11 ht rarl Jt>wel of[,hrijlian Contentment 6 ------------~~----~------------9 can r.ever be Ch(ifiians: There is none can be a Scholar excep'c he c'oth learn his AB C : f0 thou mull learn the ldlon of felf- . denial or thou canfl: 1'1eu-r come to he a Scholar inChrifl:s School, to be learned in this Myflery ofContentment: That is the firfl: Lefi'on that ChriH teaches any foul: Oh feff. denyaJ, that brings contentment, that brings down and foftens a mans heart:a thing (you know) that is foft> if you {hike upon it, it makes no noire. but if you {hike upon a batd thing it makes a noife; fo the hearts -ofmen that are full of themfelves and hardened with felf love,if they have aoy flroke they make a noire;but a feif denying chrifiian yeilds !o.Gods hand, and makes no noife; as when you ftrike upon aWool-rack it makes no noife,becaufe it yields to the flroke;fo a felf-denying heart yields-to the fl:roke,and there by comes to this contentment.Now in this Lefi'on of felf-deniall , there are divers things:! will not enter into the cdo&rine of felf~ denial, but only fuevY you how Chlifl: teaches felf-deniai, ar:d ho1v that brings Contentment. Firfl:, Such aone learns to ~now th.1t he it nothing; he comes to this, to be able to fay,Well,I fee I am nothicg in my felf:now that man or woman which indeed knows that he or fue is nothing and hath learned it throughly, will be able to bear any 'thing. The Nay to be able to bear any th_ing, is to kno\V our felves to be nothing in ourfelves. Saith God to us, Wilt thou [et thine heart 11ponthat which it nothing?Prov. 23. 5. fpeakingof riches;' , why bleffed God, dolt not thou do f<? ? thou hatl fet thy heart upon us, and yet we are nothing, God would not have us fet our .heans upon riches becaofe they are nothing, and yet God is pleafe.d t fet his heart upon us, and yet we are nothing, th~t is · Gods Grace,free grace, and therebre it is no great matter what I fuffer, for I am as nothing. Secondly, 1 de{erve nuthing. I am nothing, ·· and I deferve nothing ;. fnppofe I have not this and thlt tba~ others have ,I am ,_; fure I dererv'e nothing except it be flell ; you will anfwer any of your fervantsfo t~acis noc content, I marvel wh.at you defer:ve? or your Children, Do' y'')U deferve it ,that you are fo eager npon it? you think,to ~op rheir m6uths ·thus ; fo we :nay . eafilv flop our o~vn mo~rhs; we dderve nothing, ·and there_. _ ~e why fuould we be impatient if we have-not what we defire if '
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