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…

5. The Soul is subdued to God. And then it comes to receive Jesus Christ as a King, to rule, to order, and dispose of him how he pleases, and so the heart is subdued unto God. Now how opposite is a murmuring discontented heart to a heart subdued to Jesus Christ as a King, and receiving him as a Lord to rule and dispose of him as he pleases.

6. There is in the work of thy turning to God the giving up of thy self to God in an everlasting Covenant, as thou takest Christ the head of the Covenant to be thine, so thou givest up thy self to Christ; In the work of Conversion there is the resignation of the Soul wholly to God in an everlasting Covenant to be his, hast thou ever surrendered up thy self to God in an everlasting Covenant? then certainly this thy fretting, murmuring ⟨p. 125⟩heart is mighty opposite to it, certainly thou forgettest this Covenant of thine, and the Resignation of thy self up to God, it would be of marvellous help to you to humble your Souls when you are in a murmuring condition; if you could but obtain so much liberty of your own spirits as to look back to see what the work of God was in converting you, there is nothing would prevail more then to think of that. I am now in a murmuring discontented way, but how did I feel my soul working when God did turn my Soul to himself? oh how opposite is this to that work, and how unseeming? oh what shame and confusion would come upon the spirits of men and women, if they could but compare the work of corruption in their murmuring and discontent, with the work of God that was upon their Souls in conversion; now we should labour to keep the work of God upon our Souls that was at our Conversion; for Conversion must not be only at one instant at first: men are deceived in this, if they think their Conversion is finished merely at first, thou must be in a way of conversion to God all the days of thy life, and therefore Christ saith to his Disciples, except ye be converted and become as little children: Ye be Converted, why, were they not converted before? yes they were converted, but they were still to continue the work of Conversion all the days of their lives, and what work of God there is at the first Conversion it is to abide afterwards. As thus, always there must abide some sight and sense of sin, it may be not in the way which you had, which was rather a preparation then any thing else, but the sight and sense of sin it is to continue still, that is, you are still to be sensible of the burden of sin as it is against the Holiness, and Goodness, and mercy of God unto thee, and the sight of the excellency of Jesus Christ is to continue, and thy calling out of the Creature: