SERMON XVI.

Of the Duty of Thanksgiving.

T

EPHES. V. 20.

Giving thanks always for all things unto God.

HESE words, although (as the very fyntax s ER M. doth immediately difcover) they bear a rela

XVI.

vi, &c.

tion to, and have a fit coherence with, those that precede, may yet, (efpecially confidering St. Paul's ftyle and manner of expreffion in the preceptive and exhortative part of his Epiftles) without any violence Vid. Rom. or prejudice on either hand, be fevered from the xii. Eph. context, and confidered diftinctly by themselves. And (to avoid encumbrance by farther comparison) fo taking them we may obferve, that every single word among them carries with it fomething of notable emphafis and efpecial fignificancy. The first [Giving thanks] expreffes the fubftance of a duty, to which we are exhorted. The next (I mean, in order of conftruction) [to God] denotes the object or term to which it is directed. The following [always] determines the main circumftance of this and all other duties, the time of performance. The last [for all things] declares the adequate matter of the duty, and how far it should extend. These particulars I fhall confider severally, and in order.

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I. Firft

SERM. I. First then, concerning the duty itself, to give XVI. thanks, or rather, to be thankful; (for exağısı doth

not only fignify gratias agere, reddere, dicere, to give, render, or declare thanks, but also gratias habere, grate affectum effe, to be thankfully difpefed, to entertain a grateful affection, fenfe, or memory in which more comprehenfive notion I mean to confider it, as including the whole duty or virtue of gratitude due to Almighty God for all his benefits, favours, and mercies;) I fay, concerning this duty itself, (abftractedly confidered) as it involves a refpect to benefits or good things received; fo in its employment about them it imports, requires, or fuppofes thefe following particulars.

1. It implies a right apprehenfion of, and confequently a confiderate attention unto, benefits conferred. For he that is either wholly ignorant of his obligations, or mistakes them, or paffes them over with a flight and fuperficial view, can nowife be Pf. cvii. 43. grateful. Whofo is wife, and will obferve these things, even they fhall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. Pf. Ixiv. 9. Men fhall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wifely confider of his doings. The works of the Lord are great, fought out of all that bave pleasure Pf. xxxiv.8. therein. O tafte (firft, and then) fee that the Lord is good.

Pf. cxi. 2.

This is the method that great master of thankf giving prefcribes; firft experimental notice, then wife confideration, then grateful fenfe, then public acknowledgment. And thofe we find both by him and by the Prophet Ifaiah (in the very fame words) P. xxviii. reprehended as wickedly ingrateful perfons, who regarded not the work of the Lord, nor confidered the operation of his hands. 'Tis part therefore of this duty incumbent on us, to take notice of diligently, and carefully to confider, the divine benefits; not to let them pafs undifcerned and unregarded by us, as perfons either wofully blind, or ftupidly drowfy, or totally unconcerned.

lia. v. 12.

'Tis a general fault, that the most common and s E R M. frequent, the most obvious and confpicuous favours XVI. of God, (like the ordinary phænomena of nature, which, as Ariftotle obferves, though in themfelves most admirable, are yet leaft admired,) the conftant rifing of the fun upon us, the descent of fruitful showers, the recourfe of temperate feafons, the continuance of our life, the enjoyment of health, the providential difpenfation of wealth, and competent means of livelihood, the daily protection from incident dangers, the helps of improving knowledge, obtaining virtue, becoming happy, and fuch like most excellent benefits, we commonly little mind or regard, and confequently feldom return the thanks due for them. Poffibly fome rare accidents of providence, fome extraordinary judgment, fome miraculous deliverance, may roufe and awaken our attention (as it is faid of the Ifraelites, When he flew Pf. lxxviii. them, then they fought him, and remembered that God 34, 35. was their rock, and the high God their Redeemer :) but fuch advertency is not the effect fo much of gratitude, as of curiofity or of neceffity: the notable rarity invites, or fome powerful impulfe commands our notice. But the truly grateful induftriously defign, and are ftudious to know throughly their obligations, that they may be able to render anfwerable returns for them,

ἀμνημονε.

2. This duty requires a faithful retention of bene-'Ax fits in memory, and confequently frequent reflections a upon them. For he that is no longer affected with a benefit than it incurs the fenfe, and fuffers not it-felf to be difregarded, is far from being grateful; nay, if we believe the philofopher, is ingrateful in the worst kind, and highest degree. For, Ingratus Sen. iii. de eft, faith he, qui beneficium accepiffe fe negat, quod acce- Benef. cap. pit; ingratus eft, qui diffimulat; ingratus, qui non reddit: ingratiffimus omnium, qui oblitus eft. He that falfely denies the reception of a benefit, and he that diffembles it, and he that doth not repay it, is ingrateful; but most ingrateful

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SER M. grateful of all is he that forgets it. It is a fign the bexvi. nefit made no deep impreffion on his mind, fince it

left no difcernible footstep there; that he hardly ever thought of making recompence, fince he hath fuffered himself to become altogether uncapable of doing it: neither is there any hope of his amending the paft neglect; no fhame, no repentance, no fair occafion can redeem him from ingratitude, in whom the very remembrance of his obligation is extinguifhed.

If to be fenfible of a prefent good turn deserved the title of gratitude, all men certainly would be grateful the Jews queftionlefs were fo. When Almighty God, by his wonderful power in extraordinary ways, delivered them from the tyranny and oppreffion of their prevalent enemies; when he caused ftreams to gush forth from the bowels of a hard rock, to refresh their thirst; when bread defcended from heaven in fhowers, and the winds were winged with flesh, to fatisfy their greedy defires; then furely they were not altogether unfenfible of the divine goodnefs; then could they acknowledge his power, and be forward enough to engage themselves in promifes of correfpondent obfervance toward him for the future. But the mischief was, immediately after, as Pf. Ixxviii. the Pfalmift complains, They forgat his works, and the wonders he had fhewed them: They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the eneNeh. ix.17. my. They refused to obey, neither were mindful of the wonders that God did among them, as Nehemiah conDeut.xxxii. feffes in their behalf. Of the rock that begat them they were unmindful, and forgot the God that formed them, as it is in Deuteronomy. They diftrufted his promises, repined at his dealings, difobeyed his laws, and treacherously apoftatized from his covenant. Such were the fruits of their ingrateful forgetfulness; which therefore that people is fo often charged with, and fo fharply reproved for by the Prophets.

11. 42.

18.

On the contrary, we find that great pattern of

gra

kindnets is'

ever before

Pf. xxvi. 3.

ciii. 2. lxiii.

gratitude, the royal Prophet David, continually re- s ER M. volving in his thoughts, imprinting upon his fancy, XVI. studying and meditating upon, recollecting and renewing in his memory, the refults of divine favour. Thy loving I will remember, faith he, thy wonders of old; I will meditate of all thy works, and talk of thy doings: and, mine eyes. I remember the days of old; I will meditate on all thy lxxvii. 11, works; I mufe on the works of thy hands: and, Ble's 12.cxliii. c. the Lord, O my foul, and forget not all his benefits: 5,6, 7. and, My mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips, when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night-watches, because thou hast been my help. No place unfit, it seems, no time unfeafonable, for the practice of this duty; not the place defigned for reft, not the time due to fleep, but, as David thought, more due to a wakeful contemplation of the divine goodnets. Whofe vigilant gratitude we should strive to imitate, devoting our moft folitary and retired, our most fad and ferious thoughts (not the ftudies only of our clofets, but the confultations also of our pillow) to the preservation of thofe bleffed ideas; that neither length of time may deface them in our fancy, nor other care thruft them out thence.

It was a fatirical anfwer, (that of Ariftotle) and highly opprobrious to mankind; who being afked, Τί τάχισον γηράσκει ; What doth the fooneft grow old ? replied, Xagis, Thanks: and fo was that adagial verse, “Αμ ̓ ἠλέηται, καὶ τέθνηκεν ἡ χάρις• No fooner the courtefy born, than the resentment thereof dead. Such reproachful aphorifms we should labour to confute, efpecially as they are applicable to the divine favours, by fo maintaining and cherishing our thanks for them, that they neither decay with age, nor prematurely die, nor be buried in oblivion; but may refemble the pictures and poetical defcriptions of the graces, thofe goodly daughters of heaven, fmiling always with a never-fading ferenity of countenance, and flourishing in an immortal youth.

The middle, we may obferve, and the fafeft, and

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the