Sorrow, but prefent Satisfaction and Foy for evermore! Help me always to comfort my felf in every Condition with the Hopes of that joyful Time, and to prepare my self for the Blessedness of it; by doing Thee all the Honour I can in this World: especially by teftifying through a meek, patient, and chearful Suffering of all the Troubles of this Life, that thou are wife and good, and bountiful to all thy faithful Servants, and that thy Service in the midst of my Sufferings is better than all the Pleasures of Sin, which endure but for a Seafon.

O God, I defire always to give thee this Glory i and to count it an Honour that I can bear witnefs to thee, by a contented Vertue, in every State and Condition of Life. I efteem that Approbation and Praife which I hope for from thee, far above all the Dignities and Preferments of this World. Do thou, O Lord, but allow of me for thy good and faithful Servant; and make me but to feel the Comfort of that joyful Voice, which I hope to hear, Well done, good and faithful Servant, enter into thy Master's Foy; and do with me what thou pleafeft. I confide in Thee for that Happiness, and for all Things elfe. I leave my felf wholly to thy Difpofal. I depend abfolutely on thy Wisdom, and thy good Will and Kindness, which 1 Intrust with All that concerns me. I refolve to be fatisfied with what thou or dereft, and fill to Speak good of thee: Hoping that whilft I have this good Heart towards thee, I fball at all Times rejoyce with a chearful Countenance. Amen, Amen.

"

SERM.

PART III.

SERMON XI.

HEB. XIII. 5.

Be content with fuch Things as

ye

have:

ob

Am now come to the laft of those three Things, which I propounded to be treated of, in the Beginning of these Difcourfes, which is, The Means whereby we may tain fo great a Bleffing as this of Contentment and Satisfaction of Spirit. The very Truth is ; all those Reasons that I have given why we ought to reft contented in our prefent State, are as fo many Helps to this Happiness, if they be confidered. And if they be not confidered, then nothing that can be faid will prove helpful to us, because our Confideration will ftill be needed.

But yet, because the often repeating of a Thing doth much imprefs it upon our Spirits; and that which doth not move us at one time, ftrikes us vehemently at another; and that which being delivered in one Form of Speech, is not much understood or regarded, becomes very plain and perfpicuous when it is delivered in another; I shall therefore give you fome Rules to obferve, which, though they may border upon what hath been faid already, will much conduce to fet you forward in the Way to Con

tentment.

tent.

I.

And it is very easy to fee from the fore-going Difcourfes, that we ought in the first Place, to inform our Minds very well about the Nature of thofe Things which are apt to give us DifconContentment is the Good of the Mind, and therefore, as Seneca hath well expreffed it, we must go go into our felves for felves for it, because the Good of the Mind is to be found no where but in the Mind. And if we liften to the Inftructions of our own Minds, they will direct us prefently to a Remedy for our vexatious Thoughts, by bidding us confider, what it is that we are vexed about. Let it be any worldly Good which we want, or any fuch Evil which we endure, I have plainly fhown you that the former are not of fuch Moment, but we may be happy without them; nor the other fo afflictive, but we may be happy under them. Let us not magnify

1

Lib. 3:

cap. 6:

magnify either of them, in our Fancy, above their juft Proportion, and we shall foon fatisfy our felves in Things that are truly great beyond all Eftimation; either with or without these that give us fo much Difquiet. I lift not to spend the time in repeating all that hath been faid to this Effect: But fhall only recommend to you this Meditation of the royal Philofopher Antoninus. If thou canft find, faith he, any Thing in humane Life that is more worth than Juftice, Truth, Sobriety, Fortitude, and, in a Word, the Satisfaction of doing that which right Reafon prompts thee unto; turn thy whole Soul towards that Good, and enjoy that most excellent Thing, when thou haft found it. But if nothing appear better in this World, than that divine Being which is in thee, following its own beft Inclinations, and having the Government of its own Motions, and fubjecting it felf to Almighty God; if all Things elfe confefs themselves mean, and poor, and vile, in comparifon of this give not place to them, nor quit thy Self to purfue any of them, otherways than as thy own Reafon directs thee, viz. as fmaller Goods that ought not to be purchased with our own Difquiet, nor enjoyed without the Enjoyment of our better Selves. To this purpofe that great Man fpeaks; and if I have helpt out his Senfe a little, I have done it no wrong.

And that now leads me to the fecond Thing. After we have rectified Things in our Minds,

we muft next proceed to regulate our Defires after this manner.

II.

Let us make as few Things as we can poffibly, to be neceffary to our Contentment. Which is as much as to fay, Let every man Moderate his Defires. This is grounded upon as great, Reafon, as the Soul of Man affords. For it is manifeft unto all, that they are our own Defires that trouble us, and not the Things themfelves which are without us. And it is as manifeft, that if we enlarge our Hearts to defire too many Things, then we fhall be obnoxious to a great many Troubles, because we may not have all thofe Defires fatisfied. The more we would have, the more we fhall be liable now and then to want; and fo be the more difpleafed: unless our Defires be very indifferent, or very cool and temperate. For there are two Parts of this Advice; as there is a double Moderation, one respecting the Measure of Things which we defire, the other refpecting the Meafure of the Defire it felf. Then we are happy when we do not defire much; or not with much defire. If we cannot obferve both Parts of the Rule, let us obferve one; and we shall be less troubled, than otherwife we are like to be. If fome Thing, for Inftance, prove fo agreeable to our Inclinations, that we are ftrongly drawn with moft paffionate Defires after it; yet let us provide that there be not many fuch Things.