A30598:467
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
THE RARE JEWEL OF CHRISTIAN Contentment. › Sermon 11 › Consideration 5: A Fifth Consideration.
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 Fifth Consideration.
A further consideration is this, The creatures do suffer for us, why should not we be willing to suffer, to be serviceable to God? God subjects other creatures, they are fain to lose their lives for us, to lose what ever beauty and excellency they have to be serviceable to to us, why should not we be willing to part with any ⟨p. 190⟩thing in way of service for God; certainly there is not so great a distance between other creatures and Man-kind, as there is between Man-kind and God. 'Tis an expression of that Martyr Master Hooper, that we read of in the Book of Martyrs, in labouring to work his own heart, and the hearts of others to contentedness in the midst of his sufferings; he hath this similitude, and you may be put in mind of that every day, (saith he) I look upon the creature, and see what it suffers to be useful to me; as thus, The brute beasts must die, must be roast in the fire, and boiled, must come upon the trencher, be hacked all in pieces, must be chewed in the mouth, and in the stomach turned to that which is loathsome if one should behold it, and all to nourish me, to be useful to my body; and shall not I be willing to be made any thing for God, for his service? what abundance of alterations the creature comes under to be made useful for me, to preserve me: then if God will do so with me for his use, as he doth subject the creatures to me for my use, why should not I rest contented? If God will take away my estate, and make me poor, if God will take away my life, hack me in pieces, put me in prison, whatsoever he doth, yet I shall not suffer more for God than the creature doth for me, and surely I am infinitely more bound to God than the creature is to me, and there is not so much difference between me and the creature as between me and God: such considerations as these wrought the heart of that Martyr to contentedness in his sufferings; and every time the creature is upon your trenchers you may think, What! doth God make the creature suffer for my use? not only for my nourishment, but for my delight; what am I then in respect of the infinite God?