170 • Dirdi. 13· Dirt11· 14. Dire{J. 15. !>irdl. 16. Dire{J. 17• Helps to thankfulnefs. fulnefs as a living man: You mortifie your mercies,when you fcpanue them from God and Heaven 13 d then thci1 beauty, a11d fweetnefs, and cxce1ler-cy is gone : And how can you be thankful for 1~ husks and fhdlg when you fooli{hly neglect the kernel ~ Take cvcry bit as from thy Fathe ~ hands: Remember that he fcederh, and clotheth, and proteaeth thee, as his Child : Ir is to 0 r~ Fatlur whicb i.r in Hc.Jven, that we mull: go every day for our daily bread. Tafie his Love ~r it, aud thou wile fay, that It U fwut. Remember whither all his Mercies tend , and wher~ they will kavc thee, even in the bofome of Eternal Love. Think with thy fclf, How good · rhis with the Love of God? This and Heaven arc full cnorr£h for rne. Courfe fare, and courf; clorhing, and comfc ufage in the world, and hard labour, and a poor habitation, wirh Htaven ~fter all, is Mercy beyond all humane efiimation or conceiving. Nothing can be little, which JS a token of the love of God, and teadeth to Eternal Glory. The Relation to Heaven, is rhe life and glory of every mercy• §. 15. Diretr. 13· 1hinlz oft how great • mercy it i1. tlw 1b.llt~fttlmji for mrrc)' i1 made fo great a. P.t~rt of tl~y dmy. Is It not the: fwectefi employment m the world , to be alwayes thinking on fo lwtet a thing as the mercies of God, and to be mentioning them with glad and thankful hearts? Is not this a fw~eter.kind of work, th.an t? be. abufirzg mercie ~ ~nd calling it away up– on fk01ly lufis, and finmng It away, and turnmg 1t agunU us ? Yea, 1S Jt not a [weeter work than to be groaning under fin and mifery? If God had as much tixt your thoughts upon fadning heart-breaking objects, as he hath (by his commands ) upon teviving •nd deligh1ing objells, you might have thought Religion a melancholly life. But when farrow is required but as prepararcr ry to drliglu, and chearful 1ba~tk.Jgiviltg is made the lif~ and fum of your Religion , who but a MonHer will think ic grievous, to live in 1balt~{ulnejJ to our great Benefactor? To think thus of the fwcttmfi of it, will do much to incline m to it, and make it eafie to us. 9· t6. DiiCCl:. 14. M.11k,.e co»{citnce ordinarily of aUowing Gods mtrcieJ aJ great a room i;z tbJ T!Joughtt and Pr~yers, as thou atloweft to thy fit~J, and w:~nts and troubles. In a day of humili~ ation, or after fame notable fall into fin , or in tOme fpecial cafes of difirtfs , I confefs fin and danger may have the greater fhare. But ordinarily mercy !hould take up more time in our rt· membranct and confiflion than our fin!. Let the Reafons ofit fir!\ convince you, that this is your duty : And when you are convinced, hold your felvcs to the performance of it. If you can not be fo 1h•nVuU as you defire, yet fpend as mucb time in the confeffing of Godr Mercy to you, as in confdfing your fins, and mentioning your wants. Tbank.Jgiving is an effellual peti~ ti<ming for more. It 01eweth that the foul is not drowned in felfijhntji ; bur would carry rhe fruit of all his mercies back to God. If you qnnot thin~{. on mercy £0 t!JankfuUj as you would, yet fee that ir have a due proportion of your thou.ghtJ. This courtC: ( of allo~ing mercy its due rime in our 1houghtr and Praym ) would work the foul to grearer thankfulnefs by de– grees. Whereas on the contrary, when men accufiom themfelvcs to have ten words or twen– ty of Confeffion and Petition, for one of thanJvgiving, and ten rh~ughrs of fins, and wantJ, and troubJcs, for fl}1e of merciet, thisftarveth thankfulnejf, and turneth H ouc of doors. You ca;z corn~ mand your word! and thought! if you will: Refolve therefore on this duty. §. lJ· Direct. I5· Tak..e heed of a pro,.d, a coveto111, a jltjhly, or 11 di{contenwl mind: f1Jt'. al thefe ·are memiu to Tht:mkfielntfi• A proud heart thinks ic feU the worthiclt for more, and thinks diminutively of all. A covetoru heart is fl:ill gaping after more, and ntver returning the fruit of what it hath received. A flcjhly mind is an infariablc gulf of corporal mercies , like a greody D og that is gaping for another · bone when he hath devoured one, and facriticeth all to his bel· ly, which is his God, Phi.l. 3· 18. A difcontented mind is alwayes murmuring, and never pleaf– ed, but findeth fomething fiill to quarrel at; and takcth more notice of th~ den~ing of its unjnfi defires, than of the giving of many undeferved mercies ; Thankfulnefs profpererh nor, where 1hef, vices profper. 9. 18. Direct. I 6. Avuid aJ mucb a1 may be a Melancholy and over-fearful tempc'r : for thJt will not {uffer J'OU to foe or tafte yurtr grcaujf mercitJ, nor to bt glad or than~ful for any thing yst~ have, but iJ fti/l rcpre[tnting aU tbiugJ to yurt in a terrible or lammtable jhape. T ht: Grace of ThankjuJnejj may be habituaUy in a timcrouJ melancholl,y mind : And that appeareth in their vJ~ luarion of the Mercy: How glad and tbanliful would they be, if they were af!ured that the Lm of God is towards them? But it is next to impoflible fOr them ordinarily , to exercifi tb;nlt [Hintji, becaufe they cannot believe any thing of themfelvcs that is good and comfortable : lt is as natural for them to be fiill fearing and defpairing, and complaining, and troubling them.,. fctvcs, as for froward children to be crying, or tick men to groan. Befriend not therefore rhis mi· ferable difeafe, but refifl i1 by all due remedies. 9· 19. Direct. I7• Tak_e !Jted of all Hnthan~ful dotlrinCJ, wf,ich ttachttb J'OU to deny or undervalue mtrcy. Such is 1. The DoCtrine of the PtlagianJ (whom Profper callerh the VngrmfuU) thll denyed faith and fpecial grace to be any fpecial gift of God ; and that reach you ~ha1 Pmr is no more beholden to God, than JudM, for his ditferencing grace. 2. The DoChmc wh1:h denycth general grace ( which is preluppofed unto fpecial ) , and tells the world , rhar Chnfi 6yed only for the Eletr, and that all the mercy of the Gofpel is confined to them alone;, and teacheth all men to deny God any thanks for Chriil or any Gofpel mercy , till 1hey know that they are elect, and jofiified; and would teach the wicked ( on Earrh and in Hdl )_ 1har they ought not eo accufc thcmfelves for finning again(\ any Gofpel mercy , ot for rC)etrrng a Chr~fi
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