Chapter XLII.
The Reasons For Which We Ought Daily To Offer Praises To God.
Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. Ps. 106:1; 107:1; 118:1.
Thus saith the devout David, “Seven times a day do I praise thee, because of thy righteous judgments” (Ps. 119:164); that is, many times in a day do I sing praises in honor of thy holy name. By this he teaches us, that a man cannot spend his time better than by retiring at least once a day into his closet, and praising God in secret. Yea, though [pg 310] his hands be employed in labor and business, yet may he, in the quiet stillness of his heart, offer up his praises unto God wheresoever he is. For the prayer of a true Christian is not confined to any certain time or place, since he worships “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23); and the Spirit is not circumscribed by any limits of time or place. To which also relates the admonition of St. Paul, when he commands us “to sing with grace in our hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16); that being, indeed, the fittest place wherein God may be praised.
2. But as we are by nature dull and inactive in the discharge of this duty, therefore God has given us, in his Word, certain helps to quicken us.
3. The first of these is his own command. He made us, his servants and creatures, for his own glory, as we ourselves appoint servants to manage business for us. He, therefore, who does not daily praise God, was created by him in vain, and cannot be his servant. Hence we are commanded, over and over again, in Holy Scripture, above all things, to praise God. Thus, “Praise ye the Lord. Praise him, O ye servants of the Lord.” Ps. 113:1. “O give thanks unto the Lord.” Ps. 118:1. “Thou shalt glorify me.” Ps. 50:15. This is an argument to us, that the chief part of our religious worship, our chief service in this world, and our happiness in the next, consist in the exercise of praise and thanksgiving; upon which account we ought to esteem it our greatest happiness and most honorable employment. So the holy Psalmist says, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.” Ps. 63:4. And again, “Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Ps. 37:4. O how truly happy, then, and blessed is he who is come to such perfection of divine worship as to delight in the Lord, and to be continually offering praises and thanks! “He shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.” Ps. 65:5. If we think it an honorable thing to be employed in the service of any earthly prince, how much more ought a man to rejoice when he considers that he may be admitted to the service of the Lord of lords, and King of kings, being, in his own nature, no better than dust and ashes, and a poor sinner! This single consideration ought to be of sufficient weight to encourage him to praise God daily.
4. Secondly, the advantages that a man derives from this exercise, is another argument. For since God has no need of our praises, and is neither the better nor the worse for our obedience or neglect; and since the most acceptable praise which we can offer him is, at best, but the fruit of “unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5), as the prophet Isaiah speaks, it follows that the advantage redounds only to ourselves, as being the means of drawing down upon us the favor and blessings of heaven: a thankful heart being the proper receptacle of divine grace. This, in short, is that which brings God down into our souls, and makes us truly the living temples of the Holy Ghost; and where God is, there is the fulness of divine blessing. Moreover, by the daily exercise of thanksgiving, we keep up communion with the blessed choirs of triumphant saints and angels in heaven. They are incessantly singing the praises of God above; whilst we below, by the same exercise, are conquering, by degrees, [pg 311] the enemies of our salvation (Ps. 18:29), till at length, by a constant practice of this divine duty, we are filled with an immovable assurance that we are united to God, and that we shall be for ever happy with him in heaven, according to the promise of our blessed Lord, “Where I am, there shall also my servant be.” John 12:26. And now, would to God that wretched man would so lay these considerations to heart, and so sincerely endeavor to practise them, that every soul might become, in truth, a house of prayer!
5. Thirdly, we are encouraged to the daily practice of thanksgiving, from the consideration of the compassion, the lovingkindness, and everlasting goodness of God. This is an argument continually inculcated in the Book of Psalms, to teach us that the chief and fundamental reason why we ought continually to bless and praise God, is, because he is good and gracious, and “his mercy endureth for ever.” No heart of man can conceive, nor tongue express, the height and depth of that love which disposes the great and mighty God to show himself thus loving and merciful to wretched mankind, who are dust and ashes, laden with iniquities, and ungrateful to God; and that he not only continues his wonted mercies to them, notwithstanding their repeated provocations; but is also perpetually dispensing fresh showers of blessings upon the whole rebellious race. And this is what every man must needs experience in himself. Look into thine own soul, whosoever thou art; what canst thou find there but misery and sin? Yet God continues merciful and long-suffering, is slow to anger, and not willing to punish thee as thy sins have deserved. This is a degree of mercy which, as thy own heart must confess, no man living does or can exercise towards his brethren. We cannot so long forbear to punish those that have offended us; and when we punish, mercy seldom pleads for the criminal, till we are satiated with vengeance; whereas the rod of God is often lifted up, but his mercy averts the impending stroke, and rescues the sinner from punishment. So that every man must confess that the punishments of heaven are not only less than we deserve, but are always qualified with a double portion of mercy. Whence it follows, that God is essentially and truly love, which every man daily experiences in himself.
6. Read the Holy Scriptures and see how tenderly, yea, how affectionately God vouchsafes to deal with mankind, so that no father or mother upon earth can be more indulgent to their darling child. Thus, “Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore, my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.” Jer. 31:20.
7. God not only bestows his favors plentifully both on our souls and bodies, but also does it with so much tenderness and good will, that, as he himself says, “He rejoices over us to do us good” (Jer. 32:41); as if he were glad to find men willing to be happy in the blessed manifestations of his love; which is, indeed, the truest demonstration that it is sincere. Were not God thus merciful, our very being would soon be at an end, which nothing but his infinite mercy can sustain; yea, “His lovingkindness is better than life itself” (Ps. 63:3), which “compasseth us about” (Ps. 32:10), [pg 312] as tender mothers embrace their helpless infants.