Now the Third thing I would open in the description is this, It is an inward, quiet, gracious frame of Spirit.. It is a frame of Spirit, and then a gracious frame of Spirit. Contentment it is a Soul-bufinefs, Firft it is inward; Secondly quiet; Thirdly it is a quiet Frame of Spirit. [Frame,] by that I mean these three things: There are three things confiderable when I fay, Contentment confifts in the quiet frame of the Spirit of a man.

First, That is a Grace,that spreads it felf through the whole Soul: as thus,It is in the judgement, that is, The Judgement of the foul of a man or woman tends to quiet the heart: In my judgement I am fatisfied, that is one thing to be fatisfied in ones understanding and judgement; as thus, This is the hand of God; and this is that which is fuitable to my condition, or beft for me; although I do not fee the reason of the thing,yet I am satisfied in my judgement

about it.

And then, It is in the thoughts of a man or woman: As my judgement is fatisfied, fo my thoughts are kept in order.."

And then it comes to the will, My will yields and fubmits to it, my affections are all likewife kept in order, fo that it goes through the whole Soul. There is in fome a partial Contentment, and fo it is not the frame of the foul, but fome part of the foul hath fome Contentment; as thus, Many a man may be fatisfied in his judgement about a thing, and yet cannot for his life rule his affections, nor his thoughts; cannot rule his thoughts, nor the will, nor the affections, though the judgement be fatisfied: I make no queftion but many of you may know this by your own experience, if you do but obferve the workings of your own hearts. Cannot you fay, when fuch an affliction befalls you, I can blefs God I am fatisfied in my judgement about it, I have nothing in the world in refpect of my judgement againft it, I fee the hand of God,and f fhould be content: yea I am fatisfied in my judgement, that my condition is a good condition in which I am; but I cannot for my life rule my thoughts, and will, and my affections; me thinks I feel my heart heavie, and fad, and troubled more than it should be, and yet my judgement is fatisfied. This feem'd to David, Pfalm 43. O my foul why art thou disquieted? David, as far as his judgement went, there was a contentedness; that is, His judgement was fatisfied in the Work of God upon him; and he was troubled, but he knew not wherefore. O my foul why art thou caft down within me? That Pfalm is a very good Pfalm for those that feel a fretting, difcontented distemper in their hearts at any time, for them to be reading or finging: he hath it once or twice in that Pfalm, why art thou caft down O my foul? In verfs 5. And why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him, for the help of his countenance. David had enough to quiet him, and that that he had, had prevailed with his judgement, but after it had prevailed with his judgement, he could not get it further. He could not get this grace of Contentment to go through the whole frame of the foul. There is a great deal of stir fometimes to get Contentment into their judgements; that is, To fatisfie their judgement about their Condition: Come to many,that the hand of God is upon, perhaps in a grievous manner, and feek to fatisfie them,and tell them that there is no fuch caufe to be disquieted, O not fuch caufe! faith the troubled fpirit; O then there is no caufe that any fhould be disquieted,

B 4

there

there was never any fuch affliction as I have! and a hundred things they have to put off what is faid to them, fo as you cannot fomuch as get into their judgements to fatisfie them; but there is a great deal of hope of Contentment, if once your judgements come to be fatisfied, that you can fit down and fay in your judgements,I fee caufe to be contented; but though you have gotten thus far, yet you may have much to do with your hearts afterward for there is fuch unruliness in our thoughts and affections, that our judgements are not able alwaies to rule our thoughts and affections, and that makes me to fay, That Contentment is an inward quiet, gracious frame offpirit, that is, the whole foul, Judgement, Thoughts, Will, Affections, and all are fatisfied and quiet. I fuppofe in the very opening this, you begin to fee it is a leflon that you had need learn, and it is not a thing foon got,if Contentment be such a thing as this is.

The Second thing is, this, which is very oblervable, That Spiritual Contentment comes from the frame of the foul Aman or woman that is contented in a right way, their Contentment doth not fo much come from outward arguments, or any outward thing which helps them to be content, as it doth from the difpofition of their own hearts It is the difpofition of their own hearts that caufes this Contentment, that brings forth this gracious Contentment rather than any external thing that doth i; as thus I would open my felf, one that is difquiered, fuppofe a child, or man, or woman, if you come and bring them fome great matter to please them,that perhaps will quiet them,and they will be contented, it is the thing you bring them that quiets them, but it is not the difpofition of their own fpirits, not from any good temper that there is in their own hearts, but f, om fome external thing that is brought them: but when a Christian is contented in a right way, the quiet doth come more from the inward temper and difpofition of their own hearts, than from any external arguments, or poffeffi-, on of any thing in the world. I would yet open this further to you in this Similitude. The being content upon some external thing,it is like the warming of a mans cloathes by the fire; but being content by the inward dispofition of the foul, it is like the warmth that a mans cloathes hath from the natural heat of his body: A man that is a healthfull body, he puts on his clothes,and perhaps when he puts them on at the fift in a cold morning,he feels his clothes cold, but after he hath them on a little while,they are warm; Why how came they warm? they came not nigh the fire: No, but it came from the natural heat of his body. Now a fickly man that hath his natural heat decayed, if he put on his clothes cold, they will not be hot in a long time, but he must have them warmed by the fire, and then they will quickly be cold again; So this will difference the Contentments of men. There are fome men now that are very gracious, and when an affection comes upon them, indeed at firft it seems to be a little cold, but after it hath been on a while, the very temper of their hearts, being gracious, it makes their afflictions cafie, and makes them to be quiet under it, and not to complain of any discontentment. But now you fhall have others that have an affliction upon them, that have not this good temper in their heart, their afflictions are very cold upon them and grievous and it may be.if you bring them fome ex

ternal arguments, fomewhat from without, as the fire that warms the clothes, perhaps they will be quiet for a while: but alas,wanting a gracious difpofition within in their own hearts, that warmth will not hold long. The warmth of the fire, that is a Contentment that comes meerly from external arguments will not hold long, but that holds that doth come from the gracious temper of the spirit. It is from the frame and the difpofition of the spirit of a man or woman, there's the true Contentment. But this we fhall fpeak to further in the opening of the Mistery of Contentment.

The third thing is this, It is the frame of Spirit, that fhews the habitualness of this Grate of Contentment. Contentment is not meerly one act, a flash in a good mood, you shall have many men and women, that take them in fome good mood, and they will be very quiet; but this will not hold, this is not in a conftant way, there is not a conftant tenour of their fpiries to be holy and gracious under affliction: But I fay is the quiet frame of spirit, by that I mean, The habitual difpofition of thewouls, that it is not onely at this time, and the other time when you take men and women in a good mood, but it is the conftant tenour and temper of the heart, that is a Chriftian that hath learned this leflon of Contentment, that in the conftant tenour and temper of heart is contented, and can carry its felf quietly in a conftant way, or elle it is worth nothing; for there is no body that is fo furious in their difcontent, but will be quiet in fome good mood or other. Now firft it is a heartbufinefs; Secondly, it is the heart-quiet, and then thirdly, it is the frame of the heart.

But fourthly, It is the [gracious] frame of the heart. Indeed in contentment there is a compofition of all graces, if the Contentment be Spiritual, if it be truly Chriftian, there is ( I fay) a compofition of all Spiritual Graces; As it is in fome Oyls, there is a compofition of a great many very precious ingredients: fo in this grace of Contentment, which we fhall yet further fpeak of in the opening of the excellency of it. But now the gracious frame of fpirit is in oppofition to three things;

Firft, In oppofition to the natural tilnefs that there is in many men and women. There is fome of fuch a natural conftitution, that makes them to be more ftill and more quiet than others: others are of a violent and hot conftitution, and they are more impatient than others.

Secondly, Inonpofition to a sturdy refolution. As fome men through the ftrength of fome sturdy refolution, they have not feemed to be troubled let come what will come; and fo it may be that through a sturdy refolution at fome times, they are not fo much difquiered as others are.

Thirdly, In way of diftinction, from the very strength of reafon (though not fatisfied the ftrength of natural reafon may quiet the heart in fome meafure. But now I fay, a gracious frame of fpirit is not a meerfulness of body through a natural conftitution and temper, nor fturdiness of refolution, nor meerly through the ftrength of reason,

You will fay, Wherein is this gracioufnels of Contentment distinguisht from all these? More of this will be spoken to when we fhew the Myfterie of it, and the leffons that are learned, but now we may speak a little by way of

diftinction

Awa here, as now, from the natural ftilnefs of mens fpirits. Many men and worner have fuch a natural ftilnefs of spirit, and conftitution of bodie, that you fhall find them feldom disquieted. But now mark these kind of people that are io, they likewife are very dull, of a very dull fpirit in any good thing, they have no quickness, nor liveliness 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 felf to be in a contented difpofition, the more fit it is for any fervice of God, and is very active and lively in Gods fervice, 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 fanctifying Gods name in the affliction that doth befall him: The difference will appear very clear thus, One that is of a still difpofition, he is not difquieted indeed as others, neither hath he any activeness of spirit in fanctifying the name of God in the affliction; bur now one that is content in a gracious way,as he is not disquieted, but keeps his heart quiet in respect of vexing and trouble; fo on the other fide he is nor dull nor heavie, but is very active to fanctifie Gods Name in the affliction that is upon him; for it is not enough meerly not to murmur, nor to be difcontended and troubled, but you must be active in the fanctifying Gods name in the affliction. And indeed this will distinguish it from the other, from a sturdie refolution, I will not be troubled: but though you have a sturdie refolution, that you will not be troubled, Is there a confcionableness in you to fanctifie Gods Name in your affliction? and doth it come from thence? That's the main thing that brings the quiet of heart, and helps against the discontendedness in a gracious heart. I fay, the defire and care that thy foul hath to fanctifie Gods name in an affliction, it is that that quiets the foul, which doth not in the other. Neither when it is meerly from Reason: As Socrates, it is faid of him, (though he were but an Heathen) that what ever befel him, he would never fo much as change his countenance; and he got this power over his fpirit, meerly by strength of Reafon and Morallitie: 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 Myfterie of Spiritual Contentment. I will onely give you this one Note of difference be tween 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 befall them, they are contented, yea, and they are contented as well when they commit fin against God, either when they have outward croffes, or when God is dishonoured, it is all one; either when themselves are croft, or when God is croft: but now a gracious heart that is contented with its own affliction, yet mightily rifes when God is dishonoured.

The Fifth is, FREELY fubmitting to, and taking complacencie in Gods dispofe; it is a free work of the fpirit.

1

Now there are Four things to be opened in this Freedom of spirit. First, That the heart is readily brought over. That which one doth freely, there is no great ftir to bring them to it. There are many men and women,

when

when their affli&tios are grievous upon them,with much ado they are brought to be contented,a great deal of ftir their is to quiet their hearrs when they are under affliction, yet at laft perhaps they are brought to it: I,but now this doth not come off freely: If I defire a thing of another, and I get it (perhaps) with much ado,and a great deal of ftir there is,but here's no freedom of fpirit; but when a man is free in a thing, do but mention it,and prefently he comes off to it. So if you have learned this art of Contentment, you will not onely be contented,after a great deal of do to quiet your hearts,but readily,as foon as ever you do come to think that it is the hand of God, your heart prefently closeth. Secondly, Freely, that is, not by constraint; not patience by force (as we use to say.) As many will fay, That you must be content, this is the hand of God, and there is no help for it, O this is too low an expreflion for Chriftians, yet when Chriftians come to vifit one another,they fay, Friend,or Neighbour,you must be content, this is too low an expreffion for a Chriftian. Must be content; no, readily and freely I will be content. It is fuitable to my heart to yield to God, and to be content, I find it is a thing that comes off of it felf, that my foul will be content. Oh! you should answer your friends fo that come and tell you, you must be conrent,Nay I am willing to yield to God,and I am freely content, that's the fecond. And then a free act it comes after a rational way,that's freedoom; that is,it doth not come through ignorance,because. I know no better condition,or that I know not what affliction is, I but it comes through a fanctified judgement, for that is the reason that no creature can do an act of freedom,but the rational creature,the libertie of action is onely in rational creatures, and it comes from hence, for that's onely freedom,and out of libertie that's wrought in a rational way; as a rational freedom is, when I by my judgement fee what is to be done,understand the thing,and then there is a clofing with what I understand in my judgement, that is freely done; but now if a man doth any thing; and understands not what he doth,he cannot be faid to do it freely. So if men are contented,but it is because they understand not what their affliction is, or because they underftand no better, this is not freely: as for inftance,Suppose a Child born in a prifon 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 an afflicted condition, and a fad condition, and yet they can bring their hearts to a Contentation out of a fanctified judgement, this is freedom.

Thirdly, This freedom it is in oppofition to ftupidness, for a man and woman may be content meerly out of want of fence,this is not free,as a man in a dead palfie that doth not feel you nip his flesh,he is not freely patient; but if one Thould have their flesh nipt, and feel it, and yet for all that can be able to bridle himself, and do it freely, that is another matter. So it is here, many are contented meerly cut offtupidnefs, they have a dead palfie upon them; but now a gracious heart,hath fence enough,& yet is contented,& there fore is free Sixthly, Freely [ubmitting to,and taking complacencie in Gods difpofe.Submitting to Gods difpofe, What's that? The word Submit, it fignifies nothing elfe, but to fend under;as thus,One that is discontented, the heart will be unruly, and would even get above God, so far as discontentment prevails,

but