half mercies, will content us, when full favours, mature favours, are admirably proffered. We check a bountiful God, a willing Father. Is not this base ingratitude? we slight full love when fully proffered; a plant of renown when proffered in a way of renown. Is this to return full love fully? O base England!

A third thing that broadly speaks England's ingratitude is this,-gentle corrections unobserved. Who observes how, in the midst of justice, God remembers mercy? Who is taken with this? how many hearts doth this raise to follow God with praises? How many hearts are taken, raised up, kept up, blessing God for this? Mercy exalts herself against justice. At most justice brings up but the rear, she comes behind and treads a little upon our heel, and bruises that, while she breaks the heads and necks of the wicked. Thy greatest mercies, O England, are but short-lived: thy tenderest mercies quickly die; I like it not, shalt thou live, O England? God admirably saves us, we wickedly kill his kindness: it will kill us all if not well looked to. Who blesses God that England's miseries are mild? that England is dealt with far better than she doth deserve?

I have spoken more generally to the land, I will speak more particularly to you, christians. You have a great stock of love in your hand, what return do you make? I am commanded by this point in hand to look after my master's income, his great revenue of this lower world; rent-day is come, and I am come to demand it. You were lepers, are ye cleansed? How many return and give thanks? you were cast out to loathing, are ye taken into embracing? What acknowledgment do you make?

Infinite love is out upon you, christians, how does it return into the bosom from whence it came out?

Ingratitude makes great guilt, and great breach; that heart will grow too heavy for the man which cannot be taught to praise God, to sing new songs as God renews his favour. Three incomparable things are spoiled by ingratitude; God's glory, man's peace, and increase of grace; he grows backward, that is ungrateful. It turns all man's welfare into a consumption. It is the thief who robs God and man, it is base baseness. It were endless to

tell you the evils of ingratitude.

I will give you a word of remedy, and so conclude this point.

First. The heart is in thankfulness as it is in truth. Thankfulness is the vital breathing of integrity. A sound heart arrogates nothing, but ascribes all to God; hypocrisy is the worst giver of all to another that can be. Truth is best at giving every one their own; it is her greatest pain, that she can do it least to him that is best to her. Integrity hath no other felicity but to paint out love and carry it to heaven, to see if God will own any art of hers, to make him glorious. All the complaint of integrity is, that favours are lost upon her, that love dies in her bosom, and many made prisoners by her, so chained and fettered with an evil heart, that they cannot return to God that gave them. Integrity is still sighing and panting to get up hill, with all God's blessings on her back. O that I could carry all sweetly home again, that God lends me!

Second. As the soul is in life, so it is in thankfulness; heat is best at making upward. Truth is sometimes much separated from life; zeal from

integrity; an honest heart, but something cold and heavy, does not run well, I confess, in christian propriety of speaking, but we will suppose this case, and speak on. Let there be what integrity and honesty in the heart there will be, if there be not fervent love and life, warmth and heat, thanksgiving will be poor. Thankfulness comes the deadliest off of any duty in a dead heart. Some birds have longer wings than others; they usually fly highest which have longest: he had need have a large strong winged soul, that is good at thanksgiving, the duty is so merely and so highly heavenly. A cold heart can do but little at prayer, but just nothing at thanksgiving; you were as good go to string a stone and play upon it, as to make divine melody upon a stony cold heart. Defect in natural heat makes benum bedness to action; if you are benumbed to duty, certainly there is a defect in spiritual heat; you are not warm enough at heart. A man is in thankfulness, as he is in strength of love: strong love will depict Christ from head to foot acutely.

Third. As the soul is in prayer, so it is in thanksgiving; as a man is in conscience to the means, so he is in assistance to the end: as a man is at one duty, so he is in likelihood and capacity to be at another. Duties are introductive, one leads into another; we go from strength to strength, from the strength of one duty we are made strong to another; the blessing of one duty leaves supply behind it, to bring on another higher. God steps in on a sudden and lifts up the soul, when the man is upon his knees. A man does beyond expectation, when he humbly casts himself upon the means. When a christian cannot do a divine duty, let him come as near it as he can, and God steps in and makes it out.

When a christian cannot give thanks let him pray, and God will turn a spirit of prayer, into a spirit of praise. Some are discouraged from prayer they can give thanks no better. I come still as a raven, merely craving. Why do so still; it is not impossible to God to teach a raven to sing.

Finally. A man is at thanksgiving according to an inward, secret assistance and concurrence, which no man can express. As the Spirit helps in prayer with sighs and groans which cannot be expressed, so in thanksgivings, with heart-liftings, and heartraising and rapture which cannot be expressed. Sailors to heaven find sometimes a current, as sailors here below do in some voyages; when the soul enters this, it sails apace, whether it will or not, with no pain. There are secret whispers from above; clusters from the holy land, tastes of the powers of the world to come; these are especially of power to raise the soul, and to set all a praising God. As the soul is brought nearer heaven, this duty becomes natural. I see some very thankful, and yet very poor, scarcely any thing without to make music on; surely, they have a mighty advantage within; there is one winds up, and blows within, the instrument could never go, without any thing else, so as it seems to do.

SERMON XV.

COLOSSIANS I. 11-12.

GIVING THANKS UNTO THE FATHER, WHO HATH MADE US MEET TO BE PARTAKERS OF THE INHERITANCE OF THE SAINTS IN LIGHT.

OUR way is mountainous, every word is wonderfully high; we need wonderful aid to do well. I again beg your prayers; I prize them above all parts, to facilitate and felicitate my way, to make me and yourselves happy in them. Make wings for me to ascend to heaven, my text and work lies all there. Giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."

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"Who hath made us meet,"-who hath made us fit or sufficient. "Who hath made,"—it is a term of creation. Grace is another creation: it is much out of nothing, much made from nothing, by nothing, but by him that is all; Giving thanks unto the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."

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The image of God in Adam was a piece of the creation, a peculiar, prime piece; it is noted so. "In the image of God created he him," &c. Gen. i. 27. The image of God was the result, the ultimate, the gloss, the glory of the whole piece; the furthest reach, the design proposed, the top of creating art lay in this, "In the likeness of God made he him," Gen. v. 1. This prime piece was lost, deeply lost,