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A81245	A model of true spiritual thankfulnesse. Delivered in a sermon before the Honourable House of Commons, upon their day of thanksgiving, being Thursday, Feb. 19. 1645, for the great mercy of God, in the surrender of the citie of Chester into the hands of the Parliaments forces in Cheshire, under the command of Sir William Brereton. / By Tho. Case, preacher in Milkstreet London, and one of the Assembly of Divines.	Case, Thomas, 1598-1682.; England and Wales. Parliament. House of Commons.	1646 (1646)	Wing C833; Thomason E323_4; ESTC R200593	35,919	45

Ez●kiel c. giving the hand Ezek. 17.18 or as with us lifting up the hand to the most high God doth God aggravate their Covenant-violation when lo he had given his hand God speaks with indignation as of an eminent and remarkable treachery and persidiousnesse When lo he had given his hand And for this indeed now they begin to judge themselves We have no King because we feared not the Lord that is because we have not feared the Oath of the Lord but have dealt falsly and treacherously in the Covenant it is just with God we should have no King that our King should break Covenant with us that have broken Covenant with our God yea they judge themselves not onely for what is past but unworthy to sinde mercy for the time to come not onely We have no King but What then shall a King do to us q. d. We deserve never to see the face of our King any more but to be left to per●sh in our Confusions and Divisions while every man doth what is good in his own eye or if our King should come back out of Captivity What should he do to us Can we expect a King should do us any good while our God is angry with us for our Covenant-wickednesse No if he should come out of Babylon again God might make him a curse in stead of a blessing a plague and a snare to our destruction Men and Brethren this I take to be the sense of the place and I need say no more Surely every one of you here before God have with trembling hearts prevented me in the Application onely let me adde this If God were so angry and threatens so furiously the breach of a Covenant made with an Heathenish Tyrant an Infidel with whom the other Babylon Mystical Babylon teacheth no faith is to be k●pt because it was made before God and by the Name of God shall he prosper shall he escape that doth such things Jer. 17.19 or shall he break the Covenant and be delivered As I live mine Oath that he hath despised and my Covenant that he hath broken even it will I recompence upon his own head c. Oh how shall she escape yea of how much sorer punishment shall we be thought worthy if we be found guilty of so high a perjury in breaking and despising a Covenant made not onely before God in the Name of God but with God himself In so solemn and sacred a manner with Fasting and Prayer and Sermons and lifting up our hands to the most high God Oh that as we have sinned with this people and beyond insinitely beyond the line and measure of their transgressi●ns so we would judge our selves with them in the bitternesse of our spirits We have no King because we feared not the Lord speaking words swearing falsly in making a Covenant and what then should a King do to us We hope an end shall be put shortly to these bloody desolating wars and we cry to the Sword Oh thou Sword of the Lord Jer. 47.6 how long will it be ere thou be quiet put up thy self into thy scabbard rest and be still but the Sword will not obey our voice and no wonder for we have not obeyed the voice of the Sword we have not heard the Sword and who had appointed it and therefore meth●nks I hear the Sword replying How can I be quiet since the Lord hath given me a charge against England Vers 7. Yea methinks I hear God renewing the Commission of the Sword in the words of that threatning I will bring a sword upon yo● that shall avenge the quarrel of my Covenant We keep now a day of Thank●giving for the surrender of a strong Hold in the Kingdom Levit. 26.25 and God hath sent us in the glad tiding of a great Victory in the West to fill up our joy and to bespeak more days of Rejoycing and Thankfulnesse but for my part I fear that for these things the Sword hath yet a Commission to come up to London to passe thorow the Kingdom and that we shall hear ere long as fast of Losing Cities and Castles and the strong Garisons of the Kingdom as now of gaining them and read our Catalogue of Deliverances and Victories backward with sad hearts Chester lost Hereford lost Dartmonth lost sic in caet If you would prevent so sad a turn of things give me leave humbly to commend to you these two short Advices 1. Proclaim I beseech you a solemn Fast wherein we may professedly humble and afflict our souls for our Covenant-violations whereby God is so deeply provoked and wherein if it might seem good to your wisdoms the Covenant might be renewed in a more solemn and serious manner with our God that as Samuel called the people to Gilgal to renew the Kingdom upon Saul so you that are England's Samuels 1 Sam. 11.14 might call the people together to this Galgal where the Lord first rolled away our reproa●h by bringing us into the bond of the Covenant to renew the Kingdom upon our Lord Jesus whom God hath appointed to be King in his holy Hill of Sion Psal 2.6 For think not Brethren I beseech you that because we have broken our Covenant with God therefore we are disobliged from our Covenant that were an easie way to get loose indeed if when we are weary of our Vows it were but to go and sin against them and then we are disengaged But it is with the Covenant as it is with the Law there is a twofold obligation the one to duty the other to a curse and if we break the one the other will hold us fast enough Did not my words take hold upon your fathers How Zech. 1 6. Surely not in the commanding power of them but in the executionary power they took hold on them with a vengeance And therefore our way is to bring our selves again under the commanding power that we may not lie under the condemning cursing power of the Covenant Indeed the Covenant is then broken and not fully till then when a people will not own their Covenant with God and therefore Oh that the Lord would help us in this our day to consider the things that belong unto our peace before they be hid from our eyes 2. To that end studie real Thankfulnesse To you that sit at the Stern guiding the Ship of this Church and State in this troublesome Sea let me commend unto you but this piece of Thankfulnesse Set up God Vers 23. Exalt him in the congregation of the people by setting up the Ministery of the Word Let this be your wisedom and honour that when God hath given up the strong Holds of the Kingdom to you you would render them up back again to God by placing able and faithful Ministers in those eminent places of the Kingdom that may undeceive the poor mifled people and to season them with Principles of Religion and Loyaltie to

A MODEL OF True Spiritual Thankfulnesse Delivered in a SERMON Before the Honourable House of COMMONS Upon their day of THANKSGIVING being Thursday Feb. 19. 1645 for the great Mercy of God in the Surrender of the Citie of Chester into the hands of the Parliaments Forces in CHESHIRS under the Command of Sir WILLIAM BRERETON By THO. CASE Preacher in Milkstreet London and one of the Assembly of Divines ISA 1.25.3 The strong people shall glorifie thee the citie of the terrible Nations shall fear thee ISA 1.26.2 Open ye the gates that the righteous Nation which keepeth the Truth may enter in London Printed by Ruth Raworth for Luke Fawne at the signe of the Parrot in Paul's Church-yard 1646. Die Lunae 23 Februarii 1645. ORdered by the Commons assembled in Parliament That Master Rous do give Thanks to Master Case and Master Woodcock for the great pains they took in the Sermons they preached at the intreatie of this House on Thursday last being a day set apart for a day of publike Thanksgiving for the taking of Chester and to desire them to print their Sermons And it is ordered that none shall print their Sermons without license under their hands writing H. Elsynge Cler. Parl. D. Com. I appoint Luke Fawne to print my Sermon THO. CASE To the Honourable House of Commons in Parliament now assembled NOBLE SENATORS TO serve Your and the Kingdoms Thankfulnesse for the late mercy of God in putting Chester into your possession give me leave from the Presse to present unto your view what might have been burdensom from the Pulpit a short List or Catalogue of some eminent Providences wherewith the mercy of the day being clothed will appear very rich and glorious 1. And first you may please to observe that the very lengthning of the Siege was the advance of the Designe while in the issue it appears to have been nothing else but an ambushment of Providence laid of purpose to draw on the enemy to their own destruction Surely their pride and power have not met with a more burdensome stone in all their bold and confident Adventures then the Siege of Chester upon which God bath broken them with breach upon breach and blest you with victory upon victory worth many Chesters and when he had done cast that also in for an advantage Thus many times do we look upon disappointments of our hopes as frowns of displeasure which afterwards we finde to be Plots of Mercy Who would not wait upon that God who if be withhold a mercy for a while pays interest for the forbearance of more worth many times then the principal it self 2. That in three Storms of the greatest disadvantage that height of walls depth of trenches impregnablenesse of Forts and multitudes of enemies as many in the City as yours in the Siege could render the Forces were confest by the enemy to have done more execution then they received either in their assault or retreat wherein one particular providence must not be silenc'd * Lieut. Col. Ven●bles an active Commander who was four times upon the walls and though through the unexpected disadvantages of the designe not seconded according to expectation yet was brought off harmlesse save onely a slight wound on his arm to minde him what arm it was that made his rescue 3. That in all the Sallies which the enemy hath made upon the Parliaments Quarters they had more cause at their returns into their strong Hold to wring their hands then to ting their bells being always sent home with more blowes then they give 4. That our Engines during the Siege have constantly done more execution upon the enemy within then theirs have done upon our men without though the oddes of all offensive and defensive advantages were on their side whereby God would manifest the difference between having walls and bulwarks for Salvation I●a 26.1 and having Salvation for walls and bulwarks 5. It was onely an unexpected Help to our side that a Blinde of Providence caused them to leave the Prospect of a Steeple so neer the City-walls undemolished from whence our men did perform daily justice upon the Rebels slaying one of their steruest and divers others So God oftentimes beats the enemie with their own weapons 6. The patience and constancy of your Souldiery was eminently remarkable which was such as though there were temptations enough to storm it as extremity of weather want of pay clothes food unparallel'd hard duty all the time of the siege being forced many times to fetch their water from * ● Sam. ●● 15 the gate of Bethlem and that not for wantonnesse but for necessity their bread from the enemies Quarters the stores of the languishing Countrey being drained and expected supplies from neighbouring Counties failing to the extreme harassing and hazarding of their Forces both abroad and at home I say such notwithstanding was their constancy and patie●ce that none of all these could conquer it Providence always stepping in with timely Supplies and admirable Resenes in their deepest discouragements and desertions In the mount the Lord hath been seen Gen. 22.14 7. The nature of your Forces which performed this service renders it the more observable they being not an united Brigade cull'd and form'd for such a designe but a collective Body out of some few adjacent Counties the more capable of discontent and uncapable of Commands had not God put a singular Spirit of Wisedom and Activity into the Commanders and of willingnesse or awe into the Souldiers So that here you have that word made good again Zech. 46. Not by might nor power but by my Spirit saith the Lord of Hosts 8. The enemy were not so high all the time of the Siege in their demands but your terms were as honourable in the Surrender which received this addition Magmon est testimohium pro ●o qui judicium ad ●●sario comminit Abulens that the enemies themselves confesse Conditions were never better kept since the wars began A testimony out of the mouth of an adversary is double honour 9. Of what Consequence the Successe is let Chesters expectation from Ireland and the preparations of the Irish Cut-throats for Chester the Key of this Kingdom the Rest of that poor fainting County the trembling of all the malignant neighbouring Strong Holds in Wales and the securing of your Northern Leagur from the approach of an enemy the opening of the way of Trade between London and these parts the dashing in pieces of the Enemies Designes who lo were hastning now to the Infallible relief of their Garisons in Cheshire and Lancashire the reducing of the North the absolute Conquest of Scotland and then back again to the sharing of England for all this and more too Sisera-like they had not onely designed but dispatcht in their vain Confidences The strengthning the hands of our Friends thorow the whole Kingdom who shall hear and rejoyce the weakning of the Enemy who shall hear and their heart

shall melt for fear Let these I say and many other Improvements too many for an Epistle but not too many for our Thankfulnesse to enquire into let these Speak 10. And all this whether it have not been the cheapest Purchase the Parliament hath made since it was constrained to redeem this poor sold Nation with Money and Blood I appeal to your Selves and to that exhausted County which in the pursuit of this Service hath to their exceeding Honours issued not much lesse if I be not misinformed then 40000 l. the very last vital blood that was left in their veins Psal 110. ●● Surely the Lord made them a willing people in this day of his power There is yet a passage or two wherein you shall behold Mercy and truth meeting together Righteusnesse and peace kissing each other 11. Vpon the same day that the enemy began to fortifie the City of Chester and make their Outworks that very day three yeers the Parliaments Forces entred the same Feb. 3. 1642. Feb. 3. 1645 12. The King mustered the Cheshire Forces summon'd disarm'd the Train-bands upon Holt-Heath Sept. 24 1642. and upon the same day three yeers the Kings Army was routed upon Routon-we may rightly call it Routing-Heath and another Brigade which was intended for a Reserve commanded by the Earl of Lichfield and the Lord Gerard defeared upon Holt-Heath as I take it so it is called where the Earl of Lichsield was slain and all this in the Kings view He then standing in Phoenix-Tower in Chestr Lord when thy hand is lifted up they will not see but they shall see I pray God to Repentance and not to Shame Vide Passages and Treaties of the Siege and taking of Chester Honou●able Parriots these sew passages to which you have already further discoveries and may sinde more hold forth much of God His Wisedom his Strength his Justice his Mercy beaming forth in the Light of this day And this you may observe as the result of all It is Fidelity God prospers and Crowns in his Service Now that God who hath made your Armies faithful to you make you every day more and more faithful to himself that what was Moses Honour and His too who is Moses and your Lord the Lord Jesus may be the Parliament of England 's renown to all Generations They were faithful to him that appointed them in all his House in doing all things according to the patern Which as it was the travel of this Cautionary Heb. 3.2 not Accusatory Sermon now the second time waiting upon your Commands so it shall be the daily prayer of Your Honours not more desirous to live then to serve Christ in you THO. CASE To the truely Noble Sir William Brereton Baronet Commander in Chief of the Parliaments Forces in Cheshire and to all those worthy Commanders and Gentlemen whom God hath honoured with the beginning managing and now happily finishing of the Work in Cheshire Honourable and ever to be honoured Gent. WHat Encomium the Apostle gave the beloved Disciple I hope the world wil give me leave to bestow upon you without the the least suspition of Flattery You do faithfully whatsoever you do in the Publike Trust committed to you 1. Joh. v. 5. and I beseech you look upon it as Gods honouring of you more then your honouring of God a heart to be faithful and happinesse to be successeful in Gods designes is a double engagement which I heartily desire may not lift up your hearts unlesse it be in the ways of God in whose Name you have gone out and prospered So that you may go and bear a part in his * Barak Judg. 5.13 Excellencies Song Then he made him that remaineth to have dominion over the Nobles among the people the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty As an acknowledgement of which honour God hath done you give me leave humbly to suggest a few Returns of Thankfulnesse that will no lesse become you then crown and perfect your work 1. Make it I beseech you your prime designe to surrender up that Citie to God which God hath surrendred up to you by engaging your best abilities and interests for the bringing in and encouragement of a learned godly Orthodox Ministery into the City the Spiritual Militia that must secure the peace thereof If Heresie and Schism break in I shall set down and cry Chester is lost the second time and in which more miserable it will not be easie to determine Agrippins to Nero. 2. Studie onenesse in your affections and onenesse in your Counsels Unitie and you are unconquerable Remember whose suggest it was Divide impera 3. Let your distinguishing favours run counter-motion to the enemies let Malignants have no more encouragement then may demonstrate you more studious of their Reformation then their Ruine Let them have no more cause to call the proud happie Hagg. 3.15 Vers 18. nor to say They that work wickednesse are set up but let them return and discern between the righteous and the wicked between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not 4. Be tender O be tender I say as of your own lives of the willing faithful party who in City or Countrey have served you in this Cause of Christ and the Parliament to the very last drop of livelihood and blood O to studie now the Rest Refreshing Recruiting of that languishing people more then your own interests and advantage will render you more truely honourable then all your Victories and bring the blessing of perishing families upon you and your posterity To that end imitate the true gallantry of Nehemiah read his 5 Chapter especially from the 14 verse to the end and the Lord grant you may get it by heart Then shall they that are delivered from the noise of the archers in the places of drawing water rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord Judg. 5.11 even the righteous acts towards the inhabitants of the Villages in Cheshire then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates 5. Studie Self-conquests Sin-victory He that is slowe to anger is better then the mighty and he that ruleth his spirit then he that taketh a City Prov. 16.32 Fortior est qui sequam qui fortissima vincit moenia If after ye have conquered the Lusts of men you are conquered by your own Lusts if after you have led your enemies captive Satan can take you captive at his will you are undone for ever The Lord make you every way more then Conquerors c. 2 Tim. 2.26 Rom. 8.37 6. Lastly remember what General Joab did when he had taken Rabbah of the Ammonites and do ye likewise now ye have taken this Cheshire-R●bbah send for King David yea send for that King who is Davids son and Davids Lord King JESUS give him possession and set the Crown of glory upon his Head bowing your beads before him and casting down your Crowns saying Not unto us O

over the fourth work and wonder of Providence namely The admirable and even stupendious deliverances which God vouchsafes Mariners and Sea-men in many a black dreadful furious death-threatnin● storm and tempest exprest to the life in the 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Verses I shall not meddle with the D●liverance it self though if I should it would be neither impertinent nor improper for the work of this day for certainly a man might easily run a parallel between the state of the Mariner in th● storm and the condition of this poor and yet bleeding Church and State In Ireland and England We that have gone down into the Sea this Red-sea of Blood and have had our businesse now for these four or five yeers in these great waters of Civil war surely we have seen the works of the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep Verse 24 If ever people saw the works the wonders of the workings of Jehovah we have We have lived I think I may safely speak it in the greatest Age of wonders that ever the Church knew We use to say Miracles are ceast but truely if men have ceased to do Miracles God hath not and yet he hath done them by men too in this Deep of Englands and Scotlands and Irelands troubles and ●fflictions For he commandeth and ●●●seth up the stormy winde Verse 25. which lifteth up the waves thereof Surely all the storms and tempests that have beaten upon these three Kingdoms have not come by chance and fortune this af●●iction hath not risen out of the dust but as it was with Sol●mon af●er his heart began to depart from God it is sa●d 1 Kings 11.14 The Lord stirred up an Adversary unto Solomon Had●d the Ed●mite c. And Vers 23. God stirred him up another Adversary Rezin the son of Eliadah Adversary after Adversary and all stirred up by God So hath it been and is yet with us Storm after Storm Tempest after Tempest one cloud of blood and wrath after another Eccles 12.2 The clouds have returned after rain and all raised up by God in his righteous Judgement upon these sinful backsliding Nations We have as it followeth been mounted up to heaven and then hurl'd down again into the depths Oh the various changes that have been upon us I Somtimes up and somtimes down somtimes raised up as high as heaven by wonderful Deliverances and glorious Victories anon cast down even as l●we as hell As in the West c. by sad breakings of our Armies and losse of our Strong-holds Surely our souls have been melted because of trouble Our hopes have been melted and our hearts have been melted Oh how oft have I seen palenesse in mens faces the very shadow of death upon mens countenances I how oft have I seen men with their hands upon their loyns while fear hath taken hold upon them and sorrow a● pain upon a woman in travel Have we not been in the day of sad tidings from the West and other places in the Kingdom Vers 27. like drunken men full of the fury of the Lord and rebukes of our God reeling to and fro in our spirits and staggering in our Councels at our wits end Parliament at their wits end and Citie at their wits end and Armies at their wits end 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All their wisdom swallowed up as the Hebrew signifies nonplust and lost not knowing what to do next unlesse it were with the Mariners in my Text for the most part the profanest of men to go and cry to God in our trouble Vers 28. betake our selves to our fasting and prayers when God hath shewed himself easie to be intreated 2 King 20.12 very gracious at the voice of our cry and hath brought us out of these distresses and straits wherein were calming the storms and stilling the waves the pride and rage Verse 30. the power and policie of our devouring Adversaries Thus hath the Lord done as often heretofore so now wonderfully of late at Dartmouth and Plymouth at Hereford at Belvoyre and at Chester the Wonder of mercy which we this day celebrate Thus you see if I should pitch upon the Deliverance it self here would be a foundation upon which we might build a Discourse not unseasonable or unsutable to the work of the day But it is not the Deliverance it self but the Return which hath called out my thoughts and now humbly calls for your attention And this Return is Twofold 1. What they do Then are they glad c. 2. What they should do O that men would praise the Lord c. And to hold you in the porch no longer though many Observations might be raised from the words I shall onely from the comparing of these two together sc What men do when mercies and deliverances come in They are glad with what they should do O that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse c. hold forth to you this Point of Doctrine Every man in the world can be glad of mercies and deliverances but the duty that God expects is that men should praise him for his mercies Then are they glad I but that will not serve the turn it is a Return of an high nature which God looks for Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse c. Or thus if you please There is a great difference between Gladnesse and Thankfulnesse It is one thing to be glad of a mercy or deliverance it is another thing to be thankful for it What that difference is and wherein it doth consist is all I intend to do upon the Doctrinal part of this Truth They differ in these four things sc in respect of their 1. Nature The difference between Gladnesse and Thankfulnesse 2. Rise or ground 3. Duration 4. Operation 1. In their Nature First Gladnesse and Thankfulnesse differ in their Nature Gladnesse or Joy is but a natural affection Some of the Stoick Philosophers have defined or described it to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysippus and other Stoicks Elatio animi propter aliquid quod optandum esse videatur it is the lifting up or widening or enlargement of the heart upon the coming in of any sutable and desirable good And it is found not onely in * Psal 105.38 Lam. 1.21 natural men but even in the bruit creatures even these you see do expresse in their way a great deal of gladnesse and contentment when they meet with that which is sutable to their natures and dispositions But now Thankfulnesse which is here commended is a divine grace wrought in the soul by the Spirit of God whereby the heart is drawn out towards God in gracious and holy desires and endeavours to praise and exalt the Lord who is the Author and Donor of the Mercie as here it is expressed by this chiefest and highest act of Thankfulnesse Oh that men would praise the Lord c. Let them exalt him

and I will praise him Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath He cast into the Sea not so much that it was done as that God did it Thy right hand O Lord is become glorious in power Vers 6. thy right hand O Lord hath dashed the enemies in pieces And in the greatnesse of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee Vers 7. The blast of thy nostrils c. Vers 8. Thou didst blowe with thy winde c. Vers 10. Who is like unto thee O Lord among the gods And The Lord shall reign for ever and ever Vers 18. Thus they lift up God because he hath lifted up himself And so the Saints in the Revelation when they repeat this Song for it is said Rev. 15.3 They sang the song of Moses the Servant of the Lord they harp upon this string Great and marvellous are thy works Vers 4. Lord God Almighty who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorifio thy Name In a word you have three Psalms almost together Psalm 93 97 and 99 what the Victories and Deliverances were I cannot tell you but this is the triumph in all The Lord reigneth This is the last and the highest Rise of pure Thankfulnesse and Praise That God sets himself up above his enemies That the Lord gets glory and greatnesse to his own Name Be thou exalted O Lord in thine own strength so will we sing and praise thy power Psal 21.13 I come now to the third difference between Gladnesse and Thankfulnesse which is this They differ in their Duration Third Difference Duration Gladnesse for the most part is but a present impetus of spirit a sudden impression upon the first arrival of un-expected or long-●xpected desires overspreads the heart but stays no longer then the sense of the good rejoyced in is fresh upon the spirit As on the contrary Nullum violentum est perpetuum you see there be some sudden gusts and irruptions of grief which like a land-flood lays all under water but are quickly gone Mercies and Deliverances to a carnal heart are like flowers that upon their first cutting smell very sweet and they are put then in the bosom or like Tulips which upon the first gathering are very betutiful and delightful to the eye and serve a day or two to discourse on but anon after they grow stale and out they go to the dung-hill The holy Ghost hath compared this kinde of Gladnesse to the crackling of thorns As the crackling of thorns under a pot Eccles 7.6 so is the laughter of a fool I think I do carnal people no wrong in expounding this Text over their joy for in Scripture-sense all natural men are fools and their gladnesse and joy shews them to be so there is no solidnesse nor duration in it it is like the crackling of thorns is makes a great noise but is quickly out But now Thankfulnesse or Spiritual rejoycing is longer lived by far and therefore you shall finde God charging the memories of his people with the keeping of all the passages of his love and providence Deut. 8.2 Thou shalt remember all the way wherein the Lord thy God led thee these fourty yeers in the wildernesse a great work certainly we see it is no easie matter to remember all the way wherein the Lord hath led us these four yeers what is it to remember the mercies of fourtie yeers yet as great as it is as God doth charge it upon his people so David chargeth himself with it Blesse the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits One ingredient into Thankfulnesse is a good memory Psal 103.2 which like the Ark must preserve the rod and the pot of manna and the Law the Fatherly Corrections the Miraculous Provisions and the glorious Ordinances where with God blesseth his people And it seems David studied his charge so well that in answer thereunto he undertakes with God I will sing praise unto my God while I have my being Psal 104.33 his Thankfulnesse is as long lived as himself it knew no other termination then life it self yea life must not bound his praise I will praise thee for ever Psal 52.9 that is his engagement to God and if that be too narrow he will put an ever at the top of that ever Psal 145.1 I will blesse thy Name for ever and ever nothing short of eternity shall terminate his Thankfulnesse the Reason is because as you have seen Thankfulnesse takes its Rise from durable and unchangeable grounds the Covenant of God and his glory which like himself are eternal and immutable He hath commanded his Covenant for ever holy and reverend is his Name and therefore it self is unchangeable and eternal This shall suffice for the third I come to the fourth Difference They differ in their Operations or Returns Truely as the Rise Fourth Difference Operations so the Operations of meer carnal joy and gladnesse are lowe earthly sensual like culinary fire or smoke which seems to aspire and ascend up to heaven or the element of fire but gets not above the first region of the air or like a lazie thick fogg which if it move upward a little it falls presently down again with its own weight to the earth from whence it arose So it is with natural joy and gladnesse For First either it is bounded and terminated within it self Carnal joy sets up 1. Self whilest upon the coming in of some desired or desirable good it doth hugg it self Hab. 1.16 and blesse it self It sacrificeth to its own net and burns incense to its own dragg i.e. ascribes to its own power and policy and wisedom what is done like the Babylonian Tyrant By the multitude of my Charets am I come up to the height of the mountains and the sides of his Carmel c. and I have digged and drunk water and with the soles of my feet have I dried up all the Rivers of the besieged places Here is nothing to be heard but I and mine and so all the Returns are dedicated to self put on fine apparel dresse as brave as the Sun eat the fat drink wine in bowls dance to the instruments of Musick set open the Cellar-doors drink so many hogs-heads empty and their own full this is an Oxford-day of Thanksgiving and I would such days were onely kept there I would this were onely the Thanksgiving of Cavaliers But secondly 2. Instruments if a carnal heart go out of it self it is not upward it is but forward to the Creature it looks no higher then the second causes it eyes the Instruments and cries up Commanders and Souldiers and puts the bays and garland upon their heads Saul hath slain his thousands and David his ten thousands God hath little or no share in the triumph Or thirdly 3. Rests in duties if carnal Joy keep a day or Thanksgiving as the very Philistines did