Short discourses upon the whole common-prayer designed to inform the judgment and excite the devotion of such as daily use the same / Tho. Comber ...

Sect. XIII. Of the Thanksgiving for Fair Wea∣ther.

§. 1. THe first Altar we read of, was built by No∣ah, to praise God for the ceasing of the Universal Flood, Gen. viii. 20, 21. And the Poets who have imitated that story, tell us that Deucation and his Wife went to Worship the Gods, as soon as that Deluge was over, Ovid. Metam. l. 1. fab. 10. And if our late terrible Inundations did not pro∣ceed so far, we owe it only to Gods Mercy, who hath timely stayed the violence thereof; to whom our Church teaches us on this occasion, to address our selves in this proper Thanksgiv∣ing.

§. 2. O Lord God, who hast justly humbled us by thy late Plague of immoderate Rain, &c.] Now that the terror of the late floods and tempests is past and the danger over, we must not harden our hearts like Pharaoh, but in the first place con∣fess, our Sins were the true cause of those miseries and losses; and that God may be justified, we must acknowledge [he did justly humble us by the late plague of immoderate Rain and waters:] Our Wickedness did overflow, and provoke him to turn that very Rain which is the parent of most earthly blessings, to be the scourge to chastise us, and the instrument to destroy them. Yet Secondly, since without any merit of ours, but purely [in

his mercy] he was pleased [to relieve] us in that extreme misery, [and to comfort our Souls,] by removing the terror which was upon us, and granting to us, [this seasonable and blessed change of weather,] This Mercy is highly accep∣table unto us, preventing many sad losses which threatned us, and freeing us from the most dismal expectations: Wherefore [we praise and glorifie his Holy Name,] upon which we called, and thereby obtained [this mercy: And we will] not only bless him for this present Favour now, but [always declare] to the whole World the greatness [of his Loving-kindness] toward us, so that the Memory of his infinite and never-fail∣ing goodness shall continue [from generation to generation,] Psal. lxxix. ult. and he shall ever be praised [through Iesus Christ our Lord, Amen.]