[3.] God is yet worthy of praise and thanksgiving for choicer mercies yet continued, notwithstanding all the afilictions laid upon us. That we have his Spirit supporting us under our trials, and enabling us to bear them: 1 Peter iv. 13, 14, 'Kejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings ; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. For if ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye ; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth on you.' And that we have any peace of conscience : Rom. v. 1, ' Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.' That the hope of eternal life is not diminished but increased by our afflictions : Rom. v. 4, 5, ' We glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed : because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.' That many of our natural comforts are yet left, and God will supply us by ways best known to himself.
[4.] That evils and afflictions which light upon us for the gospel's sake, or righteousness' sake, and Christ's name's sake, are to be reckoned among our privileges, and deserve praise rather than complaint : Phil. i. 29, ' To you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.' If it be a gift, it is matter of praise.
[5.] Take these evils in the worst notion, they are less than we have deserved: Ezra ix. 13, 'And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve.' Babylon is not hell, and still that should be acknowledged.
VeR. 62.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 169
[6.] That no evil hath befallen us but such as God can bring good out of them : Kom. viii. 28, 'AH things shall work together for good to them that love God.' All things that befall a Christian are either good, or shall turn to good ; either to good natural : Gen. 1. 20, ' Ye thought evil, but God meant it for good ;' or good spiritual : Ps. cxix. 75, ' I know, 0 Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me;' or good eternal: 2 Cor. iv. 17, 'For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.'
Use 1. For information, that God's righteous judgments are matter of praise and thanksgiving. An angel is brought in speaking, Rev. xvi. 5, ' Thou art righteous, 0 Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.' Indeed, the formal object of thanksgiving and praise is some benefit : Ps. cxxxv. 3, ' Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.' We praise God for his judgments, be- cause they are just and right ; we praise God for his mercies, not only because they are just and equal, but comfortable and beneficial to us, and so a double ground of thanksgiving.
Use 2. For reproof, that we make more noise of a little trouble than we do of a thousand benefits that remain with us. We fret and com- plain and manifest the impatiency of the flesh ; like a great machine or carriage, if one pin be out of order, all stoppeth, or one member hurt, though all the rest of the body be sound ; or as Haman, the favours of a great king, pleasures of a luxurious court, all this availeth him nothing as long as Mordecai was in the gate, Esther v. 13 ; not- withstanding his riches, honours, multitude of children, great offices, this damped all his joy: Mai. i. 2, ' I have loved you, saith the Lord ; yet ye say. Wherein hast thou loved us ? ' Non quod hahet numeraf, <i-c. Oh ! let us check this complaining spirit ; let us consider what is left, not what God hath taken away ; what we may or shall have, not what we now want ; what God is, and will be to his people, though we see little or nothing in the creature.
Doct. 3. That a heart deeply affected with God's providence will take all occasions to praise and give thanks.
1. It is certain that our whole life should be a real expression of thankfulness to God. The life of a Christian is a life of love and praise, a hymn to God : 1 Peter ii. 9, ' But ye are a chosen gene- ration, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of dark- ness into his marvellous light.' Christianity is a confession ; the visible acting of godliness is a part of this confession ; we are all saved as con- fessors or martyrs. Now the confession is made both in word and deed.
2. There are special occasions of thanksgiving and praise to God, as the apostle bids Timothy preach : 2 Tim. iv. 2, evKaipo)<i uKuipco^, ' in season, out of season,' meaning thereby that he should not only talce ordinary occasions, but extraordinary ; he should make an opportunity where he found none. So we should press Christians to praise God not only in solemn duties, when the saints meet together to praise, but extraordinarily redeem time for this blessed work ; yea, in- terrupt our lawful sleep and repose, to find frequent vacancies for so necessary a duty as the lauding and magnifying of God's mercy.