thy heart might run wholly upon him As if you have Children because you have servants perhaps do feed them and give them things you perceive that your servants do steal away the hearts of your Children you would hardly be able to bear it you would be ready to turn away such a servant and when the servant is gone the Child is at a great loss it hath not the nurse but the father or mother intends by her putting away that the affections of the Child might run the more strongly towards himself or herself and what losse hath the Child that the affections that ran in a rough channel before towards the servant it runs now towards the mother So those affections that runs towards the creature God would have them run towards himself that so he may be All in All to thee here in this world And a gracious heart can indeed tel how to enjoy God to be All in All to him that is the happiness of Heaven to have God to be All in All. The Saints in Heaven have not houses and lands and money and meat and drink and cloaths you wil say they do not need them why do they not It is because God is All in All to them imediatly now while thou livest in this world thou mayest come to enjoy much of God you may have much of heaven while we live in this life we may come to enjoy much of the very life that there is in Heaven and what is that but the enjoyment of God to be All in All to us There is one text in the Revelations that speaks of the glorious condition of the Church that is like to be even here in this world Revel 21.21 And I saw no Temple therein for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it and the City had no need of the Sun neither of the Moon to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof They had no need of the Sun or Moon It speaks of such a glorious condition that the Church is like to be in here in this world this doth not speak of Heaven and that appears plainly that this is not spoken of Heaven but of a glorious estate that the Church shall be in here in this world for it follows presently in the 24. and 26. verse And they speaking of the Kings of the earth And the Kings of the Earth do bring their glory and honour unto it Why the Kings of the Earth shall not bring their glory and honour into Heaven but this is such a time when the Kings of the Earth shall bring their glory and honour to the Church And in the 26. vers And they shall bring the glory and honour of the Nations into it therfore it must needs be meant here in this world and not in Heaven Now if there be such a time here in this world that God shall be All in All that in comparison there shall be no such need of creatures as now there is then the Saints shall labour to live as neer that life as possibly they can that is To make up All in God Oh that you would but mind this Mystery that it may be a reality to the hearts of the Saints in such times as these are they would find this priviledge that they get by Grace to be worth thousands of worlds Hence is that of Jacob that I mentioned in another case it is remarkable and comes in fully here in Gen. 33. that notable speech of Jacob when his brother Esau did meet him ye find in one place that Esau he refused Jacobs present in the 8. verse when Jacob gave his present to him he refused it and tould Jacob that he had enough What meanest thou by all this drove which I meet And he said These are to find grace in thy sight And Esau said I have enough Now in the 11. verse there Jacob urges it still and saith Jacob I beseech thee take it for I have enough now in your books it is the same in English I have enough saith Esau and I have enough saith Jacob but in the Hebrew Jacobs word is different from Esau's Jacobs word signifies I have all things and yet Jacob was poorer than Esau Oh this should be a shame to us that an Esau should say I have enough but now a Christian should say I have not only enough but I have all how hath he all because he hath God that is All. And it was an notable speech of one He hath all things that hath him that hath all things Surely thou hast all things because thou hast him for thy portion who hath al things God hath all things in himself and thou hast God to be thine for thy portion and in that thou hast all and this is the Mystery of Contentment It makes up all wants in God this is that that the men of the world have little skill in Now I have divers other things yet to open in the Mystery of Contentment I should shew likewise that a godly man not only makes up all in God but finds enough in himselfe to make up all to make up all in himselfe not from himselfe but in himselfe and that may seem to be stranger than the other to make up all in God is somewhat nay to make up all in himself not from himself but in himself that is a gracious heart hath so much of God within himself that he hath enough there to make up all his wants that are without In Pro. 14.14 A good man shall be satisfied from himself from that that is within himself that is the meaning a gracious man he hath a bird within his own bosom that makes him melody enough though he wants musick The Kingdom of heaven is within you In Luke 17.21 He hath a Kingdom within him and a Kingdom of God you see him spoken ill of abroad he hath a conscience within him that makes up the want of a name and credit that is instead of a thousand witnesses Thirtenth A gracious heart fetches Contentment from the Covenant that God hath made with him Now this is a way of fetching Contentment that the men of the world know not of they can fetch contentment if they have the creature to satisfie them But to fetch contentment from the Covenant of grace that they have little skill in I should here have opened two things First how to fetch Contentment from the Covenant of grace in generall But I shall speak to that in the next Sermon and now only a word to the Second Secondly how he fetches Contentment from the particular branches of the Covenant that is from the particular promises that he hath for the supplying of every particular want there is no condition that a Godly man or woman can be in but there is some promise or other in the Scripture to help him in that condition And that 's the way of his Contentment
complacency in Gods dispose ibid 8 In Gods dispose Page 19 9 In every condition Page 20 We must submit to God in every affliction 1 For the kind Page 22 2 For the time Page 23 3 For the variety 25 Contentment a Mysterie Page 26 1 A Christian is content yet unsatisfied Page 27 2 A Christian comes to Contentment by substraction Page 29 3 By adding another burden to that he hath Page 31 4 By changing the affliction into another Page 33 5 By doing the work of his condition Page 35 6 By melting his will into Gods will Page 37 7 By purging out that that is within 38 8 He lives by the dew of Gods blessing Page 40 1 He hath the love of God in that he hath Page 41 2 It is sanctified for his good ib 3 There is no after-reckoning for it Page 42 4 It is by the purchase of Christ 5 It is an earnest of glory he reafter Page 43 9 A Christian sees Gods love in affliction Page 44 10 His afflictions sanctified in Christ Page 45 11 He fetches strength from Christ Page 47 12 He makes up his wants in God Page 49 13 He fetcheth Contentment from the Covenant Page 53 Objection concerning the plague Answered Page 54 He supplieth wants by what he finds in himself Page 57 He fetches supply from the CoveCovenant Page 61 1 In General ibid 2 From particular premises Page 64 14 He reallizeth the things of Heaven Page 67 15 He letteth his heart out to God ibid Lessons whereby Christ teacheth Contentment 1 Self-denial Whereby a Christian knows Page 68 1 That he is nothing Page 69 2 That he deserves nothing ibid 3 That he can do nothing Page 70 4 That he can receive no good of himself ibid 5 If God withdraw himself he can mak use of nothing ibid 6 That he is worse than nothing Page 71 7 That there is no loss of him if he perish ibid 8 That he comes to rejoyce in Gods waier Page 72 2 Lesson To know the vanity of the Creature Page 73 3 Lesson To know that one thing wherefore Page 74 4 Lesson To know his relation in this world Page 76 5 Lesson Wherein the good of the Creature is Page 79 6 Lesson The knowledge of his own heart Page 82 Which helps to Contentment 1 By discovering wherein discontent lies ibid 2 By knowing what is sutable to our condition Page 83 3 By this we know what we are able to mannage Page 84 7 Lesson To know the burden of a prosperous estate Page 85 Which is four fold 1 The burden of trouble ibid 2 The burden of danger Page 86 3 The burden of duty Page 89 4 The burden of account ibid 8 Lesson A great evil to be given up to our own hearts desire Page 91 9 Lesson The right knowledge of of Gods providence Page 94 Wherein four things 1 The universality of it ibid 2 The efficacy of it Page 95 3 The variety of it ibid 4 Gods particular dealing with his people Page 97 In three things 1 They are ordinarily in affliction Page 98 2 When he intends them greatest mercies he brings them lowest ibid 3 He works by contraries Page 99 The Excellency of Contentment 1 Excellency By it we give God his due worship Page 101 2 Excel In it there is much exercise of grace 103 1 There is much strength of grace ibid 2 There is much beauty of grace Page 104 3 Excel The soul is fitted to receive mercy Page 106 4 Excel It is fitted to do service Page 107 5 Excel Contentment delivers from temptation Page 108 6 Excel It brings abundance of comfort Page 110 7 Excel It fetcheth in that that we possess not Page 111 In 4 particulars 8 Excel Contentment a great blessing of God upon the soule Page 115 9 Excel A contented man may expect reward Page 116 10 Excel By Contentment the soul comes neerest the Excellency of God himself Page 117 Use 1 To be humbled for want of Contentment Page 118 The Evils in a murmuring spirit 1 It is an Argument of much corruption in the soul Page 119 2 It is a note of a wicked man Page 120 3 Murmuring is accounted Rebellion Page 121 4 It is exceeding contrary to grace in conversion Page 122 The works of God in conversion 1 To make us sensible of the evil in sin Page 123 2 A sight of the excellency of Christ ibid 3 Taking the heart from the creature ibid 4 Casting the soul on Christ for all good Page 124 5 Subduing the soul to Christ as King ibid 6 Giving up the soul to God in Covenant Page 125 5 Evil Murmuring below a Christian Page 126 1 Below his relation 1 To God as a Father ibid 2 To Christ as a Spouse ibid 3 To Christ as a Member Page 127 4 To Christ as a Co-heir ibid 5 To Gods Spirit as a temple ib. 6 To Angels as one with them ib. 7 To Saints as of the same body ibid 2 Below his dignity Every Christian a King Page 128 3 It is below the spirit of a Christian Page 129 4 Below the profession of a Christian Page 131 5 Below the grace of faith ibid 6 Below the helps of a Christian Page 132 7 Below the expectation of a Christian ibid 8 Below what other Christians have done Page 133 6 Evill by murmuring we undo our prayers ibid 7 Evil The effects of a murmuring heart 1 Loss of much time Page 134 2Vnfitness for Duty ibid 3 Wicked risings of heart Page 135 4Vnthankfulness ibid 5 Shifting Page 138 8 Evil Discontent a foolish sin ibid 1 It takes away the comfort of what we have ibid 2 We cannot help our selves by it Page 139 3 It causeth foolish carriage to God and man ibid 4 It takes out the sweetness of mercies before they come ibid 5 It makes Affliction worse Page 141 9 Evil It provokes the wrath of God ibid 19 Evil There is a curse upon it Page 146 11 Evil There is much of the spirit of Satan in it Page 147 12 Evill It brings an absolute necessity of disquiet ibid 13 Evil God may justly withdraw his protection from such ibid Aggravations of the sin of murmuring 1 Aggravation The greater the mercies the greater the sin of murmuring Page 150 2 Agrav When we murmur for smal things Page 157 3 Agrav When men of parts and abilities murmur Page 158 4 Agrav The freeness of Gods mercy ibid 5 Agrav Discontent for what we have Page 159 6 Agrav When men are raised from a low condition ibid 7 Agrav When men have been great sinners Page 160 8 Agrav When those murmur that are of little use in the world Page 161 9 Agrav To murmur when God is about to humble us ibid 10 Agrav When Gods hand is apparant in an affliction Page 162 11 Agrav To murmur under long afflictions Page 163 Pleas of a discontented heart 1 Plea I am but sensible of my affliction 1 Sense
God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ The peace of God shall keep your hearts Then in vers 9. Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do and the God of peace shall be with you The peace of God shall keep you and the God of peace shall be with you This is that that I would observe from this Text That the peace of God is not enough to a gracious heart except it may have the God of that peace A carnall heart could be satisfied if he might but have outward peace though it be not the peace of God peace in the State and his trading would satisfie him But mark how a Godly heart goes beyond a Carnal all outward peace is not enough but I must have the peace of God But suppose you have the peace of God Will not that quiet you No I must have the God of peace as the peace of God so the God of peace that is I must injoy that God that gives me the peace I must have the cause as well as the effect I must see from whence my peace comes and injoy the fountain of my peace as well as the stream of my peace and so in other mercies have I health from God I must have the God of my health to be my portion or else I am not satisfied It is not life but the God of my life it is not riches but the God of those riches that I must have the God of my preservation as well as my preservation a gracious heart is not satisfied without this To have the God of the mercy as well as the mercy In Psal 73.25 Whom have I in heaven but Thee and there is none upon the earth that I desire besides thee It is nothing in heaven or earth can satisfie me but thy self if God give thee not only earth but heaven that thou shouldest rule over Sun Moon and stars and have the rule over the highest of the sons of men it would not be enough to satisfie thee except thou hadest God himself There lies the first mystery of Contentment truly a contented man though he be the most contented man in the world yet he is the most unsatisfied man in the world that is Those things that will satisfie the world will not satisfie him Secondly There is this Mystery in Christian Contentation A Christian comes to Contentment not so much by way of addition as by way of Substraction that is his way of Contentment and that is a way that the world hath no skill in I open it thus Not so much by the adding to what he would have or to what he hath not by adding more to his condition but rather by substracting of his desires and so to make his desires and conditon to be even and equal A carnal heart knows no way to be Contented but this I have such and such an estate and if I had this added to it and the other comfort added that now I have not then I should be Contented it may be I have lost my estate if I could have but that given to me so as to make up my losse then I should be a contented man But now Contentmet doth not come in that way it comes not in I say by the adding to what thou wantest but by the substracting of thy desires it is all one to a Christian either that I may get up unto what I would have or get my desires down to what I have either that I may attain to what I do desire or bring down my desires to what I have already attained my estate is the same for it is as sutable to me to bring my desire down to my condition as it is to raise up my condition to my desire Now I say a heart that hath no grace and is not instructed in this Mystery of Contentment knows no way to get Contentment but to have his estate raised up to his desires but the other hath another way to Contentment that is He can bring his desires down to his estate and so he doth attain to his Contentment So the Lord fashions the hearts of the Children of men Now if the heart of a man be fashioned to his condition he may have as much contentment as if his condition be fashioned to his heart some men have a mighty large heart but they have a straight condition and they can never have Contentment when their hearts are big and their condition is little but now though a man cannot bring his condition to be as big as his heart yet if he can bring his heart to be as little as his condition to bring them even from thence is Contentment The world is infinitly deceived in this To think that Contentment lies in having more than they have here lies the bottom and root of all Contentment when there is an evennesse and proportion between our hearts and our conditions and that is the reason that many that are godly men that are in a low condition live more sweet and comfortable lives than those that are richer Contentment is not alwaies cloathed with silk and purple and velvets but Contentment is sometimes in a russet sure in a mean condition as well as in a higher and many men that sometimes have had great estates and God hath brought them into a lower condition they have had more Contentment in that condition than the other Now how can that possible be Thus easily For if you did but understand the root of Contentment it consists in the sutablenesse and proportion of the spirit of a man to his estate and the evenness when one end is not longer and bigger than another the heart is contented there is comfort in that condition now let God give a man never so great riches yet if the Lord gives him up to the pride of his heart he will never be contented But now let God bring any one into a mean condition and then let God but fashion and sute his heart to that condition and he will be content As now in a mans going Suppose a man had a mighty long leg and his other leg were short why though one of his legs be longer than ordinary yet he could not go so well as a man that hath both his legs shorter than he I compare a long leg when one is longer than another to a man that hath a high condition and is very rich and a great man in the world but he hath a great proud heart too and that is longer and larger than his condition now this man cannot but be troubled in his condition Now another man that is in a mean condition his condition is low and his heart is low too so that his heart and his condition is both even together and this man goes on with more ease abundantly than the other doth So that now a gracious heart works after this manner The Lord
shall the flame kindle upon thee Certainly though this promise was made in the time of the law yet it will be made good to all the Saints now one way or other either in the letter or some other waies For so we find it plainly that promise that was made to Joshua I will not fail thee nor forsake thee Josh 1.5 It 's applied to the Christians in the time of the Gospel So that here is the way of faith in bringing Contentment by the promises that all the promises that ever were made to our forefathers from the beginning of the world the Saints of God have an interest in them they are their inheritances and so goes on from one generation to another and by that they come to have Contentment because they do inherit all the promises made in all the book of God So Heb. 13.5 shews plainly that it is our inheritance and we do not inherit less now than they did in Joshuas time but we inherit more for you shall find in that place of the Hebrews there is more said than is to Joshua to Joshua God saith He will not leave him nor forsake him now in that place in the Hebrewes in the Greek there 's five negatives I will not not not not not again there is the elegancy of it very much in the Greek I say there is five negatives in that little sentence as if God should say I will not leave you no I will not I will not I will not with such earnestnesse five times together So that we have not only the same promises that they had but we have them more inlarged and more full though still not so much in the litteral sense for that indeed is the least part of the promise In Esa 54.17 there God made a promise That no weapon formed against his people should prosper and every tongue that shall rise against them in judgment thou shalt condemne and mark what follows This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is of me saith the Lord this is a good promise for a souldier though still not to lay to much upon the litteral sense True it holds forth thus much that Gods protection is in a special manner over souldiers that are godly And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemne and this is against false witnesse too Oh you that your friends never left you any thing you wil say my friends died and left not me a great but I thank God God hath provided for me But though thy father or mother died and left thee no heritage yet thou hast a heritage in the promise This is their heritage So that there 's no godly man or woman but is a great heir Therefore when thou lookest into the Book of God and findest any promise there thou mayest make that thine own Just as an heir that rides over divers fields and meadows saith he this meadow is my heritage and this corn-field is my heritage and then he sees a fair house and saith he this fair house is my heritage and he looks upon them with another manner of eye than a stranger that shall ride over those fields So a carnal heart reades the promises and reades them but meerly as stories not that they have any great intrest in them But a godly man every time he reades the Scriptures remember this note when you are reading the Scripture and there meeteth with a promise he ought to lay his hand upon it and say this is a part of my heritage it 's mine and I am to live upon it and this will make you to be Contented Here 's a mysterious way of Contentment So in Psal 34.10 and 37.6 there 's divers other promises that brings Contentment In Isa 58.10 And thus much for the Mysterie of Contentment by way of the Covenant There is two or three things more that shew how a godly man hath Contentment after another kind of way than any Carnall heart in the world hath it 's a mysterious way as thus He hath Contentment by realizing the glorious things of heaven to him he hath the Kingdom of heaven as present and the glory that is to come by faith he makes it as present So the Martyrs they had Contentment in their sufferings for said some of them though we have but a hard breakfast yet we shall have a good dinner we shall presently be in heaven do but shut your eyes saith one and you shall be in heaven presently 2 Cor. 4.16 We faint not saith the Apostle Why Because these light afflictions that are but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory They see heaven before them and that contents them You Marriners when you can see the haven before you though you were mightily troubled before you could see any land yet when you come nigh the shore and can see such a land-mark that contents you exceedingly a godly man in the middest of the waves and storms that he meets withall he can see the glory of heaven before him and so contents himself one drop of the sweetnesse of heaven is enough to take away all the sower and bitter of all the afflictions in the world Indeed here we know that one drop of sower or one drop of gall will make bitter a great deal of honey put a spoonfull of sugar into a cup of gall or wormwood that will not sweeten it but if you put a spoonful of gall into a cup of sugar it will imbitter that now it s otherwise in heaven one drop of sweet will sweeten a great deal of sower affliction but a great deal of sower and gall will not imbitter a soul that sees the glory of heaven that is to come now a Carnal heart hath no Contentment but from what he sees before him in this world but a godly heart hath Contentment from that that he sees laid up for him in the highest heavens The last thing that I would name is this A godly man hath Contentment by opening and letting out of his heart to God other men or women they are discontented but how do they help themselves by rayling by ill language such a one crosses them and they have no way to help themselves but by railing and by bitter words and so they ease themselves that way when they are angry but a godly man when he is crost how doth he ease himself he is sensible of his crosse as well as you and he goes to God in prayer and there opens his heart to God and le ts out his sorrows and fears and then can come away with a joyful countenance now do you find that you can come away from prayer and not look sad As it 's said in 1 Sam. 1.18 of Hannah that when she had been at prayer her countenance was no more sad there she was comforted and this is the right way of Contentment Thus we have done with
of the Mast if you will and yet keep it light so the comfort of a Christian when it is enlivened with the grace of Contentment it may be keept light whatever storms or tempests come yet he can keep light in his soul Oh! this helps thy comforts exceeding much Seventhly There is this Excellency in Contentment that it fetches in the comfort of those things we have not really in possession and perhaps many that have not outward things have more comfort than those have that do enjoy them themselves As now a man by distilling herbs though he hath not the herbs themselves yet having the water that is distil'd out of them he may enjoy the benefit of the herbs so though a man hath not the reall possession of such an outward estate an outward comfort yet he by the grace of Contentment may fetch it in to himself By the art of Navigation we can fetch in the riches of the East and West-Indies to our selves so by the art of Contentment we may fetch in the comfort of any condition to our selves that is we may have that comfort by Contentment that we should have if we had the thing it self There is an notable story you have for this in Plutarch in the life of Pyrus one Sineus comes to him and would very fain have had him desist from the wars and not war with the Romans saith he to him May it please your Majestie it is reported that the Romans are very good men of warre and if it please the gods we do over-come them what benefit shall we have of that Victory Pyrhus answered him We shall then straight conquer all the rest of Italy with ease Saith Sineus Indeed it is likely which your Grace speaketh But when we have won Italy will then our wars end If the Gods were pleased said Pyrhus that the victory were achieved the way were then broad open for us to attain great conquests for who would not afterwards go into Africk and so to Carthage But saith Sineus when we have all in our hands what shall we do in the end then Pyrhus laughing told him again we will then be quiet and take our ease and make feasts every day and be as merry one with another as we can possible saith Sineus What letteth us now to be as quiet and merry together fith we enjoy that presently without further travel and trouble which we should go seek for abroad with such shedding of blood and so manifest danger Cannot you sit down and be merry now So a man may think if I had such a thing then I would have another and if I had that then I should have more and what if you had got al your desire then you would be content why you may be content now without them Certainly our Contentment doth not consist in the getting of the thing we desire but in Gods fashioning our spirits to our conditions There 's some men that have not a foot of ground of their own yet will live better than other men that are heirs to a great deal of land I have known it in the country somtimes that a man lives upon his own land and yet lives very poorly but you shall have another man that shall farm his land and yet by his good husbandry and by his care shall live better somtimes than he that hath the land of his own so a man by this art of Contentment may live better without an estate than another man can of an estate Oh! it adds exceeding much to the comfort of a Christian and that I may shew it farther there is more comfort even in grace of Contentment than there is in any possessions whatsoever a man hath more comfort in being content without a thing than he can have in the thing that he in a discontented way doth desire You think if I had such a thing then I should be content I say There is more good in Contentment than there is in the thing that you would fain have to cure your discontent and that I shall open in divers particulars As thus 1. I would fain have such a thing and then I could be content but if I had it then it were but the creature that did help to my Contentment but now it 's the Grace of God in my soul that makes me content and surely it is better to be Content with the Grace of God in my soul than with the enjoying of an outward comfort 2. If I had such a thing indeed my estate might be better but my soul would not be better but by Contentment my soul is better that would not be bettered by an estate or lands or friends but Contentment makes my self to be better and therefore Contentment is a better portion than the thing is that I would fain have to be my portion 3. If I get Content by having my desire satisfied that 's but self-love but when I am Contented with the hand of God and am willing to be at his dispose that comes from my love to God in having my desire satisfied there I am contented through self-love but through the Grace of Contentment I come to be contented out of love to God and is it not beteer to be contented from a principle of love to God than from a principle of self-love 4. If I am contented because I have that that I have a desire to perhaps I am contented in that one particular but that one particular doth not furnish me with Contentment in another thing perhaps I may grow more dainty and nice and froward in other things if you give children what they would have in some things they grow so much the more coy and dainty and discontented if they have not other things that they would have but if I have once overcome my heart and am contented through the grace of God in my heart then this doth not content me only in a particular but in general whatsoever befals me I am discontented and would fain have such a thing and afterwards I have it now doth this prepare me to be contented in other things no but when I have gotten this Grace of Contentment I am prepar'd to be contented in all conditions and thus you see that Contentment doth bring comfort to a mans life fils a mans life full of comfort in this world yea the truth is it is even a Heaven upon Earth why what is Heaven but the rest and quiet of a mans spirit what 's the special thing that is in Heaven but rest and joy that makes the life of Heaven there 's rest and joy and satisfaction in God so it 's here in a contented spirit there 's rest and joy and satisfaction in God In Heaven there 's singing praises to God a contented heart is alwaies praising and blessing God thou hast Heaven while thou art upon earth when thou hast a contented spirit yea in some regards it's better than Heaven How is that you will say there
be no space nor time for murmuring to work upon thy heart that 's the Fourth Particular The Fift thing in the evil of discontentment Murmuring and discontentment is exceedingly below a Christian Oh! it is too mean and base a distemper for a Christian to give place to it Now it 's below a Christian in many respects 1 How below the relation of a Christian The relation in which thou standest With what relation you will say First The relation thou standest in to God Do'st not thou call God thy father and do'st not thou stand in relation to him as a child what thou murmer In 2 Sam. 13.4 it 's a speech of Jonadab to Amnon Why art thou being the Kings Son lean from day to day wilt thou not tell me and so he told him but that was for a wicked cause he perceived that his spirit was troubled for otherwise he was of a fat and plump temper of body but because of trouble of spirit he was even pin'd away why what 's the matter thou that standest in this relation to the King and yet any thing should trouble thy heart that 's his meaning is there any thing that should disquiet thy heart and yet standest in such a relation to the King the King's Son So I may say to a Christian Art thou the King's Son the Son the Daughter of the King of Heaven and yet so disquieted and troubled and vext at every little thing that falls out as if a King's Son should cry out he is undone for losing a bable what an unworthy thing were this So doest thou thou criest out as if thou wert undon and yet a Kings Son thou that standest in such relation to God as unto a father thou doest dishonour thy father in this as if so be either he had not wisdom or not power or not mercy enough to provide for thee 2. The relation that thou standest in to Jesus Christ thou art the spouse of Christ what one married to Jesus Christ yet troubled and discontented hast thou not enough in him doth not Christ say to his spouse as Elkanah said to Hannah 1 Sam. 1.8 Am not I better to thee than ten sons So doth not Christ thy husband say to thee Am not I better to thee than thousands of riches and comforts such comforts as thou murmurest for want of hath not God given thee his Son and will he not with him give thee all things hath the love of God bin to thee to give thee his Son in way of marriage why art thou discontented and murmuring consider thy relation to Jesus Christ as thou art a spouse and married to him his person is thine and so all the riches of Jesus Christ is thine as the riches of a husband are the wives and though there are some husbands so vile as the wives may be forced to sue for maintainance certainly Jesus Christ will never deny maintainance to his spouse it 's a dishonour for a husband to have the wife go whining up-and down what thou art macht with Christ art his spouse and wilt thou murmur now and be discontented in thy spirit You shall observe among those that are newly matched when there is discontent between the wife and the husband their friends will shake their heads and say they do not meet with that that they did expect ye see ever since they were married together how the man looks and the woman looks they are not so chearly as they were wont to be surely say they it is like to prove an ill match But it 's not so here it shall not be so between thee and Christ Oh Jesus Christ doth not love to see his spouse to have a lowring countenance no man loves to see discontentment in the face of his wife surely Christ doth not love to see discontentment in the face of his spouse 3 Thou standest in relation to Christ not only as a spouse but as a member Thou art bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh and to have a member of Jesus Christ to be in such a condition it 's exceeding unworthy 4. He is thy Elder brother likewise and so thou art a Co heir with him 5 The relation that thou standest in to the Spirit of God thou art the Temple of the holy Ghost the holy Ghost is thy Comforter it is he that is appointed to convey all comfort from the Father and the Son to the Souls of his people And art thou the Temple of the holy Ghost and doth he dwell in thee and yet for all that thou murmur for every little matter 6 The relation that thou standest in to the Angels thou art made one body with them for so Christ hath joyned principalities and powers with his Church they are Ministring Spirits for good to his people to supply what they need and thou and they are joyned together and Christ is the head of you and Angels 7 The relation that you stand in to the Saints you are of the same body with them they and you make up but one mystical body with Jesus Christ and if they be happy you must needs be happy Oh how beneath a Christian is a murmuring Spirit if he considers his relations in which he stands Secondly A Christian should consider That murmuring and discontentednesse is below the high dignities that God hath put upon him Do but consider the high dignitie that God hath put upon thee the meanest Christian in the world is a lord of heaven and earth he hath made us Kings unto himselfe Kings unto God not Kings unto men to rule over them and yet I say every Christian is lord of heaven and earth yea of life and death That is as Christ he is Lord of all so he hath made those that are his members to be lords of all all are yours saith the Apostle even life and death every thing is yours It 's a very strange expression that death should be theirs death is yours that is you are as it were lords over it you have that that shall make death to be your servant your slave even death it 's self your greatest enemies are turned to be your slaves faith makes a Christian to be as lord over all to be lifted up in excellency above all creatures that ever God made except the Angels yea and in some respect above them I say the poorest Christian that lives is raised to an estate above all the creatures in the world except Angels yea and above them in divers respects too and yet discontented that thou who wert as a firebrand of hell and might have been scorching and yelling and roring there to all eternity yet that God should raise thee to have a higher excellency in thee than there is in all the works of creation that ever he made except Angels and other Christians that are in thy condition yea and thou art neerer the Divine Nature than the Angels because thy nature is joyned in an hypostatical union to