PHILIPPIANS. 4.11. For I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
IN the last Exercise we spoke of divers things in the Mystrie of Contentment, and in the close we spoke of two more, but we could not have time to open either of them, I shall open them a little more largely, & then proceed to some few more, and so to other things in the point.
That’s the next then, A Christian heart hath not only Contentment in God, (and certainly, he that hath God, must have all, he that hath him that hath all, he hath all) But he is able to make up all his outward wants of creature-comforts from what he finds in himself: That may seem to be more strange: It’s true, perhaps we may convince men though they doe not feel by experience what it is to make up all in God, yet we may convince them that if they have him that hath all things, then they have al; for there is such a fulness in God, he being the infinite first-being of all things that may make up all their wants. But here’s another thing that’s further, I say a godly man can make up whatsoever he wants without the creature, he can make it up in himself, in the 14. of the Prov. 14. A good man is satisfied in himself: as now, If he wants outward comforts, good chear, feasting; a good conscience is a continual feast, he can make up the want of a feast by that peace he hath in his own conscience: if he wants melody abroad, he hath a bird within him that sings the most melodious songs that are in the world, and the most delightful. And then doth he want honour? he hath his own conscience witnessing for him, that is as a thousand witnesses, the Scripture saith in the 17. of Luke, v. 21. Neither shall they say, Lo here, or lo there, for behold the Kingdome of God is within you; a Christian then whatsoever he wants he can make it up, for he hath a Kingdom in himselfe, the Kingdom of God is within him. If one that is a King should meet with a great deal of trouble when he is abroad, yet he Contents himself with this, I have a Kingdom of mine own; now here it’s said the Kingdom of God is within a man; truly, upon this Scripture of the Kingdom of God being within, those that are learned if they would but look into that Coment upon the Gospel that we have of a learned man, they shall find a very strange conceit that he hath about this very text, he confesses indeed it is unutterable, and so indeed it is; the Kingdom of God is within you, he makes it that there is such a presence of God and Christ within the soul of a man, that when the body dies, he saith, that the soul goes into God and Christ that is within him, the souls going into God and Christ, and enjoying of that Communion with God and Christ that is within it’s self, that’s Heaven to it (saith he) he confesses he is not able to expresse himself, nor others cannot understand fully what he intends; but certainly for the present before death, there’s a Kingdom of God within the soul, such a manifestation of God in the soul that is enough to Content the heart of any godly man in the world, the Kingdom that he hath now within him, he shall not stay till afterwards, till he goes to Heaven, but certainly there is a Heaven in the soul of a godly man, he hath Heaven already: many times when you go to comfort your friends in their afflictions, you will say Heaven will pay for all; nay, you may certainly find Heaven pays for all already: there is a Heaven within the souls of the Saints, that’s a certain truth, no soul shall ever come to heaven, but that Soul that hath Heaven come to it first. When you die you hope you shall goe to Heaven: But if you shall goe to Heaven when you die, Heaven will come to you before you die. Now this is a great Mysterie to have the Kingdom of Heaven in the Soul, no man can know this but that Soul that hath it, that Heaven which is within the Soul for the present (I say) it is like the white stone and the new name, that none but those that have it can understand it: It’s a miserable condition my brethren to depend upon creatures altogether for our Contentment, you know that rich men account it a great happinesse, if they need not go to buy things by the penny as others do, they have all things for pleasure or profit upon their own ground; and all their inheritance lies intire together, they have no body comes within them, but they have all within themselves, there lies their happinesse: Whereas other poorer people are fain to go from one Market to another to provide them necessaries, but yet great rich men they have sheep and beeves, corn and cloathing, and all things else of their own within themselves, and herein they place their happinesse: But this is the happinesse of a Christian, that he hath that within himselfe that may satisfie him more than all these; That place that we have in the first of James, seems to allude to that condition of men that have all their estates within themselves, Jam. 1.4. But let patience have her perfect work that we may be perfect, and entire, wanting nothing: the word there used signifies to have the whole inheritance to our selves, not a broken inheritance, but that where all lies within themselves; as a man that hath not a piece of his estate here, and a piece there, but he hath it all lie together; and the heart being patient under afflictions finds it self to be in such an estate as this is, finds his whole inheritance to be together, and all intire within it’s self. And now still to shew this by further similitudes, it is with him being fil’d with good things, just like as it is with many a man that injoys abundance of comforts at home, at his own house, God grants to him a convenient habitation, a comfortable yoke-fellow, and fine walks and gardens, and hath all things at home that he could desire; now this man cares not much for going abroad, other men are fain to go abroad to take the air, but he hath a sweet air at home, and they are fain to go abroad to see friends, because they have raylings and contendings at home; many ill husbands will give this reason, (if his wife make any moan, and complaint of his ill husbandry) of their bad husbandry, and will make that their excuse to go abroad, because they can never be quiet at home. Now we account those men most happy that have all at home; those that have close houses that are unsavory, and smels ill, they delight to go into the fresh ayr; I but it is not so with many others that have these at home; those that have no good chear at home, they are fain to go abroad to friends, but those that have their Tables furnished, they had as live stay at home: so a carnal man he hath but little Contentment in his own spirit; it’s Austins similitude (saith he) an ill conscience is like a scoulding wife, a man (saith he) that hath an ill conscience he cares not to look into his own soul, but loves to be abroad, and look into other things, but never looks to himself, but one that hath a good conscience he delights in looking into his own heart, he hath a good conscience within him: and so a carnal heart, because theres nothing but filthinesse, a filthy stink in himself, nothing but vilenesse and basenesse, within him; upron this it is that he seeks his Contentment else where: And as it is with a vessel that is full of liquor, if you strike upon it it will make no great noise, but if it be empty then it makes a great noise; so it is with the heart, a heart that is full of grace and goodnesse within, such a one will bear a great many strokes, and never make any noise, but an empty heart if that be struck that will make a noise, those men and women that are so much complayning, and alwaies whyning, it is a sign that there’s an emptinesse in their hearts, but if their hearts were filled with grace they would not make such an noise as now they do. As a man that hath his bones fil’d with marrow, and veins fill’d with good blood, he complains not of cold as others do; so a gracious heart having the Spirit of God within him, and his heart fill’d with Grace, he hath that within him that makes him find Contentment. It is a speech of Seneca, Indeed those things that I suffer will be incredible heavy when I cannot bear my self; but now if I be no burden to my self, if I have all quiet within mine own heart, then I can bear any thing: many men through their wickednesse they have burdens without, but the greatest burden is the wickednesse of their own hearts, they are not burdened with their sins in a godly way, that would ease their burden, but they have still their wickednesse in the power of it, and so they are burdens to themselves. The distempers of mens hearts are mighty burdens to them; many times a godly man hath enough within to Content him; Vertue it is Content with its self, for to live well; (Its a speech of Cicero, and its in one of his Paradoxes) It finds enough within its own sphere for the living happily: but how few are acquainted with this Mysterie? Many think O if I had that that another man hath, how happily and comfortably should I live: Oh but if thou beest a Christian, whatsoever thy condition be, yet thou hast enough within thy self, you will say such and such men that hath all things they need not be beholding to any body, you shall have many that will labour and take pains when they are young, that they might not be beholding to others, I love to live of my selfe; now a Christian may do so; not that he doth not live upon God (I mean not so) but upon that that he hath of God within himselfe, that he can live upon, although he doth not enjoy the comforts that are without himselfe, thats it which I mean, and those that are godly and keep close to God in their Communion with him, they understand what I mean by this, that a Christian hath supply of all his wants within himselfe; and here you may see that the spirit of a Christian is a precious spirit, a godly spirit is precious, why? because it hath enough to make him happy within himself.
The next thing that the Mystery of Contentment consists in is this, That a gracious heart fetches supply of all from the Covenant and so comes to have Contentment; which is a dry thing to a carnal spirit: Now there are two things here.
First, he fetches Contentment from the Covenant in general, that is from the great Covenant that God hath made with him in Christ.
Secondly, From the particular promises that God hath made with him in the Covenant.
First, From the Covenant in general. I’le give you one Scripture for that, it’s very remarkable, in the second of Sam. 23. vers. 5. Although my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. It’s a most admirable Scripture of David, that yet had not the Covenant of Grace opened so fully as we have. But yet mark what David saith, Although I find not my house so, that is, so comfortably every way as I would, although it be not so, what hath he to content his spirit? saith he, He hath made with me an everlasting Covenant; this is that that helps all: I am not (may some men say) thus and thus with God, I do not find God come in so fully, or it’s not with my house and family as I hoped it might be, perhaps there is this or that affliction upon my house; suppose you should have the plague come into your house, and your house is not safe, and you have not that outward comfort in your house as formerly you had, but can you reade this Scripture, and say, Although my house be not so blest with health as other mens houses are; although my house be not so, yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant, I am one yet in Covenant with God, the Lord hath made with me an everlasting Covenant: as for these things in this world, I see they are but momentary, they are not everlasting, I see in a family when all was well but a week ago, now all is down, and the plague hath swept away a great many of them, and the rest are left in sadness and mourning: we see there is no resting in the things of this world, yet the Lord hath made with me an everlasting Covenant ordered in all things: I find disorder in my heart, in my family; but the everlasting Covenant, that’s ordered in all things; yea, and that’s sure: alack, there’s no surenesse here in these things, I can be sure of nothing here, especially in these times, we know that a man can be sure of little that he hath, who can be sure of his estate? perhaps some of you here that have lived well and comfortably before, and all was well about you, and you thought your mountain was strong, but you see within a day or two all taken away from you, so that there is no surenesse in the things of this world: But saith he the Covenant is sure, what I venture to Sea thats not sure, but here’s an assurance Offiice indeed, here’s a great assurance Office for the Saints, and they are not at charge, but only the exercising of Grace, for they may go to this Assurance Office to assure every thing that they venture, either to have the thing it self, or be paid for it: In an assurance Office you cannot be assured to have the very goods come in that you insured, but if they be lost the Insurers do ingage themselves to make it good to you. And this Covenant of grace that God hath made with his people, it is Gods Assurance Office, and the Saints in all their fears may and ought to go to the Covenant to assure all things to them, to assure their estates and assure their lives. You will say, how are they sure, their lives and estates go as well as others? But God ingages himself to make up all: And then mark what follows, This is all my Salvation, Why David wilt thou not have salvation from thine enemies and outward dangers, from pestilence and plague? The frame of his spirit is quieted, as if he should say, if that Salvation comes, wel and good, I shall praise God for it, but that that I have in the Covenant, that’s my salvation, I look upon that as enough: Yea and then further, This is all my salvation, and all my desire, Why David is there not something else that thou wouldest have besides this Covenant? No saith he, it is all involved in this. Now surely those men or women must needs live contented lives that have all their desires; now saith the holy man here, this is all my desire, And though he make it not to grow. But for all this Covenant perhaps you will not prosper in the world as other men do, true, but I am at a point for that: Though God doth not make my house to grow, I have all my desires.
Thus you see how a godly heart finds contentment in the Covenant, many of you speak of the Covenant of God, and of the Covenant of grace, but have you found it so effectual to your souls? have you suckt this sweetnesse from the Covenant and content to your hearts in your sad conditions? It’s a speciall sign of the truth of grace in any soul, that when any affliction doth befal him, in a kind of natural way he doth presently repair to the Covenant; just as a Child as soon as ever it is in danger, you shall not need to tell him and say, when you are in danger you must go to your father or mother, nature tels him so: so it is with a gracious heart, as soon as it is in any trouble or affliction there is a new nature that doth carry him to the Covenant presently, and there it finds ease and rest: and if you find that your hearts do thus work, presently to be runing to the Covenant, it is an excellent sign of the truth of grace: thats for the general.
But now for particular promises in the Covenant of grace. A gracious heart looks upon every promise as comming from the Root of the great Covenant of grace in Christ. Other men look upon some particular promises, that God will help them in straights, and keep them and the like; but they look not upon the conection of such particular promises, to the root, the Covenant of grace: Now Christians do misse of a great deal of comfort they might have, from the particular promises in the Gospel, if they’d look upon their conection to the root, the great Covenant that God hath made with them in Christ. Now I remember I spoke a little about that, that in outward promises in the time of the Law, they might rest more upon them than we can in the time of the Gospel. I gave you the reason why we that live in the time of the Gospel cannot rest so fully, for a litteral performance of outward promises that we meet withall in the old-Testament, as they might in the time of the Law: for there was a special Covenant, that God pleased to call a New Covenant by way of distinction from the other Covenant that is made with us in Christ for eternal life: And so even the Law was given to them in a more peculier way for an external Covenant of outward blessings in the land of Canaan; and so God did deal with them in a more external covenant than he doth now with his people. Yet godlinesse, hath the promise of this life, and that which is to come. We may make use of the promises for this life, but yet not so much to rest upon the litteral performance of them as they might; but that God will make them good some way or other, in a spiritual way, if not in an outward way. We must lay no more upon outward promises than this, and therefore if we will lay more, we make the promise to bear more than it will bear out. For to give some instance; to beleeve fully and confidently, that the Plague shall not come nigh such a house (I say) it is to lay more upon such a promise than it will bear. I opened that promise in Psal. 91. now if I had lived in the time of the Law, perhaps I might have been somewhat more confident of the litteral performance of the promise, than I can now in the time of the Gospel; the promise now bears no more than this, that God hath a special protection over his people, and that he will deliver them from the evil of such an affliction; and if he doth bring such an affliction it is more than an ordinary providence, it is some special providence that God hath in it. I had thought to have given you divers promises for the contentment of the heart in the time of affliction. Isa. 43.2. When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not over-flow thee; when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Certainly though this promise was made in the time of the law, yet it will be made good to all the Saints now, one way or other, either in the letter or some other waies. For so we find it plainly, that promise that was made to Joshua, I will not fail thee nor forsake thee, Josh. 1.5. It’s applied to the Christians in the time of the Gospel. So that here is the way of faith in bringing Contentment by the promises, that all the promises that ever were made to our forefathers, from the beginning of the world, the Saints of God have an interest in them, they are their inheritances, and so goes on from one generation to another, and by that they come to have Contentment, because they do inherit all the promises made in all the book of God, So Heb. 13.5. shews plainly, that it is our inheritance, and we do not inherit less now than they did in Joshuas time, but we inherit more; for you shall find in that place of the Hebrews there is more said than is to Joshua; to Joshua God saith, He will not leave him nor forsake him; now in that place in the Hebrewes in the Greek there’s five negatives, I will not, not, not, not, not again, there is the elegancy of it very much, in the Greek (I say) there is five negatives in that little sentence; as if God should say, I will not leave you, no I will not, I will not, I will not, with such earnestnesse five times together: So that we have not only the same promises that they had, but we have them more inlarged and more full, though still not so much in the litteral sense, for that indeed is the least part of the promise, In Esa. 54.17. there God made a promise, That no weapon formed against his people should prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against them in judgment thou shalt condemne, (and mark what follows) This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me saith the Lord: this is a good promise for a souldier, though still not to lay to much upon the litteral sense: True, it holds forth thus much, that Gods protection is in a special manner over souldiers that are godly, And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemne: and this is against false witnesse too: Oh you, that your friends never left you any thing, you wil say, my friends died and left not me a great, but I thank God, God hath provided for me; But though thy father or mother died and left thee no heritage, yet thou hast a heritage in the promise, This is their heritage. So that there’s no godly man or woman, but is a great heir. Therefore when thou lookest into the Book of God and findest any promise there, thou mayest make that thine own. Just as an heir that rides over divers fields and meadows, saith he, this meadow is my heritage, and this corn-field is my heritage; and then he sees a fair house, and saith he, this fair house is my heritage; and he looks upon them with another manner of eye than a stranger that shall ride over those fields. So a carnal heart reades the promises, and reades them but meerly as stories, not that they have any great intrest in them: But a godly man every time he reades the Scriptures (remember this note when you are reading the Scripture) and there meeteth with a promise, he ought to lay his hand upon it and say, this is a part of my heritage, it’s mine, and I am to live upon it, and this will make you to be Contented. Here’s a mysterious way of Contentment, So in Psal. 34.10. and 37.6. there’s divers other promises that brings Contentment. In Isa. 58.10. And thus much for the Mysterie of Contentment by way of the Covenant.
There is two or three things more that shew how a godly man, hath Contentment after another kind of way than any Carnall heart in the world hath, it’s a mysterious way, as thus.
He hath Contentment by realizing the glorious things of heaven to him, he hath the Kingdom of heaven as present, and the glory that is to come, by faith he makes it as present. So the Martyrs they had Contentment in their sufferings, for said some of them, though we have but a hard breakfast, yet we shall have a good dinner, we shall presently be in heaven; do but shut your eyes (saith one) and you shall be in heaven presently. 2 Cor. 4.16. We faint not (saith the Apostle) Why? Because these light afflictions that are but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. They see heaven before them and that contents them. You Marriners when you can see the haven before you, though you were mightily troubled before you could see any land, yet when you come nigh the shore and can see such a land-mark, that contents you exceedingly: a godly man in the middest of the waves and storms that he meets withall, he can see the glory of heaven before him and so contents himself; one drop of the sweetnesse of heaven is enough to take away all the sower and bitter of all the afflictions in the world: Indeed here we know that one drop of sower, or one drop of gall will make bitter a great deal of honey, put a spoonfull of sugar into a cup of gall or wormwood, that will not sweeten it, but if you put a spoonful of gall into a cup of sugar it will imbitter that; now its otherwise in heaven, one drop of sweet will sweeten a great deal of sower affliction, but a great deal of sower and gall will not imbitter a soul that sees the glory of heaven that is to come: now a Carnal heart hath no Contentment but from what he sees before him in this world but a godly heart hath Contentment from that that he sees laid up for him in the highest heavens.
The last thing that I would name is this, A godly man hath Contentment by opening and letting out of his heart to God, other men or women they are discontented, but how do they help themselves? by rayling, by ill language, such a one crosses them, and they have no way to help themselves but by railing and by bitter words, and so they ease themselves that way when they are angry, but a godly man when he is crost, how doth he ease himself? he is sensible of his crosse as well as you, and he goes to God in prayer, and there opens his heart to God, and lets out his sorrows and fears, and then can come away with a joyful countenance; now do you find that you can come away from prayer and not look sad? As it’s said (in 1 Sam. 1.18.) of Hannah, that when she had been at prayer her countenance was no more sad, there she was comforted; and this is the right way of Contentment. Thus we have done with the Mysterie of Contentment. Now if you can but put these things together that we have spoken of, you may see fully what an Art Christian Contentment is; Paul had need learn it; you see Contentment is not such a poor business as many make it, to say, you must be content &c. But it is a great art and mysterie of godliness to be contented in the way of a Christian, and it will appear yet further to be a mysterie, when we come to the Third Head; and that’s to shew what those lessons are that a gracious heart doth learn when it learns to be contented. I have learn’d to be Contented; Learn’d, what lessons have you lern’d? As now a Scholer that hath great learning and understanding in Arts and Sciences, how did he begin it? he began (as we use to say) his A B C, and then afterwards he came to his Testament, and Bible, and Accidence, and so to his Gramer, and afterwards to his other books; so he learn’d one thing after another: So a Christian coming to Contentment is as a Scholer in Christs School, and there are divers lessons to teach the soul to bring it to this learning: every godly man or woman is a scholer, it cannot be said of any Christian that he is illiterate, but he is litterate, a learned man, a learned woman: now the lessons that Christ teaches, to bring us to Contentment, are these:
The First great Lesson is, The lesson of Self-denial: and though it be a great lesson and hard; as you know a child at first cries, It’s hard. It’s that that I remember Bradford the Martyr saith, Whosoever hath not learned the lesson of the Cross, hath not learned his A B C in Christianity. Here Christ begins with his Scholers, yea those in the lowest form must begin with this; if you mean to be Christian at all, you must buckle to this or you can never be Christians: There is none can be a Scholler except he doth learn his A B C: so thou must learn the lesson of self-denial or thou canst never come to be a Scholler in Christs School, to be learned in this mystery of Contentment: That’s the first lesson that Christ teaches any soul: Oh self-denial that brings Contentment, that brings down and softens a mans heart; a thing (you know) that’s soft if you strike upon it it makes no noise, but if you strike upon a hard thing it makes a noise; so the hearts of men that are full of themselves, and hardened with self-love, if they have any stroak they make a noise, but a self-denying Christian yeilds to Gods hand, and makes no noise; as when you strike upon a woolsack it makes no noise because it yeilds to the stroke; So a self-denying heart yeilds to the stroke and thereby comes to this Contentment. Now in this lesson of self-denial there are divers things, I will not enter into the Doctrine of self-denial, but only shew you how Christ teaches self-denial, and how that brings Contentment.
First, Such a one learns to know that he is nothing, he comes to this, to be able to say, Well, I see I am nothing in my self, now that man or woman which indeed knows that he or she is nothing, and hath learned it throughly will be able to bear any thing: The way to be able to bear any thing, it is to know our selves to be nothing in our selves. Saith God to us, Wilt thou set thine heart upon that which is nothing? Pro. 23.5. speaking of riches; Why blessed God dost not thou do so? thou hast set thy heart upon us and yet we are nothing. God would not have us set our hearts upon riches because they are nothing, and yet God is pleased to set his heart upon us, and yet we are nothing, that’s Gods grace, free grace, and therefore it’s no great matter what I suffer for I am as nothing.
Secondly, I deserve nothing. I am nothing, and I deserve nothing: suppose I have not this and that that others have, I am sure I deserve nothing except it be Hell: you will answer any of your servants so that is not content, I marvell what you deserve? or your children, Do you deserve it that you are so eager upon it? you think to stop their mouthes thus; so we may easily stop our own mouthes, we deserve nothing, and therefore why should we be impatient if we have not what we desire, if we had deserved any thing, we might have some trouble of spirit, as a man that hath deserved well of the State, or of his friends and he finds not an answerable incouragement, it troubles him mightily, but if he be conscious to himself that he hath deserved nothing he is content with a repulse.
Thirdly, I can do nothing. Without me you can do nothing, saith Christ Joh. 15.5. why should I stand much upon it to be troubled and discontented if I have not this and that, when the truth is I can do nothing? If you should come to one that is angery because he hath not such dyet as he desires, and is discontented with it, you will answer him, I mervail what you do, what use you are of? Shall one that will sit still and be of no use, yet for all that he must have all the supply that possibly he can desire? Do but consider of what use you are in the world; if you consider what little need God hath of you, and what little use you are of, you will not be much discontented: If you have learned this lesson of self-denials though God doth cut you short of such and such comforts, yet since that I do but little why should I have much, this very thought will bring down a mans spirit as much as any thing, That’s the Third.
Fourthly, So vile I am that I can receive no good neither of my self, I am not only an empty vessel, but a corrupt and unclean vessel that would spoil any thing that comes into it: so are all our hearts, every one of our hearts is not only empty of good, but are like a mustie vessel that if any good licquor be powred into it it spoils it, And that’s the Fourth thing.
Fifthly, If God doth cleanse us in some measure, and doth put into us some good licquor some grace of his Spirit: yet in the fifth place, We can make use of nothing neither when we have it, if God doth but withdraw himself; If God doth but leave us one moment after he hath bestowed upon us the greatest gifts, and whatsoever abilities we can desire, if God should say, I wil give you them, now go and trade now I have given you these and these abilities, we cannot stir one foot further neither if God doth but leave us. Doth God give us gifts and parts? Then let us fear and tremble least God should leave us to our selves, for then how foully should we abuse those gifts & parts, you think other men and women have memorie and gifts and parts and you would fain have them, But suppose God should give you these and there leave you, you would utterly spoil them.
Sixtly, We are worse than nothing. For by sin we come to be a great deal worse than nothing; sin makes us more vile than nothing, sin makes us contrary to all good: now it’s a great deal worse to have a contrariety to all that is good, than meerly to have an emptiness of al that is good, we are not empty pitchers in respect of good, but we are like pitchers fill’d with poison, and is it much for such as we are to be cut short of outward comforts?
In the Seventh place, If we perish there will no loss of us. If God should anihilate me what loss would there be of me? God can raise up another in my place, to do him other manner of service than I have done. Now put but these Seven things together and then hath Christ taught you Self-denial: I may call these the several words in our lesson of Self-denial; Christ teaches the soul this, so that as in the presence of God upon a real sight of its self it can say, Lord I am nothing, Lord I deserve nothing, Lord I can do nothing, I can receive nothing, I can make use of nothing, I am worse than nothing, and if I come to nothing and perish, there will be no losse at all of me, and therefore what great matter is it for me to be cut short here? A man that is little in his own eyes, such a man or woman will account every affliction to be little, and every mercy to be great: Saul, There was a time (the Scripture saith) that he was little in his own eyes, and then his afflictions were but little to him, when some would not have had him to be King but spake contemptuously of him he held his peace, but when Saul began to be big in his own eyes, then the affliction began to be great upon him. There was never any such contented man or woman at this self-denying man or woman: There was never any denied himself so much as Jesus Christ did, he gave his cheeks to the smiters, he opened not his mouth, he was as a lamb when he was led to the slaughter, he made no noise in the street, Oh he denied himself above all, and was willing to empty himself, and so he was the most contented that ever any was in the world, & the neerer we come to learn to deny our selves as Christ did, the more contented shall we be, and by knowing much of our own vileness, we come to learn to justifie God, whatever the Lord shall lay upon us, yet, righteous is the Lord, for he hath to deal with a most wretched creature. A discontented heart he is troubled because he hath no more comfort; but one that is a self-denying man he rather wonders that he hath so much as he hath: Oh saith one, I have but a little; I but saith he that hath learned this lesson of Self-denial, I rather wonder that God bestows upon me the liberty of breathing in the aire, knowing how vile I am, and knowing how much sin the Lord doth see in me: And that’s the way of Contentment, by learning Self-denial.
Eightly, There is a further thing in self-denial which brings Contentment, Because thereby the Soul comes to rejoyce and take satisfaction in all Gods waies, (I beseech you observe this) If a man be selvish and have Self-love prevail in his heart, those things that suits with his own ends he will be glad of them, but a godly man that hath denied himself he will suit with and be glad of all things that shall suit with Gods ends: Saith a gracious heart, Gods ends are my ends, and I have denied mine own ends, and so he comes to find Contentment in all Gods ends and waies, and his comforts are multiplyed, whereas the comforts of other men are single, it’s but very rare that Gods waies shall suit with a mans particular end, but alwaies Gods waies suit with his own ends; now if you wil only have contentment when Gods waies suits with your own ends, you can have it but now and then, but a Self-denying man denies his own ends and only looks at the ends of God and therein is contented: When a man is selvish he cannot but have a great deal of trouble and vexation, for if I regard my self, my ends are so narrow that I shall have a hundred things will come and jussel me, and I cannot have room in those narrow ends of mine own; as you know in the the City what a deal of stir there is in narrow streets, as Thames street being so narrow they jussel & wrangle and fight one with another because the place is so narrow, but now in the broad streets there they can go quietly; so men that are selvish they meet and so jussel one with another, one man is for self in one thing, and another man is for self in another thing, and so they make a great deal of stir, but those whose hearts are inlarged, and make publicke things their ends, and can deny themselves, they can walk at breadth and never jussel one with another so as the other do. The lesson of Self-denial is the first lesson that Jesus Christ doth learn men in the seeking of Contentment.
The Second lesson is, The vanity of the Creature. That’s the Second lesson in Christs School that he teaches those that he would make Scholers in this Art: The vanity of the Creature, That whatsoever there is in the Creature hath an emptines in it, Vanity of vanities all is vanity, that’s the lesson that the Wise-man learn’d, that the Creature in it’s self can do us neither good nor hurt, but it is all but as wind, there is nothing in the Creature that is sutable to a gracious heart to feed upon for the good and hapdinesse of it. My brethren the reason why you have not Contentment in the things of the world, it is not because you have not enough of them, that’s not the reason, but the reason is because they are not things proportionable to that immortal soul of yours that are capable of God himself; many men think when they are troubled and have not Contentment that it is because they have but a little in the world, and if they had more then they should be content. That were just thus, suppose a man is an hungrie, and so satisfie his craving stomak he should gape and hold open his mouth to take in the wind, and then should think the reason why he is not satisfied is, because he hath not enough of the wind; no, the reason is because the thing is not sutable to a craving stomake, truly there is the same madnesse in the world; the wind that a man takes in by gaping will as soon satisfie a craving stomake which is ready to famish, as all the comforts in the world can satisfie a soul that knows what true happinesse means. You would be happy, and you seek after such and such comforts in the Creature; well, have you got them, do you find your hearts satisfied as having that happinesse that is sutable to you? No, no it is not here, but you think it is because you want such and such things: O poor deluded man, it is not because you have not enough of it, but because it is not the thing that is proportionable to that immortal soul that God hath given you. Why do you lay out your money for that which is not bread, (Isa. 55:2.) And your labour for that which satisfieth not? You are mad people, you seek to satisfie your stomaks with that that is not bread, you follow the wind, you will never have Contentment, all creatures in the world say, Contentment it not in us, riches saith Contentment is not in me, pleasure saith Contentment is not in me, if you look for Contentment in the creature you will fail; No, Contentment is higher: When thou comest into the School of Christ, Christ teaches thee that there is a vanity in all things in the world, and the soul that by coming into the School of Christ, by understanding the glorious mysteries of the Gospel comes to see the vanity of all things in the world, that’s the soul that comes to true Contentment. I could tell you of abundance of sentences from Heathens that shews the vanity all things in the world, and yet they did not learn the vanity of the Creature in the right School. But now when a Soul comes into the School of Jesus Christ, and there comes to see a vanity in all things in the world, then such a soul comes to have Contentment. If you seek Contentment else where, you do like the unclean spirit, seek for rest but find none.
A Third lesson that Christ teaches a Christian when he comes into his School is this, He learns him to understand what that one thing is that is necessary which he never came to understand before: you know what he said to Martha, O Martha thou cumberest thy self about many things, but there is one thing necessary. The Soul before sought after this and the other thing, but now saith the Soul I see really that it is not necessary that I should be rich, but it is necessary that I should make up my peace with God, it is not necessary that I should live a pleasurable life in this world, but it is absolutely necessary that I should have pardon of my sin, it is not necessary that I should have honour and preferment, but it is necessary that I should have God to be my portion, and have my part in Jesus Christ, it is necessary that my soul should be sav’d in the day of Jesus Christ; the other things are pretty fine things indeed, and I should be glad if God would give them me, a fine habitation, and comings-in, and cloaths, and promotion for my wife and childrrn, these are comfortable things, but these are not the necessary things, I may have these and yet perish for ever, but the other is absolutely necessary; no matter though I be poor so be it I may have that that is absolutely necessary; thus Christ instructs the Soul. There’s many of you have had some thoughts about this that it is indeed necessary for you to provide for your Souls, but when you come into Christs School, there Christ causes the fear of eternity to fall upon you, and there he causes such a real sight of the great things of eternity and the absolute necessity of those things, that possesses your hearts with fear, and that takes you off from all other things in the world. Now I should have shewn you how that will bring Contentment to the Soul when it comes to be instructed in the thing that is absolutly necessary; but thus much for this time.