The workes of the reuerend and faithfull seruant af Iesus Christ M. Richard Greenham, minister and preacher of the Word of God collected into one volume: reuised, corrected, and published, for the further building of all such as loue the truth, and desire to know the power of godlinesse. By H.H.

Vers. 171.

My lips shall speake praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.

AS wee learne now that the end of all Gods blessings is thanksgiuing, and vnlesse wee* 1.1 purpose and will performe this, we must neuer looke to obtaine any thing in fauour: so we are also to learne, that before God teacheth vs from aboue, we are as tonguetide, and cannot pray, before he by his spirit doth instruct vs, we cānot once speake of his word. This he sheweth both in the first portion and seuenth verse: I will praise thee with an vpright heart, when I shall haue learned the iudgements of thy righteousnes: and in the second portion, where after he hath prayed to be taught in the statutes, he promiseth with his lippes to tel the iudgements of the Lord.

We cannot then blesse God before he instruct vs. When the Lord rectifieth our know∣ledge with cleere iudgement, and renueth our hearts with holy affections, wee are most readie to praise the Lord, according to that in the Psalme: Lord open thou my lippes, and my mouth shall shew thy praise. And Rom. 8. 29. The spirit helpeth our infirmities: for wee knowe not how to pray as we ought, &c. Wherefore if wee liue to eate, to drinke, to sleepe, and not to praise God, we liue no better than bruit beasts, or rather worse: for they praise God in their willing seruing of mans necessities, and according to their kinde in their waies. But man, to whom the Lord hath giuen eyes to looke to heauen, eares to heare his word, speech to sound his praises, a mind to conceiue his glorious works and blessed word, seeing he hath these gifts aboue beasts, it is certaine there must be thankfulnes in man aboue that which is in beasts, vnlesse man will be iudged euen by the bruit beasts, to bee more guiltie of his condemnation. For as there is no more praying in vs, than there is beleeuing: so there is no beleeuing without knowing God, and there is no thankesgiuing, without both know∣ing and also beleeing in God. If in any measure therefore we will praise God, wee must in some measure know God; if we will praise God more than the common sort of men, wee must labour to know more than the common sort of men.

But what meaneth the Prophet, to desire to bee taught? was hee not well seene in the word? had he not learned much, as becommeth a Prophet? what teaching doth hee here meane? knowledge puffeth vp and is voide of humilitie, confessing our wants. This is the teaching of the spirit. For it is no doubt but he had eyes to see as well as others, he had

cares to heare, hee had an heare to conceiue, hee was a man of God. Howbeit, wee are to know, that though our eyes be vpon our booke, and the word be sounded in our eares; yet it is the spirit of God that maketh vs teacheable in iudgement, and frameable in our af∣fections. What haue we which we haue nor receiued? it is the gift of God, and to you it is giuen, saith our Sauiour Christ to his Disciples, to vnderstand the mysteries of God. This then being giuen of God by his spirit, must cause vs to bee thankefull. Why doe so many excell in knowledge? and why doe so few giue thankes? surely because they are taught by the letter, and not by the spirit▪ For a man may attaine to the knowledge of the word, as o∣thers attaine to the knowledge of humaine arts, but to his iuster condemnation. Where∣fore in a word we may conclude, if the man of God might haue atchieued such knowledge without such meanes, he was either too much busied in that wherein he needed not haue troubled himselfe▪ or else an hypocrite.

But if we reade, that the blinde which were restored to their sight, the deafe whose eares were opened, the dumbe, who by the finger of Christ his power did speake againe, acknow∣ledged this to be the only worke of God, and were thankefull; although indeed of the ten leapers which were cleansed, one onely was thankful, and nine held their peace: how much are wee bound to praise and magnifie the name of our good God, who hath deliuered vs from blindnes and ignorance, wherein we were plunged, to see the bright beames of the glorious Gospell, who hath opened our heauie and dull eares to heare the sweet voyce of the sonne of God, who hath vntied our tongues and vnclosed our lips, which were sewed vp from sounding the praise of our saluation, yea and which more is, hath vntied & resto∣red our feete, to walke in the glorious libertie of the sonnes of God, and hast cast out of vs the diuell and his power, and spoiled from henceforth his kingdome in vs, that we might serue the Lord in newnes of conuersation.

We see now, that whosoeuer is taught aright to the kingdome of God, he shall praise the Lord. But what is the cause, why this effect is so little found in vs of praising God? euen be∣cause we are voyd of the cause, that is, of teaching of the spirit. For either surely we haue none vnderstanding, or else we haue not the vnderstanding of the spirit▪ O blessed work of Gods spirit, thankesgiuing! This made the Propher say: Psal: 16. 2. My weldoing extendeth not to thee, O Lord. And 116. 12. What shall I render vnto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? I will take the cup of saluation and call vpon the name of the Lord. That is, I will acknow∣ledge his olde graces receiued, and hope that I shall haue his mercies continued. But here∣in is another thing worthy to be obserued, that according to the proportiō of his praiers, is the proportion of thankesgiuing. For as the two former verses containe two prayers; so the two latter verses containe two thankesgiuings▪ And marke how according to the vehe∣meney of his praier, there is a vehemencie of thankesgiuing. For as he had said let my com∣plaint come before the••: so he addeth▪ my lips shal powr eforth thy praise continually. A word drawn from spoutes or spring-heads, which aboundantly yeeld water out from them. So to com∣plaints answereth the word of powring out. In the second he saith: Let my supplication come before 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Whereunto answereth: my tongue shall intreat of thy word: Where he promiseth to be no ••••sse shrill in thankesgiuing, than loude in praying to the Lord.

Oh, ••••••s throweth downe the hearts of Gods children, that they can in no measure nor proportion be thankefull for Gods benefits. This vnthankefulnesse must needes be grie∣uous vnto the Lord, which is so odious in the sight of man: wee see, bestowe a benefit on a begger, their suites and complaints doe in many degrees exceede their thankesgiuing; and certainely as this vnthankefulnesse is from man to man: so also it is from man to God. For let vs be in paine, in sickenesse, in pouertie, or any other affliction, and what prayers make we? what protestations vowe we? how often crie we? Lord helpe me, Lord haue mercie upon me? rid me now Lord, and I will giue thankes to thee? But when the rod is off, how many among ten returne to giue thankes for our deliuerance! peraduenture one. Thus wee see how liberall we are in praying, because it is easie, to see our wants; and how sparing wee are in thankesgiuing, because we doe not so easily see our benefits. We see how often wee are in praying, how seldome in thankesgiuing: we see how feruent wee are in crauing, how cold we are in acknowledging the supplie of our wants.

If we attaine not to this measure and proportion of thanksgiuing with the man of God, at the least let vs complaine and mone our vnthankfulnesse and dulnesse. For we must be assured, that if we offer not in some degree, the calues of our lippes, the Lord hath lost his mercies, and spent them as it were in vaine; and we depriue our selues of the fruit of them, to be continued vnto vs hereafter.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Thankesgi∣uing the end of Gods blessings.