THE ART OF DIVINE CONTENTMENT

Dear child of God, hath not thy loving Father given thee Christ? In Him there are ‘riches unsearchable’. He is such a olden mine of wisdom and grace, that all the saints and angels can never dig to the bottom. As Seneca said to his friend Polybius, ‘Never complain as long as Caesar is thy friend’; so I say to a believer. Never complain of thy hard fortune so long as Christ is thy friend. He is an enriching pearl, a sparkling diamond; the infinite lustre of His merits makes us shine in God’s eyes. In Him there is both fulness and sweetness. A Christian who wants necessaries, yet having Christ, he hath ‘the one thing needful’.

These are the true riches, which cannot stand with reprobation; and is not here enough to give thy soul contentment? ‘Earthly riches’, Augustine says, ‘are full of poverty’. They cannot enrich the soul. Oftentimes, under beautiful apparel, there is a threadbare soul. Heaven is a place where gold and silver cannot go. The Lord is my portion’ says David; then let the lines fall where they will – in a sick bed, or in a prison – I will say. Thy will be done’. A believer is ‘rich towards God’; why, then, discontented? A contented heart spies mercy in every condition; others will bless God for prosperity; we for affliction.

Thomas Watson