We will praise the Lord, for it is good, it is pleasant, and praise is comely for the upright, yea, it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord a, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High, and to show forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night b. We will extol thee, our God, O King, and will bless thy name for ever and ever: every day will we bless thee, and will praise thy name for ever and ever; we will abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and sing of thy righteousness c. We will sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints; O let Israel rejoice in him that made him, let the children of Zion be joyful in their King: let the saints be joyful in glory, and let the high praises of God be in their hearts, and in their mouths d. While we live we will bless the Lord, and will sing praise unto our God while we have any being; and when we have no being on earth, we hope to have a being in heaven, to be doing it better e. We are here through Jesus Christ to offer the sacrifice of praise to thee, which we desire to do continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to thy name g. And thou hast said that he that offers praise glorifies thee h, and that this also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns or hoofs i. We will mention the loving kindness of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness towards the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them, according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses k. a Psal. cxlvii. 1. d Psal. cxlix. 1,2,5,6. h Psal. 1. 23. b Psal. xcii. 1, 2. e Psal. cxlvii. 2. c Psal. cxlv. 1, 2, 7. g Heb. xiii. 15. Isa. Ixiii. 7. 1. We must be particular in our thanksgivings to God. (1.) For the discoveries which he hath made to us in his word of the goodness of his nature. We give thanks unto the God of gods, unto the Lord of lords, for his mercy endures for ever a. Thy goodness is thy glory b, and 'tis for that which all thy works do praise thee, and thy saints do bless thee c. Thou art gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy d, and hast told us, that thou dost not afflict willingly, or grieve the children of men, but though thou cause grief, yet thou wilt have compassion according to the multitude of thy mercies e. Thou takest pleasure in them that fear thee, in them that hope in thy mercy g. (2.) For the many instances of his goodness. 1. The goodness of his providence relating to our bodies, and the life that now is; and this, 1st. With reference to all the creatures, and the world of mankind in general. Thou hast stretched out the heavens like a curtain h, and in them thou hast set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race i. And thou causeth thy sun to shine on the evil and on the good; and sendest rain on the just and on the unjust k. When we consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the sun, the moon, and the stars which thou hast ordained; Lord, what is man that thou thus visitest him? For truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun m: all the glory be to a Psalm cxxxvi. 2, 3. / Psalm viii. 3, 4. b Exod. xxxiii. 19. c Psalm cxlv. 10. g Psal. cxlvii. 11. k Mat. v. 45. the Father of light a, who commandeth the morning, and causeth the day spring to know his place b. Thou didst not leave thyself without witness among the heathen, in that thou didst good, and gavest them rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and gladness c. Thou coverest the heavens with clouds, and preparest rain for the earth, and makest grass to grow upon the mountains: thou givest to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry d. Thou causest it to rain on the wilderness, where there is no man, to satisfy the desolate and waste ground e. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it, thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water; thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it; thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly, thou settlest the furrows thereof, thou makest it soft with showers, thou blessest the springing thereof: thou crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fatness g. Thou sendest the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills; and they give drink to every beast of the field: and by them the fowls of the heavens have their habitation, which sing among the branches h. Thou hast laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever, and settest bounds to the waters of the sea, that they turn not again to cover the earthi. Thou hast shut up the sea with doors, and broken up for it thy decreed place, saying Hitherto shalt thou come, but no farther, here shall thy proud waves be stayed k. And thou hast made good what a James i. 17. b Job xxxviii. 12. d Psal. cxlvii. 8, 9. e Job xxxviii. 26, 27. h Psalm civ. 10-12. i Psalm civ. 5. 9. c Acts xiv. 17. g Psal. Ixv. 9, 10, 11. k Job xxxviii. 3, 11. thou hast sworn, that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth a. Thy covenant of the day and of the night is not brokend, but still thou givest the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by nightc; and art faithful to that covenant of providence, that while the earth remains, seed time and harvest time, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not ceased. The heaven, even the heavens are thine, but the earth thou hast given to the children of men e, and thou hast put all things under their feet, and made them to have dominion over the works of thy hands g; so that the fear of man, and the dread of man, is upon every beast of the earth, and upon the fowl of the air, and into his hand they are delivered, because thou hadst a favour to him h, and thy delights were with the sons of men i. Thou causest the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the sevice of man, that thou mayest bring forth food out of the earth; wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart k. Thou givest to all life and breath 1, and all things on the earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy m. All the creatures wait upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season; that thou givest them they gather; thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good: thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; thou rene west the face of the earth. This thy glory shall endure for ever, and thou rejoicest in these works n. It is through thy goodness, O Lord, that as one gene ration of mankind passeth away, another generation comes a, and that thou hast not blotted the name of that corrupt and guilty race from under heaven b. 2dly. With reference to us in particular. (1.) We must give thanks that he has made us reasonable creatures, capable of knowing, loving, serving, and enjoying him, and that he hath not made us like the beasts that perish. We will praise thee, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that our souls, our nobler part, know right well c for no man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man, which is in him d. Thou hast made us of that rank of beings which is a little lower than the angels, and is crowned with glory and honoure; for there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding g. And the spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord h. Our bodies are capable of being the temples of the Holy Ghost, and our souls of having the Spirit of God dwell in them i; we therefore glorify thee with our bodies, and with our spirits, which are thine k. Thou, Lord, hast formed us for thyself, that we might show forth thy praise l. (2.) We must give thanks for our preservation, that our lives are prolonged, and the use of our reason and understanding, our limbs and senses, are continued to us. It was owing to thy good providence that we died not from the womb, and did not give up the ghost when we came out of the belly, that the knees prevented us, and the breast that we should suck m. Though we were called transgressors from the womb n, yet by thy power we have been born from the belly, a Eccl. i. 4. b Deut. xxix. 20. c Psalm cxxxix. 14. g Job xxxii. 8. |