A30598:257
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.
2 A Contented man whose estate is low, if God raises his estate he hath the love of God in it, and then it's abundantly more sweet than if he had it and his heart not contented: for if he had not the love of God in it, for it may be God grants to a discontented man his desire, but he cannot say it is from love; if a man hath quieted his spirit first, and then God grant him his desire, he may have more comfort in it, and more assurance that he hath the love of God in it.
3 This Contentment is a comfort to a mans spirit in this, that it doth keep in his comforts, and keep out whatsoever may damp his comforts, or put out the light of them: I may compare this Grace of Contentment to a Mariners Lantern, a Mariner when he is at Sea let him have never so much provision in his ship, yet if he be thousands of leagues from land, or in a rode that he shall not ⟨p. 111⟩meet with a ship in three or four months, if he hath never a Lantern in his ship, nor nothing whereby he can keep a Candle light in a storm, he will be in a sad condition, he would give a great deal to have a Lantern, or some thing that may serve in stead of it. When a storm comes in the night, and he cannot have any light come above-board, but is puffed out presently, his condition is very sad: so many men can have the light of comfort when there is no storm, but let there come but any affliction, any storm upon them their light is puffed out presently, and what shall they do now? When the heart is furnished with this Grace of Contentment; this Grace is (as it were) the Lantern, and it keeps comfort in the spirit of a man, light in the midst of a storm and tempest. When you have a Lantern in the midst of a storm you can carry a light every where up and down the ship to the top of the Mast if you will, and yet keep it light; so the comfort of a Christian when it is enlivened with the grace of Contentment, it may be kept light whatever storms or tempests come, yet he can keep light in his soul. Oh! this helps thy comforts exceeding much.
3 This Contentment is a comfort to a mans spirit in this, that it doth keep in his comforts, and keep out whatsoever may damp his comforts, or put out the light of them: I may compare this Grace of Contentment to a Marriners Lanthorn, a Marriner when he is at Sea let him have never so much provision in his ship, yet if he be thousands of leagues from land, or in a rode that he shall not