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Sacrifices; a Coftly and a Troublesome SER M. way of Worship. Of Us he requires only the Cheap and Easy Offering of Our Thanks and Praises---- and fhall we not pay it? Alas! we do not! Every thing proves an hindrance to us in the way to this our Bounden Duty and Service : We are too idle, or too busy to attend upon it. And even when we find Leisure enough; yet how cold and how infenfible are we, whilft 'tis going forward! We Matt. xv. draw nigh unto him with our Mouths, and Honour him with our Lips (perhaps); but our Hearts are far from him. And do we then know, what it is to praise God becomingly? Do we remember, how the great Teacher of Thanksgiving fummons up every One of his Faculties to affift him in it? Bless the Lord, O Pf. ciii. 1. my Soul! and all that is within me bless his holy Name! 'Tis a Work that will employ all that is within us, will call for all the Application, and Vigour, and Warmth, that we can poffibly beftow upon it. Cold and languid Praise, is no Praise; this Sacrifice can be no longer acceptable than 'tis burning.

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To thofe Men, who live in the Contempt of this Duty, we have also fomewhat to say, if they would but hear us. They are generally fuch, as pretend a high Senfe of the Dignity of humane Nature, and bear no fmall Respect to their own Understandings. Now, though Other Parts of Religious Worship should happen to be too mean and low for fuch great Minds to take up with; yet This, methinks, might deferve to be thought Equal to them. Let Confeffion and Prayer go only for the Arts of Whining and Begging, and be as much beneath them as they imagine; yet, furely, Praise hath somewhat in it so great, and fo noble, as may invite them to practise it. 'Tis a Subject, fit for the most enlarg'd Capacities to dwell on; and fuch an one, as even Those would certainly find themselves rais'd and improv'd by.

If it were poffible for These Men to have a Relish of any thing in this Kind, we would defire them to make the Tryal; to take the Hymn, call'd Te Deum, into

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their Hands, and to read it attentively; SERM. and then tell us truly, whether they did not find their Minds fill'd, and their Affections ftrangely rais'd by the Images which there occurr'd to them; Whether they did not perceive themselves to be somewhat above themselves, whilft they were perufing it. And these Effects, of which every Man, who joins in that Hymn, must be fenfible, are owing to that Majestick Plainness and Simplicity of Thought which goes through it, Unadorn'd by Words, Unenliven❜d by Figures! 'Tis the Matter alone which supports the Expreffion: And because the Matter therein contain'd, is, the Excellencies of the Divine Nature, the pure and genuine Objects of Praife; therefore is the Hymn itself fo lofty, and moving.

But, alas! we speak in vain! The Men, who are bold enough to flight a Duty of this Rank and Character, will eafily flight every thing that can be offer'd to bring them to it. All we can fay to them is, that, as God made them for his Glory, fo he will certain

ly

SERM.ly ferve the Ends of that Glory upor

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them, one way, or another. And therefore, if they will not freely Praise him for his Goodness in this World, they fhall furely, whether they will or no, contribute to the Praise of his Justice in the next.

V. Thus have. I attempted to Defcribe this Duty, to fet out the great Reasonableness, and to ftir You up to the Practice of it. And certainly, it was never more reasonable, than on This Occafion, when we commemorate fuch Paft, and feel fuch Present Mercies. The Restoration of the Monarchy, and of all those Bleffings in Church and State that came back with it; the Re-eftablishment of the Beauty of Praise in our Sanctuary; the Return of Peace and Plenty, of Learning, and all the Arts of Civil Life; the Reducing us from Confufion and Rage into Order and Friendliness, and making Us a Nation at Unity in it felf; Lovely at home, and Terrible abroad. These were fuch found and fubftantial Bleffings as will

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wear well; and, though done a great SER M. while ago, will yet deserve a great while hence a Place in our Kalendars. Neither Love to our Country, nor the Honour we bear to Those who rule over Us; neither Our Gratitude to God, nor our Good-will towards Men, will suffer fuch Wonders of Providence to flip out of our Minds; or the Day, in which they were brought about, eafily to grow Old upon Us.

The Benefits, we then receiv'd, were indeed exceeding great, and would juftly claim a larger Share in our present Reflections, had not the Goodness of God taken off our Thoughts a little from that Subject, by calling us to the Acknowledgment of New Loving Kindneffes. For, behold, what Glorious Things the Lord hath again wrought for Us! Bleffing Their Majefties Forces with a great and fignal Victory over the moft haughty and infolent of Enemies: A Victory fo Early, fo Compleat, and fo Cheaply purchas'd, that we have some Reason to hope, it may fix the Fortune of the War, and put an End to the DeVOL. I. ftructions

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