Of peace and contentment of minde. By Peter Du Moulin the sonne. D.D.

CHAP. V Of Desire of Wealth and Honour.

What I have sayd of wealth and honours will persuade any man of good sense that they are not satisfying objects of a mans desire, & therefore not to be eagerly followed. It is our

Saviours consequence, Luk. 12.15. Take heed and beware of covetousnes, for mans life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth: It is also St Johns consequence, who forbids us to love the world and the things that are in it, because the world passeth away; 1 Joh. 2. These are two powerfull reasons to moderate the desire of the things of this world, drawne from their nature: The one that they are not necessary, the other that they are transitory: And yet the covetous and ambitious seeke after them as if life consisted in them, or they were to endure for ever. Which they cannot thus desire without turning their affection from the onely necessary and permanent thing which is God; Matth. 6.24. You cannot serve God and Mammon, saith the Lord Iesus. For as when a channel is cut for a river in a ground lower then her bed, all the water will fall where it finds a slope, and leaves her former channel dry. Likewise the desire of man, whose true channel is the love of God, will turne the whole affection of the soule towards low earthly things when that slope descent of co∣vetousnes and ambition is made in the heart, and nothing is left for God.

For it is improperly spoken that a man pretend∣ing to great worldly honours is aspiring too high; Rather he is stooping too low, for the most pre∣cious things of the world, yea and the whole world, are very much under the excellency of mans soule, and more yet below the dignity of

Gods children. Who so then enslaveth his soule of heavenly origine, and called to a divine honour unto temporal things, which in this low world cannot be but low, debaseth his dignity most un∣worthily. And in all earthly things, high or low condition makes but little unequality, for still it is earth; Hills and dales are alike, compared with their distance from Heaven.

But what? as the Israelites quitted Gods service to worship the golden calfe, the luster of gold and honour will so dazell mens eyes and inflame their desires that they transport unto things of this world that devout love which they owe unto God. Wherefore St Paul saith that covetousnes is idolatrie. Col. 3. And it is no wonder, that the sen∣sual objects prevaile more upon Nature then the spirituall.

Yet covetous and ambitious desires are not properly natural, but enormities of nature; for little provision serveth nature, whereas if all the waters of the sea were potable gold, they would not quench the thirst of covetousnes. Nature is contented with a meane degree, but crownes heaped up to heaven would yet be too low for ambition. Greedines is an unthankfull Vice. It makes a man so thirsty after that he hath not, that he forgets what he hath, and thinks not him∣selfe advanced though he see a great many be∣hind, as long as he seeth yet some before him. He cannot enjoy that he hath, because he hangs upon

that he hath not. Thus he is allwayes needy, dis∣contented, unquiet, and spares his enemies the labour to find him a continual vexation. And whereas the proper use for which Desire was given to man, is to supply his necessities, he makes use of his desire to multiply his necessities.

To that sicknes these are the proper remedies. The first is to abridge our desire, and be contented with little. To him that contenteth himselfe with little, little is much: But to him that is not con∣tented with much, much is little.

To abridge our desire wee must beare downe our pride: That which makes a man think a great wealth to be too little for him, is his too great esteeme of himselfe. Whereas the humble and meeke, though they have but little, think they have more then they deserve. Who so will calm∣ly compare what he deserveth with that which God hath given him, shall find great mat∣ter to humble himself, and praise God, and silence the murmuring of his greedines. Let us remember our beginning. Being borne naked a little milke and a few baby clouts served us. Who would think that some yeares after, whole kingdomes could not satisfie us? Yet our need since that time is not much increased. 1. Tim. 6.8. Having food and raiment, wee may be therewith content. A little is sufficient for necessary desires, but for curious and superfluous desires the whole world is too little.

Let us employ our greedy desire to heale it self, considering that this greedines for the wealth and honour of the world spoiles the enjoyment, and takes all content from it; for no man hath joy in these things but he that useth them as not using them: That greedines makes us seeke them with torment, possesse them with unquietnes, and lose them with anguish. Yea many times greedines hindereth the acquisition. Good fortune seldome yeelds to them that will ravish her, but to the wise and moderate, who though they lose no opportunity, woe her as little concerned in her, and are alwayes prepared for the repulse.

That wee spend no more about worldy fortune then it is worth, Put in one scale the splendour of honour and the plenty of wealth. Put in the other scale the labour to get them, the care and vexation to keepe them, the peril, the envy, the losse of time, the temptations offered to the conscience, the stealing of a mans thoughts from God, and the danger of losing heaven while wee goe about to get the earth; Then the incapacity of those goods to satisfie the desire, their weakenes, their un∣certainty, and how one infortunate moment de∣stroyes the labour of many yeares, and then judge whether they be worth enflaming our desire and enslaving our affections.

With the uncertainty of these possessions con∣sider the uncertainty of the possessours, that no∣thing is frailer then mans life, nothing more cer∣taine

then his death, nothing more uncertaine then the hour. What need we lay up much trea∣sure since we must lose all? What need to get up very high to fall to the ground, and there to rot?

And whereas the tranquillity and content∣ment of man consisteth in the things that are within him, not in them that are about him, When he turnes his principall desire and the whole bent of his mind to things that are with∣out, he goeth out of himselfe, and subjecteth himselfe to another; He begs of another that which none but God and himselfe can give him: He makes his content to depend on that which is out of his power. A wise man will take heed of that, and will call-in his desire to his owne breast, where he shall finde God if he seek him well, and in God his onely felicity. Let us be covetous to be rich in God, and ambitious to draw neare him.

Indeed since our body and life are maintained with things that are without us we cannot but desire them, as things which our necessity calls for. Besides which, our condition and the course of the world makes many outward things to be∣come necessary which in themselves are not so. All these wee may desire, so it bee with an in∣fericur desire, quietly subjected and subor∣dinate to that Master-desire which must make a whole burnt-offering of the soul to God alone,

that we may say to God with an entire and free heart, as Isaiah did, Isa. 26.8. The desire of our soul is to thy name, O Lord, and to the remem∣brance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night, yea with my spirit within me will I seeke thee. Blessed we! that our spirit needs but to seeke within himselfe, to finde the full satisfaction of his desire, if he have the grace to desire what he ought.