their fplendid outfide, but I will look more ftrictly into them, and find whether they are not uncertain, deceiving things; what stability there is in them; what good they will do me after death; what quietness or tranquility of mind they will give me, or rather take from me; whether they have in themselves any real influence to make me better or wifer. 4. Upon thefe Confiderations, if I find, as find I fhall, that they have not that real worth in them that the vain World imagines, I will not fer my Heart upon them, nor lay any confidence upon them, nor lay out much of my love unto them, nor any great efteem for them. 5. I will fet my heart to a true and ferious confideration of thofe durable Riches, and Glory and Honour that our dear Lord hath provided for us in the life to come, and that Eternal weight of Glory will infinitely out weigh all the Wealth and Honour, and Glory that I do or can enjoy in this World, 6. And upon this confideration alfo I will rectifie my judgment concerning this World, and the greatest Glory of it, and thereby habituate my felf to a low esteem of the wealth I have, or can have, and fet up my hopes and treasure in more noble and durable Enjoy ments. 7. I will confider I am but a Steward when all is done, and the greater my wealth or honour is, the greater. my accompts muft be, and the more difficult to keep them fair. 8. That in as much as I am but a Steward, I will be very careful, that my management of my Truft may be such as will bear my Lords fcrutiny. I will not employ my Stock of wealth or honour to the dishonor of my Lord, in riot or excefs, in vanity or oppreffion; but will do as much good with it as I can, according to the truft committed to me, that I may give a just and fair and comfortable account of my Stewardship when my Lord and Mafter calls for it. 9. That in as much as thofe very externals are in themfelves bleffings if well employed, though not the bleffings of the greatelt magnitude; I will with all Humility and Thankfulness acknowledge the Divine Bounty to me, in trufting me with abundance, and will employ it to his Honour.

Lord of all his Creatures; to be the great Difpenfer or Permitter and Rector of all the Events in the World; to be the most wife, juft, and gracious God; and therefore he doth not only fubmit to his Will, as an act of Neceffity which he cannot controul, or as an act of Duty in obedience to his Sovereign, but as an act of Choice, and Prudence, because the will of his Maker is wifer than his own, and more eligible than his own; and therefore he makes the will of his Maker his own Choice, and upon the account of true judgment concludes that whatsoever the moft Powerful and Irrefiftible, the most Wife and Prudent, the moft Juft and Merciful Will of God appoints for him, is not only fit for him to fubmit unto, but also to choofe, and as well cheerfully and thankfully, as patiently and quietly to follow and elect; and therefore fince he well knows that all the fucceffes of his life are under the Regiment, Government and Providence of the most Glorious, Sovereign, Wife and Merciful God, even those that feem in themselves moft troublesome, uneafie, and grievous, he patiently and cheerfully comports with the Divine Will in the toleration of them, and waits upon his All-fufficiency and Goodnefs in his due time, either to remove them, or to fupport him under them.

4. Humility gives great Moderation and Sobriety and Vigilancy in the fulleft enjoyments of Temporal Felicity of any kind whatsoever. There is a Strange Witchcraft in profperity to rob a Man of Innocence: How many in the World have I in my time feen, that under the greatest Preffures of croffes and calamities, of poverty and reproach, have kept their Confciences fair and clean, their Innocence, Integrity, Piety and Goodness within them,and about them, that yet by the warm beams and funfhine of external profperity have caft off their Innocence, as the Traveller did his cloak in the Fable, made fhipwreck of their Confciences, and became as great Oppreffors, as Disorderly and debauched Livers, as Proud and Infolent, and perfect Worldlings, as if they had never heard of a Heaven or Hell, of a God or a Redeemer, or of a Judgment to come? True Humility is a great Guard upon the

Sou!

Soul of a Man againft thefe Rocks and Hazard humble Man looks upon all his Plenty and Profperit as his own, or the reward of his defert, but as the a rum of the Great Mafter of the Family of Heaven Earth, Talents entrusted to him as a Steward, and an Accomptant to employ for his Mafter's use, service, and honour, not for his own grandeur or pleafure; he confiders, the more he hath, the greater is his Accompt, and the greater his Charge, and in it finds no matter to advance his thoughts concerning himself, or to make him proud, but to make him the more careful how he employs it. And his Humility is not diminished by his plenty, but rather increased; and this keeps him fober and moderate in the ufe of what he hath; for he looks upon all he hath, as none of his own, but his Mafters, to whom he is accountable; and as it makes him fober and moderate in the use of what he hath; fo it makes him ftudious to employ it to the honour of his Mafter, and faithful in that employment. Again, as he looks upon the things of this World, as depofited in his hands for the account of his Lord, fo he looks upon them as dangerous Temptations to deceive him of his Innocence and Integrity; and both these make him ever more ftrictly vigilant over himfelf, left the prefent gaynefs, and glory, and opportunities of Profperity get ground upon his Mind, or his Virtue, especially upon his Humility: For worldly Grandeur fecretly fteals away that Virtue, or impairs it, fooner than any other. Pride is a kind of shadow, or rather a Devil, that ordinarily haunts and waits upon worldly greatness and profperity, and therefore he keeps a ftrict guard over his heart, and watches narrowly the firft blooming or bloffoming of Worldly-mindedness,Self-dependance,trufting in uncertain Riches, making them his Hope or his Confidence, but efpecially upon fwellings of Vain glory, Pride, Self applaufe, and thofe other Vermin that commonly breed in the Soul, by the warm Influences of Profperity; and he never fuffers thefe unclean Birds to rooft or reft in his Soul; checks and rejects the very firft motions of them, and crufhes thefe viperous Eggs in the very

Thefe, though they may in ftrictness give a distinction between Patience and Contentation, yet we muft observe that Contentation is never without Patience, though it be fomething more: and that in the common acceptation and latitude of the word, Contentation doth not only extend to the condition or affliction of poverty, but even to all other outward afflictions reached to us by the inflicting or permitting hand of Divine Providence: and in this large acceptation I fhall here apply and use it.

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Content therefore in its large acceptation, is not only a quiet and patient, but also a free and cheerful closing with that eftate and condition of life, which the Divine Dispenfation fhall allot unto us, whether mean, or poor, or laborious and painful, or obfcure, or neceffitous, or fickly or unhealthy, or without friends, or with lofs or abfence of friends, or any other ftate that seems ungrateful to our natures or difpofition. For we need not apply this Virtue to a state of high profperity in all things, wherein, (though Men are not ordinarily contented ) yet they have but small temptations to discontent from the state it self wherein they are fo.

This leffon of Contentation was learnt by this Apostle, which imports these things: 1. That it is a leffon that is poffible to be learned, for the Apoftle had learned it. 2. That it is a leffon that requires fomething of industry and pains to acquire it, for he learned it before he attained it. 3. That it is a leffon that deferves the learning, for he speaks of it as of a thing of moment and great ufe, well worth the pains he took to attain it. And the truth is, it is of fo great importance to be learned, that without it we want the comfort of our lives, and with it all conditions of life are not only tolerable, but comfortable. And hence it is, that` this excellent Apoftle doth very often inculcate and prefs and commend this leffon in many of his Epiftles. 1 Tim. 6.6. Godliness with contentment is great gain. Heb. 13. 5. Let your converfation be without covetousness, and be content with fuch things as ye have; for he hath faid, I will not leave thee nor forfake thee. Again, 1 Tim. 6. 8. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

I fhal!

I fhall therefore fet down these Reasons, that may Perfwade and encourage us to contentation with our condition, and likewife to patience under it; for patience and contentation cannot be well fevered. And the Reasons are of two forts; 1. Moral, 2. Divine and Evangelical. Neither fhall I decline the ufe of Moral Reafons, confidering how far by the help of thefe, many Heathens (that had not the true knowledge of God revealed in his word and Son) advanced in the practise of these virtues. The Moral Reasons therefore are these.

1. Very many of the external evils we fuffer are of our own choice and procurement, the fruits of our own follies and inadvertence and averfenefs to good counfel: And why fhould we be discontented, or impatient under those evils which we our felves have chofen, or repine because these trees bear their natural fruit?

2. The greatest part of evils we fuffer are of that nature and kind, that are not in our power either to prevent or help: Some come from the very condition of our nature, as fickness, death of friends; and of abfolute neceffity, the more Relations any Man hath, the more evils of this kind he may fuffer: And can we reasonably expect that the very natures of things fhould be changed to please our humours? Again fome come from the hands of Men, that it may be are more powerful,more fubtil and malicious:Why fhould we difcontent our felves,or be impatient,because others are too ftrong for us? Others again come by occurrences natural (tho' difpofed by the hand of the Divine Providence as loffes by ftorms and tempefts, by unfeasonable weather, by intemperateness of the Air or Meteors : Can we reasonably expect that the great God of Heaven and Earth fhould alter his fetled Laws of Nature for the convenience of every fuch little Worm as you or I am? It may be that storm or intemperate season, that may do you or me fome prejudice, may do others as many and as good or it may be more and better a benefit; that Wind that ftrikes my Ship against the Rock, may fetch off two or more from the Sands. Let us be content therefore to fuffer Almighty God to govern the World according to