as much as if he had said I have learned the mystery of this business Contentment is to be learned as a great mystery and those that are throughly trained up in that art have learned a deep Mystery The which is as Sampsons riddle to a natural man I have learned it It is not now to learn neither had I it at first I have attained it though with much ado and now by the grace of God I am become master of this art In whatsoever state I am The word State is not in the Original but In what I am that is in whatsoever concerns or befals me whether I have little or nothing at all Therewith to be content The word which we render Content here hath in the Original much elegancy and fulnesse of signification in it In strictnesse of phrase it is only attributed unto God who hath stiled himself God alsufficiant as resting wholly satisfied in and with himself alone but he is pleased freely to comunicate of his fulness to the creature so that from God in Christ the Saints receive grace for grace Joh. 1.16 in somuch that there is in them an answerablenesse of the same grace in their proportion that is in Christ And in this sense Paul saith I have a Self-sufficiency as the word notes But hath Paul a self-sufficiency you will say How are we sufficient of our selves Our Apostle affirms in another case That we are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves 2 Cor. 3.5 His meaning therefore must be I find a sufficiency of satisfaction in my own heart through the grace of Christ that is in me though I have not outward comforts and worldly accommodations to supply my necessities yet I enjoy portion enough betwixt Christ and my own soul abundantly to satisfie me in every condition And this interpretation is sutable to that place Pro. 14 1â— A good man is satisfied from himself and agreeable to what he verifies of himself in another place that though he had nothing yet he possessed all things because he had right to the covenant and promise which virtually contains all and an interest in Christ the fountain and good of all and having that no marvell he saith that in whatsoever state he was in he was content Thus you have the genuine interpretation of the text I shall not make any division of the words because I take them only to prosecute that one duty most necessary viz. The quieting and comforting the hearts of Gods people under the troubles and changes they meet withall in these heart-shaking times And the doctrinal conclusion is in brief this Doct. That to be well skill'd in the mystery of Christian Contentment is the Duty Glory and Excellency of a Christian This Evangelical truth is held forth sufficiently in Scripture yet take one or two paralel places more for the confirmation of it 1 Tim. 6.6 8. you have both the duty exprest and the glory thereof Having food and raiment saith he vers 8. let us be therewith content there is the duty But godliness with Contentment is great gain vers 6. there is the glory and excellency of it as if godlinesse were not gain except there were Contentment withal The like exhortation you have in Heb. 13.5 Let your conversation be without Covetousness and be content with such things as you have I do not find any Apostle or Writer of Scripture treat so much of this spiritual mystery of Contentment as this our Apostle hath done throughout his Epistles For the cleer opening and proving of this practical conclusion I shall indeavour to demonstrate these four things First The nature of this Christian Contentment what it is Secondly The art and mystery of it Thirdly What those lessons are that must be learn'd to work the heart to contentment Fourthly Wherein the glorious excellencies of this grace doth principally consist Concerming the first take this discription Christian Contentment is that sweet inward quiet gracious frame of spirit freely submitting to and taking complacency in Gods wise and fatherly dispose in euery condition I shall break open this discription for it is a box of precious ointment very comfortable and useful for troubled hearts in troubled time and conditions First Contentment I say is a sweet inward heart thing it is a work of the spirit within doors It is not only a not-seeking help to our selves by outward violence or a forbearance of discontented murmuring expressions in froward words and carriages against God or others but it is the inward submission of the heart Psal 62.1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God and ver 5. My soul wait thou only upon God so it is in your Books but the words may be translated as rightly My soul be thou silent unto God Hold thy peace O my soul Not only the tongue must hold it's peace but the soul must be silent Many may sit down silently forbearing discontented expressions yet are inwardly swollen with discontentment now this manifesteth a perplexed distemper and a great frowardnesse in their hearts And God notwithstanding their outward silence hears the peevish fretting language of their souls The shoe may be smooth and neat without whilst the flesh is pinched within There may be much calmnesse and stilnesse outwardly and yet wonderful confusion bitternesse disturbance and vexation within Some are so weak that they are not able to contain the disquietness of their own spirits but in words and behaviour discover what woful perturbations there are within their spirits being like the raging Sea casting forth nothing but mire and dirt being not only troublesome to themselves but to all those they live with Others there are who are able to keep in such distempers of heart as Judas did when he betrayed Christ with a kisse but still they boyl inwardly and eat like a Cankes As David speaks concerning some whose words are smoother than honey and butter and yet have war in their hearts and as he saith in another place whilst I kept silence my bones waxed old so these whilst there is a serene calme upon their tongues have yet blustring storms in their spirits and whilst they keep silence their hearts are troubled and even worn away with anguish and vexation they have peace and quiet outwardly but war from the unruly and turbulent workings of their hearts that is within If the attainment to true Contentment were as easy as keeping quiet outwardly there need be no great learning of it it might be had with lesse skill and strength than an Apostle had yea than an ordinary Christian hath or may have Therefore certainly there is a great deal more in it than can be attained by common gifts and ordinary power of reason which often bridles in nature It is a heart-businesse Secondly It is the quiet of the heart All is sedate and still there and to understand this the better This quiet gracious frame of spirit It is not opposed 1 To a due sense
your own spirits and then you shall know that God is God God will not appear till first you be still 2. Reas We are not able to make use of our own Graces till we be quiet and still If God have bestowed Graces when we are in a hurly-burly we have no use of them at all therefore saith the text Psalm 4. Stand in awe sin not commune with your own hearts upon your beds and be still Commune with your own hearts you have somewhat perhaps in your own hearts that may quiet you commune with your own hearts and be still you are not fit to commune with your own hearts till you get them quiet first be quiet and then commune Oh! my brethren A man or woman of a staid sound quiet and still spirit hath a mighty advantage of all passionate spirits there are many of you that are passionate at all other times and that is the reason that in such great extremities you are so over-rul'd with passion you are so over-rul'd with your passion of anger at other times and out of Gods just judgment you are over-rul'd with the passion of Fear now But if at other times you would labour to keep in your spirits God would help you now 3. Reas Because without this stilness and quietness we cannot manifest that subjection to God we owe him for then there is a great deal of sin and pride and stoutness committed against God and therefore in that fourth Psalm the old Latine hath it My soul be silent my soul is subject to God the subjection of our souls to God depends much upon this Quieting of our hearts 4. Reas Our reverence of God depends much upon it and therfore in this 4. Psalm Stand in aw and sin not commune with your own heart and be still for us to behave our selves in such a manner as many people do throwing out their hands and wringing and keeping such a stir as they do this shows there is not in their hearts that reverence they owe to God stand in awe If your hearts were possess'd with Gods fear you would not keep such a stir as you do in times of great danger 5. Reas This makes people unfit to listen to any thing that is spoken to them let any thing be spoken to them that is of any use they eannor hear it nor make use of it as we reade of the people of Israel Exod. 6.9 when Moses came to tell them of their deliverance the text saith He spake to the Children of Israel but they hearkned not to him why for anguish of spirit How many in trouble of conscience and in other times of extremity have their spirits in such anguish that they never hearken to any thing that is delivered to them and therefore they come with the same objection over and over again a hundred times in cases of conscience 6. Without this Quietness of spirit you are mighty hinderers of others and you daunt and discourage the hearts of others and many times the cause miscarries meerly upon the unquietness of the hearts of men and women in time of danger therefore you must be quiet and look up to God for salvation for Faith hath this excellency that it is able to bring life out of death light out of darkness it hath a kind of creating vertue as God himself brings one contrary out of another so faith hath such a kind of working if faith be of the right stamp a genuine faith it hath a mighty power in times of extremity to behold Gods salvation and make use of it I 'le give you one example of the use of faith in times of extremity and that is of David when he fled from Saul and when he was in the Cave mark Be merciful to me O God be merciful to me for my soul trusteth in thee yea in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge What was the shadow of Gods wings poor David was got into the shadow of the Cave and the Sun did not shine upon him but he looked upon himself in the Cave as under the shadow of Gods wings You poor people that live it may be in Cellers and in poor dark holes and Lanes the Sun scarce shines upon you in a year yet if you be godly you are under Gods wings by faith I shall now speak to the Second part of the Doctrine that we are to expect Salvation from God David did fly from Absolom and yet what confidence had David in that case in God reade but that third Psalm and you 'l see confidence enough in David and yet flying too Divers grounds and reasons I shall give for this why we must look up to God as well as be still Rea. Hereby we sanctifie Gods Name Fear ye not their fear but sanctifie God in your hearts saith the text You sanctifie not God else I suppose many of you would be loth to be guilty of swearing and taking Gods Name in vain in that kind but by your distracting thoughts and unbeseeming carriage in times of danger you take Gods Name in vain you break the third Commandement 2. Rea. This shews the beauty and excellency of Faith as David said Thou shalt see what thy servant can do So now there is a great deal of talk of faith in the world let us see now what it can do the truth of love is when I can love God for himself without his gifts so when I can beleeve in God without experience I shew the excellency of my faith when I can trust in God meerly upon his word as I love God meerly for himself when my faith taks Gods single bond without any security that is the excellency of Faith when I would have outward helps and assurances there I call for sureties So Christians when they must needs have outward helps and former experiences they call to God for sureties as if they would not trust God upon his simple bond that 's the excellency of faith to trust God upon his single bond 3. Rea. When we look up to God for salvation we engage God in our cause God owns not the cause till then and then he owns it Now how happy were we if thus we could do in al our particular and private straights stand still and look up to God for help and for salvation It 's true you cry out and complain I have lost a dear husband and a dear friend never man lost such a friend and these great straights I am brought into but lose not the quiet of thy heart too take heed of that that is a greater loss than any loss thou canst have in this world I remember I have read of a Phylosopher that had this expression saith he If the gods would grant to me my desire and bid me ask what I would have I would ask of them this thing that I might have the composed spirit of Socrates that I might have such a spirit as Socrates had for it is observed of
of affliction God doth give leave to his people to be sensible of what they suffer Christ doth not say Do not count that a crosse which is a crosse but take up your crosse daily As it is in the body natural if the body takes physick and is not able to bear it but presently vomits it up or if it be not at all sensible if it stir not the body either of these waies the physick doth no good but argues the body much distempered and will hardly be cured So it is with the spirits of men under afflictions if either they cannot bear Gods potions but cast them up again or are not sensible of them and their souls are no more stir'd by them than the body is by a draught of smal beer it is a sad symptome that their souls are in a dangerous and almost incurable condition So that this inward quietnesse is not in opposition to the sense of affliction for indeed there were no true Contentment if you were not apprehensive and sensible of your afflictions when God is angry It is not opposed 2 To an orderly making our moan and complaint to God and to our friends Though a Christian ought to be quiet under Gods correcting hand yet he may without any breach of Christian contentment complain to God as one of the Ancients saith though not with a tumultuous clamour and skreeking out in a perplexed passion yet in a quit still submissive way he may unbosom his heart unto God And likewise communicate his sad condition to his gracious friends shewing them how God hath dealt with him and how heavy the affliction is upon him that they may speak a word in due season to his wearied soul It is not opposed 3 To all lawful seeking out for help into another condition or simply endeavouring to be delivered out of the present affliction by the use of lawfull means No I may lay in provision for my deliverance use Gods meanes waiting on him because I know not but that it may be his will to alter my condition and so far as he leads me I may follow his providence it is but my duty God is thus far mercifully indulgent to our weakness and he will not take it ill at our hands if by earnest and importunate prayer we seek unto him for deliverance till we know his good pleasure therein And certainly thus seeking for help with such a submission and holy resignation of spirit to be delivered when God will and as God will and how God will so that our wils are melted into the will of God this is no opposition to the quietness which God requires in a contented spirit Quest But then what is this quietnesse of spirit opposed unto Ans To murmuring and repining at the hand of God as the discontented Israelits often did which if we our selves cannot indure either in our children or servants much lesse can God bear it in us 2 To vexing and fretting which is a degree beyond murmuring It is a speech I remember of an Heathen A wise man may greive under but not be vexed with his afflictions There is a vast difference betwixt a kindly grieving and a distempered vexation 3 To tumultuousness of spirit When the thoughts run distractingly and work in a confused manner so that the affections are like the unruly multitude in the Acts who knew not for what end they were come together The Lord expects that you should be silent under his rod and as he said in Act. 19.36 You ought to be quiet and to do nothing rashly 4 To unsetledness and unfixedness of spirit whereby the heart is taken off from the present duty that God requires in our several relations both towards God our selves and others We should prize duty at a higher rate than to be taken off by every trivial occasion a Christian indeed values every service of God so much that though some may be in the eye of the world and of natural reason a slight empty businesse beggerly rudiments foolishnesse yet seeing God cals for it the authority of the command doth so over awe his heart that he is willing to spend himself and to be spent in the discharge of it It is an expression of Luthers ordinary works that are done in faith and from faith are more precious than heaven and earth And if this be so and a Christian know it it is not a little matter that should divert him but he should answer every avocation and resist every tentation as Nehemiah did chap. 6.3 Sanballat Geshem and Tobiah when they would have hindred the building of the wall with this I am doing a great woâ—k saith he so that I cannot come down why should the work of the Lord cease 5 To distracting heart-eating cares and fears A gracious heart so estimates it's union with Christ and the work that God sets it about as it will not willingly suffer any thing to come in to choak it or dead it A Christian is desirous that the word of God should take such full possession as to divide between soul and spirit but he would not suffer the fear and noise of evil-tidings to take such impression in his soul as to make a division and strugling there like the twins in Rebeckah's womb A great man will permit common people to stand without his doors but he will not let them come in and make a noise in his closet or bed-chamber when he purposely retires himself from all worldly imployments So a well tempered spirit though it may inquire after things abroad without doors in the world and suffer some ordinary cares and fears to break in to the suburbs of the soul so as to have a light touch upon the thoughts Yet it will not upon any terms admit of an intrusion into the privy-chamber which should be wholly reserved for Jesus Christ as his inward Temple 6 To sinking discouragements When things fall not out according to expectation when the tyde of second causes runs so low that we see little left in the outward means to bear up our hopes and hearts That then the heart begins to reason as he in the Kings If the Lord should open the windows of heaven how should this be Never considering that God can open the eyes of the blind with clay and spittle he can work above beyond nay contrary to means he often makes the fairest flowers of mans indeavours to wither and brings improbable things to passe that the glory of interprizes may be given to himself Nay if his people stand in need of miracles to work their deliverance miracles fall as easily out of Gods hands as to give his people daily bread Gods blessing is many times secret upon his servants that they know not which way it comes as 2 Kings 3.17 Ye shall not see wind neither shall you see rain yet the valley shall be filled with water God would have us depend on him though we do not see means how the thing
natural reason may quiet the heart in some measure But now I say A gracious frame of spirit is not a meer stilnesse of body through a natural constitution and temper nor sturdinesse of resolution nor meerly through the strength of reason You will say wherein is this graciousness of Contentment distinguisht from all these More of this will be spoken to when we shew the mystery of it and the lessons that are learned but now we may speak a little by way of distinction here as now From the natural stilnesse of mens spirits many men and women have such a natural stilnesse of spirit and constitution of body that you shall find them seldom disquieted But now mark these kind of people that are so they likewise are very dull of a dull spirit in any good thing they have no quicknesse nor livelinesse of spirit in that which is good but now mark where contentment of heart is gracious the heart is very quick and lively in the service of God yea the more any gracious heart can bring its self to be in a contented disposition Oh the more fit it is for any service of God and is very active and lively in Gods service not dull in the service of God And as a Contented heart is very active and stirring in the work of God so he is very active and stirring in sanctifying Gods Name in the affliction that doth befall him The difference will appear very cleer thus One that is of a still disposition he is not disquieted indeed as others neither hath he any activenesse of spirit in sanctifying the Name of God in the affliction but now one that is content in a gracious way as he â—s not disquieted but keep his heartt quiet in respect of vexing and trouble so on the other side he is not dull nor heavy but is very active to sanctifie Gods Name in the affliction thas is upon him for it is not enough meerly not to murmur not to be discontented and troubled but you must be active in the sanctifying Gods Name in the affliction And indeed this will distinguish it from the other from a sturdy resolution I will not be troubled but though you have a sturdy resolution that you will not be troubled is there a conscionablenesse in you to sanctifie Gods Name in your affliction and doth it come from thence That is the main thing that brings the quiet of heart and helps against discontentednesse in a gracious heart I say the desire and care that thy soul hath to sanctifie Gods Name in an affliction it is that that quiets the soul which doth not in the other Neither when it is meerly from reason As Socrates it is said of him though he were but an heathen that what ever befel him he would never so much as change his countenance and he got this power over his spirit meerly by strength of reason and morallity but now this gracious contentment comes from principles beyond the strength of reason I cannot open that from whence it comes till we come to open the mystery of spiritual Contentment I will only give you this one note of difference between a man and a woman that is contented in a natural way and another that is contented in a spiritual way Those that are contented in a natural way they overcome themselves when outward afflictions doth befal them they are contented yea and they are contented as well when they commit sin against God either when they have outward crosses or when God is dishonoured it is all one either when themselves are crost or when God is crost but now a gracious heart that is contented with it's own affliction yet mightily rises when God is dishonoured The Fift is Freely freely submitting to and taking complacency in Gods dispose it is a free work of the spirit now there are four things to be opened in this freedom of spirit First that the heart is readily brought over that that one doth freely there is no great stir to bring them to it there are many men and women when their afflictions are grievous upon them with much adoe they are brought to be contented a great deal of stir there is to quiet their hearts when they are under affliction yet at last perhaps they are brought to it I but now this doth not come off freely if I desire a thing of another and I get it perhaps with much adoe and a great deal of stir there is but here 's no freedom of spirit but when a man is free in a thing do but mention it and presently he comes off to it So if you have learned this art of Contentment you will not only be contented after a great deal of do to quiet your hearts but readily as soon as ever you do come to think that it is the hand of God your heart presently closeth Secondly freely That is not by constraint not patience by force as we use to say As many will say that you must be content this is the hand of God and there is no help for it O this is too low an expression for Christians yet when Christians come to visit one another they say friend or neighbour you must be content this is to low an expression for a Christian Must be content no readily and freely I will be content It is sutable to my heart to yeild to God and to be content I find it is a thing that comes off of it self that my soul will be content Oh you should answer your friends so that come and tell you you must be content nay I am willing to yeild to God and I am freely content that 's the Second And then a free act it comes after a rational way that 's freedom that is it doth not come through ignorance because I know no better condition or that I know not what my affliction is I but it comes through a sanctified judgment for that is the reason that no creature can do an act of freedom but the rational creature the liberty of action is only in rational creatures and it comes from hence for that 's only freedom and out of liberty that 's wrought in a rational way as a natural freedom is when I by my judgment see what is to be done understand the thing and then there is a closing with what I do understand in my judgment that is freely done but now if a man doth a thing and understands not what he doth he cannot be said to do it freely So if men are contented but it is because they understand not what their affliction is or because they understand no better this is not freely as for instance Suppose a Child born in a prison and never in all his life went out the Child is contented why Because he never knew better but this is no free act of Contentation But now for men and women that do know better that know that the condition in which they are in it is
that Christ teaches it is this He teacheth us wherein consists any good that is to be enjoyed in any creature in the world It 's true before it hath been taught that there is a vanity in the Creature that is take the Creature considered in it's self but yet though there be a vanity in the Creature in it's self in respect of satisfying the soul for it's portion yet there is some goodnesse in the Creature though there be a vanity there 's some desirablenesse But wherein doth that consist It consists not in the nature of the Creature it self for that is nothing but vanity but it consists in the reference it hath to the first being of all things This is a Lesson that Christ teaches if there be any good in an estate or in any comforts in this world it is not so much that it pleases my sence that it is sutable to my body but the reference it hath to God the first being that by these creatures there should be somewhat of Gods goodnesse conveyed to me and I may have a sanctified use of the creature to draw me neerer to God and that I enjoy more of God and be made more servicable for the glory of God in the place where God hath set me here 's the good of the Creature Oh were we but instructed in this lesson did we but understand and throughly beleeve this to be a truth that there is no creature in all the world hath any goodnesse in it any further then it hath reference to the first infinit supream good of all that so far as I can enjoy God in it so far it is good to me and so far as I do not enjoy God in it so far there is no goodnesse in any thing that I have in the Creature how easie were it then for one to be contented as thus Suppose a man had a great estate but a few years ago and now it is all gone I would but appeale to this man when you had your estate wherein did you account the good of that estate to consist a carnal heart would say any body might know that that it brought me in so much a year and that I could fare of the best and be a man of repute in the place where I live and men would regard what I said I might be cloathed as I would and lay up portions for my children in this consisted the good of my estate this man now never came into the School of Christ to know wherein the good of an estate did consist no marvail if he be disquieted when he hath lost his estate But now a Christian that hath been in the School of Christ and hath been instructed in the art of Contentment when such a one hath an estate he thinks in that I have an estate above my brethren in this consists the good of it tome in that I have an opportunity to serve God the better and I enjoy a great deal of Gods mercy to my Soul conveyed to me through the Creature and hereby I am inabled to do a great deal of good and therein I account the good of my estate Now God hath taken this away from me now if God will be pleased to make up the enjoyment of himself another way that is will call me to honour him by suffering and if I may do God as much service now in my way of suffering that is to shew forth the Grace of his Spirit in the way of my suffering as I did in the way of prosperity I have as much of God as I had before if I may be led to God in my low condition as much as I was in my prosperous condition I have as much comfort and contentment as I had before Obj. But you wil say it is true If I could honour God in my low estate as much as in my prosperous estate then it were somewhat but how can that be Answ You must know the special honour that God hath from his creatures in this world it is the manifestation of the Graces of his Spirit It 's true God hath a great deal of honour when a man is in a publick place and so he is able to do a great deal of good to countenance Godlinesse and discountenance Sin but the main thing is in our shewing forth the vertues of him that hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light Now if I can say that through Gods mercy in my affliction I find the Graces of Gods Spirit working as strongly in me as ever they did when I had my estate I am where I was yea I am fully in as good a condition for I have that good now that I had in my prosperous estate for I accounted the good of it but in my enjoyment of God and honouring of God and now God hath blest the want of it to stir up the Graces of his Spirit in my soul and this is the work that now God cals me to and I must account God is most honoured when I do the work that he cals me to he set me a work in my prosperous estate at that time to honour him in that condition and now he sets me a work at this time to honour him in this condition Now God is most honoured when I can turn from one condition to another according as he cals me to it would you account your selves to be honoured by your servants when you set them about a work that hath some excellency and they will go on and on and you cannot get them off from it Now let the work be never so good yet if you will call them off to another work you do expect that they should manifest so much respect to you as to be content to come off from that though they be set about a meaner work if it be more sutable to your ends So you were in a prosperous estate and there God called you to some service that you took some pleasure in but suppose God saith I will use you in a suffering condition and I will have you honour me in that way now here 's the honouring of God that you can turn this way or that way as God cals you to it thus now you having learned this That the good of the Creature cansists in the enjoyment of God in it and the honouring of God by it you can be content because you have the same good that you had before And that 's the Fifth lesson The Sixth Lesson that Christ doth teach the soul that hee brings into this School is this Hee doth instruct such a man or woman in the knowledge of their own hearts you must learn this or you will never learn Contentment you must learn to know your own hearts well to be good studients of your own hearts you cannot al be scholers in the arts and sciences in the world but you may all be students in your own hearts you cannot reade in the book many of you
to understand this that God doth use when he will bring life he doth bring it out of death he brings joy out of sorrow and he brings prosperity out of adversity yea and many times he brings grace out of sin that is makes use of sin to work furtherance of grace it is the way of God to bring good out of evil not only to overcome the evil but to make the evil to work towards the good here 's the way of God now when the soul comes to understand this it will take away our murmuring and bring Contentment into our spirits But I fear there are but few that understand it aright perhaps they reade of such things and hear such things in a Sermon but they are not by Jesus Christ instructed in this that this is the way of God To bring the greatest good out of the greatest evil Now thus having dispach'd the Third Head the Lessons that we are to learn we come to the Fourth and that is The excellency of this Grace of Contentment And there is a great deal of excellencie in Contentment that 's a kind of Lesson too for us to learn And this Head likewise will be somewhat long Saith the Apostle I have learned As if he should say Blessed be God for this Oh! it is a mercy of God to me that I have learned this lesson I find so much good in this Contentment that I would not for a world but have it I have learned it saith he Now the very Heathens had a sight of a great excellency that there is in Contentment I remember I have read of Antistenes a Philosopher that desired of his gods speaking after the heathenish way nothing in this world to make his life happy but Contentment and if he might have any thing that hee would desire to make his life happy he would aske of them that he might have the spirit of Socrates that he might have such a spirit as Socrates had to be able to bear any wrong any injuries that he met withall and to continue in a quiet temper of spirit whatsoever befell him for that was the temper of Socrates whatever befell him he continued the same man whatever crosse befell him no body could perceive any alteration of his spirit though never so great crosses did befall him This a Heathen did attain to by the strength of Nature and a common work of the spirit Now this Antistenes saw such an excellency in this spirit As when God said to Solomon What shall I give thee he asked of God wisdom so saith he If the gods should put it to me to know what I would have I would desire this thing that I might have the spirit of Socrates he saw a great excellency that there was in this And certainly a Christian may see abundance of excellency in it I shall labour to set it out to you in this Sermon that you may be in love with this Grace of Contentment In the First place By Contentment we come to give God that worship that is due to him It is a special part of Divine worship that we owe to God if we be content in a Christian way according as hath been opened to you I say it is a special part of the Divine worship that the creature owes to the infinit Creator in that I do tender that respect that is due from me to the Creator The word that the Greeks have that signifies to worship it is as much as to come and crouch before another as a dog should come crouching unto you and be willing to lie down at your feet so the creature in the apprehension of its owne basenesse and the infinit Excellency that there is in God above it when it comes to worship God it comes and crouches to this God and it lies down at the feet of God then doth the creature worship God When you see a dog come crouching to you and you can make him with holding your hand over him to lie down at your feet then consider thus should you do before the Lord you should come crouching to him and lie down at his feet even upon your backs or bellies to lie down in the dust before him so as to be willing that he should do with you what he will as somtimes you may turn a dog this way or that way up and down with the hand and there he lies before you according to your shewing him with your hand So when the creature shall come and lie down thus before the Lord then a Creature worships God doth tender you that worship that is due to God Now in what disposition of heart do we thus â—ouch to God more than when we have this Contentation in all conditions that God disposed us unto This is a crouching unto Gods dispose to be like the poor woman of Canaan when Christ said it is not fit to give Childrens meat to dogs but saith she the dogs have crums I am a dog I confesse I but let me have but a crum And so when the soul shall be in such a disposition as to lie down and say Lord I am but as a dog yet let me have a crum then doth it highly honour God It may be some of you have not your table spread as others have but God gives you crums now saith the poor woman dogs have crums and when you can find your hearts thus subjecting unto God to be but as a dog and can be Contented and blesse God for any crum I say this is a great worship of God you worship God by this more than when you come to hear a Sermon or spend half an hour or an hour in prayer or when you come to receive a Sacrament These are the acts of Gods worship I but these are but external acts of worship to hear and pray and receive Sacraments But now this is the Soul-worship to subject its self thus to God You that often will worship God by Hearing and Praying and receiving Sacraments and yet afterwards will be froward and discontented know that God regards not that worship he will have the soul-worship in this subjecting of the soul to God Observe it I beseech you in active obedience there we worship God by doing that that pleases God but by passive obedience we do as well worship God by being pleased with that that God doth Now when I perform a duty I worship God I do what pleases God why should I not as well worship God when I am pleased with what God doth As it was said of Christs obedience Christ was active in his passive obedience and passive in his active obedience So the Saints they are passive in their active obedience they are first passive in their reception of grace and then active And when they come to passive obedience they are active they put forth grace in active obedience when they perform actions to God then saith the Soul Oh! that I could do that that pleases God
when they come to suffer any crosse Oh that what God doth might please me I labour to do what pleases God and I labour that what God doth shall please me here 's a Christian indeed that shall endeavour both these now this is but one side of a Christian to endeavour to do what pleases God but you must as well endeavour to be pleased with what God doth and so you shall come to be a compleat Christian when you can do both And that 's the first thing in the excellency of this Grace of Contentment The Second thing in the opening of this excellency of Contentment is That in Contentment there is much exercise of Grace There is much strength of Grace yea there is much beauty of Grace in Contentment there is much exercise of Grace strength of Grace and beauty of Grace I put all these together 1 Much exercise of Grace There is a composition of Grace in Contentment there is faith and there is humility and love and there is patience and there is wisdom and there is hope all graces almost are compounded it 's an oyle that hath the ingredients of all kind of graces and therefore though you cannot see the particular grace yet in this oyl you have it all God sees the Graces of his Spirit exercised in a special manner and this pleases God at the heart to see the Graces of his Spirit exercised In some one action that you do you may exercise some one grace especially but now in Contentment you exercise a great many graces at once 2 There is a great deal of strength of Grace in Contentment It argues a great deal of strength in the body the body to be able to endure hard weather and whatsoever fals out and yet not to be much altered by it so it argues strength of Grace to be content You that complain of weaknesse of memory and weaknesse of parts you cannot do what others do in other things but have you this gracious heart-contentment that hath been opened to you I know that you have attained to strength of Grace in this when it is so spiritual as hath been opened to you in the explication of this point As it is with a mans braine if a man be distempered in his body and hath many obstructions in his body hath an ill stomack and his spleen and liver obstructed and yet for all this his brain is not distempered it is an argument of a great strength of brain and though there be many ill fumes that riseth from his corrupt stomack yet still his brain is not distempered but he continues in the free exercise of the use of his reason and understanding every one may understand that this man hath a very strong brain that such things shall not distemper him whereas other people that have a weak brain if they do not disgest but one meals meat the fumes that do arise from their stomacks doth distemper their brain and makes them unfit for every thing whereas you shall have others that have strong heads and strong brains though their stomacks be ill that they do not disgest meat yet still they have the free use of their brain this argues strength So it is in a mans spirit you shall have many that have weak spirits and if they have any ill fumes if accidents befal them you shall presently have them out of temper but you shall have other men that though things do fume up yet still they keep in a steady-way and have the use of reason and of other graces and possess their Souls with patience As I remember it 's reported of the Eagle it 's not like other fowls other fowls when they are hungrie make an noise but the Eagle is never heard to make an noise though it wants food and it is from the magnitude of his spirit that it will not make such complaints as other fowls will do when they want food it is because it is above hunger and above thirst So it is argument of a gracious magnitude of spirit that whatsoever befals it yet it is not alwaies whyning and complaining so as others are but goes on still in it's way and course and blesses God and keeps in a constant tenour whatsoever thing befals it such things as causes others to be dejected and fretted and vexed and takes away all the comfort of their lives it makes no alteration at all in the spirits of these men and women I say this is a sign of a great deal of strength of Grace 3 It 's also an argument of a great deal of beauty of Grace It 's a speech that Seneca a Heathen once had saith he When you go abroad into groves and woods and there you see the talnesse of the trees and their shadows it strikes a kind of awful fear of a Deity in you and when you see the vast rivers and fountains and deep waters that strikes a kind of fear of a God in you but saith he do you see a man that is quiet in tempests and that lives happily in the middest of adversities why do not you worship that man he doth think him a man even to be honoured that shall be quiet and live a happy life though in the middest of adversities The glory of God appears here more than in any of his works there is no works that God hath made the Sun Moon and Stars and all the world wherein so much of the glory of God doth appear as in a man that lives quietly in the middest of adversity That was that that covinc'd the King when he saw the three Children could walk in the midest of the fiery furnace not be toucht the King was mightily convinc'd by this that surely their God was a great God indeed that they were highly beloved of their God that could walk in the mid'st of the furnace and not be toucht whereas the others that came but to the mouth of the furnace were devoured so when a Christian can walk in the mid'st of fiery trials and not his garments singed but have comfort and joy in the mid'st of all as Paul in the stocks can sing that wrought upon the jaylour so it will convince men when they see the power of grace in the middest of afflictions such afflictions as would make others to rore under them yet they can behave themselves in a gracious and holy manner Oh it 's the glory of a Christian It is that that is said to be the glory of Christ for so by Interpreters it is thought to be meant of Christ In Micah 5.5 And this man the text saith shall be the peace when the Assyrian shall come into our land and when he shall tread in our pallaces This man shall be the peace when the Assyrian shall come into our land for one to be in peace when there is no enemies it 's no great matter but saith the text when the Assyrian shal come into our land then this man shall be
of the Mast if you will and yet keep it light so the comfort of a Christian when it is enlivened with the grace of Contentment it may be keept light whatever storms or tempests come yet he can keep light in his soul Oh! this helps thy comforts exceeding much Seventhly There is this Excellency in Contentment that it fetches in the comfort of those things we have not really in possession and perhaps many that have not outward things have more comfort than those have that do enjoy them themselves As now a man by distilling herbs though he hath not the herbs themselves yet having the water that is distil'd out of them he may enjoy the benefit of the herbs so though a man hath not the reall possession of such an outward estate an outward comfort yet he by the grace of Contentment may fetch it in to himself By the art of Navigation we can fetch in the riches of the East and West-Indies to our selves so by the art of Contentment we may fetch in the comfort of any condition to our selves that is we may have that comfort by Contentment that we should have if we had the thing it self There is an notable story you have for this in Plutarch in the life of Pyrus one Sineus comes to him and would very fain have had him desist from the wars and not war with the Romans saith he to him May it please your Majestie it is reported that the Romans are very good men of warre and if it please the gods we do over-come them what benefit shall we have of that Victory Pyrhus answered him We shall then straight conquer all the rest of Italy with ease Saith Sineus Indeed it is likely which your Grace speaketh But when we have won Italy will then our wars end If the Gods were pleased said Pyrhus that the victory were achieved the way were then broad open for us to attain great conquests for who would not afterwards go into Africk and so to Carthage But saith Sineus when we have all in our hands what shall we do in the end then Pyrhus laughing told him again we will then be quiet and take our ease and make feasts every day and be as merry one with another as we can possible saith Sineus What letteth us now to be as quiet and merry together fith we enjoy that presently without further travel and trouble which we should go seek for abroad with such shedding of blood and so manifest danger Cannot you sit down and be merry now So a man may think if I had such a thing then I would have another and if I had that then I should have more and what if you had got al your desire then you would be content why you may be content now without them Certainly our Contentment doth not consist in the getting of the thing we desire but in Gods fashioning our spirits to our conditions There 's some men that have not a foot of ground of their own yet will live better than other men that are heirs to a great deal of land I have known it in the country somtimes that a man lives upon his own land and yet lives very poorly but you shall have another man that shall farm his land and yet by his good husbandry and by his care shall live better somtimes than he that hath the land of his own so a man by this art of Contentment may live better without an estate than another man can of an estate Oh! it adds exceeding much to the comfort of a Christian and that I may shew it farther there is more comfort even in grace of Contentment than there is in any possessions whatsoever a man hath more comfort in being content without a thing than he can have in the thing that he in a discontented way doth desire You think if I had such a thing then I should be content I say There is more good in Contentment than there is in the thing that you would fain have to cure your discontent and that I shall open in divers particulars As thus 1. I would fain have such a thing and then I could be content but if I had it then it were but the creature that did help to my Contentment but now it 's the Grace of God in my soul that makes me content and surely it is better to be Content with the Grace of God in my soul than with the enjoying of an outward comfort 2. If I had such a thing indeed my estate might be better but my soul would not be better but by Contentment my soul is better that would not be bettered by an estate or lands or friends but Contentment makes my self to be better and therefore Contentment is a better portion than the thing is that I would fain have to be my portion 3. If I get Content by having my desire satisfied that 's but self-love but when I am Contented with the hand of God and am willing to be at his dispose that comes from my love to God in having my desire satisfied there I am contented through self-love but through the Grace of Contentment I come to be contented out of love to God and is it not beteer to be contented from a principle of love to God than from a principle of self-love 4. If I am contented because I have that that I have a desire to perhaps I am contented in that one particular but that one particular doth not furnish me with Contentment in another thing perhaps I may grow more dainty and nice and froward in other things if you give children what they would have in some things they grow so much the more coy and dainty and discontented if they have not other things that they would have but if I have once overcome my heart and am contented through the grace of God in my heart then this doth not content me only in a particular but in general whatsoever befals me I am discontented and would fain have such a thing and afterwards I have it now doth this prepare me to be contented in other things no but when I have gotten this Grace of Contentment I am prepar'd to be contented in all conditions and thus you see that Contentment doth bring comfort to a mans life fils a mans life full of comfort in this world yea the truth is it is even a Heaven upon Earth why what is Heaven but the rest and quiet of a mans spirit what 's the special thing that is in Heaven but rest and joy that makes the life of Heaven there 's rest and joy and satisfaction in God so it 's here in a contented spirit there 's rest and joy and satisfaction in God In Heaven there 's singing praises to God a contented heart is alwaies praising and blessing God thou hast Heaven while thou art upon earth when thou hast a contented spirit yea in some regards it's better than Heaven How is that you will say there
account it such a great evil to be under such an affliction Certainly that good that we have in the ground for our faith it is enough to content our hearts here and to all eternity A Christian should be satisfied with that that God hath made to be the object of his faith the object of his faith is high enough to satisfie his soul were it capable of a thousand times more than it is Now if thou mayest have the object of thy faith full thou hast enough to content thy soul And know that when thou art discontented for want of such and such comforts if thou wouldest but think thus God did never promise me that I should have these Comforts and at this time and in such a way as I would have but I am discontented because I have not these which God did never yet promise me and therefore I sin much against the Gospel and against the grace of faith There is yet another thing It 's below the hopes of Christians Oh! the most glorious things that the Saints hope for And against the helps that Christians have Christians have great helps that may help them against murmuring And it is against that which God expects from Christians God he expects other manner of things from them than this Yea and it is below that that God hath from other Christians These things I shall open at another time SERMON VIII PHILIPPIANS 4.1 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I Mentioned divers things the last day to set out the evil of discontent I shall name Two or Three more Sixthly It is below a Christian in this Because it 's below those helps that a Christian hath more than others have they have the promises to help them that others have not it 's not so much to have a Nabal have his heart sink because he hath nothing but the creature to uphold him but it 's much for a Christian that hath promises and ordinances to uphold his spirit which others have not Seventhly It 's below the expectation that God hath of Christians for God expects not only that they should be patient in afflictions but that they should rejoyce and triumph in them now Christians when God expects this from you for you not so much as to have attained to contentednesse under afflictions Oh this is beneath the expectation of God from you Eightly It is below that that God hath had from other Christians Others have not only bin contented with little crosses but they have Triumphed under great afflictions they have suffered the spoiling of their goods with joy reade but the latter part of the 11. of the Hebrews and you shall find what great things God hath had from his people and therefore not to be content with smaler crosses this must needs be a great evil The Sixth evil that there is in a murmuring spirit is this By murmuring you undo your prayers for it is exceeding contrary to the prayers that you make unto God When you come to prayer to God you acknowledge his Sovereignity over you you come there to professe your selves to be at Gods dispose what do you pray for except you acknowledge that you are at his dispose except you will stand as it were at his dispose never come to petition to him if you will come to petition him and yet will be your own carver you go crosse to your prayers to come as if you would beg your bread at your Fathers gates every day and yet you must do what you list this is the undoing of the prayers of a Christian I remember I have read of Lattimer that speaking concerning Peter that denyed his master saith he Peter forgot his Pater-noster for that was hallowed be thy name and thy kingdom come So we may say when you have murmuring and discontented hearts you forget your prayers you forget what you have prayed for for you must make the Lords-prayer to be as a pattern for your prayers though you say not alwaies the same words what do you pray but give us this day our dayly bread for that 's Christs intention that we should have that as a pattern and is a directory as it were how to make our prayers now God doth not teach any of you to pray Lord give me so much a yeer or let me have such kind of cloath and so many dishes at my table Christ doth not teach you to pray so but he teaches us to pray Lord give us our bread shewing that you should be content with a little what have you not bread to eat I hope there 's none of you here but have that Obj. But I do not know if I should die what should become of my children Or if I have bread now I know not where I shall have it the next week or where I shall have provision for the winter Answ Where did Christ teach us to pray Lord give us provision for so long a time no but if we have bread for this day Christ would have us content Therefore when we murmur because we have not so much variety as others have we do as it were forget our Pater-noster It 's against our prayers we do not in our lives hold forth the acknowledgement of the Sovereignity of God over us as we seem to acknowledg in our prayers therefore when at any time you find your hearts murmuring then do but reflect upon your selves and think thus is this according to my prayers wherein I held forth the Sovereign Power and Authority that God had over me The Seventh thing that I adde for the evil of discontentment is The wofull effects that comes to a discontented heart from murmuring I 'le name you five there are five evil effects that comes from a murmuring spirit 1 By murmuring and discontent in your hearts you come to loose a great deal of time how many times do men and women when they are discontented let their thoughts run and are musing and contriving through their present discontentednesse then let their discontented thoughts be working in them for some hours together and they spend their time in vain When you are alone you should spend your time in holy meditation but you are spending your time in discontented thoughts you who complain that you cannot meditate you cannot think on good things but if you begin to think of them a little presently your thoughts are off from them but if you be discontented with any thing then you can go alone and muse and roul things up and down in your thoughts to feed a discontented humour Oh labour to see this evil effect of murmuring the losing of your time 2. It doth unfit you for duty A man or woman that is in a contented frame you may turn such a one to any thing at any time he is fit for to go to God at any time but when one is in a discontented condition then a man or woman is exceeding unfit for
the service of God And it causes many distractions in duty it unfits for duty and when you come to perform duties Oh the distractions that are in your duties when your spirits are discontented when you hear of any ill news from Sea and cannot bear it or of any ill from a friend or any losse or crosse Oh what distractions do they cause in the performance of holy duties When you should be in enjoying communion with God you are distracted in your thoughts about the crosse that hath befallen you whereas had you but a quiet spirit though there should great crosses befal you yet they would never hinder you in the performance of any duty 3 Consider what wicked risings of heart resolutions of spirit there are many times in a discontented fit In some discontented fits the heart rises against God and against others and sometimes hath even desperate resolutions what to do to help themselves If the Lord should have suffered you to have done sometimes in a discontented fit what you had thought to do what wonderfull misery had you brought upon your selves Oh it was a mercy of God that did stop you had not God stopt you but let you go on when you thought to help your selves this way and the other way Oh it had been ill with you do you but remember those risings of heart and wicked resolutions that sometimes you have had in a discontented mood and learn to be humbled upon that 4 Vnthankefulnesse that 's an evil and a wicked effect that comes from discontent Unthankfulnesse the Scripture doth ranke among very great sins For men and women that are discontent though they enjoy many mercies from God yet they are thankfull for none of them for this is the vile nature of discontentment to lessen every mercy of God to make those mercies they have from God to be as nothing to them because they have not what they would have Sometimes it 's so even in spiritual things if they have not all they would have the comforts that they would have then what they have is nothing to them do you think that God will take this well If you should give a friend a kinsman a purse of money to go and trade withal and he should come and say what do you give me they are but a few counters they wil do me no good you cannot bear this at his hand if he should do so because he hath not as much money as he would So for you to be ready to say All that God hath given me is nothing worth will do me no good they are but counters though they are the precious Graces of Gods Spirit that are more worth than thousands of worlds yet for you to say they are nothing they are but common gifts and all is but in hypocrisie all counterfeit Oh! what an unthankful thing is this the graces of Gods Spirit are nothing to a discontented heart that hath not all that it would have and so for outward blessings though God hath given you health of body and strength and hath given you some competency for your family some way of lively-hood yet because you are disappointed in somwhat that you would have therefore all is nothing unto you Oh! what unthankfulnesse is here God expects that every day you should spend some time in blessing his Name for what mercy he hath granted unto you there 's not any one of you who are in the lowest condition but you have abundance of mercies to blesse God for but discontentednesse makes them nothing It 's an excellent speech that I remember Luther hath saith he This is the Rhetorick of the Spirit of God it 's a very fine speech of his to extenuate evil things and to amplyfie good things if there fals out a crosse to make the crosse to be but little but if there be a mercy to make the mercy to be great as thus If there be a cross if the Spirit of God prevails in the heart such a man or woman will wonder that it is no greater and will blesse God that though there be such a crosse yet that it is no more that 's the work of the Spirit of God and if there be a mercy wonders at Gods goodnesse that God granted so great a mercy The Spirit of God extenuates evils and crosses and doth magnifie and amplifie all mercies and makes all mercies seem to be great and all afflictions seem to be little But saith he the Devil goes quite contrary the Rhetorick of the Devil is quite otherwise he doth lessen Gods mercies and amplifie evill things as thus A godly man wonders at his crosse that it is no more a wicked man wonders his crosse is so much Oh saith he none was ever so afflicted as I am If there be a crosse the Devil puts the soul upon musing on it and making it greater than it is and so it brings discontent And then on the other side if there be a mercy then it 's the Rhetorick of the Devil to lessen the mercy I indeed saith he the thing is a good thing but what is it it is no great matter and for all this I may be miserable Thus the Rhetorick of Satan doth lessen Gods mercies and doth increase afflictions And for this I 'le give you a notable example that we have in Scripture it is the example of Korah Dathan Abiram In Numb 16.12 13. And Moses sent to call Dathan Abiram the sons of Eliab which said we will not come up Is it a smal thing that thou hast brought us up out of a Land that floweth with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness except thou make thy self altogether a Prince over us Mark they slighted the land that they were going unto the Land of Canaan that was the Land that God promised them that should flow with milk and honey But mark here their discontentednesse because they met with some troubles in the wildernesse Oh it was to slay them they made their affliction in the wilderness to be greater than it was Oh it was to kill them though it were indeed to carry them to the Land of Canaan But now their deliverance from Egypt though it was a great mercy they made that mercy to be nothing for say they you have brought us out of a land that floweth with milk and honey what land was that It was the Land of Egypt the Land of their bondage but they call it a Land that flowed with milk and honey though it were the land of their most cruel and unsupportable bondage whereas they should have blessed God as long as they had liv'd for Gods delivering them out of the land of Egypt yet meeting with some crosse they make their deliverance from Egypt no mercie no it was rather a miserie to them Oh say they Egypt was a land that flowed with milk and honey Oh what basenesse is there in a discontented spirit a discontented spirit out of envie
find not such happinesse in them but they prove to be the greatest crosses and afflictions to you that ever you had and upon this ground because your hearts were immoderatly set upon them before you had them As it was with Rachel she must have children or else she died well saith God seeing you must you shal have them but though she had a child she died according to what she said Give me children or else I die So in regard of any other outward comforts people may have the thing but often times they have it so as it proves the heaviest crosse to them that ever they had in all their lives such a child as you were discontent for the want of it it may be it was sick and your hearts were out of temper for fear that you should lose it and God restores it but he restores it so as he makes it a cross to your heart all the daies of your lives One observes concerning Manna when the people were contented with their allowance that God allowed them then it was verie good but when they would not be content with Gods allowance but would gather more than God would have them then saith the text there was worms in it So when we are content with our conditions and that that God disposes of us to be in there 's a blessing in it then it 's sweet to us but if we must needs have more and keep it longer than God would have us to have it then there will be worms in it and no good at all 5. There 's a great deal of folly in discontentedness for it makes our afflictions a great deal worse than otherwise it would be it no way removes our affliction nay while they do continue they are a great deal the worse and heaviour for a discontented heart is a proud heart and a proud heart wil not pul down his sails when there comes a tempest and storme If a Marriner when a tempest and storme comes should be froward and would not pull down his sails but is discontented with the storm is his condition the better because he is discontented and will not pull down his sails Will this help him Just so is it for all the world with a discontented heart a discontented heart is a proud heart and he out of his pride is troubled with his affliction and is not contented with Gods dispose and so he will not pull down his spirit at all and make it bow to God in this condition in which God hath brought him now is his condition the better because he will not pull down his spirit no certainly abundantly worse a thousand to one but the tempest and storm over-whelms his soul And thus you see what a great deal of folly there is in the sinne of discontentment The Ninth Evil of murmuring and discontentment is this There is a mighty deal of danger in the sin of discontentment for it exceedingly provoketh the wrath of God it 's a sin that doth much provoke God against his creature we find most sad expressions in Scripture and examples too how God hath been provoked against many for their discontent in Numb 14. you have a notable text and one would think that that were enough for ever to make you fear murmuring in the 26. verse it is said The Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying what did he say How long shall I bear with this evill Congregation which murmur against me How long shall I bear with them saith God This evil congregation Oh it 's an evil congregation that murmur against me And how long shall I bear with them they do murmur and they have murmured as those that have murmuring spirits and murmuring dispositions they wil murmur again and again How long shall I hear with this evil congregation that murmur against me How justly may God speak this of many of you that are this morning before the Lord How long shall I bear with this wicked man or woman that doth murmur against me and hath usually in the course of their lives murmured against me when any thing falls out otherwise than they would have it And mark what follows after I have heard the murmurings of the Children of Israel You murmur it may be others hear you not nay it may be you speak not at all or but half-words yet God hears the language of your murmuring hearts and those muttering speeches and those half-words that comes from you And observe further in this verse how the Lord repeats this sin of murmuring How long shall I bear with this evill congregation which murmur against me Secondly I have heard their murmuring Thirdly which they murmur against me Murmur murmur murmur Three times in one verse he repeats it and this is to shew his indignation against the thing When you expresse indignation against a thing you will repeat it over again and again now the Lord because he would express his indignation against this sin he repeats it over again and again and it follows in the 28. vers Say unto them as truly as I live saith the Lord as ye have spoken in mine ears so will I do to you Mark God swears against a murmurer sometimes in your discontent you will be ready to swear it may be do you swear in your discontent So doth God swear against you for your discontent And what was it that God would do unto them verse 29 30. Doubtless your carkeises shall fall in the wilderness and you shall not come into the land concerning which I swear to make you dwel therein as if God should say if I have any life in me your lives shall go for it as I live it shall cost you your lives A discontented murmuring fit of yours may cost you your lives You see how it provokes God there is more evil in it than you are aware of it may cost you your lives and therefore look to your selves and learn to be humbled at the very beginnings of such distempers in the heart So in Psal 106.24 25. Yea they despised the pleasant Land they beleeved not his word But murmured in their tents and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord therefore be lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them in the wildernesse Here are divers things observable in this Scripture First That which we spoke to before How a murmuring heart doth slight Gods mercies so it is here They despised the pleasant land and that a murmuring heart is contrary to faith they beleeved not his word but saith the text they murmured in their tents and hearkened not to the voice of the Lord. Many men and women will hearken to the voice of their own base murmuring hearts that will not hearken to the voice of the Lord if you would hearken to the voice of the Lord there would not be such murmuring as there is But mark what follows upon it you may not think to please your selves in your murmuring discontentednesse
with the Word that so it may passe away for that 's the way of Phisitians when they meet with a body that hath any tough humour then they give that that hath a peircing quality when there is a tough humour that stops the water that it cannot passe they give that that hath a peircing quality that may make passage for it and so thou hast need of such things that are piercing to make way through this tough humour that is in the spirits of men and women whereby they come to live very uncomfortably to themselves and others and very dishonourable unto God SERMON X. PHILIPPIANS 4.11 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content NOW there are many Pleas and reasonings yet remain for there 's a great deal of do with a discontented murmuring heart And I remember I find that the same Hebrew word that signifies to lodge to abide it signifies to murmur they use one word for both for murmuring is a distemper that doth lodge in men where it gets in once it lodgeth abideth and continues and therefore that we may unlodge it and get it out we will labour to shew what are the further reasonings of a discontented heart The Fourth Plea Me thinks I could be content with Gods hand saith one so far as I see the hand of God in a thing I can be content but when men deal so unreasonably and unjustly with me I know not how to bear it I can bear it that I should be in Gods hands but not in the hands of men my friends or acquaintance when they deal so unrighteously with me Oh this goes very hard unto me that I know not how to bear it from men For the taking away of this reasoning first Though they be men that bring this crosse upon you yet they are Gods Instruments God hath a hand in it and they can go no further then God would have them go This was that that quieted David when Shimei curst him saith he God hath a hand in it though Shimei be a base wicked man yet I look beyond him to God So is there any of your friends that deal injuriously with you and crosse with you look up to God and see that man but as an instrument in Gods hands Secondly If this be your trouble that men do so wrong you you are rather to turn your hearts to pity them than to murmur or be discontented For the truth is if you be wronged by other men you have the better of it for it is better to bear wrong than to do wrong a great deal if they wrong you your heart cannot submit you are in a better condition than they because it 's better to bear than do wrong I remember it is said of Socrates that being very patient when wrong was done to him they asked him how he came to be so saith he If I meet with a man in the street that is a diseased man shall I be vexed fretted with him because he is diseased those that wrong me I look upon them as diseased men and therefore pity them Thirdly Though you meet with hard dealings from men yet you meet mith nothing but kind good and righteous dealings from God when you meet with unrighteous dealings from them set one against the other And that 's for the answer to the fourth Plea A Fifth Plea Oh but that affliction that comes upon me is an affliction that I never lookt for I never thought to have met with such an affliction and that is that I know not how to bear that is that which makes my heart so disquiet because it was altogether unlookt for and unexpected For the answer of this first it is thy weaknesse and folly that thou didest not look for it and expect it In Acts 20.22 23. see what Saint Paul saith concerning himself And now behold I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem not knowing the things that shall befal me there save that the Holy-Ghost witnesseth in every City saying that bonds and afflictions abide me It 's true saith he I know not the particular affliction that may befal me but this I know that the Spirit of God witnesseth that bonds and afflictions shall abide me every where I look for nothing else but bonds and afflictions wheresoever go so a Christian should do he should look for afflictions wheresoever he is in all conditions he should look to meet with afflictions and therefore if any affliction should befall him though indeed he could not fore-see the particular evil yet he should think this is no more than I lookt for in the general Therefore no affliction should come unexpectedly to a Christian A second answer I would give is this Is it unexpected then the lesse provision thou madest for it before it came the more careful shouldest thou be to sanctifie Gods Name in it now it is come it is in this case of afflictions as in mercies many times mercy comes unexpected and that might be a third answer to you set one against the other I have many mercies that I never lookt for as well as afflictions that I never lookt for why should not one rejoyce me as well as the other disturbs me As it is in mercies when they come unexpected the lesse preparation there was in me for receiving mercy the more need I have to be careful now to give God the glory of the mercy to sanctifie Gods Name in the enjoyment of the mercy Oh so it should be with us now we have had mercies this summer that we never expected and therefore we were not prepared for them now we should be so much the more careful to give God the glory of them so when afflictions come that we did not expect then it seems we laid not in for them before hand we had need be the more careful to sanctifie Gods Name in them we should have spent some pains before to prepare for afflictions and we did not then take so much the more pains to sanctifie God in this affliction now And that 's a fift reasoning The Sixth Plea Oh! but it is very great mine affliction it is exceeding great saith one and how ever you say we must be contented it 's true you may say so that feel not such great afflictions but if you felt my affliction that I feel you would think it hard to bear and be content To that I answer Let it be as great an affliction as it will it â—â— not so great as thy sin He hath punished thee lesse than thy sins Secondly It might have bin a great deal more thou mightest have bin in Hell And it is as I remember Bernards speech saith he It is an easier matter to be opprest than perish Thou mightest have been in Hell and therefore the greatness of the thing should not make thee murmur grant it be great Thirdly It may be it 's the greater because thy heart doth so murmur for shackles
THE RARE JEWEL OF CHRISTIAN Contentment Wherein is shewed I. What CONTENTMENT is II. The holy Art or Mystery of it III. Severall Lessons that Christ teacheth to work the Heart to Contentment IV. The excellencies of it V. The evils of Murmuring VI. The aggravations of the sin of Murmuring By Jeremiah Burroughs The first of the three Volumes that are published by Thomas Goodwyn William Greenhill Sydrach Simpson Philip Nye William Bridge John Yates William Adderley London Printed for Peter Cole at the Printing-Press in Cornhil near the Royall Exchange 1649. THou hast here a true Catalogue of all the works of Master Ieremiah Burroughs that are Published by us Thomas Goodwyn William Greenhil Sydrach Simpson Philip Nye William Bridge Iohn Yates William Adderly The first Volume The rare Jewel of Christian Contentment Wherein is shewed 1. What Contentment is 2. The holy Art or Mystery of it 3. Severall Lessons that Christ teacheth to work the Heart to Contentment 4. The excellencies of it 5. The evils of Murmuring 6. The aggravations of the sin of murmuring The second Volume Gospel-Worship Wherein is shewed 1. The right manner of Sanctifying the Name of God in general and particularly in these three great Ordinances 1. Hearing the Word 2. Receiving the Lords-Supper 3. Prayer The third Volume Gospel-Conversation Wherein is shewed 1. That the Conversation of Believers must be above what could be by the light of Nature 2. Beyond those that lived under the Law 3. Suitable to what Truths the Gospel holds forth All Printed for Peter Cole at the Printing-Presse in Cornhill near the Royal Exchange London 1649. To the READER THis worthy Man especially in his latter times was surrounded through Gods blessing on him with a very great confluence of what might give forth Contentment to a vast spirit of his ranck and calling He was enriched with a large measure of abilities and opportunities in serving his Lord to glorifie whom and do much good to others is the divine part of a man gracious which he was the highest and most solid satisfaction and in many respects exceeds what personall communion with God singly considered brings in Besides he lived and dyed in a fulnesse of honor and esteem with the best of men of Saints yea the worst of enemies Likewise of estate and outward comforts within his sphaere and rank all which might and did afford Contentment to what was outward in him In the midst of these his study was to finde out a more sublime way and hidden art of selfe sufficiency then was in the power of all things to contribute or teach Such a skill as did not only poyse compose his spirit in the present enjoyment of all but might fortifie and furnish him with provision for the future against the losse of all in times wherein no man knoweth what evil will be in the earth This mark his first lines shew he shot at This Art some Philosophers of old pretended themselves Masters of and to instruct other in through the assistance of Natural and Moral elements elevated to the utmost height their Principles could carry them but in vaine Their Chymistry in this kinde being able to produce no more but a sullen obstinacie and obduratenesse of minde The natural Spirit of a man feeling it selfe greater then all creatures gathering up and consolidating it self into it self is able as Solomon saies to sustaine its owne and all other infirmites But that Autarchy this Author here presents is a Mystery which none of these Princes of the world knew or the wisdome of man teacheth but the holy Ghost teacheth and which few but those that are perfect do attaine Teaching the soule to deny it selfe into weaknesse emptinesse in and to its selfe and all things else and thus dissolved to unite it selfe to him who onely hath blessednesse and all-sufficiencie with whom associated and made intimate it melts it selfe into all his interests making them its owne and thereby comes to have all that All-sufficiency of the High God to be its self-sufficiency And then what state can that soule be in wherein it may not be content seeing it hath God to be the chiefest comfort in its best times and onely comfort in its worst This though it be the inheritance of every Saint in the right and title to it yet the possession and enjoyment of it depepends upon an improvement of this inheritance and that upon a skill which is to be learned by experience and much exercise as Paul speaks I have learned in whatsoever estate I am therewith to be content This piece of learning this serious spirited man inured himselfe unto and digging for it as Rubies as Solomons scholler for wisdome hath found it and hath hewen forth this Jewel a Title given neither by himselfe not us the Publishers to the subject it selfe yet the materials themselves deserving it out of the Rock and hath artificially cut it that the innate rays of this so glorious a Grace might shine forth to others And here it comes to be presented though set forth as the richest Jewels are often for awhile in ruder mettal untill bargained for but then are placed in Tablets worthy of them The onely seat this is ordained for is the precious Tablets of mens Hearts in and from which alone the native lustre of it will be made conspicuous Reader buy it set and wear it there and it shall as Solomon speaks be life unto thy soul and grace unto thy neck Thou shalt not be afraid when thou liest down yea thy sleep shall be sweet unto thee for the Lord will be thy confidence Thomas Goodwyn Sidrach Simpson William Greenhil Philip Nye William Bridge John Yates William Adderly THE CONTENTS OF THE INSUING TREATISE OF Contentment SERMON I A HE Words opened Page 2 Doctrine To be well skil'd in the mystery of Christian Contentment is the duty glory and excellency of a Christian Page 3 Christian Contentment described Page 4 1 It is inward Ibid 2 It is quiet which is not opposed 1 To sence of affliction Page 5 2 To complaint to God or man ibid 3 To a lawful seeking of help Page 6 But it is opposed 1 To murmuring ibid 2 To fretting and vexing ibid 3 To tumult of spirit ibid 4 To unsetledness of spirit Page 7 5 To distracting cares and fears ibid 6 To sinking discouragments ib. 7 To sinful shifting Page 8 8 To rising of the heart against God Page 9 3 It is a frame of spirit 1 It is spread through the whol soul 10. 2 It is a frame of soul Page 11 3 It is a habitual frame Page 13 4 It is a gracious frame opposed 1 To natural stilness ibid 2 To sturdy resolutions ibid 3 To strength of natural reason Page 14 5 It is a frame of spirit freely submitting 1 The heart is readily brought over Page 15 2 It is not by constraint Page 16 3 It is not out of stupidity 17 6 Freely submitting ibid 7 Taking
complacency in Gods dispose ibid 8 In Gods dispose Page 19 9 In every condition Page 20 We must submit to God in every affliction 1 For the kind Page 22 2 For the time Page 23 3 For the variety 25 Contentment a Mysterie Page 26 1 A Christian is content yet unsatisfied Page 27 2 A Christian comes to Contentment by substraction Page 29 3 By adding another burden to that he hath Page 31 4 By changing the affliction into another Page 33 5 By doing the work of his condition Page 35 6 By melting his will into Gods will Page 37 7 By purging out that that is within 38 8 He lives by the dew of Gods blessing Page 40 1 He hath the love of God in that he hath Page 41 2 It is sanctified for his good ib 3 There is no after-reckoning for it Page 42 4 It is by the purchase of Christ 5 It is an earnest of glory he reafter Page 43 9 A Christian sees Gods love in affliction Page 44 10 His afflictions sanctified in Christ Page 45 11 He fetches strength from Christ Page 47 12 He makes up his wants in God Page 49 13 He fetcheth Contentment from the Covenant Page 53 Objection concerning the plague Answered Page 54 He supplieth wants by what he finds in himself Page 57 He fetches supply from the CoveCovenant Page 61 1 In General ibid 2 From particular premises Page 64 14 He reallizeth the things of Heaven Page 67 15 He letteth his heart out to God ibid Lessons whereby Christ teacheth Contentment 1 Self-denial Whereby a Christian knows Page 68 1 That he is nothing Page 69 2 That he deserves nothing ibid 3 That he can do nothing Page 70 4 That he can receive no good of himself ibid 5 If God withdraw himself he can mak use of nothing ibid 6 That he is worse than nothing Page 71 7 That there is no loss of him if he perish ibid 8 That he comes to rejoyce in Gods waier Page 72 2 Lesson To know the vanity of the Creature Page 73 3 Lesson To know that one thing wherefore Page 74 4 Lesson To know his relation in this world Page 76 5 Lesson Wherein the good of the Creature is Page 79 6 Lesson The knowledge of his own heart Page 82 Which helps to Contentment 1 By discovering wherein discontent lies ibid 2 By knowing what is sutable to our condition Page 83 3 By this we know what we are able to mannage Page 84 7 Lesson To know the burden of a prosperous estate Page 85 Which is four fold 1 The burden of trouble ibid 2 The burden of danger Page 86 3 The burden of duty Page 89 4 The burden of account ibid 8 Lesson A great evil to be given up to our own hearts desire Page 91 9 Lesson The right knowledge of of Gods providence Page 94 Wherein four things 1 The universality of it ibid 2 The efficacy of it Page 95 3 The variety of it ibid 4 Gods particular dealing with his people Page 97 In three things 1 They are ordinarily in affliction Page 98 2 When he intends them greatest mercies he brings them lowest ibid 3 He works by contraries Page 99 The Excellency of Contentment 1 Excellency By it we give God his due worship Page 101 2 Excel In it there is much exercise of grace 103 1 There is much strength of grace ibid 2 There is much beauty of grace Page 104 3 Excel The soul is fitted to receive mercy Page 106 4 Excel It is fitted to do service Page 107 5 Excel Contentment delivers from temptation Page 108 6 Excel It brings abundance of comfort Page 110 7 Excel It fetcheth in that that we possess not Page 111 In 4 particulars 8 Excel Contentment a great blessing of God upon the soule Page 115 9 Excel A contented man may expect reward Page 116 10 Excel By Contentment the soul comes neerest the Excellency of God himself Page 117 Use 1 To be humbled for want of Contentment Page 118 The Evils in a murmuring spirit 1 It is an Argument of much corruption in the soul Page 119 2 It is a note of a wicked man Page 120 3 Murmuring is accounted Rebellion Page 121 4 It is exceeding contrary to grace in conversion Page 122 The works of God in conversion 1 To make us sensible of the evil in sin Page 123 2 A sight of the excellency of Christ ibid 3 Taking the heart from the creature ibid 4 Casting the soul on Christ for all good Page 124 5 Subduing the soul to Christ as King ibid 6 Giving up the soul to God in Covenant Page 125 5 Evil Murmuring below a Christian Page 126 1 Below his relation 1 To God as a Father ibid 2 To Christ as a Spouse ibid 3 To Christ as a Member Page 127 4 To Christ as a Co-heir ibid 5 To Gods Spirit as a temple ib. 6 To Angels as one with them ib. 7 To Saints as of the same body ibid 2 Below his dignity Every Christian a King Page 128 3 It is below the spirit of a Christian Page 129 4 Below the profession of a Christian Page 131 5 Below the grace of faith ibid 6 Below the helps of a Christian Page 132 7 Below the expectation of a Christian ibid 8 Below what other Christians have done Page 133 6 Evill by murmuring we undo our prayers ibid 7 Evil The effects of a murmuring heart 1 Loss of much time Page 134 2Vnfitness for Duty ibid 3 Wicked risings of heart Page 135 4Vnthankfulness ibid 5 Shifting Page 138 8 Evil Discontent a foolish sin ibid 1 It takes away the comfort of what we have ibid 2 We cannot help our selves by it Page 139 3 It causeth foolish carriage to God and man ibid 4 It takes out the sweetness of mercies before they come ibid 5 It makes Affliction worse Page 141 9 Evil It provokes the wrath of God ibid 19 Evil There is a curse upon it Page 146 11 Evil There is much of the spirit of Satan in it Page 147 12 Evill It brings an absolute necessity of disquiet ibid 13 Evil God may justly withdraw his protection from such ibid Aggravations of the sin of murmuring 1 Aggravation The greater the mercies the greater the sin of murmuring Page 150 2 Agrav When we murmur for smal things Page 157 3 Agrav When men of parts and abilities murmur Page 158 4 Agrav The freeness of Gods mercy ibid 5 Agrav Discontent for what we have Page 159 6 Agrav When men are raised from a low condition ibid 7 Agrav When men have been great sinners Page 160 8 Agrav When those murmur that are of little use in the world Page 161 9 Agrav To murmur when God is about to humble us ibid 10 Agrav When Gods hand is apparant in an affliction Page 162 11 Agrav To murmur under long afflictions Page 163 Pleas of a discontented heart 1 Plea I am but sensible of my affliction 1 Sense
of affliction takes not away sense of mercies Page 165 2 It hinders not Duty ibid 3 It will make us bless God for the mercies of others ibid 2 Plea My trouble is for my sins 1 It is not if you were not troubled for sin before Page 166 2 When the greatest care is to remove affliction ibid 3 If after affliction is removed sin troubles not ibid 4 If there be not care to avoid sin after Page 167 5 There is the more cause to accept of the punishment ibid 3 Plea God withdraws himself 1 We think God is departed when he doth but afflict Page 168 2 Disquiet is a sign and cause of Gods departure ibid 3 If God depart from us we should not from him Page 169 4 Plea I am troubled for mens ill dealing 1 Men are Gods instrrments Page 170 2 We should rather pity them than murmur Page 171 3 We have righteous dealing with God ibid 5 Plea It is an affliction I looked not for 1 It is folly not to look for afflictions ibid 2 We should be more careful of our carriage in it Page 172 6 Plea The affliction is exceeding great 1 It is not so great as thy sins ibid 2 It might have been greater Page 173 3 It is greater for thy murmuring ibid 7 Plea It is greater than others afflictions Answered in 4 things Page 173 8 Plea If any other affliction they could be content Answered in 4 things Page 174 9 Plea My afflictions make me unservicable to God 1 Though thou art mean thou art a member of the body Page 176 2 Thy generall calling is high Page 177 3 Thou art equal with Angels ibid 4 God highly esteems the actions of mean Christians Page 178 5 Faithfulness in a mean calling shall be rewarded ibid 10. Plea My condition is unsetled 1 Every man in his setled estate is vanity Page 179 2 God will have us live in dependance ibid 3 Thy spiritual condition may be setled Page 181 11 Plea I have been in a better condition 1 Thy eye should not he evill because the eye of God hath been good Page 182 2 Prosperity was to prepare thee for affliction ibid 12 Plea I am crost after much pains 1 The greater the cross the more the obedience Page 184 2 Thy pains should be with submission to God Page 185 3 Contentment in such a condition is a testimony of more love to God ibid 13 Plea Distempers of heart accounted as words before God ibid Considerations to work the heart to Contentment 1 Consid The greatness of the mercies we have Page 187 2 God is beforehand with us with mercies Page 188 3 The abundance of mercies we enjoy Page 189 4 All creatures in a visicitude ib. 5 The creature suffers for us ibid 6 We have little time in the world Page 190 7 It hath been the condition of our betters Page 191 8 We were once content with the world without grace and should now with grace without the world Page 193 9 When we had Contentment we gave not God the glory ibid 10 Experience of Gods doing us good in afflictions ibid Directions to Contentment 1 There must be grace to make the soul steady Page 195 2 Not to gripe too much of the world ibid 3 Have a cal in every business Page 196 4 Walk by rule ibid 5 Exercise much faith Page 197 6 Labour to be spiritually minded Page 198 7 Promise not your selves great things Page 200 8 Get mortified hearts to the world ibid 9 Pore not too much on afflictions Page 201 10 Make a good construction of Gods wayes towards us Page 202 11 Regard not others fancies but what we feel Page 205 12 Be not inordinately taken with the comforts of the world Page 206 The CONTENTS of the last Sermon On EXODVS 14.13 STanding still five waies evill Page 304 Good three wayes Page 307 Doct. 1 When God is in a way of salvation he may bring his people into straights Page 311 Reasons 1 Because God will humble them Page 313 2 He delights in the exercise of their faith Page 315 3 He delights in their prayers Page 316 4 To discover those that are evill ibid 5 That the adversaries may vent theie malice Page 317 6 That Christs work may appear the more ibid Use Not to sink because of straights Page 318 Doct. 2. In straights Gods people are mightily troubled ibid Reasons 1 Because there is much flesh in the best Page 319 2 There is a great deal of guilt ib. 3 There is self-confidence ib. Use 1 To blame our selves for sinking in straights Page 320 2 To think what will become of wicked men ibid Doct. 3 In those straits we should quiet our selves and look for Gods salvation Page 321 1. Quiet our selves 1 Because then we are fit to look to the wisdom faithfulness and power of God Page 322 2 Because else we cannot make use of our graces ibid 3 We cannot shew our subjection to God Page 323 4 Nor our reverence to God ib. 5 We cannot make use of that we hear ib. 6 We shall hinder others Page 224 2 To expect salvation from God 1 Hereby we sanctifie Gods Name ib. 2 This shews the excellency of faith Page 325 3 It engageth God in our Cause ib. Doct. 4 The sight of salvation after straits a glorious thing Page 328 FINIS THE RARE JEWEL OF CHRISTIAN Contentment PHILIPPIANS 4.11 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content HERE is a very seasonable Cordial to revive the drooping spirits of the Saints in these sad and sinking times For the hour of temptation is already come upon all the world to try the Inhabitants of the earth and in special this is the day of Jacobs troubles in our owne bowels Our great Apostle experimentally holds forth in this Gospel-Text the very life and soul of all practical Divinity wherein we may plainly reade his own proficiency in Christs School and what lesson every Christian that would evidence the power and growth of godliness in his own soul must necessarily learn from him These words are brought in by Paul as a plain argument to perswade the Philippians that he did not seek after great things in the world and that he sought not theirs but them He did not passe for a great estate he had better things to take up his heart withal I do not speak saith he in respect of want For whether I have or have not my heart is fully satisfied I have enough I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I have learned Contentment in every condition is a great art a spiritual mystery It is to be learned and so to be learned as a mystery And therefore verse 12. he affirms I know how to be abâ—sed and I know how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed The word which is translated Instructed is derived from that word which signifies Mystery and it is
God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ The peace of God shall keep your hearts Then in vers 9. Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do and the God of peace shall be with you The peace of God shall keep you and the God of peace shall be with you This is that that I would observe from this Text That the peace of God is not enough to a gracious heart except it may have the God of that peace A carnall heart could be satisfied if he might but have outward peace though it be not the peace of God peace in the State and his trading would satisfie him But mark how a Godly heart goes beyond a Carnal all outward peace is not enough but I must have the peace of God But suppose you have the peace of God Will not that quiet you No I must have the God of peace as the peace of God so the God of peace that is I must injoy that God that gives me the peace I must have the cause as well as the effect I must see from whence my peace comes and injoy the fountain of my peace as well as the stream of my peace and so in other mercies have I health from God I must have the God of my health to be my portion or else I am not satisfied It is not life but the God of my life it is not riches but the God of those riches that I must have the God of my preservation as well as my preservation a gracious heart is not satisfied without this To have the God of the mercy as well as the mercy In Psal 73.25 Whom have I in heaven but Thee and there is none upon the earth that I desire besides thee It is nothing in heaven or earth can satisfie me but thy self if God give thee not only earth but heaven that thou shouldest rule over Sun Moon and stars and have the rule over the highest of the sons of men it would not be enough to satisfie thee except thou hadest God himself There lies the first mystery of Contentment truly a contented man though he be the most contented man in the world yet he is the most unsatisfied man in the world that is Those things that will satisfie the world will not satisfie him Secondly There is this Mystery in Christian Contentation A Christian comes to Contentment not so much by way of addition as by way of Substraction that is his way of Contentment and that is a way that the world hath no skill in I open it thus Not so much by the adding to what he would have or to what he hath not by adding more to his condition but rather by substracting of his desires and so to make his desires and conditon to be even and equal A carnal heart knows no way to be Contented but this I have such and such an estate and if I had this added to it and the other comfort added that now I have not then I should be Contented it may be I have lost my estate if I could have but that given to me so as to make up my losse then I should be a contented man But now Contentmet doth not come in that way it comes not in I say by the adding to what thou wantest but by the substracting of thy desires it is all one to a Christian either that I may get up unto what I would have or get my desires down to what I have either that I may attain to what I do desire or bring down my desires to what I have already attained my estate is the same for it is as sutable to me to bring my desire down to my condition as it is to raise up my condition to my desire Now I say a heart that hath no grace and is not instructed in this Mystery of Contentment knows no way to get Contentment but to have his estate raised up to his desires but the other hath another way to Contentment that is He can bring his desires down to his estate and so he doth attain to his Contentment So the Lord fashions the hearts of the Children of men Now if the heart of a man be fashioned to his condition he may have as much contentment as if his condition be fashioned to his heart some men have a mighty large heart but they have a straight condition and they can never have Contentment when their hearts are big and their condition is little but now though a man cannot bring his condition to be as big as his heart yet if he can bring his heart to be as little as his condition to bring them even from thence is Contentment The world is infinitly deceived in this To think that Contentment lies in having more than they have here lies the bottom and root of all Contentment when there is an evennesse and proportion between our hearts and our conditions and that is the reason that many that are godly men that are in a low condition live more sweet and comfortable lives than those that are richer Contentment is not alwaies cloathed with silk and purple and velvets but Contentment is sometimes in a russet sure in a mean condition as well as in a higher and many men that sometimes have had great estates and God hath brought them into a lower condition they have had more Contentment in that condition than the other Now how can that possible be Thus easily For if you did but understand the root of Contentment it consists in the sutablenesse and proportion of the spirit of a man to his estate and the evenness when one end is not longer and bigger than another the heart is contented there is comfort in that condition now let God give a man never so great riches yet if the Lord gives him up to the pride of his heart he will never be contented But now let God bring any one into a mean condition and then let God but fashion and sute his heart to that condition and he will be content As now in a mans going Suppose a man had a mighty long leg and his other leg were short why though one of his legs be longer than ordinary yet he could not go so well as a man that hath both his legs shorter than he I compare a long leg when one is longer than another to a man that hath a high condition and is very rich and a great man in the world but he hath a great proud heart too and that is longer and larger than his condition now this man cannot but be troubled in his condition Now another man that is in a mean condition his condition is low and his heart is low too so that his heart and his condition is both even together and this man goes on with more ease abundantly than the other doth So that now a gracious heart works after this manner The Lord
of Saint Paul to the Collossians praying for the Saints that they might be strengthened with all might according unto his glorious power unto what Vnto all patience and long suffering with joyfulnesse Strengthned with all might according to the power of God the glorious power of God unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness You may not therefore be content with a little strength so that you are able to bear what a man might bear by the strength of reason and nature But to be strengthened with all might according to the glorious power of God unto all patience and to all long suffering Oh you that are now under very heavy and sad afflictions more than ordinary look upon this Scripture and consider how this Scripture is made good in you why may you not have this Scripture made good in you if you be godly You should not be quiet in your own spirits except that you in some measure do get this Scripture to be made good in you so that you may with some comfort say through Gods mercy I find that strength coming into me that is here spoken of in this Scripture You should labour when you are under any great affliction you that are Godly to walk so that others may see such a Scripture made good in you Here is the glorious power of God that doth strengthen his servants to all long suffering and that with joyfulness Alas it may be you do not exercise so much patience as a wise man or a wise woman that hath but natural reason But where is the power of God the glorious power of God where 's the strengthening with all might unto all long-suffering and patience and that with joyfulnesse It is true the spirit of a man may be able to sustain his infirmities may be able to sustain and keep up his spirits the naturall spirit of a man but much more then when this spirit is acted with grace and holinesse and when it is fill'd with the strength of Jesus Christ this is the way of a godly mans getting Contentment the Mystery of it it is by fetching in strength from Jesus Christ Twelfthly Another Mystery that there is in it it is That a godly heart injoys much of God in every thing it hath and doth know how to make up all wants in God himself that is another Mystery he hath God in what he hath that I spoke too somwhat before in shewing the dew of Gods blessing in what he hath for God is able to let out a great deale of his power in little things and therefore the miracles that God hath wrought have been as much in little things as in great now as God lets out a great deal of his power in working miracles in smaler things so he lets out a great deal of goodnesse and mercy in comforting and rejoycing the hearts of his people in little things as well as in great there may be as much riches in a pearl as in a great deal of lumber but now this is a distinct thing Further a gracious heart as he lives upon Gods dew in a little that he hath so when that little that he hath shall be taken from him what shall he do then Then you will say If a man have nothing there can be nothing fetcht out of nothing But if the children of God have their little taken from them they can make up all their wants in God himself Such a man is a poor man the plunderers came and took away all that he had what shall he do then when all is gone But when all is gone there is an art and skill that godlinesse teaches to make up all those losses in God Many men that have their houses burnt go about gathering and so get up by many hands a little but a godly man knows whither to go to get up all even in God himself so as he shall injoy the quintescence of the same good and comfort as he had before for a Godly man doth not live so much in himself as he lives in God This is now a Mysterie to a Carnal heart I say a gracious man doth not live so much in himself as he doth in God he lives in God continually if there be any thing cut off from the stream he knows how to go to the fountain makes up all there God is his all in all while he lives I say t is God that is his all in all Am not I to thee saith Elkanah to Hannah instead of ten Children So saith God to a gracious heart thou wantest this thy estate is plundered Why Am not I to thee instead of ten houses and ten shops I am to thee instead of All yet not only instead of All but come to me and thou shalt have all again in me This indeed is an excellent Art to be able to draw from God what it had before in the creature Christian how didst thou injoy Comfort before was the creature any other to thee but a Conduit a pipe that did convey Gods goodnesse to thee The pipe is cut off saith God come to me the Fountain and drink immeadiately though the beams be taken away yet the Sun remains the same in the firmament as ever it was What 's that that satisfies God himself but because he doth injoy all fulnesse in himself so he comes to have satisfaction in himself now if thou injoyest God to be thy portion if thy soul can say with the Church in Lamentations 3.24 The Lord is my portion saith my soul why shouldest thou not be satisfied and contented as God God is contented he is in eternal Contentment in himself now if thou hast that God to be thy portion why shouldest not thou be contented with him alone God is contented with himself alone if thou hast him thou mayest be Contented with him alone and it may be that is the reason that thy outward comforts are taken from thee that God may be All in All to thee It may be whilst thou hadest these things here they did share with God in thy affection a great part of the stream of thy affection ran that way now God would have the full stream run to him As you know it is with a man that hath water come to his house and if there be several pipes upon which he finds the water comes but scantly into his wash-house he will rather stop the other pipes that he may have all the water come in where he would have it So here it may be God had some stream of thy affection that ran to him then when thou didest enjoy these things yea but a great deale was let out to the Creature a great deal of thy affections did run waste now the Lord would not have the affections of his Children to run waste he doth not care for other mens affections but for thine they are precious and God would not have them to run waste therefore doth he cut off thy other pipes that
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 there 's 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 It s 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 that 's 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
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
not so great as others It 's a speech I remember I have met withall in Latimers Sermons that he was wont to use The half is more than the whole That is when a man is in a mean condition he is but halfe way towards the height of prosperity that others are in yet saith he this is more safe though it be a meaner condition than others Those that are in a high and prosperous condition there is anexed to it the burden of trouble and of danger and of duty and of account And thus you see how Christ traines up his Scholers in his School and though they be weak otherwise yet by his Spirit he gives them wisdom to understand these aright The Eight lesson is this Christ teaches them what a great and dreadful evil it is to be given up to ones hearts desires The understanding this lesson that it is a most dreadful evil one of the most hideous and fearfull evills that can befall any man upon the face of the earth for God to give him up to his hearts desires when the soul understands this once and together with it for it goes along together that spiritual judgments are more fearfull than any outward judgments in the world the understanding of this will teach any one to be content in Gods crossing of them in their desires Thou art crost in thy desires now thou art discontented and vext and fretted at it is that thy only misery that thou art crost in thy desires no no thou art infinitly mistaken the greatest misery of all is for God to give thee up to thy hearts lusts and desires to give thee up to thine own counsells so you have it in Psal 81.11 12. But my people would not hearken to my voice and Israel would none of me what then So I gave them up unto their own hearts lusts and they walked in their own counsels Oh saith Bernard let me not have such a miserie as that is for to give me what I would have to give me my hearts desires it is one of the most hideous judgments in the world for a man to be given up to his hearts desires We have not indeed in Scripture any certain evident sign of a reprobate we cannot say except we knew a man had committed the sin against the Holy Ghost that he is a reprobate for we know not what God may work upon him but the neerest of all and the blackest sign of a reprobate is this for God to give up a man to his hearts desires all the pain of diseases all the calamities that can be thought of in the world are no judgments in comparison of this for a man to be given up to his hearts desires now when the Soul comes to understand this the Soul then cries out why am I so troubled that I have not my desires There is nothing that God conveys his wrath more through than a prosperous estate I remember I have read of a Jewish Tradition that they say of Vzziah when God struck Vzziah with a Leprosie they say that the beams of the Sun was darted upon the fore-head of Vzziah and he was struck with a Leprosie by the darting of the beams of the Sun upon his fore-head the Scripture saith Indeed the Priests looked upon him but they say there was a speciall light and beam of the Sun upon the fore-head that did discover the Leprosie to the Priests and they say it was the way of conveying of it Whether that were true or no I am sure this is true that the strong beams of the Sun of prosperity upon many men makes them to be leprous would any poor man in the countrey have been discontented that he was not in Vzziahs condition he was a great King I but there was the Leprosie in his fore-head the poor man may say though I live meanly in the countrey yet I thank God my body is whole and sound would not any man rather have russet and skins of beasts to cloath him with than to have sattin and velvet that should have the Plague in it The Lord conveys the plague of his curse through prosperity as much as through any thing in the world and therefore the soul coming to understand this this makes it to be quiet and content And then spirituall judgments are the greatest judgments of all the Lord laies such an affliction upon my outward estate but what if he had taken away my life a mans health is a greater mercy than his estate and you that are poor people you should consider of that but is the health of a mans body better than his estate what is the health of a mans soul that 's a great deal better the Lord hath inflicted externall judgements but he hath not inflicted spirituall judgments upon thee he hath not given thee up to hardnesse of heart and taken away the spirit of prayer from thee in thine afflicted estate Oh then be of good comfort though there be outward afflictions upon thee yet thy soul thy more excellent part is not afflicted Now when the soul comes to understand this that here lies the sore wroth of God to be given up to a mans desires and for spiritual judgments to be upon a man this quiets him and contents him though outward afflictions be upon him perhaps one of a mans children hath the fit of an ague or the tooth-ach but perhaps his next neighbour hath the plague or all his Children are dead of the plague now shall he be so discontented because his Children have the tooth-ach when his neighbours Children are dead now think thus Lord thou hast laid an afflicted condition upon me but Lord thou hast not given me the plague of a hard heart Now take these Eight things before mentioned and lay them together and you may well apply that Scripture in the 29. of Isa the last verse saith the text there They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding and they that murmured shall learn doctrine Hath there bin any of you as I fear many may be found that have erred in spirit even in regard of this truth that now we are preaching of and many that have murmured Oh that this day you might come to understand that Christ would bring you into his School and seach you understanding And they that murmured shall learn doctrine what doctrine shall they learn These Eight Doctrines that I have opened to you And if you will but throughly study these lessons that I have set before your eyes It will be a speciall help and means to cure your murmurings against and repinings at the hand of God And so you will come to learn Christian Contentment The Lord teach you thoroughly by his Spirit these lessons of Contentment SERMON VI. PHILIPPIANS 4.11 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I Shall only adde one lesson more in the learning of Contentment then I shal come to the Fourth Head The
how many things depend upon this providence Now we are willing to suffer our friends will to be crost in one thing so that our friend may attain to what he desires in a thousand things if thou hast a love and friendship to God be willing to be crost in some few things that the Lord may have his work go on in the universal in a thousand of other things Now that 's the Third thing to be understood in Gods providence that Christ doth learn those that he teacheth in the Art of Contentment 4 Christ teaches them the knowledge of providence that is The knowledge of Gods usual way in his dealings with his people more particularly The other is the knowledge of God in his providence in general But the right understanding of the way of God in his providence towards his people and Saints is a notable lesson to help us in the Art of Contentment If we come once to know a mans way and course we may better sute and be contented to live with him than before we come to know his way and course as when a man comes to live in a society with men and women it may be the men and women may be good but till a man comes to know their way and course and disposition many things may fall very crosse and we think they are very hard but when we come to be acquainted with their way and spirit then we can sute and cotten with them very well and the reason of our trouble is because we do not understand their way So it is with you those that are but as strangers to God and do not understand the way of God they are troubled with the providences of God and they think them very strange and cannot tell what to make of them because they understand not the ordinary course and way of God towards his people If a stranger sometimes comes into a family and sees such and such things done he wonders what the matter is but those that are acquainted with it it troubles them not at all So servants when they come first together and know not one another it may be they are froward and discontented but when they come to be aquainted with one anothers waies then they are more contented just so it is when we come first to understand Gods waies Object But you will say What do you understand by Gods waies Answ By that I mean these Three things And when we come to know them we shall not wonder so much at the providence of God but be quiet and contented with them 1. The First thing is this Gods ordinary course is that his people in this world should be in an afflicted condition God hath revealed in his Word and we may there find he hath set down to be his ordinary way even from the begining af the world to this day but more especially in the times of the Gospel that his people here should be in an afflicted condition Now men that do not understand this they stand and wonder to hear of the people of God that they are afflicted and the enemies prosper in their way for those that seek God in his way and seek for Reformation for them to be afflicted and routed and spoiled and the enemies to prevail they wonder at it but now one that is in the School of Christ he is taught by Jesus Christ that God by his eternal Counsels hath set this to be his course and way to bring up his people in this world in an afflicted condition and therefore saith the Apostle Account it not strange concerning the fiery tryal 1 Pet. 4.12 We are not therefore to be discontented with it seeing God hath set such a course and way we know such is the will of God that it should be so The Second thing that is in Gods way is this Vsually when God intends the greatest mercy to any of his people he doth bring them into the lowest condition God doth seem to go quite crosse and work in a contrary way when he intends the greatest mercies to his people he doth first usually bring them into very low conditions if it be a bodily mercy an outward mercy that he intends to bestow he useth to bring them bodily low and outwardly low if it be a mercie in their estates that he intends to bestow he brings them low in that and then raises them and in their names he brings them low there and then raises them and in their Spirits God doth ordinarily bring their Spirits low and then raises their spirits usually the people of God before the greatest comforts have the greatest afflictions and sorrows now those that understand not Gods waies they think that when God brings his people into sad conditions that God leaves and forsakes them and that God doth intend no great matter of good to them but now a Child of God that is instructed in this way of God he is not troubled my condition is very low but saith he this is Gods way when he intends the greatest mercy to bring men under the greatest afflictions When he intended to raise Joseph to be the Second in the Kingdom God cast him into a dungeon a little before So when God intended to raise David and set him upon the Throne he made him to be hunted as a partrige in the mountain 2 Sam. 26.20 God went this way with his Son Christ himself went into glory by suffering Heb. 2.20 And if God deal so with his own Son much more with his people as a little before break of day you shall observe it is darker than it was any time before so God doth use to make our conditions darker a little before the mercy come When God bestowed the last great mercy at Nazby we were in a very low condition God knew what he had to do before-hand he knew that his time was coming for great mercies it is the way of God to do so Be but instructed aright in this course and tract that God uses to walk in and that will help us to Contentment exceedingly The Third thing that there is in Gods way and course is this It is the way of God to work by contraries to turn the greatest evill into the greatest good To grant great good after great evil is one thing and to turn great evils into the greatest good that 's another and yet that 's Gods way the greatest good that God intends for his people many times he works it out of the greatest evil the greatest light is brought out of the greatest darknesse and Luther I remember hath a notable expression for this saith he it is the way of God he doth humble that he might exalt he doth kill that he might make alive he doth confound that he might glorifie this is the way of God saith he but saith saith he Every one doth not understand this this is the Art of Arts and the Science of Sciences the knowledge of knowledges
the peace that is when all shal be in an hubbub and uprore yet then this man shal be peace That 's the tryal of grace when you find Jesus Christ in your hearts to be peace when the Assyrian shall come into the land You may think you find peace in Christ when you have no outward troubles but is Christ your peace when the Assyrian comes into the land when the enemy comes Suppose you should hear the enemy come marching to the City had taken the works and were plundering what would be your peace Jesus Christ would be peace to the soul when the enemy comes into the City and into your houses If there be any of you that have been where the enemy hath come what hath been the peace of your souls That that 's said of Christ may be applyed to this grace of Contentment when the Assyrian the plunderers the enemies when any affliction trouble distresse doth befal such a heart then this grace of Contentment brings peace to the soul at that time brings peace to their soul when the Assyrian comes into the land The grace of Contentment it 's an excellent grace therâ—'s much beauty much strength in it there is a great deal of worth in this grace and therefore be in love with it The Third thing in the excellency of Contentment is this By Contentment the soul is fitted to receive mercy and to do service I 'le put those two together Contentment makes the soul fit to receive mercy and to do service no man or woman in the world is so fit for to receive the Grace of God and to do the work of God as those that have contented spirits 1 Those are fitted to receive mercy from the Lord that are contented As now if you would have a vessel to take in any licquor you must hold the vessel still if the vessel stir and shake up and down you cannot powre in any thing but you will bid hold stil that you may powre it in and not loose any so if we would be the vessels to receive Gods mercy and would have the Lord powr in his mercy to us we must have quiet still hearts we must not have hearts hurrying up and down in trouble discontent and vexing but we must have still and quiet hearts if we would receive mercy from the Lord If a child throws and flings up and down for a thing you will not give it him then when he cries so but first you will have the child quiet though perhaps you do intend the child shall have the thing he cries for but you will not give it him till he is quiet and comes and stands still before you and is contented without it and then you will give it him and truly so doth the Lord deal with us for our dealing with him are just as your froward childrens are with you as soon as you would have a thing from God if you have it not you are disquieted presently and all in an upprore as it were in your spirits God intends mercy to you but saith God you shall not have it yet I will see you quiet first and then in the quietnesse of your hearts come to me and see what I will do with you I appeal to you you that are any way acquainted with the waies of God have you not found this to be the way of God towards you when you have been troubled for want perhaps of some spiritual comfort and your hearts were vext at it you get nothing from God all that while but now if you have got your heart into a quiet frame and can say well it 's fit the Lord should do with his poor creatures what he will I am under his feet and am resolv'd to do what I can to honour him and let him do with me what he will I will seek him as long as I live I will be content with what God gives and whether he gives or no I will be content yea are you in this frame saith God now you shall have comfort now I will give you the mercy A prisoner must not think to get off his fetters by pulling and tearing he may gall his flesh and rend it to the very bone certainly he will be unfettered never the sooner but if he would have his fetters taken off he must quietly give up himself to some man to take them off If a begger after he hath knockt once or twice at the door and you come not and thereupon he is vext and troubled and thinks much that you let him stand a little while without any thing you think that this begger is not fit to receive an almes but if you hear two or three beggers at your door and if you hear them out of your window say let us be content to stay perhaps they are busie it 's fit that we should stay it 's well if we have any thing at last we deserve nothing at all and therefore we may well wait a while you would then quickly send them an almes so God deals with the heart when it is in a disquiet way then God doth not give but when the heart lies down quietly under Gods hand then is the heart in a fit frame to receive mercy Your strength shall be to sit still saith God you shall not be delivered from Babylon but by your sitting still 2 As fit to receive mercy So fit to do service Oh the quiet fruits of righteousnesse the peaceable fruits of righteousnesse they indeed do prosper and multiply most when they come to be peacable fruits of righteousnesse As the Philosophers say of every thing that moves nothing that moves but it moves upon something that is immovable as a thing that moves upon the earth if the earth were not still it could not move Object The ships move upon the Sea and that is not still Answ But the Seas they move upon that which is still and immovable there is nothing moves but it hath something immovable that doth uphold it The wheels in a Coach they move up and down but the exletree that moves not up and down so it is with the heart of a man As they say of the Heaven it moves up and down upon a pole that is immovable so it is in the heart of a man if he will move to do service to God he must have a steady heart within him that must help him to move in the service of God those that have unsteady disquiet spirits that have no steadfastnesse at all in them they are not fit to do service for God but such as have steadfastnesse in their spirits they are men and women fit to do any service and that 's the reason that when the Lord hath any great work for any servants of his to do usually he doth first quiet their spirits he doth bring their spirits into a quiet sweet frame to be contented with any thing and then he sets them about imployment The Fift excellency is
must be purged out of thee before thou canst be healed and let God do with thee what he will till he purges out that fretting humour thy wound will not be healed a murmuring heart is a very sinful heart so that when thou art troubled for such an affliction thou hadst need turn thy thoughts rather to be troubled for the murmuring of thy heart for that 's the greatest trouble there is an affliction upon thee and that is grievous but there is a murmuring heart within and that 's more grievous Oh that we could but convince men and women that a murmuring spirit is a greater evil than any affliction let the affliction be what it will be We shall shew more afterward that a murmuring spirit is the evil of the evil and the misery of the misery Secondly The evill of murmuring is such that God when he would speak of wicked men and describe them and slew the brand of a wicked and ungodly man or woman he instances in this sin in a more special manner I might name many Scriptures but that Scripture in Jude is a most remarkable one in the 14. verse and so forward there it is said That the Lord comes with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgement upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him Mark here in this 15. verse there is four times mentioned ungodly ones All that are ungodly among them all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him This is in the general But now he comes in the particular to shew who these are these are saith he Murmurers that 's the very first Would you know who are ungodly men that God when he comes with ten thousand of Angels shall come to punish for all their ungodly deeds that they do and those that speak ungodly things against them These ungodly ones are murmurers murmurers in the Scripture are put in the fore front of ungodly one it 's a most dreadfull Scripture that the Lord when he speaks of ungodly ones puts murmurers in the very fore-front of all you had need look to your spirits you may see that this murmuring which is the vice contrary to this Contentment is not so small a matter as you think you think you are not so ungodly as others because you do not swear and drink as others do but you may be ungodly in murmuring it 's true there is no sin but some seeds and remainers of it are in those that are godly but when they are under the power of this sin of murmuring it doth convince them to be ungodly as well as if they were under the power of drunkennesse or whordom or any other sin God will look upon you as ungodly for this sin as well as for any sin whatsoever This one Scripture should make the heart shake at the thought of the sin of murmuring Thirdly As it 's made a brand of ungodly men so you shal find in Scripture that God accounts it rebellion that is contrary to the worship that there was in contentednesse that 's worshiping of God crouching to God and falling down before him even as a dog that would crouch when you hould a staffe over him but a murmuring heart it 's a rebellious heart and that you shall find if you compare two Scriptures together they are both in the book of Numb 16.41 But on the morrow saith the text all the congregation of the Children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron saying Ye have killed the people of the Lord. They all murmured now compare this with the Chap. 17. vers 10. And the Lord said unto Moses Bring Aarons rod again before the testimony to be kept for a token against the Rebels In the 16. Chap. they murmured against Moses and Aaron and in the 17. Chap. bring the rod of Aaron again before the testimony for a token against the Rebels So that to be a murmurer and to be a Rebel you see in Scripture phrase is all one It is a rebellion against God as it is the beginning of rebellion and sedition in a kingdom when the people are discontent and when discontentment comes it grows to murmuring and you can go into no house almost but there is murmuring when men are discontent so that within a little while it breaks forth into sedition or rebellion Murmuring it's but as the smoke of the fire there is first a smoke and smother before the flame breaks forth and so before open rebellion in a kingdom there is first a smoke of murmuring and then it breaks forth into open rebellion but because it hath rebellion in the seeds of it therefore it is accounted before the Lord to be rebellion Wilt thou be a Rebel against God When thou feelest thy heart discontented and murmuring against the dispensations of God towards thee thou shouldest check thy heart thus Oh thou wretched heart what wilt thou be a Rebel against God wilt thou rise in a way of Rebellion against the infinite God yet thus thou hast done charge thy heart with this sin of rebellion you that are guilty of this sin of murmuring you are this day by the Lord charged as being guilty of Rebellion against him and God expects that when you go home you should humble your souls before him for this sin that you should charge your souls for being guilty of rebellion against God many of you may say I never thought that I had been a Rebel against God before I thought that I had many infirmities but now I see the Scripture speaks of sin in another manner than men do the Scripture makes men though but murmurers to be Rebels against God Oh this rebellious heart that I have against the Lord that hath manifested it's self in this way of murmuring against the Lord That 's a Third particular in the evil of discontentment A Fourth particular in the evil of Discontentment it is a wickedness that is exeeeding contrary to Grace and especially contrary to the work of God in bringing of the soul home to himself I know no distemper more opposite and contrary to the work of God in conversion of a sinner than this is Quest What 's the work of God when he brings a sinner home to himself Answ The usual way is for God to make the soul to see and be sensible of the dreadful evil that there is in sin and the great breach that sin hath made between God and it for certainly Jesus Christ can never be known in his beauty and excellency till the soule know that I do not speak what secret work of the Holy-Ghost there may be in the soul but before the soul can actually apply Jesus Christ to its self it is impossible but it must come to know the
the Divine Nature and in that respect thy nature is more honoured than the nature of the Angels And the death of Christ is thine he died for thee and not for the Angels and therefore thou art like to be raised above the Angels in divers respects yea thou that art in such an estate as this is thou that art set apart to the end that God might manifest to all eternity what the infinite power of a Deity is able to raise a creature too for that 's the condition of a Saint a Beleever his condition is such as he is set apart to the end that God might manifest to all eternity what his infinite power is able to do to make the creature happy art thou in such a condition Oh! how low and beneath this condition is a murmuring and discontented heart for want of some outward comforts here in this world How unseemly is it that thou shouldest be a slave to every crosse that every affliction shal be able to say to thy soul bow down to us We accounted that a great slavery when men would say to our souls bow down As the cruel Prelats were wont to do in imposing things upon mens consciences they did in effect say let your consciences your souls bow down to us that we may tread upon them that is the greatest slavery in the world that one man should say to another let your consciences your souls bow down that we may tread upon them but wilt thou suffer every affliction to say bow down that we may tread upon thee truly it 's so when thy heart is overcome with murmuring and discontent Know that those afflictions which have caused thee to murmur have said to thee bow down that we may tread upon thee nay not afflictions but the very Devil doth prevail against you in this Oh! how beneath is this to the happy estate that God hath raised a Christian unto What! the son of a King shal he have every base fellow to come and bid him bow down that he may tread upon his neck thus doest thou in every affliction the affliction the cross and trouble that doth befal thee saith bow down that we come and tread upon thee Thirdly Murmuring it's below the Spirit of a Christian Below his Spirit the Spirit of every Christian should be like the Spirit of his Father every father loves to see his spirit in his child loves to see his image not the image of his body only to say here 's a child for all the world like the father but he hath the spirit of his father too a father that is a man of spirit loves to see his spirit in his child rather than the feature of his body Oh the Lord that is our Father loves to see his Spirit in us Great men love to see great spirits in their Children and the great God loves to see a great Spirit in his Children we are one Spirit with God and with Christ and one Spirit with the Holy-Ghost therefore we should have a Spirit that might manifest the glory of the Father Son holy-Ghost in our Spirits that 's the spirit of a Christian indeed The spirit of a Christian should be a lyon-like Spirit as Jesus Christ is the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah so he is cal'd so we should manifest somewhat of the Lyon-like Spirit of Jesus Christ he manifested his Lyon-like Spirit in passing through all afflictions and troubles whatsoever without any murmuring against God When he came to drink that bitter cup and even the dregs of it he prayed to God indeed that if it were possible it might passe from him but presently not my will but thy will be done As soon as ever he did mention the passing of the cup from him though it were the most dreadful cup that ever was drunk since the world began yet at the mentioning of it not my will but thy will be done here Christ shewed a Lyon-like Spirit in going through all kind of afflictions whatsoever with out any murmuring against God in them now a murmuring spirit is a base dejected spirit crosse and contrary to the Spirit of a Christian and it 's very base I remember that the Heathens accounted it very base Plutarch doth report of a certain people that did use to manifest their disdain to men that were overmuch dejected by any affliction they did condemn them to this punishment to wear womens cloaths all their daies or such a space of time at least they should go in womans cloaths in token of shame and disgrace to them because they had such effeminate spirits they thought it against a manlike spirit and therefore seeing they did un-man themselves they should go as women now shall they account it an unmanlike spirit to be overmuch dejected in afflictions and shall not a Christian account it an unchristian-like spirit to be overmuch dejected by any affliction whatsoever I remember another compares murmuring spirits to children when they are weaning what a deal of stir have you with your children when you wean them how froward and vexing are they So when God would wean thee from some outward comforts in this world Oh how fretting and discontented art thou Children will not sleep themselves nor let their mothers sleep when they are weaning and so when God would wean us from the world and we fret vex and murmur this is a childish spirit Fourthly It 's below the profession of a Christian The profession of a Christian what 's that A Christians profession is to be dead to the world and to be alive to God that 's his profession to have his life to be hid with Christ in God to satisfie himself in God what is this thy profession and yet if thou hast not every thing that thou wouldest have to murmur and be discontent thou doest in that even deny thy profession Fiftly It is below that special Grace of faith Faith is that that doth overcome the world it is that that makes all the promises of God to be ours Now when thou tookest upon thee the profession of Religion did God ever promise thee that thou shouldest live at ease and quiet and have no trouble I remember Austin hath such an expression What is this thy faith what did I ever promise thee saith he that thou shouldest ever flourish in the world art thou a Christian to that end and is this thy faith I never made any such promise to thee when thou tookest upon thee to be a Christian Oh it 's mighty contrary to thy profession thou hast never a promise for this that thou shouldest not have such an affliction upon thee And a Christian should live by his faith it is said that the just do live by faith now thou shouldest not look after any other life but the life that thou hast by faith now thou hast no ground for thy faith to beleeve that thou shouldest be delivered out of such an affliction and then why shouldest thou
upon wicked and ungodly ones That they shall grudge if they be not satisfied And in Deut. 28.27 There it 's threatned as a curse of God upon men that they cannot be content with their present condition But they shall say in the morning would God it were even and at even would God it were morning and so they lie tossing up and down and cannot be content with any condition that they are in because of the sore afflictions that be upon them and therefore it is further threatned as a curse upon them in the 34. verse That they should be mad for the sight of their eyes which they should see This is but the extremity of their discontentednesse that is they shall be so discontented as they shall be even mad Many men and women in discontented moods are mad kind of people and though you may please your selves in such a mad kind of behaviour yet know that it is a curse of God upon men to be given up to a kind of madness for evils that they suppose are upon them and that they fear In the 47. verse there is a notable expression for to shew the curse of God upon murmuring hearts the Lord threatning the curses that shall be upon them saith he verse 45 46 47. The Curse shall pursue thee and they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder and upon thy seed for ever Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things God here threatens to bring his curse so upon them as to make them a wonder and a sign to others why Because they served not the Lord with joyfulness of heart that may be added to that of the wrath of God upon men therefore God would bring such a curse upon them as would make them a wonder to all that were about them Oh how far art thou then that hast a murmuring heart from serving the Lord with joyfulnesse The Eleventh evill of discontent and murmuring is this There is much of the spirit of Satan in a murmuring spirit The Devil is the most discontented creature that is in the world He is the proudest creature that is and the discontentedst creature and the most dejected creature Now therefore so much discontentment as thou hast so much of the spirit of Satan thou hast It was the unclean spirit that went up and down and found no rest so when a man or womans spirit hath no rest it is a sign that it hath much of the unclean spirit of the spirit of Satan and thou shouldest think thus with thy self Oh Lord what have I the spirit of Satan upon me It is Satan that is the most discontented spirit that is and Oh! how much of his spirit have I upon me that can find no rest at all Twelfthly Murmuring and discontent hath this evil in it There is an absolute necessity that thou shouldest have disquiet all the daies of thy life As if a man that is in a great croud should complain that other folks touch him While we are in this world God hath so ordred things that afflictions must befal us and if we will complain and be discontented upon every crosse and affliction why we must complain and be discontent all the daies of our lives yea God in just judgment will let things fall out on purpose to vex those that have vexing spirits and discontented hearts and therefore there is a necessitie that they should live disquiet all their daies and men will not much care to disquiet those that are continually murmuring Oh they will have disquiet all their daies Lastly there 's this dreadful evil in discontent and murmuring God may justly withdraw his care off you and his protection over you seeing God cannot please you in his administrations We use to say so to discontented servants nay if you be not pleased mend your selves when you will If you have a servant not content with his diet and wages and work you say mend your selves so may God justly say to us we that professe our selves servants to him to be in his work and yet are discontented with this thing or that in Gods family God might justly say mend your selves What if God should say to any of you If my care over you do not please you then take care of your selves if my protection over you will not please you then protect your selves Now all things that do befall you befall you through a providence of God and if you be those that belong to God there is a protection of God over you and a care of God Now if God should say Well you shall not have the benefit of my protection anie longer and I will take no further care of you would not this be a most dreadful judgment of God from Heaven upon you Take heed what you do then in being discontent with Gods will towards you and indeed upon discontent this may befal you And this is the reason why manie people though Gods protection hath bin verie gracious over them for a time and they have thriven abundantly yet afterwards almost all that behold them may say that they live as if God had cast off his care over them and as if God did not care what befell them Now then my brethren put all these together all that we were speaking of the last day and these particulars that have been added now this morning for the setting out of a murmuring and discontented spirit Oh what an ugly face hath this sin of murmuring and discontentednesse Oh what cause is there that we should lay our hands upon our hearts and go away and be humbled before the Lord because of this whereas your thoughts were wont to be exercised about providing for your selves and getting more comforts to your selves let the stream of your thoughts now be turned to humble your selves for your discontentednesse Oh that you may have your hearts break before God for otherwise you will fall to it again Oh the wretchednesse of mans heart You shall find in Scripture concerning the people of Israel how strangely they fell to their murmuring again and again do but observe three texts of Scripture for that the first in the 15. of Exod. at the beginning there you shall have Moses and the Congregation singing to God and blessing God for his mercy Then sang Moses and the Children of Israel this song unto the Lord and spake saying I will sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously the Horse and his Rider hath he thrown into the Sea And then The Lord is my strength and song and he is become my salvation he is my God and I will prepare him an habitation my Fathers God and I will exalt him and so he goes on and who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the gods who is like thee glorious in holinesse fearful in praises doing wonders Thus their hearts triumphed in God but mark before
we sit down quiet without murmuring Certainly thou never knewest what it was to be humbled for thy manifold sins that art discontented at any administration of God towards thee The Eighth Agravation of the sin of murmuring is For those men that are of little use in the world for them to be discontented If you have but a beast that you make much use of you wil feed it well but if you have but litttle use of him then you turn him into the commons little provision serves his turn because you make not use of him If we liv'd so as to be exceeding useful to God and his Church we might expect that God would be pleased to come in in some encouraging way to us but when our consciences tell us we live and do but little service for God what if God should turn us upon the commons yet we are fed according to our work according to our imployment why should any creature be servicable to thee who art so little servicable to God This one meditation would much help us to think I am discontent because such and such creatures are not servicable to me but why should I expect that they should be servicable to me when I am not servicable to God And that 's the Eighth Aggravation A Ninth Aggravation of the sin of murmuring is this For us to be discontent at that time when God is about to humble us It should be the care of a Christian to observe what are Gods waies towards him what is God about to do with me at this time Is God about to raise me to comfort me let me close with Gods goodnesse and blesse his Name let me joyn with the work of God when he offers mercy to me to take the mercy he offers But again Is God about to humble me is God about to break my heart and to bring my heart down to him let me joyn with God in this work of his this is for a Christian to walk with God It is said that Enoch and Noah walked with God walked with God what 's that That is To observe what is the work of God that God is now about and to joyn with God in that work of his so that according as God turns this way or that way the heart should turn with Grd and have sutable workings unto the workings of God towards him Now then I am discontented and murmuring because I am afflicted Therefore thou art afflicted because God would humble thee and the great design that God hath in afflicting of thee is to break and humble thy heart and wilt thou now maintain a spirit quite opposite to the work of God for thee to murmur and be discontented is to resist the work of God God is doing thee good if thou could'st see it now if he be pleased to sanctifie thy affliction to break that hard heart of thine and humble that proud spirit of thine it would be the greatest mercy that ever thou had'st in all thy life now wilt thou yet stand out against God it's even as if thou shouldest say well the Lord is about to break me and humble me but he shall not this is the language of thy murmuring and thy discontentednesse though thou darest not say so but though thou sayest not so in words yet it is certainly the language of the temper of thy spirit Oh consider what an aggravation this is I am discontented when God is about to work such a work upon me as is exceedingly for my good but yet I stand out against him and resist him and that 's another aggravation A tenth Aggravation of the sin of murmuring and discontent is this The more palpable and remarkable the hand of God appears to bring about an affliction the greater is the sin of murmuring and discontent under an affliction It 's a great evil any time to murmur and be discontent but though it be a sin when I see but an ordinary providence working for me not to submit to that but when I see an extraordinary providence working that 's a greater sin that is when I see the Lord in some remarkable way working about such an affliction beyond what any could have thought of shall I resist such a remarkable hand of God shall I stand out against God when I see God doth expresse his wil in such a remarkable manner that he would have me to be in such a condition indeed before we see the will of God apparent we may desire to avoid an affliction and may use means for it but now when we see God expressing his will from heaven in a manner beyond ordinary and more remarkably then certainly it is fit for us to fall down and submit to him and not to oppose when God comes with a mighty stream against us it 's our best way to fall down before him and not to resist for as it is an argument of a mans disobedience when there is not only a command against a sin but when God reveals his command in a terrible way the more solemn the command of God is the greater is the sin in breaking that command so the more remarkable the hand of God is in bringing an affliction upon us the greater is the sin for us to murmur and be discontented Then God expects that we should fall down when he as it were speaks from Heaven to thee by name and saith well I wil have this spirit of thine down do not you see that my hand is stretched out my eyes are upon you my thoughts are upon you and I must have that proud spirit of thine down Oh then it 's fit for the creature to yeeld and submit unto him When you speak in an ordinary manner to your servants or children you expect they should regard what you say but when you make them stand still by you and you speak to them in a more solemn way then if they should disregard what you say you are very impatient So certainly God cannot take it well when ever he doth appeare from Heaven in such a remarkable way to bring an affliction if then we do not submit to him The eleventh aggravation of the sin of murmuring is this To be discontented though God hath been exercising of us long under afflictions yet still to remain discontented For a man or woman at first when an affliction befals them to have a murmuring heart then it 's an evil but to have a murmuring heart when God hath been a long time exercising them with affliction it 's more evil Though an heifer at first when the yoke is put upon him he wrigles up and down and will not be quiet but if after many monthes or yeers it shall not draw quietly the husbandman would rather feed it fat and prepare it for the butcher than be troubled any longer with it So though the Lord was content to passe by that discontented spirit of thine at first yet God having a long time kept the yoke upon
was against such and such particular men as especially your Ministers that were most faithful and conscionable they were the fore-front they did bear the brunt and it was aimed especially against them now the case is far different when the aime of the Adversary is against particulars and not against the godly in general when it is against particulars there may be all lawful means by an avoyding and flying when it is against the godly in general then every one should stand still and keep in their waies and stations to come in and adde what strength they can to the publick cause and certainly those that shall shift then and think to fly then God may justly meet with them as we reade of Jeremiah and Vrijah Vrijah the Priest he flies in publick time of danger and he was sent for and catched and put to death Jeremiah staies and is saved But when the case is the danger of particular persons then it is nothing against this text to fly in any lawful way many people will cry out against flying by a lawful way in times of danger because they think they may shift from flying themselves and if others that are in danger should not do so they would be far enough from helping and assisting them in extremities and yet they will be crying out against it Peter Martyr I remember hath this answer to it It is just for all the world in this case as a man that hath a dangerous sicknesse upon him and the Physicians tell him there is no way but by taking such strong Physick or by cutting off a leg or a limb now he comes and pleads I will not so distrust God and be so impatient of my present pain as to take such a course to help me I 'le rather continue patient and quiet and endure my present pain and trust in God rather than put my self to any such hazard now is this man more patient than another man that will take such strong Physick or have a member cut off is it through the strength of his patience no it is rather through the weaknesse of his spirit because the other is a certain great pain and hazard and while he goes on in the use of ordinary means he hath a lesser pain with hope that he may be delivered from a greater and preserved himself So this is the Objection against flying in particular danger because the flying is a certain great suffering they that have fled have found it so now others will rather satisfie themselves to endure a little uncertain suffering than to go upon a certain great suffering and that is the very ground But that this is not against Faith at all to fly in danger when it is particularly aimed at particulars I 'le give you but a Scripture or two for that to cleer it that it is not against Faith It is remarkable we might spend a great deal of our time in this case here but I have done with it in the 10. of Matthew When they persecute you saith Christ in this Citie fly into another he speaks of particular persecution of this or that body and not of a whole Kingdom now flee say they we will be more beleeving and trust in God and not be afraid have we not a good cause and is not God with us this would argue too much fear Mark in the next words Christ speaks after he had given them liberty and commanded them to flie saith he fear them not therefore though it is the next thing he speaks of in the 28. verse and fear not them that can kill the body you see these two can well stand together that there is not fear of them that can kill the body and yet there is a flying and so Christ himself flies in the 12. of Matthew when he did but hear what Herod did to John when Jesus knew it that was when the Pharisees sought him when he knew it he did withdraw himselfe in the 12 and 13. verses And when Jesus heard of it be departed thence c. When he heard but what was done to John Christ withdrew himself and went away Therefore it may stand with faith so to avoid danger in particular Cases But now when persecution is general we are to stand still and not avoid our station The third thing in this stand still of faith is The looking up for the Salvation of God the expecting a good issue one way or other I know not how Salvation wil come but that there will be Salvation one way or other that my soul rests upon I stand not still out of stoutness of spirit or because I think I have means enough to resist whether I have means or no when I am put into the greatest extremitie yet I can stand still and look for Salvation What stand still and look for the Salvation of the Lord what talk you of Salvation might they say to Moses when there is nothing but distruction before us True if you look before you behind you and without you and within your selves there is nothing but distruction yet look up to Heaven and there is salvation stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord. I have done no more than the meer openning of the text and what is contayned in it There are these 4. Doctrinal Conclusions in the Text. 1. Doct. That when God is in a way of mercy and salvation to his people he doth many times bring them into great straights even then when he is in a way of Salvation 2. Doct. That in time of these great straights even the people of God are subject to have their hearts to be overwhelmed with trouble distracting fears and to be disquieted 3. Doct. That it is our duty to stand still keep quiet and look for Gods Salvation in the time of the greatest straights 4. Doct. That the sight of Gods Salvation coming after straights is a glorious sight to behold Stand still see the savation of God These are the 4. For the first then First When God is in a way of salvation yet he may and doth divers times bring his people into very great staits Truly this straight in the text is exceeding remarkable but I 'le shew you further how when God was about to save this people of Israel out of the Egyption bondage which is the work God hath now to do with us to save us out of the Egyptian bondage that we were in and that we were going further into after they were delivered from this straight from Pharaoh and all his host yet in the 15. Chap. you shall find the very next Chapter after they were come out of the Sea they presently wanted water to drink yea the waters were bitter that they could not drink them saith the text 15. vers The waters were bitter they could not drink them they were ready to perish for want of water As soon as ever they were delivered out of that strait mark the 16. Chap. they were in
apparantly their hearts are not humbled and broken when their spirits after daies of humiliation still should be froward and pettish as before But especially for the generallity of the Kingdom how far are we from being an humbled people we are not yet capable of what mercy God intendeth for us in this regard because we are not humbled Oh the exceding pettishness envie and pride and worse a great deal not only in many people of the Land but even in those that are godly and gracious how are the spirits of men of one brother opposite to another that because there is some difference in judgment in such and such a thing O they could be content many of them to have them rid out of the Land and if God did not prevent whereas the persecution by Bishops is now at an end who knows except God humble their hearts more whether many of Gods dear servants that do but differ in some point of judgement might not meet with a great deale of sufferings even from those that are godly and that is the worst suffering better a thousand times suffer from wicked men it is not so hard to the spirits of godly men to suffer from never so many Bishops and wicked men as to suffer from one godly man Oh! there wants that charity and tenderness of spirit one towards another that should be we are not yet humbled and brought upon our knees and therefore it is just with God to lay us upon our backs a while or that we should even be with our faces upon the ground confounded in our own thoughts before that great Salvation comes that God intendeth for us That 's the first reason 2. Reas God brings to straights because he takes much delight in the Exercise of faith My beloved Faith it is a most glorious grace it is one of the most glorious things that ever God enabled any creature to do and especially now when there is so much guilt upon them it is a more glorious work than Adam perform'd in Innocency For a poor creature to beleeve upon God for his good here and in the midst of all extremities to rely upon him it is a most glorious work and God is exceedingly delighted in it and therfore the Scripture calleth Faith Precious Faith in the beginning of the 2 Epistle of Peter now God loves the acting of precious things God loves to see the actings of all his creatures every creature active in his way but when God hath put such a precious grace as faith into the heart Oh! how God doth delight to see the acting of that precious Faith and therfore it hath been the way of God to go quite crosse after the Lord hath made a promise of mercy and salvation he goes seemingly crosse only to exercise Faith I think I have told you sometimes of that to Abraham that there were but two promises made to him first That the Country that God would give him should flow with milk and honey and secondly His seed should be as the stars of Heaven and mark what way God goes to bring this about assoon as ever he gets into Canaan he was ready to starve there is this the country that flows with milk and honey and then for the other His seed should be as the stars of Heaven he stayed twenty yeers before he had a child Isaac stayed forty yeers before he had a child and yet his seed should be great and Isaac must be killed too and then there was another thing exercised his faith he would give him the Land and yet notwithstanding during his life he must not possesse one foot of the Land but only a burying-place and what was the reason of all this It was to exercise his faith and the promise God makes to his Son Christ I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession yet Christ must not have a hole to hide his head in he hath not so much as the foxes and the birds have to hide his head in Thus the way of God is to seem to go quite contrary that he might draw forth that glorious work of faith he so much delights in and because this is the only time of exercising this precious grace and there shall be no such faith in Heaven exercised as this is and therefore God because he will have as much as may be of the excellency of this faith though he be in a way of salvation he brings his people into straights 3. Reas Because the Lord delights so much in the prayers of his people that he might draw out their prayers Oh! the voice is sweet the voice of prayer it is very melodious in the ears of God It 's true God delights in a praising voice too but here in this world rather in prayer why because God shall have a praising voice to all eternity Gods Saints shall be praising him to all eternity but they shall not be praying to him to all eternity now God delighting so much in the praying voice of his Saints and he knowing he shall have a great deal of praise from his people when they are delivered from great troubles no marvel he doth exercise his people that which pleases God more than Heaven and Earth is the exercise of the faith and the prayers of his people they are the most pleasing things to God in all the world and therefore he brings into straights 4. Reas Because God would discover wicked men Before he brings his great salvation he would discover those that are vile and wicked that they should not partake of that great salvation As in our times we know how God in every straight we have been in hath made some useful discovery to us it hath been a discovering time of many that we have known to be vile and naught that we did not know before Luke 2.35 you know the place A sword shall pierce thorow thy soul why that the thoughts of many may be discovered there shall be great afflictions and troubles and the end I aim at is to discover the thoughts of many How have mens thoughts been discovered by plots when God was bringing his people into Canaan he would not have a rebellious generation come in among them and all the trouble they had in the wildernesse it was by a mixture of a base and vile generation that you have plain in Num. 11. when they were in such a distressed condition and in a murmuring and a vexing way mark the 4. verse The mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting They disturbed all the host of God And certainly if men should not be discovered more than they are if God should come to set up a full reformation amongst us herein England to bring us to that Canaan we desire we should be so troubled with a mixt multitude the mixt multitude would so vex and trouble the Church of God that they should scarce ever have
come up can you then trust in God I that is somewhat-like but because we trust so much in our selves therefore when the time cometh we should trust in God God withdraws himself from us and we are most afraid Vse This is that we should lay our hands upon our hearts and charge our souls for and be ashamed for before the Lord Never a one here but hath cause to lay his hand upon his heart and say Oh that I that have had so much experience of God of his waies of helping and delivering me out of six troubles and seven and yet the Lord knows upon any new trouble I am to seek as much as ever and in any hurly-burly in as great distemper of fear as ever be ashamed of this before the Lord. It is true Gods people may be so and you are so therefore be ashamed of it and labour to prepare for such times those that are troubled with fainting fits use to carry their bottle of Aqua-vitae about with them so you that have been disquieted in times of trouble lay up somewhat that may help in those times Though a candle light will serve to carry in a yard in calme weather yet it must be a torch a great light that must serve when the wind blows so a little may serve now but a great deal must be laid up for times of extremity First Lay up encouraging Promises Secondly Lay up encouraging experiences that may help you against such times of fainting and trouble Vse 2. But then if it be so with the Saints and Gods own people that when they are in straights they are so ready to be troubled with distracting fears cares what shal become of the wicked and ungodly then when they come in straights how must their hearts sink in horror because all their straights are no other but the beginning of eternal straights present sorrows making away to eternal sorrows the way of their deliverance from present straights is by being brought into greater straights many women with child have strong pains in their child birth yet when they think they shall be delivered they have joy in stead of sorrow but a woman that is with child and is only reprieved because she is with child till she be delivered though she have a great deal of trouble and pain before she be delivered she desires not to be rid of it because then she knows she shall come to greater to be hang'd and if she could live seven yeers together and never be delivered she could be content with the trouble because when that is gone greater comes So wicked and ungodly men that are in great straights for the present may well be content with them because when they are gone greater will come 3. Doct. In the time of these straights it is our duty to stand stil and look for Gods salvation to quiet our spirits and look up to God First For the quieting of our spirits As they were to be delivered out of this bondage in that way so they were to be delivered out of the Babilonish bondage in the same way So you shall find it Isa 30. see what God saith for that deliverence he tels them plainly at the 15. vers In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength and you would not In quietness and confidence it 's true they were in a passionat way and God tels them that in quietness and in confidence is their strength and they would not So come to many people that are in great extremities to some women and others when they are wringing their hands and hanging about their husbands necks and tel them your confidence must be in quietness they wil be ready to row you off But they would not saith God So in Isa 30.7 I cried concerning this Their strength is to sit still My Brethren this day in the Name of God do I cry concerning al our straights after we have used all the means we can we are to sit still and see the salvation of our God to quiet our hearts with this beleeving stand stil and look up to God for our salvation It was their great fault they did not so in their deliverance out of their captivity there is one remarkable place for that Jer. 31.22 How long wilt thou go about Oh thou backsliding daughter for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth How long wilt thou go about Oh thou backsliding daughter What 's the meaning of this text It is thus In the time of their deliverance from Captivity they met with a great deal of difficulty many straights and they went about to this and that sharking course and did backslide when they were in a good way they went back again and the Prophet could not get the◠〈◊〉 stand stil 〈◊〉 â—ny way as if he should have said go on right in the way be not discouraged by difficulties by extremities seck not any shifting way be not backsliding but stand to your tackling and work God hath set you about for the Lord hath created a new thing Perhaps you will say there was never the like straight we are in well God hath such mercy as he never shewed the like before God hath created a new thing many cry out in their straights O my affliction and my straitght is such as never was in the world well gratifie them so as many times we must needs gratifie distemper'd spirits when they cry out of the greatness of their straights yet is there no comfort for them to stay them yes Isa 64.4 It was never known since the beginning of the world what God hath laid up for them that wait for him Do but wait for him and there was never such mercy shown in the world as God hath laid up for thee so that come let us grant it that there was never the like of that affliction that thou art under yet there is reason enough for thee to wait and look for the salvation of God in such a way in such a condition I shall give some reasons of that part of the doctrine that we are to stand still and be quiet for by our standing still and our quieting our hearts in our straights 1. Reas We are fit to look to the Wisdom Faithfulness and Power of God we are not able to see Gods Wisdom Faithfulness and Power nor to make use of it except we get our spirits to be quiet first get them quiet and then we can look up to God Psalm 46.10 Be still saith the text and know that I am God there is a God in Heaven that can help and succour in time of great straights and extremities but for all this people are in a hurly-burly and their spirits are distemper'd and they are wringing their hands and crying they cannot know that God is God they can have no use of all the power and goodnesse and faithfulnesse and mercy of God First get your hearts still and quiet in your Families and in
him that he did scarce change his countenance upon any thing that befell him he was alwaies in a quiet composed frame and yet a Heathen How much more should a Christian say If God would give me my asking I would ask nothing but that for indeed there is a great deal of glory and excellency in a composed spirit this is worthy of the Gospel therefore mark what the Apostle saith Phil. 1.27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ that whether I come to see you or be absent from you I may hear of your affairs and that you stand fast in one spirit This is to walk worthy of the Gospel to stand fast in one spirit and observe this that except we do stand fast and quiet our hearts we lose every thing that should help us when we are in a hurly-burly in our spirits to get some help alas we lose all our help Therefore in Phil. 4. Let the peace of God keep your hearts the word in the Original is Guard your hearts The peace of God in your hearts must be the best guard of your hearts in the time of danger now because you would avoid trouble you put away your guard what a madnesse is this the casting away the peace of God is the casting away of your guard therefore keep that in your hearts whatsoever you lose yea it 's our Arms mark Ephes 6. what is the Arms of a Christian first The girdle of truth fear dissolves the heart and makes a man he cannot gird himself When he is in fear his heart is melted and he hath little use of his truth the girdle is loosed then In the text there is the helmet of salvation but in fear hope is gone there is the brestplate of righteousness but in fear a man hath no use of his righteous conversation nor no use of the sword of the Spirit he can use nothing in times of such distracting fears therefore lose not your Arms It is very observable in the 6. of the Ephes how the holy Ghost still cals upon us to stand verse 10. My brethren be strong in the Lord and not only strong But strong in the Lord and strong in the might of the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whol armour of God that you may be able to stand then again in the 13. verse Wherefore take ye all the whol armour of God that ye may be able to withstand the evil one and having done all â—o stand Though perhaps you have overcome at one time yet still look to your own hearts when you have done all stand four times we are called upon to stand nothing what a great advantage we have by standing It 's true our afflictions are great and the soul saith The Lord is my portion perhaps temptations and afflictions say otherwise but the soul saith The Lord is my portion and it is good for a man to say what shall I that am so full of sin yet not be willing to have some trouble but be so full of fears upon every trouble that befals me why should not I yeild to Gods providential will as well as to his commanding will how know I but that God may have glorious ends to work out of these extremities and troubles I am in why should I not give up my self to God to have his will upon me and hath not God heretofore delivered me from great straights and extremities even from the wrath of God himself and from his justice greater and other manner of straights than those I am now in and if I beleeve not in God now but be disquieted perhaps these straights may be to bring me to greater straights what if these straights of affliction should bring me to greater straights and it 's just with God to leave me to fall into the straights of sin that cannot bear the straights of afflictions therefore let me stand stil and look up to Gods salvation Let us be so affected with our straights as to carry us up to God in prayer pray as much as ye can but still keep your hearts in a quiet frame and if your prayers be right they will be to you as Luther saith they were the leeches of his cares Luther had a great many corrupt cares as in a corrupt body there is much corrupt blood but now his prayers were the leeches to suck out his cares when you are distemper'd go to prayer and then examine what a deal of corrupt blood hath my prayers suckt out of my heart As Hannah when she had been at prayer she lookt no more sad There are many things I thought to have given you to slay your hearts in time of extremities Peace shall be to that man that hath his heart stayed on God and blessed is that man that stayeth his heart upon God and if ever people had cause to stay their hearts upon God certainly we have at this day for we have God with us Therefore it 's unworthy of a Christian to have a distempered spirit I remember I have read of the Romans that when Hannibal was just before them yet they bought and sold their ground as they did at other times they were so quiet in their hearts It was a speech that Antigonor had when some were afraid of the multitude that came against him say they So many are coming against us saith he How many do you reckon me for So may we say we hear of so many thousands coming against us But how many do you reckon Jesus Christ for How many reckon you him for that is the Captain of all our Hosts Have not prayers been sent up to God Why dispise you the prayers of the Saints of God as if there were nothing in their prayers Is not Gods Name engaged in all this businesse Oh therfore stand still and be not afraid And especially let me speak a word to you that are of timorious and fearful spirits Isa 35.4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart Fear not Do not excuse your selves in this that you are of a timorious nature saith God Say to them that are of a fearful heart Fear not And especially mark what the holy Ghost speaks to women In 1 Pet. 3. Women they must cloath themselves with a meek and quiet spirit that is in the 4. verse which is in the sight of God of great price and in the 6. verse And as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him Lord whose daughters ye are as long as you do well and are not afraid of any amazment What should be the meaning of that that woman must be the daughters of Sarah upon these terms Thus Abraham was brought into straights many times and carried from his own Country now Sarah if she had been of such a spirit as many women are Oh how would Sarah have hindered her husband Abraham in every straight he was brought into and have said Husband why go we from our own Country and
to Gods grace will make mercies that are great to be little yea to be none at all Would one ever have thought that such a word should have come from the mouth of an Israelite that had been under bondage and cried under it and yet when they meet with a little crosse in their way to say you have brought us out of the Land that floweth with milk and honey to say they were better before than now and yet before they could not be contented neither this is the usual unthankful expression of a discontented heart And it is so with us now when we meet with any crosse in our estates any taxations and trouble especially if any among you have been where the enemy hath prevailed you are ready to say we had plenty before and we are now brought to a condition of hardship we were better before when we had the Prelats and others to domineer and so we indanger our selves to be brought into that bondage again Oh let us take heed of this of a discontented heart there is this wofull cursed fruit of discontent to make men and women unthankful for all the mercies God hath granted to them and this is a sore and grievous evil And lastly There 's this evil effect in murmuring It causes shifttings of spirit they that murmur and are discontent are lyable to temptations to shift for themselves in sinful and ungodly waies discontent is the ground of shifting courses and unlawful waies How many of you may have your consciences condemn you of this that you in the time of your afflictions have fought to shift for your selves by waies that have been sinful against God and your discontent was the bottom and ground of it If you would avoid shiftings for your selves by wicked waies labour to mortifie this sin of discontent to mortifie it at the root The Eight evil that there is in murmuring and discontent is this There is a great deal of folly extream folly in a discontented heart it 's a foolish sin I shall open the folly of it in many particulars 1 It takes away the present comfort of what you have because you have not somwhat that you would have What a foolish thing is this that because I have not what I would have I will not injoy the comfort of what I have Do not you account this folly in your children you give them some victuals and they are not contented perhaps they say it 's not enough they cry for more and if you do not presently give them more they will throw away that they have and though you account that folly in your children yet you deal thus with God God gives you many mercies but you see others have more mercies than you and therefore you cry for more I but God gives you not what you would have and upon that you throw away what you have is not this follie in your hearts It is unthankfulnesse 2 There 's a great deal of follie in discontentment for by all your discontent you cannot help your selves you cannot get anie thing by it Who can by taking anie carking care adde one cubit to his stature or make one hair that is white to be black You may vex and trouble your selves but you can get nothing by it Do you think that the Lord will come in a way of mercie ever a whit the sooner because of the murmuring of your spirits Oh no but mercie will be rather deferred the longer for it though the Lord were before in a way of mercie yet this distemper of your hearts were enough to put him out of his course of mercie and though he had thoughts that you should have the thing before yet now you shall not have it If you had a mind to give such a thing to your child yet if you see him in a discontented fretting way you will not give it him and this is the verie reason why there are so manie mercies denied to you because of your discontentment you are discontented for want of them and therefore you have them not you do deprive your selves of the enjoyment of your own desires because of the discontentment of your hearts because you have not your desires and is not this a foolish thing 3 There 's a great deal of folly in this there are many foolish carriages commonly that a discontented heart is guilty of They carry themselves foolishly towards God and towards men there are such expressions and such kind of behaviour comes from them as makes their friends to be ashamed of them manie times their carriages are so unseemlie they are a shame to themselves their friends 4 There is a great deal of folly in discontent and murmuring for it doth eat out the good and sweetnesse of a mercy before it comes If God should give a mercie that we are discontented for the want of yet the blessing of the mercie is as it were eaten out before we come to have it Discontent is like a worm that eats the meat out of the nut and then when the meat is eaten out of it then you shall have the shell If a child should crie for a nut that hath the meat eaten out or all worm-eaten what good would the child have by having the nut so such an outward comfort you would fain have and you are troubled for the want of it but the verie trouble of your spirits is the worm that eats out the blessing of the mercy and then perhaps God gives it you but gives you it with a curse mixed with it that you were better not have it than have it That man or woman that is discontented for want of some good thing if God doth give that good thing to them before they be humbled for their discontent that did proceed from them such a man or woman can have no comfort of the mercie but it will be rather an evil than a good to them And therefore for my part if I should have a friend or brother or one that were as deer to me as my own soul that I should see discontented for the want of such a comfort I should rather pray Lord keep this thing from them til thou wilt be pleased to humble their hearts for their discontent let not them have the mercie til they come to be humbled for their discontent for the want of it for if they have it before that time they will have it without any blessing And therefore it should be your care when you find your hearts discontented for want of any thing to be humbled for it thinking thus with your selves Lord if that that I do so immoderatly desire should come to me before I be humbled for my discontent for want of it I am certain I can have no comfort of it but I shall rather have it as an affliction to me Many things which you desire as your lives and think that you should be happy if you had them yet when they do come you
words again after he had been rubbing upon his heart the same meditation then he fetches in the words again that he had in the 2. verse He only is my Rock and my salvation but mark now what advantage he gets of himself in the 6. verse He only is my Rock and my salvation and my defence I shall not be moved before he is my Rock my salvation my defence I shall not greatly be moved but after he had been working further upon his own heart then he gains and saies now he is my Rock and my salvation and my defence I shall not be moved I have overcome these distracting fears I have got the advantage and the victory blessed be God I have overcome them God is my salvation and my glory now he begins to glory and triumph after he had wrought upon himself So that he in this did indeed stand still in this phrase by working upon his own heart though he was stirred a little at first yet he got the victory So indeed not to be moved the 70. turn this word stand still stete only but yet the notes upon it they say it is read likewise stetite that is a standing fast stand fast it is a word taken from souldiers in their ranks souldiers that are in their ranks when they apprehend a danger they must not go out of their way because of the danger it is as much as their lives are worth to go out of the way but they must stand they must stand stille though there be never such danger yet they must stand still in their ranks that is the meaning of the word I shall open more what the meaning of the holy Ghost is by and by what kind of stand still this should be but thus for the word it is such a stand still as the souldiers have in their ranks not to go out of their ranks for fear The word is used in Scripture divers times for standing fast as in the 1 of Philiphians 27. That you stand fast in one spirit now the word fast is not in the Greek Text but only the other word in the Greek Text and so you have the same word in the other Scriptures in the 1. of the Corinthians 16.13 Watch ye stand fast in the faith Stetite it is only two words in the Greek as it is in the English stand fast so that this stand it is not only a standing but a standing fast stand still in your ranks fast be not in a hurry up and down and be not in a confusion If upon danger souldiers should presently be in a confusion in the Army what would become of them and so the truth is in a City in any place where there is any danger if people grow to a confusion they are gone they are lost you must stand still in your ranks stand still There are several stand-stils some very vile and naught and others very good there is first 1 A stand-still out of amazement When a man through fear is at a stand and dears not stir any further now this cannot be meant in the text for Moses saith Fear not but stand still therefore it is not a standing still out of fear because I am astonished 2 There is a stand-still out of ignorance Because I do not know which way to take and this is not in the text neither Thus many in our time they stand still they plead ignorance they stand still they will be of no side and they plead ignorance they know not what to do they say they know not what to do one saith one thing and another saith another thing the King commands one thing and the Parliament another they know not what to do to go against the King is it not Rebellion and so they stand still because they plead ignorance their consciences are not informed It hath bin the work of divers Ministers that have hazarded themselves in this to open to you the Counsel of God and to set your consciences at liberty divers things I have spoken in this place but certainly men do blinde their own eyes and are willing to stand still to plead ignorance after so much light revealed It is strange that any rational man should speak of rebellion now when as we know that the King himselfe sent aid to the Rochellers and that we know in the case of their liberties and Religion they took up armes to defend themselves against their own King he sent help to them surely he did not himself take them to be rebels King James in his answer to Byron that enveighs against the Protestants in France he doth stand to justifie what the Protestants in France did even King James himselfe in that book of his in his answer to Byron and besides we must acknowledge all the Protestant Churches in the world to be Rebels if it be Rebellion meerly to take up armes Know we not that our own King hath matched his Daughter to the young Prince of Orange now we know the Prince of Orange is the General of the States in their fields as the Earl of Essex is the General of our forces here and their businesse against the King of Spain it was their praise to defend their Liberties and Religion and still they maintain the same quarel and the Prince of Orange he is their General and undertakes it We desire nothing but the maintainance of our Liberty and of our Religion though things be not gone so far yet as to take our estates yet the Cause that they began withal it is our Cause and what the General was there the same in a kind there is no great difference here and certainly if it were Rebellion our King would never have match'd his Daughter unto the Son of such a Rebel if it should be Rebellion meerly to take up Arms to defend Religion and to defend the Liberties of the Countrey that are according unto Laws yea we know further that the King himself hath acknowledged our Brethren the Scots to be loving subjects to be his loyal subjects do we more than they do we more in our cause nay have we done so much in our cause as they have done how generally was it there in their Kingdom and shall it be acknowledged they are loving subjects doing so much and we be accounted Rebels surely no man can plead to stand still through ignorance upon that ground 3. There is a third stand-still and the truth is though it be not through Ignorance it is though a worse principle and that is of Neuteralizing that is when men though they are informed well enough yet they stand still to see which will be the strongest side and are loth to appear yet they know not which side will most prevail but they have such a principle in their spirits to go to the strongest side which way soever it be only they will stand still till it appear My brethren certainly we can admit of no Neuters in these times the
times are grown to a greater height than that any should be admitted as a Neuter either for us or against us whatsoever is not for us at this time now coming to this straight may well be concluded to be against us 4. There is a fourth wicked stand-still and that is out of sullennesse of spirit and that is more particular and that is of many men and women especially that are in some troubles of conscience and when they are seeking of God and performing duties that God requires of them and do not find that encouragement that their hearts desire they leave off all and have no mind to do any thing but even stand still and die and will even sink in a sullen discouragement and go no further leave off their work leave off duty what should I go on in doing duty for I get no good by it I am never a whit the better and so they stand still out of a sullen discouragement The Devil himselfe is the most discouraged Spirit in the world and yet he is the proudest Spirit in the world and this standing still out of discouragement may come out of pride and stoutnesse of heart though you think it is out of Humility 5. There is a sluggish standing still and that is sinful and wicked when people stand still because they are idle and are loth to venture themselves or to put themselves to trouble to go forward in any work this work is tedious and thus the sluggard he stands still and is ready to catch at any Argument that may plead for his standing still My brethren this is not that stand still here that we should stand still and do nothing and be sluggards no but the stand still here is after we have gone on and done to the utmost that we are able that then we should stand still and commit the work to God as if we had done nothing at all there is the stand still I shall speak of more presently As that worthy Divine said he would labour to preach as if he expected no assistance and then he would expect assistance as if he had not labour'd at all So Warriors and people in danger they should prepare in the use of all means as if they expected no further help and then they should expect help from God as if they had used no means at all so we must use means As that brave speech of Joab Come let us play the men let us fight for our Cities and the people of our God and then let God do what seemeth him good then he would stand still and look for his salvation of God a speech even of Joab himselfe not then a sluggish stand still it is no hindrance at all to any preparations that may be used therefore all these are naught 6. There is an obediential stand-still that is for the hearts of men and women to stand still to wait to know further of Gods mind what God revealeth our hearts are willing to yeeld unto and we will listen to hear what the mind of God further is what God would have us to do to stand still to hearken to what the Lord would have us to do with hearts resign'd up to him and resolved to walk accordingly to it this is good and that is somewhat of it but that is not all 7. There is a stand-still out of faith a beleeving standstill and that is when though in the greatest extremity I having used what means I can for helping me yet I see my self wrapped up in extremity I will now exercise Faith First 1. To quiet my heart to get out of my spirit those distracting thoughts of that hurry and tumult that there is in the heart and to get all silenced all murmurings all distractions all giddinesse of spirit and upproar that many times is in the hearts of men and women in time of danger so by faith I come to quiet these and to get my heart to be still to be still within me Be still O my soul and therefore the Scripture expresses the waiting upon God out of Faith by a word of silence in the 62. Psalme at the beginning and verse 5. My soul waits upon God it is silenced so the Hebrew word signifies it signifies a silence in God there is many times in the hearts of men and women when they apprehend any danger a great deal of hurrying and noise in their hearts all is in a combustion in their hearts it is a grievous thing to see a Citie all in a combustion and in a tumult there are many men and womens hearts in as great a tumult upon apprehension of danger as many times a whole City is there is a rising in their hearts and a mighty noise there Sometimes they keep it may be in private and publick exigencies their tongues silent but their hearts boyle within them but your hearts must be silent you must cry to your heart be silent there my heart is now in a mutinie and a great deal of stir cry silence to your hearts that your hearts and thoughts may be composed that is the meaning of the word that there should be a setled composed frame of spirit in the hearts of men and women in the times of extremity that is the first Secondly 2. When it is out of Faith there should be a keeping our stations till God cals us out not to run up and down this way and that way and to think of nothing but of shifting courses to shift for our selves As in time of danger I verily beleeve if we could look into the thoughts of many men and women they scarce have any thought but meerly of shifting their place or house they think to shift for themselves Now we should not busie our thoughts so much about shifting as about quieting our hearts in beleeving For my brethren in times of extremity of danger God calleth for Courage more than discretion though it 's true Discretion is not excluded yet that is not that explicite and special work that is called for in times of danger I mean discretion to shift for your selves but discretion so far as may improve courage the main work that God now cals for at this time it is Courage and Discretion and Prudence only so far as to mannage Courage and to drive it on further and to improve it not to abate it that is not the Discretion certainly that now is called for but to keep our station Quest But you will say In time of danger may we not fly must men keep their stations is it not lawful to avoid danger and to fly Then we shall accuse many of our brethren that heretofore have fled in time of danger Resp My Brethren you are to know that the case now is far different from the case that was heretofore the case heretofore was especially for the present directed against particulars not against the generall though there were plots against the general but the hazard and the danger