Goodwin - BX9315 G6 v1

to tbe E PH E S I A N S. ·Now firfi mark the Coherence: The Words he had immadiately before ut- ~ tered ,~ere that God had done thus and thus for •them, to the J:raije of hi< Sn·mon glor/ Anl fo it is, as if he had faid, The end of all the .benefits God be-, XVIII. !toweth to the prmfe of hi< glory. And I havm~ this praife of hu glory ih ~ mine eye and heart,. as dearefi to me. And havmg heard of ~our Fmth and Love, ceajt 1 zot to gzve thalzh for you, My Brethren, the h1ghefi way that we in this life are able to g1ve glory to God, IS, by ThmzNulnrjs, Pjal. )O·· , 4 , 1 'i· compared with ver. ij. Offer umo God Thrmkjgzvmg, mzd pay thy . Vows to the mofl high : a11d ca!J upo11 me m the day_oj trouble,. and I wzll deltvtr rmd thou jb.zlt glprifie me. And th1s glonfymg IS ojfer111g Tha11ks : [over,z~.Whofoofjerethpraife, doth glorijie me. So that nowyou are obliged unto this duty, upon the h1ghefi obiJgauon, becaufe of all dums elfe 1t doth tend fo much to the glory of God. I have difpatchcd the two Duties. The Second thing in the words is, his confiancy in praying. [ I ceafe 11ot. ] - The meaning is this; In every Prayer, as oft as I have yrayedfolemnly, · ( which l have not ceafed to do.) I havetzot ceafed to gzve tha1tks to God for y·ou; CoPhtllf.J"4· Alwaies, i11 every. Prayer. If we feek a great Blelling · at God's hand, we ceafc not praymg for 1t till we have an Anfwet: The Parable fo teacheth us, Luk.18.1. And then The Obfervation is, That (which we are wanting in the performance of,) Obftrvr. Great MerczesJ either 11pon ottrJelves or others, wbtch we are botmd to thank God for, we JDould doaw11ha11t cecifing a long while after. When you are to feek to God for a great Mercy, then you ceafe not to make mention of it in your Prayers; but the Apofile you fee, He ceaj'eth not to give Tha11ks : they are both alike to the Glory of God, And according to your Prayers, fo are your Mercies; great and long Prayers, bring down in the end great and lafiing Mercies. And on the other hand, If your Mercies be great and lafimg, your Thankfgivings lhould be great allo. . Befides the Reafon I formerly mentioned, That Thankfgiving glorilieth God fo much, and is to the praife of his Glory; take the meafure of the 'D11ties themj'elves. Prtl)'er and Thmzkjgiving, they are of an equal latitude, they are both Duties of the firfl Comma11demmt. And as we fay of God's Attributes, they are all of a like extent: fo are thofe Duties that are Duties of thefirfl Comman– demwt. It is a lhamc for us, that if we have been long, and much in Prayer for great Mercies, before we obtained them, that we lhould make lhort and fmall work of our Thankfgivings for them: That when you have not ceafi to be infiant in Prayer to obtain them, you lhould ceafe to give Thanks for them , when you have received them, The Glory of Got;! is concerned alike in both. If they be great Mercies, and fuch as have influence into the whole courfe of a man's life, whereof he bath the daily benefit, he lhould 1101 ceaf( to remember them, and to give thanks for them daily. If they be occa(io11at Mercies, they lhould work as occajio11a1Ajffzflio1Js.do.. It is not to be faid, that every Affli– ction a man lhould be contumally thmkmg of, or making ufe of: No, but they are fpecially to operate till another Affliction cometh, A man lhould make ufe of the Jail: So it is in Mercies and Tbankjgivi11gs. God firoweth fome be– nefits, fome Merctes mour hfe, a• a Rhetorician cloth Flowers in his Orations, here and. there, up and down: Now the !aft Mercy, till God hath put down that Mercy by fome greater, we lhould llill remember it. Only Go Solemn days of Fafiing, upon God's calling thereto by fome eminent Affliction; we lhould then take notice and a furvey of as many former Afflictions as we can call td mind, to humble our felves under God's difpleafure in multiplying of them. And thus of Mercies in daies of Thankfgivings. l i Secondly,

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