OUR Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil. Amen. (3) Minister. O Lord, save thy servant; Answer. Which putteth his trust in thee. Minister. Send him help from thy holy place; Answer. And evermore mightily defend him. Minister. Let the enemy have no advantage of him ; EXPLANATION. (3) Our Father, &c.] Nothing can be more properly introduced on this occasion than the Lord's Prayer, which our Church has adopted in several parts of the service, from the consideration that no form of petition to God can be so perfect as that delivered to mankind by our blessed Saviour himself. us, good Lord; spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us for ever. Answer. Spare us, good Lord. ¶ Then the Minister shall sayy Let us pray. Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. EXPLANATION. we, at the same time, justly pray to him not to remember those of our fathers, because we are too apt to imitate them, and because we learn from the second commandment, that God will visit the sins of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him. In this prayer we also earnestly offer our petitions to the Father of all goodness, that in his unbounded mercy he will spare us, because his blessed son Jesus Christ redeemed us with his precious blood, and not be angry with us for ever; or, in other words, to deliver us from his eternal wrath, to which we should all have been subject, without the redemption of mankind by our Lord Jesus Christ. We are told by the holy Psalmist, Psalm cxlv. 8, that "the Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy;" and again, "He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger for ever.” Ps. ciii. 9. OUR Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil. Amen. (3) Minister. O Lord, save thy servant; Answer. Which putteth his trust in thee. Minister. Send him help from thy holy place; Answer. And evermore mightily defend him. Minister. Let the enemy have no advantage of him; EXPLANATION. (3) Our Father, &c.] Nothing can be more properly introduced on this occasion than the Lord's Prayer, which our Church has adopted in several parts of the service, from the consideration that no form of petition to God can be so perfect as that delivered to mankind by our blessed Saviour himself. · Answer. Nor the wicked approach to hurt him. Minister. Be unto him, O Lord, a strong tower. Answer. From the face of his enemy. thee. Minister. O Lord, look down from heaven, behold, visit, and relieve this thy servant. Look upon him with the eyes of thy mercy, give him comfort and sure confidence in thee, defend him from the danger of the enemy (4), and keep him in perpetual EXPLANATION. (4) defend him from the danger of the enemy.] This enemy is our spiritual enemy, the devil, who, as we are told in Scripture, goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The Priest, therefore, requests our Almighty Father to defend the sick from this spiritual enemy; and we are told by St. James, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you," chap. iv. 7. To his temptations we are peculiarly exposed on the bed of sickness, -and in the last stage of our mortal existence. If we have lived wickedly, he may urge us to despair; if peace and safety; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. HEAR US, Almighty and most merciful God and Saviour: extend thy accustomed goodness to this thy servant who is grieved with sickness. Sanctify, we beseech thee, this thy fatherly correction to him; that the sense of his weakness may add strength to his faith, and seriousness to his repentance: That, if it shall be thy good pleasure to restore him to his former health, he may lead the residue of his life in thy fear, and to thy EXPLANATION. piously, to presumption; if we are in pain, to impatience; if doubtful, to unbelief; if worldly-minded, to unwillingness to die; if secure, to defer repentance, which may be attended with the utmost danger to our souls. We therefore pray God to preserve the sick from falling into such temptations; to make them firmly to rely on his mercy for forgiveness; to bear patiently their chastisements; to submit to his will; to be willing to die, if it be his good pleasure; and diligent to reform their lives, should he restore them to health. |