let him take of the waters of life freely.' 'Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' The way to everlasting happiness, and consequently to contentation here, is laid open to all. It was the great reason why God made mankind, to communicate everlasting happiness to them; and when they wilfully threw away that happiness, it was the end why he sent his Son into the world to restore mankind unto it. And as the way is open to all, so it is easy to all; his yoke is easy and his burden light. The terms of attaining happiness, if sincere. ly endeavored, are easy to be performed, by virtue of that grace that Almighty God affords to all men, that do not wilfully reject it: namely, to believe the truth of the Gospel, so admirably confirmed; and sincerely to endeavor to obey the precepts thereof, which are both just and reasonable, highly conducing to our contentation in this life, and consummating our happiness in the life to come and for our encourage. ment in this obedience, we are sure to have, if we desire it, the special grace of the blessed Spirit to assist us, and a merciful Father to accept of our sin. cerity, and a gracious Saviour to pardon our failings and deficiencies. So that the way to attain contentation in this life, and happiness in the life to come, as it is plain and certain, so is it open and free, none is excluded from it, but it is free and open to all that are but willing to use the means to attain it.

And I shall wind up all this long discourse touch. ing Contentation with this plain and ordinary instance.

I have before said that our home, our country, is heaven and everlasting happiness, where there are no sorrows, nor fears, nor troubles; that this world is the place of our travel, and pilgrimage, and at the best our inn. Now when I am in my journey, I meet with several inconveniences; it may be the way is bad and foul, the weather tempestuous and stormy; it may be I meet with some rough companions, that either turn me out of my way, or all dash and dirt me in it, yet 1 content myself, for all will be mended when I come home: But if I chance to lodge at my inn, there it may be I meet with bad entertainment, the inn is full of guests, and I am thrust into an inconvenient lodging, or ill diet; yet I content my. self, and consider it is no other than what I have rea. son to expect; it is but according to the common condition of things in that place; neither am I solicitous to furnish my lodgings with better accommodations, for I must not expect to make long stay there, it is but my inn, my place of repose for a night, and not my home; and therefore I content myself with it as I find it, all will be amended when I come home. In the same manner it is with this world; perchance I meet with an ill and uncomfortable passage through it; I have a sickly body, a narrow estate, meet with affronts and disgraces, lose my friends, companions and relations; my best entertainment in it is but troublesome and uneasy; but yet I do content my. self; I consider it is but my pilgrimage, my passage, my inn; it is not my country, nor the place of my

rest: This kind of usage or condition is but according to the law and custom of the place, it will be amended when I come home, for in my father's house there are mansions, many mansions instead of my inn, and my Saviour himself hath not disdained to be my harbinger; he is gone thither before me, and gone to prepare a place for me, I will therefore quiet and content myself with the inconveniencies of my short journey, for my accommodations will be admirable when I come to my home, that heavenly Jerusalem, which is the place of my rest and happi

ness.

But yet we must withal remember, that though heaven is our home, the place of our rest and happiness, yet this world is a place for our duty and em. ployment, and we must use all honest and lawful means to preserve our lives and our comforts by our honest care and diligence. As it is our duty to wait the time till our Lord and Master calls, so it is part of our task in this world given us by the great Master of the family of heaven and earth, to be employed for the temporal good of ourselves and others. It is indeed our principal business to fit ourselves for our everlasting home, and to think of it; but it is a part of our duty and act of obedience, while we are here, to employ ourselves with honesty and diligence in our temporal employments: Though we are not to set our hearts upon the conveniencies of this life, yet we are not to reject them, but to use them thankfully and soberly; for they are blessings that deserve

our gratitude, though they ought not entirely to take up our hearts. Again, though crosses and afflictions must be the exercise of our patience, we must not wilfully choose them, nor run into them. Let God be still the Master of his own dispensation, for he is wise, and knows what is fit for us, when we know not what is so fit for ourselves. When he sends them, or permits them, our duty is patience and contenta tion, but commonly our own choice is headstrong and foolish.

It was the error of many new converts to christianity, that they thought, that when heaven and heav. enly mindedness was pressed, that presently they must cast off all care of the world, desert their callings and busily and unnecessarily thrust them. selves into dangers, that so they might be quit of all worldly cares and business, and of life itself. This the Apostles frequently remove and shew the error of it, and that justly; for the truth of it is, our continuance in this life, and in our honest employments and callings, our thankful use of external blessings here, and our honest endeavors for them, the endeavor to do good in our places, so long as we con. tinue in them; our prudent prevention of external evils, are part of that obedience we owe to our Ma. ker, and part of that exercise or task that is given us by him to perform in this life; and our cheerful, faithful, diligent, conversation herein, is so far from being incompatible to Christianity, that it is part of our christian duty, and of that service we owe to

our Maker; and it is indeed the exercise of our patience, and the evidence of a contented mind: For whosoever grows so weary of the world, that pres. ently, with froward Jonah he wisheth to die, or throws off all, it is a sign of want of that contentation that is here commended; because true contentation consists in a cheerful and ready compliance with the will of God, and not in a froward preference of our own will or choice. It was part of our Saviour's excellent prayer, for his disciples, 'I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil.'

The business therefore of these papers is to let you see what are the helps to attain patience and contentation in this world, that our passage through it may be safe and comfortable, and agreeable to the will of God, and to remedy that impatience and discontent which is ordinarily found among men; to teach men how to amend their lives, instead of being weary of them; and to make the worst conditions in the world easy and comfortable, by making the mind quiet, patient, and thankful. For 'tis the discontent. ed and impatient mind that truly makes the world much more uneasy than it is in itself.