in judgement against them for they praise God continually after their manner or as well as they can The Sun Moon and stars fire and haile snow and vapour stormy winds fulfilling his word mountains and all hills fruitfull trees and Cedars beasts and all cattle creeping things and flying fowle Dragons and all deeps are commanded to praise the Lord and they doe it And are not all men Kings of the earth and all people Princes and all the Judges of the earth both young men and maidens old men and children more commanded to praise the Lord and are not Saints commanded and bound to praise the Lord more then all other men And are not those Saints that have pray'd for such a mercy and who have personally tasted the sweetnesse of such a mercy and whose interest is much advanced and strengthned by the mercy obtained have not they more cause to Praise God for it then all other Saints And is not this the case of many here present and of many more absent in the severall parts of these Dominions Therefore to close this poynt Let not us with hold praise from God either in whole or in part Ananias and Saphira were strucken dead for with holding part of the price they brought something of their vow and laid it down at the Apostles feet but not all and dyed for 't If we keep a part of our Praises to our selves or give part of our Praises to instruments we deale with God like Ananias and Saphira who brought their gift indeed but kept part of the price to themselves whereas it was all dedicated to God we may quickly run into a paralell sin in this day and duty of thanksgiving and when the whole was dedicated to God keep a part to our selves It is not enough for us to say Praised be God but we must say as Psal 115. 1. Not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy name give glory we must deny our own Praise perfectly or else all our Praises of God are imperfect we must doubly deny twice deny all our own Praises else we doe not so much as give God one single Praise that is not one single-hearted Praise And that we may come forth freely in our Praises of the Lord and sing Halalujahs to his name alone give me leave to set the stamp or character of those works of God which are instanced in this text upon those works of God which are the occasion and matter of our Praise this day and to shew how all those grounds which that sweet singer of Israel laid as the foundation of his own and his peoples Praises meet and center in ours First saith David The works of the Lord are great And surely we are not called this day to Praise the Lord for some small or little work indeed all the works of the Lord are great great as done by him for he leaves the impression of his own greatnesse upon all that he doth as every sin the least sin is a great sin because committed against the great God so every mercy is a great mercy as it comes forth from the hand of the great God but I speak not of the greatnesse of the works of God here in this notion but as they are great both in themselves and comparatively with others And as for the work of this day we may affirme the greatnesse of it in a threefold consideration 1. It is great materially or in the substance of it A great force of the enemy was beaten and broken a great treasure was taken from the enemy is not this a great work The Prophets prediction well may be our report concerning the work of this day and he spake it in the stile of a Navall victory Isa 33. 23. For having said of Sion v. 21. there The glorious Lord will be to us a place of broad rivers and streams wherein shall goe no Gally with oares neither shall gallant Ship passe thereby that is to annoy or hurt us He presently subjoyns the reason v. 22. For the Lord is our Judge the Lord is our law giver the Lord is our King he will save us This salvation of Sion is the destruction of Babylon as is shewed in the next verse by an elegant Apostrophe to the enemy Thy tacklings are loosed they could not well strengthen their mast they could not spread the saile then is the prey of a great spoile devided the lame take the prey And when he saith The lame take the prey he doth not mean that it shall be taken by a company of creeples but by some smaller power And may we not say That now the prey of a great spoile is devided yea may we not say The lame have taken the prey Was it not taken by so small a part of the forces sent upon that designe as may not improperly be called a lame or weak limb in comparison of the whole body and did not the enemy look upon our six Frigats which engaged them as a company of Fisher-boats Therefore great is the work of the Lord in the matter of it 2. It is yet greater in the circumstances of it The greatnesse of actions whether civill or morall good or evill ariseth much if not chiefly from circumstantialls from the way and manner from the time and season in which they are done And was not this done first in a time when our need was great Was it not done secondly in a time when our faith was little Was it not done thirdly in a time when the spirits of some were high in wrath and the spirits of others higher in scorn at this undertaking And as this work was great both in the substance and concomitant circumstances of it so 3. It may prove yet greater in the consequences of it Who knows what effects this work may have or how far it may reach this may prove a long handed mercy The Apostle James speaks admiringly Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth the fire is not much at present but it may do much so much that possibly we and others may have cause to admire the greatnesse of that matter which shall be kindled with this little fire Therefore let us go forth in praises for as in Davids so in our experience The work of the Lord is Great The second attribute of the work of the Lord is laid down in the third verse His work is honourable and glorious or as the Originall text hath it His work is honour and glory When abstracts are put in Scripture for concreetes the sence is encreased To say the work of the Lord is honour and glory is more then to say it is honourable and glorious much is said in this but more in that T is good for us when God declares his mercy but 't is better when he declares his glory We should be thankfull for favour but our thanks should exceed for honour The work of God before us is honourable and glorious t is honour
in a corner Though he would doe it with all his heart yet he would not doe it onely in his heart but saith he I will praise him in the assembly of the upright Nor is that all he would doe it yet more openly I will praise him in the congregation I will praise him not onely in the assembly of the upright or in a meeting of some choice select ones but among good and bad even in the mixed multitude As if he had said As the Lord hath owned me and my cause and my people in the eye of all the world by his signall mercies so also will I own the Lord with signall praises Fourthly we have here the grounds of the duty And these are twofold or of two sorts First his experience of what the Lord had already done for him and his people Secondly his assurance of what the Lord was to them and would further be to and do for them The first sort of grounds upon which David gave order for a day of Thansgiving or the experience of what God had done is set down under four distinct adjuncts or attributes of his works 1. The Lord had not done small matters for them The works of the Lord are great at the second verse 2. The Lord had not done some obscure thing for them His work is honourable and glorious at the third verse 3. The Lord had not done some ordinary and common work for them His workes are wonderfull at the fourth verse 4. The Lord had not done some unprofitable wonders for them his work was beneficiall and advantagious He hath given meat to them that fear him at the fifth verse These are the four characters of the Lords works He had done great and honorable and wonderfull beneficial things for them and were not all these enough to cal up their hearts to the high to the highest praises of God All these make the first ground of Davids order for Thanksgiving The second ground of his order ariseth from the assurance of what God was to them and would further be to and do for them This is set forrh in three particulars 1. Praise the Lord for we have this assurance of him he is righteous and will be righteous His righteousness endureth for ever v. 3. 2. Praise the Lord for we have this assurance of him He is gracious and full of compassion v. 4. 3. Praise the Lord for we have this assurance of him He is faithfull and will be faithfull alwayes He will ever be mindfull of his Covenant v. 5 I am fallen upon a very rich mine of holy truths here 's that which is precious and here 's plenty of it greater plenty of precious and golden Oare then I shall be able to mint and stamp out into particulars at this time and therefore I purpose to propose but one generall point of duty from this large text and draw all the particulars of it together in a way of application for our better improvement of the occasion of this great and Holy Solemnity The point is plainly this It is our duty to pay the Lord speciall praises when he is pleased to bestow upon us speciall and remarkable mercies or speciall praises are due to the Lord for speciall mercies Here is speciall and speciall I expresse it so because to praise God is every days duty Thus the Apostle directs Heb. 13. 15 By him therefore let us offer the Sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name But though praise be an every days work yet there is a day of specialty in prasing God For as it is our duty to pray continually to continue in prayer Col. 4. 2. yea to pray without ceasing 1 Thes 5. 17. yet there are some speciall seasons for prayer or peculiar praying times Call upon me in the day of trouble Psal 50. 15. And we have the same rule James 5. 13. Is any among you afflicted let him pray T is both our duty and our interest to pray though we are not afflicted but the duty of prayer is most incumbent upon us in affliction Trouble drives us to God and God only can drive away our troubles Again it is our duty to repent continually yet there are some speciall seasons for repentance as when we have fallen into great sinâ— or when we are under the fear of great calamities Isa 22. 12. And in that day a day of common danger did the Lord God oâ— Hosts call to weeping and mourning and to baldness and to girding with sack cloath all which are the most significant acts of repentance and soul humilition before the Lord. So I say though to give thanks be every days duty and that upon a threefold consideration First because every day we receive new mercies and have our former mercies renewed Secondly because every mercy is a witnesse of the goodnesse of God to us and of his power put out for us Thirdly because every the least mercy is more then we have either deserved at Gods hand or could get alone with our own hand and therefore we are bound by this threefold cord to praise the Lord every day yet upon some dayes we are bound more to praise him and that upon a fourfold consideration First Some speciall mercies shew forth more of God then our every days mercies doe more of the power more of the wisdome more of the love more of the mercy and goodnesse of God is stampt and imprest upon them then upon many other mercies Now the more of God appears in any mercy the more and the lowder it cals us to this duty of praising him The least appearance of God is praise worthy His great appearances are infinitely more then worthy of our greatest praises Secondly We have more urgent need of some mercys then of others Some are onely accessary mercies others are extreamly necessary Some concerne only the well being or bettering of our estate others the very being of it Some are only ornamental mercies others are substantiall some respect only the honour and flourishing condition of our affaires others the very life and subsistence of them they are such as we know not how to spare nor what to doe without them such speciall mercies urge us unavoydably to speciall praises Thirdly For some mercies the Lord hath been more then ordinarily sought to in prayer and with a greater exercise of faith and patience then ordinary waited upon for the receiving of them They that know the Lord and have acquaintance with him would not have any mercy without asking they pray for every morsell of bread they eat they love to see all come in a way of prayer through the promise But there are some mercies for which there hath been abundance of striving in our own hearts and much striving and tugging with God that we might attain them we for some mercies have wrestled all night like Jacob before we could prevaile and be Israels Princes with
God Now when such a mercy comes in as hath been thus specially prayed for and of which we may say when we receive it as Hanna said to Eli about her son Samuel for this child I prayed and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him 1 Sam. 1. 27. So for this successe I praid for this mercy I fasted and mourned I wept and made supplication before the Lord and he hath given me my petition which I asked of him when a mercy hath been thus gained by prayer it ought and will be worne and enjoyed with praise and thankfulnesse Every answer or returne of prayer calls for a return of praises much more when it is an answer to many prayers to much prayer Then if ever praise waits for God in Zion Psal 76. 3. when in Zion that is in answer to the supplications made in Zion the Lord breakâ—th the arrows of the bow the sheild the sword and the battel I grant those mercies which have stood us in little pains in few prayers which have come in for little asking yea without asking oblidge us to praise God most because of his readinesse to hear and speedinesse in granting when God answers before we call how great a call have we to praise him after such an answer yet those mercies which have been most costly to us as to the duty of prayer are most sensibly constrayning upon us as to the duty of praise And although when through the free grace of God we find our prayers even prevented by our mercies the heart cannot but be stirred up mightily to the duty of praise yet when through our own sloath we have neglected to fetch in our mercies by prayer we usually find our hearts little pressed unto praise Fourthly Because when we pray much and wait long for eminent mercies we always implicitely and sometimes explicitely vow praises to the Lord and so bind our selves by vow to praise him And hence we find often in Scripture that praising God is expressed by paying vows to God Psal 50. 14. Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vowes unto the most high that is offer that thanksgiving unto God which thou hastvowed to pay unto him And as we have it in that Psalm laid down in a proposition so in another Psalm we have it laid down in practice I will offer to thâ—e the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will 〈◊〉 upon the name of the Lord I will pay my vowes unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people Psal 116. 17 18. Our praises are debts and Solomon tells us it is very dangerous being in this debt When thou vâ—west a vow unto God defer not to pay it for he hath no pleasure in fools pay that which thou hast vowed Eccl. 5. 4. Owe no man any thing but to love one another saith the Apostle Rom. 13. 8. that is Owe no man any thing to his prejudice or in his wrong And though we can never come out of Gods debt and therefore must be alwayes paying yet when he finds us to our utmost paying he looks upon us as if wâ— owed him nothing Mercy received brings us in debt and praise returned brings us in Gods account out of debt The Lord through mercy takes praise as payment for his mercies We have reason to be very carefull in making this payment not onely because we owe so much but because we can pay no more So then if speciall mercies have the clearest manifestations of God in them if we have an urgent necessity to receive them if God hath been more sought that we might obtaine them if the vowes of God are upon us to praise him when ever they should be obtained who can be unconvinced That speciall praises are due and to be paid for speciall received mercies And if so Then consider First How sinfull it is to with hold and imprison the praises of God in a day of eminent and speciall mercy There are two things which we should take heed we doe not imprison First the Truths of God Secondly the Praises of God And I may freely say It is as dangerous to imprison the Praises of God as it is to imprison the Truths of God To imprison or hold the Praises of God in unthankfulnesse as it is to imprison or hold the Truths of God in unrighteousnesse There are many that hold the Truths of God in unrighteousnesse O take heed take heed that no such prisoners be found among you For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against those that doe so Rom. 1. 18. Now as it is dangerous to imprison the truths of God so it is as dangerous to imprison the mercies and the praises of God To hold them in unthankfulnesse hath not onely this danger in it that God will give us no more mercies seing we use those he hath given us so hardly and unworthily but it hath this danger in it also that it may provoke the Lord to poure out wrath upon us Eliphaz chargeth Job with imprisoning prayer Thou castest off fear and restrainest prayer before God Chap. 15. 4. That 's a sad frame of heart if when the spirit moves and urgeth to pray and there are workings of conscience which provoke to prayer even a naturall conscience may doe it then to restrain prayer notes a very ill habit of the soul for such give witnesse against themselves that they have cast off the fear of the Lord. Now as to restrain prayer so to restrain praise is an argument that men have cast off the fear of the Lord. And when once t is so with man his heart is at worst and his sin at full Therefore the Apostle Paul 2 Tim. 3. 2 gives this as one of the blackest caracters of those perilous times of which he there prophecyeth Men shall be lovers of their own selves c. unthankefull unholy without naturall affection They who have no spirituall affections to performe duty to God are often punished with a want of naturall affection towards one another We have cause to fear that this Prophecy is fulfilled upon this Generation that for unthankfulnesse many are given up not onely to unholinesse towards God but unnaturalnesse towards men O how are the mercies of God swallowed up in unthankfulnesse yea not onely swallowed up in unthankfulnesse but murthered in our murmurings and discontents to what a height then is the sinfulnesse of this age like to encrease seing they who with hold from God the glory of his mercies are in a readinesse to with hold obedience to his commands yea in that they with hold obedience to his greatest and most comprehensive commands How can it be but the unthankfull must needs be unholy seing unthankfulness is the sum of all unholiness A heathen could say Call a man unthankfull and you have called him all that 's bad or nought or as we speak you have Call'd him all to nought Let the unthankfull remember That the inanimate creatures will rise up
and glory 1. To God himselfe He hath in the eye of his people made himselfe a glorious name as the Prophet saith he did of old by the conduct of his people Israel through the wildernesse Isa 63. 14. 2. 'T is honourable and glorious honour and glory to his servants even to all who had a hand or a heart in it a good wish or a prayer going with it As the with-drawings of God as to the success of any undertaking leave those who are engaged in it under clouds of disrespect yea sometimes of contempt among men So his appearances with them are a redemption of their esteemâ— and a reparation of their honour among men For though we ought not to esteem actions by their events but by their righteousnesse yet successe renders them honourable in their eyes such are the most of men who judge actions more by their events then by the rules and grounds of them The Lord hath been tender of us and remembred uâ— in this Making this action which had in the eyes of impartiall and discerning men an intrinsecall honour and glory as to the righteousnesse and justnesse of it extrinsecally honourable and glorious as to the successe and prosperity of it Therefore let me say with David Psal 66. 2. O make his praise glorious Thirdly The text saith His works are wonderfull This attribute also is very applicable and but due to the present work of God which is not onely a mercy but a marveile not onely a favour but a wonder I doe not say it is a miracle but a marveile it is and there are wonders in it 1. This hath some what of a marveâ—le and a wonder in it that it should be done at the enemies own doore when they thought themselves beyond all hazzard and as it were in harbour when they were ready to say and probably said in effect with Agag surely the bitternesse of death is past yea the fear of danger yet then they were ensnared and taken even in the face of their creddit their friends and country men looking on but not able to relieve them 2. This work had somewhat of a wonder in it because done by a small appearance of humane power because done as was toucht before by the lame or by little strength That which is done without the concurrence of any visible means is a miracle And that which is done with the concurrence of little visible means is a marveile It was not surely any plot of man but a plot of providence it seems to be That the greatest part of our force was in that nick of time with-drawn upon necessary occasions far off If a greater power had been there the wonder had been the lesse For though the greatest earthly strength is as weak to any work as the least and as unable to effect it unlesse God be with them and so they who are spirituall will confesse when they have most of an arme of flesh with them yet then the conviction comes most clearly upon us that God is much in any work when we see little of man in it And that was the reason why the Lord took off all Gideons Army except three hundred in his undertaking against the Midianites when Gideon had gathered a gallant army of thirty thousand the Lord said unto him Judg. 7. 2. The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands lest Israel vaunt himselfe against me saying mine own hand hath saved me We may hear such words from God spoken aloud though not formally yet vertually in this dispensation And therefore let us say as it is often said Psal 107. O praise the Lord for his goodnesse and for his wonderfull works which he doth for the children of men especially for that which he hath lately done for us upon the great waters there many saw the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep v. 23 24. Fourthly The text saith The works of the Lord are beneficiall and profitable that 's expressed v. 5. He hath given meat to them that fear him We may put this character also upon the present work of the Lord we have reason to come forth in his praises and say what the hand of God hath wrought is not only an honor to us but a benefit to us there is not onely credit in it but there is meat in it yea as we speak proverbially of such things as are very comfortable and beneficiall There is meat drink and cloath in it He hath given meat to them that fear him We fight sometimes and get nothing but blowes we fight many times and get nothing but bare victory and honor by it but there is meat in some victories and there is much in this The Originall word which we translate meat is extreamly sutable to the present occasion for it doth not signifie our usuall food such as is gotten by ordinary labour and pains-taking by dressing grounds and keeping cattle but it signifies such meat as is gotten by force and fighting by battell with and beating of an enemy such meat as is gotten by the sword and spear not by the plough and spade such meat as is gotten by blood not by sweat And therefore we put in the Margin of our larger Bibles He hath given prey to them that fear him the prey of war So the word is used in the Prophesie of dying Jacob concerning the Tribe of Judah Gen. 49. 9. Judah is a Lyons whelp from the prey my son thou art gone up that is having taken the prey and spoile of the enemy in war thou art gone up triumphantly Judah was the Kingly Tribe who as he had the power of making war so he was under this promise that he should be victorious in his wars and returne laden with the spoyles of the enemy Judah was a Lyons whelp and the Lord doth sometimes feed those that fear him as Lyons feed themselves and their whelps he feeds them with prey and they tear their meat out of the bowels and bellies of those adversaries who before did tear and make a prey of them The Lord in this present work hath given us prey for meat he hath given Thousands I will not take upon me to say how many thousands of the enemies treasure into our hands by this victory But sure I am he hath given meat to feed the businesse which was in some danger of starving and which many wisht might starve 'T is a mercy when God gives us meat any way and 't is a remarkable mercy when he gives us meat as he hath given us this meat out of an enemies store or meat of an enemies own dressing preparing In this work of providence that minatory sentence is verified and made good which Job spake or Prophecyed rather against any unrighteous oppressour whether he be an oppressor of private persons and families or of States and Nations in the 27 Chapter of that Book v. 16 17. Though he heap
up silver as the dust and prepare rayment as the clay he may prepare it but the just shall put it on and the innocent shall divide the Silver As if God had said by Job I know oppressors never think their dust-heap big enough and therefore they care not whom they oppresse so they may but heap up Silver for themselves as the dust yea they heap up silver as the dust that they may be strong to oppresse well let them goe on and prosper let them prepare it but I will prepare heires for them which they never thought of unlesse how to oppresse and vex them The innocent shall divide the Silver And that word divide hath a sound of war in it seing after victories obtained spoiles are divided I know some are ready to take offence at this day of thanksgiving because it is a thanksgiving for prey But let such remember First 't is prey taken from an enemy Secondly 't is prey taken from an enemy who hath swallowed up Nations greater then his own without offence given or recompence made as a prey And thirdly we have enough in this text to answer such objectors here 's King Davids order for a day of thanksgiving because God had given meat or prey to his people as he hath given to us this day We have as much I might say more reason to give thanks to God for meat gotten by a lawfull war as for meat gotten by our lawfull labour Therefore let us eate it or enjoy the benifit of it and praise the Lord. If while this meat is in our mouths the praises of God be in our mouths too certainly if they be in our hearts and lives too we shall not need to fear though we cannot be too much caution'd about it that as it befell the Israelites who fell a lusting in the wildernesse the wrath of God should fall upon us and slay the fattest of us and smite downe the chosen men of our Israel Psal 78. 30 31. Indeed if we have either asked this meat for our lusts or having gotten it bestow it upon our lusts we may expect a severer vengeance then theirs Thus I have touched upon and made a briefe application of the first ground of praising God laid down in this context by a paralell of the works of the Lord for which David gave order for publique praises with the works of the Lord for which we are called to praise him this day They are Great and Honorable they are Wounderfull and Beneficiall He hath given meat or prey to them that fear him The second generall Ground why David ordered a day of praise was that assurance and holy confidence which he had of what God was and would further be unto them and doe for them And indeed what God himselfe is to us is far more valuable then all that he hath done for us And in all our outward enjoyments we should be drawn off from the mercies of God to the God of our mercies from all the works of God to God who hath wrought them So did David here though he spake and thought highly of what God had done for them yet his heart was especially carryed out to and taken up with the thoughts of God There are four particulars in which David gives instance for the exalting of the name of God in praises as to what he is in himselfe and as to what he will be unto his people First The Lord is righteous and just his righteousnesse or justice endureth for ever v. 3. He is not righteous in this or that act onely at this or that time onely but he is righteous in all and always Some men will doe righteously now and then here and there to this or that person yet they step awry at other times or in other cases and so do justice not with respect to truth but with respect to persons But the Lord doth justice at all times in all cases without respect of persons and therefore the Lords righteousnesse indureth for ever We are saved by and live upon the grace and mercy of God yet we cannot but and are much bound to acknowledge his righteousnesse and justice They in the Revelation Chap. 15. 2 3. Who had gotten the victory over the Beast and over his image and over the number of his name were seen by John standing on the Sea of glasse having the harps of God and singing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb saying Creat and marvellous are thy works O Lord God almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of saints The ways of Christ are just towards his enemies as he hath threatned and they are true towards his own people as he hath promised He is the Amâ—n giving being and accomplishment to his own word The faithfull and true witnesse Rev. 3. 14. bearing his testimony to what he hath said by that which he doth so declaring his own righteousnesse And may not we now turne Davids Prophesie Psal 65. 5. By terrible things in righteousness thou wilt answer us O God may we not I say turne that Prophecy into a history and say By terrible things in righteousnesse thou hast answered us O God of our salvation who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of them that are afar off upon the sea O how much are we engaged to praise the Lord for his righteousnesse who hath avouched our right and declared himselfe against those who would not repaire our wrongs Thus did the same Holy David Psal 9. 2 3 4. I will be glad and rejoyce in thee I will sing praise to thy name O thou most high when mine enemies are turned back they shall fall and perish at thy presence for thou hast maintained my right and my cause thou sittest in the Throne judging right And as we are to praise the Lord because he hath been righteous or for the righteousnesse which he hath done so we are to praise him upon this assurance that he will ever doe that which is right For as he is the Father of Lights so also the judge of rights with whom there is no variablenesse nor shadow of turning His righteousnesse endureth for ever Praise ye the Lord. The second part of this second ground of praise is the graciousnesse of God The Lord is gracious and full of compassion v. 4. That proper name John derived from the Hebrew word here translated gracious was given in speciall by the Angells appointment to the Baptist Luke 1. 13. either because he was sent to preach the grace of God in Christ shortly after to be exhibited in the flesh or because he was bestowed upon his parents in their old age as a testimony of the favour and grace of God to them And thus all that God doth for his people flows from the fountain of his free grace and from his compassions which faile not The Lord deserveth highest praises from man because what he doth for man he
his remembring the Covenant which he hath made with us Secondly his doing or making of it good to us It is a common sin among men that they make Covenants but doe not mind them and that 's a sin very chargeable upon this Nation It is our interest as well as our duty to make and minde our Covenants with God Not to make a Covenant with him in some cases is sinfull but not to mind what we have made is more sinfull Not to mind Covenant with man is sinfull much more not to mind our Covenant with God Such is the weaknesse of some men that though they mind their Covenants they cannot do them or make them good And such is the sinfulnesse of many that they make Covenants and never mind them nor have any mind to make them good yea such is the wickednesse and perversnesse and perfidiousnesse of others that though they mind their Covenant yet they will not doe it yea they refuse to do it and which is wickednesse wound up to the hight chuse to deale falsly with God in Covenant Now as the terrour of the Lord should keep all men from such a hight of wickednesse so the example of the Lord should keep all men from the least and lowest degree of it For as the Lord is mindefull of the Covenant which he hath made so he mindeth it to do it yea his minding or remembring of it is his doing of it He can as easily keep his Covenant as make it and as soon fulfill his word as give it Thirdly God doth not only make and mind his Covenant but he is ever mindfull of it It never departs as wisdome counselleth us her councells should not Prov. 4. 21. from his eyes he keeps it in the midst of his heart and t is alwaies as written in the palmes of his hands he is mindfull of it not only without a totall Cessation but without so much as the least intermission O let all that are in Covenant with the Lord praise the Lord who will ever be mindfull of his Covenant Who among other mercyes promised in his Covenant hath promised to blesse them that blesse his Covenant people and to curse those that curse them And thus he hath been pleased to mind his Covenant to us in the mercy of this day I have now set before you those two Generall grounds of praise The experience of what God hath wrought for his people and the assurance of what God is to his people hereby to provoke your soules to rejoce in and praise the Lord The work of the Lord is great his work is honourable and glorious his work is wonderfull and beneficiall therefore praise him The Lord himselfe is righteous he is gracious and full of compassion in all that he hath done for us he is mindfull and will ever be mindfull of his Covenant to doe it more and more for us as the matter shall require Now what remains but that as I have paralelld our grounds of keeping this thanksgiving day with those of David in the text so I should both direct and presse you to paralell David by praising God in the same manner and with the same Spirit as he did I shall draw forth this directive Exhortation into four Conclusions taken up out of the text and body of this Psalm and so conclude First Praise God knowingly or understandingly The Lord cannot bear blind services and obedience nor doth he delight in blind praises and thanksgivings And as the Lord would have us to understand what it is to praise him some pretend praise to God who know not what it is to praise him so the Lord would have us understand what that is for which we praise him he would have us understand our mercies As when we repent we should search out and labour to know all our sins and all the sinfulnesse of them so when we praise God we should search out and labour to know all the mercies of God and the mercifulnesse of God to us in them This we have expresly in the text at the second verse The works of the Lord are great sought out of all them that have pleasure therein We must seek them out and find the compasse of them we must labour to understand and comprehend the height and depth and length and bredth of them as the Apostle speaks concerning the love of God They are great and their Greatnesse must be sought out But some may say If the works of the Lord are so great what need they be sought great things are obvious and easily seen we need not seek out the Sun I answer There is a twofold seeking First to find the work Secondly to find out the work that is to find the rarities and beauties the perfections and wonders of the work Thus though the Sun be a great work of God creating yet I may say there are very few that to this day have sought out the Sun that is who have seen the excellency perfection and glory of that Candle of Heaven we have not found the Sun as we ought though it shines every day to us Much lesse have we found out the providentiall works of God some of which shine as the Sun in the Heavens and yet we have not found them out The present work of God is so great that every one heares of it and t is every mans talke and discourse yet how few have studied to find out the perfections of it David describes the persons who do so They are saith he sought out of all them that have pleasure therein Then all they that are troubled at them who look sowre upon them or envy them who think a losse would serve their turns and ends better then this great gaine and to whom as the Prophet speaks in another case Isa 28. 19 It is a vexation only to understand the report that is to understand that such a thing is reported Surely these and such as these have no pleasure in this work of God and therefore will never seek it out Nor is it every kind of pleasure which we take in the works of God that makes us seek them out and so praise him spiritually and understandingly for them They who as many doe take onely a carnall or fleshly pleasure in them will seek no further then the flesh or outside of them and all their praises must needs symbolize with their spirits and be meerly carnall The true pleasure which we should take in this or any like work of God must arise upon these three grounds 1. As it is a returne of prayer David in that other Psalme where he puts the question to himself What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benifits unto me Psal 116. 12. had said v. 1 2. I Love the Lord because he hath heard my voyce my supplications because he hath enclined his eare unto me We never take so much spirituall pleasure in any of the providentiall works of God as in those
Fourthly Yet with this holy heat and freedome of spirit let your Praises this day have a temperament of holy fear and your rejoycings an allay of spirituall trembling We finde this directing corrective in the Psalm too For a little beyond the text at the 10 verse thus David concludes The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdome a good understanding have all that doe his commandements his praise endureth for ever We must not be afraid to praise God but we must praise him with fear and they who have most true courage and holy boldnesse in praising God praise him with the greatest mixture of this gracious fear Moses put this ingredient into his Song of triumph for the overthrow of Pharoah and his Hoast in the red Sea Who is like unto thee O Lord among the Gods who is like unto thee glorious in holinâ—ss fearfull in praises Exod. 15. 11. Therefore Praise him with fear what fear with fear First Lest we should not have praised him as we ought or with this fear that we have not come up to that holinesse and spiritualnesse of the duty in which it ought to be performed We have no reason to think we have done this work so well as that all 's well but rather to fear that we have failed much in it When we are at highest in any duty we are below our duty how much more in this duty of praise which is our highest duty Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord who can shew forth all his praise Psal 106. 2. Had we as the Apostle speaks in another case â— Cor. 13. 1. the tongues of men and Angells yea the best hearts of both we could not shew forth all his Praise what then have we done with our stammering tongues and straitned hearts to the Praise of God Secondly Praise the Lord with this fear lest you should forget the benifits which you have praised him for Holy David Psal 103. 2. bespeaks his soule thus Blesse the Lord O my soule and forget not all his benifits that is forget none at all of them They that are afraid of forgetting the benifits of God are most likely to remember them Such fear will write the Praise of God upon your hearts and provoke you to Praise him with your lives Thirdly Praise the Lord with this fear that you neither are nor shall be able to answer his loving kindnesse nor returne to him according to the mercy now received The great things which God hath heretofore and now done for us will undoe us in the end unlesse we doe somewhat I say not equall but sutable to them Successe of affaires whether at home or abroad is a Talent yea there may be many talents in one successe And who knows not that hath read the Gospel how dangerous it is to wrap up our talent in a napkin If once God seeth that we are not bettered and strive not to doe better when he doth us good he will not onely not doe us good any more but doe us hurt yea destroy us as he told his ancient people by the mouth of Joshuah their leader and chiefe Magistrate Josh 24. 20. Therefore let this holy fear be strong and stirring upon your hearts lest you come short of the Praise of God both in the frame of your hearts and in your performance to him Be afraid that you shall neither have such strength of faith in God in future streights nor such faithfulnes to God in any of your enlargements as the experience of this day calls for Be afraid that ye shall never shew forth such a zeale for God as God hath shewed for you for as the Prophet tells us the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall so we may say the zeale of the Lord of hosts hath done this great thing for us and that zeale of God will yet doe greater if the work of God cool not upon our hands Fear lest ye should not know what this mercy calls you to doe and be more afraid lest you should not doe what you know As the correcting rod so the supporting staffe of God hath a voyce in it They are wise indeed who hearing understand that voyce and understanding it do thereafter Whatever your hand finds to doe for the name of God and for the prosperity of these Nations doe it with all your might There 's much to be done for the promoting of justice and righteousnesse in the Nation That our Judges may every where be as at the first and our Counsellours as at the beginning And that there may be no more pricking bryar nor grieving thorn among our selves as Israel was promised in reference to those about them Ezek. 28. 24 There 's much also to be done for the promoting of truth and holinesse which in consort with justice and righteousnesse are at once the beauty and stability the honour and the safety of Nations Let both evill deeds and damnable doctrines be witnessed against let no errour find encouragement let no faith-devouring and conscience-wasting errour appear with open face in our borders without a rebuke from Magistraticall power God hath been tender of the honour of the Nation abroad let not the honour of God suffer or be ecclipsed at home through any defect in the exercise of that great power wherewith you are entrusted That fear of the Lord with which I have been pressing you to Praise the Lord will surely guide you in all your counsels to the doing and accomplishing of all these things For so saith this Psalmist v. 10 The sear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdome The word which we render beginning signifies also the head or top the perfection and highest pinnacle of wisdome Indeed the holy fear of the Lord is the beginning and ending the first and last the Alpha and Omega of all true wisdome and therefore the Psalmist adds in the close of the same verse A good understanding have all they that doe his commandementâ— Understanding and doing are two things yet they onely understand the commandements of God who doe his commandements and they onely doe his commandements who fear him Solomon puts both these together and makes them the sum of all the duty of man and therefore surely the sum of all the wisdome of man Eccles 12. 13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter Fear God and keep his commandements for this is the whole duty of man or this is the whole of man As if that Preacher-royall had said You have heard me long and I have spoken many words I will now ease your labour in hearing and mine in speaking when you have heard and I have spoken but two words more Fear God and keep his commandements To fear God is to honour him in our hearts To keep the commandements of God is to honour him in our lives And is not this whole man A man without this though in honour understandeth not but is like the beast that perisheth A man in highest honour and of greatest understanding can not goe beyond this Therefore This is all man in the best of men To this end as every man was made so every man lives who knows why he was made and why he lives And hence to return to my text David had no sooner said The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom a good understanding have all they they that doe his commandements but presently he concludes His praise endureth for ever There is a twofold reference of these words First to God whose Praises David had been inditing and singing all the Psalm over His praise eminently endureth for ever Secondly to that man who praiseth God kowingly and with his whole heart who praiseth God boldly and with holy fear this man hath a good understanding and his praise endureth for ever Right Honourable You have now kept a day of Praise to God If you shall approve your selves to God and to his people to have kept it according to the counsell and example of his Kingly Prophet there will be more then a day of praise for you your Praise will endure for ever the children who are yet unborn will praise you and praise God for you And consider how sad your account will be if you who have now kept a day of Praise should give the Nation any just and râ—all occasion to dispraise and speak evill of you hereafter if your name and honour should receive a blot or blemish by any thing that you do or advise to be done after you have thus beautified the name of God with these solemn Praises While your hand is upon the helm of government let your eye be to heaven for guidance both as to the way and issue of your counsells that you may have praise in the gate praise in the City and praise in the country that you may have nothing but praise in the hearts and by the tongues of all those whose praises are worth the having or that if you miss praise at present from men you may have that praise of God at last which will indeed endure for ever Well done good and faithfull servants FINIS