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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.

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PRAYER IN CASE OF SUDDEN EXTREMITY.

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 honor 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.

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PRAYER FOR A SICK CHILD.

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.

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PRAYER FOR A LUNATIC.

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 imagination; prosper the means used for his recovery; make him tractable in the use of remedies, and willing to comply with the advice of his friends. But if no means can effect his cure, let him possess his soul in peace, and in every interval of reason address his prayer unto thee; that when his earthly tabernacle shall be dissolved, he may rejoice in his former inability to pursue the pleasures of the world, and be presented unto thee pure and undefiled. Hear our prayer when we call upon thee; hear us for him, who is not able to pray for himself, for the sake of thine infinite mercy in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER FOR PERSONS TROUBLED IN MIND OR IN

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CONSCIENCE.

BLESSED Lord, the Father of mercies, and

the God of all comforts, we beseech thee to look down in pity and compassion upon this thine afflicted servant. Thou writest bitter things against him, and makest him to possess his former iniquities; thy wrath lieth hard upon him, and his soul is full of trouble. But, O merciful God, who hast written thy holy word for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of thy Holy Scriptures might have hope; give him a right understanding of himself, and of thy threats and promises, that he may neither cast away his confidence

in thee, nor place it anywhere but in thee. Give him strength against all his temptations, and heal all his troubles. Break not the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax. Shut not up thy tender mercies in displeasure; but make him to hear of joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Deliver him from all disquieting fears, and lift up the light of thy countenance upon him, and give him peace, through the mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER FOR ONE UNDER THE DREAD OF GOD'S

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WRATH.

ALMIGHTY God, the aid of all who are in need, and the helper of all who flee to thee for succor; accept, we beseech thee, our humble supplications for this thy servant laboring under the dreadful apprehensions of thy wrath. O Lord, enter not into judgment with him; but make him sensible, that though the wages of sin are death, the gift of God is eternal life; that thou wouldest not the death of a sinner, and art not willing that any should perish; that thou dost always punish less than we deserve, and in the midst of judgment dost remember mercy. Revive his soul with a sense of thy love, and the hopes of obtaining thy pardon, and the joy of thy salvation; that he may be raised from this dejection, and show with gladness what thou hast done for his soul; and this we humbly ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THANKSGIVING FOR THE BEGINNING OF A RECOVERY.

REAT and mighty God, who bringest down to

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the grave and bringest up again; we bless thy wonderful goodness, for having turned our heaviness into joy, and our mourning into gladness, by restoring this our brother to some degree of his former health. Blessed be thy name, that thou didst not forsake him in his sickness; but didst visit him with comforts from above; didst support him in patience and submission to thy will, and at last didst send him relief. Perfect, we beseech thee, this thy mercy towards him, and prosper the means which shall be made use of for his cure; that being restored to health of body, vigor of mind, and cheerfulness of spirit, he may offer thee a spiritual oblation with great gladness, and bless thy holy name for all thy goodness towards him, through Jesus Christ our Saviour, through whom we ascribe unto thee all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.

END OF THE VISITATION OF THE SICK.

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