A30598:368
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 fourth aggravation, Is the consideration of the freeness of all Gods mercies to us. What ever we have it is of free cost, what though we have not all we would have, seeing what we have is free? If what we have were earned then it were somewhat, but when we consider that all is from God, for us to murmur at his dispensations is very evil. Suppose a man were in a family entertained by a friend, and he did not pay for his board, but he hath it given him for nothing, it's expected such a one should not be ready to find fault with every thing in the house, with servants or with meat at table or the like, i• such a one that hath plentiful provision and all given him Gratis, and pays nothing for his board, should be discontented if a cup should not be filled for him as he would have it, or if he should stay a minute of an hour longer for a thing than he would, this we would account a great evil: So it is with us, we are at Gods table every day, and it is upon free-cost whatever we have: It is accounted very unmannerly for a man at his friends table to find fault with things, though at home he may be bold: Now when we ⟨p. 159⟩are at the table of God (for so all Gods administrations to us are his table) and are at free-cost, now for us to be finding fault and be discontented this is a great Aggravation of our sin.
A fourth aggravation, Is the consideration of the freeness of all Gods mercies to us. What ever we have it is of free cost, what though we have not all we would have, seeing what we have is free? If what we have were earned then it were somewhat, but when we consider that all is from God, for us to murmur at his dispensations is verie evil. Suppose a man were in a family entertained by a friend, and he did not pay for his board, but he hath it given him for nothing, it's expected such a one should not be ready to find fault with every thing in the house, with servants or with meat at table or the like, i• such a one that hath plentiful provision and all given him Gratis, and paies nothing for his board, should be discontented if a cup should not be filled for him as he would have it, or if he should stay a minute of an hour longer for a thing than he would, this we would account a great evil: So it is with us, we are at Gods table every day, and it is upon free-cost whatever we have: It is accounted very unmannerly for a man at his friends table to find fault with things, though at home he may be bold: Now when we