A30598:274
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.
Tenthly and lastly, By contentation the soul comes to an excellency near to God himself, yea the nearest that may be, for this word that is translated Content, it is a word that signifies a Self-sufficiency, as I told you in the opening of the words. A contented man is a self-sufficient man, what is the great glory of God but to be happy and self-sufficient in himself? Indeed he is said to be All-sufficient, but that's but a further addition of the word All, rather than of any matter, for to be sufficient, is All-sufficient, now is this the glory of God to be Sufficient, to have sufficiency in himself, Ell-shaddai, to be God having sufficiency in himself? now thou comest near to this, thou partakest of the Divine Nature, as by grace in general, so in a more peculiar manner by this grace of Christian Contentment, what's the excellency and glory of God but this? Suppose there were no creatures in the world, and that all the creatures in the world were annihilated, God would remain the same blessed God that he is now, he would not be in a worse condition if all creatures were gone, neither would a contented heart if God should take away all creatures from him, a contented heart hath enough in the want of all creatures and would not be more miserable than now he is. Suppose that God should continue thee here, and all creatures that are here in this world were taken ⟨p. 118⟩away, yet thou still (having God to be thy portion) wouldest be as happy as now thou art, and therefore contentation hath a great deal of excellency in it.
Tenthly and lastly, By contentation the soul comes to an excellencie neer to God himselfe, yea the neerest that may be, for this word that is translated Content, it is a word that signifies a Self-sufficiencie, as I told you in the opening of the words. A contented man is a self-sufficient man, what is the great glory of God but to be happy and self-sufficient in himself? Indeed he is said to be All-sufficient, but that's but a further addition of the word All, rather than of any matter, for to be sufficient, is All-sufficient, now is this the glory of God to be Sufficient, to have sufficiencie in himselfe, El-shaddai, to be God having sufficiency in himself? now thou comest neer to this, thou partakest of the Divine Nature, as by grace in generall, so in a more peculiar manner by this grace of Christian Contentment, what's the excellency and glory of God but this? Suppose there were no creatures in the world, and that all the creatures in the world were anihilated, God would remain the same blessed God that he is now, he would not be in a worse condition if all creatures were gone, neither would a contented heart if God should take away all creatures from him, a contented heart hath enough in the want of al creatures and would not be more miserable than now he is. Suppose that God should continue thee here, and all creatures that are here in this world were taken