He shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

Thou shalt come to thy grave in a just age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his season.

I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate upon thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee; for thy right hand hath upholden me. Psal. lxiii. 6-8.

God restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Psal. xxiii. 3, 4.

In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me, he shall set me upon a rock. Psal. xxvii. 5.

The Lord hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from the heaven did the Lord behold the earth to hear the groaning of his prisoners; to loose those that are appointed to death. Psal. cii. 19, 20.

I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice, and he gave ear unto me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my sore ran in the night and ceased not; my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Thou holdest mine eyes waking; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. Will the Lord cast me off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his promise clean gone for ever? Doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? And I said, This is my infirmity : but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. Psal. lxxvii. 1—4. 7—10.

No temptation hath taken me, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer me to be tempted above what I am able; but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that I may be able to bear it. 1 Cor. x. 13.

Whatsoever things are written aforetime, were written for our learning; that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope. Now the God of

peace and consolation grant me to be so minded. Rom. xv. 4, 5.

It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth good in his eyes. 1 Sam. iii. 18.

Surely the word that the Lord hath spoken is very good ; but thy servant is weak: O remember mine infirmities; and lift thy servant up, that leaneth upon thy right hand.

There is given unto me a thorn in the flesh to buffet me. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that thà power of Christ may rest upon me. For when I am weak,

then am I strong. 2 Cor. xii. 7--10.

O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. And I said, My strength and my hope is in the Lord; remembering my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled within me. This I recal to my mind, therefore I have hope.

It is the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, said my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

The Lord is good to them that wait for him; to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. For the Lord will not cast off for ever. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. Lam. iii. 58. 18-26. 31-33. 39.

Wherefore doth a living man complain? a man for the punishment of his sins? O that thou wouldst hide me in the grave, [of Jesus,] that thou wouldst keep me secret until the wrath be past: that thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me! Job, xiv. 13.

Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Job, ii. 20.

The sick man may recite, or hear recited, the following Psalms in the intervals of his agony.

I.

O Lord, rebuke me not in thy anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Psalm, vi.

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are vexed.

My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?

Return, O lord, deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercies' sake.

For in death no man remembereth thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all my [sorrows.]

Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.

The Lord hath heard my supplication: the Lord will receive my prayer.

Blessed be the Lord, who hath heard my prayer, and hath not turned his mercy from me.

II.

In the Lord put I my trust; how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? Psalm, xi.

The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men. Preserve me, O God; for in thee do I put my trust. Psal. xvi. 1.

O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord; my goodness extendeth not to thee.

The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel; my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.

I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope.

Thou wilt show me the path of life in thy presence is the fulness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for

evermore.

As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I

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shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. Psalm, xvii.

III.

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; mine eye is consumed with grief; yea, my soul and my belly. Psalm, xxxi.

For my life is spent with grief; and my years with sighing my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

I am like a broken vessel.

But I trusted in thee, O Lord; I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand; make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me for thy mercy's sake.

When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Psalm, xxvii.

Hide not thy face from me; put not thy servant away in thine anger; thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

O how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Psalm, xxxi.

Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues, [from the calumnies and aggravation of sins by devils.]

⚫ I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes; nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplication when I cried unto thee.

O love the Lord, all ye his saints; for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plenteously rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, ye that hope in the Lord.

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The prayer to be said in the beginning of a Sickness.

O Almighty God, merciful and gracious, who, in thy justice, didst send sorrow and tears, sickness and death, into the world, as a punishment for man's sins, and hast comprehended all under sin, and this sad covenant of sufferings, not to destroy us, but that thou mightest have mercy

upon all, making thy justice to minister to mercy, short afflictions to an eternal weight of glory; as thou hast turned my sins into sickness, so turn my sickness to the advantages of holiness and religion, of mercy and pardon, of faith and hope, of grace and glory. Thou hast now called me to the fellowship of sufferings; Lord, by the instrument of religion let my present condition be so sanctified, that my sufferings may be united to the sufferings of my Lord, that so thou mayest pity me and assist me. Relieve my sorrow, and support my spirit; direct my thoughts, and sanctify the accidents of my sickness, and that the punishment of my sin may be the school of virtue; in which, since thou hast now entered me, Lord, make me a holy proficient; that I may behave myself as a son under discipline, humbly and obediently, evenly and penitently, that I may come by this means nearer unto thee; that if I shall go forth of this sickness by the gate of life and health, I may return to the world with great strengths of spirit, to run a new race of a stricter holiness, and a more severe religion; or if I pass from hence with the outlet of death, I may enter into the bosom of my Lord, and may feel the present joys of a certain hope of that sea of pleasures, in which all thy saints and servants shall be comprehended to eternal ages. Grant this for Jesus Christ's sake, our dearest Lord and Saviour. Amen.

An Act of Resignation to be said by a sick Person in all the Accidents of his Sickness.

O eternal God, thou hast made me and sustained me; thou hast blessed me in all the days of my life, and hast taken care of me in all variety of accidents; and nothing happens to me in vain, nothing without thy providence ; and I know thou smitest thy servants in mercy, and with designs of the greatest pity in the world: Lord, I humbly lie down under thy rod; do with me as thou pleasest; do thou choose for me, not only the whole state and condition of being, but every little and great accident of it. Keep me safe by thy grace, and then use what instrument thou pleasest, of bringing me to thee. Lord, I am not solicitous of the passage, so I may get to thee. Only, O Lord, remember my infirmities, and let thy servant rejoice in thee always, and feel and confess, and glory in thy goodness. O be thou as delightful to me in this my medicinal sickness, as ever thou wert in any of the dangers of my prosperity; let me