The eighth leffon is this,Chrift teaches them what a great and dreadfull evil it is to be given up to ones hearts defires. The understanding this leffon that it is a moft dreadfull evil, one of the most hideous and fearfull evils that can befall any man upon the face of the earth, for God to give him up to his hearts defires: when the foul understands this once,and together with it, (for it goes along together) that fpiritual Judgements are more fearfull than any outward Judgements in the World, the understanding of this will teach any one to be content in Gods crofting of them in their defires. Thou art croft in thy defires, now thou art discontented, and vext, and fretted at it, Is that thy onely miferie that thou art croft in thy defires? No no, thou art infinitely mistaken, the greatest miserie of all is, for God to give thee up to thy hearts lufts and defires, to give thee up to thine own counfels : fo you have it in Pfal. 81.11. 12. But my people would not hearken to my voice, and Ifrael would none of me [what then?] Se 1 gave them up unto their own hearts lufts, and they walked in their own counfels. Oh faith Bernard, Let me not have fuch a miferie as that is, for to give me what I would have,to give me my hearts defires; it is one of the moft hideous Judgements in the World, for a man to be given to his hearts defires. We have not indeed in Scripture any certain evident fign of a Reprobate, we cannot fay (except we knew a man had committed the fin against the holy Ghost) that he is a Reprobate, for we know not what God may work upon him; but the nearest of all, and the blackeft fign of a Reprobate is this, for God to give up a man to his hearts defires, all the pain of difeafes, all the calamities that can be thought of in the World, are no Judgements in comparifon of this, for a man to be given up to his hearts defires; now when the foul comes to understand this, the Soul then cries out, why am I fo troubled that I have not my defires? There is nothing that God conveys his wrath more through than a profperous eftate. I remember I have read of a Jewish Tradition that they say of tzziah,when God struck #zziah with a Leprofie,they say, that the beams of the Sun was darted upon the fore-head of uzziah, and he was ftruck with a Leprofie by the darting of the beams of the Sun upon his fore-head; the Scripture faith, Indeed the Priefts looked upon him; but they fay there was a fpecial light and beam of the Sun upon the fore-head that did discover the Leprofie to the Priefts, and they fay it was the way of conveying of it. Whether that were true or no, I am fure this is true, that the ftrong beams of the Sun of profperitie upon many men makes them to be Leprous; Would any poor man in the Countrey have been discontented that he was not in uzziahs condition? He was a great King, I but there was the Leprofie-in his fore-head; the poor man may fay, though I live meanly in the Countrey, yet I thank God my body is whole and found, would not any man rather have ruffet and skins of beafts to cloath him with, than to have Sattin, and Velvet that should have the plague in it; The Lord conveyes the plague of his curfe through profperitie, as much as through any thing in the World,and therefore the foul coming to understand this, this makes it to be quiet and content. And then, Spiritual Fudgements are the greatest Fudgements of all; the Lord layes fuch an affliction upon my outward eftate, but what if he had taken away my life? A mans health is a greater mercie than his estate; and you that are

poor

poor people,you fhould confider of that; But is the health of a mans body better than his eftate? what is the health of a mans foul? that is a great deal better; the Lord hath inflicted external judgements, but he hath not inflicted fpiritual Judgements upon thee, he hath not given thee up to hardness 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 foul,thy more excellent part is not afflicted.Now when the foul comes to undefftand this, that here lies the fore wrath of God, to be given up to a mans defires, and for Spiritual Judgements 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 fhall he be fo difcontented, because his children have the tooth-ach, when his neighbours children are dead? Now think thus, Lord,thou haft laid an afflicted condition upon me, but,Lord,thou haft 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 Ifa 29. the last verse, faith the Text there, They also that erred in fpirit, fhall come to understanding; and they that murmured fhall learn Doctrine. Hath there been any of you (as I fear many may be found) that have erred in fpirit, 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 Chrift would bring you into his School, and teach you understanding: And they that murmured fhall learn Doctrine: what Doctrine fhall they learn? Thefe eight Doctrines that I have opened to you. And if you will but throughly study these lessons that I have fet before your eyes: It will be a fpecial help and means to cure your murmurings against, and repinings at the hand of God: And fo you will come to learn Chriftian Contentment. The Lord teach you throughly by his Spirit the Leffons of Contentment..

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Sermon VI.

PHILIPPIANS. 4. II.

For I have learned in whatsoever ftate I am, therewith to be content.

Shall onely add one Leffon more in the learning of Contentment, and then

The

The ninth and laft leffon that Chrift teaches those that he doth inftruct in this Art of Contentment, It is the right knowledge of Gods providence, and therein are these four things.

1. The Univerfality of providence, that the foul must be throughly inftruЯted in to come to this Art, to understand the Univerfality of providence, that is; how the providence of God goes through the whole World, extends its felf to every thing: Not onely that God by his providence doth rule the World, and govern all things in general, but that it reaches to every particular, not onely to Kingdoms, to order the great affairs of Kingdoms, but it reaches to every mans Family, it reaches to every perfon in the Family, it reaches to every condition,(yea,to every paffage, to every thing that falls out concerning thee in every particular, not one hair falleth from thy head, not a Sparrow to the ground without the providence of God. There is nothing befals thee good or evil, but there is a providence of the Infinite eternal firstbeing in that thing, and therein indeed is Gods infinitenefs, that it reaches to the least things, to the leaft worm that is under thy feet: Then much more it reaches unto thee that art a rational Creature, the providence of God is more especial towards rational Creatures than any others: The understanding in a ́ fpiritual way the univerfality of providence in every particular paffage from morning to night every day; that there is not any thing that doth befall thee, but there is a hand of God in it, it is from God, it is a mighty furtherance to Contentment. Every man will grant the truth of the thing that it is fo, but as the Apostle faith in Heb. 11. 3. By faith we understand that the worlds were made, by faith we understand it: why by faith? we can underftand by reafon that no finite thing can be from it felf, And therefore that the World could not be of its felf, but we can understand it by faith in another manner than by reason. So whatsoever we understand of God in way of providence, yet when Chrift doth take us into his School,we come to understand it by faith in a better manner than we do by reason.

2. The efficacy that there is in providence; that is, That the providence of God goes on in all things with ftrength and power, and it is not to be altered. by our power; let us be difcontented,and vext, and troubled, and fret, and rage, yet we muft not think to alter the courfe of providence by our difcontent. Some of Jobs friends faid to him, Shall the earth be for faken for thee, and Shall the rock be removed out of his place? Fob 18.4. When they faw him to be impatient. So I may fay to every discontented impatient heart, What, fhall the providence of God change its courfe for thee? D'oft thou think it fuch a weak thing,that because it doth not please thee it muft alter its courfe? Be thou content or not content, the providence of God will go on, it hath an efficacie of power and virtue, to carrie all things before it: Canft thou make one hair black or white with all the ftir that thou keepest? when you are in a Ship at Sea that hath all her fayls spread with a full gale of wind, and fwiftly fayling; can you make it stand still with running up and down in the Ship? No more can you make the providence of God to alter and change its courfe with your vexing and fretting, but it will go on with power, do what thou canft. Do but understand the power and efficacie of providence and it

willl be a mighty means for the helping to learn this Leffon of Contentment. 3. The infinite variety of the works of providence, and yet the order of things, one working towards another; there is infinite varietie of the works of God in an ordinary providence, and yet all work in an ordinary way; we put these two together, for God in the way of his providence caufes a thousand thoufand things, one to depend upon another, there are infinite feverall wheels (as I may fo fay) in the works of providence, all the works that ever God did from all eternity, or ever will do, put them all together, and all make up but one work, and they have been as feverall wheels, that have had their orderly motion to attain the end that God from all eternity hath appointed: We indeed look at things by pieces, we look at one particular,and do not confider the reference that one thing hath to another; but God he looks at all things at once, and fees the reference that one thing hath to another : As a child that looks upon a Clock,looks first upon one wheel,and then upon another wheel, he looks not at all together, or the dependance that one hath upon another, but the workman hath his eyes upon all together, and fees the dependance of all one upon another, and the art that there is in the dependance one upon another;so it is in Gods providence. Now obferve how this works to Contentment; where there is fuch a paffage of providence befalls me, that's one wheel, and it may be if this wheel fhould be ftopt, there might a thousand other wheels come to be stopt by this: as in a Clock, stop but one wheel,and you ftop every wheel, because they have dependance one upon another: when God hath ordered a thing for the prefent to be thus and thus, how do'st thou know how many things do depend upon this thing? God may have fome work that he hath to do twenty yeers hence, that may depend upon this paffage of providence, that fall out this day or this week. And here (by the way) we may fee a great deal of evill that there is in difcontent, for thou wouldeft have Gods providence altered in fuch and fuch a particular, indeed if it were onely in that particular, and that had reference to nothing elfe, ie were not fo much, but by thy defire to have thy will in fuch a particular, ic may be thou wouldeft cross God in a thousand things that he hath to bring about, because it's poflible there may be a thousand things depend upon that one thing,that thou wouldest fain have to be otherwife than it is; juft as if a Child fhould cry out and fay, Let but that one wheel ftop,though he faith buc one wheel, yet if that ftop,it is as much as if he fhould fay, they must all ftop: So in Providence, let but this one paffage of Providence ftop, it is as much as if a thousand ftopt: Let me therefore be quiet and content, for though I be croft in fome one particular, God attains his end, at least his end may be furthered in a thousand things by this one thing that I am croft in; there fore let a man confider, this is an act of providence, and how do I know what God is about to do, and how many things depend upon this providence? Now we are willing to fuffer our friends will to be croft in one thing,fo that our friend may attain to what he defires in a thousand things: If thou haft a love and friendship to God, be willing to be croft in fome few things, that the Lord may have his Work go on in the univerfall in a thousand of other things. That's the Third thing to be understood in Gods providence, that Chrift thod learn thofe that he teacheth in the Art of Contentment

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4 Chrift

4. Chrift teaches them the knowledge of Providence,that is,The knowledge of Gods ufuall way in his dealings with his People more particularly. The other is, the knowledge of God in his Providence in generall. But the right underftanding of the way of God in his Providence towards his People and Saints, is a notable Leffon to help us in the Art of Contentment, If we come once to know a mans way and courfe, we may better fuite, and be contented to live with him, than before we came to know his way and courfe: As when a man comes to live in a fociety with men and women, it may be the men and women may be good, but till a man comes to know their way and courfe and difpofition,many things may fall out very cross,and we think they are very hard, but when we come to be acquainted with their way and spirit,then we can fuite and concur with them very well; and the reafon of our trouble is, because we do not underftand their way. So it is with you, thofe that are but as ftrangers 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 courfe and way of God towards his People. If a stranger fometimes comes into a family, and fees fuch and fuch things done, he wonders what the matter is, but thofe that are acquainted with it, it troubles them not at all. So fervants, when they come first together, and know not one another, it may be they are froward and discontented, but when they come to be acquainted with one anothers ways, then they are more contented: Juft fo it is when we come first to understand Gods ways.

Object. But you will fay, what do you understand by Gods ways?

Anfw. By that I mean thefe Three things. And when we come to know them, we fhall not wonder fo much at the providence of God, but be quiet and contented with them.

1. The first thing is this: Gods ordinary courfe is,That his people in this world fhould be in an afflicted condition: God hath revealed in his word, and we may there find he hath fet down to be his ordinary way, even from the beginning of the world to this day, (but more efpecially in the times of the Gofpel)that his People here fhould be in an afflicted condition. Now men that do not understand this, they ftand and wonder to hear of the People of God that they are afflicted, and the enemies profper in their way; for those that seek God in his way,and feek for Reformation, for them to be afflicted, routed and fpoiled, and the enemies to prevail, they wonder at it: But now, one that is in the School of Chrift, he is taught by Jefus Chrift,that God by his eternall Counfels hath fet this to be his courfe and way, to bring up his People in this world in an afflicted condition, and therefore faith the Apoftle, Account it not strange concerning the fiery tryall, Pet. 4. 12. We are not therefore to be difcontented with it,feeing God hath fet fuch a course and way, and we know fuch is the will of God that it should be fo.

The Second thing that is in Gods way is this, fually when God intends the greatest mercy to any of his people,he doth bring them into the lowest condition. God doth feem to go quite cross,and work in a contrary way; when he intends the greatest mercies to his People, he doth firft ufually bring them into very

low