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A58819 A sermon preached before the queen the 22d of May, 1692 upon occasion of the late victory obtained by Their Majesties fleet over the French / by John Scott ... Scott, John, 1639-1695. 1692 (1692) Wing S2076; ESTC R34060 18,980 39

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Dr. SCOTT's Thanksgiving Sermon Preached before the QUEEN The 22d of May. A SERMON Preached before the QUEEN The 22d of May 1692. Upon Occasion of the late VICTORY OBTAINED BY Their Majesties Fleet OVER THE FRENCH By JOHN SCOTT D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to Their Majesties Published by Her Majesties Special Command LONDON Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishops-Head in S. Paul's Church-Yard M DC XC II. A SERMON Preached before the QUEEN Psalm 50.14 Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most High IN the foregoing Verses the Psalmist whether he were David or Asaph is uncertain introduces God as delivering his own Sense concerning the Ritual and Ceremonial Religion of the Iews upon which they so much valu'd themselves and laid such a mighty stress v. 7. Hear O my people and I will speak O Israel and I will testifie against thee or I have something of high Moment to speak to thee I am God even thy God that God who under the Title of The Lord thy God brought thee out of the Land of Egypt and gave thee the Moral Law comprised in Ten Commandments I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices and burnt offerings to have been continually before me I know thou art exact enough in the observance of these my Ritual Commands and therefore as to this matter I do not blame thee but this is not the thing I chiefly value and esteem 'T is the observance of my Moral Laws in which thou art extremely defective that I principally insist on as for those Sacrifices with which thou causest mine Altars continually to smoak they are things with which if I needed 'em I could supply my self from the Herds of a Thousand Hills which thou knowest not and which are all my own And so he goes on to the Text upbraiding 'em with laying the whole stress of their Religion upon their exact performance of the instituted Rites of it which tho it was their Duty yet the least part of it And then comes in the Text to acquaint 'em what was the main of their Religion which he principally intended and was most delighted in and wherein they were most remiss and negligent Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most High i. e. If thou wilt bring me an acceptable Sacrifice indeed in the first place bring me a truly thankful Heart that gratefully receives and acknowledges my Benefits and in the next place perform to me those Vows and Promises of Repentance and Amendment which thou madest to me in thy Affliction when out of extreme want of the Benefits I have since bestowed on thee thou wast earnestly imploring 'em at my Hands I shall at present only treat of the first of these Offer unto God thanksgiving which according to the Sense I have given of the Text and Coherence is a Duty of far more value with God than any of the instituted Rituals of Religion as being one of those Moral and eternal Duties in which the Main and Substance of Religion doth consist In handling this Argument therefore I shall endeavor these two Things First To shew you what this Duty is and wherein it doth consist Secondly To shew you that is a Moral Duty or which is the same thing a Duty inforced with eternal Reasons I. What this Duty of Thanksgiving is and wherein it doth consist In general Thanksgiving consists in rendring to our Benefactors a chearful acknowledgment of the Benefits we have received at their Hands and consequently to offer Thanksgiving to God is freely heartily and chearfully to acknowledge and recognize to him the manifold Favours and Benefits which with a most liberal Hand he bestows upon us from time to time In order to which it is necessary that we should diligently remark and attend to his Benefits and not suffer 'em to pass thorough our Minds like Birds thorough the Air without leaving any Track or Path behind 'em but that we should so curiously observe and take notice of 'em that every Footstep of 'em if possible may remain upon our Memories in lively and lasting impressions For tho we can no more count the Benefits of God than we can the Moments of Eternity and tho when ever we enter into the recollection of 'em we are like a man that is diving into the bottom of the Sea over whose Head the water runs insensibly so as that neither he is pressed with the weight of it nor confounded with the number of the drops of it because he attempts not to cast 'em up but concludes 'em innumerable yet there are many and many of the Benefits of God which lie so open to our observation being attended with such indearing and remarkable Circumstances as that without great stupidity we cannot but take notice of ' em And therefore in order to our being truly thankful to God it is requisite that such as these should be drawn and imprinted upon our memories in strong and lively Colours not to be worn or washed out by Time or Chance but to flourish there if possible like the Pictures of the Graces in immortal Youth And as to our giving Thanks to God for his Benefits as it is requisite that we should so far as we are able closely observe and remember 'em so it is no less requisite that by frequent reflections upon 'em we should indeavour to raise in our own Minds a just value and esteem of 'em and thereby to affect our own Hearts with a warm and vigorous Sense of the Divine Goodness that inexhaustible Fountain whence every good we receive is derived And when with the close consideration of the Favors and Benefits of God we have chafed our own Souls into an affectionate feeling of his Goodness we may then cry out with David My heart is ready O Lord my heart is ready I will sing and give praise For the Requisites before mentioned are only necessary Dispositions and Preparations to Thanksgiving they are only the tuning the Strings of the musical Instrument and setting it in order for the Angelical Harmony to be plaid on it but the Thanksgiving itself consists in an affectionate Acknowledgment to God of the manifold Favours we have received at his hands together with all those gracious Circumstances so far as we are able to recollect them with which they came attended which Acknowledgment is to be made either in express Words in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs or by recounting his Favors to him in mental Recognitions which is to make melody in our Hearts to the Lord. But because usually when the Heart is full the Mouth will overflow therefore Thanksgiving in common Acceptation signifies an oral and verbal Acknowledgment of Gods Favors arising from an inward and affectionate Sense and Feeling of his Goodness towards us And to crown all this and render our Thanksgiving substantial and real it must be accompanied with a hearty study and intention of Soul to render unto God for his Favor all