The Minister may begin with saying:

Peace be to this house, and to all that dwell in it.

Then the Minister may exhort the sick person after one of these forms, or in any other that he may think suitable.

Dearly beloved, you are persuaded that neither sickness nor crosses come by chance to any one.

But you believe that it is God who sendeth them, without whose Providence they fall not on us.

You acknowledge God to be most wise, and to suffer nothing to befall us but for our good.

Acknowledge, therefore, that this his present visitation is for your benefit, and say in your heart:

I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou, of very faithfulness, hast caused me to be troubled.

Dearly beloved, you know and confess that God beareth the affection of a father towards his children. You know also that a father, whether he dote upon his child, or whether he chasten him, continueth a father in both cases, and loveth him in the one no less than in the other.

Think the same of God, as touching yourself: that while be gave you good days, he loved you; and that now he sendeth you some evil, he loveth you still, and would not have sent you this evil, but to be a cause unto you Of greater good, that, being called home thereby, you might be at peace.

Then shall the Minister, kneeling down, say the two Prayers following:

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; support him under all the trials of his present sickness; relieve his pains, if it seem good in thy sight; and keep hint in perpetual peace and safety through thy great loving-kindness in Jesus Christ. 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 glory; or else give him grace so to take thy visitation, that, after this life is ended, he may dwell with thee and with thy glorified Son in life everlasting. Amen.

Or, instead of these two Prayers, one of the following:

O Lord, gracious and merciful, dispose the heart of thy servant, we beseech thee, to receive with all meekness this gentle and fatherly correction which thou hast laid upon him; that he may endure it patiently and with willing, obedience, submitting himself with heart and mind to thy holy will. May it please thee of thy great goodness, O Lord, to assist him in all his anguish and suffering; and although the tongue and voice be not able to execute their office in setting forth thy glory, do thou stir his heart to aspire unto thee, the fountain of all goodness; and fill his mind with the sweet and blessed promises which thou hast made to us in Christ Jesus thy Son. Amen.

Almighty God, merciful and gracious, thou hast now called thy servant to the fellowship of the cross. Grant, we earnestly beseech thee, that his sufferings may be so sanctified by thy grace, as indeed to unite him more closely to thy blessed Son. O heavenly Father, support the spirit of thy child who now flies to thee for succor; make him ready to receive any fatherly chastening thou shalt see fit to appoint: that he may either, upon the return of health, run a new race of holiness and well-doing; or, passing hence by the gate of death, be prepared to enter into the joy of his Lord. Amen.

Then this Prayer for Forgiveness:

O most merciful God, who, according to the multitude of, thy mercies, dost so put away the sins of those who truly repent that thou rememberest them no more; Open thine eye of mercy upon this thy servant, who most earnestly desireth pardon and forgiveness. Renew in him, most loving Father, whatsoever hath been decayed by his own carnal will and frailness. Consider his contrition; accept his tears; strengthen him with thy blessed Spirit; and when it shall be thy will to take him hence, receive him into thy heavenly presence, and into everlasting fellowship with thy most dearly beloved Son. Amen.

Then may be read one or more of the following Selections:

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.

I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning.

Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

For there is not a word in my tongue, but, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble. thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine band and save me

.

Therefore will I not fear, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee, saith the Lord.

Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away.

Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.

Let not your heart be troubled, saith the Lord, neither let it be afraid. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.

As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted.

For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord; thoughts of peace, and not of evil.

If thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, he will comfort thee.

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and be shall sustain thee.

I will turn unto the Lord, and put my trust in him.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: be leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths 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.

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.

Whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord’s.

Trust therefore in the Lord, for he doeth all things well.

When the Person sick is aged.

O God, thou bast taught me from my youth; and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

Now also when I am old and grey-headed, O God, forsake me not; for thou art my hope.

Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.

When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.

In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.

Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honor all the day.

Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.

Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;

For my soul is full of troubles; and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.

Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou bast holden me by my right hand.

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.

He that is our God is the God of salvation and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death.

Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.

For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

And 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 us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Then shall the Minister say this Benediction:

Unto God’s gracious mercy and protection we commit thee. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace, both now and evermore. Amen.

Short Prayers.

To be used by the sick.

Father in heaven, I accept this sickness from thy hands, and entirely resign myself to thy blessed will, whether it be for life or for death. In the spirit of thy Son Jesus Christ may I say, Not my will, but thine be done; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, as it is in heaven. Amen.

O ever-blessed Lord God, I offer up to thee all that now suffer, or may have yet to suffer, to be united to the sufferings of thy beloved Son, and so sanctified and rendered acceptable to thee. Amen.

O holy and ever-blessed Father, I desire to praise thee always, in sickness as well as in health: I desire to join my heart and my voice with the whole Church heaven and earth, in blessing thy holy name for ever and ever. Amen.

A Prayer for a Sick Child.

O 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 this child, now lying on the bed of sickness. Visit him, O Lord, with thy salvation; deliver him in thy good appointed time from his bodily pain; and if it shall be thy pleasure to prolong his days here on earth, grant that he may live to thee, serving thee faithfully and doing good in his generation: but whenever it may please thee to take away his spirit from this world, may he be received into those heavenly habitations, where the souls of the righteous enjoy perpetual rest and felicity. Grant this, O Lord, for thy great mercy in Jesus Christ thy Son. Amen.

A Prayer for a Sick Person when there appear Small Hopes of Recovery.

Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need; We fly unto thee for succor in behalf of this thy servant here lying in great weakness of body. Look graciously upon him, O Lord; and the more the outward man decayeth, strengthen him, we beseech thee, so much the more continually with thy grace and Holy Spirit in the inner man. May a steadfast faith in thy Son Jesus support and comfort him. Give him unfeigned repentance for all the errors of his life past; that his sins may be done away by thy mercy, and his pardon sealed in heaven, before he go hence, and be no more seen. We know, O Lord, that there is no work impossible with thee; and that, if thou wilt, thou canst even yet raise him up, and grant him a longer continuance amongst us. Yet, forasmuch as in all appearance the time of his dissolution draweth near, so fit and prepare him, we beseech thee, against the hour of death, that after his departure hence in peace, and in thy favor, his soul may be received into the joys and blessedness of that glorious immortality which thy Son Jesus Christ hath brought to light. Amen.

A Commendatory Prayer for a Sick Person at the Point of Departure.

O almighty God, with whom do live the spirits of just men made perfect, after their departure from this world; We humbly commend the soul of this thy servant, our dear brother, into thy bands, as into the hands of a faithful Creator and most merciful heavenly Father; most humbly beseeching thee of thy great love to receive him into that better country which thou hast revealed to us by thy Son Jesus Christ. Teach us who survive to see in this and other like instances of mortality, how frail and uncertain our own condition is; and so to number our days, that we may seriously apply our hearts to that holy and heavenly wisdom, which may in the end bring us to life everlasting. Amen.

A Prayer for Persons troubled in Mind or in Conscience.

O blessed Lord, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comforts; We beseech thee, look down in pity and compassion upon this thy afflicted servant. Thou makest him to possess his former iniquities: thy hand lieth heavily upon him; and his soul is full of trouble. But, O merciful God, who hast caused thy holy word to be written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the holy Scriptures might have hope; give him a right understanding of himself and of thy fatherly chastenings; that he may neither cast away his confidence in thee, nor place it anywhere but in thee. Be thou his refuge in temptation, and help him in his infirmities by thy Holy Spirit. Break not the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax. Shut not up thy tender mercies in displeasure; but make him to hear of joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. And as thou forgivest much, so may he love much. Lift up, O Lord, the light of thy countenance upon us, and give us peace, through thy fatherly love love in Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Collect for the Communion of the Sick.

Almighty, ever-living God, maker of mankind, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who dost correct those whom thou dost love, and chasten every one whom thou dost receive; We beseech thee to have mercy upon this thy servant visited with thy hand, and to grant that he may take his sickness patiently, and recover his bodily health, if it be thy gracious will; and whensoever he shall be called away from this world, may he have part in the joys and blessedness of the life to come. Amen.

Thanksgiving for Recovery.

O most mighty and gracious God, thy mercy is over all thy works, and hath especially gladdened our hearts in the recovery of our dear brother from dangerous sickness. Thou redeemest our life from destruction, and crownest us with loving-kindness and tender mercies. Suffer us not, O Lord, to be in the number of those who are forward to ask in the time of need, but careless to show themselves thankful when mercy is bestowed. Make us as desirous to come unto thee with the sacrifices of praise, as we were ready to beg help and comfort in the day of our necessity; and may we show our thankfulness, not only by words, but by earnest obedience to thy holy commandments. Grant, we beseech thee, that we may not so love this life, as to be unwilling to leave it when thou callest us; but, living or dying, may we be thine through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Prayer that may be said after a Death in a Family.

O God, our heavenly Father, who hast seen fit to take our dear brother from this world; Grant that we sorrow not as those who have no hope; but that we may put our trust in the promises of holy Scripture which saith, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; Yea, saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labors, and their works do follow them. May we rest in these words, and in thy fatherly mercy, and wait patiently for that happy reunion, the hope of which is now our sweet comfort. O God, may each of us be among those whose deeds and words show that they seek a country, even our everlasting home. Forgive us wherein we have sinned against thee : fit us to live or to die. O let it be the work of our lives to do thy holy will, and follow after thee as dear children. Hear us, gracious and merciful Lord God, who hast blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Amen.