A godly and learned treatise of prayer which both conteineth in it the doctrine of prayer, and also sheweth the practice of it in the exposition of the Lords prayer: by that faithfull and painfull servant of God George Downame, Doctr of Divinity, and late L. Bishop of Dery in the realm of Ireland.

CHAP. XXXV. Of Thanksgiving.

THanksgiving is that invocation whereby we do render due thanks and prayse unto God for his benefits. As touching the name; This duty is by divers names expressed in the Scriptures, Psal. 100. 4. Isai. 12. Psal. 145. 2. As, To prayse God, Gen. 29. 35. To blesse him, Psal. 103. 1, 2. and 104. 1. 1. Chron. 29. 13. Jam. 3. 9. To confesse unto him, Matth. 11. 25. Heb. 13. 15. To give him thanks, Psal. 105. 1. 1. Chron. 16. 8. 1. Thess. 5. 8. Rom. 1. 21. Eph. 5. 20. To magnifie the Lord, Luke 1. 46. Act. 10. 46. and 19. 17. To extoll him, Psal. 145. 1. To exalt his name, Psal. 34. 3. To glorifie him, Matth. 9. 8. and 15. 31. Luke 2. 20. To make his name glorious, Psal. 66. 1, 2. To offer (viz. a voluntary oblation) thanksgiving and prayse, Psal. 50. 14, 23. To offer the sacrifice of prayse unto God, that is, the fruit of our lips confessing to his name, Heb. 13. 15. as Hosea speak∣eth chap. 14. 2. To render the calves of our lips; To sacrifice unto God with the voice of thanksgiving, Jon. 2. 9. Psal. 116. 17. To sacrifice the sacrifice of thanks∣giving.

The duties required in thanksgiving are either common to it with prayer, or proper and peculiar unto it. For when I say that thanksgiving is a kind of invocation, you are to understand that all those things which were spoken of in the generall treatise are particularly to be applied to thanksgiving. The which I will the rather do, because commonly

those things are delivered not as generall points but as particular to prayer.

Thanksgiving therefore as well as prayer, is a religious speech of the faithfull unto God in the name of Christ, made according to the will of God by the help of the holy Ghost, concerning good things apperteining to Gods glory and our own good. I call it a religious speech, because it is a principall part of that religious worship which we ow unto God: whereby it is al∣so distinguished from the civill thanksgiving to men, and is therefore religiously to be performed.

In the rest of the definition I noted six things which are essentiall to all invocation, and without which it cannot be acceptable unto God: First, That the party which doth invocate must be faithfull: for God heareth not sinners: And thanksgiving being a sacrifice, the holy Ghost telleth us that the sacrifice of the wicked is abomination to the Lord, Prov. 15. 8. The proper subject of Gods prayse is the Church: Eph. 3. 21. To him be prayse in the Church. Psal. 65. 1. Praise waiteth sor God in Sion. The Lord, Psal. 50. 14, 15. exhorteth his saints and his peculiar peo∣ple to offer unto him thanksgiving, and to call upon him in the day of trouble: But v. 16. unto the wicked saith God, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, and to take my covenant into thy mouth, seeing thou hatest to be reformed, and castest my words behind thee? Sacri∣fices are to be offered by none but priests; and all the faithfull and they onely are a royall priesthood, to offer up spirituall sacrifice acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, 1. Pet. 2. 5, 9. Revel. 1. 6.

This duty is necessarily required of all, and can∣not

without sinne be omitted by any; but cannot be acceptably performed but by the faithfull. And therefore the faithfull are in a speciall manner ex∣horted to this duty, Psal. 30. 4, and 145. 10. and 149. 5, 6. And this sheweth the necessity of faith in Christ and repentance towards God. Again, those which give thanks must be joyfull and re∣joyce in the Lord; but the wicked cannot rejoyce in the Lord; neither ought they whilest they continue in their sinnes to be joyfull: yea, our Saviour de∣nounceth à wo to such laughers, Luke 6. The faithfull therefore alone are exhorted, as to rejoyce alwayes, so in all things to give thanks, 1. Thess. 5. 16, 18. Psal. 132. 9, 16. and 149. 2, 3, 5, 6. and 33. 1. Rejoyce in the Lord, O ye righteous; for prayse is comely for the upright.

Secondly, as prayer so also thanksgiving is to be offered unto God alone as the authour and prin∣cipall giver of all good things, Jam. 1. 17. Psal. 50. 14. Col. 3. 17. Ephes. 5. 20. We may and ought to be thankfull unto men as unto the in∣struments of God; as Rom. 16. 4. And to be unthankfull is a great fault; 2. Tim. 3. 2. But if neglecting God we give thanks unto men as the authours, we commit sacrilegious idolatry in rob∣bing God of his honour and giving it unto men. In this sense prayse and thanksgiving is a sacrifice which must be offered to the Lord alone; and in this sense his name alone is to be exalted, Psal. 148. 13. and therefore they which so give thanks to men, or rest in the means, they sacrifice unto them and make them their God; they sacrifice to their net and

burn incense to their drag, Hab. 1. 16. Eph. 5. 20. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, unto God and the Father.

Thirdly, Thanksgiving as well as Prayer is to be offered unto God in the name of Christ, Ephes. 8. 20. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, in Christ Jesus, Ephes. 3. 21. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, through Christ Jesus, Rom. 1. 8. & 7. 25. Col. 3. 17. Heb. 13. 15. For we are an holy priesthood, to offer up spirituall sacrifice acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, 1. Pet. 2. 5. Revel. 8. 3.

Fourthly, for the manner; There is required in the soul, 1. in generall, that our thanksgiving be a speech of the soul and not of the lips alone. David therefore in some places stirreth up his soul to prayse God, Psal. 103. 1, 2. and 104. 1. And elsewhere he professeth that he would prayse God with his whole heart, Psal. 9. 1. and 86. 12. and 111. 1. that is, with an upright heart, Psal. 119. 7. To which purpose Paul also exhorteth us to sing in our hearts unto God, Ephes. 5. 19. Col. 3. 16. To little purpose serveth the outward melody of the voyce, unlesse there be a concent thereof with the heart: We must therefore be carefull to sing Davids Psalmes with Davids affections; but we may not sing or praise God either with feigned lips or with wandring thoughts.

2. In the mind there is required, first, Under∣standing; Psal. 47. 7. Col. 3. 16. and secondly, Faith, whereby we are to be perswaded that this our ser∣vice and sacrifice of praise is acceptable unto God in Christ; without which our thanksgiving cannot be as it ought, chearfull: unlesse we be perswaded by faith of Gods goodnesse towards us how can we be thankfull to him?

3. In our heart it is required that our praise or thanksgiving be humble, reverent, and hearty: Humble; that we may ascribe the whole praise unto God, unto whom alone it is due, and assume no part thereof unto our selves; Psal. 115. 1. Reve∣rent; for without reverence we cannot give unto the Lord the praise that is due unto his name, Psal. 29. 2. nor ascribe unto him eternall kingdome, pow∣er and glory. We must in our thanksgiving rejoyce in God, but we must rejoyce in reverence, Psal. 2. 11. and 95. 2, 6. performing therein a religious service and worship to God. Hearty, with all our heart; and that in particular with thankfulnesse and chearful∣nesse, without which our thanks will be either cold or counterfeit. See Psal. 68. 26.

And as for bodily duties: The voyce in more speciall manner is required in thanksgiving. There∣fore our tongue is called our glory, because by it we are to glorifie God. We are not by silence to smo∣ther Gods prayse; but as we are inwardly thankfull so must we testifie our inward thankfulnesse by our outward thanksgiving. And in this kind of Invoca∣tion especially is singing warranted and commend∣ed unto us in the Scriptures, not onely of the Old Testament but also of the New, Jam. 5. 13. Ephes. 5. 19. Col. 3. 16. Matth. 26. 30. Acts 16. 25.

Fifthly, this invocation also is to be performed by the help of the holy Ghost. For naturally we are tongue-tied in Gods prayses: but it is the spirit of God that doth open our lips that our mouth may shew forth his prayse, Psal. 51. 15. It is the spirit of grace which maketh us to sing with grace in our hearts.

Sixthly and lastly, our thanksgiving must be for good and lawfull things: otherwise we go about to make God the authour of evil.

Notes

• Of the di∣vers names and phrases whereby thanksgiving is expressed in the Scri∣ptures.
• Of the com∣mon duties required in thanksgiving
• Thanksgi∣ving what it is.
• The proper subject of Gods prayse is the church
• Thanksgi∣ving can be rightly per∣formed by the faithfull onely.
• Thanksgi∣ving is to be offered unto God alone.
• Thanksgi∣ving to be offered in the name of Christ.
• Of the man∣ner of thanksgiving