by Samuel Johnson, Dr. (1709 - 1784)
Purposes, Apr. 4
Language: English
Purposes, Apr. 4. 1. To rise at eight, or as soon as I can. 2. To read the Scriptures. 3. To study religion. Almighty God, by thy merciful continuance of my life, I come once more to commemorate the sufferings and death of thy Son Jesus Christ, and to implore that mercy which for his sake thou shewest to sinners. Forgive me my sins, O Lord, and enable me to forsake them. Ease, if it shall please thee, the anxieties of my mind, and relieve the infirmities of my Body. Let me not be disturbed by unnecessary terrours, and let not the weakness of age make me unable to amend my life. O Lord, take not from me thy Holy Spirit, but receive my petitions, succour and comfort me, and let me so pass the remainder of my days, that when thou shalt call me hence I may enter into eternal happiness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with George Birkbeck Norman Hill, Johnsonian Miscellanies, Vol. I, Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1897, p.91
Text Authorship:
- by Samuel Johnson, Dr. (1709 - 1784), "Easter Day Prayer, 1779", written 1779, appears in Johnsonian Miscellanies, in Prayers and Meditations, no. 132 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Judith Bingham (b. 1952), "A Prayer for Lent", 2022 [ satb chorus ], from Seven Short Prayers, no. 3, Composers Edition
Publisher: Composers Edition [external link]  [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-08-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 158