many Blessings and Deliverances which the Lord had given them the Lord gives them a charges Deut. 4.9 Take heed to thy self and keep thy soul diligently lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life but teach them to thy sans and to thy sons sons And this was their practise Psal 44.1 We have heard with our ears O God our fathers have told us what work thou didst in their days in the time of old how thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand and plantedst them how thou didst afflict the people and cast them out c. And Psal 78.3 I will speak that which we have heard and known and our fathers have told us we will not hide them from their children shewing to the generations to come the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he hath done the Lord commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children that the generations to come might know them even the children which should be born who should arise and declare them to their children c. Psal 102.18 This shall be written for the generations to come and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord. Thus the people of God did not onely return thanks in an heat for their deliverances whiles the memory of the mercie was fresh but they made frequent and serious rehearsals of them to their children and their childrens children that for the mercie bestowed upon many thanks also might be given by many 2 Cor. 1.11 Fourthly That they might for ever retain in a thankful remembrance such gracious deliverances and that the generations to come and the children which should be born might praise the LORD for them they had also annuall festivities and stationary days which they yearly kept holy to the Lord and on such days thankfully celebrated the goodness of God for the particular mercies and deliverances received on those days as the annual Festivity of the Passeover Pentecost Expiation Tabernacles Trumpets c. all of them instituted to be thankful memorials of special mercies relating to those days and times So Exod. 12.14 This day shall be to thee for a memorial and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever Here we have an Ordinance for an anniversary festival a day yearly and every year to be kept holy to the Lord for an yearly solemn remembrance of the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt this day note the same day they were delivered the same day was to be kept yearly holy to the Lord for a memorial and a day of thanksgiving for that deliverance you shall keep it a feast Hebr. you shall keep it festivally that is with mirth rejoycing and jubilation as Nehem. 8.9.12 you shall keep it by an ordinance for ever Hebr. an everlasting ordinance an ordinance of perpetuity extending to all generations Exod. 12.17 This self same day have I brought out your Armies out of Egypt therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever and the same is repeated v. 24. So here we see a day was yearly and every year to be kept holy to the Lord by the ordinance of God in a thankful and moâ—e solemn remembrance of Israels deliverance from the hand of the Egyptians Nay and more then this howsoever Festivals and holy days have been in our times cried down by some as Popish matters of Superstition and Will-worship for which we have â—o ordinance or command from God yet we finde the ancient Church hath from time to time according to the emergent occasion without any express ordinance or commandment of God laudably and religiously appointed certain days to be kept yearly holy to the Lord in a thankful commemoration of mercies and deliverances received upon those days and such are the fifth of November and the three and twentieth of October with us days appointed to be kept holy e-every year for ever in a thankful remembrance of our Deliverances on those days So the days of Purim were ordained to be kept as Festivals and holy to the Lord by all the Jewes in a thankfull and joyfull remembranc of their deliverances from the mischief which Haman had devised against them Those dayes I say were ordained and commanded to be kept holy by Hester and Mordecai and afterwards ratified and confirmed by the Subscription of the whole Church as an Ordinance of perpetuity to continue to all generations for ever Hest 9.20,21,22,23,27,28 And we read Macc. 4.59 That the Church and the Congregation of Israel when they were delivered from their enemies and had restored the worship and service of God and dedicated the Altar for Sacrifice they made an Ordinance that certain dayes should be kept holy to the Lord yearly and for ever in a gratefull remembrance of that mercy and that festival was called the feast of dedication If any object the text is Apocryphal and therefore signifies little I answer that this Act of the Church had our Saviors approbation who honored it with his presence and preaching at that Solemnity Jâ—h 10.22 And thus the Church in the new Testament hath instituted and appointed certain dayes yearly to be kept Festivalls and holy to the Lord in a thankfull remembrance of some speciall and spirituall mercies solemnely to be celebrated on those dayes as the Nativity Circumcision Resurrection and Ascention of Christ which dayes St Augustine Ep. 118.119 avouches were observed by the whole Church of Christ from the time of the Apostles and by Apostolick tradition and the primitive Apostolick Church without any divine commandement that we read of appointed the first day of the week to be the Christian Sabbath and I see no reason but men may as well abrogate and cry down that Festivall as others that are of the same institution that day I say the primitive Apostolick Church ordained to be kept holy as the Christian Sabbath in a thankful remembrance of the glorious Resurrection of our Saviour Christ that day And these dayes so ordained by the Church to be kept Festivalls and holy to the Lord are called by the Fathers Festivall dayes holy dayes Solemne dayes Sacred dayes mystical dayes and were so kept and observed by them Thus in the fourth place the people of God that the memoriall of their deliverance might be derived to their posterities had yearly certain dayes set apart to be kept holy to the Lord to praise him for those particular mercies Then fifthly at such Solemne assemblies they did not onely rest from their labours and all servile works and keep a day holy to the Lord but also they expressed their thankfullnes for mercies and deliverances which they had received by Singing Psalmes and Hymns and Spirituall Songs in singing praises to their God in singing praises singing praises to their King Psal 47.6
A Thanksgiving SERMON Preached at CHRIST-CHURCH Before the LORDS JUSTICES And COUNCIL Upon the 23 of October 1661. By W.L. D.D. Chaunter of christ-Christ-Church DVBLIN Printed by Order of the Lords Justices of IRELAND DVBLIN Printed by John Crook Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty And are to be sold by Samuel Dancer Bookseller in Castle-street 1661. To the Right Honourable The Lords Justices And COVNCIL of IRELAND Right Honourable IT was never in my thoughts to make these my Meditations publick I could not conceive them to be fitting for the Press but Your Lordships Orders and the Commands of those whom I stand obliged to obey have occasioned it If therefore You finde here no excellency of speech no elegancy of phrase be pleased to remember it was a Sermon preached upon the 23. of October the day designed by the bloody Popish Irish Rebels for our destruction the day when stripping and whipping began to be in fashion If therefore there want the cloathing of words I say Habitum temporis hujus habet My designe was not to tickle the Ear but to affect the Heart and to move the Auditory to a thankfull acknowledgment of the goodness of God towards us the Remnant that are left that we were not involved in the common Calamity that our lives were given to us for a prey and we were rescued by a hand of Providence as so many Brands plucked out of the midst of the burning Cursed be their anger for it was fierce and their wrath for it was cruel Gen. 49.7 Like Joah they shed the blood of war in the days of peace 1 King 2.5 They had Copies to write after the Sicilian Vespers the Massacre of Paris c. but they endeavored to goe beyond their Masters The Rudiments of their Religion if they wanted Copies and Examples teach and warrant them to be perfidious bloody and cruel to us It shall ever be remembred while Popery endures what their determination was in the Council of Constance in the case of John Huss and Jerom of Prague when it was required that those two servants of God should appear in that malignant Council to give a reason of their Faith and Doctrine which they were still ready and desirous to do the Lords and Nobles of Bohemia would not hazard the Lights of their Church till the publique Faith of the Imperial Majesty was ingaged for their safety and the Emperour had sent them his safe Conduct And when upon those Letters of safe Conduct they appeared in the Council and had given an account of their Faith and Doctrine and that the Papists were not able to resist the Wisdom and Spirit by which they spake they resolved to choak the Light of the Gospel with the Smoak of the bottomless Pit and condemned them for Hereticks adjudging them to be burned a very hot Answer to their Arguments The Lords of Bohemia have recourse to the Emperour complain of the unheard-of Example and declare That the Honour of the Imperial Majesty lay at stake the Faith of the Empire was engaged and in point of Honour was to be vindicated Antoninus pars 3. Chronicorum lays down the matter thus Condemnati sunt ad ignem Et quia imperator non videbatur hoc aequanimiter ferre propter salvum conductum eis datum respondit ei sacrosancta Synodus cum argui non posse de fide mentita quia Concilium ipsum non dederat iis salvum conductum Concilium majus est Imperatore c. Cui determinationi ut bonus Ecclesiae filius acquievit c. Conc. Const Sess 19. Declarat sancta Synodus ex salvo conductu per Imparatorem aut alios Principes haereticis concesso nullum fidei Christianae aut jurisdictioni Ecclesiae praejudicium generari posse aut debere quâ—minus liceat judici Ecclesiastico de hujusmodi personarum erroribus inquirere eosque punire quantum justitia suadebit si errores suos revecare pertinaciter noluerint etiamsi de salvo conductu confisi ad locum venerint judicii alias non venturi Nec sic Promittentem quum fecerit quod in ipso est ex hoc remanere obligatum The Emperour bestirs himself and interposes with the Council but at last the Physitian of Rome salves the Emperours scruples and with those Catholick Fathers upon mature deliberation lays down this Catholick Decision as a Catholick Maxime of their Catholick Religion Can. 19. Conc. Const Fidem non esse servandam Haereticis No faith is to be kept with Hereticks So they called them and so they call us And so this Catholick Declararion of his Holiness and his Council will warrant them never to keep any Oath Faith or Promise with us but still to be treacherous perfidious and rebellious as long as a Protestant lives and to be like Dan a serpent by the way and an adder in the path that bites the horse heels so that his rider shall fall backward Gen. 49.17 The Ring-leaders in this Catholick Mischief were Priests and Fryars I speak not universally of all for some condemned it as abominable but such there were Incendiaries Captains of Troops high-way-Robbers and high-way-Murtherers they had learned of Pope Julius the Second to cast away Peter's Keys and to take Paul's Sword they left the Mass which they call an unbloody Sacrifice and slew murthered and sacrificed men women and children a bloody Sacrifice indeed and thus they raged promiscuously against all and the scarlet whore was made drunk with the blood of the Saints The Massacre of Paris was tragical and bloody enough it was of 60000 persons and that they say as a gallant and heroick Act was pictured in the Popes Pallace but this Tragoedy being so universal and of so vast a number so many thousands there was no room left for it in the Popes House but it shall not want a Memorandum in our Hearts for ever They shewed their inveteracie and implacable hatred against the very Name of English they were cruel to the very Beasts and Cattel that were of English strain and in some places they would not presently kill them but now and then cut Collops out of them and so let them run and roar to death And they dealt with some men as with the beasts they broke their backs and so left them in the fields to graze and when they had eaten round about them they would not kill them but remove them to better pasture Multitudes of all sorts they dispatched and killed out right many they left half dead intreating for many days for no other favour at their hands but death but that was refused Amongst those thousands thus tortured tormented hanged and drowned and burned I cannot but remember that horrid Murther at Port a down where besides those whom they drowned to make them sport they continued that act of drowning for seven or eight weeks together It hath been credibly reported by many that dayly and nightly Visions were there seen representing the men women
He expresses his joy by bursting forth into praises Blessed be the Lord c. 3. He lays down the grounds and reasons 1. the deliverance of the Israelites from the hand of the Egyptians 2. the destruction of the Egyptians before the face of Israel v. 11. 4. He offers Sacrifices and Burnt-offerings and so he rejoyces Corde Ore Opere in Heart in Word and in Work v. 12. 5. Aaron and all Israel rejoyce with him in the last part of the 12th verse Doct. Hence we learn That it is a Duty incumbent upon all Jethro and Moses Aaron and Israel Priest and People to bless God and to make his praise to be glorious when he glorifies his mercie in delivering his Church we are then to praise God greatly when he gives us great Deliverances then it is seasonable to sing a Benedictus Blessed be the Lord who hath delivered his people from the hand of the Egyptians c. So Psal 66.8 O bless our God ye people and make the voyce of his praise heard which holdeth our soul in life and suffereth not our feet to be moved for thou O God hast proved us thou hast tried us as â—…lver is tryed thou broughtest us into the net thou layedst affliction upon our loyns that hast caused men to ride over our heads we went through fire and through water c. Here is great affliction the net men riding over their heads passing through fire and through water great Dangers then great Deliverances v. 12. Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place therefore they sing great praises v. 13. I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings I will pay thee my vows which my lips have uttered when I was in trouble I will offer thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings with the incense of rams I will offer bullocks and goats and then he concludes with a Benedictus Blessed be God v. 20. I might multiply Scriptures for further evidences of this truth but this may suffice Now to come to the Reasons and Arguments of the point Why is this a duty incumbent upon all Why are we then to sing great praises when the Lord gives us great Deliverances 1. Because by so doing we glorifie God Psal 50.23 Whoso offereth praise he glorifieth me Thus did David 1 Chron. 29.10 Benedictus Blessed be thou O Lord God of Israel our father for ever and ever Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the Majesty for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine thine is the kingdom O Lord and thou art exalted as head above all God requires not our Wisdom to direct him nor our strength to assist him nor our dignity to advance him but our thankfulness to adore him Grace requires Gratitude when God extends his bountifulness we are to be inlarged in our thankfulness when Benefits are gotten the Benefactors must not be forgotten we must glorifie God and sing praises to him that is holy and that inhabiteth the praises of Israel Psal 22.4 Secondly Why is it so c. It is because such return of blessing thanks and praises is Gods tribute that pepper-Corn of acknowledgement that all we have we hold in Capite we have it from him from whom every good gift and every perfect gift doth descend even from him who is the father of lights Jam. 1.17 and the detaining of this tribute is no less then God-robbing and the Apostles exhortation is Let him that stole steal no more Ephes 4.28 It is Gods tribute Psal 50.14,15 Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows to the most high And call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver theeâ— and thou shalt glorifie me Thus Melchisedeck King of Salem and Priest of the most high God pays his tribute and returns praise for Abrahams deliverance from the sword of the four Kings that fought against Sodom Benedictus Deus fortis excelsus Blessed be the most high strong God Gen. 14.20 And the Prophet Habakkuk seeing by the perspective of Prophesie the deliverance of the Church from the Captivity of Babel pays his tribute before-hand and blesses God greatly for that great deliverance Hab. 3.17 c. David's Psalmes are so many store-houses of Examples Every Psalm as one notes is either an Hosanna or else an Hallelujah either God bless or God be blessed either Prayers or Praises either Prayers for Mercies or Praises for Mercies Thirdly Because thankfulness for Mercies or Deliverances received is honum jucundum it is fit meet and decent it is a good and pleasant thing Psal 92.1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name O most high to shew forth thy loving kindeness in the morning and thy faithfulness in the night for thou Lord hast made me glad through thy work and I will give thanks for the operation of thy hands It is good and pleasant it is Mel in One Melos in Aure Jubilatio in Corde Honey in the Mouth Musick in the Ear and Melody in the Heart And therefore the Apostle exhorts us Ephes 5.19,20 Speak to your selves in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ and Col. 3.16 Let the word of God dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Thus did David sing with grace in his heart Psal 108.1 O God my heart is fixed my heart is fixed I will sing and give praise even with my glory I will praise thee O Lord amongst the people and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations For thy mercie is great above the heavens and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds Be thou exalted O God above the heavens and thy glory above all the earth Fourthly The very Dictates of Nature teach us gratuity and thankfulness to our Benefactors All rivers saith the wise man come from the sea and all rivers by way of a thankful Retribution return and empty their waters into the Sea God is the main Ocean the great sea of all blessings all Rivers of blessings flow from him and therefore according to the very dictates of Nature ought to be returned unto him Psal 93.3 The floods have lifted up O Lord the floods have lifted up their voice Ainsworth in locum tells us That the Chaldee hath it thus The floods have lifted up their voice of praises to God and the floods have received the reward of their praises from God Psal 91.1 The heavens declare the glory of God Psal 96.12 Psal 98.7 Psal 148. There is a general summons and invitation not onely of all sorts of men but also all manner of Creatures to this duty and to joyn together in this Harmony to give praises to God and to make
from heaven the stars in their courses fought against Sisera The river Kishon swept them away that antient River the River Kishon O my soul thou hast troden down strength Then Seaventhly for the better expression of their thankfulness for such mercyes and deliverances that they might be transmitted and handed over to all posterity and generations and that the people that were unborn might praise the Lord it was usuall and ordinary with them to put some remarkable signe or token of remembrance upon the particular mercy and deliverance which they had received or upon the place where they received it by giving it a name that did import and signifye the same that so when their children or their childrens children should in time to come ask the reason why is this thing or this place called by this name then their fathers might preach unto them the gracious deliverance of the Church in that thing or that place and make rehearsall repetition of the righteous Acts of the Lord thus the Lord instructed them in the ordinance of the Passeover Exod. 12.25 it was called the Passeover because the Lord commanded the destroying Angel to passe over the houses of Israel when he slew all the first born of the Egyptians And it shall come to passe saith the text when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you according as he hath promised that ye shall keepe this service And it shall come to passe when your children shall say unto you what mean you by this service that ye shall say it is the sacrifice of the Lords Passeover who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses Hebr. Pasch from Pasach that is to leape or Passeover And when the waters of Jordan were cut off or divided that the people might passe into the land of promise Josua commanded for a perpetual remembranise f this Act to all posterity that twelve men that is one out of every tribe of Israel should take a great stone out of midst of Jordan and set them up upon a heap upon that place which was dried up for their passage that when the generations to come should ask what means this great heap of stones then the fathers might preach to their children the righteous Acts of the Lord and by reviving the memorial of that wonderfull mercy stir them up to praise the Lord. Jos. 4.6 The Lord gave Israel a great deliverance from their enemies by the hand of Samson first Samson returned thanks Lord thou hast given this great deliverance to thy servant and then he puts a name upon the place for a Memorandum to posterity he calls it Jud. 15.17 Ramath Lehi that is the lifting up of the jaw bone that when the generations to come should inquire why is this place called Ramath Lehi then their fathers might preach unto them the righteous Acts of the Lord shew them the greatnesse of the deliverance by the weaknesse of the meanes So Israels great deliverance from the enemy that surrounded and compassed them about David thankfully ascribes unto the Lord the Lord saith he haâ—h broken in upon mine enemies like the breach of waters and then he gives a name to the place for a Memorandum to Posterity he calls it Baal-Perazim that is the plaine of breaches 2. Sam. 5.20 That when the children in time to come should inquire why is this place called Baal-Perazim then their fathers might teach them the great mercies of God towards Israel and say unto them in this place the enemy compassed us about and thought to swallow us up quick and here the Lord broke in upon them like the breach of waters and therefore this place is called Baal-Perazim the plain of breaches The like may be said of Samuel when the Lord had delivered Israel from the Army of the Philistins not by sword or by bow or by battle but by thunder from heaven then Samuel set up a great pillar of stone for a memorial to all generations and gives it a name he called it Eben-Ezer that is the stone of help saying thus far the Lord hath helped us 1. Sam. 7.12 And after that Jehosaphat had received a notable deliverance from the numerous Army of the Ammonites the Moabites and the Edomites that came against Juda not by fighting but by singing and praising God 2. Chr. 20.21.23 That the memoriall of so great a deliverance might be perpetuated to all posterity he put a name upon the place and called it Berachah that is blessing and so that valley was called the valley of blessing that when their children in time to come c. Eightly they expressed their thankfulness by erecting of Altars as Moses Exo. 17.14 and Gideon Jud. 6.24 and Josua Jos 8.30 and others Ninethly They did not onely blesse God for their deliverances and build Altars and erect great pillars and monuments but also they writ whole Rolles Bookes and volumes of their deliverances for the instruction of future generations and thus the Lord commanded Moses to write Israels deliverance from the lying in wait of Amelek the first enemy that affronted them after their coming out of Egypt Jos 17.14 The Lord said unto Moses write this for a Memorial in a book the Lord will have written and recorded not onely what Amalek did to Israel but also what the God of Israel did to Amalek for a Memorial to Israel for instruction to posterity that the generations to come might praise the Lord. Thus Israels deliverance from the Amorites and the wonderfull Acting of the Lord in order thereunto they recorded in a booke for the benefit of posterity Jos 10.13 The Sun stood still in Gibeon and the Moone in the valley of Ajalon till the people were avenged of their enemies Is not this written in the booke of Jasher The great deliverance of Israel in the red sea and the wonders which the Lord wrought in the brooks of Arnon were recorded for a Memorial to posterity in the booke of the warrs of the Lord. Num. 21.14 It is sayd in the booke of the warrs of the Lord what he did in the red sea and in the brooks of Arnon And at the streame of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar and lyeth upon the border of Moab The vulgar latine reads the rocks of the torrents were bowed down that they might rest in Ar and lye in the borders of moab upon which the do way translators comment thus A the Egyptians were drowned in the sea so the Amorites were oppressed with the rocks falling upon them and the waters carried their carcases into the valley of Moab This was recorded in the book of the warrs of the Lord. And thus they writ volumes and books of their deliverances for an everlasting Memorial to all posterity And was it thus with our fathers and the people of God informer ages then surely whatsoever things were written a foretime