Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A81837
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Of peace and contentment of minde. By Peter Du Moulin the sonne. D.D.
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Du Moulin, Peter, 1601-1684.
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1657
(1657)
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Wing D2560; Thomason E1571_1; ESTC R209203
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240,545
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501
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Epicureans against the Stoicians by subordinating vertue to content for I am of opinion that these two things must be subordinated the one to the other by turnes as the use requireth Now my present use is to employ vertue for contentment of mind Wherein I hope not to be censured as subjecting vertue to contentment in stead of subjecting contentment to vertue these two being all one if they be well considered for the onely way to content our mind is to be vertuous and to be vertuous we must get a tranquill and contented spirit It is well done to prefer vertue before contentment but it is well done also to invite men to vertue by the contentment that vertue yieldeth Since all men are great lovers of themselves and much led by their pleasure let us husband that voluptuous humour and the love that every one beares to himselfe to make them inducements to render unto God his due making ingenuous mindes sensible that the onely way for them to be pleased upon good ground with all that is within and about them is to study to please God and that duty and content consist in one and the same thing For these Meditations the want of bookes even of my private collections which at the first was to mee some discouragement in the progresse of the work proved rather a helpe The lesse opportunity I had to read the more liberty had I to contemplate Truly if after so many writers the publique stock of holy Philosophy is yet capeable of new improvement it must be expected from those who being but little assisted with the conceptions of others are put to make more use of their owne sense and experience Many times God sends more grace where there is lesse helps otherwayes OF THE PEACE OF THE SOULE AND CONTENTMENT OF MINDE THE FIRST BOOK Of Peace with God CHAP. I. Of the Peace of the Soul THe Gospell is called a Testament because it is the declaration of the last Will of our Lord Jesus Christ By that Will he leaves his peace to his Disciples and being neere his death tells them Iohn 14.17 My peace I leave unto you my peace I give unto you For since Jesus is called the Prince of Peace Isaiah 9.5 his proper legacy to his heires is peace How comes it to passe then that such as beare themselves as Christs heires by Will yet will not take his legacy that Peace is no where a greater stranger then in the Christian Church to whom it was left by an especiall title It is true indeed that the peace which our Saviour left to his Disciples is not the temporal but the spirituall which is the peace of man with God with his owne conscience wherefore he tells them that he gives it not as the World gives it But it is true also that the want of that spirituall and inward peace brings outward war as Saint James teacheth us James 4.1 VVhence come wars and fightings among you come they not hence even of your lusts that warre in your members He that is well with God and himselfe and keeps his affections in order quietly brought under the rule of the feare and love of God will neither lightly provok quarrells nor be easily moved with provocations He will be little concerned in publique contentions and gently get off from particular This is the roote of the evill that we seek not to be invested in the possession of that peace of God which the Lord Jesus left us by his Will now so graciously presents unto us by his word and spirit and that wee disturb the work of that good spirit the spirit of peace siding with our turbulent and vicious passions against him When we lose that peace we lose all other goods for in peace all good is comprehended It is the extent of the word peace in Hebrew that philosophical tongue That soul where the peace of God dwelleth doth sincerely relish his blessings and turneth evill into good But a vicious unquiet spirit doth not taste how the Lord is gracious 1 Pet 2.3 And turneth good into evill as a liver inflamed with a burning Fever is worse inflamed by nourishing meats The objects that moves desire and feare in this world are for the most part indifferent in their nature good to him that useth them well evill to him that knoweth not how to use them So that good and evill lye within a mans self not in things without Pro. 14.14 A good man shall be satisfied from himself saith Salomon This is a beaten subject though never sufficiently considered If it were it would frame the soule to piety tranquillity and make a mans spirit free clearesighted master of all things and which is more then all master at home The way to attaine to that command of our inward State is to yield it to God who being our great principle and our original being imparts his freedome a beame of the soverainty of his sublime nature to the soule that draweth neer unto him from whom it is descended God being the soveraigne of the soule as of all creatures the soule cannot have any rule at home but from him nor enjoy it under him without a free subjection to his will That peace and liberty of the soule whereby a man having all his interest in heaven is disinteressed to all things in the world walketh confident among dangers and entertaineth with an equal and serene face good and evill successe is easier described then obtained Yet we must not be discouraged but study to describe it that we may obtain it in some measure for it is gained by meditation And the best kinds of meditation upon that peace is to lift up our soule unto God the inexhaustible fountain of peace which he makes to flow upon those that draw neer unto him We shall never fully injoy that peace till wee be fully united with the God of peace A perfection unsuitable with this life where the best are often drawn aside from God by the wandring of their thoughts and the disorder of their affections which made St Paul to say 2 Cor. 5 6. that while we are at home in the body wee are absent from the Lord. Yet so much as a faithfull man enjoyes of the peace of God vvhile he lives in the flesh is as much above the most florishing peace of the greatest Kings of the vvorld as Heaven is above earth And vvhere it is vvanting the highest earthly glory vvhich dravves the envy of men ought rather to move their pitty Without it the garish shew of honours and treasures is like a richly imbroidered night-cap upon a head tormented with a violent meagrime And all that worldly pompe is not only uselesse but hurtfull sowring the mind with cares and firing the appetite with temptations which afterwards teare the conscience with remorse or benumme it into a deadly lethargy Whereas the peace of God is a Paradice the moderator of passions the Schoole of vertue the
our hearts from the world and make his heavenly comforts more welcome to us Truly the faithfull soule that knoweth how to make the right use of good and evil shall find experimentally the truth of St. Pauls sentence that all things are for our sakes 2 Cor. 4.25 Also this peace with God brings us peace with our neighbours For he that hath a comfortable seeling in his conscience that God is reconciled with him will easily be reconciled with his brethren holding it a point of equity generosity and gratefulnes after that his Master hath forgiven him ten thousand talents to forgive his fellow servant an hundred pence If all men had the peace of God in their hearts there would be no discord in the world But because most men want that good peace and they that have it have it but imperfectly therefore peace between men can hardly be well cemented When you see men professing piety and sound doctrine tearing and devouring one another with warres or lawfuites you may be sure that the peace of God rules not in their hearts surely not in the hearts of the authors and fomentors of discord though they should pretend the zeale of Gods glory who hath no need of mens turbulent passions to advance his kingdome which is all peace In heaven where the peace of God abideth in its fulness and filleth the hearts of every one of his Saints there is also of necessity a perfect peace between them for they must needs have all one love since they have all but one interest which is the glory of him that loveth them and for ever glorifieth them with himselfe CHAP. IV. Generall meanes to preserve that peace with God and first to serve God purely and diligently HAving spoken of the true and onely foundation of the peace of the soule and contentment of mind which is the confidence that God is appeased to us through Jesus Christ Let us now use the meanes to preserve that peace and stand firme upon that solid ground beginning by the more general The first is to serve God with purity and diligence for which this consideration is essential that our reconciliation with God was made by way of purchase and that when wee were lost and estranged from God he was pleased to redeeme us by his Sonne Wherefore as they that bought servants expected service from them God also hath bought us to be served by us That end of our redemptiō is thus set down by St. Paul Tit. 2.14 Christ gave himself for us that he might redeeme us from all iniquity and purifie unto himselfe a peculiar people zealous of good workes It was the custome over all the world in S. Pauls time to buy sell servants As then servants could not expect the favour of them that had bought them unlesse they did them good service we that are purchased by God with such a great price must not expect to enjoy his peace and gracious countenance if wee doe not serve him according to his will Wherein our utility meetes with our duty for of the service which wee yeeld unto God the whole benefit results unto us Before all things wee must looke well that our service to God be pure and such as he requireth for without that purity all our diligence to his service would be not onely unless but hurtfull One cannot goe to God turning his back to him The more we labour to serve him otherwise then he hath commanded the more wee offend him The pure way of Gods service is set down in his written word wherein although many places are too high for the understanding of the most wise and learned yet the things necessary for the duty and salvation of man are so clearely exprest that this commendation is justified by experience which David giveth unto Gods word The entrance of thy Words giveth light it giveth understanding unto the simple Thy word is a lamp unto my feete and a light unto my path It is one of the chief duties of Gods service to reade and carefully meditate that good Word lend a devout attention to them that announce it For by it God speaks to us as a father to his children and none but unnatural children refuse to hearken to the voyce of their Father This duty brings its recompence for the holy word of God is the glad tydings of the peace of God with men and the onely doctrine that frames that peace within us For which reason the Prophet would heare it Ps 85.5 I will heare what God the Lord will speake for he will speake peace unto his people and to his Saints To that holy word as to a sanctuary troubled consciences must have recourse to get the peace of God Yet the faithfull soule ought to be more studious to learne in it how to please God then how to get comfort Those Christians are yet upon the lower degrees of their regeneration that practise the duties of Gods service only to work their salvation Wee must read and hear Gods word for a higher end even to conforme our wills to the rule of his declared will and wee must think more of his glory then our felicity If faith in his promises make us say joyfully with David Ps 32 1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered the zeale of his glory must make us say with more joy and affection as the same David Ps 119.1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walke in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keepe his testimonies and seek him with the whole heart v. 5. O that my waies were directed to keepe thy sttatutes v. 7. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments And all along that great Psalme he uttereth the unspeakable joy that he took in meditating and doing Gods commandements one may see that he cannot say enough to expresse how heartily he was affected to it If wee love the holy word of God for its own sake and converse often with it with reverence and affection because it is the word of our heavenly father and the declaration of his nature and will wee shall finde our peace in it though wee seeke it not and get a satisfaction not to be parallelled by any joy for the things of this world To this duty of hearing God speaking to us in his word the next is to speak to him by prayer whether it be to implore his grace or to thank him for his benefits or to praise him for his infinite perfection By these two duties of hearing God and speaking to him we begin in this world that good intelligence and holy communication with God in which the heavenly peace and soveraine felicity of man consisteth By prayer wee seeke and meete that peace of God which is announced to us in his word and whoso seekes it well will be sure to meete it for to this seeking is the promise made Math. 7.8 Every man