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ligion, who may fancy they please God merely by external Services, though they are negligent of the important Duties of internal Piety and Devotion towards God, or of Juftice and Charity to others. And 'tis still to be feared that there are many who imagine that if they abound in external Duties, that this will compenfate for the Want of unfeigned Love to God, and of Justice and Charity towards their Fellow Creatures. The Great God is reprefented as coming to Judgment, and fummoning his People who gloried in their Relation to him. Thus it begins: The Mighty God, even the Lord, bath Spoken, and called the Earth from the rising of the Sun to the going down thereof; out of Sion, the Perfection of Beauty, God hath shined; our God fhall come, and shall not keep Silence; a Fire fball devour before him, and it fhall be very tempeftuous round about kim; he shall call to the Heavens from above, and to the Earth, that he may judge his People. Gather my Saints together to me, thofe who have made a Covenant with me by Sacrifice. The Divine Order runs thus: Let those who by Profeffion are my People, who have paffed under the Denomination of Saints, be fummoned to appear before my Tribunal. He first informs them, that he had no Charge against them for any Deficiency in external Rites of Worship; they had been careful to multiply thefe, hoping this would I

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fupply the Want of real Pięty, Juftice, Mercy, and Charity. He next acquaints them what it was he required of all his Worshippers, what he would accept, and would be most grateful to him; Offer to God Thanksgiving, &c. Let your Hearts be deeply affected with a Senfe of my Mercy & Goodness towards you. Whoever does this in a right Manner, God is pleafed to call this our glorifying him; and the Sincerity of this Devotion and Gratitude of Soul must be manifefted by a regular well ordered Converfation: To fuch God promifes to fhew his Salvation, in the last Verfe of the Pfalm: I will (fays the holy Pfalmift) praife the Name of God with a Song, and will magnify him with Thanksgiving; this alfo fhall pleafe the Lord better than an Ox or Bullock; that is, than all ritual Ordinances, which are of no Value in themselves without a grateful Temper and Difpofition of Soul, Pfa. Ixix. 30, 31. This fuggefts another Argument and Reafon for the Exercife of a private and publick Thanksgiving to God, taken from the excellent Examples of this recorded in the Word of God, which are worthy of our Imitation. Here the Royal Prophet, the fweet Singer of Ifrael, ought to be regarded as a very worthy Pattern of this Devotion. As he gave himself to Prayer, fo, on every proper Occafion, we find him employing his Heart and Pen in cele

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brating the Praises of his great Deliverer, the Rock of his Salvation. Whenever he was favoured by a kind and gracious Providence with any remarkable Deliverance, he immediately, while the Senfe of the Divine Goodnefs was warm in his Mind, compofes fome lofty Hymn of Praife. The Book of Pfalms confirms this. Of those numerous. Paffages to this Purpose, which might be quoted, I fhall direct you but to one, where you fee what Refolution he formed. Pfalm xxxiv. 1, 2. I will bless the Lord at all Times, his Praife fhall continually be in my Mouth; my Soul fhall make her Boaft in the Lord; the Humble fhall hear thereof, and be glad. He endeavours to raise the fame Spirit in others; O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt bis Name together. They whofe Circumstances in Life are eafy, and plentiful, should not be forgetful of God their Benefactor; but the more they receive from him, the more fhould their Hearts be raised in his Praises: Neither fhould those whofe Circumstances are low and narrow refrain from this Duty. JOB, when bereaved of his Subftance and Children, continues bleffing God: For a Man who has forfeited Life must not complain or murmur against God, but be thankful that Life is fpared: Shall a living Man complain? The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; bleffed be the Name

of the Lord. In every State of Life, however afflictive or calamitous, a Soul that hath a due Sense of the Evil of Sin, and of the Goodness of God, will find fome Matter for adoring and praifing his holy Name. DaNIEL, in the Land of Captivity, where he was watched moft narrowly by his envious Foes, who fought his Deftruction, would not be diverted from his ftated Practice of praying to and of praifing his God, though he knew that he expofed himself hereby to the Wrath of Enemies, and to their pernicious Scheme for his Ruin; but, trusting in God, he perfifted in his Duty, and would not abate even the opening of his Window towards JERUSALEM. Dan. vi. 10. Now when Daniel knew that the Writing was figned, he went into his Houfe, and his Windows being open in his Chamber towards Jerufalem, he kneeled upon his Knees three times a Day, and prayed, and gave Thanks before his God, as he afore-time did. Thus PAUL and SILAS fang Praise to God in the Prison, and that too even at Midnight, A&ts xvi. 25. Thus you fee that this Duty of Thanksgiving and Praise is recommended by very worthy Examples, and Patterns of this Devotion.

Fifthly, Remember that Ingratitude to God for his Mercies is very finful and criminal, and highly displeasing to God. There

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is fcarce any thing that Mankind have a keener Resentment of than when they meet with ungrateful Returns from those upon whom they have lain Obligations to Acts of Kindness, and Offices of Love. This fhews that they are of a very abject degenerate Temper; and an univerfal Odium & Mark of Infamy is by common Confent fixed on the Man who is fo deftitute of Humanity as to abuse, to injure in Word or Deed, a generous Benefactor; and do all agree to look on fuch as the worst of Men, and Perfons of an infamous Character, who are capable of vile Ingratitude. Why should any have flighter Thoughts of Ingratitude towards God, the Fountain of all our Bleffings? How unmindful are we of the Rock of our Salvation, how prone to forget our Creator, and moft gracious Benefactor! After a fignal Mercy granted, or Deliverance wrought out, the Heart may for a short Time be affected with the Goodness of God; but how foon is the Impreffion worn off, and we are prone to return to our former Oblivion, Forgetfulness, and Ingratitude! How justly do they forfeit the Divine Favours who prove fo ungrateful! You may fee how God resents this Temper, by his Treatment of the Ifraelites, to whom he had fhewn peculiar and very distinguishing Favours. Though he had often miraculously provided for them, and

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