The Art of Divine Contentment

The Art

of Divine

Contentment

Thomas Watson

Vintage Puritan Series

GLH Publishing

Louisville, KY

Sourced from A Body of Practical Divinity.

John Johnston and Calton Cross, Glasgow: 1795.

© GLH Publishing, 2017

This work has been lightly edited to update some archaic spellings and include footnotes.

ISBN:  

  Paperback 978-1-941129-77-7

  Epub 978-1-64863-030-9

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Contents

To the reader.

I. Introduction.

II. The first branch of the text, the scholar, with the first proposition.

III. Concerning the second proposition.

IV. The second branch of the text, the lesson itself, with the proposition.

V. The revolving of some questions.

VI. Showing the nature of contentment.

VII. Reasons pressing to holy contentment.

VIII. Showing how a Christian may make his life comfortable.

IX. A check to the discontented Christian.

X. A suasive to contentment.

XI. Divine motives to contentment.

XII. Three things injected by way of caution.

XIII. How a Christian may know if he has learned contentment.

XIV. Rules for Christian contentment.

XV. Consolation to the contented Christian.

To the reader.

Christian Reader,

Having seriously considered the great dishonours done to Almighty God, (as well as the prejudice which doth accrue to our own selves, by the sin of discontent,) it did at first put me upon the study of this subject. Nor is it incongruous to handle this next in order to the Christian Charter. I showed you there the great things which a believer hath in reversion, Things to come are his: And here, behold a Christian’s holy and gracious deportment in this life, which discovers itself in nothing more eminently than in Contentment. Discontent is to the soul, as a disease to the body; it puts it out of temper, and doth much hinder its regular and sublime motions heavenward. Discontent is hereditary, and no doubt but it is much augmented by the many sad eclipses and changes that have fallen out of late in the body politic; yet the disease is not to be pleaded for, because natural; but to be resisted, because sinful. That which should make us out of love with this sullen distemper, is the contemplating the beautiful queen of Contentment. For my part, I know not any ornament in religion that doth more bespangle a Christian, or glitter in the eye of God and man, than this of Contentment: Nor certainly is there any thing wherein all the Christian virtues do work more harmoniously, or shine more transparently, than in this orb. Every grace doth act its part here, and help to keep the soul in its proper frame. This is the true philosopher’s stone, which turns all into gold: This is the curious enamel and embroidery of the heart, which makes Christ’s spouse all glorious within. How should every Christian be ambitious to wear such a sparkling diamond! If there be a blessed life before we come at heaven, it is the contented life. And why not contented? Why art thou wrath, and why is thy countenance fallen? Gen. iv. 6. Man of all creatures hath the least cause to be discontented. Canst thou deserve any thing from God? Doth he owe thee any thing? What if the scene turn, and God put thee under the black rod? Whereas he useth a rod, he might use a scorpion; he might as well damn thee, as whip thee: Why then art thou so querulous? Why dost thou give way to this irrational and unthankful sin of discontent? The good Lord humble his own people from nourishing such a viper in their breast, as doth not only cut out the bowels of their comfort, but spits venom in the face of God himself. O, Christian, who art overspread with this fretting leprosy, thou earnest the man of sin about thee; for thou settest thyself above God; and as if thou wert wiser than he, wouldst saucily prescribe him what condition is best for thee. O this devil of discontent, which whomsoever it possesses, it makes his heart a little hell! I know there will not be perfect contentment here in this life. Perfect pleasure is only at God’s right hand; yet we may begin here to tune our instrument  before we play the sweet lesson of contentment exactly in heaven. I should be glad if this little piece might be like Moses casting the tree into the waters, (Exod. xv. 25.) to make the uncouth bitter condition of life more sweet and pleasant to drink of. I have once more adventured into the public; this I acknowledge to be home-spun; some better hand might have made a more curious draft: but having preached upon the subject, I was earnestly solicited by some of my hearers to publish it; and although it is not dressed in that rich attire of eloquence as it might, yet I am not about poetry or oratory, but divinity; nor is this intended for fancy, but practice. If I may herein do any service, or cast but a mite into the treasury of the church’s grace, I have my desire. The end of our living is to live to God, and to lift up his name in the word. The Lord add an effectual blessing to this work, and fasten it as a nail in a sure place: may he of his mercy make it as spiritual physic, to drive the ill humour of discontent out of our hearts, that so a crown of honour may be set upon the head of religion, and the crystal streams of joy and peace may ever run in our souls: which is the prayer of him who is desirous to be a faithful orator for thee at the throne of grace.

Thomas Watson.

From my study At Stephens

     Walbrook, May 5, 1653.

I.

Introduction.

I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to he content.

Phil. iv. 11.

These words are brought in by way of prolepsis, to anticipate and prevent an objection. The apostle had, in the former verses, laid down many grave and heavenly exhortations; among the rest, ‘to be careful for nothing,’ ver. 6. Not to exclude, 1. A prudential care; for, ‘he that provideth not for his own house, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel,’ 1 Tim. v. 8. Nor, 2. A religious care; for, we must give all ‘diligence to make our calling and election sure,’ 2 Pet. i. 10. But, 3. To exclude all anxious care about the issues and events of things; ‘take no thought for your life, what you shall eat,’ Matt. vi. 25. And in this sense it should be a Christian’s care not to be careful. The word in the Greek [careful] comes from a primitive, that signifies to cut the heart in pieces, a soul-dividing care; take heed of this. We are bid to ‘commit our way unto the Lord,’ Psal. xxxvii. 5. The Hebrew word is, ‘roll thy way upon the Lord.’ It is our work to cast care, 1 Pet. v. 7. And it is God’s work to take care. By our immoderacy we take his work out of his hand.

Care, when it is eccentric, either distrustful or distracting, is very dishonourable to God; it takes away his providence, as if he sat in heaven and minded not what became of things here below; like a man that makes a clock, and then leaves it to go of itself. Immoderate care takes the heart off' from better things; and usually, while we are thinking how we shall do to live, we forget how to die. Care is a spiritual canker, that doth waste and dispirit; we may sooner by our care add a furlong to our grief, than a cubit to our comfort. God doth threaten it as a curse, ‘They shall eat their bread with carefulness,’ Ezek. xii. 19. Better fast than eat of that bread. ‘Be careful for nothing.’

Now, lest any one should say, yea, Paul thou preachest that to us, which thou hast scarce learned thyself; hast thou learned not to be careful? The apostle seems tacitly to answer that, in the words of the text; ‘I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.’

A speech worthy to be engraven upon our hearts, and to be written in letters of gold upon the crowns and diadems of princes. The text doth branch itself into these two general parts,

I. The scholar, Paul: ‘I have learned.’

II. The lesson: ‘in every state to be content.’

II.

The first branch of the text, the scholar, with the first proposition.

I begin with the first. I. The scholar, and his proficiency; ‘I have learned.’ Out of which I shall, by the bye, observe two things by way of paraphrase, 1. It is not ἐκουσα but ἔμαθον. The apostle doth not say, I have heard, that in every case I should be content; but, I have learned. Whence, Doct. 1. It is not enough for Christians to hear their duty, but they must learn their duty. It is one thing to hear, and another thing to learn; as it is one thing to eat, and another thing to concoct. St. Paul was a practitioner. Christians hear much, but it is to be feared, learn little. There was four sorts of ground in the parable, Luke viii. 5. And but one good ground: an emblem of this truth, many hearers, but few learners. There are two things which keep us from learning.

1. Slighting what we hear. Christ is the pearl of price: when we disesteem this pearl, we shall never learn either its value, or its virtue. The gospel is a rare mystery; in one place (Acts xx. 24.). It is called the gospel of grace, in another, (l Cor. iv. 4.). The gospel of glory: because in it, as in a transparent glass, the glory of God is resplendent. But he that hath learned to contemn this mystery, will hardly ever learn to obey it: he that looks upon the things of heaven as things by the bye, and perhaps the driving of a trade, or carrying on some politic design to be of greater importance; this man is in the high road to damnation, and will hardly ever learn the things of his peace. Who will learn that which he thinks is scarce worth learning?

2. Forgetting what we hear. If a scholar have his rules laid before him, and he forgets them as fall as he reads them, he will never learn, James i. 25. Aristotle calls the memory the scribe of the soul; and Bernard calls it the stomach of the soul, because it hath a retentive faculty, and turns heavenly food into blood and spirits, we have great memories in others things; we remember that which is vain. Cyrus could remember the name of every soldier in his huge army; we remember injuries. This is to fill a precious cabinet with dung; but, quam, facilis oblivio boni? As Hierom faith, how food do we forget the sacred truth. of God? We are apt to forget three things; our faults, our friends, our instructions. Many Christians are like sieves; put a sieve into the water, and it is full; but take it forth of the water, and all runs out; lo, while they are hearing of a sermon, they remember something; but take the sieve out of the water, as soon as they are gone out of the church, all is forgotten. ‘Let these sayings (saith Christ) sink down into your ears;’ Luke ix. 44. In the original it is, put these saying into your ears; as a man that would hide a jewel from being stolen, locks it up safe in his chest. Let them sink; the word must not only fall as dew that wets the leaf, but as rain which soaks to the root of the tree, and makes it fructify. Oh, how oft doth Satan, that fowl of the air, pick up the good feed that is sown!

Use. Let me put you upon a serious trial. Some of you have heard much; you have lived forty, fifty, sixty years, under the blessed trumpet of the gospel; what have your learned? You may have heard a thousand sermons, and yet not learned one. Search your consciences.

1. You have heard much against sin: are you hearers? or are you scholars?

How many sermons have you heard against covetousness, that it is the root on which pride, idolatry, treason, do grow? 2 Tim iv. 2. and 4. One calls it a metropolitan sin: