The rare jewel of Christian contentment. By Jeremiah Burroughs, preacher of the Gospel to…The rare jevvel of Christian contentment. By Jeremiah Burroughs, preacher of the Gospel to…

The Second Answer I would give is this, It may be their faith doth not reach to this promise, and God brings many times many outward afflictions, because the faith of his people doth not reach the promise, and that not only in the old Testament, but in the times of the new Testament, Zachariah his time may be said to be in the time of the new Testament, when he was struck with dumbness because he did not believe, and that is given to be the cause why he was struck with dumbness. But you will say now, hath faith warrant to believe deliverance, that it shall be fully delivered? I dare not say so, but it may act upon it, to believe that God will make it good his own way; perhaps you have not done so much, and so upon that, this promise is not fulfilled to you.

The Second Answer I would give is this, It may be their faith doth not reach to this promise, and God brings many times many outward afflictions, because the faith of his people doth not reach the promise, and that not only in the old Testament, but in the times of the new Testament, Zachariah his time may be said to be in the time of the new Testament, when he was struck with dumbnesse because he did not beleeve, and that is given to be the cause why he was struck with dumbnesse. But you will say now, hath faith warant to beleeve deliverance, that it shall be fully delivered? I dare not say so, but it may act upon it, to beleeve that God will make it good his own way; perhaps you have not done so much, and so upon that, this promise is not fulfilled to you.

Thirdly, when God doth make such promises to his people, yet still it must be with this reservation, that God must have liberty to these three things.

1. That notwithstanding his promise, he will have liberty to make use of any thing for your chastisement. 2. That he must have liberty, to make use of your estates, or liberties, or lives, for the furtherance of his own ends: If it be to be a stumbling block to wicked and ungodly men; God must have liberty, though he have made a promise to you He will not loose the propriety that he hath in your estates and lives. 3. God must have so much liberty to make use of what you have, for to show that his ways are unsearchable, and his judgments past finding out, God reserves these three things in his hand still.