If I Feel Thy Hand Upon Me ?

But rebuke me not, O Lord, in thy fury, nor chastise me in thy wrath ; but have regard to my weakness. Thou knowest how frail I am ; that I am nothing but dust and ashes. Deal not with me, therefore, according to my sins, neither punish me according to mine iniqui- ties ; but, according to the multitude of thy most tender mercies, have compassion on me. Oh ! let thy justice be tempered with mercy, and let thy heavenly grace come to my assistance, to support me under this my ill- ness. Confirm my soul with strength from above, that I may bear, with a true Christian patience, all the uneasi- ness, pains, disquiets, and difficulties of my sickness, and that I may cheerfully accept them as the just punish- ment of my offences. Preserve me from all temptations, and be thou my defence against all the assaults of the enemy, that in this illness 1 may in no way offend thee ; and if this is to be my last, I beseech thee so to direct me by thy grace, that I may not neglect nor be deprived of those helps which, in thy mercy, thou hast oraained INSTRUCTIONS AND DEVOTIONS for the good of my soul, to prepare it for its passage into eternity ; that, being perfectly cleansed from all my sins, I may believe in thee, put my whole trust in thee, love thee above all things, and, through the merits of thy death and passion, be admitted into the company of the blessed, where I may praise thee for ever. Amen