SECTION XVII. Of the Thanksgiving for Health. (a) Sacrificia ab iis fiebant, qui ab aliquo que vittime animales morbo convaluiffentдие vocabantue Natali. Com. Mythol. 1.1. C. 17.. (b) reddere vi S.I. IFE is the greatest of all earthly bleffings, and therefore the prefervation thereof fhould be acknowledged by the most folemn Thanksgivings. It hath been the Cuftom, and is the Duty of all pious men, to praise God for recovery from an ordinary Sickness, as hath been noted before, Sec.xii.§.4. And the very Heathens when they were reftored to Health after any Difeafe,offered Sacrifices (a), and built Temples to the honour of their Gods (b).How much more then are we bound to return our higheft Praises for deliverance from the Plague, the most grievous and mortal of all other Diseases? They that have been infected have Hezekiah's Thanksgiving after he was healed of this Sickness for their Example and Encouragement, Ifai.xxxviii. 9. And they who were free may learn from Holy David to offer up Thanksgiving for their own Preservation, and for the Deliverance of the whole Nation, 2 Sam.xxiv.25. And for their affiftance here are two devout Forms prepared, of which this firft is moft proper after the Plague, the other after the ceafing of any other contagious Disease. Kk 4 Elimus, memento Nos humilem feriemus agnum: Hor.Carm.lib.2.od. 17. The §.2. This Thanksgiving hath four Parts. Cremembzing mercy, we offer unto the Oblation, fhew2. What we of Souls and Bodies, ing fer. Swhich thou halt de livered, 3.To what end. To be a living Sa crifice unto thee, Always praising 3. An A&t of praise and thanksgi.) and magnifying thy mercies in the mid of the Church: Through Jefus Christ our Lo20. giving. men, A A Practical Difcourfe upon this Thanksgiving. S.III. Load God, who halt wounded us for our fins, and confumed us for our Transgrellions by thy late heavy and dreadful Wifitation.] λεὺ (c)επιφωνεῖν δὲ ταῖς σπονδας Ελε [Hallelujah] T's Tapbvτας [κελεύο] Plut. in Tbcfco. 'Is, 'I The Joy of a City or a Nation delivered from the Plague is like that which the Athenians expreffed in their Feaft called Ofcophoria, which being to be celebrated when Ægaus the Father of Thefeus was newly dead, he appointed they should at once both fing and lament over the facrifice, and fo they were wont to do ever after (c): Or like the mingled notes of thouting and weeping among the Jews at the rearing of the fecond Temple; Ezra iii. 12,13. Those that are fpared alive have caufe to rejoyce, when they reflect upon the Mercy of their own Prefervation; but when they confider, that one hath loft a dear Father or a tender Mother, another a kind Husband or a beloved Wife, a hopeful Child, or an useful friend, their joy is interrupted with a figh, and 'tis hard to fay, whether of the paffions do prevail : Wherefore the Church complies with our temper, and introduceth this Thanksgiving with a fad reflexion upon our late heavy and dreadful Wilitation, that the remembrance thereof may gratifie our forrow, and also help to encrease our gratitude for the mercy of our prefent state. The Vifitation indeed was heaby to the infected,and dreadful to those that were free, fome were wounded,and others alas!confumed by it, the Scars are ftill to be seen upon the Living,and an empty filence, and void spaces tell us how many are gone from among us; but left we should wonder at God's feverity,or murmur at his dealings with us, we are taught to confefs, that all was for our fins,and for our tranfgrefftons. These ftirred him to anger and made him wound us in his wrath, and confume us in his fore difpleafure: Nor can we juftly repine at it; for it is faid of Jefus the Son of God,That he was wounded for our fins and bruised for our Iniquities, Ifai.liii.5. Now he that caused his own Son to dye for our Sins, fhall he not punish us for our own? We do not, we cannot accufe his Juftice, but must confefs, even now the Evil is gone,that our deftruction was of our felves, Hof.xiii. 9. And now we fee how dangerous it is to pro voke him by doing fo wickedly as we did before, there is hopes it may warn us for the future; for now we know, It is a fearful thing to fall into the [avenging] bands of the living God, Heb. x. 31. whose wrath, if it be kindled but a little, bleffed are all they that put their trust in him, Pfal.ii.12. S.IV. d now in the miot of Judgment, remembatng Mercy,haft redeemed our Souls from the Jaws of Death.] It was Habakkuk's Prayer, Hab.ii.2. That in wrath God would remember Mercy; and he hath answered this Request to us; for though our Sins had fo highly provoked him, that he was executing his wrath upon us, yet his anger had not banished pity from his breaft (as it ufeth to do from ours); for in the midft of the Execution he ftays his hand. And it is the greater mercy to have a reprieve in the midft of our Punishment, because our Sentence was fo juft, we are more bound to bless the Lord for taking off the Plague, because he had fo juft caufe to lay it on; it was not unmerited fury, but righteous Judgment (w), which he was inflicting, yet he ftops in the very midft thereof: So when the (d)Que culpa gravior gratia major, Jufti fupplicii vinela refolvit. Amb. hymn, Ifraelites Ifraelites of old, provoked him to anger with their own inventions till the Plague broke in upon them,Pfal.cvi.39, 40. Nevertheless when he saw their adverfity, he heard their complaint, and pitied them, &c. ver.43,44. Yea many a time turned be his wrath away, and would not fuffer his whole displeasure to arife, Pfalm Ixxviii.38,39. And when he threatens moft feverely by his Prophets, he usually adds, that he will not make a full end, Jer.iv. 27. and v.18. and xxx.11. This hath been his dealing with others, and his Mercy is the fame ftill toward us, for when the Plague that devouring Monster gaped wide to fwallow us, being not fatiated with so many Morfels,the Lord did (as David fpeaks) fave us from the Lions mouth, Pfal.xxii.2 1. A Proverb to express a rescue from an almost unavoidable danger (e), fuch as our Deliverance was, who were almost in the very aws of Death, from whence God hath redeemed our Souls, Pfal, xxxiv. 22. The Soul in Holy Writ is put fometimes for the Life only, Pfal. cxvi.8. And in that Senfe, we have efcaped Temporal Death, when we were in very great danger thereof, fo that we may justly ting with David, Blefs the Lord,O my Soul- -who faveth thy life from deftruction, Pfal.ciii. 1,4.But if we take the word [soul] properly, it may be true alfo:for if many of us here prefent had dyed by this sudden stroke,it is to be feared, we are fo unfit to dye, that this Plague might have sent our Souls to Hell, as well as our Bodies to the Grave, and thus God hath in fparing us, and giving us more time, redeemed our Souls from the Jaws of Eternal Death also, if we will now amend, as the next particular teacheth us. (e) Ab ore Lconit. Prov. 2 Tim. 4, 17. ie à maximo pericu lo.Leo quicquid prehenderit, etiamfi caaufert. Johan. Leo. mellus foret, roftro defcr. Affric. |