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…

A Eleventh Plea

But yet there's another reasoning that many murmuring hearts think to feed their humour withal, (say they) if I never had bin in a better condition then I could bear this affliction, if God had always kept me in so low a condition I could be content, Oh but there was a time that I prospered more, and I had things at more full hand, and therefore now it is harder to me to be brought low, as in these times, perhaps a man that had five or six hundred a year, but now hath had nothing for a great wile, if that man had not bin borne to so much, or never had prospered in any higher degree then now he is in, this affliction had bin less, perhaps he hath some money and friends to live upon, but if he had never bin in a higher condition he would not have accounted it so great a matter to have bin without it now. This many times is our greatest wound that once we were in a better condition; and this is the most unreasonable thing for us to murmur upon this ground of any.

But yet ther's another reasoning that many murmuring hearts think to feed their humour withall, (say they) if I never had bin in a better condition then I could bear this affliction, if God had alwayes kept me in so low a condition I could be content, Oh but there was a time that I prospered more, and I had things at more full hand, and therefore now it is harder to me to be brought low, as in these times, perhaps a man that had five or six hundred a year, but now hath had nothing for a great wile, if that man had not bin borne to so much, or never had prospered in any higher degree then now he is in, this affliction had bin less, perhaps he hath some monie and frinds to live upon, but if he had never bin in a higher condition he would not haue accounted it so great a matter to have bin without it now. This many times is our greatest wound that once we were in a better condition; and this is the most unreasonable thing for us to murmur upon this ground of any.