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seen in the possession of another, and conceived to contribute to his happiness. In this case our murmurings against Providence are increased by envying the success or prosperity of our neighbour.

Do we not by this conduct charge God foolishly? Does it not imply that we are wiser than He;-that if we had had the distribution of the gifts of providence, they should have been more advantageously disposed of than by the present arrangement? How selfish, how criminal, how presumptuous, is the state of mind from which such conduct originates! We, the creatures, the servants of the Lord God Almighty, arraign the procedure of our supreme moral governor and judge, and find fault with the station, the service, the reward, which he assigns to us. Has he not an unquestionable right to dispose of us and of ours just as it pleaseth him? Is it not lawful for Him to do what he will with his own? "Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him: He that reproveth God let him answer it."

Ought it not to lead us to subdue every feeling of discontent, and to resist the operation of those evil passions from which it originates, to reflect on the unhappiness which necessarily accompanies it. Does not experience tell us, that the possession of the object of our wishes, in no case secures to us the happiness which we had anticipated? If that on which we have now set our inclinations is attainable, our exertions are far more likely to be effective in attaining it without discontent than with it. This disturbs the mind, and incapacitates it for the full and prudential exercise of its energies.

In a word, how odious must discontent appear, and how truly base must we ourselves acknowledge the ingratitude, the envy, the selfishness, the presumption to be, from which it proceeds, when we compare our own lot with that of thousands around us. They also are the servants of God, and have equal claims to his bounty that we have. Yet how many are the blessings which we enjoy that have not been communicated to them. Is it property that we are solicitous to obtain? How many persons are there in the same rank of life poorer than we? Is it promotion we long to obtain? Has not Providence done already for us more in this way than for many who entered the world with equal prospects? Is it honour, is it office, are they connexions we are in search of? Let us look abroad on the world, and feel ashamed that we should murmur for the want of what many persons more deserving than we are destitute of, and which, did we possess them, would contribute little to our happiness.

III. Contentment is recommended to us by the consideration of the immediate advantages which it brings the possessor. It is the source of continual peace and serenity of mind; it produces a cheerful acquiescence in the dispensations of providence, whatever they may be; and because it moderates the desires to attainable good, it preserves us from much vexation and disappointment. A contented person is, therefore, eminently happy ;-happy in enjoying the undeserved gifts of his Heavenly Father ;-and happy in fulfilling the duties of that station, and of those relations, which God has assigned to him.

Nor is he less a source of happiness to all who are

near him. His presence communicates delight and confidence. His thankful, serene, and peaceful spirit, diffuses itself, as it were, around him; and he thus alleviates, both in regard to himself and others, those calamities which none, in the present chequered scene, can escape. He experiences the truth of the apostolic declaration, that "godliness with contentment is great gain."

IV. Contentment is recommended to us by the consideration of the perishable nature of all earthly enjoyments, and the enduring and eternal happiness of heaven. Worldly good is almost always estimated above its real value; and hence the inordinate desire with which it is pursued, and the vexation and disappointment with which the pursuit is accompanied. Nor is it possible that real contentment can be experienced, till this kind of good is seen in its true light, and treated according to its real nature;-till our desires for its enjoyment are so moderated, that we shall expect from it that gratification only which the will of God has designed it to impart.

All earthly good is limited, fleeting, perishable: but the Gospel sets before us good of another nature, which is unlimited, enduring, and eternal,-which yields the purest satisfaction even in anticipation, and which accumulates in the possession;—and which, in the very pursuit, is happiness. He only is truly contented who has fixed his heart on this as his portion ;who enjoys all temporal blessings with thankfulness to his Heavenly Father, but who thinks not of murmuring when they are resumed or withheld,-and who expects to realize, after a few years shall have elapsed,

VOL. II.

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the truth of the promise," Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him*."

CHAPTER IV.

ON WORLDLY ANXIETY,

THERE are three evils which are opposed to contentment, and which of course are productive of much discontent; these I shall consider in their order :-they are worldly anxiety; the inordinate desire of worldly enjoyment, or covetousness; and the love of power, or the principle of ambition.

Worldly anxiety is a harassing concern either for our own comfort, or the comfort of those who are justly dear to us. It may be partly occasioned by the experience or the apprehension of trials. We feel that we are continually liable to afflictions, losses, and disappointments, which we cannot possibly escape. We are naturally led to make every exertion to avoid their recurrence in future, as well as to obtain that measure of worldly good which we conceive to be necessary to an exemption from some of the most painful of them. We are extremely desirous, it may be, to make provision for the objects of our affection,―a feeling which, when indulged in moderation, is in itself amiable and laudable, but which, when entertained with undue fervour and frequency, pro

1 Cor. ii. 9.

duces an anxious frame of mind. Especially is this the case, when the kind and overruling providence of God is overlooked, or when there is not implicit confidence reposed in it.

It is unnecessary to point out, at any length, the folly and sinfulness of this temper of mind. It is foolish, since it is anxiety respecting what is in itself uncertain, fleeting, and what, however largely possessed, must be soon and for ever parted with; and also because it is utterly unavailing to the attainment of that which is so much desired. "Which of you by taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If then ye be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?” It is sinful, because it disturbs and perplexes the mind, unqualifies for the prudent, successful, and acceptable discharge of duty, and since it tends to confirm that distrust in God, in his protecting goodness and care, from which, at first, it chiefly proceeded. It often issues in discontent, to which, in every stage of its progress, it is nearly allied; while it awakens the ingratitude, envy, selfishness, and presumption, which the human heart is so prone to indulge. Has it not a pernicious influence on the temper, the peace, the domestic quiet, of the person under its influence? Does it not expose him to the temptation of undervaluing the interests of others, and of using unwarrantable means to gain possession of what has given him so much concern, and which he estimates so highly?

But, it may be asked, is intense anxiety sinful in all circumstances, and in reference to all things?

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