we shall clear the divine Juftice, vindicate his honour, and take off from his proceedings all the fufpicion and imputation of feverity; we fhall declare to all the World, that he is a gracious God, who delights in the Profperity of his Servants, and that we had not felt this late calamity, if our offences had not even forced him to inflict it on us: And this is the first part of our Praises.

5.IV. Ad in the mercy haft relieved and comforter

our Souls by this feasonable and bleffset change of weather.]

The fecond Part of our Thanksgiving is to acknowledg the mercy of our prefent Comfort, and this regularly follows the former; for if the Punishment were (as we declare) no more but juft, then the removal of it can be nothing else but pure Mercy. If we confider Sin as the Caufe of the late Floods, we may fee (I doubt) as juft Caufe for the continuance, as there was for the beginning of thefe Rains and exceffive Wa ters; yet it hath pleafed Almighty God to command the Clouds to cease, and the waters to return into their old Channels, the face of the Heavens are clear,and the face of the Earth is dry, the brute Creatures seem to rejoyce, and the little winged Chorifters of the Air with their fweet and inartificial Notes do fing the Praise of him that gives fuch bleffed weather, being as fo many Monitors to us men, who are most concerned in the Mercy, that we may not forget to glorifie the Name of God, who hath not only relieved our mifery in the ceffation of the ill-weather; but, as here is noted, hath comforted our ants alfo by this bleed Change; for while the Judgment was upon us, we were not only outwardly in danger of much Lofs, but inwardly perplexed with many fears that God was angry with us;

whereas

whereas now the forms of his difpleasure seem to be over, our Souls are comforted again. And if we make a right use of this as well as all other Temporal Mercies, we shall not rejoyce fo much for the preservation of our corn and hay, our fheep and oxen, as for the return of the Divine favour, that may comfort our outward man, but this rejoyceth our Souls. One fmile from a reconciled Parent to a good and ingenuous Child is more fatisfaction than the taking off the Rod, and obliterates all the memory of a painful Correction: Even fo this feasonable and happy Change of Weather conveys comfort to our very Souls, because it doth not only preferve our Substance from lofs and spoil, but is like Noab's Dove a Meffenger of good News from Heaven,to fignifie that the anger of God is abated, and that is the Caufe of our fo great and hearty joy, which the next Sentence doth exprefs.

S.V. pzaile and glozife thy Holy Name for this thy Mercy,and will always declare thy Loving-kindness from generation to generation through Jesus Ch;i& cur Lozd. Amen.]

Upon the holy garment of Aaron there was a Bell fixed between every Pomegranate, Exod. xxxviii. 25, 26. The Mystery whereof was, that for every particular Mercy we receive, we should found forth the divine goodness by a particular Act of Praife; and now we have received an eminent Mercy, wherefore we must folemnly give thanks for it to him, who hath reftrained the Clouds, and founded a retreat to the waters, because both the Winds and the Clouds, the Sea and the Waves obey him, he hath delivered our Eftate from ruine, and our minds from fear, ftopping the fury of this merciless Element, which threatned to fwallow up both us and all ours; and doth not this deliverance call for a

moft hearty Thanksgiving? Sure none will be fo unworthy to omit fo fmall a return for fo great a favour: all the fear is left our devotion and gratitude fhould ceafe with this little Collect, wherefore we are here admonifhed by a divine Sentence taken out of the Pfalms, to vow perpetual gratitude, faying, We will remember thy Name from one generation to another, therefore shall the People give thanks unto thee world without end, Pfal. xlv.ult. And we will always be fhewing forth thy Praise from generation to generation, Pfal.lxxix. ult. This one mercy brings to our mind innumerable other favours of his towards us, and fills our hearts with fuch a Senfe of his infinite goodness, that a fingle act of Praife cannot fatisfic us,nor fhall we judge it fufficient to declare his Mercy to those few in the prefent Affembly,but we must refolve to publish it as much as in us lyes to this whole Generation, that they may tell it to the next,fo that our good God may be praised to the World's end. If we were to live always on Earth, we mult refolve ever to praise the Lord;but fince that cannot be, we hope that we shall be tranflated to Heaven, the proper place for eternal Hallelujahs: yet while we stay, we will spread his Glory as far as we can,that what particular Perfons cannot do, may be done by a Succeffion of others in our ftead. And as there will never want good men to praife God, when we are gon; fo there will never want matter for his praises; before the sense of one confiderable bleffing be obliterated,another follows upon it, and renews the occations of Gratitude: fo that we will praife him for our ever,and endeavour that his Loving-kind nefs fhall be declared in all fucceeding Generations through Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The

The Paraphrase of this Thanksgiving.

[D] Almighty and most merciful [Lozd God,who] being provoked by our manifold and grievous Sins [balt justly] punished our difobedience,and defervedly [bambled as by all the miferies and fears which we Tuffered through [thy late Plague] the grievous Judgment [of immoderate Rain] from above, joyned with exceffive floods [and waters] on every fide of us, We confess thy Justice in punishing us, [and] we acknowledg that merely [in thy mercy] and free goodness thou [baft celtebed] our neceffities by the removing of this affliction, [and comforted our] very [Souls] in the return of thy favour, which feems to be manifefted [by this seasonable] alteration[and blessed Change of weather, which makes all Creatures to rejoyce, and is the more welcome,because we have wanted it fo extremely: Wherefore we paife] thy facred Majesty, [and glostfie thy Holy Name,Jupon which we called in our Diftrefs, bleffing thee particularly [for this] particular act of [thy Dercy] in hearing our prayers, and reftraining the furious waters: [and] we will not only praise thee at present for this favour, but we [will always declare the greatness of [thy Loving-kindness] towards us by our continual and publick Thanksgivings fo long as we live, yea we will endeavour that the memorial of thy goodness shall pafs[from] this prefent [generation] that is now alive [to] every fucceeding [generation,] as long as the World endures, that it may never be forgotten how gracious thou haft been to us [though Iċfas Christ our Lo20, to whom be all glory now and for ever, Amen.

SECTION XV.

Of the Thanksgiving for Plenty.

(b) Audiant omnes qui quafi porci quum jam comederint, everfa calcibus menfa, temulenti confurgunt; cum agere gratias debent, do in hymnum à menfa devenire. Chryf. hom. 83. in

Mat.

S.I.TT hath been an antient Custom of Jews and Chriftians to give folemn thanks to God after every Meals meat, derived from the command of holy Scripture, Deut.viii. 10. and obferved by pious men in all a ges; and those who neglect it are reputed no better than filthy Swine, which devour all, and never own the hand that feeds them (b). But how much more bruitish are they, who do not praise God for a plentiful year after a long famine, when provifion is made for all People, and the whole Nation is fed at once? When we confi der how many empty Souls the divine Bounty then satisfieth, and how many hungry Creatures he fills with good things, we cannot but wish with Holy David,Pfal. cvii. 9. and 15. O that men would therefore praife the Lord for his goodness, and declare the wonders that be doth for the Children of Men. The Ifraelites of old were commanded after their tedious March through the hungry Wilderness, when they should arrive at the plenty of Canaan, then to beware they did not forget the Lord their God, Deut.vi.12. and viii. 11,12,13. And we have need of the fare caution,because though we are very devout in Famine, yet when abundance returns to us, we are apt not only to forget our former want, but our duty alfo to praise our Deliverer,and Profperity though

it