PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVINGS

UPON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.

To be used as occasion may require. N.B.-The Minister may at his discretion substitute for the following Forms, extemporaneous Prayer and Thanksgiving.

PRAYERS.

For Rain.

GOD, heavenly Father, Who by Thy Son Jesus Christ, hast promised to all those who seek Thy kingdom, and the righteousness thereof, all things necessary to their bodily sustenance; Send us, we beseech Thee, in this our necessity, such moderate rain and showers, that we may receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and to Thy honour; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For fair Weather.

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father,

we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains, wherewith, for our sins, Thou hast afflicted us; And we pray Thee to send us such seasonable weather, that the earth may, in due time, yield her increase, for our use and benefit: and give us grace, that we may learn, by Thy punishments, to amend our lives, and for Thy clemency

to give Thee thanks and praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Time of Dearth and Famine. GOD, heavenly Father, whose gift it is that the rain doth fall, and the earth doth yield her increase; Behold, we beseech Thee, the afflictions of Thy people; increase the fruits of the earth by Thy heavenly benediction; and grant that the scarcity and dearth, which we now most justly suffer for our sins, may, through Thy goodness, be mercifully turned into plenty; for the love of Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom, with Thee and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

For a Sick Person.

FATHER of mercies, and God of all

O comfort, our only help in time of

need; Look down from heaven, we humbly beseech Thee, behold, visit, and relieve Thy sick servant, for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon him with the eyes of Thy mercy; comfort him with a sense of Thy goodness; preserve him from the temptations of the enemy; give him patience under his affliction; and, in Thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead the residue of his life in Thy fear, and to Thy glory. Or else give him grace so to receive Thy visitation, that, after this painful life is ended, he may dwell with Thee in life everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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 the sick child for whom our prayers are desired. Deliver him, O Lord, in Thy good appointed time, from his bodily pain, and visit him with Thy salvation; that if it should be Thy good 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 into Thy glorious presence, for the love of Thy Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

In Time of Great Sickness and Mortality.

ALMIGHTY God, the Lord of life and death, of sickness and health; Regard our supplications, we humbly beseech Thee, and as Thou hast visited us for our sins with great sickness and mortality, in the midst of Thy judgment, O Lord, remember mercy. Have pity upon us, miserable sinners, and withdraw from us the grievous sickness with which we are afflicted. May this Thy fatherly correction have its due influence upon us, by leading us to consider how frail and uncertain our life is; that we may apply our hearts unto that heavenly wisdom, which in the end will bring us to everlasting life: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For a Person under Affliction.

MERCIFUL God, and heavenly Father, Who hast taught us, in Thy holy Word, that Thou dost not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men; Look with pity, we beseech Thee, upon the sorrows of Thy servant, for whom our prayers are desired. In Thy wisdom Thou hast visited him with trouble, and brought distress upon him. Remember him, O Lord, in mercy; sanctify Thy fatherly correction to him; endue his soul with patience under his affliction; and with resignation to Thy blessed will; comfort him with a sense of Thy goodness; lift up Thy countenance upon him, and give him peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For a Person Travelling.

ETERNAL God, Who rulest the raging of the sea; and without Whose knowledge and permission even a sparrow cannot fall to the ground; We commend to Thy Almighty protection, Thy servant, for whose preservation in his journeyings our prayers are desired. Guard him, we beseech Thee, from all dangers to which he may be exposed. May Thy presence and blessing be with him, and conduct him in safety to the place where he would be, with a grateful sense of Thy mercies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For Prisoners.

GOD, Who sparest when we deserve punishment, and in Thy wrath rememberest mercy; We humbly beseech Thee, of Thy goodness, to comfort and succour all those who are under reproach and misery in the house of bondage. Correct them not in Thine anger, neither chasten them in Thy sore displeasure. Give them a right understanding of themselves, and of Thy threats and promises; that they may neither cast away their confidence in Thee, nor place it anywhere but in Thee. Relieve the distressed, protect the innocent, and awaken the guilty; and forasmuch as Thou alone bringest light out of darkness, and good out of evil, grant that the pains and punishments which they endure, through their bodily confinement, may tend to setting free their soul from the chains of sin; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Time of War and Tumults.

ALMIGHTY God, the supreme Governor of all things, Whose power no creature is able to resist, to Whom it belongeth justly to punish sinners, and to be merciful to those who truly repent; Save and deliver us, we humbly beseech Thee, from the hands of our enemies; that we, being armed with Thy defence, may be preserved evermore from all perils, to