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 upon us thoſe bounties which proceed more immediately from his hand, but even thoſe benefits which are conveyed to us by others. Every bleſſing we enjoy, by what means ſoever it may be derived upon us, is the Gift of him who is the great Author of good, and Father of mercies.

O! how amiable is gratitude! eſpecially when it has the ſupreme Benefactor for its object. I have always looked upon gratitude, as the moſt exalted principle that can actuate the heart of man. It has ſomething noble, diſintereſted, and (if I may be allowed the term) generouſly devout. Repentance indicates our nature fallen, and prayer turns chiefly upon a regard to one's ſelf. But the exerciſes of gratitude ſubſiſted in paradiſe, when there was no fault to deplore; and will be perpetuated in heaven, when "God ſhall be all in all."

There is not a more pleaſing Exerciſe of the mind then gratitude. It is accompanied with ſuch an inward ſatisfaction, that the duty is ſufficiently rewarded by the performance. It is not like the practice of many other virtues, difficult and painful, but attended with ſo much pleaſure, that were there no poſitive command which injoin'd it, nor any recompence laid up for it hereafter, a generous mind would indulge in it, for the natural gratification that accompanies it.

If gratitude, when exerted towards one another, naturally produces a very pleaſing