thy visitation patiently; and fit him, O Lord, for whatever in thy righteous providence thou hast appointed for him; that he may have cause to glorify thy name for his present sufferings, and find that thou, O God, of very faithfulness, hast caused him to be troubled. Hear our prayers, O Lord, and grant our requests, for thy mercy's sake in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

HEAR us, almighty and most merciful God and Father; extend thy accustomed goodness to this thy servant who is grieved with sickness. Sanctify, we beseech thee, this thy fatherly correction to him, that the sense of his weakness may add strength to his faith, and seriousness to his repentance; that if it shall be thy good pleasure to restore him to his former health, he may lead the residue of his life in thy fear and to thy glory; or else give him grace so to take thy visitation, that after this painful life is ended, he may dwell with thee in life everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Instead of the three preceding Prayers, may be said the following Prayer.

OUR Father in heaven, look down with mercy and pity upon thy servant, and lay not thy chastening hand upon him more heavily than he can bear. Let him acknowledge, with submission and humility, that even in judgment thou art merciful, and that of very faithfulness thou hast caused him to be troubled. Thou dost afflict him with a Parent's wisdom -O sustain him with a Parent's love. Let thy grace be sufficient for him in all his need, and let the holy influences of thy Spirit hold him up in his weakness, and inspire his heart with strength, and hope, and confidence. Let not any pain or suffering, however acute, discompose the order of his thoughts, his submission, his gratitude, or his duty. Together with his trials, wilt thou provide a way for his escape, even by the mercies of a longer and holier life, or by the mercies of a peaceful and blessed death. it pleaseth thee, O Lord. Thou knowest all the

even as

necessities and all the infirmities of thy servant; fortify his soul, we beseech thee, with spiritual joys and perfect resignation, and fill him with desires of holiness and of thy heavenly kingdom. Make his repentance entire, and his faith strong, and his hope steadfast, so that if thou dost please to continue him yet longer in life, he may serve thee with a devoted heart, and whenever thou shalt call his spirit away from earth, it may enter into the rest of the sons of God, and be with thee, and the holy Jesus, and the spirits of the just made perfect, for ever and ever.

O Lord, hear; O Lord, be merciful; O Lord, heal, and pity, and save. Accept the prayer now offered in behalf of thine afflicted servant. Bless all his friends, and reward all the kindness which is shown him. Forgive him his trespasses, as he forgives those who trespass against him. Be with him every moment; be with him in the hour of death, and O in the day of judgment deliver him, through thine infinite mercy in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Then may be said this Psalm, commonly called De Profundis.

PSALM 130.

OUT of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice.

O let thine ears consider well the voice of my complaint.

If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who may abide it?

For there is mercy with thee, therefore shalt thou be feared.

I look for the Lord, my soul doth wait for him, in his word is my trust.

Lord, before the morning My soul fleeth unto the watch, I say, before the morning watch.

O Israel, trust in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel from all his sins.

Then shall the Minister say,

THE Almighty Lord who is a most strong tower to all those who put their

trust in him; to whom all things in heaven, in earth, and under the earth, do bow and obey, be now and evermore thy defence; and make thee know and feel, that there is none other name under heaven given to man, in whom, and through whom, thou mayest receive health and salvation, but only the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

UNTO God's gracious mercy and protection we commit thee. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace, both now and evermore. Amen.

Note. Any portion of the above Service may be omitted, if he Sick Person is too weak to hear the whole.

PRAYER FOR A SICK PER

SON WHEN THERE IS SMALL
HOPE OF RECOVERY.

O FATHER of mercies, God of all comfort, our only help in time of

need; we fly unto thee for succour in behalf of this thy servant, here lying under thy hand in great weakness of body. Look graciously upon him, O Lord; and the more the outward man decayeth, strengthen him, we beseech thee, so much the more continually with thy grace and holy Spirit in the inner man. Give him unfeigned repentance for the errors of his life past, and steadfast faith in thy Son Jesus, that his sins may be done away by thy mercy, thy mercy, and his pardon sealed in heaven, before he go hence and be no more seen. We know, O Lord, that there is no word impossible with thee; and that if thou wilt, thou canst even yet raise him up, and grant him a longer continuance amongst us. Yet forasmuch as in all appearance the time of his dissolution draweth near; so fit and prepare him, we beseech thee, against the hour of death, that after his departure hence in peace, and in thy favour, he may in thy appointed time be received into thine everlasting kingdom, which thou hast promised by Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

COMMENDATORY PRAYERS

AT

FOR A SICK PERSON
THE POINT OF DEPART-
URE.

O ALMIGHTY God and Father of mankind, with whom the spirits of just men made perfect shall live forever; we humbly commend the soul of this thy servant, our dear brother, into thy hands, as into the hands of a faithful Creator, and most merciful Saviour; most humbly beseeching thee that it may be precious in thy sight. And teach us who survive, in this and other like daily spectacles of mortality, to see how frail

and uncertain our own condition is, and so to number our days, that we may seriously apply our hearts to that holy and heavenly wisdom, while we live here, which may in the end bring us to life everlasting, through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.

O LORD God Almighty, most holy and gracious Father, we humbly commend the soul of thy servant into thy hands, thy most merciful hands. Impute not unto him the follies of his youth, nor any

of the errors of his life; but strengthen him in his agony, and carry him safely through his last distress. Let not his faith waver, nor his hope fail; may he die in peace, and rest in hope, and rise in glory, for thine infinite mercy's sake in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER IN CASE OF SUD

DEN EXTREMITY.

O MOST gracious Father, Judge of the living and the dead, behold thy servants running to thee for pity and mercy in behalf of this thy servant whom thou hast smitten with thy hasty rod and a swift angel. If it be thy will, O spare him a little, that he may recover his strength before he go hence, and be no more seen. But if thou hast otherwise appointed, let the miracles of thy compassion and thy wonderful mercy supply to him the want of the usual measures of time, and the periods of repentance, and the trimming of his lamp. O thou, who regardest the heart and the measures of the mind more than the delay and the measures of

time, let it be thy pleasure to rescue the soul of thy servant from all the evils he hath deserved, and all the evils he fears. Stir up in him such effectual contrition for sin, and fervent love for thee, as may make him to be accepted with thee; so that among the songs which to eternal ages thy saints and holy angels shall sing to the honour of thy mercy, it may be ascribed to thy glory that thou hast redeemed thy servant from the second death, and made him partaker of the gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER FOR A SICK

CHILD.

O ALMIGHTY God and merciful Father, to whom alone belong the issues of life and death; look down from heaven,we humbly beseech thee, with the eyes of mercy upon this child now lying upon the bed of sickness; visit him, O Lord, with thy salvation; deliver him in thy good appointed time from his bodily pain, and sanctify this thy fatherly chastisement to him; that if it shall be thy

pleasure to prolong his days here on earth, he may live to thee, and be an instrument of thy glory, by serving thee faithfully and doing good in his generation; or else receive him to thyself among those who have fallen asleep in the Lord Jesus, and who shall be raised by thee to endless life and happiness at the last day. Grant this, O Lord, for thy mercy's sake, in the name of thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

PRAYER FOR A LUNATIC.

O LORD, the only wise God, from whom we have received all the faculties of our souls; thou art good and righteous in all thy dispensations, though the reasons of them may be unknown to us thine imperfect creatures. We humbly beseech thee to dispel, if it be agreeable to thine infinite wisdom, the clouds in which the soul of thy servant is now involved; that he may regain his understanding, and the right use of his faculties. Heal his disordered mind, compose his passions, pacify his imaginations; prosper