57. Sighs and Prayers of a Dying Man

From the Hymn, "When my departing hour has come."

1.

"When my departing hour has come."

—And, O Lord, how very near may its coming be! Preserve me, therefore, in the faith, so that I may rely upon the triune God, in whose name I was baptized, and rest my hopes upon thy merit, blood, and wounds. Protect me in this my last hour against the assaults of Satan, let thy left hand be under my head, and thy right hand cover me. Awaken me in the hour of my death by the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and abide with me, when my end approaches, "And I away must hie me."

Yea, Lord Jesus, I must travel the dark road of death, but I am not afraid if thou art with me. Death is a journey to the Father; O how I rejoice at the prospect of coming to my heavenly Father, to Jesus, where I shall find peace, joy, comfort and bliss. O how happy shall I be! Be with me, O Jesus, on this darksome journey to eternal life; give me the confidence of faith, and the sweetness of thy consolation, and to enable me joyfully to begin and end this journey, " Lord Jesus Christ, escort me home."

Travel with me from this temporal into eternal life. If the road is sombre, yet I shall walk in light, if thou art my light. Stand at my death-bed, and receive my soul when it issues from the body. When my bodily eyes are closed in death, let the eyes of my soul behold thee. Conduct my soul until thou shalt bring me to the dwelling of the saints, to the holy angels, and to the cohort of the elect. Lead me to the throne of thy heavenly Father, as thine own, so that I may find favor in his sight, and be received as an heir of salvation. Help my parting out of this world, " And evermore stand by me."

In my dying hour no one can help me but only thee, O Jesus. Help me, and strengthen my faith; help me and give testimony unto my spirit that I am truly a child of God, and shall now receive the heavenly inheritance; do not forsake me when I grow pale in death; do not forsake me when my eyes break, but be and remain the light of my soul. Forsake me not when my hearing fails, but teach comfort and refresh my spirit from within. Forsake me not when my speech departs, and I can no longer pray, but pray for me. Holy Ghost, pray within me, and represent me before the Father with unutterable sighs. Forsake me not when I expire, but carry me to the joys of heaven; take

"My soul at this my latter end"

into thy care and protection. Jesus, thou hast purchased my soul with thy holy blood, O cleanse and purify it, so that it may be a clean vessel, well pleasing in the sight of God. When the end of my life arrives, give me a rational end, if it is thy holy will, so that I may direct my heart, eyes, and mind to thee, praying while yet my tongue can stammer, sighing while breath remains, and gladly receiving the encouragement and condolence of those who stand around me; give me a blissful end, if thou art so minded, so that in dying I may enjoy thy communion, O Jesus, and be refreshed by the comfort and assistance of the Holy Ghost. Give me a blissful end, that I may fall soundly asleep in the faith, and remain united with thee before death, in death, and after death. To this end, O Lord, my soul "Into thy hands I do commend."

O how well will it be protected there. Take it to heaven and its eternal joys, to bliss, to glory, where it shall fare well. Thy hands are mighty hands, no one can pluck my soul out of thy hands; not the world, for it has no part in me;

not Satan, for him thou hast overcome. Thy hands are faithful hands, where my soul shall be well bethought.

" Thou wilt not let me perish."

I give it into thy custody until the judgment day; then shalt thou reunite it with my transfigured body, and then let soul and body enjoy the bliss of heaven. After the disturbance give me rest, after suffering, joy, after terror, consolation, after misery, refreshment. Let my soul behold thy glory among the angels and the chosen, which thou hast prepared for thy children.

2.

" My sins will exercise me sore."

Yes, I remember my sins, and am deeply grieved that I have so often offended thee, in thought, word and deed. From the bottom of my heart I deplore having wronged my Creator,

Redeemer and Sanctifier. O that I had not done it! But, Jesus, wash away my sins with the purple current of thy wounds, bind up my heart with comfort, and think of them no longer, but cast them into the sea. When my sins pre sent themselves at my bedside, frighten, condemn, and accuse me, O then do thou come to my aid, and seal in my heart the forgiveness of sins by thy Holy Ghost. This shall be my comfort when

"My conscience will alarm me."

I feel the great dread and terror I must suffer because of my sins. O sin, how bitter art thou upon the bed of death, how dost thou harass and disturb me! but, O Jesus, for the sake of thy precious blood forgive my trespasses, for the sake of thy holy wounds have mercy upon me. For the sake of thy eternal love, take me into thy favor. I do not deny my transgressions and sins, I acknowledge, before Almighty God, the countless number of them. "For they are like the sands of the shore."

I have sinned much in thoughts, much in words and idle speech, and much in works and deeds, from my youth up; if then, thou, Lord, wilt make us answerable for sin, who will come forth unscathed? If thou wilt bring the thoughts of my heart to judgment, I must be ashamed; if I am to account for every idle word, I am lost; if thou wilt judge me and deal with me according to my works, what will become of me? What shall I do, sinner that I am? What shall I begin? My conscience accuses me!

" Yet shall despair not harm me."

And why should I despair? The heavenly Father will surely not disown his hapless, penitent child. I will not despair, for Jesus is my Saviour, my Mediator and Advocate, with his heavenly Father. Who will accuse the chosen of God? God is here, who maketh just; who will condemn? Christ is here, who is dead, who rose again, who sits at the right hand of God, and intercedes for us. I will not despair, for the Holy Ghost will remain my comfort in the death struggle, and will bear witness unto my spirit that I am truly a child of God, and that my sins were forgiven me for the sake of Jesus. " I call to mind how thou hast died."

In dying, I will remember thee, O Jesus, upon the cross, how thou didst shed thy blood and die for me. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

O Lamb of God! All guiltless

Upon the cross defeated;

Forever meek and patient,

Though scoffed and vilely treated!

Nothing but thy contrition

Has saved me from perdition;

Jesu! have mercy on me.

Thus the bitter suffering and blood of Jesus shall dwell forever in my heart; thus

"The crimson fountains of thy side,"

shall course forever into my veins. Thy wounds were suffered for my sake also, in them will I take refuge.

E'en as a scared and timid bird

In hollow trees seeks cover,

When gusts of air the storm declare,

That o'er the fields doth hover,

Right so when death, with poisoned breath,

Would make my spirit welter,

Jesus, to thee, dear Lord, I flee,

And in thy wounds take shelter.

The blood, wounds and death of Jesus shall be my latest thought, and Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, my latest word. O Christ Jesus, Son of God, thou who hast done so much for me, lock me up into thy wounds, thou art alone my comfort and salvation. Yes, Lord Jesus, thy wounds

"Shall rescue and preserve me."

For their sake I shall find favor before. God, justification and eternal happiness. When they

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SIGHS AND PRATERS inclose my body in the coffin, I will lock my soul into the wounds of Jesus. There it will be preserved, thence no enemy can expel it; in these wounds it rests, and will be carried to the brotherhood of the blest.

3.

"I of thy body am a limb.

O what comfort will there be, at the hour of death, in the thought that I am a member of thy holy body! In holy baptism I was born again, I became a member of the Christian church, the head of which is Jesus, but if Jesus is my head and I his member, I know also that I shall be where my Jesus is. Jesus is in the glory whither I shall come also. He has promised that when he should be lifted up from the earth he would draw us all after him. O Jesus! thou hast been lifted up to the right hand of the heavenly Father, O draw me after thee, bring me to thy eternal heavenly joy; aye, as thy member thou wilt make me a partaker of thy glory. "This is my consolation."

Delicious comfort! Because I am the child of God, I am an heir, even God's heir, and a co-heir of Christ, who shall attain the heavenly blessings, and be lifted up to glory. Should I then not gladly die, not gladly suffer and endure, so that I may also share his life and his greatness? This shall be my unceasing comfort. Jesus, my head, will glorify me, his member; Jesus, my Saviour, will save me; therefore I say, my Jesus! "With thee, I am united still."

Though on earth the head may be severed from the body, yet no one can separate me from Jesus; I know that neither life nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor high nor low, shall separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Nothing, nothing shall sever me from Jesus, neither cross nor sickness, struggle nor agony of soul, nor death itself. Body and soul may part, but Jesus and my soul shall never be parted; the world and my friends I must leave behind me, Jesus never. O Jesus, I have inclosed thee in my heart, therefore I will hold thee in true faith, until thou shalt bring me to thy heavenly glory. Jesus is mine and I am his forever, even "In death and consternation."

for thou hast promised, O Lord, that thou wilt be with me in the time of need; O fulfil thy gracious promise! If the struggle of death is the final struggle, thou, my Saviour, wilt sweeten it with thy presence. Let thy image appear to me, as a consolation in my sorrow, bleeding for me, let me strain thee to my heart. Lord Jesus,

I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. I die for thee, I live for thee, dead and living I am thine. Who dies thus, dies well, for

"E'en though I die, I die to thee."

I gladly die, for I know that I shall come into thy glory. I will die in faith, and rely upon thy merits, blood and death. I die happy and blessed, for I die to thee, I long for thee, I die as thy child, which thou hast loved heretofore; I die as thy lamb, which no one can snatch from thy hand, I die as thy heir, for whom thou hast prepared the heavenly joy and gladness.

"Eternal life thou hast for me"

secured and purchased. With what joy do I look forward to this life, to this glory; if here my happy days were few and far between, if my daily bread has been wailing and tribulation, in heaven I shall enjoy the sweet days of repose and of refreshment; there my Saviour will wipe away all tears from my eyes. Blissful hour when I shall attain to this happiness! and that

I shall attain it I surely know, for this life of gladness thou hast for me

"By thy atonement purchased."

Lamb of God! thou diedst for me, thou art the redemption of the sin of all the world; for me thou wert spit upon, crucified and slaughtered; thy death sweetens my death, all advantageth me; thy shame and degradation turns to my honor; a thousand, thousand thanks for this to thee, dear Jesus. As thou livest, so shall I live also. Therefore be comforted, O my soul, and look joyously toward heaven. Jesus has purchased heaven, and prepared a place there for thy coming. Though I have no abiding sojourn here, though my life comes to an end, and my heart breaks, yet I well know whither I am going: to Jesus, my Saviour. For I know that when this house of the earthly tabernacle of my body is demolished, we have an edifice which God has built, a house not made with hands, which is eternal in heaven, and this my Jesus has purchased for me by his sufferings and death. 4.