Praife is comely. It is nature's fenfe, 'tis the import of any man's reafon every man's mind tells him that this is decent; and no man can have peace, quiet and fatisfaction in the contrary; unless he be funk down into bafenefs, and degenerated into a fordid temper, he will acknowledge the kindness of his benefactor. Now, becaufe God doth infinitely tranfcend all the benefactors in the world, if any man doth not acknowledge his goodness, and praise him for his benefits, he is funk down into baseness, and fallen beneath his creation and nature.

God loves us, and therefore he doth us good: we love God because we are partakers of his benefits. Now praise and thanksgiving is all the return that. our neceffity and beggary is capable of: and it is very comely for us, that are fo much beholden to. the divine goodness, to make our due acknowledg ments; and therefore it is obferved that in ingratitude there is a connexion of all vice. All difinge nuity and bafenefs are concentred in the bowels of ingratitude. He that will not be engaged by kindnefs, no cords of man will hold him. It is obferved both by God and man, as degeneracy in its ultimate iffue, the greateft depravation that nature is capable of, to be infenfible of courtefies, and not to makedue acknowledgments. How often doth David complain of those perfons, that were obliged to him by kindness, that they turned his enemies, Pfal. xli. and xlv. he that fat at meat with me, hath lift up his heel against me. How is he reprefented by him, as a most fordid wretched perfon, one that was dege-: nerated to the fulleft degree? and then God him

felf

felf complains, Deut. xxxii. 15. Jefhurun waxed fat and kicked, he forfook God that made him, and lightly efteemed the rock of his falvation. God and man complains of the ungrateful, becaufe all favours and courtefies are loft. Yea, 'tis well obferved, that it is the only way to make a desperate enemy, to bestow kindness upon an unthankful perfon. And this is too well known, that those that have been made friends by courtesy, proving false, have been the greatest betrayers. Therefore, of all perfons and tempers, the infenfible and ungrateful are the worst yea, truly, these are the very pefts of the world, the enemies of human nature; they harden mens hearts, who otherwise were free to do courtefies, because they do not know but that they may make an enemy. I will make this out (viz. the baseness of ingratitude) in these two words.

1. Becaufe nothing is more due to God than our gratitude; for he loadeth us with his benefits, and is pleafed to pleafe us, and doth many things to gratify

us.

2. By this we give teftimony of our minds to God; for we have nothing at all to facrifice to God, but the consent of our minds; an ingenuous acknowledgement. We have nothing to bring him, but the confent of our minds; and this the grateful perfon doth, and by this he fignifies, that if it were within his compafs, he would requite the divine goodness; for 'tis not fo much the gift, as the mind of the giver. He that is unthankful, is most full of himself, and apt to think that all the world was made for him, and that all men are bound to be

his fervants, and to attend his purpofe, and that he may ferve himself of all mens parts, powers, priviledges and opportunities; but he himself is exempt from all men; fo that he is an enemy to God and

PSALM Xxxix. 11. S

When thou with rebukes doft correct man for iniquity, thou makeft his beauty to confume away like a math ; furely every man is vanity. Selah.

WOTHING is lefs true, nothing more unbecoming us, limited, finite, and fallible

creatures, than the thought of independency and felf-fufficiency. And indeed, the whole crea tion of God, in comparison with God himself, is less than the duft of the balance; and if you come to compare, will hold no weight. Nothing be comes us more, than to know what we are: nothing befits us better, than that we know our own ftate, and to be fenfible of our own dependence and neceffity, and to make due acknowledgement to God. If a man seriously weigh these words, he will always veil to God, humble himself, fubmit, and deprecate. So many things there are emphatical in these words, When thou, &c.

Sin, on man's part, is that that makes him much more liable and obnoxious to God, than he is in refpect of his creature-ftate: when thou with rebukes doft correct man for iniquity thou makeft his beau ty, that that he values himself by, that that is his only thing, his top excellency, to confume away like a moth, without any refiftance, without any stop, infenfibly fo that he that doth contemplate what is faid in the former part of the words, will prefently acknowledge, that every man, even in his beft eftate is vanity, altogether vanity.

These words give an account of two things which are the matter of the greatest wonder.

First, How it comes to pass there are fo many and fo great evils in the world.

Secondly, How fo many perfons come to wither and fall away, and come to nothing in the world. And these two are the greatest matters of wonder and admiration among men.

First, How it comes to pass that there are so many, and fo great evils in the world: and the wonder is this, that God governs the world, and God is known by his goodness what, thefe evils from the hand of a good God! how can this be? the greatest questions that have ever been in the world, have been thefe two.

1. Whence evils come? and

2. Flow it comes to pass they were not fubdued, as foon as they did appear; I believe it would puzzle the head of any one in the world to answer them; if he do not learn an answer from fcripture. Now this place refolves you: you have here God chal

lenging

lenging, controuling and rebuking it.
find out the procuring caufe, you find out all

For if you

not he that doth the thing, but he that was the cause of the thing being done, doth the mifchief:

Secondly, Then how comes it to pafs that fo many wither in the world, with all advantages, honour, titles, dignity and eftate, that they never spent their thoughts about getting; and out-live it all. Whereas you have others born naked into the world; and through the improvement of natures powers, they rife to estates and revenues. How comes this to pafs in these words you have an account. When thou with rebukes doft correct a man for iniquity, thou makeft his beauty to confume away like a moth.

These two confiderations are enough to engage. your attention: every body hath their ears open to hear refolutions of wonders.

In the words you have four things.

I. What is intimated, and that is, that fin is the procuring caufe of punishment. When thou with rebukes doft correct man for fin, &c. Sin is the procuring caufe of punishment. It is fin that doth the world all the mischief that is in the world. A fault deferves punishment: the fault going before, doth naturally draw on with it punishment.

II. Take notice of what is fuppofed, that God doth regularly and ufually chastise finners. God doth, as a thing becoming him in the government of the world, he doth controul finners, and chaftife men for fin. The word is very remarkable, When thou with rebukes, &c. which intimates fomething in fecret not only openly punished in the view of the

world;