A81220:78
A sermon pressing to, and directing in, that great duty of praising God. Preached…
A sermon pressing to, and directing in, that great duty of praising God. Preached to the Parliament at Westminster, Octob: 8. 1656. Being the day of their solemn thanksgiving to God for that late success given to some part of the fleet of this Common-wealth against the Spanish fleet in its return from the West Indies. / By Joseph Caryl, minister of the Gospel at Magnus near London Bridge.A sermon pressing to, and directing in, that great duty of praising God. Preached to the Parliament at Westminster, Octob: 8. 1656. Being the day of their solemn thanksgiving to God for that late successe given to some part of the fleet of this Common-wealth against the Spanish fleet in its return from the West Indies. / By Joseph Caryl, minister of the Gospel at Magnus near London Bridge.
London: printed by M. Simmons, 1657
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
This I find specially taken notice of in the Order published for this day of thanksgiving, in these words, The eminency of this mercy of God in weakening the common enemy of Religion, and in encouraging and strengthening the hands of his servants in a vigorous prosecution of this engagement, is much heightened by the freeness of it, being extended to us a froward unbelieving and unthankful people, who had just cause rather to expect from the Lord a renewing of his strokes, and to be still kept under his rebukes, ⟨p. 24⟩then that he should return to us in loving kindness and tender mercy as he hath done in this late dispensation.
This I find specially taken notice of in the Order published for this day of thanksgiving, in thesewords, The eminency of this mercy of God in weakning the common enemy of Religion, and in encouraging and strengthning the hands of his servants in a vigorous prosecution of this engagement, is much heightned by the freenesse of it, being extended to us a froward unbelieving and unthankefull people, who had just cause rather to expect from the Lord a renewing of his stroaks, and to be still kept under his rebukes, ⟨p. 24⟩then that he should returne to us in loving kindnesse and tender mercy as he hath done in this late dispensation.
Now seeing the Lord hath been thus gracious, and favourable to us, let me press it once more, O praise him for his graciousness; That's the proper cry of Saints. When the great mountain becomes a plain before Zerubbabel, then he shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shoutings, and cry, grace grace to it, (Zech. 4. 7.) that is, The grace or free favour of God hath done it, and, the same grace and free favour will maintain it. And if the Lord shall make that Great mountain, the greatest mountain of any state in the Christian world, with which his people in these Nations are now contending by war, to become a plain before our Zerubbabel and before his helpers and assistants, all the lines of our duty in praising him must centre in this shout or cry, grace, grace: And let it be the shout and cry of this day, The Lord is gracious, The Lord is gracious, in what he hath done. His favour not our force or strength hath obtained this great victory. Yet that's not all, the Lord hath not only saved us graciously, but which is added in the text, he hath saved us compassionately.