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eafe to their condition, when they are burdened, to lay a greater burden upon them: You think there is no other way when you are afflicted, but to be jolly and merry, and get into company, Oh no! you are deceived, your burden will come again; alas,this is a poor way to get his fpirit quieted,poor man, the burden will be upon him again! but if thou wouldeft have thy burden light, thou must get alone,and examine thy heart for thy fin,and charge thy foul with thy fin: if thy burden be thy eftate, for the abuse of it; or if it be a burden upon thy body, for the abufe of health,the abuse of any mercies that now the Lord hath taken away from thee, thou haft not honoured God with thofe mercies that thou haft had, but thou haft walked wantonly and carelefly and fo fall a bemoning thy fin before the Lord, and thoufhalt quickly find the burden of thy affliction to be lighter than it was before; do but trie this piece of skill and art, to get your fouls contented with any low condition that God puts you into: Many times in a family, when any affliction befalls them, Oh what a deal of difcontentment is there between man and wife, if croft in their Eftates at Land, or ill news from Sea, or those that they trufted are broke, and the like, and perhaps fomewhat in the family fals croís between man and wife, or in reference to the children or fervants, and there is nothing but brabling and difcontents among them, now they many times are burdened with their own difcontent, and perhaps will fay one to another, This life is very uncomfortable,for us to live.thus difcontented fo as we do; but have you ever tried this way, the husband and the wife? have you ever got alone and faid, Come, Oh let us go and humble our fouls before God together, let us go into our chamber and humble our fouls before God for our fin, whereby we have abused thofe mercies that God hath taken away from us, and we have provok'd God against us, Oh let us charge our felves with our fin, and be humbled before the Lord together: have you tried fuch a way as this is? Oh you would find the cloud would be taken a way, and the Sun would fhine in upon you, and you would have a great deal more Contentment than ever yet you had: if a mans eftate be broken either by plunderers, or any other way; now how fhall this man have Contentment? how? By the breaking of his heart; God hath broken thy eftate, Oh feek to him for the breaking of thy heart likewife; Indeed a broken eftate, a whole heart, and a hard heart, will not joyn together, there will be no Contentment; but a broken estate, and a broken heart, will fo fute together, as there will be more Contentment than there was before, add therefore to the breaking of thy eftate, the breaking of thy heart what thou canft, and that is the way to be contented in a Chriftian manner, which is the Third Mysterie in Chriftian Contentation.

The fourth thing is this, It is not fo much the removing of the affliction that is upon us, as the changing of the affliction, the Metamorphofing of the affliction,. when it is quite turned and changed into another thing: I mean in regard of the ufe of it,though for the matter the affliction abide still. The way of Contentment to a carnal heart it's onely removing of the affliction, Oh that it may be gone; no but faith a gracious heart, God hath taught me a way for Contentment,though the affliction fhall continue ftill for the matter of it,for there

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is a virtue of grace to turn this affliction into good; it takes away but onely the fting and poyfon of it: As now, Suppofe povertie. A mans eftate is loft; well, is there no way to be contented till your eftate be made up again? Till your poverty be removed? Yes, certainly Christianitie would teach Contentment, though poverty continues, yet it will teach you how to turn your povertie into spiritual riches; that you shall be poor ftill for your outward eftate; but this fhall be altered, whereas before it was once a natural evil to you, it comes now to be turned into a fpiritual benefit to you; and fo you come to be content. It is a fpeech of Ambrofe, Even poverty it's felf it is riches unto holy men: Godly men do make their povertie turn to be riches, they get more riches. out of their povertie than ever they get out of their revenues, out of all their trading in this world, they never had fuch incomes as they have had out of their povertie; This a carnal heart will think ftrange, that a man fhall make povertie to be the most gainfull trade that ever he had in the world; I am perfwaded that many Christians have found it fo,that they have got more good by their povertie than ever they got by all their riches: you find it in Scriptherefore think not this ftrange that I am speaking of, you do not find any one Godly man that came out of an affliction worse than when he came into it, though for a while he was fhaken, yet at laft he was better for an affliction; but a great many godly men you find have been worse for their profperitie, fcarce one Godlie man that you read in Scripture of but was worfe for profperitie (except Daniel and Nehemiah, I do not read of any hurt they got by their profperitie that they had) fcarce (I think) is any one example of any godly man but was rather worse for his profperitie than better, fo that you fee it's no fuch ftrange thing, neither to one that is gracious that they fhall get good by their affliction: Luther hath fuch an expreffion in his Comment upon the 5. Chap.of the Galatians,in the 17 verfe, in his Comment upon that place faith, A Chriftian becometh a mighty worker,and a wonderfull Creator,that is (faith he) to create out of heaviness, joy, out of terror,comfort; out of fin, righteoufnefs; out of death, life; and brings light out of darkness. It was Gods Prerogative & great Power, his Creating Power to command the light to fhine out of darkness; now a Chriftian is partaker of the Divine Nature,fo the Scripture faith,Grace it is part of the Divine Nature, and being part of the Divine nature,it hath an impreffion of Gods Omnipotent power,that is, to create light out of darkness, to bring good out of evil, now by this way a Chriftian comes to be content. God hath given a Chriftian fuch a virtue,as can turn afflictions into mercies,can turn darkness into light;if a man had the power that Chrift had when the water pots were fil'd, he could by a word turn the water into wine; if you that have nothing but water to drink, yet if you had a power to turn it into wine,then you may be contented:certainly,a Chriftian hath received this power fromGod,to work thus miraculously; it is the nature of grace to turn water into wine, that is, to turn the water of your affliction, into the wine of Heavenly confolation, If yon understand this in a carnal way, I know it will be ridiculous for a Minifter to speak thus before you, and many carnal people are readie to make fuch expreffions as thefe to be ridiculous, underftanding them in a carnal way: Juft as Nichodemus in the 3.of John.what can a

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man be born when he is old, can be enter the second time into his mothers womb and be born? So when we speak of grace,that it can turn water into wine, and turn poverty into riches,and make poverty a gainfull trade, faith a carnal heart, Let them have that trade if they will, and let them have water to drink, and see if they can turn it into wine: Oh! take heed thou speakest not in a fcornfull way of the ways of God;grace hath the power to turn afflictions into mercies. Two men fhall have one affliction,and to one man it fhall be as gall and wormwood, and it shall be wine,and honey,and delightfulness,and joy, and advantage, and riches,to another. This is the mystery of Contentment,not fo much by removing the evil, as by metamorphofing the evil,by changing the evil into good. The fifth thing is this, A Chriftian comes to this Contentment,by making up the wants of his condition, by the performance of the work of his condition. This is the way of Contentment. There is fuch a condition that I am in, many wants, want this and the other comfort,well,how fhall I come to be satisfied and content? A carnal heart thinks this, I must have my wants made up, or elfe it is impoffible that I should be content: No, but faith a gracious heart, What is the duty of the condition God hath put me into? Indeed my condition is changed, I was not long fince in a profperous condition, but God hath changed my condition; the Lord hath called me no more Naomi, but Marah; Now what am I to do? What can I think now? Are those duties that God requires of me in the condition that he hath now put me into? and let me put forth my ftrength in the performance of the duties of my prefent condition. Others they spend their thoughts in those things that shall disturb and difquiet them, and fo they grow more and more difcontented; yea, but let me fpend my thoughts in thinking what my duty is,what is the duty of my prefent condition which I am in: Oh faith a man whofe condition is changed, and he hath loft bis eftate, Had I but my eftate that I had heretofore, how would I use it to Gods glorie! But God hath made me to fee that I did not honour him with my eftate as I ought to have done, Oh! had I it again, I would do better than ever I did. But this may be but a temptatio,therefore you should rather think, what doth God require of me in the condition I am now brought into? And thou shouldeft labour to bring thy heart to quiet and Contentment,by setting thy foul on work about the duties of thy prefent condition: And the truth is, I know nothing more available for the quieting of a Chriftian Soul, & getting Contentmenr than this, The fetting thy heart on work about the duties of thy very prefent condition that now thou art in,and take heed of thy thoughts about other conditions as a meer temptation. I cannot compare the folly of men and women that think to getContentment with their mufing about other conditions,better than to the way of Children; perhaps they are gotten upon an hill, and they look a good way off and fee another hill,& they think if they were on the top of that, then they were able to touch the clouds with their fingers; but when they are on the top of that hill, alas, then they are as far from the clouds, as they were before. So it is with many that think, If they were in fuch a condition then they should have Contentment; & perhaps they get into that condition, and then they are as far from Contentment as before: But then they think if they were in another condition, they would be con

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tended, and then when they have got into that condition, they are ftill as far from Contentment as before. No, no, let me confider what is the dutie of my prefent condition, and content my heart with this, and fay, Well, though I am in a low condition, yet I am ferving the Counfels of God in that condition wherein I am; it is the Counsel of God that hath brought me into this condition that I am in, and I defire to ferve the Counsel of God in that condition. There is a notable Scripture concerning David, it is faid of him, That he ferved his generation, after David had ferved his generation according to the Will of God, then he flept. It is a fpeech of Paul concerning him,in Act.13. 36. So it is in your books, After he bad ferved his generation according to the will of God: But now the word that is tranflated will, it is the Counsel of God, and fo it may be tranflated as well,That after David in bis generation had ferved Gods Counsel, then be fell asleep. We ordinarily take the words thus, That David ferved bis generation; that is, He did the work of his generation, that is, to ferve a mans generation. But it is more plain, if you read it thus,After David in his generation had ferved the Counsel of God, then David fell asleep. O! that should be the care of a Chriftian to ferve out Gods Counfels. What is the Counsel of God? The condition that I am in, God doth put me into it by his own Counsel, the Counsel of his own Will; Now I must serve Guds Counfel in my generation, look what is the Counsel of God in my condition, I muft look to ferve that; and so I shall have my heart quieted for the prefent, and fhall live and die peaceably, and comfortably, if I be care full to ferve Gods Counsel.

A fixth thing in the Myfterie of Contentment is this, 4 gracious heart is contented by the melting of his will defires into Gods will and defires,by this means he gets Contentment; and this is a Mysterie to a carnal heart. It is not by having his own defires fatisfied as before, but by melting his will and defires into Gods Will: So that he comes to have (in one sense) his defires satisfied, though he hath not the thing that before he did defire,yet he comes to be fatisfied in this, because he makes his will to be all one with Gods will. This is a little higher degree than fubmitting to the will of God. You all fay,you should fubmit to Gods will; but a Chriftian hath gotten beyond this; that is, he can' make Gods will and his to be the fame : fo it is faid of believers, that they are joyned to the Lord,and are one fpirit; that is,look what Gods Will is, I do not onely fee reason to submit to it, but Gods Will is my Will: When the Soul can make over (as it were) its Will to God,it muft needs then have Contentment. Others would fain get the thing they do defire, O! but faith a gracious heart, that that God would have, I would have too; I will not onely yield to it, but I would have it too; A gracious heart hath learn'd this art, Not onely to make the Commanding will of God to be its own will, that is What God commands me to do, I will do it; but to make the Providential will of God, and the Operative Will of God to be his will also: God commands this thing, which perhaps you that are Chriftians may have fome skill in, but whatfoever God works, you must will as well as what God commands, you must make Gods Providential Will, and his Operative Will, as well your Will as Gods Will, and fo you must come to Contenment:

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Here a Chriftian makes over his will to God, and in making over his Will to God, he hath no other Will but onely Gods: As fuppofe a man makes over his Debt to another man, if that man that I ow the Debt to, be fatisfied and contented, I am fatisfied, because I have made it over to him, and I need not be discontented, and fay, My debt is not paid, and I am not fatisfied; Yes, you are fatisfied, for he that you made over your debt to,he is fatisfied. Juft thus it is, for all the world, between God and a Chriftian, a Christian heart makes over his Will to God; now then, if Gods Will be fatisfied, then I am fatisfied, for I have then no will of mine own, it is melted into the will of God; for that is the excellencie of Grace, Grace doth not onely subject the Will to God, but it doth melt the Will into Gods Will, fo that they are now but one will, what a fweet fatisfaction must the foul have then in this condition, when all is made over to God? You will fay, This is hard. I will exprefs it a little more: A gracious heart muft needs have fatisfaction this way, because godliness doth teach him this. To fee that his good is more in God than in himself; the good of life, and comforts, and my happiness, and my glory, and my riches is more in God than it is in my felf: (that perhaps we may speak too further, when we come to the Leffons that are to be learned.) But upon that it is, that a gracious heart hath Contentment, he doth melt his will into Gods, for faith he, If God have glory, I have glory, Gods glory is my glory, and therefore Gods will is mine; if God have riches, then I have riches; if God be magnified, then I am magnified; if God be fatisfied, then I am fatisfied; Gods wisdom and holiness is mine, and therefore his will must needs be mine,and my Will must needs be his; here is the Art of a Chriftians Contentment, he melts his will into the Will of God, and makes over his Will to God, O Lord, thou shalt chufe our inheritance for us. Pfalm 73.

The feventh thing in the Art of Contentment is this, The Mysterie confists not fo much by bringing any thing without, to make my condition more comfortable, as to purge out fome thing that is within. The men of the world now, when they would have contentment, and want any thing, O they must have fomewhat from without to content them; but faith a godly man, let me get fomething out that is in alreadie, and then I fhall come to Contentment; As fuppofe a man hath an aguifh humour that makes his drink taft bitter, now faith he, You must put fome fugar into my drink, and his wife puts in fome,and yet the drink,tafts bitter, Why? Because the bitterness comes from a bitter chollerick humour within; but let the Phyfitian come and give him a bitter Potion to purge out the bitterness that is within, and then he can taft his drink well enough: Juft thus it is with the men of the world, O fuch a condition is bitter, and if I could have fuch a mercy added to this mercy, then it would be fweet; now if God should put a spoonfull or two of Sugar in, it would be bit. ter ftill. But the way to Contentment,is to purge out thy lufts and bitter humours. Fames 4. 1. From whence are wars, and ftrifes, are they not from your lufts that are within you? They are not fo much from things without,but from within; as fometimes I have faid, It is not all the ftorms that are abroad that can make an earth quake, but the vapours that are got within: and fo if those lufts that are within thy heart, if they were got out,thy condition would be a

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