A30598:249
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.
A prisoner must not think to get off his fetters by pulling and tearing, he may gall his flesh and rend it to the very bone, certainly he will be unfettered never the sooner, but if he would have his fetters taken off he must quietly give up himself to some man to take them off; If a beggar after he hath knocked once or twice at the door and you come not, and thereupon he is vexed and troubled and thinks much that you let him stand a little while without any thing, you think that this beggar is not fit to receive an alms, but if you hear two or three beggars at your door, and if you hear them out of your window say, let us be content to stay, perhaps they are busy, it's fit that we should stay, it's well if we have any thing at last, we deserve nothing at all, and therefore we may well wait a while; you would then quickly send them an alms; so God deals with the heart, when it is in a disquiet way then God doth not give; but when the heart lies down quietly under Gods hand, then is the heart in a fit frame to receive mercy: Your strength shall be to sit still (saith God,) you shall not be delivered from Babylon but by your sitting still.
A prisoner must not think to get off his fetters by pulling and tearing, he may gall his flesh and rend it to the very bone, certainly he will be unfettered never the sooner, but if he would have his fetters taken off he must quietly give up himself to some man to take them off; If a begger after he hath knockt once or twice at the door and you come not, and thereupon he is vext and troubled and thinks much that you let him stand a little while without any thing, you think that this begger is not fit to receive an almes, but if you hear two or three beggers at your door, and if you hear them out of your window say, let us be content to stay, perhaps they are busie, it's fit that we should stay, it's well if we have any thing at last, we deserve nothing at all, and therefore we may well wait a while; you would then quickly send them an almes; so God deals with the heart, when it is in a disquiet way then God doth not give; but when the heart lies down quietly under Gods hand, then is the heart in a fit frame to receive mercy: Your strength shall be to sit still (saith God,) you shall not be delivered from Babylon but by your sitting still.