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are apt much to affect us, as being near our apprehension, and expressing a peculiar care and love of us. Therefore Christians should mark God's dealings with them, and write down the great and notable mercies of their lives (which are not unfit for others to know, if they should see it).

Direct. VIII. Compare thy proportion of mercies with the rest of the people's in the world; and thou wilt find that it is not one of many thousands that hath thy proportion.'-It is so small a part of the world that are Christians, and of those so few that are orthodox, reformed Christians; and of those so few that are seriously godly as devoted to God; and of those so few that fall not into some perplexities, errors, scandals, or great afflictions and distress, that those few that are in none of these ranks have cause of wondrous thankfulness to God: yea, the most afflicted Christians in the world. Suppose God had divided his mercies equally to all men in the world, as health, and wealth, and honour, and grace, and the Gospel, &c. how little of them would have come to thy share in comparison of what thou now possessest? how many have less wealth or honour than thou? how many thousands have less of the Gospel and of grace? In reason therefore thy thankfulness should be proportionable and extraordinary.

Direct. IX. Compare the mercies which thou wantest with those which thou possessest, and observe how much thy receivings are greater than thy sufferings.'-Thou hast many meals plenty, for one day of scarcity or pinching hunger; thou hast many days health for one day's sickness and if one part be ill, there are more that are not; if one cross befall thee, thou escapest many more that might befall thee, and which thou deservest.

Direct. x. 'Bethink thee how thou wouldst value thy mercies, if thou wert deprived of them.'-The want of them usually teacheth us most effectually to esteem them. Think how thou shouldst value Christ and hope, if thou wert in despair? and how thou wouldst value the mercies of earth, if thou wert in hell? and the mercies of England, if thou wert among bloody inquisitors and persecutors, and wicked, cruel Heathens or Mahometans, or brutish, savage Americans. Think how good sleep would seem to thee, if

thou couldst not sleep for pains; or how good thy meat, or drink, or clothes, or house, or maintenance, or friends, would all seem to thee, if they were taken from thee; and how great a mercy health would seem, if thou wert under some tormenting sickness; and what a mercy time would seem, if death were at hand, and time were ending; and what a mercy thy least sincere desires, or measure of grace is, in comparison of their case, that are the haters, despisers and persecutors of holiness. These thoughts, if followed home, may shame thee into thankfulness.

Direct. XI. 'Let heaven be ever in thine eye, and still think of the endless joy which thou shalt have with Christ.' -For that is the mercy of all mercies; and he that hath not that in hope to be thankful for will never be thankful aright for any thing; and he that hath heaven in promise to be thankful for hath still reason for the highest, joyful thanks, whatever worldly thing he want, or though he were sure never more to have comfort in any creature upon earth. He is unthankful indeed, that will not be thankful for heaven; but that is a mercy which will constrain to thankfulness, so far as our title is discerned. The more believing and heavenly the mind is, the more thankful.

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Direct. XII. Look on earthly and present mercies in connection with heaven which is their end, and as sweetened by our interest in God that giveth them.'-You leave out all the life and sweetness, which must cause your thankfulness, if you leave out God and overlook him. A dead carcase hath not the loveliness or usefulness as a living man. You mortify your mercies, when you separate them from God and heaven, and then their beauty, and sweetness, and excellency are gone; and how can you be thankful for the husks and shells, when you foolishly neglect the kernel? Take every bit as from thy Father's hands: remember that he feedeth, and clotheth, and protecteth thee, as his child: it is to "Our Father which is in heaven," that we must go every day for our "daily bread." Taste his love in it, and thou wilt say that it is sweet. Remember whither all his mercies tend, and where they will leave thee, even in the bosom of Eternal Love. Think with thyself, how good is this with the love of God! this and heaven are full enough for me. Coarse fare, and coarse cloathing, and coarse usage

in the world, and hard labour, and a poor habitation, with heaven after all, is mercy beyond all human estimation or conceiving. Nothing can be little, which is a token of the love of God, and leadeth to eternal glory. The relation to heaven is the life and glory of mercy.

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Direct. XIII. Think oft how great a mercy it is, that thankfulness for mercy is made so great a part of thy duty.' -Is it not the sweetest employment in the world to be always thinking on so sweet a thing as the mercies of God, and to be mentioning them with glad and thankful hearts? Is not this a sweeter kind of work than to be abusing mercy, and casting it away upon fleshly lusts, and sinning it away, and turning it against us? Yea, is it not a sweeter work than to be groaning under sin and misery? If God had as much fixed your thoughts upon saddening, heart-breaking objects, as he hath (by his commands) upon reviving and delightful objects, you might have thought religion a melancholy life. But when sorrow is required but as preparatory to delight, and cheerful thanksgiving is made the life and sum of your religion, who but a monster will think it grievous to live in thankfulness to our great Benefactor? To think thus of the sweetness of it will do much to incline us to it, and make it easy to us.

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Direct. XIV. Make conscience ordinarily of allowing God's mercies as great a room in thy thoughts and prayers, as thou allowest to thy sins, and wants, and troubles.'—In a day of humiliation, or after some notable fall into sin, or in some special cases of distress, I confess sin and danger may have the greater share. But, ordinarily, mercy should take up more time in our remembrance and confession than our sins. Let the reasons of it first convince you, that this is your duty; and, when you are convinced, hold yourselves to the performance of it. If you cannot be so thankful as you desire, yet spend as much time in the confessing of God's mercy to you, as in confessing your sins and mentioning your wants. Thanksgiving is an effectual petitioning for more: it sheweth that the soul is not drowned in selfishness, but would carry the fruit of all his mercies back to God. If you cannot think on mercy so thankfully as you would, yet see that it have a due proportion of your thoughts. This course (of allowing mercy its due time in

our thoughts and prayers) would work the soul to greater thankfulness by degrees. Whereas, on the contrary, when men accustom themselves to have ten words or twenty of confession and petition for one of thanksgiving, and ten thoughts of sins, and wants, and troubles, for one of mercies, this starveth thankfulness and turneth it out of doors. You can command your words and thoughts if you will; resolve, therefore, on this duty.

Direct. xv. 'Take heed of a proud, a covetous, a fleshly, or a discontented mind; for all these are enemies to thankfulness. A proud heart thinks itself the worthiest for more, and thinks dimunitively of all. A covetous heart is still gaping after more, and never returning the fruit of what it hath received. A fleshly mind is an insatiable gulph of corporal mercies; like a greedy dog that is gaping for another bone when he hath devoured one, and sacrificeth all to his belly which is his God. A discontented mind is always murmuring and never pleased, but findeth something still to quarrel at; and taketh more notice of the denying of its unjust desires, than of the giving of many undeserved mercies. Thankfulness prospereth not, where these vices prosper.

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Direct. xvI.. Avoid as much as may be a melancholy and over-fearful temper; for that will not suffer you to see or taste your greatest mercies, nor to be glad or thankful for any thing you have, but is still representing all things to you in a terrible or lamentable shape.'-The grace of thankfulness may be habitually in a timorous, melancholy mind: and that appeareth in their valuation of the mercy. How glad and thankful would they be, if they were assured that the love of God is towards them? But it is next to impossible for them, ordinarily, to exercise thankfulness, because they cannot believe any thing of themselves that is good and comfortable. It is as natural for them to be still fearing, and despairing, and complaining, and troubling themselves, as for froward children to be crying, or sick men to groan. Befriend not therefore this miserable disease, but resist it by all due remedies.

Direct. XVII. Take heed of unthankful doctrines, which teach you to deny or undervalue mercy.'-Such is, 1. The doctrine of the Pelagians, (whom Prosper calleth the Un

grateful,) that denied faith and special grace to be any special gift of God; and that teach you, that Peter is no more beholden to God than Judas, for his differencing grace. 2. The doctrine which denieth general grace, (which is presupposed unto special,) and tells the world, that Christ died only for the elect, and that all the mercy of the Gospel is confined to them alone; and teacheth all men to deny God any thanks for Christ or any Gospel mercy, till they know that they are elect and justified; and would teach the wicked (on earth and in hell), that they ought not to accuse themselves for sinning against any Gospel mercy, or for rejecting a Christ that died for them. 3. All doctrine which makes God the physical, efficient predeterminer of every act of the creature considered in all its circumstances; and so tells you, that saving grace is no more, nor any otherwise caused of God, than sin and every natural act is; and our thanks that we owe him for keeping us from sin is but for not irresistible premoving us to it. Such doctrines cut the veins of thankfulness; and being not doctrines according to godliness, the life of grace, and spiritual sense of believers are against them.

Direct. XVIII. "Put not God off with verbal thanks, but give him thyself and all thou hast.'-Thankfulness causeth the soul to inquire, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me*?" And it is no less than thyself and all thou hast that thou must render; that is, thou must give God not only thy tithes, and the sacrifice of Cain, but thyself to be entirely his servant, and all that thou hast to be at his command, and used in the order that he would have thee use it. A thankful soul devoteth itfelf to God; this is the "living, acceptable sacrifice"." It studieth how to do him service, and how to do good with all his mercies. Thankfulness is a powerful spring of obedience, and makes men long to be fruitful and profitable, and glad of opportunities to be serviceable to God. Thus law and Gospel, obedience and gratitude concur. A thankful obedience and an obedient thankfulness are a Christian's life. "6 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows to the Most High and call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Whoso offer

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