3. The third general thing is. He can want and he can abound, ivithout taintiny himself over much ti'ith the sins of those conditions. For instance, he
* That is, ' toucli,' = make tender, move, or qu. ' care for ' ? = regard. Cf. Richardaon, sub voce. — G.
180 THE ART or CONTENTMENT.
can abound without pride, though it be a hard matter. Abundance works upon the soul of a man. He had need to have a strong brain that digests abundance ; it is a wild untamed thing. And wo sec by experience in God's children how hard a matter it is for them to manage abundance. We sec how it wrought upon Solomon and David. They were better in adversity, 1 Kings, xi. 1, 2 Sam. xi. 2; and yet notwitstanding the child of God hath grace even to overcome the sins that are incident to abundance. He hath grace to be lowly-minded in a great estate ; not to trust to un- certain riches ; he knows by the Spirit of God what they are, and that he hath an inheritance of better things in another world, which teacheth him to set a light esteem upon all things below.
And so for dejection ; the sin that we are subject to fiill into in want, is putting forth our hands to evil means, to shift.* God's child can learn to "want without tainting his conscience with ill courses, and then he can want without impatience, without too much dejection of spirit ; as if all were lost ; whenas, indeed, a Christian in a manner is rich all alike. For Go;i is his portion, and howsoever a beam may be took away, the sun is his ; take away a stream, the spring is his ; in the poorest estate, God all-suffi- cient is his still ; and so in a manner a Christian is rich all alike. God never takes away himself. Gen. xvii. 1. He knows this, and therefore he can want, he can be abased as long as he hath the spring of all. Though a cistern be took away, he cares not, he can want and abound without murmuring, without dejection of spirit. Whereas those that have not been brought up in Christ's school, nor trained up in variety of conditions, are able to do nothing. If they abound, they are proud ; if they be cast down, they murmur and fret, and are dejected, as if there were no Providence to rule the world, as if they were fatherless children. This is the excellency of a Christian, that as he knows what it is to abound by experience, so he knows how to abound with the practice of the graces, and how to want with the avoiding of the snares that usually are in that condition.
Obj. ^ But hath a Christian learned this at the first ?
A7)s. No ; he learns it not very easily, nor very soon. Self-denial is the first lesson in Christ's scJwol: to have no wit of our own further than Christ's wisdom ; to have no will of our own further than his commandment guides us ; and he that hath learned self-denial, he is in a great way to learn this blessed lesson of contentment in any condition whatsoever. So that every Christian hath some degree of that, as he can deny himself. But there are many things to be learned before we can come to carry ourselves wisely in any condition.
For besides self-denial, we must learn the doctrine of the covenant of grace, that God in Christ is become a Father to us, and carries a fatherly mind to us. In what condition soever we are, he is a father still, and intends us ■well, and will provide for us in the hardest condition. Having took the relation of a father upon him, do jow think that he will fail in the carriage of a father towards us ? He is pitiful to us, he respects us in the basest condition. He that knows God to be his father, cast him into what con- dition you will, knows he hath a good portion.
And then we must know the doctrine of the providence of this Father, that all shall work together for the best to those that love him, Eom. viii. 28, want and abundance, prosperity and afllictions, whatsoever. God by his overruling power will bring all things to this blessed issue, to help forward the eternal good of his child. A man must know this, and divers the like * That is, = to resort to expedients. — G.
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things that are to be known, before he can learn this blessed lesson of con- tentment. There is a venom and a vanity in everything without grace, wherewith -we are tainted ; but when grace comes, it takes out the sting of all ill, and then we find a good in the woi'st. There is a vanity in the best things, and there is a good in the worst. Grace picks out the good out of the worst ; as God turns all to good, so grace finds good in every condition. The Spirit of God sanctifies a Christian to all conditions, and sanctifies every condition to him. Now, I beseech you, think of this that I have said, which I wish without further enlargement may add to your care, and desire to be in the happy condition of Christians. What a blessed thing is it to be in the covenant of grace, to have God to be our father, to be in Christ, that let our condition outwardly be what it will be, we shall have grace to carry ourselves in it, God will go along with us by his Holy Spmt ! What a blessed thing is it, in all the uncertainties of the world, to have a certain rule to go by, as a Christian hath, which carries him along in all the uncertainties in this world ! None but a Christian hath this. ' I have learned,' saith Paul. When did he learn it? Not before he was a Christian. This I could desire to press, but that I have other things to speak of, to make us in love with religion, with the state of Christians, that is thus above all conditions whatsoever, and can rule all other conditions. A Christian is not at the mercy of the world ; his contentment is not a dependent contentment. You may cast him into prison, you may impo- verish him, you may labour to debase and disgrace him ; but can you take away his comfort ? Can you take away his grace ? Can you take away the love of God ? No ; God will rather increase all upon him. For the best things of a Christian are not at the mercy of the world, nor at the mercy of his several conditions. Prosperity and adversity, these are out of him. He hath a state depending upon the good will and pleasure of his Father, that loves him better than he loves himself, and out of love will work good out of the worst condition that can befall him. So I hasten to that which follows.