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…

1. By murmuring and discontent in your hearts, you come to loose a great deal of time, how many times do men and women when they are discontented let their thoughts run, and are musing and contriving (through their present discontentedness) then let their discontented thoughts be working in them, for some hours together, and they spend their time in vain. When you are alone you should spend your time in holy meditation, but you are spending your time in discontented thoughts, you who complain that you cannot meditate, you cannot think on good things, but if you begin to think of them a little, presently your thoughts are off from them, but if you be discontented with any thing, then you can go alone, and muse, and roll things up and down in your thoughts to feed a discontented humour: Oh labour to see this evil effect of murmuring, the losing of your time.

1. By murmuring and discontent in your hearts, you come to loose a great deale of time, how many times doe men and women when they are discontended let their thoughts run, and are musing and contriving (through their present discontendednesse) then let their discontended thoughts be working in them, for some hours together, and they spend their time in vain. When you are alone you should spend your time in holy meditation, but you are spending your time in discontented thoughts, you who complain that you cannot meditate, you cannot thinke on good things, but if you begin to think of them a little, presently your thoughts are off from them, but if you be discontented with any thing, then you can go alone, and muse, and roul things up and down in your thoughts to feed a discontented humour: Oh labour to see this evill effect of murmuring, the losing of your time.

2. It doth unfit you for duty, a man or woman that is in a contented frame, you may turn such a one to any thing at any time, he is fit for to go to God at any time, but when one is in a discontented condition, then a man or woman is exceeding ⟨p. 135⟩unfit for the service of God. And it causes many distractions in duty, it unfits for duty, and when you come to perform duties, oh the distractions that are in your duties, when your spirits are discontented; when you hear of any ill news from Sea and cannot bear it, or of any il from a friend, or any loss or cross, oh what distractions do they cause in the performance of holy duties. When you should be in enjoying communion with God, you are distracted in your thoughts about the cross that hath befallen you, whereas had you but a quiet spirit, though there should great crosses befall you, yet they would never hinder you in the performance of any duty,