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Acts of Hope to be used by Sick Persons after
a pious Life.

1. "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 8. 38, 39.

2. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. 4. 7, 8.

3. "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comforts, who comforts us in all our tribulation." Cor. 1. 3, 4.

A Prayer to be said in behalf of a Sick or Dying

Person.

2

O LORD God, there is no number of thy days nor of thy mercies, and the sins and sorrows of thy servant also are multiplied. Lord, look upon him with much mercy and pity, forgive him all his sins, comfort his sorrows, ease his pain, satisfy his doubts, relieve his fears, instruct his ignorances, strengthen his understanding, take from him all disorders of spirit, weakness and abuse of fancy. Restrain the malice and power of the spirits of darkness; and suffer him to be injured neither by his ghostly enemies, nor his own infirmities; and let a holy and a just peace, the peace of God, be within his conscience.

Lord, preserve his senses till the last of his time, strengthen his faith, confirm his hope, and give him a never-ceasing charity to thee our God, and to all the world stir up in him a great and proportionable con

trition for all the evils he hath done, and give him a just measure of patience for all he suffers, give him prudence, memory, and consideration, rightly to state the accounts of his soul; and do thou remind him of all his duty; that when it shall please thee that his soul goes out from the prison of his body, it may be received by angels, and preserved from the surprise of evil spirits, and from the horrors and amazements of new and strange regions, and be laid up in the bosom of our Lord, till at the day of thy second coming it shall be re-united to the body, which is now to be laid down in weakness and dishonour, but, we humbly beg, may then be raised up with glory and power for ever to live, and to behold the face of God in the glories of the Lord Jesus, who is our hope, our resurrection, and our life, the light of our eyes and the joy of our souls, our blessed and ever-glorious Redeemer. Amen.

Hither the sick Person may draw in, and use the acts of several virtues respersed in the several parts of this book, the several Litanies, viz. of Repentance, of the Passion, and the single Prayers, according to his present needs.

A Prayer to be said in a Storm at Sea.

O MY God, thou didst create the earth and the sea for thy glory and the use of man, and dost daily shew wonders in the deep: look upon the danger and fear of thy servant. My sins have taken hold upon me, and without the supporting arm of thy mercy I cannot look up; but my trust is in thee. Do thou, O Lord, rebuke the sea, and make it calm ; for to thee the winds and the sea obey: let not the waters swallow me up, but let thy Spirit, the Spirit of gentleness and mercy, move upon the waters. Be thou reconciled unto thy servants, and then the face of the waters will be smooth. I fear that my sins make me, like Jonas, the cause of the tempest. Cast out all my

sins, and throw not thy servants away from thy presence, and from the land of the living, into the depths where all things are forgotten. But if it be thy will that we shall go down into the waters, Lord, receive my soul into thy holy hands, and preserve it in mercy and safety till the day of restitution of all things: and be pleased to unite my death to the death of thy Son, and to accept of it so united, as a punishment for all my sins, that thou mayest forget all thine anger, and blot my sins out of thy book, and write my soul there, for Jesus Christ his sake our dearest Lord and most mighty Redeemer. Amen.

Then make an Act of Resignation thus.

To God pertain the issues of life and death. It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good in his own eyes. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Recite Psalm 107 and 130.

A Form of a Vow to be made in this or the like

danger.

If the Lord will be gracious and hear the prayer of his servant, and bring me safe to shore, then I will praise him secretly and publicly, and pay unto the uses of charity [or religion] [then name the sum you design for holy uses.] O my God, my goods are nothing unto thee: I will also be thy servant all the days of my life, and remember this mercy and my present purposes, and live more to God's glory, and with a stricter duty. And do thou please to accept this vow as an instance of my importunity, and the greatness of my needs: and be thou graciously moved to pity and deliver me. Amen.

This Form also may be used in praying for a blessing on an enterprize, and may be instanced in actions of Devotion as well as of Charity.

A Prayer before a Journey.

O ALMIGHTY God, who fillest all things with thy presence, and art a God afar off as well as near at hand; thou didst send thy angel to bless Jacob in his journey, and didst lead the children of Israel through the Red Sea, making it a wall on the right hand and on the left: be pleased to let thy angel go out before me and guide me in my journey, preserving me from dangers of robbers, from violence of enemies, and sudden and sad accidents, from falls and errors. And pros

per my journey to thy glory, and to all my innocent purposes: and preserve me from all sin, that I may return in peace and holiness, with thy favour and thy blessing, and may serve thee in thankfulness and obedience all the days of my pilgrimage; and at last bring me to thy country, to the celestial Jerusalem, there to dwell in thy house, and to sing praises to thee for ever. Amen.

[AD SECT. 4.]

A Prayer to be said before the hearing or reading the Word of God.

O HOLY and eternal Jesus, who hast begotten us by thy Word, renewed us by thy Spirit, fed us by thy sacraments and by the daily ministry of thy Word, still go on to build us up to life eternal. Let thy most holy Spirit be present with me and rest upon me in the reading (or hearing) thy sacred Word; that I may do it humbly, reverently, without prejudice, with a mind ready and desirous to learn and to obey; that I may he readily furnished and instructed to every

good work, and may practise all thy holy laws and commandments, to the glory of thy holy name, O holy

and eternal Jesus. Amen.

[AD SECT. 5, 9, 10.]

A Form of Confession of Sins and Repentance, to be used upon Fasting-days, or Days of Humiliation; especially in Lent, and before the holy Sacrament.

"HAVE mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences. For I will confess my wickedness, and be sorry for my sin." O my dearest Lord, I am not worthy to be accounted amongst the meanest of thy servants; not worthy to be sustained by the least fragments of thy mercy, but to be shut out of thy presence for ever with dogs and unbelievers.

"But for thy name's sake, O Lord, be merciful unto my sin, for it is great."

I am the vilest of sinners, and the worst of men; proud and vain-glorious, impatient of scorn or of just reproof; not enduring to be slighted, and yet extremely deserving it: I have been consumed by the colours of humility, and when I have truly called myself vicious, I could not endure any man else should say so or think so. I have been disobedient to my superiors, churlish and ungentle in my behaviour, unchristian and unmanly.

"But for thy name's sake, O Lord, be merciful unto my sin, for it is great."

O just and dear God, how can I expect pity or pardon, who am so angry and peevish with and without cause, envious at good, rejoicing at the evil of my neighbours, negligent of my charge, idle and useless, timorous and base, jealous and impudent, ambitious and hard-hearted, soft, unmortified and effeminate in my life, indevout in my prayers, without fancy or affection, without attendance to them or perseverance in

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