Sermons on Various Subjects Volume 1, Sermon 10
SERMON X. Thankfulneſs for Mercies received a Neceſſary DUTY.
PSALM cvii. 30, 31.
Then are they glad, becauſe they are at Reſt, and ſo he bringeth them unto the Haven where they would be.
Oh that Men would therefore Praiſe the LORD for his Goodneſs, and declare the Wonders that he doth for the Children of Men!
NUMBERLESS Marks does Man bear in his Soul, that he is fallen and eſtranged from GOD; but no one gives a greater Proof of it, than that Backwardneſs, which every one finds within himſelf, to the Duty of Praiſe and Thankſgiving.
When GOD placed the firſt Man in Paradiſe, his Soul, no doubt, was ſo filled with a Senſe of the Riches of the Divine Love, that he was continually employing that Breath of Life the Almighty had not long before breathed into him, in bleſſing and magnifying that all-bountiful, all-gracious GOD, in whom he lived, moved, and had his Being.
And the brighteſt Idea we can form of the Angelical Hierarchy above, and the Spirits of juſt Men made perfect, is, that they are continually ſtanding round the Throne of GOD, and ceaſe not Day and Night, ſaying, Worthy art thou, O Lamb, that was ſlain, to receive Power, and Riches, and Wiſdom, and Strength, and Honour, and Glory, and Bleſſing, Rev. v. 12.
That then, which was Man's Perfection when Time firſt began, and will be his Employment when Death is ſwallowed up in Victory, and Time ſhall be no more, without Controverſy, is part of our Perfection, and ought to be our frequent Exerciſe on Earth: And I doubt not but thoſe bleſſed Spirits, who are ſent forth to miniſter to them who ſhall be Heirs of Salvation, often ſtand aſtoniſhed when they encamp around us, to find our Hearts ſo rarely enlarged, and our Mouths ſo ſeldom opened, to ſhew forth the loving Kindneſs of the LORD, or to ſpeak of all his Praiſe.
Matter for Praiſe and Adoration can never be wanting to Creatures redeemed by the Blood of the Son of GOD; and who have ſuch continual Scenes of his infinite Goodneſs preſented to their View, that were their Souls duly affected with a Senſe of his univerſal Love, they could not but be continually calling on Heaven and Earth, Men and Angels, to join with them in praiſing and bleſſing that HIGH and LOFTY ONE, who inhabiteth Eternity, who maketh his Sun to ſhine on the Evil and on the Good, and daily pours down his Bleſſing on the whole Race of Mankind.
But few are arrived to ſuch a Degree of Charity, as to rejoice with thoſe that do rejoice, and to be as thankful for others Mercies as their own. This Part of Chriſtian Perfection, though begun on Earth, will be conſummated only in Heaven; where our Hearts will glow with ſuch fervent Love towards GOD and one another, that every freſh degree of Glory communicated to our Neighbour, will alſo communicate to us a freſh degree of Thankfulneſs and Joy.
That which has a greater Tendency to excite the Generality of us fallen Men to Praiſe and Thankſgiving, is a Senſe of GOD's private Mercies and particular Benefits beſtowed upon ourſelves. For as theſe come nearer our own Hearts, ſo they muſt be more affecting; and as they are peculiar Proofs, whereby we may know that GOD does in a more eſpecial Manner favour us above others, ſo they cannot but ſenſibly touch us; and if our Hearts are not quite frozen, like Coals of a Refiner's Fire, muſt melt us down into Thankfulneſs and Love. It was a Conſideration of the diſtinguiſhing Favours GOD had ſhewn to his choſen People Iſrael, and the frequent and remarkable Deliverances wrought by him in Behalf of thoſe who go down to the Sea in Ships, and occupy their Buſineſs in great Waters, that made the holy Pſalmiſt break out ſo frequently as he does in this Pſalm, into this moving, pathetical Exclamation, O that Men would therefore praiſe the LORD for his Goodneſs, and declare the Wonders that he doeth for the Children of Men!
His expreſſing himſelf in ſo paſſionate, fervent a Manner, implies both the Importance and Neglect of the Duty. As when Moſes or another Occaſion cries out, Oh that they were wiſe, that they underſtood this, that they woull practically conſider their latter End? Deut xxxii. 29.
I ſay, Importance and Neglect of the Duty for out of thoſe many Thouſands that receive Bleſſings from the LORD, how few give Thanks in Remembrance of his Holineſs? The Account given us of the ungrateful Lepers, is but too lively a Repreſentation of the Ingratitude of Mankind in general; who like them, perhaps, when under any humbling Providence, can cry, JESUS Maſter, have Mercy on us, Luke xvii. 13. but when healed of their Sickneſs, or delivered from their Diſtreſs, ſcarce one in ten can be found returning to give Thanks to GOD.
And yet as common as this Sin of Ingratitude is, there is nothing we ought more earneſtly to pray againſt. For what is more abſolutely condemned in Holy Scripture than Ingratitude? Or what more peremptorily required than the contrary Temper? Thus ſays the Apoſtle, Rejoyce evermore, in every Thing give Thanks, 1 Thef. v. 16—18. Be careful for nothing: But in every Thing by Prayer and Supplication, with Thankſgiving, let your Requeſts be made known unto GOD, Phil. iv. 6.
On the contrary, the Apoſtle mentions it as one of the higheſt Crimes of the Gentiles, that they were not thankful. Neither were they thankful, ſays he, Romans i. 21. As alſo in another Place, he numbers the Unthankful, 2 Tim. iii. 2. amongſt thoſe unholy, profane Perſons who are to have their Portion in the Lake of Fire and Brimſtone.
As for our Sins, GOD puts them behind his Back; but his Mercies he will have acknowledged. There is Vertue gone out of me, ſays JESUS CHRIST, Luke viii.46. And the Woman who was cured of her bloody Iſſue, muſt confeſs it: And we generally find, when GOD ſent any remarkable Puniſhment upon any particular Perſon, he reminded him of the Favours he had received, as ſo many Aggravations of his Ingratitude. Thus when GOD was about to viſit Eli's Houſe, he thus expoſtulates with him by his Prophet, Did I plainly appear unto the Houſe of thy Fathers, when they were in Egypt, in Pharaoh's Houſe? And did I chuſe him out of all the Tribes of Iſrael, to be my Prieſt, to offer upon my Altar, to burn Incenſe, and to wear an Ephod before me? Wherefore kick ye at my Sacrifice, and at mine Offering which I have commanded in my Habitation, and honoureſt thy Sons above me, to make yourſelves fat with the chiefeſt of all the Offerings of Iſrael my People? Wherefore the LORD GOD of Iſrael ſaith, I ſaid indeed, that thy Houſe, and the Houſe of thy Father ſhould walk before me for ever; but now the LORD ſaith, Be it far from me, for them that honour me will I honour, and they that deſpiſe me, ſhall be lightly eſteemed. I Sam. ii. 27, 28, 29, 30.
It was this and ſuch like Inſtances of GOD's Severity againſt the Unthankful, that inclined me to chuſe the Words of the Text as the moſt proper Subject I could diſcourſe on at this Time.
For theſe four Months, my good Friends, we have now been upon the Sea in this Ship, and have occupied our Buſineſs in the great Waters. At GOD Almighty's Word, we have ſeen the ſtormy Wind ariſe, which hath lifted up the Waves thereof. We have been carried up to the Heaven and down again to the Deep, and ſome of our Souls melted away, becauſe of the Trouble; but I truſt we cried earneſtly unto the LORD, and he delivered us out of our Diſtreſs. For he made the Storm to ceaſe; ſo that the Waves thereof were ſtill. And now we are glad becauſe we are at Reſt, for GOD hath brought us to the Haven where we would be Oh that you would therefore praiſe the LORD for his Goodneſs, and declare the Wonders that he hath done for us, the unworthieſt of the Sons of Men.
Thus Moſes, thus Joſhua behaved. For when they were about to take their Leaves of the Children of Iſrael, they recounted to them what great Things GOD had done for them, as the beſt Arguments and Motives they could urge to engage them to Obedience. And how can I copy after better Examples? What fitter, what more noble Motives to Holineſs and Purity of Living can I lay before you than they did?
Indeed I cannot ſay, that we have ſeen a Pillar of a Cloud by Day, or a Pillar of Fire by Night, going viſibly before us to guide our Courſe; but this I can ſay, that the ſame GOD who was in that Pillar of a Cloud, and Pillar of Fire, which departed not from the Iſraelites, and who has made the Sun to rule the Day, and the Moon to rule the Night, has by his good Providence directed us in our right Way, or elſe the Pilot had ſteered us in vain.
Neither can I ſay, that we have ſeen the Sun ſtand ſtill, as the Children of Iſrael did in the Days of Joſhua. But ſurely GOD, during part of our Voyage, has cauſed it to with-hold ſome of that Heat which it uſually ſends forth in theſe warmer Climates, or elſe it had not failed but ſome of you muſt have periſhed in the Sickneſs that has been, and does yet continue among us.
We have not ſeen the Waters ſtand purpoſely on a Heap, that we might paſs through, neither have we been purſued by Pharaoh and his Hoſt, and delivered out of their Hands; but we have been led through the Sea as through a Wilderneſs, and were once remarkably preſerved from being run down by another Ship; which, had GOD permitted, the Waters, in all Probability, would immediately have overwhelmed us, and like Pharaoh and his Hoſt, we ſhould have ſunk as Stones into the Sea.
We may indeed, Atheiſt like, aſcribe all theſe Things to natural Cauſes, and ſay, our own Skill and Foreſight has brought us hither in Safety. But as certainly as JESUS CHRIST, that Angel of the Covenant, in the Days of his Fleſh walked upon the Water, and ſaid to his ſinking Diſciples, Be not afraid, it is I, ſo ſurely has the ſame everlaſting I AM, who decketh himſelf with Light as with a Garment, who ſpreadeth out the Heavens like a Curtain, who claſpeth the Winds in his Fiſt, who holdeth the Waters in the Hollow of his Hands, and guided the Wiſe Men by a Star in the Eaſt; ſo ſurely, I ſay, has he ſpoken, and at his Command the Winds have blown us where we are now arrived. For his Providence ruleth all Things, Winds and Storms obey his Word; He ſaith to it at one Time Go, and it goeth; at another, Come, and it cometh, and at a Third Time, Blow this Way, and it bloweth.
It is he, my Brethren, and not we ourſelves, that has of late ſent us ſuch proſperous Gales, and made us ride, as it were on the Wings of the Wind, into the Haven where we would be.
O that you would therefore praiſe the LORD for his Goodneſs, and by your Lives declare, that you are truly thankful for the Wonders he hath ſhewn to us, who are leſs than the leaſt of the Sons of Men.
I ſay, declare it by your Lives. For to give him Thanks barely with your Lips, while your Hearts are far from him, is but a mock Sacrifice, nay, an Abomination unto the LORD.
This was the End, the Royal Pſalmiſt ſays, GOD had in view, when he ſhewed ſuch Wonders from Time to Time to the People of Iſrael, that they might keep his Statutes and obſerve his Laws. Pſal. cv. 44. and this, my good Friends, is the End GOD would have accompliſhed in us, and the only Return he deſires us to make him, for all the Benefits he hath conferred upon us.
O then, let me beſeech you, give GOD your Hearts, your whole Hearts, and ſuffer yourſelves to be drawn by the Cords of infinite Love to honour and obey him.
Aſſure yourſelves you never can ſerve a better Maſter, for his Service is perfect Freedom, is Yoke, when worn a little while, exceeding eaſy, his Burthen light; and in keeping his Commandments there is great Reward, Love, Peace, Joy in the Holy Ghoſt here, and a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away hereafter.
You may indeed let other Lords have Dominion over you, and Satan may promiſe to give you all the Kingdoms of the World, and the Glory of them, if you will fall down and worſhip him; but he is a Liar, and was ſo from the Beginning; and has not ſo much to give you, as you may tread on with the Sole of your Foot; or could he give you the whole World, yet that could not make you happy without GOD. It is GOD alone, my Brethren, whoſe we are, in whoſe Name I now ſpeak, and who has of late ſhewed us ſuch Mercies in the Deep, that can give ſolid laſting Happineſs to your Souls; and he for this Reaſon only deſires your Hearts, becauſe without him they muſt be miſerable.
Suffer me not then to go away without my Errand; as it is the laſt Time I ſhall ſpeak to you, let me not ſpeak in vain; but let a Senſe of the Divine Goodneſs lead you to Repentance.
Even Saul, that abandoned Wretch, when David ſhewed him his Skirt, which he had cut off, when he might have taken his Life, was ſo melted down with his Kindneſs, that he lifted up his Voice and wept. And we muſt have Hearts harder than Saul's, nay harder than the nether Milſtone, if a Senſe of GOD's late loving Kindneſſes, notwithſtanding he might ſo often have deſtroyed us, does not even compel us to lay down our Arms againſt him, and become his faithful Servants and Soldiers unto our Lives End.
If they have not this Effect upon us, we ſhall of all Men be moſt miſerable; for GOD is juſt, as well as merciful; and the more Bleſſings we have received here, the greater Damnation, if we do not improve them, ſhall we incur hereafter.
But GOD forbid that any of thoſe ſhould ever ſuffer the Vengeance of eternal Fire, amongſt whom I have for theſe Four Months been preaching the Goſpel of CHRIST, but yet thus muſt it be, if you do not improve the Divine Mercies; and inſtead of your being my Crown of Rejoicing in the Day of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, I muſt appear as a ſwift Witneſs againſt you.
But, Brethren, I am perſuaded better Things of you, and Things that accompany Salvation, though I thus ſpeak.
Bleſſed be GOD, ſome Marks of a partial Reformation at leaſt, have been viſible amongſt all you that are Soldiers. And my weak, tho' ſincere Endeavours, to build you up in the knowledge and Fear of GOD, have not been altogether in vain in the LORD.
Swearing, I hope, is in a great Meaſure abated with you; and GOD I truſt has bleſſed his late Viſitations by making them the Means of awakening your Conſciences, to a more ſollicitous Enquiry about the Things which belong to your everlaſting Peace.
Fulfil you then my Joy, by continuing thus minded, and labour to go on to Perfection. For I ſhall have no greater Pleaſure than to ſee, or hear that you walk in the Truth.
Conſider, my good Friends, you are now, as it were, entring on a new World, where you will be ſurrounded with Multitudes of Heathens; and if you take not heed to have your Converſation honeſt amongſt them, and to walk worthy the Holy Vocation wherewith you are called, you will act the Helliſh Part of Herod's Soldiers over again; and cauſe CHRIST's Religion, as they did his Perſon, to be had in Deriſion of thoſe that are round about you.
Conſider farther, what peculiar Privileges you have enjoyed above many others that are entring on the ſame Land. They have had, as it were a Famine of the Word, but you have rather been in Danger of being ſurfeited with your Spiritual Manna. And therefore, as more Inſtructions have been given you, ſo from you Men will moſt juſtly expect the greater Improvement in Goodneſs.
Indeed I cannot ſay I have diſcharged my Duty towards you as I ought. No, I am ſenſible of many Faults which I have been guilty of in my miniſterial Office, and for which I have not failed, nor, I hope, ever ſhall fail to humble myſelf in ſecret before GOD. However, this I can ſay, that except a few Days that have been ſpent neceſſarily on other Perſons, whom GOD immediately called me to write and miniſter unto, and the two laſt Weeks wherein I have been confined by Sickneſs, all the while I have been aboard, I have been either actually engaged in, or preparing myſelf for inſtructing you. And though you are now to be committed to the Care of another (whoſe Labours I heartily beſeech GOD to bleſs amongſt you) yet I truſt I ſhall at all Seaſons, if Need be, willingly ſpend, and be ſpent, for the Good of your Souls, though the more abundantly I love you, the leſs I ſhould be loved.
As for your military Affairs, I have nothing to do with them. Fear God, and you muſt honour the King. Nor am I better acquainted with the Nature of that Land which you are now come over to protect; only this I may venture to affirm in general, that you muſt neceſſarily expect upon your Arrival at a new Colony, to meet with many Difficulties. But your very Profeſſion teaches you to endure Hardſhip; be not therefore faint-hearted, but quit yourſelves like Men, and be ſtrong, Numb. xiv. Be not like thoſe cowardly Perſons, who were affrighted at the Report of the falſe Spies, that came and ſaid, that there were People tall as the Anakims to be grappled with; but be like unto Caleb and Joſhua, all Heart; and ſay, we will act valiantly, for we ſhall be more than Conquerors over all Difficulties thro' JESUS CHRIST that loved us.—Above all Things, my Brethren, take heed and beware of murmuring, like the perverſe Iſraelites, againſt thoſe that are ſet over you; and learn, whatſoever State you ſhall be in, therewith to be content. Phil. iv. 11.
As I have ſpoken to you, I hope your Wives alſo will ſuffer the Word of Exhortation.
Your Behaviour on Shipboard, eſpecially the firſt Part of the Voyage, I chuſe to throw a Cloak over; for, to uſe mildeſt Terms, it was not ſuch as became the Goſpel of our Lord JESUS CHRIST. However of late, bleſſed be GOD, you have taken more Heed to your Ways, and ſome of you have walked all the while, as became Women profeſſing Godlineſs. Let thoſe accept my hearty Thanks, and permit me to intreat you all in general, as you are all now married, to remember the ſolemn Vow you made at your Entrance into the Marriage State; and ſee that you be ſubject to your own Huſbands, in every lawful Thing: Beg of GOD to keep the Door of your Lips, that you offend not with your Tongues; and walk in Love, that your Prayers be not hindered. You that have Children, let it be your chief Concern to breed them up in the Nurture and Monition of the LORD. And live all of you ſo holy and unblameable, that you may not ſo much as be ſuſpected to be unchaſte; and as ſome of you have imitated Mary Magdalene in her Sin, ſtrive to imitate her alſo in her Repentance.
As for you that are Sailors, what ſhall I ſay? How ſhall I addreſs myſelf to you? How ſhall I do that which I ſo much long to do—touch your Hearts? Gratitude obliges me to wiſh thus well to you. For you have often taught me many inſtructive Leſſons, and reminded me to put up many Prayers to GOD for you, that you might receive your ſpiritual Sight.
When I have ſeen you preparing for a Storm, and riefing your Sails to guard againſt it, how have I wiſhed that you and I were both as careful to avoid that Storm of GOD's Wrath, which will certainly, without Repentance, quickly overtake us? When I have obſerved you catch at every fair Gale, how have I ſecretly cried, Oh that we were as careful to know the Things that belong to our Peace, before they are hid from our Eyes! And when I have taken Notice how ſteadily you eyed your Compaſs, in order to ſteer aright, how have I wiſhed, that we as ſteadily eyed the Word of GOD, which alone can preſerve us from making Shipwreck of Faith and a good Conſcience! In ſhort, there is ſcarce any thing you do, which has not been a Leſion of Inſtruction to me; and therefore it would be ungrateful in me, did I not take this Opportunity to exhort you in the Name of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, to be as wiſe in the Things which Concern your Soul, as I have obſerved you to be in the Affairs belonging to your Ship.
I am ſenſible that the Sea is reckoned but an ill School to learn CHRIST in: And to ſee a devout Sailor is eſteemed as uncommon a Thing, as to ſee a Saul amongſt the Prophets. But whence this Wondering? Whence this looking upon a godly Sailor as a Man to be wondered at, as a ſpeckled Bird upon the Earth? I am ſure for the little Time I have come in and out amongſt you, and as far as I can judge from the little Experience I have had of Things, I ſcarce know any way of Life, that is capable of greater Improvements than yours.
The continual Danger you are in of being over-whelmed by the great Waters; the many Opportunities you have of beholding GOD's Wonders in the Deep; the happy Retirement you enjoy from worldly Temptations; and the daily Occaſions that are offered you to endure Hardſhips, are ſuch noble Means of promoting the Spiritual Life, that were your Hearts bent towards GOD, you would account it your Happineſs, that his Providence has called you, to go down to the Sea in Ships, and to occupy your Buſineſs in the great Waters.
The royal Pſalmiſt knew this, and therefore in the Words of the Text, calls more eſpecially on Men of your Employ, to praiſe the LORD for his Goodneſs, and declare the Wonders, he doth for the Children of Men.
And oh that you would be wiſe in Time, and hearken to his Voice to Day, whilſt it is called to Day! For ye yourſelves know how little is to be done on a ſick Bed: And how GOD has in an eſpecial Manner of late invited you to Repentance. Two of your Crew he has taken off by Death, and moſt of you he has mercifully viſited with a grievous Sickneſs. The Terrors of the LORD have been upon you, and when burnt by a ſcorching Fever, ſome of you have cried out, What ſhall we do to be ſaved? Remember then the Reſolutions you made, when you thought GOD was about to take away your Souls. And ſee, that according to your Promiſes, you ſhew forth your Thankfulneſs not only with your Lips, but in your Lives. For though GOD may bear long, he will not forbear always; and if theſe ſignal Mercies and Judgments do not lead you to Repentance, aſſure yourſelves there will at laſt come a fiery Tempeſt from the Preſence of the LORD, which will ſweep away you, and all other Adverſaries of GOD.
I am poſitive neither you nor the Soldiers have wanted, nor will want any Manner of Encouragement to Piety and Holineſs of living from thoſe two Perſons who have here the Government over you; for they have been ſuch Helps to me in my Miniſtry, and have ſo readily concurred in every thing for your Good, that they may juſtly demand a publick Acknowledgment of Thanks both from you and me.
Permit me then, my honoured Friends, in the Name of both your People, to return you hearty Thanks for the Care and Tenderneſs you have expreſſed for the Welfare of their better Parts.
As for the private Favours you have ſhewn my Perſon, I hope ſo deep a Senſe of them is imprinted on my Heart, that I ſhall plead them before GOD in Prayer as long as I live.
But I have ſtill ſtronger Obligations to intercede in your Behalf. For GOD, for ever adored be his free Grace in CHRIST JESUS, has ſet a Seal to my Miniſtry in your Hearts. Some diſtant Pangs of the New-Birth I have obſerved to come upon you; and GOD forbid that I ſhould ſin againſt the LORD, by ceaſing to pray, that the good Work begun in your Souls, may be carried on till the Day of our Lord JESUS CHRIST.
The Time of our Departure from each other is now at Hand, and you are going out into a World of Temptations. But though abſent in Body, let us be preſent with each other in Spirit; and GOD, I truſt, will enable you to be ſingularly good, to be ready to be accounted Fools for CHRIST's Sake: and then we ſhall meet never to part again, in the Kingdom of our Father which is in Heaven.
To You, my Companions and familiar Friends, who came over with me to ſojourn in a ſtrange Land, do I in the next Place addreſs myſelf. For you I eſpecially fear, as well as for myſelf; becauſe as we take ſweet Counſel together oftner than others, and as you are let into a more intimate Friendſhip with me in private Life, the Eyes of all Men will be upon you, to note even the minuteſt Miſcarriage.—and therefore it highly concerns you to walk circumſpectly towards thoſe that are without.—I hope nothing but a ſingle Eye to GOD's Glory and the Salvation of your own Souls, brought you from your native Country. Remember then the End of your coming hither, and you can never do amiſs.—Be Patterns of Induſtry, as well as Piety, to thoſe who ſhall be around you; and above all Things let us have ſuch a fervent Charity amongſt ourſelves, that it may be ſaid of us, as of the Primitive Chriſtians, See how the Chriſtians love one another.
And now I have been ſpeaking to others particularly, I have one general Requeſt to make to all, and that with Reference to myſelf.
You have heard, my dear Friends, how I have been exhorting every one of you to ſhew forth your Thankfulneſs for the Divine Goodneſs, not only with your Lips, but in your Lives: But Phyſician heal thyſelf, may juſtly be retorted on me, For (without any falſe Pretences to Humility) I find my own Heart ſo little inclined to this Duty of Thankſgiving for the Benefits I have received, that I had need fear ſharing Hezekiah's Fate, who, becauſe he was lifted up by, and not thankful enough for the great Things GOD had done for him, was given up a Prey to the Pride of his own Heart. I need therefore, and beg your moſt importunate Petitions at the Throne of Grace, that no ſuch Evil may befal me,—that the more GOD exalts me, the more I may debaſe myſelf,—and that after I have preached to others, I myſelf may not be a Caſt-away.
And now, Brethren, into GOD's Hands I commend your Spirits, who, I truſt, through his infinite Mercies in CHRIST JESUS, will preſerve you blameleſs, till his ſecond Coming to judge the World.
Excuſe my detaining you ſo long, it is the laſt Time I ſhall ſpeak to you perhaps; my Heart is full, and out of the abundance of it, I could continue my Diſcourſe till Midnight.—But I muſt away to your new World,—may GOD give you new Hearts, and enable you to put in Practice what you have heard from Time to Time to be your Duty, and I need not wiſh you any Thing better. For then GOD will ſo bleſs you, that you will build you Cities to dwell in; then will you ſow your Lands and plant Vineyards, which will yield you Fruits of Increaſe, Pſal. cvii. 36, 37. Then your Oxen ſhall be ſtrong to labour, there ſhall be no leading into Captivity, and no complaining in your Streets; then ſhall your Sons grow up as the young Plants, and your Daughters be as the poliſhed Corners of the Temple: Then ſhall your Garners be full and plenteous with all Manner of Store, and your Sheep bring forth Thouſands and Ten Thouſands in your Streets, Pſal. cxliv. In ſhort, then ſhall the LORD be your GOD; and as ſurely as he has now brought us to this Haven, where we would be, ſo ſurely, after we have paſſed through the Storms and Tempeſts of this troubleſome World, will he bring us to the Haven of eternal Reſt, where we ſhall have nothing to do but to praiſe him for ever for his Goodneſs, and declare in never-ceaſing Songs of Praiſe, the Wonders he has done for us, and all the other Sons of Men.
To which bleſſed Reſt, GOD of his infinite Mercy bring us all, through JESUS CHRIST our LORD; to whom with the FATHER, and the HOLY GHOST, he all Honour and Glory, Might, Majeſty and Dominion, now, henceforth, and for evermore.
Amen. Amen.