A77996:346
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 9: SERMON, IX. 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.
And it may be God hath been merciful to thee in a Wife, or in thy Husband, set that against thy affliction, it may be God crosses thee in thy Estate, but it may be he doth employ thee in his Service, it may be thou art afflicted in some of thy Friends, but thou hast other Friends that are great mercies to thee, and therefore you should set one against the other, and it doth concern you so to do, for those mercies will be aggravations of your sins, and you had better make Gods mercies a means to lessen your sins than to be the aggravation of your sins: If you make not the mercies of God to help you against your murmuring, you will make them to be aggravations of the sin of murmuring. I beseech you for this take but this one consideration further, and if you will but work it upon your hearts, I hope you may find a great deal of power in it. You find afflictions, and your hearts are troubled and murmur, consider how Gods mercies do aggravate this sin, thus: In the midst of our sins we do make account God should accept of our services, do but consider thus, If in the midst of our many sins we hope that God will accept of our poor services, why then should not we in the midst of our afflictions bless God for his many mercies? Shall God be thus gracious to us that notwithstanding our many sins, yet he will not cast away our poor duties and services that we perform, then why should not we in the midst of our sufferings accept of what mercies we have, and not sleight them and disregard them? If thou in the midst of Gods mercies shall not be willing to bear afflictions that God lays upon thee, then it were just with God that in the midst of thy sins he should not regard any of thy duties; now is there not as much power in thy manifold sins to cause God to reject thy duties and services, as there is power in afflictions (in the midst of many mercies) to take off thy heart from being affected with Gods mercies? And that's the first aggravation of the sin of murmuring, To murmur in the midst of mercies.
And it may be God hath been merciful to thee in a Wife, or in thy Husband, set that against thy affliction, it may be God crosses thee in thy Estate, but it may be he doth imploy thee in his Service, it may be thou art afflicted in some of thy Friends, but thou hast other Friends that are great mercies to thee, and therefore you should set one against the other, and it doth concern you so to do, for those mercies will be aggravations of your sins, and you had better make Gods mercies a means to lessen your sins than to be the aggravation of your sins: If you make not the mercies of God to help you against your murmuring, you will make them to be aggravations of the sin of murmuring. I beseech you for this take but this one consideration further, and if you will but work it upon your hearts, I hope you may find a great deal of power in it. You find afflictions, and your hearts are troubled and murmur, consider how Gods mercies do aggravate this sin, thus: In the midst of our sins we do make account God should accept of our services, do but consider thus, If in the midst of our many sins we hope that God will accept of our poor services, why then should not we in the midst of our afflictions bless God for his many mercies? Shall God be thus gracious to us that notwithstanding our many sins, yet he will not cast away our poor duties and services that we perform, then why should not we in the midst of our sufferings accept of what mercies we have, and not sleight them and disregard them? If thou in the midst of Gods mercies shall not be willing to bear afflictions that God laies upon thee, then it were just with God that in the midst of thy sins he should not regard any of thy duties; now is there not as much power in thy manifold sins to cause God to reject thy duties and services, as there is power in afflictions (in the midst of many mercies) to take off thy heart from being affected with Gods mercies? And that's the first aggravation of the sin of murmuring, To murmur in the midst of mercies.