Praise is comely. It is nature's sense, 'tis the import of any man's reason: every man's mind tells him that this is decent; and no man can have peace, quiet and fatisfaction in the contrary; unless he be funk down into baseness, and degenerated into a fordid temper, he will acknowledge the kindness of his benefactor. Now, because God doth infinitely tranfcend all the benefactors in the world, if any man doth not acknowledge his goodness, and praife him for his benefits, he is sunk down into baseness, and fallen beneath his creation and nature.

God loves us, and therefore he doth us good: we love God because we are partakers of his benefits. Now praise and thanksgiving is all the return that our neceffity and beggary is capable of: and it is. very comely for us, that are so much beholden to the divine goodness, to make our due acknowledgments; and therefore it is observed that in ingratitude there is a connexion of all vice. All disingenuity and bafeness are concentred in the bowels of ingratitude. He that will not be engaged by kindness, no cords of man will hold him. It is observed both by God and man, as degeneracy in its ultimate issue, the greatest depravation that nature is capable of, to be insensible of courtesies, and not to make due acknowledgments. How often doth David complain of those perfons, that were obliged to him by kindness, that they turned his enemies, Pfal. xli. and xlv. he that fat at meat with me, hath lift up bis beel against me. How is he reprefented by him, as a most fordid wretched person, one that was degenerated to the fullest degree? and then God himfelf

felf complains, Deut. xxxii. 15. Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked, he forsook God that made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his falvation. God and man complains of the ungrateful, because all favours and courtesies are loft. Yea, 'tis well observed, that it is the only way to make a desperate enemy, to bestow kindness upon an unthankful perfon. And this is too well known, that those that have been made friends by courtesy, proving false, have been the greatest betrayers. Therefore, of all persons and tempers, the insensible and ungrateful are the worst: yea, truly, these are the very pests of the world, the enemies of human nature; they harden mens hearts, who otherwise were free to do courtesies, because they do not know but that they may make an enemy. I will make this out (viz. the baseness of ingratitude) in these two words.

1. Because nothing is more due to God than our gratitude for he loadeth us with his benefits, and is pleased to please us, and doth many things to gratify

us.

2. By this we give testimony of our minds to God; for we have nothing at all to sacrifice to God, but the consent of our minds; an ingenuous acknowledgement. We have nothing to bring him, but the consent of our minds; and this the grateful person doth, and by this he signifies, that if it were within his compass, he would requite the divine goodness; for 'tis not so much the gift, as the mind of the giver. He that is unthankful, is most full of himself, and apt to think that all the world was made for him, and that all men are bound to be

:

his fervants, and to attend his purpose, and that he may serve himself of all mens parts, powers, priviledges and opportunities; but he himself is exempt from all men; so that he is an enemy to God and

men.

DISCOURSE V.

The fecret BLASTING OF MEN.

PSALM Xxxix. II.

When thou with rebukes doft correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to confume away like a moth; furely every man is vanity. Selah.

N

OTHING is less true, nothing more unbecoming us, limited, finite, and fallible creatures, than the thought of independency and felf-fufficiency. And indeed, the whole creation of God, in comparison with God himself, is less than the duft of the balance; and if you come to compare, will hold no weight. Nothing becomes us more, than to know what we are: nothing befits us better, than that we know our own state, and to be sensible of our own dependence and neceffity, and to make due acknowledgement to God. If a man feriously weigh these words, he will always veil to God, humble himself, submit, and deprecate. So many things there are emphatical in these words, When thou, &c.

Sin, on man's part, is that that makes him much

more liable and obnoxious to God, than he is in respect of his creature-state; when thou with rem bukes doft correct man for iniquity thou makest his beauty, that that he values himself by, that that is his only thing, his top excellency, to confume away like a moth, without any resistance, without any stop, insensibly: so that he that doth contemplate what is faid in the former part of the words, will presently acknowledge, that every man, even in his best estate is vanity, altogether vanity.

These words give an account of two things which are the matter of the greatest wonder.

First, How it comes to pass there are so many and fo great evils in the world.

Secondly, How fo many persons come to wither and fall away, and come to nothing in the world. And these two are the greatest matters of wonder and admiration among men.

First, How it comes to pass that there are so many, and fo great evilsin the world: and the wonder is this, that God governs the world, and God is known by his goodness: what, these evils from the hand of a good God! how can this be? the greatest questions that have ever been in the world, have been these two.

1. Whence evils come? and

2. How it comes to pass they were not fubdued, as foon as they did appear; I believe it would puzzle the head of any one in the world to answer them, if he do not learn an answer from scripture. Now this place refolves you: you have here God challenging lenging, controuling and rebuking it. For if you find out the procuring cause, you find out all : not he that doth the thing, but he that was the cause of the thing being done, doth the mischief.

Secondly, Then how comes it to pass that so many wither in the world, with all advantages, honour, titles, dignity and estate, that they never spent their thoughts about getting; and out-live it all. Whereas you have others born naked into the world; and through the improvement of natures, powers, they rife to estates and revenues. How comes this to pass? in these words you have an account. When thou with rebukes doft correct a man for iniquity, thous makest his beauty to confume away like a moth.

These two confiderations are enough to engage your attention: every body hath their ears open to hear refolutions of wonders.

In the words you have four things.

I. What is intimated, and that is, that fin is the procuring cause of punishment. When thou with rebukes doft correct man for fin, &c. Sin is the pro, curing cause of punishment. It is fin that doth the world all the mischief that is in the world. A fault deferves punishment: the fault going before, doth. naturally draw on with it punishment.

II. Take notice of what is supposed, that God doth regularly and usually chastisesinners. Goddoth, as a thing becoming him in the government of the world, he doth controul sinners, and chastise men for fin. The word is very remarkable, When thou with rebukes, &c. which intimates something in fecret: not only openly punished in the view of the world;