for any bodily Provifion; no, we are bid to provide things honeft in the fight of all Men, and to that end, to be not fothful, but diligent in the Business of our Vocation, Rom. 12. 11, 17. But our Saviour's Charge is, not to give way to any anxious, perplexing, or follicitous Cares about thefe things, fuch as are accompany'd with a Diftruft of God's Providence, and put Men upon inordinate Defires and Endeavours after what is not their own: for these destroy Property, and difturb the Peace and Order of the World; they violate the Laws of God, and bring Ruin and Deftruction to our own Souls: and therefore we find our Saviour ufing many Arguments in that Chapter, to cure thefe carking and immoderate Cares. For,

ift, He fends us to the Fowls of the Air, and the Beasts of the Field, who fow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into Barns, and yet your heavenly Father feedeth them; adding, Are ye not much better than they? ver. 26. To check all follicitous Thoughts about Meat and Drink, he minds us of the Provifion made for all inferior Creatures, how he feeds the Ravens, and will not fuffer a Sparrow to fall to the ground; and can we think he will ftarve his own Children? Again, to cure all anxious Cares about Rayment, he,

adly, Sends us to the Lillies of the Field, to confider how they grow, they toil not, neither do they fpin, and yet I fay unto you, that Solomon in all his Glory was not array'd like one of thefe; ver. 28. adding, that if God fo clothe the Grass of the Field, that to day is, and to morrow is cast into the Oven, fhall be not much more clothe you, O ye of little Faith?

3dly, He fhews the Vanity of all fuch carking and diftruftful Cares, which can neither add one Cubit to our Stature, nor one Grain to our Eftate, without God's Bleffing; which will be fooner obtain'd by a devout Dependence upon his Providence, than by all the anxious and indirect Arts of our own Contrivance.

Thefe, together with Idlenefs and Pride, are the principal Motives and Occafions of that finful Concupifcence condemn'd in this Commandment, which we are therefore carefully to watch against, as the Enemies of our Souls, and the Obstacles of our Salvation. In a word, let us check the first Motions of Difcontent, Envy, and Ambition, which elfe will betray us into greater Evils, left by letting loofe our Hearts to coveting, we let loofe our Hands to picking and ftealing; and by both let ourfelves loose to all the Mileries and Punifhments both of this Life and the next,

DISCOURSE XXIII.

EXOD. XX, 17.

Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbour's House, thou fhalt not covet thy Neighbour's Wife, nor his Man-Servant, nor his Maid-Servant, nor his Ox, nor his Afs, nor any thing that is thy Neighbour's.

I

HAVE fpoken to the Negative Part of this Commandment, which forbids all coveting or defiring any thing that is another's: I proceed now to the Affirmative Part of it, which inftructs us in the thing requir'd in it, and that is, Contentment with our own Condition; both which are urg'd by the Apoftle, Heb. 13. 5. Let your Conversation be without Covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have.

St. Paul reprefents this as an Art, which he had ftudy'd and learnt himself, Phil. 4. 11. I have learnt (faith he) in whatever State I am, therewith to be content: which Art he would likewife have learnt and practis'd by all Chriftians, 1 Tim. 6. 8. Having Food and Rayment, let us learn therewith to be content. In treating therefore of this great Duty, 1 muft,

First, Shew the Nature of Contentment, what it is.

Secondly, The Fitnefs and Reasonableness of it. And, Laftly, Conclude with fome Rules to attain to the Art of it. For the

First, Contentment is fuch a Satisfaction or Well-pleasednefs of Mind in a Man's own Condition, as renders him eafy both to himfelf and others.

I ftyle it a Satisfaction or Well-pleafedness of Mind: This fhews us the Rife and Seat of true Contentment, which fprings from within, and is wholly feated in the Mind. It tifeth not from the Abundance of outward things, which oftner breeds Difquiet than brings Contentment; but in

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the inward Frame and Difpofition of the Soul, whereby 'tis enabled thankfully to enjoy and acquiefce in the Portion allotted to us.

Moreover, I ftyle it a Well pleafedness with our own Condition: This fhews us the Object of Contentment, which is our own Condition; or, as the Apoftle expreffes it, with fuch things as we have. He that fuffers his Fancy to rove, or his Defires to run after what is another's, will never be content with his own; as we may fee in Ahab, who thirsting after Naboth's Vineyard, could find no pleasure in all the Glory and Greatnefs of a Kingdom. And therefore St. Paul declares, that he coveted no Man's Silver, or Gold, or Apparel, Acts. 20. 33. but had learnt to be contented with his own Estate, Phil. 4. 11. and that not only with his prefent State, but with any State what foever that fhould happen to him: for he knew how to be abafed, as well as how to abound, every where and in all things he was inftructed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to fuffer need; as he tells us, ver. 12.

Furthermore, I ftyle it fuch a Well-pleafednefs with our Condition, as renders us easy to ourselves: The good Man (faith Solomon) Shall be fatisfy'd from himself. He hath fuch a Spring of Joy and Peace from within, as keeps him from murmuring and repining at his own Lot, and makes him chearfully welcome whatever God is pleas'd to fend him ; which good Effect of this Virtue is attended with another, which renders him eafy not only to himself, but to all others: for Contentment preferves Men from all the evil Effects of Envy, and makes them rather to rejoyce, than repine at another's Profperity; by which the Heart is kept from coveting, and the Hand from purloining any thing that is another's. This is the Nature, and thefe are the Effects of Contentment, which is a Leffon fit and neceffary to be learnt of all Chriftians. To which end I must proceed,

Secondly, To fhew the Reasonableness of this Virtue: And that will plainly appear, if we confider,

I.

That whatever our State and Condition may be, tis that which is allotted us by God, the Sovereign Difpofer of all things; nothing that we have, can properly be call'd our own, for we receive all from the Bounty of our Maker: The Earth is the Lord's, and the Fulness thereof; which he bestows, as he thinks fit, on the Sons of Men. We are

Debtors

521 Debtors to him for our very Being, for we ourselves (as the Apostle tells us) are not our own, being made by his Power, and daily fupported by his Providence, in whom we live, move, and have our Being: So that we are concern'd rather to be content and thankful for what we have, than murmur and complain for what we want; Is it not lawful for him to do what he will with his own? Is thine Eye evil because his is good? And as we can claim nothing as our Due, so neither can we challenge any thing as our Defert; for we are less than the leaft of all his Mercies, and can merit nothing but Mifery and Wrath at God's hand and where we can challenge nothing of Right, we ought in reafon to be content and receive with Gratitude what we have. But then,

2. If to the Sovereign Right and Title of God Almighty, we add the Confideration of his Wisdom and Goodness, we fhall fee far greater reafon to be content with our Portion; for what we have, is dealt out to us by an all-wife and gracious Hand, even by one who knows what is better and fitter for us than we can do for ourselves: for we are many times childish in our Wishes, and too apt to be partial to ourselves; longing for things we should not, and defiring that which would do us more harm than good. But God in his Wifdom knows what is proper and fit for us, and out of his Goodness deals out to us fuch a Portion as best tends to promote our Welfare; and therefore we ought in point of Intereft, as well as Confcience, humbly and thankfully to acquiefce in his Difpenfations: for to be diffatisfy'd with our Condition, is in effect to fet up our own Judgment above his, and to think ourselves wifer than he; yea, to be difpleas'd with our Lot, is the ready way to forfeit the Favour of our Maker, and to provoke him, instead of giving more, to withdraw what we have already.

3. The Comfort that accompanies Contentment, together with the Miferies that attend the contrary, are fufficient to make us aim at the one, and abhor the other. A contented Mind is always eafy, it creates a conftant Calm within, and is attended with an undisturb'd Tranquillity; whereas Difcontent and Envy gall and fret the Mind, and raise a perpetual Storm in the Breaft that harbours them. In a word, Content is Happiness, 'tis the bleft Eftate of Heaven, the Joy of glorify'd Saints, and of the Spirits of juft Men made perfect, who are not only pleas'd with their own, but delighted with the Joys and Bleffedness of one another;

another; whereas Difcontent and Envy are the Paffions of Hell, the Torment of damned Spirits, whofe own Uneafinefs makes them, like fo many Furies, tear and devour one another. But,

Lastly, How may we learn this excellent Art of Contentment? This being a matter of fo great confequence both to the publick and private Peace, it will not be amifs to prefcribe fome Rules for the better attaining of it. And,

1. Because this excellent Virtue is feated chiefly in the Mind, we are to begin there, and endeavour not fo much to bring our Condition to our Mind, as our Mind to our Condition. The reafon why fo few attain to this Art, is because they take not the right courfe in learning it: They are indeed folicitous enough to bring their Eftates to their Mind, which being too large to be fatisfy'd with thefe earthly things is a vain attempt, and fhews that they go the wrong way to work; for he that loveth Silver (faith Solomon) ball not be fatisfy'd with Silver, nor be that loveth Abundance with Increase; Eccl. 5. 10. whereas to move aright in this matter, we must labour to bring our Mind to our Eftate, and to reft fatisfy'd with it, whatever it be, as being the Allotment of that Divine Wisdom and Goodness, that can better judge what is fit for us, than we can for ourselves.

2. To be content with our Condition, let us confider the Infufficiency of earthly things to make us happy. "Tis the fond Miftake of fome Perfons, to think if they could arrive to fuch an Eftate, or attain to fuch a degree of Honour, Dignity and Preferment in the World, they fhould be then happy Men, and would fit down fatisfy'd without feeking or defiring any more; whereas, when they have attain'd their Wifh, they find their Cares and Troubles greater, and themselves more uneafy than they were before: Like Children who imagine, that were they on fuch a Hill they fhould touch the Sky, but being got thither, find it as far from them as 'twas before. And therefore Cyneas the Philofopher, upon Pyrrhus's recounting to him his Defigns upon Rome, Sicily, and Carthage, pertinently told him, that if he could not be content with his own Kingdom, neither would he be fatisfy'd with the whole World. Indeed to feek for fatisfaction from thefe things, is to feek the Living among the Dead; for they are neither fuited to the Nature, nor fatisfy the Cravings of a Spirit; they rather increase than

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