A Pillar of Gratitude

p. 3A Pillar of Gratitude. At the Opening of the Grea◊ and General Assembly, of the Province of Massachuset-Bay, New England. 29 d. 3 m. 1700.

He hath not so dealt with any Nation!

THere was a people, of whom the God of Heaven said, This people have I formed for my self, they shall shew forth my praise ▪ And i◊ there be such a people any where under the Cope of Heaven at this Day, 'tis in the English Nation. But of the English Nation, certainly there is no Colony or Plantation that hath more cause it p. 4Shew forth the praise of the Almighty, than that which is now and here Convened What more agreeable or profitable Address, can be made, unto a Great and General Assembly of this Province, than an Invitation to the Praises of our Good God▪ who as He is worthy to be praised, so, Desires to Inhabit our Praises, and reckons Himself Glorified, when we Offer them? The Royal Charter of our King, has made this, A Day of Election, for no small part of our Government: And though the Civil Affairs now to be attended, will not al◊ow this to be, A Day of Thank◊giving, Yet no Thoughts were mo◊e proper for a people rejoycing under the Protecti◊n of such a Government, than those which would well become, A Day of Thanksgiving. Indeed, that Angel, who Flew thro the midst of Heaven, say◊ng, with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Glory to him, would not be able fully to ◊et off the Glory due to our God, for His matchless Favours unto us: But instead hereof a poor, shallow, sinful Mortal, must come to you, with this Message, Praise God, and Give Glory to Him! And ◊et it will be a Melody unto the very p. 5Angels or Heaven, to hear Mortals on Earth, Singing and Shouting forth, Glory to God in the Highest, for His Good Will towards men!

A people there has been, of whom that Account may be given, O Lord, Thou hast brought a Vine, thou hast cast out the Heathen, and planted it: Thou didst cause it to take deep Root, and it filled the Land▪ She sent out her Hou◊◊◊ unto the Sea, and her Branches unto the River. My Hearers all this while know not, whether I am giving an Account of Old Israel, or of New-England: So Surprizing has been the Parallel!

p. 5The Matchless Favours of God unto Old Israel, are here C◊l◊brated in one of the Ha◊lelujatic Psalms; and a Psalm on such a Subject, very fitly, both begins and concludes with; Hallelujah! The Epiphonema which crowns all, is this, He hath not so dealt with any Nation; Praise ye the Lord. It gives us this Instruction, That when the Blessed God Endows a people with Matchless Favours, it b◊comes that people to bless Him with Hearty Praises. This is an Instruction, so plain, so evident, and so practical, there needs p. 6no operation thereupon, to prepare it, for its Application unto our selves. The Matchless Favours of God unto New England are now to be set before you, in a Sh◊re Catalogue of them: I say, a Short one, for who can in a piece of an Hour, Compose a Full one, or one that shall not fall short in many Instances? Beholding so much of New-England, from every Quarter, under such Characters, here come together, I shall take this opportunity, to bespeak your Hearty Praises to the Almighty God, for So Dealing with New-England as not with any Nation. And I have now chosen a Subject, that one, would think should be of all, the least liable to Cavilling Objections, and Exceptions. For, if any man shall object unto any one Article, in all my Catalogue, We owe no Hearty Praises to God upon that Article, give me leave to say it, It shall be an Hyperb◊le of Ingrati◊ude; and, That man shall be a prodigy of Profanity, and Stupidity.

But I cannot introduce the Catalogue of the Matchless Favours, wherein our God hath so dealt with us, as not with any Nation. Until you have had some Remarks p. 7upon the Nature, and Meaning, and Ingredients of those Hearty Praises, which we are to render unto the Almighty for His Matchless Favours.

You will Remember then, That in our Hearty Praises o◊ God, for His Matchless Favours, we are to Confess, to Admire, to Adore those Glories of God which are Conspicuous and Illustrious in His Favours. The Power, the Wisdom, the Mercy, and the Faithfulness of the Great God, gloriously Shine forth in His Dealing so with us, as not with any Nation. The Glories of God, that His Dealings, do testifie and certifie, and signalize unto us, These we must very distinctly Sound forth, with His High Praises in our mouth.

p. 7But then, you will also Remember, that we are utterly unworthy of these Matchless Favours, for which we offer up unto God our Hearty Praises. When we Reflect on ◊he Dealings of our God with us, we fearfully add unto our own unworthiness, if we don't sensibly▪ say with our Father Jacob▪ Lord, we are not worthy of the Least of all these Mercies. Truly, 'tis not because we are better than any other Nation, that our God hath so dealt with p. 8us, as not with any Nation. We are more vile than every other Nation, if we don't own our selves as vile, as any Nation ▪ When God had so dealt with His people of old, as not with any Nation, He, to re◊und and confound the vain Thoughts of pride in them, told them, Deut. 7.7, 8. The Lord did not set his Love upon you, because ye were more in Number than any people, (for ye were the fewest of all people) but because the Lord Loved you. Such in Idem per Idem, is very good sense, in he Language of Soveraign Grace; The Lord Loved you, meerly because He Loved ◊ou! Even so; 'Tis the meer Soveraign Grace of the God, who does all things ac◊ording to the Coun◊◊l of his own Will, that hath so Dealt with the English Nation as n◊t with any Na◊ion. O◊r Ancestors were ◊s fo◊lo◊n, wretched, rue◊ul Pagans, as ◊ur Indians; and there are now the same 〈…〉 in our Nation ▪ that there are in the ◊hore Enslaved Neighbours, that are under ◊he Houses of Bourbon, or of Austria ▪ Why as the Lord so Dealt with thee, O New-◊ngland, as not with any Nation! The very Iottantots of Africa, and Ca◊◊iba's on Flo◊◊da are a Nation as worthy of the Divine p. 9ties as thou art; and thou hast Sins enough to bring upon thee as many plagues and woes as the Greek Churches themselves are Languishing under. But, It is even so, O our Heavenly Father, meerly because it pleases thee!