A30598:180
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
The rare jewel of Christian contentment wherein is showed, I. What contentment is, II. The holy art or mystery of it, III. Several lessons that Christ teacheth, to work the heart to contentment, IV. The excellencies of it, V. The evils of murmuring, VII. The aggravations of the sin of murmuring / by Jeremiah Burroughs.The rare jewel of Christian contentment wherein is shewed, I. What contentment is, II. The holy art or mystery of it, III. Several lessons that Christ teacheth, to work the heart to contentment, IV. The excellencies of it, V. The evils of murmuring, VII. The aggravations of the sin of murmuring / by Jeremiah Burroughs.
London: printed for Peter Cole, 1649
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Fifthly, If God doth cleanse us in some measure, and doth put into us some good liquor some grace of his Spirit: yet in the fifth place, We can make use of nothing neither when we have it, if God doth but withdraw himself; If God doth but leave us one moment after he hath bestowed upon us the greatest gifts, and whatsoever abilities we can desire, if God should say, I will give you them, now go and trade now I have given you these and these abilities, we cannot stir one foot further neither if God doth but leave us. Doth God give us gifts and parts? Then let us fear and tremble least God should leave us to our selves, for then how foully should we abuse those gifts & parts, you think other men and women have memory and gifts and parts and ⟨p. 71⟩you would fain have them, But suppose God should give you these and there leave you, you would utterly spoil them.
Fifthly, If God doth cleanse us in some measure, and doth put into us some good licquor some grace of his Spirit: yet in the fifth place, We can make use of nothing neither when we have it, if God doth but withdraw himself; If God doth but leave us one moment after he hath bestowed upon us the greatest gifts, and whatsoever abilities we can desire, if God should say, I wil give you them, now go and trade now I have given you these and these abilities, we cannot stir one foot further neither if God doth but leave us. Doth God give us gifts and parts? Then let us fear and tremble least God should leave us to our selves, for then how foully should we abuse those gifts & parts, you think other men and women have memorie and gifts and parts and ⟨p. 71⟩you would fain have them, But suppose God should give you these and there leave you, you would utterly spoil them.
Sixthly, We are worse than nothing. For by sin we come to be a great deal worse than nothing; sin makes us more vile than nothing, sin makes us contrary to all good: now it's a great deal worse to have a contrariety to all that is good, than merely to have an emptiness of all that is good, we are not empty pitchers in respect of good, but we are like pitchers filled with poison, and is it much for such as we are to be cut short of outward comforts?