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 thing that is in Gods way is this. Usually when God intends the greatest mercy to any of his people he doth bring them into the lowest condition, God doth seem to go quite cross and work in a contrary way; when he intends the greatest mercies to his people he doth first usually bring them into very low conditions, if it be a bodily mercy, an outward mercy that he intends to bestow he useth to bring them bodily low, and outwardly ⟨p. 99⟩low, if it be a mercy in their estates that he intends to bestow he brings them low in that and then raises them; and in their names he brings them low there and then raises them, and in their Spirits God doth ordinarily bring their spirits low and then raises their spirits, usually the people of God before the greatest comforts have the greatest afflictions and sorrows, now those that understand not Gods ways they think that when God brings his people into sad conditions, that God leaves and forsakes them and that God doth intend no great matter of good to them, but now a Child of God that is instructed in this way of God, he is not troubled; my condition is very low, but (saith he) this is Gods way when he intends the greatest mercy, to bring men under the greatest afflictions. When he intended to raise Joseph to be the Second in the Kingdom, God cast him into a dungeon a little before. So when God intended to raise David and set him upon the Throne, he made him to be hunted as a partridge in the mountains 1 Sam. 26. 20, God went this way with his Son; Christ himself went into glory by suffering, Heb. 2. 10, and if God deal so with his own Son much more with his people; as a little before break of day you shall observe it is darker then it was any time before, so God doth use to make our conditions darker a little before the mercy come. When God bestowed the last great mercy at Naseby we were in a very low condition, God knew what he had to do before hand, he knew that his time was coming for great mercies, it is the way of God to do so. Be but instructed aright in this course and tract that God uses to walk in and that will help us to contentment exceedingly.

The second thing that is in Gods way is this. Ʋsually when God intends the greatest mercy to any of his people he doth bring them into the lowest condition, God doth seem to go quite crosse and worke in a contrary way; when he intends the greatest mercys to his people he doth first usually bring them into very low conditions, if it be a bodily mercie, an outward mercie that he intends to bestow he useth to bring them bodily low, and outwardly