OCCASIONAL PRAYERS. -000 For a Family under Affliction. O thou infinitely great and glorious God! thou killest and makest alive; thou woundest and thou healest; thou bringest down to the grave and bringest back again. Thou doest according to thy will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay thine hand or say unto thee, "What doest thou?" Yet righteous art thou in all thy ways, and holy in all thy works. Even when thou afflictest and causest trouble and heaviness to fall upon us, it is that we may learn righteousness from thy judgments, and receive profit from thy correction. And, 0 our God! though thou hast now visited our house with sickness, and art calling us to humiliation for our sins; yet we would still speak good of thy name, and love and bless thee. We desire in the midst of judgment to remember thy mercies. How long has each of our family lain down and risen up, gone out and come in,in health,in strength, and in peace! How long has the candle of the Lord shone upon us without intermis sion! For these multiplied favours, blessed be thy name, O most gracious God! And shall we receive so much good at thy hand, and shall we not receive evil? The cup which our heavenly Father hath given us, shall we not drink it? We humbly take it from thine hands, O our God, in a full persuasion of thy fatherly love. We desire to resign all our thoughts and desires unto thee. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord! Blessed be thy name that thou hast continued so long the enjoyments thou now callest us to resign and blessed be thy name, if, by resigning our will to thine, we can testify our faith in thee and affection to thee. We have nothing too great or too dear to resign to thee, from whose bountiful hand we have received our all. O that no repining thought may arise in our hearts to disorder or dis-compose our duty to thee, or towards our neighbour but help us rather to think wherein we have offended thee; and wherein we have done iniquity, to do so no more. Let us place our affections more stedfastly on things above, and lay up our treasure and hope in heaven, where our "life is hid with Christ in God." We thank thee, O Father of mercies, that thou hast given us : such everlasting consolation through thy grace in Christ Jesus. We will praise thy name for ever, for those exceeding great and precious promises which are our support and comfort in all the troubles of this life. Increase our faith, strengthen and confirm our hope, and raise up our spirits continually to that blessed place where Jesus is, that we may rejoice in hope of that immortal life where all tears shall be wiped away from our eyes; where sighing and sorrow shall never enter; and where, through the riches of divine grace, we hope to follow those who are now, through faith and patience, inheriting the promises; and where we hope to join together in praising that wise and merciful providence, which, by ways most contrary to our desires, brought us to endless and undisturbed bliss. Keep us, O our God, in a humble, quiet, and dutiful submission to thee, waiting for that peaceful and joyful repose in the eternal rest which thou hast prepared for thy people through thy mercies in Christ Jesus; by whom all glory, honour, love, and obedience be rendered to thee, both now and for ever. Amen. 8 For a Family under heavy Affliction. O thou wise and merciful Governor of the world! we have often said, Thy will be done; and now thy will is painful to us. But shall we on that account unsay what we have so often said? God forbid! We come rather to lay ourselves down at thy feet, and to declare our full and free submission to all thy sacred pleasure! O Lord, thou art just and righteous in all! We acknowledge in thy presence that we have deserved this, and ten thousand times more; we acknowledge that it is of thy mercy that we are not consumed; that the least degree of comfort yet remains. But shall we speak to thee only as our Judge ? O Lord, thou hast taught us a tenderer name: thou condescendest to call thyself our Father, and to speak of correction as the effects of thy love. O welcome, welcome those afflictions, which are the tokens of thy parental affection; the marks of our adoption into thy family. Thou knowest what discipline we need. Thou seest, O Lord, that folly which there is in the hearts of thy poor froward and thoughtless children; and knowest what rods and what strokes are needful to drive it away. We would, therefore, be in subjection to thee and live. We would bear thy strokes, not merely because we cannot resist them; but because we love and trust in thee. We would sweetly acquiesce and rest in thy will, as well as stoop to it, and say, "Good is the word of the Lord." Yea, Lord, we will praise thee, that thou art thus kindly training us up for glory. The cup which our heavenly Father puts into our hands, shall we not drink it? By thine assistance and support we will. Only be pleased, 0 Lord, to stand by us, and sometimes to grant us a favourable look in the midst of our sufferings; and support our souls by thy consolations. However severe this night of affliction may seem, if thou sayest, "Let there be light," there shall be light. But we are more concerned that our afflictions may be sanctified, than that they may be removed. Number us, O God, among the happy persons whom, while thou chastenest, thou teachest out of thy law! Shew us, we beseech thee, wherefore thou contendest with us; and purify us by the fire that is so painful to us, while we are passing through it! Dost thou not chasten thy children for this very end, that they may be partakers of thy holiness? Thou knowest, O God, it is this our souls are breath |