3. It is for the profit and comfort of all ; partly because by this means they come to understand one another's experiences for their mutual support and edification. What God is to one that feareth him, he is to all that fear him sincerely, aft'ected to them all ; there- lore the goodness of God to one beUever bringeth joy and comfort to all the rest. They are spectacles and monuments of mercy for the saints to look upon, that they may learn thereby to depend upon God. Look, as in converting Paul, a persecutor, the apostle saith, 1 Tim. i. 16, ' Christ did show forth all long-suftering in me, for a pattern to them that should after believe on him,' in pardoning so great a sinner, in saving such a distressed soul, to invite others to Christ ; so in aU other cases, when God delivereth one, he inviteth others to the same hope ; they are precedents of mercy to the rest, as David im- plieth here they would be encouraged by his example cheerfully to expect the same deliverance from God. In the example of one sufferer there is a pawn given to all the rest ; it is for the edification and encouragement of others to be acquainted with our experiences of Gods mercy to us: Ps. Ixvi. 16, ' Come near, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul ; ' all are concerned, for they have the same necessities, have interest in the same God, the same promises, the same mediator, and the same covenant ; so that to be acquainted with the passages of divine providence towards others is a great help to teach us more of God, that we may learn to magnify
284 SERMONS UPON PSALM cxix. [Ser. LXXXII.
his power. And partly by this raeans their hearts are more knit to one another in spiritual love ; when they pray for one another as for their own souls, and rejoice as in their own deliverance, it maintainetli unity among us. . God loveth to pleasure many of his children at once, and to interest them in the same mercy ; and so we receive the mercy others intercede for, and give thanks for it. Love in the spirit is seen in praying and praising God for one another. And partly, too, because it doth oblige us to more frequent acts of worship ; we can never want an errand to the throne of grace, or an opportunity of worship for ourselves or others, to pray with them, or to offer praise with them and for them,
4. Joy is communicative ; mourning apart is good : Peter ' went out and wept bitterly,' Mat. xxvi. 75. And Jeremiah saith, when he would weep for the people, Jer. xiii. 17, ' My soul shall weep in secret places for your pride ;' and Zech. xii. 12, 13, ' They shall mourn every family apart, the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart,' &c. Sorrow affecteth solitude and retiredness, where no eye seeth but God's ; but joy doth best in company and in consort, as the woman called her neighbours to rejoice with her, Luke xv., because she had found the lost groat. So we must stir up one another to rejoice in God. Besides, mercies may be told to many, but not our griefs ; therefore the godly will be flocking together to help them in. praises as well as prayers. It is not only commendable to beg their help in prayer, but we should call upon them to praise God with us : Ps. xxxiv. 3, ' 0 magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.' "We are bound to be witnesses of one another's thankfulness, and to assist one another in the praises of God.
Use. Information of five things : —
1. It showeth us the lawfulness, yea, the conveniency, yea, in some sort, the necessity, of public thanksgiving for private mercies. It is lawful ; we read of paying vows in the great congregation, Ps. xxii. 22, xl. 9, It is highly convenient and useful, partly that the people of God may flock together, and make a crown of praise for God : Ps. xxii. 8, ' He inhabiteth the praises of Israel ;' he delighteth to be in the midst of his people when they praise him. And partly that by the thankfulness of others we may be quickened to remember our own mercies, as one bird sets all the flock a-chirpiug. And partly that we may quicken others by our help ; and partly to show a Christ- like love to them, by being affected with their miseries, and rejoicing in their mercies. Well, these things should quicken us to join with others in their thanksgiving for their private mercies, so to raise a spiritual affection in us in the performance of those duties. And as it is lawful, so it is necessary ; other men's mercies may be our mercies as well as theirs ; you are concerned in the mercy if you have prayed for it. We are to love God for hearing our prayers for others as well as ourselves. Eli gave thanks and solemnly worshipped God for Hannah's sake, because he had before prayed for her, and therefore praised God for her, who had heard his prayers in her behalf : com- pare 1 Sam. i. 28. When Hannah told him what the Lord had done, Eli falls a worshipping the Lord ; he had prayed for her before in ver. 7, ' The Lord grant thee thy petition which thou askest of him.'