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The rare jewel of Christian contentment Wherein is showedThe rare jewel of Christian contentment Wherein is shewed
The rare jewel of Christian contentment Wherein is showed; 1. What contentment is. 2. The holy art or mystery of it. 3. Several lessons that Christ teacheth, to work the heart to contentment. 4. The excellencies of it. 5. The evils of murmuring. 6. The aggravations of the sin of murmuring. By Jeremiah Burroughs. The first of the eleven volumes that are published by Thomas Goodwin, William Greenhil, Sydrach Simpson, Philip Nigh, William Bridge, John Yates, William Adderly.The rare jewel of Christian contentment Wherein is shewed; 1. What contentment is. 2. The holy art or mystery of it. 3. Several lessons that Christ teacheth, to work the heart to contentment. 4. The excellencies of it. 5. The evils of murmuring. 6. The aggravations of the sin of murmuring. By Jeremiah Burroughs. The first of the eleven volumes that are published by Thomas Goodwin, William Greenhil, Sydrach Sympson, Philip Nye, William Bridge, John Yates, William Adderly.
London: printed for Ben. Billingsley, 1666
THE RARE JEWEL OF CHRISTIAN CONTENTMENT. › Sermon 4: SERMON, IV. at Stepney. Aug. 17. 1645.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
IN the last exercise we spoke of divers things in the mystery of Contentment, and in the close we spoke of two more, but we could not have time to open either of them, I shall open them a little more largely, and then proceed to some few more, and so to other things in the point.
That is the next thing, A Christian heart hath not only contentment in God (and certainly, he that hath God, must have all, he that hath him that hath all, he hath all) But he is able to make up all his outward wants of Creature-comforts from what he finds in himself: That may seem to be more strange; It is true, perhaps we may convince men though they do not feel by experience what it is to make up all in God, yet we may convince them that if they have him that hath all things, then they have all; for there is such a fullness in God, he being the infinite first Being of all things that may make up all their wants. ⟨p. 58⟩But here is another thing, that is further: I say, A Godly man can make up whatsoever he wants without the creature, he can make it up in himself, in Proverbs 14. vers. 14. A good man is satisfied in himself: as now, If he wants outward comforts, good cheer, feasting; a good Conscience is a continual feast, he can make up the want of a feast by that peace he hath in his own Conscience: if he wants melody abroad, he hath a bird within him that sings the most melodious songs that are in the world, and the most delightful. And then, Doth he want honour? he hath his own Conscience witnessing for him, that is as a thousand witnesses, the Scripture saith in Luk. 17. verse 21. Neither shall they say, Lo, here; or Lo, there: for behold the Kingdom of God is within you: A Christian then whatsoever he wants he can make it up, for he hath a Kingdom in himself, the Kingdom of God is within him. If one that is a King should meet with a great deal of trouble when he is abroad, yet he contents himself with this, I have a Kingdom of mine own; now here it is said, the Kingdom of God is within a man, truly, upon this Scripture of the Kingdom of God being within, those that are learned, if they would but look into that Comment upon the Gospel that we have of a learned man, they shall find a very strange conceit that he hath about this very Text, he confesses indeed it is inutterable; and so indeed it is: The Kingdom of God is within you: he makes it that there is such a presence of God and Christ within the soul of a man, that when the body dies (he saith) that the soul goes into God and Christ that is within him; the Souls going into God and Christ, and enjoying of that communion with God and Christ that is within its self, that is Heaven to it (saith he.)