Selected quad for the lemma: work_n
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A66076
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Doctrine of contentment briefly explained, and practically applied in a treatise on 1 Tim. 6. 8. / by Henry Wilkinson ...
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Wilkinson, Henry, 1616-1690.
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1671
(1671)
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Wing W2235; ESTC R415
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95,837
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200
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he was not troubled for want of his eye-sight yes saith he I am but shall I be troubled for the want of that which even dogs have and shall I not rejoyce and be thankful for that I enjoy which Angels have The application is obvious A Christian man thus expostulates with himself Shall I be discontented and vex my self for want of that which dogs have They have bread and meat and kennels to lodge in and oft times the very dogs of some great Personages are fed with choicer food and lie in better rooms then some good Christians are accommodated withall shall I not then be contented with that which makes Angels themselves glorious For this cause the Apostle is exuberant in praises Eph. 1. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ What then though a child of God hath not promotions in earthly places yet if he have assurance of Gods love in Christ and an interest in heavenly places this consideration should be an especial engagement to contentment A poor beggar lying in a Church-porch read a lecture of contentment to a rich man The rich man being much discontented and tormented went on purpose to discourse with a beggar lying in straw in a Church-porch the rich man wisheth him a good morrow he wondred what-he meant then said he I wish you a good day Why saith the beggar do you wish me either good morrow or good day for I never knew bad morrow nor bad day in all my life nor did I ever meet with one bad night What is the reason said the rich man The poor man answered when I was in a rich estate I prayed always that petition in the Lords Prayer Thy will be done and now being in a poor condition I pray the same prayer Thy will be done so nothing comes amiss to me because I labour to submit my will in all things to the will of God If then we could imitate this man in all conditions to endeavour to bring our wills in obedience and subjection to the will of God we should then be good practitioners in this excellent art of Contentment SECT 3. Containing a sixth motive to Contentment THe sixth Consideration to mention 6. Consid The companions and associats of Contentment no more shall be drawn from the good companions and associats of this choice grace of contentment Diogenes when he was to let his house urged this great argument to get a good tenant because said he my house hath good neighbours round about it I am sure amongst many there are three special associats and bosom companions of contentment whose neighbourhood and acquaintance are much to be desired and prized and they are faith patience and heavenly-mindedness 1. Faith is a companion of contentment 1. Faith is a companion of contentment Faith and dependance on God is a special means to work the heart over to such an excellent temper For faith acting on the promises with a stedfast recumbence on the Word of God doth abundantly stay and quiet the hearts of Christians and support and carry them with cheerfulness through the greatest storms of afflictions A man faln into the water catcheth hold of any twig any cord or any hand to help him out so though a Christian be in a sinking condition yet if he can adhere to the divine promises and act faith upon them he will be held up above water It is unbelief which causeth so many tumultuous and vexatious thoughts in our hearts Could we beleeve God and trust in him on his word that he is faithful in all his promises all-sufficient omnipotent willing and able to relieve and help us and that he is of tender bowels full of compassion a Father of mercies and a God of all consolations such serious meditations as these would stifle all discontented thoughts in the conception nip them in the bud and crush them in their first motions The more faith the more contentedness and the more unbelief the more discontentedness Faith acts upon a ground of experience Rom. 8. 28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose Faith keeps a beleever alive in dying times it keeps the heart from fainting Psal 27. 14. Wait on the Lord Be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart wait I say on the Lord. Whence arise discontented murmuring speeches but from unbelief For unbelief is that root of bitterness which brings forth nothing but gall and wormwood When men are straitned for outward things they are exceedingly perplexed and troubled in their spirits but when faith interposeth it affords meat drink and clothes for a beleever trusts God with all and he accounts God his life and livelyhood and all How then doth a beleever live the Prophet tells us Hab. 2. 4. The just shall live by his faith For the excellency and usefulness of this sentence is so evident as that it is quoted in several places of Scripture and press'd home unto point of practice When troubles Rom. 1. 17. Gal. 2. 20. 3. 11. Hebr. 10. 38. and vexations arise from thwarting passages of providence faith steps in and returns away with Trophies of victory 1 Joh. 5. 4. This is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith When multitudes are perplexed and endangered by reason of the methods wiles and variety of Satans temptations then faith is to be made use of as a strong shield to ward off the blows 1. Pet. 5. 9. Whom resist stedfast in the faith In one word let it be spoken that in all troubles disasters and sufferings faith quiets the mind Faith is like that meal which being cast into the pot the wild gourds did no harm but notwithstanding 2 Kings 4. 42. they were shred in the pot yet as soon as the meal was put in the pottage became wholesom Faith sweetens the sowrest pills of afflictions and becalms the spirit amidst the sharpest sufferings Yet we must with caution express our selves Faith that is genuine and of the right stamp must be a purifying faith and a working Acts 15. 9. Gal. 5. 6. faith and however Luther be misunderstood when he saith Cavete à bonis operibus he means that we must beware of trusting in good works so as to plead merit and to expect salvation by them he elsewhere gives this character of faith Fides maxima heroica operatur Faith then is not to be understood as an instrument in working or meriting but as an instrument in receiving and applying of grace and mercy through Christ Faith is our act and it is our duty to beleeve but it is Gods gifts we of our selves are no more able to beleeve then to perform the Commandments The self-same power that raised up Christ from the dead can onely raise us up to beleeve Col. 2. 12. Buried