The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 401

l. THAKKSGIVING IS POINTED OUT BY NATURE AS A DUTY NO LESS THAN PRAYER. It is a.s the Giver of benefits that man seems first to have recognized God. Worship began with alta:& and sacrifices _(~en. iv. 3-5), whi~h were primarily than'\t offerings. One of the earliest forms of rehg10n was sun-worslnp, and the reason for selectincr the sun as the object of religious regard was the manifest fact that from the sun° man dl'ri.-es so many and such great blessings. Geolntry was another very early form of worship. and took its rise from the feeling that the earth w,11,s a nursing m9ther, comprehending in herself a manifold variety of beneficent influences. The very name "God" is probably a modification of the root gut, or "good," and was given to the Supreme Being by our Anglo-Saxon forefathers, in recognition of bis goodness in bestowing upon us so many benefits. The first religious utterances seem to have taken the shape of hymns rather than prayers (Gen. .xiv. 19, 20; Exod. xv. 1-18); and hymns or psalms form the most antique portions of all rituals. • Il. TH.A.1-"KSGIVING IS, EQUALLY WITH PBA.YEB, ENJOINED Ol!f MEN AS A DUTY IN SCRIPTUILE. If prayer is required in such phrases as, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. v. 17); "I will that all men pray everywhere" (1 Tim. iL 8); "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke xvili. 1); "Pray one for another" (Jas. v.16); tbanks~iving is as frequently and as positively enjoined in passages lili:e the following_: "Give thanks always for all things" (Epb. v. 20); "I exhort that .... giving of thanks be made for all men" (1 Tim. ii. 1); "Offer sacrifices of praises, giving thanks}' (Heb. xiii. 15) ; " With thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil. iv. 6). I.II. TH.il"KBGIVING IS, EQUALLY WITH PRAYER, BET BEFORE UB BY THE CmmoH A.B A. DUTY. The ritual of the Jewish Church' was ab::cost entirely one of praise. The Book of PMlms is the Israelite's 'Manual of Devotion.' Our own Church declares the objects for which we assemble in public worship to be (1) '.' to render thanks. for the great benefits which we have received at God's hands; n (2) "to set forth his most worthy praise;" (3) " to hear his most Holy Word; " and ( 4) "to ask those things which are requisite and necessary as well for the body as the soul "-assigning to thanksgiving and praise the foremost place. The Eucharistic service is that in which Christian worship culminates, and that service is, by its very name, a service of praise. The embodiment of the entire Psalter in our-Prayer-book _is a strong evidence of the importance which our Church assigns to praise. IV. PBAISE rs, IN ITS NA.TUBE, A HIGHER RELIGIOUS EXERCISE THAN PB.A.YER. fn prayer we approach God for our own sakes, desiring something of him. In praise we have no selfish object, but desire simply to honour God by setting forth hie admirable qualities and declaring the reasons that we have for loving and adoring him. Praise is the enduring attitude of angels, who have (comparatively speaking) no occasion for prayer. Prayer implies imperfection, want, need, defeiit pf nature. Praise is appropriate when all wants are satisfied, when the nature is no longer defective, when no need is felt. Thus prayer belongs to the probation period of man's existence; but praise will ring on through the vaults of heaven for all eternity. 'l'he cry in the heavenly Jerusalem will ever be, "Great and ~rvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, 0 Lord, and glorify thy Name? for thou only art holy : for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest" (Rev. xv. 8, 4). OIL nv.1-i2.J THE BOOK OF THE. PROPHET, ISAIAH. 403