55. The Dying One prays for a Blissful End
EXHORTATION.
"It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers."—1 Kings xix. 4. When sacrifices were made to God under the old covenant dispensation, they had to be volunTHE DYING ONE PRAYS tary gifts, not compulsive. So it is also with death; a man must not die murmuring and discontented, but must call upon God to vouchsafe unto him a calm, gentle, rational and blissful end. Merciful and gracious God! I perceive that the time of my departure is at hand, when I shall go in peace, and lie down to rest; my sight fails, my strength gives out, and it appears as if a change were coming over me. Therefore I bring my dying prayer unto thee. My life and soul I commend to thee, O Lord; give me a blessed end for the sake of Jesus. Lord God, Father in heaven, thou who hast created, maintained, and kept me, O take my soul into thy favor. O Jesus, thou who hast redeemed and purified me with thy most precious blood, let me die at peace, in the true faith in thy merits and blood. O Lord Jesus! into thy hands I commend my spirit. O most precious Holy Ghost! my comfort and deliverance, do not forsake me, but give me the joyful assurance that I inherit the life eternal, pray in me and with me, and take my place before God with unutterable sighs. O my Jesus, open the gates of heaven, read and guide me into eternal life, to the society of the blessed. O my God! keep me in holy and FOR A BLISSFUL END.
good thoughts, so that Jesus Christ may dwell constantly in my remembrance! and if my eyes should quickly break, refresh me internally in my soul with thy heavenly comfort and light. Let Jesus ever be present to my soul, grant that I may rejoice in his blood, may take comfort in contemplating his atoning merit, and may grasp his righteousness in true faith. Give me, if it please thee, a gentle and quiet end. O triune God, bless my going out of mortality, and my coming into the glad eternity that lies beyond. The Lord bless me and keep me! The Lord let his face shine upon me, and be gracious unto me! The Lord lift up his countenance over me, and give me peace! In the name of the triune God, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I live and die, in his name, I close my eyes, and commend myself to God and to his grace. Amen. 1. Soon to be resolved and hover
Upward, is my heart's resort;
I rejoice to leave this nether
Darkness, for a better port;
For e'en here the Lord hath given
Me a sweet foretaste of heaven:
With my Jesus at my side,
I can die unterrified.
2. Break, ye purblind eyes! O quickly
Let your earthly light be spent;
Jesus sheds the rays upon me
Of a higher firmament.
In the dark and shaded valley
In the straight and narrow alley,
Jesus is my eye and hand,
Pointing out the promised land.
3. Ye red lips, be red no longer,
Close, and be forever still!
Jesus! sweet repose awaits me
There, upon the heavenly hill.
Jesus, by his mediation,
Will present my supplication.
Jesus is my heart and speech,
When my dying hour I reach.
4 Ears, ye may forego your duty,
I have no more need of you;
I must live on inward senses,
Where sweet comforts whisper true;
Hark! the sounding heavenly paean!
Lo, the boundless empyrean!
What are those high tones I hear?
What bewildering sights appear?
Heart, my heart, O burst with triumph,
Life, my precious life, depart;
Nothing shall from Jesus drive me,
I am settled in his heart.
Unto him my faith is plighted,
We forever are united;
Knot which nothing can untie—
Burst, my heart, in triumph high!
PRAYER OF THE BY-STANDERS, ETC.