The Nature and Duty of Thanksgiving

In every thing give thanks: for this is the tvill of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

YOU will easily forgive me, if I take occasion sometimes when God calls me out to minister among you, to spread before you some of those meditations that have supported me under my own long sorrows, and have awakened me to exercise the duty which St. Paul here recommends, and whkh {iMictions too often unfit us for. I

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hope they may be also useful to raise your graces into lively and joyful exercise, and to make the christian appear more honourable in the world, and walk more comfortably with regard to this life. Long afflictions are apt to bury all our sense of mercies, to destroy that thankful frame of spirit which should be ever found with us, and to deprive God of his due of praise for the blessings that we have, and the greater blessings that we hope for. Yet perpetual thankfulness is so excellent and valuable a temper of mind, and so everlasting a duty, that I would be ever calling upon my own heart to practise it, and I would fain awaken myself and you to pursue, to possess, and to maintain this holy and divine frame. There is not a day or hour of our life, there is not a circumstance or condition of human nature, in body or mind, that can exempt or excuse us from this duty; for the words of my text are,. In every thing give thanks.

The method I propose to pursue, is tp Qpnsider,

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I. What is implied in thankfulness.

II. How extensive a command this is.

III. I would propose some helps towards the practice of it 5 and;,

IV”. Hepresent some strong motives iQ enforce the exhortation.

I. Let us very briefly consider what is implied in thankfulness; for we do not so much want to know what the duty is, as to be stirred up to an eminent degree of the practice of it. I shall represent it very plainly to you, under these three ehort heads; it is practised partly in heart, partly in lips, and partly in life.

4. Thankfulness in the heart implies a due sense of every divine favour, and a hearty remembrance of it; a dwelling upon it in devout meditation, not with slight and sudden, but with constant and holy thoughts. It includes a high veneration and love for that God, who is the author of the blessings we enjoy. David would not forget the favours m.^ The JSTatiire anABiiUj Serm. Vltl.

of the most high; Bless the Lor A, O my soulj and all that is tcithin me, Mess his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my souU and forget not all his henefits.^ They are lost with regard to Grod, when they are forgotten; and as David takes ]ileasure to review the instances of obligation that God had laid upon him, so he stirs up his heart to love God J will love thee, O Lord my strength,-^ — I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice, and my suj)j)lications.X

S. Let us consider thankfulness in the lips; how it may be practised with the tongue. It includes an offering to God, a sacriiice of praise in secret and in public; I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. And David not only did this in secret, when he took occasion in his retirement to get near to God to acknowledge his mercy; but I will pay my vows, says he, unto the Lord, in the presence of all Jiis

* Psalm ciii. ji, 2. f Psalm xviii. i. Psalm cxvi, l, Psalm cxvi. 17.

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jjeople: in the courts of the Lords hoiisey in the midst of thee y 0 Jerusalem, Praise ye the Lord,^ What thankfulness is in the heart will appear in the tongue, and we shall not only speak to God of it, but also to men. We shall be ready upon every occasion to publish the mercies of the Lord, and our sense of them; our conversation and discourse will not be tilled with trifling and complaints, but with the mercy and high praise of our God.

This looks much like the conversation of the faithful; Come and hear, all ye that fear God; and I will declare what he hath done for my souL But you all well know that there is too little of this conversation nowa-days on earth; I hope you do not reserve it all for heaven.

3. Thanksgiving appears also in the life 5 when we seek earnestly to attain the ends of God’s kind providences, and use all methods to further the designs of his mercy, As in a day of sorrow we humbly inquire, * Psalm cxvi. 18, 19. f Psalm lxvi. 16.

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^’ Lord, shew me wherefore thou contend- “est with me;” so in a day of gladness we should inquire too, ‘’ Lord, how shall I shew forth thy loving kindness? what is the kind design of thy grace towards me? ‘^ and how shall I manifest it to the world? What shall I render unto the Lord for ^’ all his benefits F’** The greatest zeal and activity in the service of God, and a holy ambition to make the noblest and highest returns to him that we are capable of, are necessary parts of thankfuhiess. This was the resolution of holy David; Thou who hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falU ing, thou hast engaged me to walk before thee in the land of the living ;f to make it appear in my conversation, that I am one of the tributaries of heaven, and have received peculiar favours from the hands of the Almighty. But to insist no more on the first head, the nature of the duty,

11. I shall consider the extent of the command. In every thing give thanks; at all * Psahn cxvi. 12. t Psalm cxvi. 8* 9.

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times in all places, in all eircinnstances of life. We can never be so miserable in this world J but there is matter of thankfulness; and how much more ought we to praise God, when we have been released from any affliction, or enjoy any special mercy! The command implies in it, that we should be always found in a thankful frame in general, and that we should watch for special matter of thankfulness, by observing the providence and the grace of God, and seize every opportunity he puts into our hands to speak of his good-Hess. If we would set ourselves to seek opportunities of thankfulness, we should find them to be endless. When we are brou2;ht into the knowledge and faith of Christy translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son, when we are settled with regard to the hopes of forgiveness, and have a comfortable expectation of a future world, this is a glorious season for praise; I will praise thee O Lord my God icilh all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toioard me: and thou hast deliver MS The J^ature and Duty Serm. VIII.

ed my soul from the loivesi hell,^ What Blatter of joy is it to the soul and what matter of thankfulness ought it to be to God in our addresses to him, when we can say, ‘^ I “was dead, but I am made alive; I was a “child of Satan, but I am now through grace a son and heir of Ood; I was labouring ^’ under the guilt of all my sinS;, and the “Lord was pleased to make them lie heavy “upon me by convincing grace, till he ^’ shewed me whither I should carry them, ^’ even to a crucified Redeemer, and lie has ^’ given me a release, and for ever be his” name glorified V^ Surely you and I could dwell upon such a subject as this is, an hour or a clay; for it will be matter of praise and joy to all eternity. When we receive any new advantages in our way to heaven 5 when we find any stubborn sin mortified, any entangling temptation broken, the power and force of our united temptations and corruptions subdued and overturned by superior grace; when we are enabled to fulfil any duty to the honour of God; when we are * Psalm lxxxvi. 13, 13.

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advanced in holy joy and divine consolation, and get near to him in a heavenly temper and spirit; when we are enabled in any ordinances here on earth to make blessed approaches towards heaven; these are seasons that call for our joyful praise.

But, it may be, some poor, awakened, trembling sinner, that is beginning to seek God, and sees himself afar off from him, that finds many of the marks of an unconverted state upon him still, may cry out “Well, but what can I thank God for? “If these blessings that you have mer.^ “tioned are proper matter and subjects of ^’ praise, what have I of all these mercies “to give glory to God for? I who am in ‘^ the gall of hitiernesSf in the bonds ofini” quity, who have the guilt of all my sins upon me, and am bound in the chains of all my corruptions, and know not how ‘^ to get free from them? I that have no- ‘^ thing else at present but pain and hell, *’^ and have everlasting darkness in view, ‘^ what can I give thanks for?’^ But thou.

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art not in hell and that is matter of constant and glorious praise; thou art not in the dark pit, shut up from all hojiiii? from all light, shut down under everlasting despair; and yet this is thy desert; but the Lord has spared thee. And does not the Lord, thy sparer, deserve thy praise? Consider how many younger than you have been cut off in a state of guilt and misery, and sent down to utter darkness. And does not this call for praise from your lips to the Lord that you are under the means of grace; that yet the book of God is open to you; that the promises are not sealed up from you, not sealed up for ever; that Jesus Christ is not for ever departed from you; that lie has not yet pronounced the sentence, Let Mm that is unclean he unclean still P Nay, here I may speak a bold word, but a plain and a true one, that though the righteous have luuch greater blessings to thank God for than the wicked, yet an unconverted sinner has much greater reason to praise God for every day that he lives, for every morning ‘hat he awakes in safety, than any saint on

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earth has; because whensoever a saint is cut off from the earth, he is exalted to heaven; but if ^od withholds his sparing mercy but one day, or one night, or one moment from thee, O sinner, thou droppest into hell, without remedy and without hope. Think of this every morning, O sinner in a state of guilt, and say, “Why was not I “this night sent into utter darkness?” and lift up thy heart in praise to God that spared thee. The mercies of the saints are great and glorious, in that they have the hope of an eternal world; that if they are taken off hence, and their lives are no longer spared on earth, they have a mansion above ready to receive them, through the great grace of God that has promised it to them. But if a sinner ceases to enjoy God’s sparing mercy but for one moment, he is made thereby for ever miserable. Every breath thou drawest, O sinner, is a wonder of mercy, is a miracle of the grace and patience of the Almighty towards thee. Does not this4?alli for praise nd thankfulness?

The J)rature and Duty Serin. VIII.

But I might add there are a variety of particular seasons when thankfulness and praise are the proper duties of every christian, of every one in this assembly, of saints and sinners. The preventing care of God, the preserving power of God, the recovering goodness of God, after sickness and pains, demand our thankfulness. When we have been secured from danger, delivered from sin, sorrow, perplexities, or fears; when we see or hear of others that are exceedingly sinful, or exceedingly mise» rable, how should these things awaken our praise! Thus, there is no circumstance of life but a thankful heart finds some occasion to practise this duty, this delightful duty of thanksgiving. I proceed to the third head;

III. To lay down some helps towards
the practice of it.

1, Meditate much on the great goodness of God, especially as revealed in the goS’^ pel. We are ready to entertain narrow and low thougjits of the divine goodness

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When we are under the afflicting hand of the Lord J and especially when our sorrows continue long; but we should always say with David, Truly God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for ?ne, my feet icere almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped,* ^’ I was ‘’ ready to doubt whether God wa good or ^’ no, and whether it was worth while to ^•’ wait upon him, while I was chastened all ^’ the day long, and plagued. But I con- ‘’ eluded at last, when 1 had learned bet-” ter in the sanctuary, I concluded at lasty ^’ that truly God is good to Israel.’^

^. Keep an account of the various instances of the divine goodness, of the special mercies you have received. It is useful to christians to keep a record of these things, and often to review them, ‘^ At such or ‘’ such a season, such a day of danger, ‘^ such an hour of distress, I was delivered ‘’ and saved. Such a temptation did not overwhelm and draw me quite away from * Psalm lxxiii. U ^.

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^’ Grod, and such a corruption was over- powered by superior grace.” We should write down what God has done for us, that we may have a register of mercies; and upon these to ground our praises to set up our stone of remembrance at every season of mercy, our Ebenezer and call upon the name of the Lord.

3. If you would keep up a thankful frame, indulge not the melancholy humour of counting over your own sorrows, especially when they are present; or of speaking of them often to others. There may be indeed just reason to reveal and declare our particular sorrows, as a reason for our mourning, or for our unserviceableness in life. We may reveal them, also, with a design to make them subservient to thankfulness. We may speak of them in this manner; All these sorrows I have ^’ felt, and by the power of God I have been ^’ sustained under them all. These are my burdens, yet almighty grace still keeps ^^^1 Samuel vii, 1^.

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^’ me.’’ Take care that there is such a turn at the end of all your sorrows, that so you may take occasion to turn them this way into praise. Ponder not too much upon affictions while you feel them, for this “will rather overwhelm and bury all your mercies. Dwelling much upon our sorrows makes them appear greater ilianthey really are; and this insensibly leads us to think them as numerous as if we had no mercies left.

4. Keep your evidences of adoption always clear, and review them often. This will help to bury the sense of your afflic tions, and will give double sweetness to every mercy, and awaken your drowsy powers to thankfulness. ‘’ Am I a son or a “daughter of the most high God, and shall ‘• I be overwhelmed with the sorrows of life “with the troubles of this present state, ‘* when I hope for joys everlasting and un- ‘’ speakable, in the state that is approach- ‘’ ing? Has he taken me out of the house- ^’ hold of sin and hell, brought me into his” own house, and given me a name and a

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‘^ place among his own children, and shall not my lips be filled with his praises ?^^ What can we feel in this life that is sufficient to overwhelm our hopes of life eternal, and the praise that is due to God for them? The apostle Paul, when he gives the Colossians directions how to endure their sorrows with cheerfulness, how to bear up under their afflictions, not only with patience but with divine joy, gives the same advice to them, that I now propose to you: Being strengthened with all might according to his glorious poicer, unto all patience and longsufferings under the sorrows ye now endure, with joyf Illness, with joyfulness in the midst of sorrows, giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Look upwards to your inheritance, look to your own meetness for it. See what God has wrought in you as a preparation for that glory, which he is preparing for you above. Compare these together, till you come to this strong conclusion; ‘^ There is some-

* Col. i. 11, 12.

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tliijig in my heart that is suited to heaven- ^’ ly pleasures and blessedness, and there- ^’ fore, notwithstanding my present afflie- ^’ tions, my soul shall rejoice in the God of ^’ my salvation.’’ What sorrow, then, can overthrow such joys as these! What earthly afflictions can bury or destroy the thankfulness that will arise from such divine and cheerful meditations!

5. We should, in the next place, dwell much in our thoughts upon the greatness and certainty of final salvation, as well as keep our own evidences always clear. The care and business of the world, the noise and bustle of it, press so strongly upon our eyes, our ears, and all our senses, that they fill our thoughts, and make it appear as though this earth were our all. But we should do well now and then to look at this earth, shall I say, by a lessening glass,”and consider how inconsiderable, mean, and little, all the cares, business, and sorrows of it are, when compared with the glory that shall be revaled How great, how glorious, ‘aS The JVature and Duty Serm. VIIL

how unspeakable are the joys of heaven! HoAV little and contemptible do they tnake the things of this world appear to us! EtjB hath not seen y nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prejoared for them that love him,”^ Our light afflict ion, which is hut for a moment worlceth for us afar more exceeding and eternal ic eight of glory ) while we look not at the things whicfi are seen but at the things which are not seen: for the things ichich are seen are temporal; but the things ichich are not seen are eterrzaZ.f The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us ;J and yet pve think the sufferings of this present state worthy of all our thoughts and concern and the glory of the future world is too seldom the subject of our meditations. It io this glory which should awaken our praise, as it did the praise of the blessed apostles. There is a portion of holy scripture, in the first epistle of St. Peter, which methinks * 1 Cor. ii. 9. i 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. Rom.viii. 18.-

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every christian should have continually in his thoughts and he repeating it at every turn, there is so much faith, and joy, and divine pleasure in it; Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christy which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, andthatfadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you icho are Icejpt by the power of Godf through faith, unto salvation, ready to he revealed in the last time.^ What, if you live in sorrows, what, if your afflictions and your trials abound, it is but for a season, if need be, ye are inheaviness. If your gold must be put into the furnace, if your graces, your faith, your hope, your love, and your patience, must be tried, they shall be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen, ye love; in ichom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice, how? not with common joy, but with joy unspeajc-

* 1 Peter i. 3, 4, 5»
TJ

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abUy and full oj glory, Oh that your hearts and mine were drawn up to such a temper; that this were the language of our lips that this w ere the frame of our spirits, that we might begin the work of heaven beforehand here on earth! And I might add;, in the last place,

6. Beg earnestly of Ood a thankful frame of mind. Pray to him in the words of David, Open thou my lips, and my mouth shall Uieiv forth thy praise.’^ Beg that he would give you a thankful spirit, that he would fill your mind with a sense of his mercies, and teach you in what manner most effectually to make him returns of your praise.

But several other things that I have to say on this head, and the next, must be reserved till God shall give me another opportunity.

* 1 Peter i. 6, r, 8. t Psalm li. 15*.