Direct. XVIII. Put not God off with verbal thanks, but give him thyself and all thou hast.—Thankfulness causeth the soul to inquire, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me?" Psal. cxvi. 12. And it is no less than thyself and all thou hast that thou must render; that is, thou must give God not only thy tithes, and the sacrifice of Cain, but thyself to be entirely his servant, and all that thou hast to be at his command, and used in the order that he would have thee use it. A thankful soul devoteth itself to God; this is the "living, acceptable sacrifice," Rom. xii. 1. It studieth how to do him service, and how to do good with all his mercies. Thankfulness is a powerful spring of obedience, and makes men long to be fruitful and profitable, and glad of opportunities to be serviceable to God. Thus law and gospel, obedience and gratitude, concur. A thankful obedience and an obedient thankfulness are a christian's life. "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 thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright, I will show the salvation of God," Psal. 1. 14, 15, 23.
I beseech thee now that readest these lines, be so true to God, be so ingenuous, be so much a friend to the comfort of thy soul, and so much love a life of pleasure, as to set thyself for the time to come to a more conscionable performance of this noble work; and steep thy thoughts in the abundant mercies of thy God, and express them more in all thy speech to God and man. Say as David, "O Lord, truly I am thy servant; thou hast loosed my bonds. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord," Psal. cxvi. 16, 17. "I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave; thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness; to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever," Psal. xxx. 1-4, 11, 12. "I will praise the name of God with a song, and magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox," Psal. lxix. 30, 31. "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High; to show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night," Psal. xcii. 1, 2. "At midnight will I rise to give thanks unto thee, because of thy righteous judgments," Psal. cxix. 62. "Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name; the upright shall dwell in thy presence," Psal. cxl. 13. Remember that you are commanded "in every thing to give thanks," 1 Thess. v. 18. When God is scant in mercy to thee, then be thou scant in thankfulness to him; and not when the devil, and a forgetful, or unbelieving, or discontented heart, would hide his greatest mercies from thee. It is just with God to give up that person to sadness of heart, and to uncomfortable, self-tormenting melancholy, that will not be persuaded by the greatness and multitude of mercies, to be frequent in the sweet returns of thanks.
To glorify God.
Grand Direct. XV. Let thy very heart be set to glorify God, thy Creator Redeemer, and Sanctifier; both with the estimation of thy mind, the praises of thy mouth, and the holiness of thy life.
The glorifying of God, being the end of man and the whole creation, must be the highest duty of our lives; and therefore deserveth our distinct consideration. "Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God," 1 Cor. x. 31. "That God in all things might be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen," 1 Pet. iv. 11. I shall therefore first show you what it is to glorify God, and then give directions how to do it.
To glorify God is not to add to his essential perfections, or felicity, or real glory.[127] The glory of God is a word that is taken in these various senses: 1. Sometimes it signifieth the essential, transcendent excellencies of God in himself considered; so Rom. vi. 4; Psal. xix. 2. 2. Sometimes it signifieth that glory which the angels and saints behold in heaven: what this is, a soul in flesh cannot formally conceive or comprehend. It seemeth not to be the essence of God, because that is every where, and so is not that glory; or if any think that his essence is that glory, and is every where alike, and that the creature's capacity is all the difference betwixt heaven and earth, he seems confuted in that the glory of heaven will be seen by the glorified body itself, which it is thought cannot see the essence of God. Whether, then, that glory be the essence of God, or any immediate emanation from his excellency, as the beams and light that are sent forth by the sun, or a created glory for the felicity of his servants, we shall know when with the blessed we enjoy it. 3. Sometimes it is taken for the appearance of God's perfections in his creatures, either natural or free agents, as discerned by man, and for his honour in the esteem of man. John xi. 4, 40; 1 Cor. xi. 7; 2 Cor. iv. 15; Phil. i. 11; ii. 11; Isa. xxxv. 2; xl. 5, &c. And so to glorify God is, 1. Objectively, to represent his excellencies or glory; 2. Mentally, to conceive of them; 3. and Verbally, to declare them. I shall therefore distinctly direct you, 1. How to glorify God in your minds. 2. By your tongues. 3. By your lives.
Directions for glorifying God with the Heart.
Direct. I. Abhor all blasphemous representations and thoughts of God, and think not of him lamely, unequally, or diminutively, nor as under any corporeal shape; nor think not to comprehend him, but reverently admire him.—Conceive of him as incomprehensible and infinite: and if Satan would tempt thee to think meanly of any thing in God, or to think highly of one of his perfections, and meanly of another, abhor such temptations; and think of his power, knowledge, and goodness, equally as the infinite perfections of God.[128]
Direct. II. Behold his glory in the glory of his works of nature and of grace, and see him in all as the soul, the glory, the all of the whole creation.—What a power is that which made and preserveth all the world! What a wisdom is that which set in joint the universal frame of heaven and earth, and keepeth all things in their order! How good is he that made all good, and gave the creatures all their goodness, both natural and spiritual, by creation and renewing grace! Thus "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy work," Psal. xix. 1. "His glory covereth the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise," Hab. iii. 3. "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thundereth," Psal. xxix. 3; cxlv.