A12406:1431
The sermons of Master Henry Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…The sermons of Maister Henrie Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…
The sermons of Master Henry Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his corrected copies in his life time.The sermons of Maister Henrie Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his corrected copies in his life time.
London: printed by Richard Field for Thomas Man, 1593
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
A Prayer for a sick man.
A Prayer for a sicke man.
Almighty God and all merciful Father, which art the Physician of our bodies and souls, in thy hands are life and death, thou bringest to the grave, and pullest back again: we came into this world upon condition, to forsake it whensoever thou wouldest call us, and now the Sumners are come, thy •etters hold me, and none can loose me but he which bound me. I am sick in body and soul, but he hath stricken me which in judgment showeth mercy. I deserved to dye so soon as I came to life: but thou hast preserved me till now, and shall this mercy be in vain as though we were preserved for nothing? ⟨image 512⟩Who can praise thee in the grave? I have done thee no service since I was borne, but my goodness is to come, and shall I dye before I begin to live? but Lord thou knowest what is best of all, and if thou convert me, I shall be converted in an hour: and as thou acceptedst the will of David as well as the act of Solomon: so thou wilt accept my desire to serve thee, as well as if I did live to glorify thee. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is frail, and as I did live sinfully, whensoever thy spirit was from me, so I shall dye unwillingly unless thy spirit prepare me: therefore dear father, give me that mind which a sick man should have, and increase my patience with my pain, and call unto my remembrance, all which I have heard or read, or felt, or meditated to strengthen me in this hour of my trial, that I which never taught any good while I lived, may now teach other how to dye, and to bear their sickness patiently: apply unto me all the mercies and merits of thy beloved son, as if he had dyed for me alone. Be not from me when the enemy comes; but when the tempter is busiest, let thy spirit be busiest too: and if it please thee to loose me out of this prison, when I shall leave my earth to earth, let thine Angel carry up my soul to heaven, as they did Lazarus, and place me in one of those mansions