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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 8: SERMON, VIII. at Stepney. Sept. 21. 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.
But now their deliverance from Egypt though it was a great mercy, they made that mercy to be nothing, for say they, You have brought us out of a Land that floweth with milk and honey, what land was that? It was the land of Egypt, the Land of their bondage, but they call it a Land that flowed with milk and honey, though it were the Land of their most cruel and unsupportable bondage; whereas they should have blessed God as long as they had lived for Gods delivering them out of the Land of Egypt, yet meeting with some cross, they make their deliverance from Egypt no mercy; no, it was rather a misery to them, Oh (say they) Egypt was a Land that flowed with milk and honey. Oh what baseness is there in a discontented spirit! a discontented spirit out of envy to Gods Grace will make mercies that are great to be little, yea to be none at all. Would one ever have thought that such a word should have come from the mouth of an Israelite, that had been under bondage and cried under it, and yet when they meet with a little cross in their way to say, you have brought us out of the Land that floweth with milk and honey, to say they ⟨p. 138⟩were better before than now, and yet before they could not be contented neither; this is the usual unthankful expression of a discontented heart: And it is so with us now when we meet with any cross in our estates, and taxations and troubles, especially if any among you have been where the enemy hath prevailed, you are ready to say, We had plenty before, and we are now brought to a condition of hardship, we were better before when we had the Prelates and others to domineer: and so we endanger our selves to be brought into that bondage again; Oh let us take heed of this, of a discontented heart, there is this woeful cursed fruit of discontent to make men and women unthankful for all the mercies God hath granted to them, and this is a sore and grievous evil. And lastly, There's this evil effect in murmuring, It causes shiftings of spirit: they that murmur and are discontent, are liable to temptations, to shift for themselves in sinful and ungodly ways, discontent is the ground of shitting courses and unlawful ways.
But now their deliverance from Egypt though it was a great mercy, they made that mercy to be nothing, for say they, You have brought us out of a Land that floweth with milk and honey, what land was that? It was the land of Egypt, the Land of their bondage, but they call it a Land that flowed with milk and honey, though it were the Land of their most cruel and unsupportable bondage; whereas they should have blessed God as long as they had liv'd for Gods delivering them out of the Land of Egypt, yet meeting with some cross, they make their deliverance from Egypt no mercy; no, it was rather a misery to them, Oh (say they) Egypt was a Land that flowed with milk and honey. Oh what baseness is there in a discontented spirit! a discontented spirit out of envy to Gods Grace will make mercies that are great to be little, yea to be none at all. Would one ever have thought that such a word should have come from the mouth of an Israelite, that had been under bondage and cried under it, and yet when they meet with a little cross in their way to say, you have brought us out of the Land that floweth with milk and honey, to say they