Four sacrifices God is much pleased with: the sacrifice of Christ's blood, the sacrifice of a broken heart, the sacrifice of alms, and the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Praise and thanksgiving, says Mr. Greenham, is the most excellent part of God's worship, for this shall continue in the heavenly choir when all other exercises of religion shall cease. Godly Mans Picture
O, my soul, praise God with the best instrument, the heart, and let the instrument be screwed up to the highest, do it with the whole heart. When God is tuning upon the string of mercy, a Christian should be tuning upon the string of praise.
God's praise is too big for the heart; acknowledge all therefore privately in thy prayers to God, and not only so but also to others. When God had delivered the Israelites, Moses tells Jethro what He had done for them (Ex. 18:8). David bids them come to him, and he would tell them what He had done for his soul. Christ's reward of the leper for healing him was, "Go and tell what is done for thee." Instead of foolish jesting, which our mouths are full of, rather give thanks (Eph. 5:4); and if the heart were full, the mouth would be filled with praise. Works
Afflictions make heaven appear as heaven indeed. To the weary, it is rest. To the banished, home. To the scorned and reproached, glory. To the captive, liberty. To the soldier, conquest; and to the conqueror, it is a crown of life, of righteousness and of glory. To the hungry, it is hidden manna. To the thirsty, the fountain of life. To the grieved, fullness of joy. And to the mourner, pleasures forevermore. In a word, to them that have lain upon the dunghill and kept their integrity, it is a throne on which they shall sit and reign with Christ forever and ever.
Make God your choice and not your necessity, and labor to maintain such constant converse with Him that when you die, you may change your place only but not your company.
By chastisement man is made more attentive unto God. In prosperity the world makes such a noise in a man's ears that God cannot be heard. "He speaks indeed once and twice" again and again very often, "yet man perceives it not." He is so busy in the crowd of worldly affairs that God is not heeded.