bleffings of the feas are innumerable, yet God keeps these bleffings under his own efpecial direction, and gives or withholds them, just as he finds men difpofed to receive them, with gratitude or unthankfulness. And pray remember the words of Chrift's difciples; Mafter, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing. And do not many of you, my good friends and neighbours, do not you do the fame too often? And what can you imagine may be the reafon? Either you do not pray for, and give God thanks for his bleffings, or you pray for the bleffings of the feas, and take your own unlawful ways to procure fuch gains as God never will bless, never will profper.]

d

The fowls of the air are the next order of bleffings which we are called upon to praise God for creating for our use and benefit.And indeed their number, the variety of their ufe, and the beauty of fome, is fo wonderful, that the most ignorant cannot but fee the great and good God in their creation.

And when we confider what our Saviour has told us, that not the meaneft of these creatures but is under the care of God's providence; that a fparrow falleth not without his knowledge; we shall conclude two things efpecially: ft, That we, the very meaneft of us, are most certainly under his care and protection, and that nothing can befal us without his knowledge and permiffion. And, 2dly, That

Inhabitants of the Isle of Man,

That the lives of his creatures are not to be wantonly taken away; but only (as we obferved before) when they are hurtful to us when alive, or useful to us when killed.

When the children of men have recounted all thefe works of the Lord, then are they themfelves called upon to blefs the Lord, to praise him, and magnify him for ever.

All the reft of the creation do glorify God in the way which he has appointed them; that is, they give men and angels an occafion of admiring, of loving, of adoring, and of praising the

Maker of them.

Wherever we turn our eyes, (if we do but give ourselves leave to confider) we meet with occafions of praifing God, either for his works of mercy, or of judgment. This was one great end of our creation, to confider, to understand, and to adore God. And the more we do this, the more we shall be disposed to love and to serve him fincerely.

But if all men in general are obliged to praise him, much more the Ifrael of God; all thofe to whom he has made himself, and his will, and laws, known; whom he has chofen for his peculiar people. Thefe will be inexcufable, if they do not adore and praise the Lord who has been fo good and kind to them.

And among thefe, the Priests of the Lord ftand bound to glorify him, by all the obligations of duty and gratitude; and dreadful will be their punishment, if they do not fo.

For

For it is their bufinefs to make others fenfible of the ways and works of God, of his mercies and judgments, his favours and corrections, and his defigns in all his dealings with the children of men.

In fhort; all that call themselves the fervants of the Lord, and are really fo, will take all occafions of glorifying their Lord and Mafter, and endeavour and rejoice to fee others do so also. And by doing fo, they will join in fpirit with all thofe holy fouls of the righteous, who are in paradife, waiting for a bleffed refurrection, and who cease not to bless and praise God for his mercies to them when in this world, and to those whom they have left behind them.

Laftly; All the holy and humble men of heart, all that fear God, that are afraid to offend him; who, in imitation of those holy confeffors Ananias, Azarias, and Mifael, will lay down their lives, rather than provoke him who can destroy both body and foul in hell; all these will glorify God, for giving them grace and courage to do their duty to him, at the hazard of every thing that is dear to them.

We have seen, my Christian brethren, our duty, which is to obferve the wonderful works of the creation, and to praise and magnify God; to acknowledge his hand in every thing, and upon all occafions: and this, in order to keep in our minds a constant sense of his glo

rious

rious perfections, and of our whole dependance upon him, and an holy fear, and love, and reverence of God in our hearts.

And indeed it is for want of this, that fo many people forget their Maker, and grow careless, profane, unthankful, and wicked; becaufe God is feldom or never in their thoughts. They will not take notice of the ways and works of God, and what daily reafons they have to love, and adore him. They receive his bleffings, and will not acknowledge him; fo that he gives them over to a reprobate mind, to a mind infenfible and void of judgment.

To prevent this very great judgment, let us, before I conclude, confider, how this duty of acknowledging and praifing God, and owning our dependance upon him, may be put into practice, in one inftance or other, every day, every hour of our lives.

And be affured of it, Chriftians, you can do nothing more pleasing to God, nor more beneficial to yourselves.

God has given most of us understanding fouls. To make us value this mighty blessing, he now and then fends among us a poor idiot. Instead of making a jeft of fuch an object of compaffion, let us blefs God, who has been fo good to us, as to give us reason; and let us beg of him to give us grace never to abuse it.

He

He has given you an healthful body. You fee many others labouring under infirmities. Be not unthankful to God for so great a favour. And if the fame good God thinks it best for you, and for his glory, to visit you with fickness, you will still have reason to be thankful, if that sickness of the body fhall, through his grace, be a means of healing the difeafes of your foul.

You have a convenient place to fleep in, and you have the comfort of fleep. Confider how many want one or both these bleffings, and you can hardly forget to give God thanks every morning of your life.

You have health and ftrength to labour, and to get an honeft livelihood for yourself and family. Think often of this, and you will be thankful to God, who, for good reafons known to himself, has denied many others this bleffing.

Every meal you fit down to fhould put you in mind of your dependance upon God for life, and food, and power to take it. And they that eat without praifing God, and begging his bleffing upon his gifts, act too like beafts, and are in danger of perifhing with them.

When God gives us seasonable wealth, favourable feed times, the former and the latter rains in their season, and plentiful harvests, how are we bound to thank him for these general bleffings to ourselves and others! And when

VOL. II.

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