Chapter VIII.

Of The Obligations Under Which Men Lie To God.

O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.—Ps. 92:5, 6.

The obligations which man lies under to God, are as many and as great, as are the favors which he has received from him, or the excellencies which he has bestowed upon all the creatures. For as every creature 464 was made for his use and benefit, so ought his gratitude to rise in proportion for them all. If a king should bestow great estates and honors upon a company of children in the same family, and but one of the number had age and sense enough to know the greatness of the favor and honor done to them, he alone is certainly obliged to thank him in the name of all the rest, and would be guilty of ingratitude if he did not. So in this world, the rest of the creatures are like children, that know not the worth and value of God's blessings, as man does; he is, therefore, alone obliged to adore and praise him in the name and stead of all the rest, and is highly ungrateful if he does not.