The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

Twelfthly, Murmuring and discontent hath this evil in it, There is an absolute necessity that thou shouldest have disquiet all the days of thy life. As if a man that is in a great crowd should complain that other folks touch him; While we are in this world God hath so ordered things that afflictions must befall us, and if we will complain and be discontented upon every cross and affliction, why we must complain and be discontent all the days of our lives, yea God in just judgment will let things fall out on purpose to vex those that have vexing spirits, and discontented hearts, and therefore there is a necessity that they should live disquiet all their days: and men will not much care to disquiet those that are continually murmuring, Oh they will have disquiet all their days.

Twelfthly, Murmuring and discontent hath this evil in it, There is an absolute necessity that thou shouldest have disquiet all the daies of thy life. As if a man that is in a great croud should complain that other folks touch him; While we are in this world God hath so ordred things that afflictions must befal us, and if we will complain and be discontented upon every crosse and affliction, why we must complain and be discontent all the daies of our lives, yea God in just judgment will let things fall out on purpose to vex those that have vexing spirits, and discontented hearts, and therefore there is a necessitie that they should live disquiet all their daies: and men will not much care to disquiet those that are continually murmuring, Oh they will have disquiet all their daies.

Lastly, there's this dreadful evil in discontent and murmuring, God may justly withdraw his care off you, and his protection over you, seeing God cannot please you in his administrations. We ⟨p. 148⟩use to say so to discontented servants; nay, if you be not pleased mend your selves when you will. If you have a servant not content with his diet and wages, and work, you say, mend your selves; so may God justly say to us, we that profess our selves servants to him, to be in his work, and yet are discontented with this thing or that in Gods family, God might justly say, mend your selves. What if God should say to any of you, If my care over you do not please you, then take care of your selves, if my protection over you will not please you, then protect your selves: Now all things that do befall you, befall you through a providence of God, and if you be those that belong to God there is a protection of God over you, and a care of God. Now if God should say, Well, you shall not have the benefit of my protection any longer, and I will take no further care of you: would not this be a most dreadful judgment of God from Heaven upon you? Take heed what you do then in being discontent with Gods will towards you, and indeed upon discontent this may befall you. And this is the reason why many people though Gods protection hath bin very gracious over them for a time, and they have thriven abundantly, yet afterwards almost all that behold them may say that they live as if God had cast off his care over them, and as if God did not care what befell them. Now then my brethren, put all these together, all that we were speaking of the last day, and these particulars that have been added now this morning for the setting out of a murmuring and discontented spirit, Oh what an ugly face hath this sin of murmuring, and discontentedness, Oh what cause is there that we should lay our hands upon our hearts, and go away and be humbled before the Lord because of this! whereas your thoughts were wont to be exercised about providing for your selves, and getting more comforts to your selves, let the stream of your thoughts now be turned to humble your selves for your discontentedness, Oh that you may have your hearts break before God, for otherwise you will fall to it again, Oh the wretchedness of mans heart!