Righteous Soul from day to day with the unlawful deeds of the wicked 2 Pet. 2. 7 8. 3. Moreover tho' the Body be dark yet the Eyes of our understanding may be inlightned Eph. 1. 18. For the Spirit of Man is the Candle of the Lord searching all the inward parts of the belly Prov. 20. 27. And we walk by Faith and not by Sight 2 Cor. 5. 7. And tho 't is pleasant to see the Sun yet 't is pleasanter to see those things which the Angels desire to look into 1 Pet. 1. 12. And to supply our want of Bodily Eyes our Friends and Neighbours may be to us instead of eyes Num. 10. 31. For I was Eyes to the Blind and Feet to the Lame Job 29. 15. And cursed be he that maketh the Blind to wander out of the way Deut. 27. 18. Or putteth a Stumbling-block before him Lev. 19. 14. Glory be to the Father c. 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 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 virtâ—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 made me to offend And 't is 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
Mercy and open mine Ears again if it may seem good to thee For I acknowledge my former Errors and am resolved by thy Grace to keep them always open to good words and averse to evil Do thou open them good Lord for to thee alone do I look for the same and I know it is as easie for thee to open them as it was to shut them And consider no longer my Sins which deserve to be punished but mine affliction which calls to be pityed For by this Deafness O! my God I am deprived very much of the Comforts of Conversation and of the chief means of Instruction For Discourse teacheth Wisdom and understanding And Faith it self cometh and groweth up by Hearing And in the midst of Discourse I am in great measure as if all kept silence and the World is as if all were dumb to me because I am deaf to them and can seldom let in any Voice that might bring Counsel or Comfort to my Soul or to my Body Oh! therefore Holy Father do thou once more restore me to the benefit and comfort of Company and give me an Ear that can distinguish good from ill and that will be both fit and glad to hear whatsoever may Honour thee or any ways edifie or advantage me thro' Jesus Christ my Lord Amen II. For Patience under the Want of Hearing 1. AND whilst thou seest fit to continue me under this Deafness O! Almighty Lord Give me Patience Contentedly to want the Conversation of others I know alass and do lament that I am hereby Debarr'd from Hearing Good Words But I will reckon it some Compensation to me that it keeps me from Hearing Evil too and in this naughty world there is much more Evil spoke than Good For if my Ears were open O! God I should Dayly hear much more than I Desire to hear or than I ought to bear Silently And should hear Evil more often than I should find the Heart and Courage to Reprove it or than I should be able to Cure or perhaps to check or any ways hinder it by my Reproof And where I can neither prevent nor Cure Evil Speeches I will account it as a piece of Favour to me to be deaf to them And therefore thy Will be Done O! Holy Father I receive my Deafness Patiently and thankfully as being sent by thee and as Dayly keeping out much that would either Corrupt or trouble and afflict me And am Content whilst thou pleasest to be Deaf to the voice of Sinners till thou shalt either restore that Sense to me again here on Earth or take me hence to hear the Heavenly Halleluiahs and charming voices of Angels and Beatifyed Spirits in thy Presence for the sake of my Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen 2. ANd Blessed be thy Mercy O! Lord that I was not born Deaf but had mine Ears Open till Faith was ingender'd in me by Hearing For I injoy'd my Sense of Hearing till I had learnt to know thee and the way of my own Salvation Yea and till I had learnt to know much of this World too enough to teach me that I must keep always on my Guard against the Snares and constantly expect to meet and stand prepared to bear the troubles of it And Graunt O! Father that Having lived to hear much before I may now set my self to meditate on what I have heard formerly and to live by memory and still have Recourse to past instructions to Guide and Comfort me And make me Consider Lord that if mine ears were still open'd since there is little new under the Sun I should dayly hear much of the same both Good and Evil over again And that I may profit my self abundantly by thy Grace in fixing those things uâ—on my mind which I have heard already yea that I may likely profit more in recollecting and meditateing thus upon old instructions than by haveing an ear never fill'd with Hearing but dayly hearkning after new ones And that without such Reflection on the knowledge which has allready come by Hearing to make my self Master thereof I shall be allmost as if I wanted it even whilst I have it and shall be loseing it dayly more or less And besides this O! Gracious God thou art still pleased most mercyfully to continue to me the use of my Eyes to supply the want of mine Ears and I can read whatsoever is fit for me to know in Relation to this Life or the next tho I can no longer hear it And Lord make me sensible that this way I can converse with the best Company and in their best and most Studyed thoughts and Discourses And moreover that I can come to them when I need and leave them when I please For at any time without tedious waiting or troublesome Caeremony I may have their Wisdom to Counsell and Comfort me in any Exigence either of my Soul or Body And without upbraiding me with my Dullness or my Troublesomeness or growing impatient thereat they stand always ready to tell me as often as I need or Desire what way I may be most easy to my self or usefull to my Friends or acceptable unto thee thro Jesus Christ my Lord Amen 3. For Good Use of Deafness ANd whilst I remain Deaf to the Conversation of others O! Blessed Father give me Grace to converse more with thee and with my self in calling thy Laws and mine own ways to Remembrance And altho the Ears of my Body are shut to others yet Lord let those of my Spirit be always open to thy voice Give me an Hearing Heart that is never Deaf to thy call and if thy Spirit do but whisper to me let mine instantly perceive and embrace the same and carefully and obediently attend to thy suggestion And deliver me from having any Portion among them who have lost their Hearing towards thee tho they still keep it to the world and who having Ears hear not with them And under my Bodily Deafness O! Gracious God Preserve me from being jealous and mistrustful of those who are Discoursing in my Company as if they were Discoursing against me or made themselves sport with mine infirmity And whilst their Discourses can do me no good let not my own evil surmises and suspicions do either my self or them any Hurt But keep me always easy towards them and truly Patient and thankfull towards thee thro Jesus Christ my Blessed Lord and Saviour Amen Our Father which art in Heaven c. A Thanksgiveing on Recovery from Blindness or from Deafness BLessed be thy mercy O! Gracious Lord for Restoreing to me the use of my Eyes Thou hast given me them anew for the Comfort and Convenience of my Life and for the carrying on of thy Service And oh that they may never more be used for Vice or Vanity nor ever willingly open to let in ill much less stay upon it and Delight in it But keep me allways mindfull that to misuse them is the way to
Chief Antidotes whereon we relye are our Prayers to thee and our Faith in thy Mercy Holy Father I seek to thee let thy Care surround me I make thee my habitation let me find it a safe one I Trust thee with my self and with my Friends to Order what is most Desireable for us and best agrees with the wise Ends of thy Good Providence And tho I doe not absolutely promise my self to be exempt from a Common Calamity yet Lord being in thy Hands where I desire to be I know that I shall be exempt if 't is fit I should be soe and if not that thou wilt turn even my falling sick of it to my Good Soe that under thy Wings O! my God my Hope is allways to have a kind and most thankworthy Ordering and to receive from thee either a Continuance of Health or a beneficial and thankworthy Sickness either the Blessing of a longer Life or the Greater Blessing of an Happy Death thro Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen Our Father c. VI. A Prayer to be said by Friends for Natural Fools or Madmen SHall not I spare them who can not discern between their Right Hand and their Left Jon. 4. 11. I was found of them that sought me not Is. 65. 1. I was Eyes to the blind and Feet to the lame Job 29. 15. Bear ye one anothers Burdens and soe fullfill the Law of Christ. Gal. 6. 2. O! Allmighty and most mercyfull Father Pity this thy Poor Creature who knows not his own wants nor how to ask for thy Mercyes But as he is not capable of Doing things to please thee so let nothing which he doth offend thee He is still as an infant O! God not arrived to the use of Reason Oh! Deal with him as thou doest with them and as such admit him into the Kingdom of Heaven He has been received for thy Child in Baptism and has done nothing since to forfeit the Claims of Mercy and Bliss made over to him therein and belonging to that Relation Oh! let them be fullfill'd and made good to him in their time And as his want of understanding unfits him to doe any thing for thee soe doth it likewise to Doe any thing for himself And therefore he needs to have the more done for him by thee and by the Good instruments of thy Providence And let thy Care O! Lord supply the want of his Give thy Holy Angells charge to look to him as they Doe to Helpless Children Give thy Saints and those who are any ways Concerned with him the Heart to be Understanding and Eyes and Feet and Hands to him as to one who is as if he had nothing of these of his own but wants to have them all supplyed out of thy Provision And do thou in thy Wisdom prevent those Evils which he can not foresee and put those by which he wants understanding to Remove Especially O! Lord keep him from Doing any thing that is mischeivous either to others or to himself Oh! thou who art found of them who seek thee not shew mercy to this thy Servant who extremely needs thee tho he can not seek to thee Thou knowest his wants O! Lord tho he is insensible and ignorant of them And tho he can not speak for himself yet his wants speak and Crye aloud for him Oh! Hear their Crye which calls to thee for Pity And hear us for him who is not able to ask for himself And graunt him thy special Care at present and thy Peace at the last thro the merits and mediation of thy Dear Son our only Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen Our Father c. VII A Prayer for those who attend about the Sick O! Blessed Lord who callest us to minister and attend about this thy pained and afflicted Servant make us truly compassionate and tenderly Sensible of his Sorrows and studious how to ease them Keep us Gentle and Officious towards him and willing and Diligent to minister to him and above all things to make and continue thee his Friend Oh! that it may be our Care Friendly to admonish him of his Duty and to call upon him to look up unto thee To strenthen his Soul and asswage his Sorrows by Comfortable words to read to him and Pray for him and study in all things to make his sick bed as Profitable to his Precious Soul and as easy and tolerable to his pained and wearyed Body as we can And let us not shew unwillingness O! God in any Services nor be provoked by his impatience or ill reception of our well meant Offices But let us Pity the Disorders of his Spirit under his Anguish and bear the same with that Gentleness and Continued Care to minister Comfort or Relief which his Sorrows call for and which we all Desire may be shew'd towards us when we come as we must expect to come to be tryed with the like weaknesses and Troubles our selves And Grant O! Father that the Sight of his sickness may be a warning to us to prepare for our own Make our Hearts wiser and better by Conversing in the House of Mourning and let it teach us the end of all men and the vanity of all earthly things and put us upon Zele and Diligence in all the ways of qualifying and Dressing of our Souls for a more blessed and everlasting Life thro Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Our Father c. XIII A Thanksgiving for Recovery from Sickness I. BLessed be thy Name O! God of all Power and Mercy for that thou hast Consider'd my Trouble and known my Soul in my Adversity Thou sentest me all those Helps whereby I was supported and all the intervals of ease wherewith I was releived under my Sickness And now thou hast brought me up again from the Grave and Deliver'd me of my pains and weakness and art become my Health and my Salvation Yea thy Mercy O! Blessed Lord has rectifyed my Spirit and done it Good by my Sorrows which is more to be valued than easing my Body of theâ— For before I was troubled I went wrong but thy Corrections have taught me to see my Folly and this worlds vanity And my Pains which have been my Monitors Day and Night have Caused me to understand Wisdom secretly And for these and all other thy most endearing Mercies I will sing Praise to thee O! Lord my God and Give thee Thanks for ever I will not Conceal thy Faithfullness and thy Salvation but Declare and speak of them that others allsoe may praise thy Name yea in the Presence of all thy People that they may give thee Thanks in the Great Congregation And oh that I may never forget thy Mercyes nor my own Promises of amendment and Holy obedience but cheerfully and Faithfully pay thee my vows and Perform all the Promises and Good Purposes Which I made whilst I was in Trouble And Pity the Pains Good Lord and hear the Cryes
of our state and of a frail and forgetfull Creature in the midst of a tempting World can bear Oh! then that I may consider thy Mercy to fortifye my minde against Fear And fix my Soul upon the tenderness and Clemency of my judge and Saviour which will embolden me to stand before him without Horror And upon the Condescentions of thy Gospel and the needfull Deductions and Forbearance which it promises to our weaknesses that in this Hour of my necessity I may be guarded against all the suspicions of my own melancholy or mistrusts of thy mercy and may be strenthend with a comfortable Hope in thee thro Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen 3. BUt if after all my Fears shall by times return upon me and prove troublesom to me let it however Comfort me O! Lord to thinke that thou art wont to make better of Humble Souls than they are wont to make of themselves and wilt judge me not according to my Fears but according to thy mercyes A truely Contrite Heart O! God is Safe in thine Eyes even when it gives it self up for lost in its own And as my Fears will be noe Prejudice to my safety soe Grant Good Lord that they may be an Help to my Duty and may quicken and increase my Care and Endeavours to obey thee Make them the Guards of my innocence and a constant Spur to thy Service And then O! Holy Father tho they trouble and Discomfit me at Present Yet they will happily Conâ—ute themselves and recompence me in the end and my sincere Obedience shall make sure thy Gracious acceptance tho I my self dare not beleive it till I come to find and hear it from thee in the other World thro the merits of my only Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen IV. A Prayer against Presumption LEt not my Heart Deceive me O! Blessed Lord in judgeing of my self but keep me from Pride and vain Confidence in setting too little by thy Grace and thinking too well of mine own ways Oh! that I may never flatter my self into an Evil Security and an insensibleness of the Great need I have of thy Mercy For thou O! Lord resistest the Proud but givest Grace unto the Humble Thou rejectest the Proud Pharisee who justifyes himself and sees not his own nakedness and Poverty But the very best of us all Doe absolutely need repentance and have but too many Sins to humble us We must throw our Selves upon thy Mercy and can not stand in thy judgement shouldest thou be Rigorous in exacting what we have Done amiss nor appear before thee when thou art angry Thy justice is terrible to the Greatest Saints yea and before thee even the Angels themselves doe cover their Faces And as we can not come off clear in thy judgement but merely thro Mercy Soe neither Can we stand in Obedience to qualifye us for it but only thro Faith 'T is thy Help O! Lord that must support and keep us in thy ways And if it were not for thy Grace and our own Caution and holy jealousy over our Selves we are as lyable to fall as others Oh! then that I may not be high minded and place my Confidence in my self but learn to Fear and shew Care and humble Dependance upon thee and with Godly Reverence look for thy Promises of Grace and Mercy thro Jesus Christ my Lord and only Saviour Amen V. Prayers in the last Agonies Ejaculations DVst thou art and to Dust shalt thou return Gen. 3. 19. Lord Jesus have mercy upon me O thou Lamb of God that takest away the Sins of the World Be merciful to me a Sinner Luk. 18. 13. Tho I often offend thee yet Lord thou knowest I sincerely Love thee and hate my self for having displeased thee And can any who sincerely Loves thee Perish Eternally Lord receive me for I am hasting apace to thee I stretch forth my Hands unto thee my Soul thirsteth after thee as a thirsty Land Ps. 143. 6. Lord remember me when thou Comest in thy Kingdom Doe with this frail and wearied Body what thou pleasest Only receive my Spirit to thy Mercy in Death and raise up this Corruptible to incorruption after Death And forsake me not O! God now my strength faileth me Ps. 71. 9. Besides which the Dying Persons may use the Scriptures Collected for this Case p. 127. Prayers 1. LOrd Wash my Soul in thy Blood that it may be presented without Spot unto thee And let me Dye in thy Favour and rest in Peace and rise again in Glory Amen 2. STrenthen me O! my God in my Agonies As my strength fails let my pains wear off But when my Strenth fails let not my Faith fail Even in Death let me trust in thee And the nearer I am drawing to thee the more Doe thou manifest thy mercy unto me thro Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen 3. DEliver me O! Lord from Fear of Death and from all violent Disorders of a troubled Fancy or painful Delusions of my Ghostly Enemy Oh! let not him be able now to disturb and terrifye me or any way to prevail against me but Guard thou thy Servant comeing unto thee Amen 4. HAve me in thy Custody O! holy Father for nothing can can take me out of thy Hands And Give thy Holy Angels Charge to stand about me to guard and receive my poor Soul at my Departure and to Conduct and Carry it to the Blessed Receptacles of Rest and Peace Amen 5. COme Lord Jesu Come quickly I Desire and Groan earnestly to be dissolved and to be with thee Into thy Hands I Commend my Spirit and lay Down my wearyed Flesh to Rest in Hope of a Blessed Resurrection to eternal Peace and joy at the last Day Amen 6. LOrd if it be thy Gracious will make my Pains short and my Death Easy at least not extremely tedious or Greivous to me But if thou hast otherwise ordered thy Blessed will be done Only Give me Patience to bear them and Spiritual Comforts under them and at thine own time make my Death my Passage to a Blessed and Eternal Life through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen Out of the Office for Burial ANd O! Lord most Holy O! God most mighty O! Holy and Mercifull Saviour thou most worthy Judge Eternal Suffer me not at my last Hour for any pains of Death to fall from thee Amen And these Prayers may be said for the Dying Person as occasion requires by his Friends who are about him only altering the Persons we for I him for me our for my c. as is requisite upon the change of Persons Likewise they may use for him the recommendatory Prayer for one at the Point of Departure in the Churches Office for Visitation of the Sick O! Almighty God with whom doe live the Spirits of just Men made perfect after they are Deliverd from their Earthly Prisons We humbly commend the Soul of this thy Servant our dear Brother into thy