THANKSGIVINGS FOR MERCY
OF THE FOURTH PART OF PRAYER,WHICH IS THANKSGIVING FOR THE MERCIES WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM GOD, AND THE MANY FAVOURS OF HIS WE ARE INTERESTED IN, AND HAVE
AND HOPE FOR BENEFIT BY
Our errand at the throne of grace is not only to seek the favour of God, but to give unto Him the glory due unto His name, and that not only by an awful adoration of His infinite perfections, but by a grateful acknowledgment of His goodness to us, which cannot indeed add any thing to His glory, but He is pleased to accept of it, and to reckon Himself glorified by it, if it come from a heart that's humbly sensible of its own unworthiness to receive any favour from God, that values the gifts, and loves the giver of them.
WE MUST STIR UP OURSELVES TO PRAISE GOD, WITH THE CONSIDERATION BOTH OF THE REASON AND OF THE ENCOURAGEMENT
WE HAVE TO PRAISE HIM
NT0 thee, 0 God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks, for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare. Psalm 75:1.
Let our souls bless the Lord, and let all that is within us bless his holy name; yea, let our souls bless the Lord, and not forget any of his benefits. Psalm 103:1, 2.
We will praise the Lord, for it is good, it is pleasant, and
praise is comely for the upright, yea it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, 0 most High, to shew forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. Psalm 147:1. Psalm 92:1, 2.
We will extol thee our God, 0 king, and will bless thy name for ever and ever; Every day will we bless thee, and will praise thy name for ever and ever; we will abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and sing of thy righteousness. Psalm 145:1,
2, 7.
We will sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints; 0 let Israel rejoice in him that made him, let the children of Zion be joyful in their King; Let the saints be joyful in glory, and let the high praises of God be in their hearts, and in their mouths. Psalm 149:1, 2, 5, 6.
While we live we will bless the Lord, and will sing praises unto our God while we have any being; and when we have no being on earth, we hope to have a being in heaven to be doing it better. Psalm 146:2.
We are here through Jesus Christ to offer the sacrifice of praise to thee, which we desire to do continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to thy name. And thou hast said that he that offers praise glorifies thee, and that this also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. Hebrews
13:15. Psalm 50 (v. 23). Psalm 69:31.
We will mention the loving-kindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness towards the house of Israel which he hath bestowed on them, according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses. Isaiah 63:7.
WE MUST BE PARTICULAR IN OUR THANKSGIVINGS TO GOD
1. For the discoveries which He has made to us in His word of the goodness of His nature.
E give thanks unto the God of gods, unto the Lord of lords, for his mercy endures for ever. Psalm 136:2, 3. Thy goodness is thy glory, and it is that for which all
thy works do praise thee, and thy saints do bless thee. Exodus 33:19.
Psalm 145:10.
Thou art gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy, and hast told us that thou dost not afflict willingly, or grieve the children of men, but though thou cause grief, yet thou wilt have compassion, according to the multitude of thy mercies. Psalm 145:8. Lamentations 3:33, 32.
Thou takest pleasure in them that fear thee, in them that hope in thy mercy. Psalm 147:11.
2. For the many instances of His goodness.
A) The goodness of His providence relating to our bodies, and the life that now is; and this,
1) First, with reference to all the creatures, and the world of mankind, in general.
Thou hast stretched out the heavens like a curtain, and in them hast thou set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. And thou causest thy sun to shine on the evil and on the good, and sendest rain on the just and on the unjust. Psalm 104:2. Psalm
19:4, 5. Matthew 5:45.
When we consider the heavens the work of thy fingers, the sun, the moon, and the stars which thou hast ordained, Lord, what is man that thou thus visitest him? For truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: All the glory be to the Father of lights, who commandeth the morning, and causeth the day-spring to know his place. Psalm 8:3, 4. Ecclesiastes
11:7. James 1:17. Job 38:12.
Thou didst not leave thyself without witness among the heathen, in that thou didst good, and gavest them rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and gladness. Acts 14:17.
Thou coverest the heavens with clouds, and preparest rain for the earth, and makest grass to grow upon the mountains: Thou givest to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. Psalm 147:8, 9.
Thou causest it to rain on the wilderness where there is no man, to satisfy the desolate and waste ground. Job 38:26, 27.
Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it, thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water; thou preparest them corn when thou hast so provided for it: Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly, thou settlest the furrows thereof, thou makest it soft with showers, thou blessest the springing thereof; Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fatness. Psalm 65:9, 10, 11.
Thou sendest the springs into the valleys which run among the hills; and they give drink to every beast of the field; and by them the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. Psalm 104:10, 11, 12.
Thou hast laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever, and settest bounds to the waters of the sea, that they turn not again to cover the earth; Thou hast shut up the sea with doors, and broken up for it thy decreed place, saying, Hitherto shalt thou come but no further, here shall thy proud waves be stayed. And thou hast made good what thou hast sworn, that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth. Psalm 104:5, 9. Job 38:8, 10, 11. Isaiah 54:9.
Thy covenant of the day and of the night is not broken, but still thou givest the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night; and art faithful to that covenant of providence, that while the earth remains, seed- time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. Jeremiah 33:20. Jeremiah 31:35. Genesis 8:22.
The heaven, even the heavens are thine, but the earth thou hast given to the children of men; and thou hast put all things under their feet, and made them to have dominion over the works of thy hands; so that the fear of man and the dread of man is upon every beast of the earth, and upon the fowl of the air, and into his hand they are delivered, because thou hadst a favour to him, and thy delights were with the sons of men. Psalm 115:16. Psalm 8:6. Genesis 9:2. Proverbs 8:31.
Thou causest the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that thou mayest bring forth food out of the earth; Wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart. Psalm 104:14, 15.
Thou givest to all life and breath and all things, and the earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy. Acts 17:25. Psalm 119:64.
All the creatures wait upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season; That thou givest them they gather, thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good: Thou sendest forth thy spirit they are created, thou renewest the face of the earth. This thy glory shall endure for ever, and thou rejoicest in these works. Psalm 104:27, 28, 30, 31.
It is through thy goodness, O Lord, that as one generation of mankind passeth away, another generation comes, and that thou hast not blotted out the name of that corrupt and guilty race from under heaven. Ecclesiastes 1:4. Deuteronomy 29:20.
2) Secondly, with reference to us in particular.
(a) We must give thanks that He hath made us reasonable creatures, capable of knowing, loving, serving and enjoying Him, and that He hath not made us as the beasts that perish.
We will praise thee, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that our souls, our nobler part, know right well; for what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Psalm 139:14. 1 Corinthians 2:11.
Thou hast made us of that rank of beings which is little lower than the angels, and is crowned with glory and honour; For there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. And the spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord. Psalm 8:5. Job 32:8. Proverbs 20:27.
Our bodies are capable of being the temples of the Holy Ghost, and our souls of having the Spirit of God dwell in them; we therefore glorify thee with our bodies, and with our spirits, which are thine. 1 Corinthians 6:19. 1 Corinthians 3:16. 1 Corinthians 6:20.
Thou, Lord, hast formed us for thyself, that we might shew forth thy praise. Isaiah 43:21.
(b) We must give thanks for our preservation, that our lives are prolonged, and that the use of our reason and understanding, our limbs and senses, is continued to us.
It was owing to thy good providence that we died not from the womb, and did not give up the ghost when we came out of the belly, that the knees prevented us, and the breasts that we should suck. Job 3:11, 12.
Though we were called transgressors from the womb, yet by thy power we have been borne from the belly, and carried from the womb; and thou holdest our souls in life, and sufferest not our foot to be moved. Isaiah 48:8. Isaiah 46:3. Psalm 66:9.
All our bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, for thou keepest all our bones, not one of them is broken. Psalm 35:10. Psalm 34:20.
We lay us down and sleep, for thou, Lord, makest us to dwell in safety. Psalm 3:5. Psalm 4:8.
Thou hast given thine angels a charge concerning us, to keep us in all our ways, to bear us up in their hands, lest we dash our foot against a stone. And they are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for the good of them that shall be heirs of salvation. Psalm 91:11, 12. Hebrews 1:14.
(c) For signal recoveries from danger by sickness, or otherwise.
When perhaps there has been but a step between us and death, and we have received a sentence of death within ourselves, and have been ready to say in the cutting off of our days we should go to the gates of the grave, and were deprived of the residue of our years, yet thou hast in love to our souls delivered them from the pit of corruption, and cast all our sins behind thy back. 1 Samuel 20:3. 2 Corinthians 1:9. Isaiah 38:10, 17.
When the sorrows of death have compassed us, and the pains of hell have got hold upon us, we have called upon the name of the Lord, and have found that gracious is the Lord and righteous, yea, our God is merciful; we have been brought low and he hath helped us, and hath delivered our souls from death, our eyes from tears, and our feet from falling. We will therefore walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 116:3-6, 8, 9.
(d) For the supports and comforts of this life, which have hitherto made the land of our pilgrimage easy and pleasant to us.
Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with his benefits, even the God of our salvation. Psalm 68:19.
Thou makest us to lie down in green pastures, thou feedest us beside the still waters: Thou preparest a table for us in the presence of our enemies, thou anointest our