Thou takeft pleasure in them that fear thee, in them that hope in thy mercy.

2. For the many inftances of his goodness.

1. The goodness of his providence relating to our bodies, and the life that now is; and this.

1. With reference to all the creatures, and the world of mankind in general.

Thou haft ftretched out the heavens like a curtain, and in them thou haft fet a tabernacle for the fun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. And thou caufeth thy fun to fhine on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjuft.

When we confider the heavens, the work of thy fingures, the fun, the moon, and the ftars which thou haft ordained; Lord, what is man that thou thus vifiteft him? for truely the light is fwcet, and a pleafant thing it is for the eyes to behold the fun: all the glory be to the father of lights, who commandeth the morning, and caufeth the day-fpring to know its place.

Thou didst not leave thyfelf without witnefs among the heathen, in that thou didst good, and gaveft them rain from heaven, and fruitful feafons, filling their hearts with food and gladness.

Thou covereft the heavens with clouds, and prepareft rain for the earth, and maketh grafs to grow upon the mountains; Thou giveft to the beaft his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

Thou caufeft it to rain on the wildernefs, where there is no man, to fatisfy the defolate and waite ground.

Thou vifiteft the earth, and watereft it, thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water; thou prepareft them corn when thou haft fo provided for it; thou watereft the ridges thereof abundantly; thou fettlest the furrows thereof, thou makest it foft with fhowers, thou bleffeft the fpringing there

of; thou crowneft the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fatnefs.

Thou fendeft the fprings into the vallies which run among the hills; and they give drink to every beaft of the field; and by them the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which fing among the branches.

Thou haft laid the foundations of the earth that it fhould not be removed for ever, and settest bounds to the waters of the fea, that they turn not again to cover the earth; thou haft fhut up the fea with doors, and broken up for it thy decreed place, faying hitherto halt thou come, but no further, here fhall thy proud waves be staid. And thou haft made good what thou haft fworn, that the waters of Noah fhould no more go over the earth.

Thy covenant of the day and of the night is not broken, but fill thou giveft the fun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night; and art faithful to that covenant of providence, that while the earth remains, feed-time and harvest, cold and heat, fummer and winter, day and night shall not ceafe.

The heaven, even the heavens are thine, but the earth thou haft given to the children of men, and thou haft put all things under their feet, and made them to have dominion over the works of thy hands; fo that the fear of man and the dread of man is upon every beaft of the earth, and upon the fowl of the air, and into his hand they are delivered, becaufe thou hadst a favour to him, and thy delights were with the fons

of men.

Thou caufeft the grafs to grow for the cattle, and herb for the fervice of man, that thou mayeft bring forth food out of the earth; wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to fhine, and which ftrengthens man's heart.

Thou giveft to all life and breath, and all things, and the earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy.

All the creatures wait upon thee; that thou mayeft give them their meat in due feafon; that thou giveft them they gather, thou openeft thy hand, they are filled with good; thou fendest forth thy fpirit, they are created, thou reneweft the face of the earth. This thy glory fhall endure for ever, and thou rejoiceft in in these works.

It is though thy goodness, O Lord, that as one generation of mankind paffeth away, another generation comes, and that thou haft not blotted out the name of that corrupt and guilty race from under hea

ven.

2dly, With reference to us in particular.

1. We must give thanks that he hath made us reafonable creatures, capable of knowing, loving, ferving and enjoying him, and that he hath not made us as the beafts that perish.

We will praise thee, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that our fouls, our noble part, know right well; for what man knows the things of a man, fave the spirit of man which is in him?

Thou haft made us of that rank of beings which is little lower then the angels, and is crowned with glory and honour; for there is a fpirit in man, and the infpiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. And the fpirit of a man is the candle of the Lord.

Our bodies are capable of being the temples of the Holy Ghoft, and our fouls of having the fpirit of God dwell in them; we therefore glorify thee with our bodies, and with our fpirits, which are thine.

Thou, Lord, haft formed us for thyfelf, that we might fhew forth thy praise.

2. We must give thanks for our preservation, that our lives are prolonged and that the ufe of our rea fon and understanding, our limbs and fenfes are continued to us.

It was owing to thy good providence that we died not from the womb, and did not give up the ghott,

when we came out of the belly, that the knees prevented us, and the breafts that we fhould fuck.

Though we were called tranfgreffors from the womb, yet by thy power we have been born from the belly, and carried from the womb; and thou holdest our fouls in life, and fuffereft not our foot to be moved.

All our bones fhall fay, Lord, who is like unto thee? for thou keepeft all our bones, not one of them fhall be broken.

We lay us down and fleep, for thou, Lord, makeft us to dwell in fafety.

Thou haft given thine angels a charge concerning us, to keep us in all our ways, to bear us up in their hands, leaft we dash our foot against a stone. And they are all miniftering fpirits, fent forth to minister for the good of them that fhall be heirs of falvation. 3. For fingle recoveries from danger, by fickness, or otherwise.

When perhaps there has been but a ftep between us and death, and when we have received a sentence of death within ourfelves, and have been ready to say in the cutting off of our days, we fhould go to the gates of the grave, and were deprived of the refidue of our years, yet thou haft in love to our fouls delivered them from the pit of corruption, and caft all our fins behind thy back.

When the forrows of death have compaffed us, and the pains of hell have got hold upon us, we have called upon the name of the Lord, and have found that gracious is the Lord, and righteous, yea, our God is merciful; we have been brought low, and he hath helped us, and hath delivered our fouls from death, our eyes from tears, and our feet from falling. We will therefore walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

4. For the fupports and comforts of this life, which have hitherto made the land of our pilgramage eafy and pleasant to us.

Bleffed be the Lord, who daily loads us with his benefits, even the God of our falvation.

Thou makeft us to lie down in green paftures, thou feedeft us beside the still waters: thou preparest a table for us in the prefence of our enemies, thou anointest our head, and our cup runs over.

It may be we were fent forth without purfe or fcrip, but lacked we any thing. Nothing, Lord.

The candle of God hath fhined upon our head, and by his light we have walked through darkness, and the fecret of God has been in our tabernacle.

Thou hast given us all things richly to enjoy, and unto our hands haft brought plentifully.

Many a time we have eaten and been filled, and have delighted ourselves in thy great goodness.

When we remember all the way which the Lord our God hath led us for fo many years in this wildernefs, we must here fet up a stone and call it Ebenezer, for hitherto the Lord hath helped us.

5. For fuccefs in our callings and affairs, comfort in relations, and comfortable places of abode.

It is God that girdeth us with ftrength, and maketh our way perfect; that hath bleffed the work of our hands, and it may be fo as that though our beginning was small, yet our latter end hath greatly encreased.

Our houfes have been fafe from fear, and there hath been no rod of God upon us; fo that the voice of rejoicing and falvation hath been in our tabernacle from day to day.

With our staff it may be we have paffed over this Jordan, and now we are become two bands, and it is God that fetteth the folitary in families.

If we have lived joyfully with our relations, and they have been to us as the loving hind and as the pleasant roe, we must give thee thanks for it, for every creature is that to us and no more, that thou makeft it to be.

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