in Contentment is this, A gracious heart hath Contentment by fetching ftrength from Jefus Chrift, he is able to bear his burden by fetching ftrength from another. Now this is a riddle indeed, and it would be a ridiculous thing to be spoken of in the Schools of Philofophers, to fay, If there be a burden upon you, you muft fetch strength from another; indeed to have another to come and stand under the burden, that way they would know; but that you fhall be ftrengthened by anothers ftrength,that is not neer you to your outward view, that they would think ridiculous: but now a Christian finds fatisfaction in every condition by getting ftrength from another, by going out of its felf to Jefus Chrift, and by faith acting upon Chrift, and bringing the strength of Jefus Chrift into its own foul, and thereby is enabled to bear whatsoever God Jayes upon him, by the ftrength that he finds from Jefus Chrift: of his fulnefs do we receive grace for grace; there is ftrength in Chrift,not onely to fanЯifie and fave us, but ftrength to fupport us under all our burdens and affliЯtions, and Chrift expects, that when we are under any burden,that we would act our faith upon him to draw virtue and ftrength from him; the acting of Faith, that is the great grace that is to be acted under afflictions, it is true, other graces fhould be acted, but the grace of Faith it draws ftrength from Chrift, in looking upon him that hath the fulness of all ftrength to be conveyed into the hearts of all believers. Now if a man hath a burden upon him, yet if he can have ftrength added to him, if the burden be doubled, yet if he can have his ftrength to be trebled, the burden will not be heavier but lighter than it was before to our natural ftrength. Indeed our afflictions may be heavy, and we crie out, O we cannot bear them,we cannot bear fuch an affliction: Though thou canst not tell how to bear it with thing, own ftrength, yet what canft thou tell what thou shalt do with the ftrength of Jefus Chrift? Thou fayeft thou canst not bear it, why doeft thou think that Chrift could not bear it? if Chrift could bear it, why mayeft not thou come to bear it? You will fay, Can I have the ftrength of Chrift? Yea, that is made over to thee by faith, fo the Scripture faith, That the Lord is our strength, God himself is our ftrength, and Chrift is our ftrength, divers Scriptures we have that way; that Chrifts ftrength is thine, made over to thee, that fo thou mayeft be able to bear whatsoever lies upon thee, and therefore we find fuch a ftrange kind of expreffion in the Epiftle of Saint Paul to the Coloffians, praying for the Saints, That they might be ftrengthened with all might,according unto his glorious power, unto what? Unto all patience and long-fuffering with joyfulness. Strengthned with all might, according to the power of God, the glorious power of God, unto all patience, and long-fuffering with joyfulness; You may not therefore be content with a little ftrength, fo that you are able to bear what a man might bear by the strength of reafon and nature; But to be ftrengthned with all might, according to the glorious power of God, unto all patience, and to all longfuffering; Oh you that are now under very heavy and fad afflictions more than ordinarie, look upon this Scripture, and confider how this Scripture is made good in you, why may you not have this Scripture made good in you, if you be godly? You fhould not be quiet in your own fpirits, except that you in fome measure do get this Scripture to be made good in you, fo that you

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may with fome comfort fay, through Gods mercie 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 fo, that others may fee fuch a Scripture made good in you; Here is the glorious Power of God that doth strengthen his fervants to all long-fuffering; and that with joyfulnefs. Alas it may be you do not exercise fo much patience,as a wife man or a wife woman, that hath but natural reason. But where is the power of God,the glorious power of God? where's the ftrengthening with all might, unto all long-fuffering and patience, and that with joyfulness? It is true, the fpirit of a man may be able to fuftain his infirmities,may be able to fuftain and keep up his fpirits, the naturall fpirit of a man, but much more then, when this fpirit is acted with grace and holiness, and when it is fill'd with the ftrength of Jefus Christ, this is the way of a godly mans getting Contentment, the Myfterie of it, is by fetching in ftrength from Jefus Chrift.

Twelfthly, Another Myfterie that there is in it, it is, That a Godly heart, enjoys much of God in every thing it hath, and doth know how to make up all wants in God himself: that is another Myfterie, he hath God in what he hath; that I fpoke to fomewhat before, in fhewing the dew of Gods blefling in what he hath, for God is able to let out a great deal 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 fets out a great deal of his power in working miracles in smaller things, fo he lets out a great deal of goodness and mercie, 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 diftin&t thing.

Further,a gracious heart,as he lives upon Gods dew in a little that he hath, fo when that little that he hath fhall be taken from him, what shall he do then? Then you will fay, 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 himfelf: 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 godliness teaches, to make up all thofe loffes in God. Many men that have their houses burnt,go about gathering, and fo get up by many hands a little; but a godly man knows whither to go to get up all, even in God himself,fo as he fhall enjoy the quinteffence of the fame 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 Myfterie to a carnal heart;I fay, a gracious man doth live fo 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, and makes up all there; God is his All in All while he lives; I fay, 'tis God that is his All in All. Am not I to thee(faith Elkanab to Hannah) instead of ten children? So faith God to a gracious heart, Thou wanteft this, thy Eftate is plundered: Why, Am not I to thee inftead of ten houses, and ten fhops? I am to thee instead of All; yet not onely instead of All, but come to me, and thou shalt bave All again in me, This indeed is an excellent Art, To be able to draw from God what it had before in the crea

ture: Chriftian, how didft thou enjoy Comfort before? Was the Creature any other to thee but a Conduit, a Pipe that did convey Gods goodness to thee? The Pipe is cut off, faith God, come to me the Fountain, and drink immediately; though the Beams be taken away, yet the Sun remains the fame in the Firmament that ever it was: What is that that fatisfies God himself, but because he doth enjoy all Fulness in Himfelf? fo he comes to have fatisfaction in Himfelf: Now if thou enjoyeft God to be thy portion, if thy foul can fay with the Church, in Lament. 3. 24. The Lord is my portion, faith my foul. why fhouldcft thou not be fatisfied and contented as God? God is contented, he is in Eternal Contentment in himself; now if thou hadft that God to be thy portion, why should eft not thou be contented with Him alone? God is contented with himself alone; if thou haft him, thou mayeft 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 whilft thou hadft these things here, they did fhare with God in thy affection, a great parc of the ftream of thy affection ran that way; now God would have the full ftream run to him: As you know it is with a man that hath Water come to his House, and if there be feveral Pipes, upon which he finds the Water comes but fcantly into his Wafh-houfe, he will rather ftop the other Pipes, that he may have all the Water come in where he would have it. So here, it may be God had fome stream of thy affection that ran to him then, when thou didft enjoy these things; yea, but a great deal was let out to the Creature, a great deal of thy affections did run wafte; Now the Lord would not have the affections of his Children to run wafte; 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 thy heart might run wholly upon him: As if you have Children, because you have fervants, perhaps,do feed them, and give them things, you perceive that your fervants do steal away the hearts of your Children, you would hardly be able to bear it, you would be readie to turn away fuch a fervant, and when the fervant is gone, the child is at a great loss, it hath not the Nurfe; but the Father or Mother intends,by her putting away, that the affections of the Child might run the more frongly towards himself, or her felf, and what lofs hath the Chil?dthat the affections,that ran in a rough channel before towards the fervant, it runs now towards the Mother? So, those affections that run towards the Creature, God would have them run towards Himself, that fo he may be All in All to thee here in this world. And a gracious heart can indeed tell how to enjoy God to be Allin All to him that is the happiness of Heaven, to have God to be All in All. The Saints in heaven have not Houfes, and Lands, and Money, and Meat, and Drink, and Clothes. You will fay,They do not need them: Why do they not? It is becaufe God is All in All to them immediately. Now while thou livest in this world, thou may eft come to enjoy much of God, you may have much of Heaven; while we live here in this life, we may come to enjoy much of the very life that there is in Heaven,and what is that but the enjoyment of God to be All in All to us? There is one Text in the Revelations that speaks of the glorious condition of the Church that is like to be even here in this world,Revel.

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21, 21. And I saw no Temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb are the Temple of it; and the City had no need of the Sun, neither of the Moon to fhine in it, for the Glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. They had no need of the Sun or Moon. It fpeaks of fuch a glorious condition that the Church is like to be in here in this world; this doth not fpeak of Heaven and that appears plainly that this is not spoken of Heaven, but of a glorious eftate that the Church fhall be in here in this world, for it follows prefeatly in the 24 and 26.verfe. And they speaking of the Kings of the earth:) And the Kings of the Earth do bring their glory and honour unto it. Why? the Kings of the Earth fhall not bring their glory and honour into Heaven; but this is fuch a time when the Kings of the Earth fhall bring their glory and honour to the Church. And in the 26 verfe, And they fhall bring the glory and honour of the Nations into it; therefore it must needs be meant here in this world,and not in Heaven:Now if there be fuch a time here in this World, that God shall be All in All, that in comparison there fhall be no fuch need of creatures as now there is, then the Saints should labour to live as neer that life as poffibly they can, that is, To make up All in God: Oh that you would but mind this Mystery, that it may be a reality to the hearts of the Saints in fuch times as these are, they would find this priviledge,that they get byGrace, to be worth thousands of worlds: Hence is that of Jacob that I mentioned in another cafe,it is remarkable, and comes in fully here, in Gen 33. that notable fpeech of Jacob when his brother Efau did meet him,ye find in one place, that Efau he refufed Facobs prefent in the 8 verfe, when Jacob gave his prefent to him, he refufed it, and told Facob that he had enough; what meanest thou by all this drove which I meet? And he faid, Thefe are to find grace in thy fight: And Efau faid, I have enough. Now in the 1.verfe there facob urges it, and faith, Jacob, I befech thee take it, for I have enough: Now in your books it is the fame in English, I have enough (faith Efau ;) and I have enough (faith Jacob: )but in the Hebrew, Jacobs word is different from Efau's, Jacobs word fignifies, I have all things,and yet Facob was poorer than Efau. Oh this fhould be a fhame to us, that an Efau should say, I have enough; but now a Christian fhould fay, I have not onely enough, but I have all: how hath he all? Because he hath God that is All, and it was a notable fpeech of one, He hath all things, that bath him that hath all things. Surely thou haft all things, becaufe thou haft him for thy Portion who hath all things: God hath all things in himfelf, and thou haft God to be thine for thy portion, and in that thou haft all, and this is the Myfterie of Contentment; It makes up all wants in God,this is -that that the men of the world have little skill in.

Now I have divers other things to open in the Myfterie of Contentment. I fhould fhew likewife that a godly man, not onely makes up all in God, but finds enough in himself to make up all, to make up all in himself, not from himself, but in himself, and that may feem to be ftranger than the other: to make up all in God is fomewhat, nay,to make up all in himself not from himfelf, but in himself, that is, a gracious heart hath so much of God within himfelf, that he hath enough there to make up all his wants that are without. In Prov. 14. 14. A good man shall be fatisfied from himself,from that that is within

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himself, that is the meaning, a gracious man he hath a bird within his own bofom that makes him melodie enough, though he wants mufick, The Kingdom of Heaven is within you: In Luke 17. 21. He hath a Kingdom within him, and a Kingdom of God: you fee him spoken ill of abroad, he hath a confcience within him that makes up the want of a name and credit, that is instead of a thousand witnesses.

Thirteenth, Agracious heart fetches Contentment from the Covenant that God bub made with him. Now this is a way of fetching Contentment that the men of the world know not of; they can fetch Contentment, if they have the creature to fatisfie them: But to fetch Contentment from the Covenant of grace, that they have little skill in. I fhould here have opened two things: Firft, how to fetch Contentment from the Covenant of grace in general. (But I fhall fpeak to that in the next Sermon, and now onely a word to the Second.) Secondly, how he fetches Contentment from the particular bran ches of the Covenant, that is from the particular Promife that he hath for the supplying of every particular want: there is no condition that a godly man or woman can be in, but there is fome Promife or other in the Scripture to help him in that condition. And that's the way of his Contentment, to go out to the Promifes, and fetch from the Promile, that which may fupply. But this is but a dry bufiness to a carnal heart; but it's the moft real thing in the world to a gracious heart; when he finds want of Contentment he repairs to the Promife, and the Covenant; and falls a pleading the Promises that God hath made. As I fhould have fhewen feveral Promifes that God hath made, let the affliction be what it will,I will but onely mention one that is the faddeft affliction of all; in cafe of the Vifitation, and the Plague. In Pfal.91. now those that cannot have their friends come to them by reason of the Plague, and that cannot have other comforts; in other affictions they might have their friends, and other things to comfort them, but in that they cannot, Pfal. 21. 20. There shall no cvill befall thee, neither shall any Plague come nigh thy dwelling; then here is a Promife for the Peftilence in the S. and 6. verfes, this is a Scripture to thofe that are in danger of it. You will fay, This is a promife that the Plague fhall not come nigh them; but marke these two are joyned, There fhall no evil befall thee, neither shall the Plague come nigh thee; the evil of it fhall not come nigh thee.

Object. You will fay, it doth come to many godly men and how can they make use of this Scripture? it is rather a Scripture that may trouble them, becaufe here's a Promife that it shall not come nigh them, and yet it doth come nigh them as well as others.

Anf Firft,this is the Anfwer I would give, The promises of outward deliverances that were made to the People of God in the time of the Law, were to be understood then a great deal more litterally, and fulfilled more litterally than in the times of the Gospel, God makes it up otherwife with as much mercy; though God made a Covenant of grace and eternal life in Chrift with them, yet I think there was another Covenant too, that God speaks of as a diftin&Covenat for outward things,to deal with his people by,according to their ways, either in outward profperity, or in outward afflictions, more than now,