The Art of Divine Contentment, Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
Containing the second Proposition.
II. THis word foreign, I have learned, 2. Observ. foreign is a word imports difficulty.is a word imports difficulty, it showes how hardly the Apostle came by his contentment of minde; it was not naturâ in genitum. St. Paul did not come naturally by it, but he had learned it*foreign significat hanc rem esse disciplina, & exercitationis, & se divinitus edoctum, esse. Estius in loc. Beza.; It cost him many a prayer and teare,Non ex revelatione, aut ex libris …, sed ex longo rerum usu, & gratiâ Christi per Spiritum residen…e. Zanchy. it was taught him by the Spirit.
Whence Doct. 2. Good things are hard to come by. Doctr. 2.The businesse of Religion is not so facile as most doe imagaine. I have learned, saith St. Paul *foreign. Chrysost.. Indeed you need not learn a man to sin, this is naturall*Psal. 58. 3., and therefore facile, it comes as water out of a Spring. 'Tis an easie thing to be wicked; Hell will be taken without storme*Facili… descensus Averni., but matters of Religion must be learned. To cut the flesh is easie, but to prick a vein, and not cut an artery is hard. The trade of sinne needs not to be learned, but the Art of Contentment is not atchieved without holy industry; foreign, I have learned.
There are two pregnant reasons, why there must be so much study and exercitation.
1. Because spirituall things are against nature. 1. Contra naturam,Every thing in Religion is antipodes to nature. There are in Religion two things, Credenda & Facienda, and both are against nature.1. Credenda. 1. Credenda, Matters of Faith. As, for a man to be justified by the righteousnesse of another, to become a foole that he may be wise, to save all by losing all;2. Facienda. this is against nature. 2. Facienda; Matters of practice. As, 1. Selfe-denyall; for a man to deny his own wisdome, and see himself blinde; his own will, and have it melted into the will of God, plucking out the right eye, beheading and crucifying that sin which is the favorite, and lies nearest to the heart*Peccatum in delitiis. Bern.; For a man to be dead to the world, and in the midst of want to abound; for him to take up the Crosse, and follow Christ, not onelyonly in golden, but bloody pathes; to embrace Religion when it is dress'd in its nightcloathes, all the Jewels of honour and preferment being pull'd off, this is against nature, Malumus vitium excusare, quàm excutere. Sen.and therefore must be learned. 2. Selfe-examination. For a man to take his heart (as a watch) all in pieces, to set up a spirituall inquisition, or Court of conscience, and traverse things in his own soul; to take Davids Candle and Lanthorn*Psal. 119. vers. 105., and search for sin; nay, as Judge to passe the sentence upon himself,*2 Sam. 24. 17 this is against nature, and will not easily be attained to without Learning.Me, me, adsum qui feci, in me converti…e ferrum. 3. Self-reformation. To see a man as Caleb, of another spirit, walking antipodes to himself, his heart changed, the current of his life altered, and running into the channel of Religion; this is wholly against nature, and is as strange as to see the earth fly upward, or the bowle runne contrary to its own byasse. When a stone ascends, it is not a natural motion, but a violent; the motion of the soul heaven-ward, is a violent motion, it must be learned: flesh and blood is not skill'd in these things: Nature can no more cast out Nature, then Satan can cast out Satan.
2. Because spiritual things are above nature: 2: Supra naturam.There are some things in nature that are hard to finde out, as the causes of things, which are not learned without studie. Aristotle, a great Philosopher (whom some have call'd an Eagle fallen from the clouds,) yet could not finde out the motion of the River Euripus, therefore threw himselfe into it; What then are divine things, which are in a sphere above Nature, and beyond all humane disquisition? as the Trinity, the hypostatical Union, the mystery of Faith, to beleeve against hope; onelyonly Gods Spirit can light our candle here. The Apostle cals these the deep things of God *foreign. 1 Cor. 2. 10. The Gospel is full of Jewels, but they are lock'd up from sense and reason. The Angels in heaven are searching into these sacred depths*1 Pet. 1. 12..
Use. Let us beg the Spirit of God to teach us;Vse. wee must be divinitùs edocti: The Eunuch could read, but he could not understand, till Philip ioyned himself to his chariot *Acts 8. 29. Gods Spirit must joyn himself to our chariot; Hee must teach, or wee cannot learn; All thy children shall be taught of the Lord *Isa. 54. 13. A man may read the figure on the Diall, but hee cannot tell how the day goes, unless the Sun shine upon the Diall; we may read the Bible over, but wee cannot learn to purpose, till the Spirit of God shine into our hearts *2 Cor. 4. 6.. Oh, implore this blessed Spirit, it is Gods Prerogative Royall to teach. I am the Lord thy God, that teacheth thee to profit *Isa. 48. 17. Ministers may tell us our lesson, God onelyonly can teach us; We have lost both our hearing and eyesight, therefore are very unfit to learn. Ever since Eve listned to the Serpent, wee have been deafe; and since shee looked on the tree of Knowledg, wee have been blinde; but when God comes to teach, he removes these impediments*Isa. 35. 5.. We are naturally dead*Eph. …. 1; who will goe about to teach a dead man? Yet behold, God undertakes to make dead men to understand mysteries! God is the grand Teacher. This is the reason the word preached works so differently upon men; two in a Pew, the one is wrought upon effectually, the other lies at the Ordinances as a dead childe at the brest, and gets no nourishment. What is the reason? because the heavenly gale of the Spirit blowes upon one, and not upon the other; One hath the anointing of God, which teacheth him all things *1 Joh. 2 27., the other hath it not. Gods Spirit speaks sweetly, but irresistibly. In that heavenly doxology, none could sing the new song, but those who were sealed in their foreheads *Rev. 14 2: reprobates could not sing it*Novum Canticum reprobi discere non possunt. Paraeus.. Those that are skilfull in the mysteries of salvation, must have the seal of the Spirit upon them. Let us make this our prayer, Lord, breath thy Spirit into thy Word: and we have a promise, which may add wings to prayer, If *Luke 11 13yee then being evill, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give his Spirit to them that aske him?
And thus much of the first part of the Text, The Scholar, which I intended only as a short glosse or paraphrase.