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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 6: SERMON, VI. at Stepney. Aug. 31. 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.
3. The infinite variety of the works of providence, and yet the ⟨p. 96⟩order of things one working towards another; there is infinite variety of the works of God in an ordinary providence, and yet all work in an orderly way; we put these two together, for God in the way of his providence causes a thousand thousand things one to depend upon another, there are infinite several Wheels (as I may say) in the works of providence, all the works that ever God did from all eternity or ever will do, put them all together, and all make up but one work, and they have been as several wheels that have had their orderly motion to attain the end that God from all eternity hath appointed. We indeed look at things by pieces, we look at one particular and do not consider the reference that one thing hath to another; but God he looks at all things at once, and sees the reference that one thing hath to another: As a Child that looks upon a Clock, looks first upon one wheel, and then upon another wheel, he looks not at all together, or the dependence that one hath upon another, but the workman hath his eyes upon all together and sees the dependence of all one upon another, and the Art that there is in the dependence of one upon another; so it is in Gods providence. Now observe how this works to Contentment; where there is such a passage of providence befalls me, that's one wheel, and it may be if this wheel should be stopped, there might a thousand other wheels come to be stopped by this: as in a Clock, stop but one wheel and you stop every wheel, because they have dependence one upon another: so when God hath ordered a thing for the present to be thus and thus, how dost thou know how many things do depend upon this thing? God may have some work that he hath to do twenty years hence that may depend upon this passage of providence, that falls out this day, or this week.
3. The infinite variety of the works of providence, and yet the ⟨p. 96⟩order of things one working towards another; there is infinite variety of the works of God in an ordinary providence, and yet all work in an orderly way; we put these two together, for God in the way of his providence causes a thousand thousand things one to depend upon another, there are infinite several Wheels (as I may say) in the works of providence, all the works that ever God did from all eternity or ever will do, put them all together, and all make up but one work, and they have been as several wheels that have had their orderly motion to attain the end that God from all eternity hath appointed. We indeed look at things by pieces, we look at one particular and do not consider the reference that one thing hath to another; but God he looks at all things at once, and sees the reference that one thing hath to another: As a Childe that looks upon a Clock, looks first upon one wheel, and then upon another wheel, he looks not at all together, or the dependance that one hath upon another, but the workman hath his eyes upon all together and sees the dependance of all one upon another, and the Art that there is in the dependance of one upon another; so it is in Gods providence. Now observe how this works to Contentment; where there is such a passage of providence befalls me, that's one wheel, and it may be if this wheel should be stopt, there might a thousand other wheels come to be stopt by this: as in a Clock, stop but one wheel and you stop every wheel, because they have dependance one upon another: so when God hath ordered a thing for the present to be thus and thus, how do'st thou know how many things do depend upon this thing? God may have some work that he hath to do twenty yeers hence that may depend upon this passage of providence, that falls out this day, or this week.