remove, till, as the Israelites, he see a pillar of cloud and fire going before him-It is good that a man should both hope, and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord, Lam. iii. 26. It is good to stay God's leisure; and not to extricate ourselves out of trouble, till we see the Star of God's providence pointing out a way to us.

CHAP. XIV.

USE 5.

Containing a Christian Directory, or Rules about Contentment.

1 proceed now to a Use of Direction, to show Christians how they may attain to this Divine Art of Contentment. Certainly it is feasible, others of God's saints have reached to it. St. Paul here had it; and what do we think of those we read of in the little book of martyrs, (Heb.xi.) who had trials of cruel mockings and scorchings, they wandered about in desarts and caves, clothed with sheep skins and with goat skins, being destitute, afflicted and

the salvation of God in all our movements through life, that old thief, Satan, will not be able so often to break the peace of our minds here, and finally to rob our souls of Heaven, as he did the Israelites of their earthly Canaan.

tormented, yet they were contented? So that is it possible for us to possess it. And here I shall lay down some Rules for Holy Content

ment.

SECT. I.

RULE I.

Advancement of Faith is necessary.

ALL our disquietness do issue immediately from unbelief. It is this that raiseth the storm of discontent in the heart. Oh, set faith at work! It is the property of faith to silence our doubtings, to scatter our fears, to still the heart when the passions are up. Faith works the heart to a sweet serene composure; it is not having food and raiment, but having faith, which will make us content. Faith chides down passion; when Reason begins to swim, let Faith swim.

QUEST. HOW doth faith work contentment?

ANSW. 1. Faith shows the soul, that whatever its trials are, yet it is from the hand of a kind Father: it is indeed a bitter cup; but shall I not drink the cup which my Father hath given me to drink? John xviii. 11. It is love to my soul; God corrects with the same love that he crowns me. God is now training me up for heaven; he carves me, to make me a

polished pillar fit to stand in the heavenly mansion. These sufferings bring forth patience, humility, even the peaceable fruits of righteousness, Heb. xii. 11. And if God can bring such sweet fruit out of a sour stock, let Him graft me where he please. Thus faith brings the heart to holy contentment.

2. Faith sucks the honey of contentment out of the hive of the Promise.* Christ is the Vine, the promises are the clusters of grapes that grow upon this Vine; and Faith presseth the sweet vine of contentment out of these spiritual clusters of the promises. I will show you but one cluster-The Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly; (Psal. lxxxiv. 11.) here is enough for faith to live upon. The Promise is the flower out of which Faith distils the spirits and quintessence of divine contentment. In a word, Faith carries up the soul, and makes it aspire after more noble and generous delights than earth affords, and to live in the world above the world. Would you lead contented lives, live up to the height of your faith.

* "Tis a comfortable thought that the promises of God are all given for the express purpose that we may have great and strong consolations, who make our duty and our privilege to be found pleading them at a throne of grace;

O then be earnest take no nay,
He'll answer every good desire,
Give him your heart, though cold as clay,
They'll melt like wax before the fire.

SECT. II.

RULE 2.

Breathe after Assurance.

Он, let us get the interest cleared between God and our own souls! Interest is a word much in use; a pleasing word: interest in great friends, interest-money. Oh, if there be an interest worth looking after, it is an interest between God and the soul. Labour to say with Thomas, my Lord and my God. To be without money and without friends, and without God too, (Eph. ii. 12.) is sad; but he whose faith doth flourish into assurance, that can say, with St. Paul-I know in whom I have believed, (2 Tim. i. 12.) Be assured that man hath enough to give his heart contentment. When a man's debts are paid, and he can go abroad without fear of arresting, what contentment is this! Oh, let your title be cleared! if God be ours, whatever we want in the creature is infinitely made up in him. Do I want bread? I have Christ, the Bread of Life. Am I under defilement? His blood is like the trees of the sanctuary; not only for meat, but medicine, Ezek. xlvii. 12. If any thing in the world is worth labouring for, it is to get sound evidences that God is ours. If this be. once

cleared, what can come amiss? No matter what storms I meet with, so that I know where to put in for harbour. He that hath God to be his God, is so well contented with his condition, that he doth not much care whether he hath any thing else. To rest in a condition where a Christian cannot say God is his God, is a matter of fear: and if he can say so truly, and yet is not contented, is matter of shame. David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. Although it was sad with him, (1 Sam. xxx. 62.) Ziklag was burnt, his wives taken captive, he lost all, and like to have lost his soldiers' hearts too-for they spake of stoning him-yet he had the ground of contentment within him, viz. an interest in God; and this was a pillar of supportment to his spirit. He that knows God is his, and all that is in God is for his good; if this doth not satisfy, I know nothing will.

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SECT. III.

RULE 3.

Pray for an humble Spirit.

THE humble man is the contented man: if his estate be low, his heart is lower than his estate; therefore he is contented. If his esteem in the world be low, he that is little in

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