godly, and keep clofe to God in their Communion with him, they understand what I mean by this, that a Chriftian hath fupply of all his wants within himfelf; and here you may fee,that the fpirit of a Chriftian is a precious fpirit, a godly fpirit is precious, why? because it hath enough to make him happy within himself.

The next thing that the Myfterie of Contentment confifts in is this, That a gracious heart fetches fupply of all from the Covenant, and fo comes to have Contentment; which is a dry thing to a carnal spirit: Now there are two things

here.

First, he fetches Contentment from the Covenant in general, that is, from the great Covenant that God hath made with him in Chrift.

Secondly, From the particular promises that God hath made with him in the Covenant.

First, From the Covenant in general. I'le give you one Scripture for that, it is very remarkable, in the 2. of Sam.23.verf.5. Although my house be not fo with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant,ordered in all things, and fure: for this is all my falvation,and all my defire,although he make it not grow. It is a moft admirable Scripture of David, that yet had not the Covenant of grace opened fo fully as we have. But yet mark what David faith, Although I find not my houfe fo, that is, fo comfortably every way as I would, although it be not fo,what hath he to content his fpirit? faith he,He hath made with me an everlasting Covenant; this is that that helps all: I am not (may fome men fay) thus and thus with God, I do not find God come in fo fully, or it is not with my, house and family as I hoped it might be, perhaps there is this or that affliction upon my houfe; fuppofe you should have the plague come into your houfe, and your house is not fafe, and you have not that outward comfort in your house as formerly you had, but can you read this Scripture, and say, Although my house be not fo bleft with health as other mens houfes are; although my house be not fo, yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant, I am one yet in Covenant with God, the Lord hath made with me an everlasting Covenant: as for these things in this world, I fee they are but momentary, they are not everlafting, I fee in a family, when all was well but a week ago, now all is down, and the Plague hath fwept away a great many of them, and the reft are left in fadness and mourning: we fee there is no refting in the things of this world, yet the Lord hath made with me an everlasting Covenant, ordered in all things: I find diforder in my heart, in my family; but the everlasting Covenant, that is ordered in all things; yea, and that is fure: Alack, there is no fureness here in these things, I can be fure of nothing here, especially in these times,we know that a man can be fure of little that he hath, who can be fure of his Eftate? perhaps fome of you here that have lived well and comfortably before, and all was well about you, and you thought your mountain was ftrong, but you fee within a day or two all taken away from you, fo that there is no furenefs in the things of this World: But faith ha, the Covenant is fure; what I venture to Sea that is not sure, but here is an Affurance Office indeed, here is a great Affurance Office for the Saints, and they are not at charge, but onely the exercifing of Grace, for they may go

to

to this Affurance Office to affure every thing that they venture,either to have the thing it felf, or be paid for it: In an Affurance Office you cannot be affured to have the very goods come in that you infured, but if they be loft, the Infurers do engage themselves to make it good to you And this Covenant of grace that God hath made with his people, it is Gods Affurance Office, and the Saints in all their fears may, and ought to go to the Covenant to affure all things to them, to affure their eftates, and affure their lives. You will fay, How are they fure, their lives and eftares go as well as others? But God engages himself to make up all: And then mark what follows, This is all my falvation. Why David? wilt thou not have falvation from thine Enemies and outward dangers, from peftilence and plague? The frame of his fpirit is quieted, as if he should fay, If that falvation comes, well and good, I fhall praife God for it, but that that I have in the Covenant, that's my falvation, I look upon that as enough: Yea,and then further, This is all my falvation, and all my defire, Why David? is there not fomething else that thou wouldest have befides this Covenant? No faith he, It is all involved in this. Now furely those men or women must needs live contented lives, that have all their defires; now faith the holy man here, this is all my defire; And though he make it not to grow. But for all this Covenant perhaps you will not profper · in the world as other men do: True, but I am at a point for that: Though God doth not make my house to grow, I have all my defires.

Thos you fee how a godly heart finds Contentment in the Covenant. Many of you fpeak of the Covenant of God, and of the Covenant of Grace, but have you found it fo effectual to your fouls? have you fucke this sweetnefs from the Covenant, and content to your hearts in your fad conditions? It's a special fign of the truth of Grace in any foul, that when any affliction doth befall him, in a kind of natural way he doth presently repair to the Covenant; juft as a child, as foor as ever it is in danger, you fhall not need to tell him,and fay, when you are in danger you must go to your father or mother, nature tells him fo:fo it is with a gracious heart, as foon as it is in any trouble or affliction, there is a new nature that doth carry him to the Covenant presently, and there it finds ease and reft: and if you find that your hearts do thus work, prefently to be running to the Covenant, it is an excellent fign of the truth of grace: that is for the general.

But now for particular Promifes in the Covenant of Grace. A gracious heart looks upon every Promife, as coming from the Root of the great Covenant of Grace in Chrift. Other men look upon fome particular Promises, that God will help them in ftraights, and keep them and the like; but they look not upon the connexion of fuch particular Promifes, to the root, the Covenant of Grace: Now Chriftians do mifs of a great deal of comfort they might have from the particular Promises in the Gofpel, if they'd look upon their connexion to the root, the great Covenant that God hath made with them in Chrift. Now I remember I fpake a little about that, that in outward promises iu time of the Law, they might reft more upon them, than we can in the time of the Gospel. I gave you the reafon why we, that live in the time of the Gospel,cannot reft so fully, for a literal performance of curward

promifes

promises that we meet withall in the old Teftament,as they might in the time of the Law: for there was a special Covenant, that God pleased to call a new Covenant by way of diftinction from the other Covenant,that is made with us in Chrift for eternal life: And fo even the Law was given to them in a more peculiar way for an external Covenant of outward bleflings in the Land of Canaan, and fo God did deal with them in a more external Covenant, than he doth now with his people. Yet godlinefs, hath the promise of this life, and that which is to come. We may make use of the promises for this life but yet not fo much to reft upon the litteral performance of them as they might; but that God will make them good fome way or other, in a fpiritual way, if not in an outward way. We muft lay no more upon outward promifes than this, and therefore if we will lay more, we make the promise to bear more than it will bear out. For to give fome inftance; To believe fully and confidently, that the plague fhall not come nigh fuch a houfe, (I fay) it is to lay more upon fuch a promise than it will bear. I opened that promise in Pfal.91. Now if I had lived in the time of the Law, perhaps I might have been somewhat more confident of the litteral performance of the promife, than I can now in the time of the Gospel, the promise now bears no more than this, That God hath a fpecial protection over his people, and that he will deliver them from the evil of such an affliction, and if it doth bring fuch an affliction, it is more than an ordinary providence, it is fome efpecial providence that God hath in it. I had thought to have given you divers promises for the Contentment of the heart in the time of affliction : Ifa. 43. 2. when thou palest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkeft through the fire, thon Shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Certainly,though this promife was made in the time of the Law, yet it will be made good to all the Saints now, one way or other, either in the letter, or fome other way. For fo we find it plainly, that promife that was made to Fofbua, I will not fail thee, nor forfake thee, Fofbua 1.5. It is applied to the Chriftians in the time of the Gofpel. So that here is the way of Faith, in bringing Contentment by the promises, that all the promises that ever were made to our forefathers from the beginning of the World, the Saints of God have an interest in them, they are their inheritances, and fo goes on from one generation to another, and by that they come to have Contentment, because they do inherit all the promises made in all the books of God; So Hebr.13.5. fhews plainly, that it is our inheritance, and we do not inherit lefs now, than they did in Joshua's time, but we inherit more, for you fhall find in that place of the Hebrews, there is more faid, than is to Joshua, to Joshua God faith, He will not leave him, nor forfake him; now in that place of the Hebrews; in the Greek there is five negatives, I will not, not, not, not, not again, there is the elegancy of it very much, in the Greek I fay,there are five negatives in that little fentence; as if God should fay, I will not leave you, no, I will not,I will not, I will not,with such earnestnefs five times together: So that we have not onely the fame promises that they had, but we have them more enlarged and more full, though still not fo much in the litteral fenfe, for that indeed is the leaft part of the promife, in

Efa.

1f4.54.17. there God made a promife, that no weapon formed against his people fhould prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against them in judgement thou fhalt condemn, (mark what follows.) This is the beritage of the Servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me,faith the Lord: this is a good promife for a Souldier, though ftill not to lay too much upon the litteral fenfe : True, it holds forth thus much, that Gods protection is in an especial manner over Souldiers that are godly, And every tongue that fball rife against thee in judge. ment, thou shalt condemn: and this is against falfe witnefs too: Oh you, that your friends never left you any thing, you will fay, my friends, died and left not me a groat, but I thank God, God hath provided for me; But though thy Father and Mother died and left thee no heritage, yet thou haft a heritage. in the promife, This is the heritage. So that there is no godly man or woman, but is a great Heir. Therefore when thou lookeft into the book of God,and findeft any promise there, thou mayeft make that thine own. Just as an Heir that rides over divers fields and meadows, faith he, This meadow is my heritage, and this Corn-field is my heritage; and then he fees a fair a houfe, and, faith he, this fair houfe is my heritage; and he looks upon them with another manner of eye than a stranger that fhall ride over thofe fields. So a carnal heart reads the promises, and reads them but meerly as ftories, not that they have any great intereft in them: But a godly man every time he reads the Scriptures (remember this Note when you are reading the Scripture) and there meereth with a promise, he ought to lay his hand upon it, and say, this is a part of my heritage, it is mine, and I am to live upon it; and this will make you to be contented. Here is a Myfterious way of Contentment, So in Pfal.34. 10.and 37.6. there is divers other promises that brings Contentment. In Ifa.58.10. And thus much for the Myfterie of Contentment by way of the Covenant.

There is two or three things more that fhew, how a godly man hath Contentment after another kind of way than any carnal heart in the World hath, it is a Myfterious way, as thus,

He hath Contentment by realizing the glorious things of Heaven to him, he hath the Kingdom of Heaven as prefent, and the glorie that is to come, by Faith he makes it as prefent. So the Martyrs, they had Contentment in their fufferings, for faid fome of them, Though we have but a hard break-faft, yet we fhall have a good dinner, we fhall presently be in Heaven; do but fhut your eyes (faith one) and you fhall be in Heaven prefently. 2.Cor. 416. We faint not (faith the Apostle) Why? Because these light afflictions that are but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glorie. They fee Heaven before them,and that contents them. You Marriners, when you can fee the haven before you, though you were mightily troubled before you could fee any Land, yet when you come nigh the fhore and can fee fuch a Land-mark, that contents you exceedingly: a godly man in the middeft of the waves,and ftorms that he meets withal, he can fee the glorie of heaven be fore him, and fo contents himself; one drop of the fweetness of Heaven, is enough to take away all the fower and bitter of all the afflictions in the world: Indeed here we know that one drop of fower,or one drop of gall will make

bitter

bitter a great deal of honey,put a spoonfull of fugar into a cup of gall or wormwood, that will not sweeten it, but if you put a spoonfull of gall into a cup of fugar it will imbitter that; now it is otherwise in Heaven, one drop of sweet will sweeten a great deal of fower affliction, but a great deal of fower and gall will not imbitter a foul that fees the glorie of Heaven that is to come: now a carnal heart hath no Contentment but from what he sees before him in this world,but a godly heart hath Contentment from that that he sees laid up for him in the highest Heavens.

The last thing that I would name is this, A godly man hath Contentment by opening and letting out of his heart to God: other men or women they are difcontented, but how do they help themselves? by railing, by ill language, fuch a one croffes them, and they have no way to help themselves but by railing,and by bitter words,and fo they ease themselves that way when they are angry,bur a godly man when he is croft, how doth he ease himself? he is fenfible of his crofs as well as you,and he goes to God in prayer,and there he opens his heart to God, and lets out his forrows and fears, and then can come away with a joyfull countenance; now do you find that you can come away from prayer and not look fad? As it is faid (in 1.Sam. 1.18. of Hannah, that when she had been at prayer her countenance was no more fad, there she was comforted; and this is the right way of Contentment. Thus we have done with the Myftery of Contentment. Now if you can but put these things together that we have spoken of, you may see fully what an Art Chriftian Contentment is: Paul had need learn it; you fee Contentment is not fuch a poor bufinefs as many make it, to fay, you must be content, &c. But it is a great Art and My. ftery of godliness to be contented in the way of a Chriftian, and it will appear yet further to be a Mystery, when we come to the third Head; and that's to Chew what those leffons are that a gracious heart doth learn when it learns to be contented. I have learn'd to be contented; Learn'd, what lessons have you learn'd? As now a Scholar that hath great learning and understanding in Arts and Sciences, how did he begin it? he began (as we use to say) his A. B. C. and then afterwards he came to his Teftament and Bible, and Accidence, and fo to his Grammar,and afterwards to his other books;fo he learn'd one thing after another: So a Chriftian coming to Contentment is as a Scholar in Chrifts School, and there are divers leffons to teach the Soul to bring it to this learning: every godly man or woman is a Scholar, it cannot be faid of any Chriftian that he is illiterate, but he is litterate, a learned man, a learned woman: now the leffons that Chrift teaches, to bring us to Contentment, are these:

The first great leffon is,The leffon of Self-denial: and though it be a great ́ ́ leffon and hard; as you know a child at firft cries, It is hard. It is that that I remember Bradford the Martyr faith,whofoever hath not learned the leffon of the Crofs, bath not learned his A. B. C. in Chriftianity. Here Chrift begins with his Scholars, yea, those in the lowest form must begin with this; if you mean to be Chriftians at all, you must buckle to this or you can never be Chriftians: There is none can be a Scholar,except he doth learn his A. B. C. fo thou must learn the leffon of Self-denial,or thou canst never come to be a Scholar in

Chrifts