contented man is 1. A contented man is a gainer for the present a gainer for he is so well pleased with his present condition that he enjoys great serenity and calmness in his spirit Though boisterous and swelling waves roar and toss him up and down and exceedingly afflict the outward man yet as to his inward man he enjoys a marvellous tranquillity and quietness Though storms and tempests and Felix ille quem nec fortuiâ—a attollunt nec adversa deprimunt Sen. one affliction follows upon the neck of another as one wave of the sea followeth another yet a man of a composed spirit comfortably passeth through all for neither prosperity puffs him up neither doth adversity cast him down And in the observation of the eloquent Oratour It is the property of a strong Fortis animi constantis est non perturbari in rebus asperis nec tumultuantem de gradu dejici Cic. Offic. and constant mind not to be disturbed in rough passages nor tumultuously to be cast down from his degree and condition A man of this choice frame of spirit is a great gainer even in variety of dispensations for what he hath he enjoys with comfort Whereas many who have vast revenues Honesta res est laeta paupertas illa verò non est paupertas si laeta est Cui enim cum paupertate bene convenit dives est Sen. yet enjoy them not to contentment and satisfaction some discontent or other ariseth and imbitters all though they may be accounted rich in the worlds esteem yet for want of a contented mind they are very poor and beggarly but a good man who makes God his portion and accounts him his treasure is exceeding rich and always in a thriving way notwithstanding losses and crosses intervene for he hath great cause of contentment both from above him and from within him 1. From above him he hath great cause 1. A good man hath cause of contentment from above him of contentment because he hath interest in precious promises in the covenant of grace in Gods special providences and in the redemption and intercession of Christ Upon these grounds he raiseth to himself abundance of contentment And though he meet with disappointments and failing in creatures yet his God never fails nor disappoints him And though the cisterns be drawn dry yet the fountain is always full upon such considerations a good man receives great satisfaction and labours to use the language of praise and thankfulness and avoid all querulous and murmuring language 2. A good man hath cause of contentedness 2. A good man hath cause of contentedness from within him from within him Prov. 14. 14. A good man shall be satisfied from himself i. e. There are inward consolations arising from the testimony of Gods reconciled countenance which will afford abundant satisfaction The testimony of a good conscience is a soul-satisfying comforter So then though there be without storms and tempests yet if there be a calm within and notwithstanding outward troubles and vexations yet if there be inward comforts as peace of conscience the light of Gods countenance the apprehension of his love in Christ all these will swallow up and devour all outward troubles and sorrows as Aaron's rod swallowed up and devoured the rods of the Magicians of Aegypt And as a contented man is a gainer for the present so 2. A contented man gains as to his future condition In the second place a contented man is a gainer as to his future condition For he takes a direct and ready way to thrive and to improve his estate to the best advantage whosoever is of such a composed and settled spirit he can set upon any business cheerfully and prepare for variety of dispensations However things go he is a resolved man and thankful for all It was an heroical speech of Luther Let the world Felix sit mundus evertatur mundus benedicam Domino qui fecit mundum Luth. be in prosperity or let it be destroyed yet will bless God who made the world As the Ancients held the plow and prayed so a man of this sweet and contented frame of spirit manageth the duties of his calling with prayer and faith in God and to pray and be diligent in our calling is the readiest way to thrive so we may expect a blessing from heaven Prov. 10. 4. The hana of the diligent maketh rich Thus Jabez prayed for Gods blessing and God answered his prayer 1 Chron. 4. 10. And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying O that thou wouldest bless me indeed and enlarge my coast and that thine hand may be with me and that thou wouldest keep me from evil that it may not grieve me And God granted him that which he requested It is not an ordinary 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 6. 6. gain but a great gain that accrues unto godly persons and contented persons This then is the way to improve our estates to the best advantage when we joyn godliness and contentment together It is an argument drawn à bene conjunctis ad malè divisa we must joyn them together and make no separation 5. Consid The greatness of the mercies which we enjoy and the meanness of those things which we want A fifth consideration to move us to contentment shall be drawn from the greatness of those mercies which we enjoy and the meanness and emptiness of those things which we want We who have interest in Christ have a right to all the promises and covenant of grace In Christ we have a strong title unto them We are of the church of the first-born and of the Hebr. 12. 23. Gal. 6. 10. 2 Cor. 6. 28. Rom. 8. 17. houshold of faith sons and daughters of God heirs and joynt heirs with Jesus Christ Now the serious consideration of our interest in these great things of eternity may cause us to set a lower rate on these things of this present world What is all the gold and silver all the Eastern and Western treasures in comparison of heavenly things They are no better then trash and vanity in comparison of those things which in heaven are reserved for all true beleevers Let us compare the riches of Christ his purchases of justification and sanctification and glorification with the honours profits and pleasures of this present world and we shall find that these transient and perishing things are not worthy to be compared with those durable things We read that Abraham gave the sons of his concubines gifts and sent them away but he gave the inheritance unto Isaac the son of the promise so God gives outward gifts as riches and honours to the men of the world but the inheritance of heaven he reserveth for his children There is a notable story of two men one called Anthony and the other called Didymus This Didymus was a man eminent for parts and graces but he was blind Anthony asked him if
he was not troubled for want of his eye-sight yes saith he I am but shall I be troubled for the want of that which even dogs have and shall I not rejoyce and be thankful for that I enjoy which Angels have The application is obvious A Christian man thus expostulates with himself Shall I be discontented and vex my self for want of that which dogs have They have bread and meat and kennels to lodge in and oft times the very dogs of some great Personages are fed with choicer food and lie in better rooms then some good Christians are accommodated withall shall I not then be contented with that which makes Angels themselves glorious For this cause the Apostle is exuberant in praises Eph. 1. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ What then though a child of God hath not promotions in earthly places yet if he have assurance of Gods love in Christ and an interest in heavenly places this consideration should be an especial engagement to contentment A poor beggar lying in a Church-porch read a lecture of contentment to a rich man The rich man being much discontented and tormented went on purpose to discourse with a beggar lying in straw in a Church-porch the rich man wisheth him a good morrow he wondred what-he meant then said he I wish you a good day Why saith the beggar do you wish me either good morrow or good day for I never knew bad morrow nor bad day in all my life nor did I ever meet with one bad night What is the reason said the rich man The poor man answered when I was in a rich estate I prayed always that petition in the Lords Prayer Thy will be done and now being in a poor condition I pray the same prayer Thy will be done so nothing comes amiss to me because I labour to submit my will in all things to the will of God If then we could imitate this man in all conditions to endeavour to bring our wills in obedience and subjection to the will of God we should then be good practitioners in this excellent art of Contentment SECT 3. Containing a sixth motive to Contentment THe sixth Consideration to mention 6. Consid The companions and associats of Contentment no more shall be drawn from the good companions and associats of this choice grace of contentment Diogenes when he was to let his house urged this great argument to get a good tenant because said he my house hath good neighbours round about it I am sure amongst many there are three special associats and bosom companions of contentment whose neighbourhood and acquaintance are much to be desired and prized and they are faith patience and heavenly-mindedness 1. Faith is a companion of contentment 1. Faith is a companion of contentment Faith and dependance on God is a special means to work the heart over to such an excellent temper For faith acting on the promises with a stedfast recumbence on the Word of God doth abundantly stay and quiet the hearts of Christians and support and carry them with cheerfulness through the greatest storms of afflictions A man faln into the water catcheth hold of any twig any cord or any hand to help him out so though a Christian be in a sinking condition yet if he can adhere to the divine promises and act faith upon them he will be held up above water It is unbelief which causeth so many tumultuous and vexatious thoughts in our hearts Could we beleeve God and trust in him on his word that he is faithful in all his promises all-sufficient omnipotent willing and able to relieve and help us and that he is of tender bowels full of compassion a Father of mercies and a God of all consolations such serious meditations as these would stifle all discontented thoughts in the conception nip them in the bud and crush them in their first motions The more faith the more contentedness and the more unbelief the more discontentedness Faith acts upon a ground of experience Rom. 8. 28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose Faith keeps a beleever alive in dying times it keeps the heart from fainting Psal 27. 14. Wait on the Lord Be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart wait I say on the Lord. Whence arise discontented murmuring speeches but from unbelief For unbelief is that root of bitterness which brings forth nothing but gall and wormwood When men are straitned for outward things they are exceedingly perplexed and troubled in their spirits but when faith interposeth it affords meat drink and clothes for a beleever trusts God with all and he accounts God his life and livelyhood and all How then doth a beleever live the Prophet tells us Hab. 2. 4. The just shall live by his faith For the excellency and usefulness of this sentence is so evident as that it is quoted in several places of Scripture and press'd home unto point of practice When troubles Rom. 1. 17. Gal. 2. 20. 3. 11. Hebr. 10. 38. and vexations arise from thwarting passages of providence faith steps in and returns away with Trophies of victory 1 Joh. 5. 4. This is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith When multitudes are perplexed and endangered by reason of the methods wiles and variety of Satans temptations then faith is to be made use of as a strong shield to ward off the blows 1. Pet. 5. 9. Whom resist stedfast in the faith In one word let it be spoken that in all troubles disasters and sufferings faith quiets the mind Faith is like that meal which being cast into the pot the wild gourds did no harm but notwithstanding 2 Kings 4. 42. they were shred in the pot yet as soon as the meal was put in the pottage became wholesom Faith sweetens the sowrest pills of afflictions and becalms the spirit amidst the sharpest sufferings Yet we must with caution express our selves Faith that is genuine and of the right stamp must be a purifying faith and a working Acts 15. 9. Gal. 5. 6. faith and however Luther be misunderstood when he saith Cavete à bonis operibus he means that we must beware of trusting in good works so as to plead merit and to expect salvation by them he elsewhere gives this character of faith Fides maxima heroica operatur Faith then is not to be understood as an instrument in working or meriting but as an instrument in receiving and applying of grace and mercy through Christ Faith is our act and it is our duty to beleeve but it is Gods gifts we of our selves are no more able to beleeve then to perform the Commandments The self-same power that raised up Christ from the dead can onely raise us up to beleeve Col. 2. 12. Buried
contentment and he is a rich man indeed who is content with Godliness It is an excellent observation of Calvin That God is always present Semper adest suis Dominus quantum illorum necessitati sufficit ex sua plenitudine suum cuique demensum erogat Calv. in loc with his people and he gives to every one of them that portion that may suffice for their necessity Whoever therefore makes God his portion and treasure his honour and refuge his shield and buckler he hath the greatest cause to be content for he hath all in God Esau said to Jacob I have enough Gen. 33. 9. But Jacob said I have all for of all seeing God gave him his grace For grace is more worth then a whole world besides Jacob had interest in the Ex benignitate Dei omnia mihi abundè suppetunt Paulus Fagius Covenant of grace and having God his portion he had all David profess'd that the Lord was the portion of his inheritance Psal Benignè largitus est mihi Deus quamplurima omnia mihi suppetunt nullâ re indigeo Vatablus 16. 5. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup thou maintainest my lot So Psalm 119. 57. he again professeth Thou art my portion O Lord so likewise the Church professeth Lam. 3. 24. The Lord is my portion saith my soul therefore will I hope in him If then we desire rest and quietness all our hopes love joy and desire Amor est pondus animi quocunque feror amore fertur animus in Deum tanquam in centrum aeternae quietis Aug. de Civit. Dei lib. 1. cap. 13. must centre upon God The dove could find no rest for the sole of her foot till Noah took her into the ark There can be no rest nor acquiescence for any Christian but in God It s frequently observed by learned men that all the letters in Jehovah are quiescent to imply unto us that there is no rest to be had but in God alone Dost thou Oh Christian desire treasures they are to be had in Christ 1 Pet. 2. 7. Col. 2. 3. In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge Dost thou desire honours they are to be had in Christ for he is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the abstract and he puts a great honour upon all his Saints as we may see 1 Pet. 2. 9. But ye are a chosen generation a royal priesthood an holy nation Rev. 1. 5. a peculiar people Gods children are Kings and Priests unto God Christ saith Col. 3. 11. the Apostle is all and in all Augustine hath a memorable saying viz. Christ alone Ipse unus Christus erit tibi omnia quia in ipso uno bono bona sunt omnia Aug. will be to thee all for in that one good are contained all And in that rare book of his Confessions amongst many choice sayings he propounds from his own experience this excellent one viz. All my plenty if Omnis mihi copia quae Deus meus non est eâ—â—stas est Aug. Confes lib. 3. God be not there is poverty Here then is evidenced wherein consists the experimental knowledge of Contentment That man questionless hath not onely the Theory but the Practice of Contentment who accounts God his riches honours pleasures profits refuge and all While the Epicure continues swallowing and the covetous is scraping and the ambitious continues climbing and the voluptuous man with all eagerness pursues his vain delights and pleasures a true beleever makes his address and application unto God He finds and tasts riches pleasures delights and all comforts whatsoever concentred in his God His God is all and above all and the light of his countenance he prefers before all the treasures in the universe This is that grand request that David prefers to the throne of grace Psalm 4. 6 There are many that say who will shew us any good Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us The multitude in general ask after that which is good for good in general is the object of the will as the Philosopher observes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist Rhet. But there are variety of mistakes and many mistake that for good which is not Wherefore the Psalmist determines wherein saving good real and solid consists viz. In the light of Gods gracious countenance Moses the man of God prays O satisfie us early with thy mercy Psal 90. 14. that we may rejoyce and be glad all our days Such an one who hath these desires in sincerity and truth is the truly contented man CHAP. III. Wherein the Doctrine is illustrated by Chap. 3. Containing an illustration of the doctrine by Examples several examples and proved by Scripture SECT 1. Wherein the Doctrine is illustrated by Examples 2. IN the second place I shall illustrate 2 Head Wherein the doctrine is illustrated by Examples the truth of the doctrine by Examples I shall make mention of four Scripture Examples as choice patterns for our imitation The first Example of Contentment I 1. Example of Abraham shall instance in is Abraham I before mentioned his Contentedness in refusing the goods of the King of Sodom What I shall now take special notice of shall be concerning his Contentedness in managing and ending the controversie between his herdsmen and Lots herdsmen First Abraham perswades to peace and amicable agreement Gen. 13. 8. And Abraham said unto Lot Let there be no strife I pray thee between thee and me and between thy herd-men and my herdmen for we are brethren Secondly Abraham though the uncle and superiour offers to Lot though his nephew and inferiour the choice of what place he would go to v. 9. Is not the whole land before thee separate thy self I pray thee from me if thou wilt take the left hand then I will go to the right or if thou depart to the right hand then I will go to the left And Lot accordingly took his choice v. 11. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan Thus Abraham discovered signal and exemplary humility in yielding to his nephew Lot the choice of a place and as signal and excellent contentedness of spirit in taking Lots leavings A second Example I shall instance in is 2 Example of Jacob. of Jacob Abraham's grand-child who trode exactly in his grandfathers steps Jacob was constrain'd to flie for his life and to be an exile from his fathers family that so he might escape the murder design'd by his incensed brother Esau He came the first night of his travels to Bethel and what lodging Gen. 28. 11. he had there is upon record He had no other canopy then the Expansum of the heavens and no other pillow but hard stones yet there where he lay subdiò exposed to wind and weather God graciously appeared Gen. 28. 13 14 15. in a dream unto him and renewed
of outward things and so in their fulness they forget God and are like those swine that eat the mast but never look up to the tree from whence they receive them And many there are who when they were in a meaner condition could never beleeve neither did it ever enter into their hearts to think that they should carry things so proudly and insolently as they do being advanced to a higher condition None sufficiently know their own hearts and how prosperity will puff them up Dic mihi si fuer is tu leo qualis eris Captain Hazael abhorred the thoughts of doing that which he boldly ventur'd upon when he was King Hazael It usually 2 Kings 8. v. 12 13. so falls out that some are far better in a meaner condition then they are after they are promoted to a higher condition so that those riches and honours which if well improved might have been for their welfare through abuse and misemployment prove unto them occasions of falling Now God in wisdom orders all things and allotteth unto us such a dimensum and portion which he knoweth fittest for us A wise physician diets his patient and prescribes unto him lest he should take that which might be hurtful unto him So doth the wise God of heaven and earth give us convenient food such as is most suitable to our condition If we then seriously meditate on the wise disposing providence of our gracious God we shall bear all dispensations with a quiet and contented frame of spirit and in all things submit and resigne our wills unto the will of God accounting his will good acceptable and perfect Rom. 12. 2. The grand duty incumbent upon us is this to make a good improvement of one or more talents wherewith God instructeth us and to order our affairs with discretion and to endeavour to be thankful for what we have so through the grace of God we shall be good practitioners and proficients in this excellent art of divine Contentment SECT 2. Consisting of a third and fourth Argument I Proceed to a third Argument to engage Arg. 3. drawn from the benefits coming from Contentedness to Contentedness of spirit and this is drawn from those singular benefits accruing from Contentment Argumentum ab utili is usually a prevailing piece of Rhetorick and by this the Oratour perswades his auditours to approve of what he commends unto them There is a twofold benefit or emolument arising from a Contented mind viz. upon a temporal and spiritual account 1. Upon a temporal account All the 1. Upon a temporal account Contentedness of mind brings great benefits outward accommodations of this world whether they be riches or honours or relations c. are much sweetned to us and enjoyed comfortably and cheerfully by vertue of a Contented and quiet frame of spirit No man sleeps so sweetly as a contented man Eccles 5. 12. The sleep of a labouring man is sweet whether he eat little or much but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep A Contented man eateth his meat savourily and relisheth sweetness in hard meat and course fare his heart is merry and a good conscience is a cause of true mirth Hence saith the wise man He that is of a Prov. 15. 15. merry heart hath a continual feast Solomon made a magnificent feast for seven days and Ahasuerus made a feast for one hundred and fourscore days but he that feasts with a good conscience keeps a feast every day A Contented man goeth on cheerfully in the works of his calling with such a calm and sedate spirit as he is neither puft up with prosperity nor cast down by adversity insomuch that such a man though of a mean estate enjoys all that he hath be it less or more more comfortably then a malâ— contented person who hath in his possession thousands of gold and silver It is not the high and honourable condition nor the rich and wealthy condition that can render a mans life pleasant and comfortable but it is Gods blessing that maketh rich and adds no sorrow to it I have read how a learned Heathen describes a happy man thus He is not happy who hath all that he desires Beatus est non qui habet quae cupit sed qui non cupit quae non habet Sen. Et minùs haec optat qui non habet Juven Satyr 14. but he is happy who desires not what he hath not Take then a survey of contented persons who have learned this rare art of Contentment and you shall see that they live comfortably and enjoy that little that they have with more satisfaction and complacency then multitudes who have more pounds then the other hath pence Wherefore to eat and drink and sleep with a merry heart and to follow the works of our calling with cheerfulness of spirit the ready way is to put in practice that excellent lesson of the Apostle I have learned saith Phil 4. 11â— he in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content For he is the wise man and thrives best in whatsoever he sets his heart and hands unto who hath learned this choice lesson of Contentment And thus upon a temporal account great is the benefit which contentment produceth 2. Upon a spiritual 2 Upon a spiritual account Contentment brings great benefit account much benefit ariseth from a contented spirit For instance in hearing a meek and quiet frame of heart much conduceth to our profiting by the word of God For so saith the Apostle Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and James 1. 21. superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engraffed word which is able to save your souls When a man comes to hear a Sermon with a quiet and calm spirit O what wonderful effects hath the Word upon such a person hereby his attention and intention are quickned the affections are set in right order and the memory is retentive I may give another instance in prayer When discontented perplexing thoughts are driven away as Abraham Gen. 15. 11. drave away the fowls which some apply to vain distracting thoughts then are Christians prepared to pour out their hearts to God in prayer So likewise for meditation that I may call an up-hillduty whereby a Christian ascends from earth to heaven in divine contemplations There is no greater obstacle to divine meditation then a perplexed spirit intangled with variety of worldly incumbrances Wherefore such persons as delight in meditation retire themselves as Isaac did as we read of him And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at Gen. 24. â—3 even-tide Serenity and settledness of mind do very much conduce to the profitable exercise of meditation but when the hurry of the world and the carking and vexatious cares about it surprize our hearts and take possession of them then we become altogether as unfit and indisposed for meditation as a bird is for flying either when an heavy stone is tied
for they shall eat the fruit of their doings In all our troubles and afflictions and amidst slanders and calumnies heap'd upon us what can comfort us but the answer of a good conscience This is cause of rejoycing that our 1 Cor. 1. 12. conscience testifies for us Amidst storms and tempests Euroclydons and tossings and tumblings a God reconciled will bear up our spirits against all Tranquillus Deus tranquillat omnia But because many pretend to conscience who are meer strangers to conscience and quiet themselves with a false peace and content themselves with a carnal security I will make mention of those distinguishing characters which St Bernard mentions Bona est conscientia Bern. de inter domo cap. 27. si habeat in corde puritatem in ore veritatem in actione rectitudinem What is that which sweetens the most bitter pill of afflictions but the testimony of a good conscience And what is that which imbitters all the pleasures in the world but an evil conscience One grain of an evil conscience intermixt amongst the grandeur and affluence of riches of the great ones of the world will prove like that wild gourd which spoiled the whole mess of pottage Luther hath a rare saying to this purpose Una guttula malae conscientiae totum mare mundani gaudii absorbet If then you would enjoy true and solid mirth and an abiding contentment labour to keep this Fort-royal impregnable I Hic murus aheneus esto Nil conscire sibi nulld pallescere culpà mean the bulwark of a good conscience This was the Apostles grand exercise to keep a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men Acts 24. 16. Faith and a good conscience are to be united 1 Tim. 1. 19. Holding faith and a good conscience If we unite them and hold them fast together we consult our own peace and tranquillity but if we divide them we lay our selves naked to the assaults of Satan the temptations of the world and the prevalency of our own corruptions 2. Another cause of contentment from 2. The right government of the affections is a cause of contentment our selves is the right government of the affections when affections are rightly regulated and bounded they administer great contentment and consolation The affections are frequently to be compared to the swelling and boisterous waves of the seas which keeps neither bounds nor banks but cause an inundation The affections are usually inordinate extravagant impetuous and disorderly and they set the whole man in a tumult The perturbations and disorders of the affections sets all in a hurly-burly of confusion But when through the grace of God the affections are set upon the right object and disposed in a right order then there ariseth a wonderful calm and serenity upon the spirit When the love joy hope and desire are weaned from the world and fixed upon heavenly things then the heart is quieted and abundantly satisfied But the disorder and divisions of the affections causeth great discontent for when the heart hankers partly after earth and partly after heaven there can be no solid contentment and acquiescence amidst such divisions and distractions But when all those affections love joy hope and desire make God the Centrum quietativum then all is right for then the heart is comforted and the conscience pacified and the whole man set in a right frame and temper A third cause of contentment is from the 3. There is cause encouragement for contentment from the examples of others examples of others This is causae exemplaris The examples of others may in an especial manner when God sets them home prevail with us to contentment Now we are to have a double aspect upon examples partly such as are above us and partly such as are below us 1. As for such as are above us we may 1. Let us look upon examples above us upon enquiry find many great and noble Personages contented with a small pittance of this world For instance of Moses it is recorded Heb. 11. 24. By faith Moses when he was come to years or as the Original is when he became a great man refused 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Magna fides quae principatus spernit contemptis se aggregat Grot. Joseph l. 2. c. 5. to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter Moses was so eminent in Pharaoh's Court as to be accounted the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter Josephus an Historian of good note relates this story that Thermusis Pharaoh's daughter was the onely child of Pharaoh and he had no son to inherit the kingdom and that this his daughter had no child wherefore after she had found Moses at the rivers side she kept him hid for so long a time as it might be supposed to be her own child to the intent and purpose that he might inherit her fathers crown This history may be questionable but the Text evidently sets forth Moses his self-denial and contentedness of spirit Heb. 11. 26. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Egypt I may add farther the contentedness and self-denial of those worthies of whom the world was not worthy They wandred about in sheep-skins and goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not Heb. 11. 37 38. worthy They wandred in deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth Thus these holy men were contented with their mean contemptible condition in the world so they might obtain interest in a better life I question not but they might have worn better apparel then goat-skins sheep-skins and have lived in better houses then in dens and caves if they had complied with those times wherein they lived Galeacius Caracciolus left his Marquesdom of Vico and all his relations and contented himself to live in a retired private way at Geneva for he would not relinquish his Religion for the honours of the world but he resolved to hold fast the profession of his faith without wavering And he thunders out a dreadful anathema against such who make the wrong choice in these words Cursed be See the life of Galeacius Caracciolus the man who prefers all the gold and silver in the world before one days communion with Jesus Christ To this example I will add that of Hormisdas recorded by Theodoret. Theod. lib. 5. 131. This Hermisdas was a Noble-man of Persia and because he would not deny Christ he was degraded from his dignity stript of his clothes and compelled to wear rags and keep camels He was well contented with this mean condition and when afterwards the King of Persia sent for him and clothed him with silken clothes and perswaded him to deny Christ he presently tore his silken clothes in pieces saying If for these you think to have me deny my faith take them again Whereupon he was with scorn cast out Had this great man been willing to deny Christ he might have kept his temporal dignities and riches but he preferred Christ before all honours and he was rather contented to be a slave to the King of Persia and keep his camels then deny Christ for the greatest preferments 2. And as we must reflect upon examples 2. Let us look upon examples below us above us for our imitation so we must reflect upon examples below us and learn from them this excellent lesson of Contentment From the poorest we may learn this lesson Such as have no more then what they work for and can onely reserve something to keep them alive on the sabbath day for which they have wrought in hard labour all the six days in the week these I say eat drink and sleep with a great deal of contentment They are contented with course bread small drink and sometimes water and with a hard bed of straw and yet they eat and drink heartily and sleep quietly and they and their children look fat and well-liking They have not those cares fears and vexations upon their spirits as those have who have thousands of gold and silver With such as these we should compare our selves and if so little a portion content them why should not much more content us For a close of this Treatise let us be exhorted and O! that the Exhortation might take good effect to account God our portion riches treasure and all in all and having him who alone can quiet content and satisfie our souls we shall be abundantly quieted contented and satisfied I shall conclude all with Psal 4. 6 7 8. There be many that say Who will shew us any good Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us Thou hast put gladness in my heart more then in the time that their corn and their wine increased I will lay me down in peace and sleep for thou Lord onely makest me dwell in safety FINIS