there is in the sin of discontentment The ninth evil of murmuring and discontentment is this There is a mighty deal of danger in the sin of discontentment for it exceedingly provoketh the wrath of God it s a sin that doth much provoke God against his creature we find most sad expressions in Scripture and examples too how God hath been provoked against many for their discontent in Numb 14. you have a notable text and one would think that that were enough for ever to make you fear murmuring in the 26. verse it is said The Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron saying what did he say How long shall I bear with this evil Congregation which murmur against me How long shall I bear with them saith God This evil Congregation Oh that 's an evil Congregation that murmurs against me And how long shall I bear with them they do murmur and they have murmured as those that have murmuring spirits murmuring dispositions they will murmur again and again How long shall I bear with this evil Congregation that murmur against me How justly may God speak of many of you that are this morning before the Lord How long shall I bear with this wicked man or woman that doth murmur against me and hath usually in the course of their lives murmured against me when any thing falls out otherwise than they would have it And mark what follows after I have heard the murmuring of the Children of Israel You murmur it may be others hear you not nay it may be you speak not at all or but half words yet God hears the language of your murmuring hearts and those muttering speeches and those half words that come from you And further observe in this verse how the Lord repeats this sin of murmuring How long shall I bear with this evil Congregation which murmur against me Secondly I have heard their murmuring Thirdly which they murmur against me Murmur Murmur Murmur Three times in one verse he repeats it and this is to shew his indignation against the thing When you express indignation against a thing you will repeat it over again again now the Lord because he would express his indignation against this sin he repeats it over again and again and it follows in ver 28. Say unto them as truely as I live saith the Lord As ye have spoken in mine ears so will I do to you Mark God swears against a murmurer sometimes in your discontent you will be ready to swear it may be do you swear in your discontent So doth God swear against you for your discontent And what was it that God would do unto them ver 29 30. Doubtless your carkasses shall fall in the wilderness and you shall not come into the Land concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein as if God should say if I have any life in me your lives shall go for it as I live it shall cost you your lives A discontented murmuring fit of yours may cost you your lives You see how it provokes God there is more evil in it than you are aware of it may cost you your lives and therefore look to your selves and learn to be humbled at the very beginnings of such distempers in the heart So in Psal 106.24 25. Yea they despised the pleasant Land they believed not his word but murmured in their tents and hearkned not unto the voice of the Lord therefore he lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them in the wilderness Here are divers things observable in this Scripture First That which we spoke to before How a murmuring heart doth slight Gods mercies so it is here They despised the pleasant Land and that a murmuring heart is contrary to faith they believed not his word but saith the text they murmred in their tents and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord. Many men and women will hearken to the voice of their own base murmuring hearts that will not hearken to the voice of the Lord if you would hearken to the voice of the Lord there would not be such murmuring as there is but mark what follows upon it you may not think to please your selves in your murmuring discontentedness and think that no evil shall come of it Therefore he lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them you that are discontented you lift up your hearts against God and you cause God to lift up his hand against you perhaps God laies his finger upon you softly in some afflictions that are upon you in your families or elsewhere and you cannot bear the hand of God that lies upon you as tenderly as a tender-hearted Nurse that laies her hand upon the childe you cannot bear the tender hand of God that is upon you in a lesser affliction it were just with God to lift up his hand against you in another manner of affliction Oh a murmuring spirit provokes God exceedingly There is another place in 16. of Numb compare the 41. vers and the 46. vers together But on the morrow all the Congregation of the Children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron saying Ye have killed the people of the Lord And mark in the 46. verse And Moses said unto Aaron Take a Censer and put fire therein from off the Altar and put on incense and go quickly unto the Congregation and make an atonement for them for there is wrath gone out from the Lord the plague is begun mark how Gods wrath is kindled in the 41. verse the Congregation had murmured and they murmured but against Moses and Aaron perhaps you murmur more directly against God and that was against God in murmuring against Gods Ministers it was against God but not so directly but it may be the murmuring of your hearts is more directly against Gods dealings with you if you murmur against those that God makes instruments because you have not every thing that you would have as against the Parliament or such and such that are publike Instruments it s against God it was but against Moses and Aaron that the Israelites murmured and they said that Moses and Aaron had killed the people of the Lord though it was the hand of God that was upon them for their former wickedness in murmuring It is usual for wicked vile hearts to deal thus with God that when Gods hand is a little upon them for to murmur again and again and so to bring upon themselves even infinite kind of evils but now the anger of God was quickly kindled Oh saith Moses Go take the Censer quickly for wrath is gone out from Jehovah the plague is begun so while you are murmuring in your families the wrath of God may quickly go out against you quickly in a morning or evening when you are a murmuring the wrath of God may come quickly out upon your families or persons you are never so prepared for present wrath as when you are in a murmuring discontented fit those that stand by
this further to you in this Similitude The being content upon some external thing it is like the warming of a mans cloaths by the fire but being content by the inward disposition of the soul it is like the warmth that a mans cloaths hath from the natural heat of his body A man that is of a healthfull body he puts on his cloaths and perhaps when he puts them on at the first in a cold morning he feels his cloaths cold but after he hath them on a little while they are warm why how come they warm they come not nigh the fire No but it came from the natural heat of his body Now a sickly man that hath his natural heat decayed if he put on his cloaths cold they will not be hot in a long time but he must have them warmed by the fire and then they will quickly be cold again So this will difference the Contentments of men There are some men now that are very gracious and when an affliction comes upon them indeed at first it seems to be a little cold but after it hath been on a while the very temper of their hearts being gracious it makes their affliction easie and makes them to be quiet under it and not to complain of any discontentment But now you shall have others that have an affliction upon them that have not this good temper in their hearts their afflictions are very cold upon them and grievous and it may be if you bring them some external arguments somwhat from without as the fire that warms the cloaths perhaps they will be quiet for a while but alas wanting a gracious disposition within in their own hearts that warmth will not hold long The warmth of a fire that is a Contentment that comes meerly from external arguments will not hold long but that holds that doth come from the gracious temper of the Spirit It is from the frame and the disposition of the spirit of a man or woman There 's the true Contentment But this we shall speak to further in the opening of the Mystery of Contentment The Third thing is this It is the frame of Spirit that shews the habitualness of this grace of Contentment Contentment is not meerly one act a flash in a good mood you shall have many men and women that take them in some good mood and they will be very quiet but this will not hold this is not a constant way there is not a constant tenour of their spirits to be holy and gracious under affliction But I say It is the quiet frame of spirit by that I mean The habitual disposition of their Souls that it is not only at this time and the other time when you take men and women in a good mood but it is the constant tenour and temper of the heart that is a Christian that hath learned this lesson of Contentment that in the constant tenour and temper of heart is contented and can carry its self quietly in a constant way or else it is worth nothing for there is no body that is so furious in their discontent but will be quiet in some good mood or other Now First it is a heart-business Secondly it is the heart quiet and then Thirdly it is the frame of the heart But Fourthly It is the gracious frame of the heart Indeed in Contentment there is a composition of all graces if the Contentment be Spiritual if it be truly Christian there is I say a composition of all Spiritual graces As it is in some Oyls there is a composition of a great many very precious Ingredients so in this grace of Contentment which we shall yet further speak of in the opening of the Excellency of it But now the gracious frame of Spirit is in opposition to Three things 1. First In opposition to the natural stilness that there is in many men and women There are some of such a natural constitution that makes them to be more still and more quiet than others others are of a violent and hot constitution and they are more impatient than others 2. Secondly In opposition to a sturdy resolution As some men through the strength of some sturdy resolution they have not seemed to be troubled let come what will come and so it may be through a sturdy resolution at some times they are not so much disquieted as others are Thirdly In way of distinction from the very strength of Reason though not sanctifyed the strength of natural reason may quiet the heart in some measure But now I say a gracious frame of spirit is not a meer stilness of body through a natural constitution and temper nor sturdiness of resolution nor meerly thorow the strength of reason You will say wherein is this graciousness of Contentment distinguisht from all these More of this will be spoken to when we shew the mystery of it and the lessons that are learned but now we may speak a little by way of distinction here as now from the natural stilness of mens spirits many men and women have such a natural stilness of spirit and constitution of body that you shal find them seldom disquieted But now mark these kind of people that are so they likewise are very dull of a dul spirit in any good thing they have no quickness nor liveliness of spirit in that which is good but now mark where Contentment of heart is gracious the heart is very quick lively in the service of God yea the more any gracious heart can bring its self to be in a contented disposition Oh the more fit it is for any service of God and is very active and lively in Gods service not dul in the service of God And as a Contented heart is very active and stirring in the work of God so he is very active and stirring in sanctifying Gods Name in the affliction that doth befal him The difference will appear very clear thus One that is of a still disposition he is not disquieted indeed as others neither hath he any activeness of spirit in sanctifying the Name of God in the affliction but now one that is content in a gracious way as he is not disquieted but keeps his heart quiet in respect to vexing and trouble so on the other side he is not dull nor heavy but is very active to sanctify Gods Name in the affliction that is upon him for it is not enough meerly not to murmur not to bee discontented and troubled but you must be active in the sanctifying Gods Name in the affliction And indeed this will distinguish it from the other from a sturdy resolution I will not be troubled but though you have a sturdy resolution that you will not be troubled is there a conscionableness in you to sanctify Gods Name in your affliction and doth it come from thence That is the main thing that brings the quiet of heart and helps against discontentedness in a gracious heart I say the desire and care
now when the Soul comes to understand this the Soul then cries out Why am I so troubled that I have not my desires There is nothing that God conveys his wrath more through than a prosperous Estate I remember I have read of a Jewish Tradition that they say of Uzziah when God struck Vzziah with a Leprosie they say that the beams of the Sun was darted upon the forehead of Vzziah and he was struck with a Leprosie with the darting of the beams of the Sun upon his forehead the Scripture saith Indeed the Priests looked upon him but they say there was a special light and beam of the Sun upon the forehead that did discover the Leprosie to the Priests and they say it was the way of conveying of it Whether that were true or no I am sure this is true that the strong beams of the Sun of prosperity upon many men makes them to be leprous Would any poor man in the Country have been discontented that he was not in Vzziahs condition He was a great King I but there was the Leprosie in his fore-head the poor man may say though I live meanly in the Country yet I thank God my body is whole and sound would not any man rather have russet and skins of beasts to cloath him with than to have sattin and velvet that should have the Plague in it The Lord conveyes the Plague of his curse through prosperity as much as through any thing in the world and therefore the soul coming to understand this this makes it to be quiet and content And then Spiritual Judgements are the greatest Judgements of all the Lord says such an Affliction upon my outward estate but what if he had taken away my life A mans health is a greater mercy than his estate and you that are poor people you should consider of that But is the health of a mans body better than his estate what is the health of a mans soul that 's a great deal better the Lord hath inflicted external judgements but he hath not inflicted spiritual Judgements upon thee he hath not given thee up to hardness of heart and taken away the spirit of prayer from thee in thine afflicted estate Oh then be of good comfort though there be outward afflictions upon thee yet thy soul thy more excellent part is not afflicted Now when the soul comes to understand this that here lies the sore wrath of God to be given up to a mans desires and for Spiritual Judgements to be upon a man this quiets him and contents him though outward afflictions be upon him perhaps one of a mans children hath the fit of an ague or the tooth-ach but perhaps his next neighbor hath the plague or all his children are dead of the plague now shall he be so discontented because his children have the tooth-ach when his neighbors children are dead Now think thus Lord thou hast laid an afflicted condition upon me but Lord thou hast not given me the plague of a hard heart Now take these eight things before mentioned and lay them together and you may well apply that Scripture in Isa 29. the last verse saith the text there They also that erred in Spirit shall come to understanding and they that murmured shall learn Doctrine Hath there been any of you as I fear many may be found that have erred in spirit even in regard of this truth that now we are preaching of and many that have murmured Oh that this day you might come to understand that Christ would bring you into his School and teach you understanding And they that murmured shall learn Doctrine what Doctrine shall they learn These eight Doctrines that I have opened to you And if you will but throughly study these lessons that I have set before your eyes It will be a special help and means to cure your murmuring against and repinings at the hand of God And so you will come to learn Christian Contentment The Lord teach you throughly by his Spirit these Lessons of Contentment SERMON VI. at Stepney Aug. 31. 1645. PHIL. 4.11 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I Shall only adde one Lesson more in learning of Contentment and then I shall come to the Fourth Head The Excellency of Contentment The Ninth and last Lesson that Christ teaches those that he doth instruct in this Art of Contentment It is the right knowledge of Gods Providence and therein are these four things 1. The Universality of Providence that the soul must be throughly instructed in to come to this Art to understand the Universality of Providence that is how the Providence of God goes through the whole world extends it self to every thing Not onely that God by his providence doth rule the world and govern all things in general but that it reaches to every particular not onely to Kingdoms to order the great affairs of Kingdoms but it reaches to every mans Family it reaches to every person in the Family it reaches to every condition yea to every passage to every thing that falls out concerning thee in every particular not one hair falls from thy head not a Sparrow to the ground without the providence of God There 's nothing befalls thee good or evil but there is a providence of the Infinite Eternal First-being in that thing and therein indeed is Gods Infiniteness that it reaches to the least things to the least worm that is under thy feet Then much more it reaches unto thee that art a rational Creature the Providence of God is more special towards rational Creatures than any others The understanding in a spiritual way the universality of providence in every particular passage from morning to night every day that there 's not any thing that doth befall thee but there 's a hand of God in it it is from God it is a mighty furtherance to Contentment Every man will grant the truth of the thing that it is so but as the Apostle saith in Heb. 11.3 By faith we understand that the worlds were made by faith we understand it why by faith we can understand by reason that no finite thing can be from it self And therefore that the world could not be of it self but we can understand it by saith in another manner than by reason So whatsoever we understand of God in way of providence yet when Christ doth take us into his School we come to understand it by faith in a better manner than we do by reason 2. The efficacy that there is in providence that is That the providence of God goes on in all things with strength and power and it is not to be altered by our power let us be discontented and vext and troubled and fret and rage yet we must not think to alter the course of providence by our discontent Some of Jobs friends said to him Shall the earth be forsaken for thee and shall the rock be removed out of his place Job
of the duty before many men when they hear of a duty they should perform they will labor to perform it but first you must be humbled for the want of it therefore that 's the thing that I shall endeavor in the Application to get your hearts to be humbled for the want of this Grace Oh had I had this Grace of Contentment what a happy life I might have lived what abundance of honor I might have brought to the Name of God and how might I have honored my profession and what a deal of comfort might I have enjoyed but the Lord knows it hath been far otherwise Oh how far have I been from this grace of Contentment that hath been opened to me I have had a murmuring a vexing and fretting heart within me every little cross hath put me out of temper and out of frame Oh the boisterousness of my spirit what a deal of evil doth God see in my heart in the vexing and fretting of my heart and murmuring and repining of my spirit Oh that God would make you to see it Now to the end that you might be humbled for the want of this I shall endeavor in these particulars to speak unto it First I shall set before you The evil of a murmuring spirit there is more evil then you are aware of In the second place I will shew you some aggravations of this evil It 's evil in all but in some more than in others Thirdly I shall labor to take away the Pleas that any murmuring discontented heart hath for this distemper of his There 's these Three things in this Use of humiliation of the soul for the want of this Grace of Contentment For the first now at this time The great evil that there is in a murmuring discontented heart In the first place This thy murmuring and discontentedness it argues much corruption that is in the soul as Contentment argues much Grace and strong Grace and beautiful Grace so this argues much Corruption and strong Corruption and very vile Corruption in thy heart As it is in a mans body If a mans body be of that temper that every scratch of a pin makes his flesh to rankle and to be a sore you will say surely this mans body is very corrupt his blood and flesh is corrupt that every scratch of a pin shall make it ranckle so it is in thy spirit if every little trouble and affliction shall make thee discontented and make thee murmur and even cause thy spirit within thee to ranckle or as it is in a wound of a mans body the evil of a wound it is not so much in the largness of the wound and in the abundance of blood that comes out of the wound but in the inflammation that there is in it or in a fretting and corroding humor that is in the wound an unskilful man when he comes and sees a large wound in the flesh looks upon it as a dangerous wound And when he sees a great deal of blood gush out he thinks these are the evils of it but when a Chyrurgion comes and sees a great gash saith he this will be healed within a few days but there 's a less wound and there 's an inflammation or a fretting humor that is in it and this will cost time saith he to cure so that he doth not lay Balsom and healing Salves upon it but his great care is to get out the fretting humor or inflammation so that the thing that must heal this wound it is some drink to purge But saith the patient what good will this do to my wound You give me somewhat to drink and my wound is in my arm or in my leg what good will this do that I put in my stomach Yes it purges out the fretting humor or takes away the inflammation and till that be taken away the salves can do no good So it is just for all the world in the souls of men it may be there is some affliction upon them that I compare to the wound now they think that the greatness of the affliction is that which makes their condition most miserable Oh no there is a fretting humor an inflamation in the heart a murmuring spirit that is within thee and that is the misery of thy condition and that must be purged out of thee before thou canst be healed and let God do with thee what he will till he purges out that fretting humor thy wound will not be healed a murmuring heart is a very sinful heart so that when thou art troubled for such an affliction thou hadst need turn thy thoughts rather to be troubled for the murmuring of thy heart for that 's the greatest trouble there is an affliction upon thee and that is grievous but there is a murmuring heart within that 's more grievous Oh that we could but convince men and women that a murmuring spirit is a greater evil than any affliction let the affliction be what it will be We shall shew more afterward that a murmuring spirit is the evil of the evil and the misery of the misery Secondly The evil of murmuring is such that God when he would speak of wicked men and describe them and shew the brand of a wicked ungodly man or woman he instances in this sin in a more special manner I might name many Scriptures but that Scripture in Jude is a most remarkable one in the 14. verse and so forward there it is said That the Lord comes with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgement upon all and convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodlily committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly finners have spoken against him Mark here in this 15. verse there is four times mentioned ungodly ones All that are ungodly among them all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him This is in the general But now he comes in the particular to shew who these are these are saith he Murmurers that 's the very first Would you know who are ungodly men that God when he comes with ten thousand of Angels shall come to punish for all their ungodly deeds that they do and those that speak ungodly things against them These ungodly ones are Murmurers Murmurers in the Scripture are put in the fore front of ungodly ones it s a most dreadful Scripture that the Lord when he speaks of ungodly ones puts Murmurers in the very fore front of all you had need look to your spirits you may see that this Murmuring which is the vice contrary to this Contentment is not so small a matter as you think you think you are not so ungodly as others because you do not swear and drink as others do but you may be ungodly in Murmuring its true there is no sin but some seeds and remainers of it are in those that are godly but
when they are under the power of this sin of murmuring it doth convince them to be ungodly as well as if they were under the power of drunkenness or whoredom or any other sin God will look upon you as ungodly for this sin as well as for any sin whatsoever This one Scripture should make thy heart shake at the thought of the sin of Murmuring Thirdly As it s made a brand of ungodly men so you shal find in Scripture that God counts it rebellion that is contrary to the worship that there was in contentedness that is worshipping of God crouching to God falling down before him even as a dog that would crouch when you hold a staff over him but a Murmuring heart its a rebellious heart and that you shall find if you compare two Scriptures together they are both in the Book of Numb 16.41 But on the morrow saith the text all the congregation of the Children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron saying Ye have killed the people of the Lord They all murmured now compare this with Chap. 17. and verse 10. And the Lord said unto Moses Bring Aarons rod again before the testimony to be kept for a token against the Rebels In the 16. Chap. they murmured against Moses and Aaron and in the 17. Chap. bring the rod of Aaron again before the testimony for a token against the Rebels So that to be a Murmurer and to be a Rebel you see in Scripture phrase is all one it is a rebellion against God as it is the beginning of rebellion and sedition in a Kingdom when the people are discontent and when discontentment comes it grows to murmuring and you can go into no house almost but there is murmuring when men are discontent so that within a little while it breaks forth into sedition or rebellion Murmuring it's but as the smoak of the fire there is first a smoak and smother before the flame breaks forth and so before open rebellion in a Kingdom there is first a smoak of Murmuring and then it breaks forth into open rebellion but because it hath rebellion in the seeds of it therefore it is accounted before the Lord to be rebellion Wilt thou be a Rebel against God When thou feelest thy heart discontented and Murmuring against the dispensations of God towards thee thou shouldest check thy heart thus Oh thou wretched heart what wilt thou be a Rebel against God wilt thou rise in a way of rebellion against the infinite God yet thus thou hast done charge thy heart with this sin of rebellion you that are guilty of this sin of Murmuring you are this day by the Lord charged as being guilty of rebellion against him and God expects that when you go home you should humble your souls before him for this sin that you should charge your souls for being guilty of rebellion against God many of you may say I never thought that I had been a Rebel against God before I thought that I had many infirmities but now I see the Scripture speaks of sin in another manner than men do the Scripture makes men though but murmurers to be Rebels against God Oh this rebellious heart that I have against the Lord that hath manifested it's self in this way of murmuring against the Lord. That 's a third particular in the evil of discontentment A fourth particular in the evil of Discontentment It is a wickedness that is exceeding contrary to Grace and especially contrary to the work of God in bringing of the soul home to himself I know no distemper more opposite and contrary to the Work of God in conversion of a sinner than this is Quest What 's the work of God when he brings a sinner home to himself Answ The usual way is for God to make the soul to see and be sensible of the dreadful evil that there is in sin and the great breach that sin hath made between God and it for certainly Jesus Christ can never be known in his beauty and excellency till the soul know that I do not speak what secret work of the holy Ghost there may be in the soul but before the soul can actually apply Jesus Christ to its self it is impossible but it must come to know the evil of sin and the excellency of Jesus Christ there may be a seed of faith put into the soul but the soul must first know Christ and know sin and be made sensible of it Now how contrary is this sin of murmurring to any such work of God hath God made me see the dreadful evil of sin and made my soul to be sensible of the evil of sin as the greatest burden how can I then be so much troubled for every little affliction Certainly if I saw what the evil of sin was that sight would swallow up all other evils and if I were burdened with the evil of sin it would swallow up all other burdens what am I now murmuring against Gods hand saith such a soul when as a while ago the Lord made me see my self to be a damned wretch and apprehend it as a wonder that I am not in Hell 2. Yea It 's mighty contrary to the sight of the infinite excellency and glory of Jesus Christ and the things of the Gospel What am I that soul that the Lord hath discovered such infinite Excellency of Jesus Christ to and yet what shall I think such a little affliction to be so grievous to me when I have had the sight of such glory in Christ that is more worth than ten thousand worlds for so will a true convert say Oh! the Lord at such a time hath given me that sight of Christ that I would not be without for ten thousand thousand worlds but hath God given thee that and wilt thou be discontent for a trifle in comparison of that 3. A third work when God brings the soul home to himself it is By taking the heart off from the Creature the disingaging the heart from all Greature-comforts That is the Third work ordinarily that the soul may perceive of its self It 's true Gods Work may be altogether in the seeds in him but in the several actings of the soul in turning to God it may perceive these things in it the disingagement of the heart from the Creature that 's the calling off the soul from the world whom the Lord hath called he hath justified What 's the calling of the soul but this the soul that was before seeking for Contentment in the world and cleaving to the Creature now the Lord cals the soul out of the world and saith Oh soul thy happiness is not here thy rest is not here thy happiness is elsewhere and thy heart must be loosned from all these things that are here below in the world and this is the work of God in the soul to disingage the heart from the Creature and how contrary is a murmuring heart to such a thing a thing that is
a husband are the wives and though there are some husbands so vile as the wives may be forced to sue for maintenance certainly Jesus Christ will never deny maintenance to his Spouse it 's a dishonor for a Husband to have his Wife go whining up and down what thou art match'd with Christ and art his Spouse and wilt thou murmur now and be discontented in thy spirit You shall observe among those that are newly matched when there is discontent between the wife and the husband their friends will shake their heads and say they do not meet with that that they did expect ye see ever since they were married together how the man looks and the woman looks they are not so cheerily as they were wont to be surely say they it is like to prove an ill match But it s not so here it shall not be so between thee and Christ Oh Jesus Christ doth not love to see his Spouse to have a lowring countenance no man loves to see discontentment in the sace of his Wife surely Christ doth not love to see discontentment in the face of his Spouse 3. Thou standest in relation to Christ not onely as a Spouse but as a Member Thou art bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh and to have a Member of Jesus Christ to be in such a condition it s exceeding unworthy 4. He is thy Elder brother likewise and so thou art a Co-heir with him 5. The relation that thou standest in to the Spirit of God thou art the Temple of the holy Ghost the holy Ghost is thy Comforter it is he that is appointed to convey all comfort from the Father and the Son to the souls of his people And art thou the Temple of the holy Ghost and doth he dwell in thee and yet for all that thou murmurest for every little matter 6. The relation that thou standest in to the Angels thou art made one body with them for so Christ hath joyned principalities and powers with his Church they are Ministring Spirits for good to his people to supply what they need and thou and they are joyned together and Christ is the head of you and Angels 7. The relation that you stand in to the Saints you are of the same body with them they and you make up but one mystical body with Jesus Christ and if they be happy you must needs be happy On how beneath a Christian is a Murmuring spirit if he considers his relations in which he stands Secondly A Christian should consider That murmuring and discontentedness is below the high dignities that God hath put upon him Do but consider the high diguity that God hath put upon thee the meanest Christian in the world is a Lord of Heaven and Earth he hath made us Kings unto himself Kings unto God not Kings unto men to rule over them and yet I say every Christian is a Lord of Heaven and Earth yea of life and death That is As Christ he is a Lord of all so he hath made those that are his Members to be Lords of all All are yours saith the Apostle even life and death every thing is yours It s a very strange expression that death should be theirs Death is yours that is you are as it were Lords over it you have that that shall make death to be your servant your slave even death it self your greatest enemies are turned to be your slaves Faith makes a Christian to be as Lord over all to be lifted up in excellency above all creatures that ever God made except the Angels yea and in some respect above them I say the poorest Christian that lives is raised to an estate above all the Creatures in the world except Angels yea and above them in divers respect too and yet discontented that thou who wert as a firebrand of Hell and might have been scorching and velling and roaring there to all eternity yet that God should raise thee to have a higher excellency in thee than there is in all the works of Creation that ever he made except Angels and other Christians that are in thy condition yea and thou art neerer the Divine Nature than the Angels because thy nature is joyned in an hypostatical union to the Divine Nature and in that respect thy nature is more honored than the nature of the Angels And the death of Christ is thine he died for thee and not for the Angels and therefore thou art like to be raised above the Angels in divers respects yea thou art in such an estate as this is thou that art set apart to the end that God might man fest to all eternity what the infinite power of a Deity is able to raise a creature to for that 's the condition of a Saint a Believer his condition is such as he is set apart to the end that God might manifest to all eternity what his infinite power is able to do to make the creature happy art thou in such a condition Oh! how low and beneath this condition is a murmuring and discontented heart for want of some outward comforts here in this world How unseemly is it that thou shouldest be a slave to every cross that every affliction shall be able to say to thy soul Bow down to us We accounted that a great slavery when men would say to our souls Bow down As the cruel Prelates were wont to do in imposing things upon mens consciences they did in effect say Let your consciences your souls bow down to us that we may tread upon them that is the greatest slavery in the world that one man should say to another let your consciences your souls bow down that we may tread upon them but wilt thou suffer every affliction to say bow down that we may tread upon thee Truly it s so when thy heart is overcome with murmuring and discontent Know that those afflictions which have caused thee to murmur have said to thee Bow down that we may tread upon thee nay not afflictions but the very Devil doth prevail against you in this Oh! how beneath is this to the happy estate that God hath raised a Christian unto What! the son of a King shall he have every base fellow to come and bid him bow down that he may tread upon his neck thus doest thou in every affliction the affliction the cross and trouble that doth befall thee saith Bow down that we may come and tread upon thee Thirdly Murmuring its below the spirit of a Christian Below his Spirit the spirit of every Christian should be like the spirit of his father every father loves to see his spirit in his childe loves to see his Image not his Image of his body onely to say here 's a childe for all the world like the father but he hath the spirit of his father too a father that is a man of spirit Loves to see his spirit in his childe rather than the feature of his Body Oh the Lord that is
God hath had from his people and therefore not to be content with smaller crosses this must needs be a great evil The Sixth evil that there is in a murmuring spirit is this By murmuring you undo your prayers for it is exceeding contrary to the prayers you make unto God When you come to prayer to God you acknowledge his Soveraignty over you you come there to profess your selves to be at Gods dispose what do you pray for except you acknowledg that you are at his dispose except you will stand as it were at his dispose never come to petition to him if you will come to petition to him and yet will be your own carver you go cross to your prayers to come as if you would beg your bread at your Fathers gates every day and yet you must do what you list this is the undoing of the prayers of a Christian I remember I have read of Latimer that speaking concerning Peter that he denied his Master saith he Peter forgot his pater-noster for that was Hallowed be thy Name and thy Kingdom come So we may say when you have murmuring and discontented hearts you forget your prayers you forget what you have prayed for for you must make the Lords Prayer to be as a pattern for your Prayers though you say not alwayes the same words what do you pray but give us this day our daily bread for that 's Christs intention that we should have that as a pattern and is a directory as it were how to make your prayers now God doth not teach any of you to pray Lord give us so much a yeer or let me have such kind of cloth and so many dishes at my table Christ doth not teach you to pray so but he teaches us to pray Lord give us our bread shewing that you should be content with a little What have you not bread to eat I hope there 's none of you here but have that Obj. But I do not know if I should die what should become of my Children Or if I have bread now I know not where I shall have it the next week or where I shall have provision for the Winter Answ Where did Christ teach us to pray Lord give us provision for so long a time no but if we have bread for this day Christ would have us content Therefore when we murmur because we have not so much variety as others have we do as it were forget out Pater-noster It s against our prayers we do not in our lives hold forth the acknowledgement of the Soveraignty of God over us as we seem to acknowledge in our prayers therefore when at any time you find your hearts murmuring then do but reflect upon your selves and think thus Is this according to my prayers wherein I held forth the Soveraign Power and Authority that God hath over me The seventh thing that I adde for the evil of discontentment is The woful effects that comes to a discontented heart from murmuring I 'le name you five There are five evil effects that comes from a murmuring spirit 1. By murmuring and discontent in your hearts you come to lose a great deal of time How many times do men and women when they are discontented let their thoughts run and are musing and contriving through their present discontentedness then let their discontented thoughts be working in them for some hours together and they spend their time in vain When you are alone you should spend your time in holy meditation but you are spending your time in discontented thoughts you who complain that you cannot meditate you cannot think on good things but if you begin to think of them a little presently your thoughts are off from them but if you be discontented with any thing then you can go alone and muse and roll things up and down in your thoughts to feed a discontented humor Oh labor to see this evil effect of murmuring the losing of your time 2. It doth unfit a man for duty A man or woman that is in a contented frame you may turn such a one to any thing at any time he is fit for to go to God at any time but when one is in a discontented condition then a man or woman is exceeding unfit for the service of God And it causes many distractions in duty it unfits for duty and when you come to perform duties Oh the distractions that are in your duties when your spirits are discontented when you hear of any ill news from Sea and cannot bear it or of any ill from a friend or any loss or cross Oh what distractions do they cause in the performance of holy duties When you should be enjoying communion with God you are distracted in your thoughts about the cross that hath befallen you whereas had you but a quiet spirit though there should great crosses befall you yet they would never hinder you in the performance of any duty 3. Consider what wicked risings of heart and resolutions of spirit there are many times in a discontented fit In some discontented fits the heart rises against God and against others and sometimes hath even desperate resolutions what to do to help themselves If the Lord should have suffered you to have done sometimes in a discontented fit what you had thought to do what wonderful misery had you brought upon your selves Oh it was a mercy of God that did stop you had not God stopt you but let you go on when you thought to help your selves this way and the other way Oh it had been ill with you do you but remember those risings of heart and wicked resolutions that somtimes you have had in a discontented mood and learn to be humbled upon that 4. Vnthankfulness that 's an evil and a wicked effect that comes from discontent Unthankfulness the Scripture doth rank among very great sins For men and women that are discontent though they injoy many mercies from God yet they are thankful for none of them for this is the vile nature of discontentment to lessen every mercy of God to make those mercies they have from God to be as nothing to them because they have not what they would have Sometimes it s so even in spiritual things if they have not all they would have the comforts that they would have then what they have is nothing to them do you think that God will take this well If you should give a friend a kinsman a purse of money to go and trade withall and he should come and say What do you give me they are but a few counters they will do me no good you cannot bear this at his hand if he should do so because he hath not so much money as he would So for you to be ready to say All that God hath given me is nothing worth will do me no good they are but counters though they are precious Graces of Gods spirit that are more worth than thousands of worlds yet for
you to say they are nothing they are but common gifts and all is but in hypocrisie all counterfeit Oh! what an unthankful thing is this the Graces of Gods Spirit are nothing to a discontented heart that hath not all that it would have and so for outward blessings though God hath given you health of Body and strength and bath given you some competency for your family some way of lively-hood yet because you are disappointed in somewhat that you would have therefore all is nothing unto you Oh! what unthankfulness is here God expects that every day you should spend some time in blessing his Name for what mercy he hath granted unto you there 's not any one of you who are in the lowest condition but you have abundance of mercies to bless God for but discontentedness makes them nothing It s an excellent speech that I remember Luther hath saith he This is the Rhetorick of the Spirit of God its a very fine speech of his to extenuate evil things and to amplifie good things if there falls out a cross to make the cross to be but little but if there be a mercy to make the mercy to be great as thus If there be a cross if the Spirit of God prevails in the heart such a man or woman will wonder that it is no greater and will bless God that though there be such a cross yet that it is no more that 's the work of the Spirit of God and if there be a mercy wonders at Gods goodness that God granted so great a mercy The Spirit of God extenuates evils and crosses and doth magnifie and amplifie all mercies and makes all mercies seem to be great and all afflictions seem to be little But saith he the Devil goes quite contrary the Rhetorick of the Devil is quite otherwise he doth lessen Gods mercies and amplifie evil things as thus A godly man wonders at his cross that it is no more a wicked man wonders his cross is so much Oh saith he none was ever so afflicted as I am If there be a cross the Devil puts the soul upon musing on it and making it greater than it is and so it brings discontent And then on the other side if there be a mercy then its the Rhetorick of the Devil to lessen the mercy Indeed saith he the thing is a good thing but what is it It is no great matter and for all this I may be miserable Thus the Rhetorick of Satan doth lessen Gods mercies and doth encrease afflictions And for this I 'le give you a notable example that we have in Scripture it is the example of Korah Dathan and Abiram In Numb 16.12 13. And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eltab which said We will not come up Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a Land that floweth with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness except thou make thy self altogether a Prince over us Mark they slighted the Land that they were going into the Land of Canaan that was the Land that God promised them that should flow with milk and hony But mark here their discontentedness because they met with some troubles in the wilderness Oh it was to slay them they made their affliction in the wilderness to be greater than it was Oh it was to kill them though it were indeed to carry them to the Land of Canaan 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 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 indanger our selves to be brought into that bondage again Oh let us take heed of this of a discontented heart there is this woful 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 How many of you may have your consciences condemn you of this that you in the time of your afflictions have sought to shift for your selves by wayes that have been sinful against God and your discontent was the bottom and ground of it If you would avoid shiftings for your selves by wicked ways labor to mortifie this sin of discontent to mortifie it at the root The Eight evil that there is in murmuring and discontent is this There is a great deal of folly extream folly in a discontented heart it s a foolish sin I shall open the folly of it in many particulars 1. It takes away the present comfort of what you have because you have not somwhat that you would have What a foolish thing is this that because I have not what I would have I will not enjoy the comfort of what I have Do not you account this folly in your children you give them some victuals and they are not contented perhaps they say it s not enough they cry for more and if you do not presently give them more they will throw away that they have and though you account that folly in your Children yet you deal thus with God God gives you many mercies but you see others have more mercies than you
and see you in a murmuring discontented fit have cause to say Oh let us go and take the Censer let us go to prayer for we are afraid that wrath is gone out against this family against this person And it were a very good thing for thee that art a godly wise when you see your husband come home and fall to murmuring because things go not according to his desire to go to prayer and say Lord pardon the sin of my husband and so for the husband to go to God in prayer falling down and beseeching of him that wrath may not come out against his family for the murmuring of his wife And the truth is at this day there hath been at least lately as much murmuring in England as ever was and even in this very particular the plague is begun and this very judgement it doth come many times upon murmuring upon those that are so discontented in their families are always grumbling and murmuring at any thing that falls out amiss I say this text of Scripture in Numbers doth cleerly hold forth this That the Lord brings the Plague upon men for this sin of murmuring he doth it in Kingdoms and Families and upon particular persons Though we cannot always point out the particular sin that God brings this for yet this should be examined how far we are guilty of this sin of murmuring because the Scripture holds forth this so clearly that Moses when he did but hear that they murmured Do they murmur saith he Go forth quickly and seek to pacifie the anger of God For wrath is gone out and the plague is begun And 1 Cor. 10.10 there you have a notable example of Gods heavy displeasure against murmuring Neither murmur ye as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer Take heed of murmuring as some of them did he speaks of the people of Israel in the wilderness but saith he what came of it They were destroyed of the destroyer Now the destroyer is thought to be the fiery Serpents that were sent among them They murmured and God sent fiery Serpents to sting them What do you think that such a cross and affliction doth sting you Perhaps such an affliction is upon you and it seems to be grievous for the present What do you murmur and repine God hath greater crosses to bring upon you Those people that murmur for the want of outward comforts for want of water sometimes and for the want of bread they murmur but the Lord sends fiery Serpents among them I may say to a murmuring heart Wo to thee that Strivest with thy Maker Wo to that man that woman that strives against their Maker What doest thou else but strive against thy Maker Thy Maker hath the absolute dispose of thee and wilt thou strive against thy Maker What doth this murmuring discontented heart of thine do otherwise but wrangle and contend and strive even with God himself Oh wo to him that strives against his Maker I may further say to thee as God speaks to Job Job 38.1.2 When Job was impatient Now God spake saith the text out of the whirlwind and said who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge So doest thou speak against Gods ways and his providences that hath fallen out concerning thy estate and outward comforts who is this who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge Where 's that man or woman whose hearts are so bold and impudent as dare speak against the administration of Gods providence The tenth Evil of murmuring and discontent is this There 's a great curse of God upon it so far as it doth prevail in one that is wicked it hath the curse of God upon it In Psal 59.15 see there what the curse of God is upon wicked and ungodly men Let them wander up and down for meat and grudge if they be not satisfied That is the imprecation and curse upon wicked and ungodly men that if they be not satisfied they shall grudge when thou art not satisfied in thy desires and findest thy heart grudging against God apply this Scripture What is the curse of the wicked upon me This is the curse that is threatned upon wicked and ungodly ones That they shall grudge if they be not satisfied And in Deut. 28.67 There it 's threatned as a curse of God upon men that they cannot be content with their present condition But they shall say in the morning would God it were even and at even would God it were morning and so they lie tossing up and down and cannot be content with any condition that they are in because of the sore afflictions that be upon them and therefore it is further threatned as a curse upon them in the 34. vers That they should be mad for the sight of their eyes which they should see This is but the extremity of their discontentedness that is They shall be so discontented as they shall be even mad Many men and women in discontented moods are mad kind of people and though you may please your selves in such a mad kind of behavior yet know that it is a curse of God upon men to be given up to a kind of madness for evils that they-suppose are upon them and that they fear In the 47. vers there is a notable expression for to shew the curse of God upon murmuring hearts the Lord threatning the curses that shall be upon them saith he verse 45 46 and 47. The Curso shall pursue thee and they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder and upon thy seed for ever Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things God here threatens to bring his curse so upon them as to make them a wonder and a sign to others Why because they have not served the Lord with joyfulness of heart that may be added to that of the wrath of God upon men therefore God would bring such a curse upon them as would make them a wonder to all that were about them Oh how far art thou then that hast a murmuring heart from serving the Lord with joyfulness The eleventh evil of discontent and murmuring is this There is much of the spirit of Satan in a murmuring spirit The Devil is the most discontented creature that is in the world He is the proudest creature that is and the discontentedst creature and the most dejected creature Now therefore so much discontentment as thou hast so much of the spirit of Satan thou hast It was the unclean spirit that went up and down and found no rest so when a man or womans spirit hath no rest it is a sign that it hath much of the unclean spirit of the spirit of Satan And thou shouldest think this with thy self Oh Lord what have I the spirit of Satan upon me It is Satan that is the most discontented spirit that is and Oh! how much
of his spirit have I upon me that can find no rest at all Twelfthly Murmuring and discontent hath this evil in it There is an absolute necessity that thou shouldst have disquiet all the days of thy life As if a man that is in a great croud should complain that other folks touch him While we are in this world God hath so ordered things that afflictions must befal us and if we will complain and be discontented upon every cross and affliction we must complain and be discontent all the days of our lives Yea God in just judgement will let things fall out on purpose to vex those that have vexing spirits and discontented hearts and therefore there is a necessity that they should live disquiet all their days and men will not much care to disquiet those that are continually murmuring Oh they will have disquiet all their days Lastly There 's this dreadful evil in discontent and murmuring God may justly with draw his care of you and his protection over you seeing God cannot please you in his administrations We use to say so to discontented servants Nay if you be not pleased mend your selves when you will If you have a servant not content with his diet and wages and work you say Mend your selves So may God justly say to us we that profess our selves servants to him to be in his work and yet are discontented with this thing or that in Gods family God might justly say Mend your selves What if God should say to any of you If my care over you do not please you then take care of your selves if my protection over you will not please you then protect your selves Now all things that do befall you befall you through a providence of God and if you be those that belong to God there is a protection of God over you and a care of God Now if God should say Well you shall not have the benefit of my protection any longer and I will take no further care of you would not this be a most dreadful judgement of God from Heaven upon you Take heed what you do then in being discontent with Gods will towards you and indeed upon discontent this may befall you And this is the reason why many people though Gods protection hath bin very gracious over them for a time and they have thriven abundantly yet afterwards almost all that behold them may say that they live as if God had cast off his care over them and as if God did not care what befall them Now then my brethren put all these together all that we were speaking of the last day and these particulars that have been added now this morning for the setting out of a Murmuring and Discontented spirit Oh what an ugly face hath this sin of murmuring and discontentedness Oh what cause is there that we should lay our hands upon our hearts and go away and be humbled before the Lord because of this Whereas your thoughts were wont to be exercised about providing for your selves and getting more comforts to your selves let the stream of your thoughts now be turned to humble your selves for your discontentedness Oh that you may have your hearts break before God for otherwise you shall fall to it again Oh the wretchedness of mans heart You will find in Scripture concerning the people of Israel how strangely they fell to their murmuring again and again do but observe three texts of Scripture for that the first in the 15. of Exod. at the beginning there you shall have Moses and the Congregation singing to God and blessing God for his mercy Then sang Moses and the Children of Israel this song unto the Lord and spake saying I will sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the Sea And then The Lord is my strength and song and he is become my Salvation he is my God and I will prepare him an habitation my Fathers God and I will exalt him and so he goes on And who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods Who is like thee glorious in holiness fearful in praises doing wonders Thus their hearts triumphed in God but mark before the Chapter is ended in the 23. verse When they come to Marah in the same Chapter they could not drink of the waters of Marah for they were bitter therefore the name of it was called Marah and the people murmured against Moses After so great a mercy as this was what unthankfulness was there here in their murmuring Then God gave them water but in the very next Chapter they fell to their murmuring you read not that they were humbled for their former murmuring and therefore they murmur again Exod. 16.1 c. all the congregation of the Children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin c. And the whole Congregation in the second verse of the Children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness and the Children of Israel said unto them would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the Land of Egypt when we sat by the flesh-pots and when we did eat bread to the full Now they want flesh they wanted water before but now they want meat they fell to murmuring again they were not humbled for this murmuring against God neither when God gave them flesh according to their defires but they fell to murmuring again they wanted somewhat else In the very next Chapter they went not far in the 17. of Exod. beginning And all the Congregation of the Children of Israel journyed from the wilderness of Sin and pitched in Rephadim and there was no water for the people to drink Then in the second verse Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said Give us water that we may drink and Moses said unto them Why chide you with me wherefore do you tempt the Lord And in the third verse And the people thirsted there for water and the people murmured against Moses and said wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our Children and our Cattel with thirst So one time after another still as soon as ever they had received the mercy then they were a little quieted but they were not humbled I bring these Scriptures for this to shew That if we have not been humbled for murmuring the next cross that we meet withal we will fall to murmuring again There are divers Aggravations of this sin of Murmuring I 'le mention but one now and I shall but begin that The first Aggravation is this To murmur when we enjoy abundance of mercy the greater and the more abundant the mercy is that we enjoy the greater and the viler is the sin of murmuring As here now when God had newly delivered them out of the house of bondage for them now to murmur because they want some few particulars that they desire Oh to sin against God after a
great mercy this is a great aggravation and a most abominable thing Now my brethren the Lord hath granted us very great mercies I 'le but speak a word of what God hath done of late what mercies hath the Lord granted to us this Summer heaped mercies upon us one mercy upon another What a condition were we in at the beginning of this Summer And what a different condition are we in now Oh what a mercy is it that the Lord hath not taken advantages against us that he hath not made those Scriptures before mentioned good upon us for all our murmuring the Lord hath gone on with one mercy after another We hear of mercy in Bristol and mercy to our brethren in Scotland But still if after this we should have any thing befall us that is but cross to us that we should be ready to murmur again presently Oh let us not so require God for those mercies of his Oh let us take heed of giving God any ill requital for his mercies Oh give God praise according to his excellent greatness to his excellent goodness and grace And now Hath God given to you the Contentment of your hearts Take you heed of being the cause of any grief to your Brethren think not that because God hath been gracious unto you that therefore he hath given you liberty for to bring them into bondage Oh let not there be such an ill effect of Gods mercy to you as for you to exclude by petitioning or any other way your Brethren that the Lord hath been pleased to make Iustruments of your peace let not that be the fruit of it nor to desire any thing that your selves do not yet understand God is very jealous of the glory of his mercy and if there should be an ill use made of the mercy of God after we enjoy it Oh it would go to the heart of God! nothing is more grievous to the heart of God than the abuse of mercy As now if any way that is hard and rigid should be taken towards our Brethren and those especially that God hath made such special instruments of good to us that have been willing to venture their lives and all for us now when we have our turns served let God and his People and Servants that have been a means to save us shift for themselves as well as they can Oh! this is a great aggravation of your sin to sin against the mercies of God But for this Aggravation and especially in this particular we shall speak to God willing the next day SERMON IX at Stepney Sept. 21. 1645. PHIL. 4.11 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content NOW because it is very hard to work upon a murmuring spirit there are divers Aggravations I told you we are to consider of for the further letting out of the greatness of this sin I mentioned but only one the last day now we shall proceed in that The first Aggravation of the sin of discontent and murmuring is this For men and women to be discontent in the midst of mercies in enjoyment of abundance of mercies To be discontent in any afflicted condition is sinful and evil but to be discontent when we are in the midst of Gods mercies when we are not able to count the mercies of God yet after to be discontent because we have not all we would have this is a greater evil I onely mentioned this the last day that I might shew to you what a great sin it is at such a time as this The Lord this Summer hath multiplied mercies one upon another the Lord hath made this Summer to be a continual miracle of mercy never did a Kingdom enjoy in so little space of time such mercies one upon another Now the publick mercies of God should quiet our hearts and keep us from discontent and the sin of discontent for private afflictions is exceedingly aggravated by the consideration of publick mercies to the Land When the Lord hath been so merciful to the land wilt thou be fretting and murmuring because thou hast not in thy family all the comforts that thou wouldst have As it is a great aggravation of a mans evil of him to rejoyce immoderately in his own private comforts when the Church is in affliction when the publick suffers grievous and hard troubles if any man shall then rejoyce and give liberty to himself at that time to satisfie his flesh to the uttermost in all outward comforts this is a great aggravation of his Sin So on the contrary for any man to be immoderately troubled for any private affliction when it goes well with the publick with the Churches this is a great aggravation of his sin It may be when the Church of God was lowest and it went worse in other parts yet thou didst abate nothing of the comfort of thy flesh but gavest full liberty to satisfie thy flesh as formerly know this was thy great sin so on the other side when we have received such mercies in publick we should have all our private afflictions swallowed up in the publick mercies and we should think with our selves though we be afflicted for our particular yet blessed be God it goes well with the Church and with the publick the consideration of that should mightily quiet our hearts in all our private discontents and if it doth not so know that our sin is much encreased by the mercies of God that are abroad Now shall Gods mercies aggravate our sins This is a sad thing this is to turn the mercies of God to be our misery Didst not thou pray to God for these mercies that God hath sent of late to the publick these great victories that God hath given didst not thou pray for them now thou hast them Is not there enough in them to quiet thy heart for some private trouble thou meetest withall in thy family Is not there goodness enough there to cure thy discontentment Certainly they were not such mercies so worthy to be prayed for except they have so much excellency in them as to countervail some private afflictions Publick mercies are the aggravations of private discontent also of publick discontent too if we receive so many publick mercies yet if every thing goes not in the publick according as we desire if we be discontent at that it will exceedingly aggravate our sin God may say What shall I bestow such mercies upon a people and yet if they have not every thing they would have they will be discontent Oh! its exceeding evil So in particular the mercies that concerns thy self thy family if thou wouldest consider thou hast a great many more mercies than thou hadst afflictions I dare boldly aver it concerning any one in this Congregation suppose thy afflictions to be what they will there is never a one of you but that have more mercies than afflictions Object You will say I but you do not know what our afflictions are our afflictions are so as you do
not conceive of them because you feel them not Answ Though I cannot know what your afflictions are yet I know what your mercies are and I know they are so great as I am sure there can be no affliction in this world so great as the mercies you have If it were but this mercy That you have this day of grace and salvation continued to you it s a greater mercy than any affliction set any affliction by this mercy and see which would weigh heaviest this is certainly greater than any affliction that you have the day of grace and salvation that you are not now in Hell this is a greater mercy that you have the sound of the Gospel yet in your ears that you have the use of your reason this is a greater mercy than your afflictions that you have the use of your limbs your senses that you have the health of your bodies health of body is a greater mercy than poverty is an affliction there is no man that is rich but if he be wise if he hath a sickly body he would part with all his riches that he might have his health therefore thy mercies are more than thy afflictions We find in Scripture how the holy Ghost doth aggravate the sin of discontent from the consideration of mercies you have a notable Scripture for it in the 16. of Numb 8. verse c. It s a speech of Moses to Korah and his company when they murmured And Moses said unto Korah Hear I pray you ye sons of Levi there 's somewhat that you are sons of Levy Seemeth it but a small thing unto you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the Congregation of Israel to bring you neer to himself to do the service of the Tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the Congregation to minister unto them Korah and his company were murmuring but mark how Moses aggravates this Seemeth it a small thing unto you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the Congregation of Israel to bring you neer to himself to do the service of the Tabernacle of the Lord c. You see 't is a great honor that God puts upon a man a great mercy that he doth bestow upon any man to separate him from others for himself to come neer to him to imploy him in the service of the Tabernacle to minister to the Congregation in holy things this is a great mercy and indeed it 's such a mercy as one would think there should be none that God bestows such a mercy upon that should have a murmuring heart for any affliction It s true many Ministers of God they meet with hard things that might discourage them and trouble and grieve their spirits but now this consideration that God is pleased to imploy them in such a service neer to himself that though they cannot do good to themselves yet they may do good to others this should quiet them And yet in vers 10. And he hath brought thee neer to him and all thy Brethren the sons of Levi with thee and seek ye the Priest hood also Have not you enough already but still you are discontented with what you have and must have more seck ye yet more Seek ye the Priesthood also for which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord And what is Aaron that ye murmur against him What hath God given you such things and yet will you be murmuring because you cannot have more Methinks that this place should keep Ministers from murmuring though they should meet with never such afflictions and crosses and unkind dealings from men yet still they should go on with hearts quieted and comforted in the work that God hath set them about and labour to countervail all their afflictions by being more abundant in the work of the Lord. That is the first text of Scripture that shews how the mercies we enjoy are Aggravations to the sin of murmuring And then a second Scripture is in the 2. of Job vers 10. A speech of Job to his wife what saith Job when his wife would have had him curse God and dye that was a degree beyond murmuring why saith he Thou speakest as one of the foolish women shall we receive good at the hand of God and not evil you see Job did help himself against all murmuring thoughts against the ways of God with this consideration That he had received so much good from the Lord what though we receive evil yet do not we receive good as well as evil let us set one against the other that 's the way we should go In the 17. of Ecclesiastes the 14. verse you have a notable Scripture there whereby you may see what course is to be taken when the heart rises in murmuring In the day of prosperity be joyful but in the day of Adversity consider what should they consider mark what follows God also hath set the one over against the other to the end that man should find nothing after him God also hath set the one over against the other that 's thus When thou art in prosperity then indeed every man can be joyful but what if afflictions befalls him what then then consider Consider what That God hath set one over against the other thou hast a great deal of affliction and thou hast had a great deal of prosperity thou hast many troubles and thou hast had many mercies make one column of mercies and one column of afflictions and write one against the other and see if God hath not fil'd one column as full as the other you look altogether upon your afflictions but look upon your mercies also for instance It may be God hath afflicted you in one childe but he hath been merciful to you in another childe set one against the other God afflicted David in Absalom but he was merciful to David in Solomon and therefore when David cryed our Oh Absalom my Son my Son If David had thought upon Solomon and cryed Oh Solomon my son my son it would have quieted him 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 A second Aggravation of the sin of murmuring is When we murmur for small things Saith Naamans servant to him Father for so he called him if the Prophet had required you to do some great thing would not you have done it how much more this little thing So I say if the Lord had required you to suffer some great matter would not you have been willing to suffer How much more this little thing I remember I have read in Seneca a Heathen he hath this similitude which is a very fine one to set out the great evil of murmuring upon smaller afflictions saith he Suppose a man hath a very fair house to dwell in and he hath fair Orchards and Gardens and set about with brave tall Trees for ornament if this man now should murmur because the wind blows off a few leaves off his Trees what a most unreasonable thing were it for him to be weeping and wringing his hands because he loses a few leaves off his Trees when he hath abundance of all kind of fruit Thus it is with many saith he though they have a great many comforts about them yet some little matter the blowing off of a few leaves from them is enough to disquiet them It was a great evil when Ahab having a Kingdom yet the want of his neighbors Vineyard had such power to disquiet him So for us to murmur not because we have not such a thing as we have need of but because we have not what possibly we might have this is a very great sin Suppose God gives a childe that hath all the Limbs and parts compleat a Childe that is very comely and hath excellent parts wit and memory but it may be there is a wart that grows upon the finger of the childe and she murmurs at it and Oh what an affliction is this to her she is so taken up with that as she forgets to give any thanks to God for her Childe and all the goodness of God to her in the Childe is swallowed up in that would not you say this were a folly and a great evil in a woman so to do Truely our afflictions if we weighed them aright they are but such kind of things in comparison of our mercies Rebeckah she had a mighty desire to have children but because she found some trouble in her body when she was with childe saith she Why am I thus As if she should say I had as good have none onely because she found a little pain and trouble in her body To be discontent when the affliction is small and little that encreases very much the sin of murmuring it is too much for any one to murmur upon the heaviest cross that can befal one in this world but upon some small things to be discontent and murmur that 's worse I have read of one that when he lay upon a heap of Damas Roses he complained there was one of the Rose leaves lay double under him So we are ready thus for very small things to make complaints and be discontented with our condition And that 's the second Aggravation A third Aggravation is this For men that are of parts and abilities to whom God hath given wisdom for them to be discontent and murmur that 's more than if others do it Murmuring and discontentedness is too much in the weakest yet we can bear with it sometimes in Children and Women that are weak but for those that are Men Men of understanding that have wisdom that God imploys in publick service that they should be discontent with every thing this is an exceeding great evil for men in their families to whom God hath given parts and wisdom when things fall out amiss there to be always murmuring and repining their sin is greater than for women and children to do it A Fourth aggravation is The consideration of the freeness of all Gods Mercies to us What ever we have it is of free-cost what though we have not all we would have seeing what we have is free If what we have were earned then it were somewhat but when we consider that all is from God for us to murmur at his dispensations is very evil Suppose a man were in a family entertained by a friend and he did not pay for his board but he hath it given him for nothing it s expected such a one should not be ready to find fault with every thing in the house with servants or with meat at table or the like if such a one that hath plentiful provision and all given him gratis and pays nothing for his diet should be discontented if a Cup should not be filled for him as he would have it or if he should stay a minute of an hour longer for a thing than he would this we would account a great evil So it is with us we are at Gods Table every day and it is upon free cost whatever we have It is accounted very unmannerly for a man at his friends table to find fault with things though at home he may be bold Now when we are at the table of God for so all Gods administrations to us are his table and are at free-cost now for us to be finding fault and be discontented this is a great Aggravation of our sin A Fifth Aggravation of the sin of murmuring is this When men and women murmur and are discontented and impatient when they have the things that they were discontented for the want of before they had them So it is sometimes with children they will cry for such a thing and when you give it them they throw it away they are as much discontented as they were before So it was with the people
of Israel nothing would quiet them but they must have a King Samuel perswaded them to the contrary and told them what kind of King they should have and when they had a King in Hos 10.3 What shall a King do to us they were not contented when they had one So Rachel she must have children or else she died and when she had a little trouble she was discontented too so that we are neither well full nor fasting as we use to say The sixth aggravation of the sin of murmuring is this For those men and women to be discontent and murmur that God hath raised from mean and low estates and conditions This is a very great aggravation if thou be discontent now There was a time when thou wert low enough and perhaps when thou wert so low then thou did'st say O if God would deliver me from such an affliction or give me but a little more in my estate I should think my self in a good condition but if God by his providence doth raise thee thou art as greedy of more still as thou wert before and as much discontented as thou wert before this is an evil thing for people that had mean breeding and poor beginning for them to be so nice and dainty that nothing can please them whereas there was a time not long since that they were low and mean enough But it is very ordinary for those that are raised from a low and mean condition to be the more nice and dainty and more proud when they are raised than others that are of better breeding It s too much for a childe to be discontented in his fathers house but if a man hath taken a poor begger boy if you had taken such a one into your house that lay begging at your door and set him at your own table could you bear that such a one should complain that such a thing is not well drest or the like you could not bear it if your children should do it but you could bear it a great deal better with them than to hear such a one do it but thou art a poor beggar and God hath as it were taken thee into his great Family and if the Lord hath been pleased to raise thee higher that now thou hast a competency that thou mayest live as a man to be of use and service in the place where God hath set thee now wilt thou be discontent because thou hast not every thing that thou desirest we know the Prodigal when he came to imself Oh! saith he In my fathers house is bread enough He did not say there 's good chear enough and a great deal of dainties no he thought of nothing but bread there 's bread enough So its ordinary for men and women when they are in a low condition they think that if they may have bread any competency they will be contented and bless God but when they have their bread and things convenient they must have more or else they are not contented know that this is an exceeding great aggravation to thy discontentment when you are raised from a very low condition and yet you cannot be contented with what you have A seventh aggravation of this sin is this For them to be discontent that have been very great sinners and ungodly in their former time For men and women that have much guiltiness upon them the guilt of very many sins upon them that have provok'd God exceedingly against them and have brought themselves in a most dreadful manner under the sentence of Gods Justice and yet God being pleased to reprieve them for them to murmur and to be discontent with Gods administrations towards them this is exceeding evil Oh it were consideration enough to quiet any murmuring in our hearts to think thus We are but sinners why should not we be sufferers that are sinners But then consider we that are such great sinners guilty of such notorious sins that it is a wonder that we are out of Hell at this present yet for us to be discontent and murmur how exceedingly doth this encrease our sins Consider how we have crossed God in our sins then if God should cross us in the way of our sufferings should not we sit down quiet without murmuring Certainly thou never knewest what it was to be humbled for thy manifold sins that art discontented at any administration of God towards thee The Eight Aggravation of the sin of murmuring is For those men that are of little use in the world for them to be discontented If you have but a beast that you make much use of you will feed it well but if you have but little use of him then you turn him into the Commons little provision serves his turn because you make not use of him If we liv'd so as to be exceeding useful to God and his Church we might expect that God would be pleased to come in in some encouraging way to us but when our consciences tell us we live and do but little service for God what if God should turn us upon the Commons yet we are fed according to our work according to our imployment Why should any creature be serviceable to thee who art so little serviceable to God This one meditation would much help us to think I am discontent because such and such Creatures are not serviceable to me but why should I expect that they should be serviceable to me when I am not serviceable to God And that 's the Eight Aggravation A Ninth Aggravation of the sin of murmuring is this For us to be discontent at that time when God is to humble us It should be the care of a Christian to observe what are Gods ways towards him what is God about to do with me at this time Is God about to raise me to comfort me Let me close with Gods goodness and bless his Name let me joyn with the work of God when he offers mercy to me to take the mercy he offers But again Is God about to humble me Is God about to break my heart and to bring my heart down to him Let me joyn with God in this work of his this is for a Christian to walk with God It is said that Enoch and Noah walked with God walked with God what 's that That is To observe what is the work of God that God is now about and to joyn with God in that work of his so that according as God turns this way or that way the heart should turn with God and have suitable workings unto the workings of God towards him Now then I am discontented and murmure because I am afflicted Therefore thou art afflicted because God would humble thee and the great design that God hath in afflicting of thee is To break and humble thy heart And wilt thou now maintain a spirit quite opposite to the Work of God for thee to murmure and be discontented is to resist the Work of God God is doing thee good
to that I answer thus First it is a very evil thing for men and women upon their affliction to conclude that God is departed from them it may be when it comes to be examined there is no other reason why thou thinkest that God is withdrawn and departed but because he doth afflict thee now for thee to make such a conclusion that every time God lays an affliction upon thee he is departed this is a sinful distemper of thy heart and is very dishonorable to God and grievous to his Spirit In the 17. of Exod. 7. vers you may see how God was displeased there with such a kind of distemper as this is And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the chiding of the children of Israel and because they tempted the Lord saying Is the Lord amongst us or not Mark they did murmure because they were brought into afflictions but see what the text saith therefore the place was called Massah and Meribah because they tempted the Lord saying Is the Lord amongst us or not This was to tempt God Sometimes we are afraid God is departed from us and it is meerly because we are afflicted I beseech you observe that Scripture God calls it a tempting of him when he afflicts any for them to conclude and say that God is departed from them If a Childe should cry out of his Father and say that his father is turned to be an enemy to him because he doth correct him this would be taken ill I beseech you consider of this one place it may be of very great use to you that you may not be ready to think that God is departed because you are afflicted Secondly If God be departed the greatest sign of Gods departing is because you are so disquiet you make your disquiet to be the fruit of Gods departing and if it comes to be examined your disquiet is the cause of Gods departing from you if you could but cure your disquiet if you could but quiet your own hearts and get them into a better frame of contentedness under Gods hand in afflicting of you then you would find Gods presence with you Will you be thus disquiet till God comes again to you your disquiet drives him from you and you can never expect Gods coming to manifest himself comfortably to your souls till you have gotten your hearts quiet under your afflictions and therefore here you see how crosly you reason you reason I am disquiet because God is gone when the truth is God is gone because thou art disquiet reason but the other way Oh my disquiet hath driven God from me and therefore as ever I would have the presence of God to come again to me let my heart be quiet under the hand of God Thirdly Doest thou find God departing from thee in thine affliction Wilt thou therefore depart from God too Is this thy help Canst thou help thy self that way Because God is gone wilt thou go too Do I indeed feel God departing from me It may be it is so it may be God for thy tryal is departed a little from thee and is it so indeed What unwise course do I take I commit further sin and so I go further off from God what a case am I in God goes from me and I from God if the childe sees the mother going from it it 's not for the childe to say my mother is gone yonder and I will go the other way no but the childe goes crying after the Mother and so should the soul say I see the Lord is withdrawing his presence from me and now it is best for me to make after the Lord with all my might and I am sure this murmuring humor is not a making after God but by this I go further and further off from God and what a distance is there like to be between God and me within a little while These are some of the Reasonings and Pleas of a murmuring and discontented heart There are many others that we shall meet withall and endeavour to speak to your hearts in them that so this tough humor of discontent may as it were be cut with the Word and softened with the Word that so it may pass away for that 's the way of Physitians when they meet with a body that hath any tough humor then they give that that hath a piercing quality when there is a tough humor that stops the water that it cannot pass they give that that hath a piercing quality that may make passage for it and so thou hast need of such things that are piercing to make way through this tough humor that is in the spirits of men and women whereby they come to live very uncomfortably to themselves and others and very dishonourably unto God SERMON X. at Stepney Sept. 21. 1645. PHIL. 4.11 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content NOW there are many Pleas and Reasonings yet remain for there 's a great deal of do with a discontented murmuring heart And I remember I find that the same Hebrew word that signifies to lodge to abide it signifies to murmure they use one word for both for murmuring is a distemper that doth lodge in men where it gets in once it lodgeth abideth and continueth and therefore that we may unlodge it and get it out we will labour to shew what are the further Reasonings of a discontented heart The Fourth PLEA Methinks I could be content with Gods hand saith one so far as I see the hand of God in a thing I can be content but when men deal so unreasonably and unjustly with me I know not how to bear that I can bear it that I should be in Gods hands but not in the hands of men my friends or acquaintance when they deal so unrighteously with me Oh this goes very hard unto me that I know not how to bear it from men For the taking away of this reasoning first Though they be men that bring this cross upon you yet they are Gods Instruments God hath a hand in it and they can go no further than God would have them go This was that that quieted David when Shimei curst him saith he God hath a hand in it though Shimei be a wicked vile man yet I look beyond him to God So Is there any of your friends that deal injuriously with you and cross with you look up to God and see that man but as an instrument in Gods hands Secondly If this be your trouble that men do so wrong you you are rather to turn your hearts to pity them than to murmure or be discontented for the truth is if you be wronged by other men you have the better of it For it is better to bear wrong than to do wrong a great deal If they wrong you if your heart can submit you are in a better condition than they because it 's better to suffer than do wrong I remember it is said
of Socrates that being very patient when wrong was done to him they asked him how he came to be so Saith he If I meet with a man in the street that is a diseased man shall I be vexed and fretted with him because he is diseased Those that wrong me I look upon them as diseased men and therefore pity them Thirdly Though you meet with hard dealings from men yet you meet with nothing but kind good and righteous dealing from God When you meet with unrighteous dealings from them set one against another And that 's for the Answer to the Fourth Plea The Fifth PLEA Oh! but that affliction that comes upon me is an affliction that I never lookt for I never thought to have met with such an affliction and that 's that I know not how to bear that 's that which makes my heart so disquiet because was altogether unlookt for and unexpected For Answer to this First It is thy weakness and folly that thou didst not look for it and expect it In Acts 20.22 23. see what Saint Paul saith concerning himself And now behold I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem not knowing the things that shall befal me there save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every City saying That bonds and afflictions abide me It 's true saith he I know not the particular affliction that may befal me but this I know that the Spirit of God witnesseth That bonds and afflictions shall abide me every where I look for nothing else but bonds and afflictions wheresoever I go so a Christian should do he should look for afflictions wheresoever he is in all conditions he should look to meet with afflictions and therefore if any affliction should befall him though indeed he could not fore-see the particular evil yet he should think this is no more than I lookt for in the general Therefore no affliction should come unexpectedly to a Christian A second answer I shall give is this Is it unexpected then the less provision thou madest for it before it came the more careful shouldest thou be to sanctifie Gods Name in it now it is come It is in this case of afflictions as in mercies many times mercy comes unexpected and that might be a third Answer to you set one against the other I have many mercies that I never lookt for as well as afflictions that I never lookt for why should not one rejoyce me as well as the other disturb me As it is in mercies when they come unexpected the less preparation there was in me for receiving mercy the more need I have to be carefull now to give God the glory of the mercy and to sanctifie Gods Name in the enjoyment of the mercy Oh so it should be with us now we have had mercies this Summer that we never expected and therefore we were not prepared for them now we should be so much the more careful to give God the glory of them so when afflictions come that we did not expect then it seems we laid not in for them before-hand we had need be the more careful to sanctifie Gods Name in them we should have spent some pains before to prepare for afflictions and we did not then take so much the more pains to sanctifie God in this affliction now And that 's a fifth reasoning The Sixth PLEA Oh! but it is very great mine affliction it is exceeding great saith one and however you say we must be contented it 's true you may say so that feel not such great afflictions but if you felt my affliction that I feel you would think it hard to bear and be content To that I answer Let it be as great an affliction as it will it is not so great as thy sin He hath punished thee less than thy sins Secondly It might have been a great deal more thou mightest have been in Hell And it is as I remember Bernards speech saith he It is an eafier matter to be opprest than perish Thou mightest have been in Hell and therefore the greatness of the thing should not make thee murmure grant it be great Thirdly It may be 't is the greater because thy heart doth so murmure for shackles upon a mans legs if his legs be sore it will pain him the more if the shoulder be sore the burden is the greater It is because thy heart is so unsound that thy affliction is great unto thee and that is the sixth Reasoning The seventh PLEA But howsoever you may lessen my affliction yet I am sure it is far greater than the afflictions of others First It may be it is thy discontent that makes it greater when indeed it is not so in its self Secondly If it were greater than others why is thy eye evil because the eye of God is good why shouldest thou be discontented the more because God is gracious to others Thirdly Is thy affliction greater than others Then in this thou hast an opportunity to honor God more than others So thou shouldst consider Doth God afflict mee more than other men God gives me an opportunity in this to honor him in this affliction more than other men to exercise more grace than other men let me labour to do it then Fourthly If all afflictions were laid upon a heap together It 's a notable expression of Solon that wise Heathen saith he Suppose all the afflictions that are in the World were laid upon an heap and every man should come and take a proportion of those afflictions every one equally there is scarce any man but would rather say Let me have the afflictions that I had before or else he were like to come to a greater share a greater affliction if so be he should equally share with the whole world Now for you that are poor that are not in extremity of poverty if all the riches in the world were laid together and you should have an equal share you would be poorer but take all afflictions and sorrows whatsoever if all the sorrows in the world were laid together in a heap and you had but an equal share of them your portion would be rather more than it is now for the present and therefore do not complain that it is more than others so as to murmure because of that The Eighth PLEA Another Reasoning that murmuring hearts have is this why they think that if the affliction were any other than it is then they would be more contented First You must know that we are not to chuse our own rod that God shall beat us with Secondly It may be if it were any other than it is it were not so fit for thee as this is it may be therefore God chuses it because it is most cross to thee as seeing it most suitable for the purging out of that humour that is in thee If a Patient comes to take Physick and finds himself sick by it shall he say Oh! if it were any other potion I could bear it it may
for poverty Have I health now I should prepare for sickness Have I liberty let me prepare my self for imprisonment What know I what God may call me to Have I comfort and peace now in my conscience Doth God shine upon me While I have this let me prepare for Gods withdrawing from me Am I delivered from temptations Let me prepare now for the time of temptations If thou wouldest do so the change of thy condition would not be so grievous to thee Marriners that are in a calm will prepare for storms would they say if we never had calms we would bear storms But now we have had calms so many years or weeks together this is grievous In thy calm thou art to prepare for storms and the storm would be less thou shouldest reason quite contrary and say Now I am in an afflicted condition Oh but blessed be God I was in a comfortable condition and blessed be God that he was afore-hand with me in the ways of his mercy this one consideration may help murmuring hearts Dost thou murmure because once thou wert better Know God was before-hand with thee in the ways of mercy thou shouldest rather think thus I have lived for these many years forty years perhaps or more in a comfortable condition I have lived in health and peace and plenty what though the remaining part of my time hath some sorrow and affliction The Lord hath granted to me a comfortable sun-shine all the day long till towards evening and what if at seven or eight a clock at night it begins to rain Let me thank God I have had so fair weather all day You that are going a voyage if you have a comfortable wind and very fair for many moneths together what if you have a little storm when you are within sight of land will you murmure and repine Oh no but rather bless God that you have had such a comfortable voyage so long Oh this consideration would help us all If it were so that now God should say Well You shall never see comfortable day more for outward things in this world Oh then you have cause to fall down and bless Gods Name that you have had so many comfortable daies now you reason quite contrary whereas you should bless God that you have had so much comfort you make what you have had before to be an aggravation of your afflictions now and so murmure and are discontented That which God gave you before upon what terms did you hold it Did you hold it so as you have in your writings To have and to hold for ever God gives no such thing God gives to no man I say any thing but grace to run upon that tenour there 's no such thing in all Gods writings for any outward comforts To have and to hold for you and your heirs indeed for grace he doth give it to your selves To have and to hold for ever though not for every one that comes out of your Loyns to have and to hold for ever God doth not give any outward thing so upon any such tenour as that is if God gives me an understanding of himself and faith and humility and love and patience and such graces of his spirit he gives them me for ever if he gives me himself and his Christ and his Promise and his Covenant he gives me them for ever what am I therefore that the Sun should always shine upon me that I must have fair weather all my days That which God gives to me he gave it to me as a pledge of his love let me return in to him as a pledge of my obedience there 's all the reason in the world for it all that a godly man receives from God he receives it as a pledge of Gods love to him therefore when he comes into an afflicted condition saith God Return to me as a pledge of your obedience that you had from me as a pledge of my love we should cheerfully come in to God and bless God that we have any thing to render unto him as a pledge of our obedience and say O it is thy love O Lord that hath given us any thing that doth enable us to render a pledge of our obedience to thee When God calls for thy estate or any comforts that thou hast God calls for it as a pledge of thy obedience to him The Twelfth PLEA Another reasoning of a murmuring heart is this Oh but after I have taken a great deal of pains for such a comfort yet then I am crost in it after a great deal of labour and pains that I have taken now to be crost Oh this goes very hard First I answer The greater cross the more obedience and submission Secondly When thou didst take a great deal of pains was it not with submission to God Didst thou take pains with resolutions that thou must have such a thing when thou labourest for it Then know that thou labourest not as a Christian but if thou didst labour and take pains was it not with resignation to God Lord I am taking pains in the way of my calling but with submission I depend wholly upon thee for success and a blessing And what was it that thou didst aim at in thy labour Was it not that thou mightest walk with God in the place that God hath set thee A Christian should do so in his outward calling I am diligent in my outward calling but it is that I might obey God in it it 's true I do it that I might provide for my family but the chief thing that I aim at is That I might yield obedience to God in the way that God hath set me Now if God calls thee to another condition to obey him in though it be by suffering thou wilt do it if thy heart be right Thirdly There will be the more Testimony of thy love to God if so be thou shalt now yield up thy self to God in that that cost thee dear Shall I offer that to God saith David that cost me nothing Thy outward comforts hath cost thee much and thou hast taken much pains to obtain them and now if thou canst submit to God in the want of them I say in this thy love is the more shown that thou canst offer that to God that cost thee dear Now these are the principal reasonings of a discontented heart The Thirteenth PLEA There 's one Plea more that may be named and that is this say some Though I confess my affliction is somewhat hard and I feel some trouble within me yet I thank God I break not out in discontented ways to the dishonor of God I keep in although I have much ado with my own heart Oh! do not satisfie your selves with that for the distempers of your hearts and their sinful workings are as words before God My soul be silent to God That we spake of in the beginning of the opening of this Scripture it is not enough for thy tongue to be
But now this lesson of Christian Contentment it is as hard and perhaps you may be many years in learning it I am afraid there be some Christians that have not yet learned Not to offend grosly with their tongues The Scripture saith All a mans Religion is vain if he cannot bridle his tongue therefore those that make any profession of godliness one would think they should quickly learn this lesson such a lesson that except learned it makes all their Religion vain But for this Lesson of Christian Contentment it may take up more time to learn and there 's many that are learning it all the daies of their lives and yet are not Proficients but God forbid that it should be said of any of us concerning this Lesson as the Apostle saith of Widows in Timothy That they were ever learning and never came to the knowledge of the truth Oh let us not be ever learning this lesson of Contentment and yet never come to have skill in it You would think it much if you had used the Sea twenty years and yet to have attained to no skill in your Art of Navigation you will say I have used the Sea 20 or 30 years and I hope I may know by this time what belongs to Sea Oh that you would but say so in respect of the Art of Christianity When there is any thing that 's spoken concerning the duty of a Christian Oh that Christians could but say I have been a Christian thus long and I hope I am not to seek in such a thing that is so necessary for a Christian here is a necessary lesson for a Christian that Paul said He had learned in all estates therewith to be content Oh! be not content with your selves till you have learned this lesson of Christian Contentment gotten some better skill in it than heretofore Now there is in the text another Lesson which is a hard Lesson I have learned to abound that doth not so neerly concern us at this time because the times are afflictive times and there is now more than ordinary an uncertainty in all things in the world in such times as these are there are few that have such an abundance that they need to be much taught in that lesson FINIS AN EXACT ALPHABETICAL TABLE A Abundance ABundance of mercies enjoyed should make us content Page 189 Account Account of prosperity Page 89 Account of great men Page 90 Actions see Heart Adversity see Quiet Affections Men unsatisfied in their Affection see Wad Page 10 Afflictions Faith to be acted in afflictions Page 47 Gods people to be ordinarily in afflictions Page 98 To be troubled for murmuring rather than affliction Page 120 Afflictions How made worse Page 141 How to moderate grief in afflictions Page 152 Gods hand apparent in afflictions Page 162 Afflictions are not to be pored on too much Page 201 See Fear Love Christ Mercy Look Great Chuse Fit Service c. All in All. God All in All to his Children Page 51 All-sufficiency All-sufficiency in the Saints how Page 3 Angel A Christian one with Angels Page 127 A Christian nearer the Divine nature than Angels Page 128 A Saints Calling as high as Angels Page 177 Apparent see Afflictions Assurance see Covenant B Base A murmuring Spirit a base Spirit Page 130 Beams Creatures convey comforts but as beams Page 50 Being We enjoy Creatures in reference to the first being Page 80 Best God interprets what we do to the best Page 102 Better see Condition Soul Beauty Beauty of grace wherein seen Page 104 Bless Sense of affliction will make us bless God for the mercies of others Page 165 See Dew Bread We are to pray but for daily bread Page 134 Broken A broken heart brings content Page 33 Burden Contentment by adding a new burden Page 31 Burden of sin makes affliction light Page 32 C Call Calling Calling of the Soul what Page 124 A Christians general Calling high Page 177 To be sure of a Call in every thing Page 196 Change To change affliction to another thing Page 34 All Creatures go on in a way of change Page 189 Childe A murmuring Spirit like a weaning Childe Page 130 Christ What the Saints have is purchased by Christ Page 42 Afflictions to the godly from the same hand that gave Christ Page 44 What hinders the sight of the excellency of Christ Page 123 In Conversion the Soul cast on Christ Page 124 Christian see Murmuring Chuse We must not chuse our afflictions Page 174 Command The more solemn Gods Command the greater the sin in breaking of it Page 163 Complacency A Christian takes Complacency in Gods dispose Page 17 Complain We may complain to God in afflictions Page 5 Comfort Content brings Comfort Page 110 Comfort how kept in the Soul ib. Comfort of what we have how lost See God Page 138 Condition A Christian content in every condition Page 20 We should do the works of our present condition Page 35 How to know what is most sutable to our condition Page 83 Our condition better than our betters Page 193 Constraint Not to submit in affliction by constraint Page 16 Contentment Contentment what it signifies Page 2 Contentment to be skilled in the Mystery of it Page 3 Contentment what Page 4 Contentment whereof it is made Page 20 Contentment the bottom of it Page 30 Contentment the excellency of it Page 100 Contentment wherein it consists Page 112 To be humbled for want of Contentment Page 118 Contentment of former Christians Page 183 Considerations to move Contentment Page 187 Directions to Contentment Page 195 See Worship Soul Condition Comfort c. Conversion The work of God in Conversion Page 122 See Life Contrary God worketh by Contraries Page 99 Corruption Argument of corruption in the soul Page 119 Covenant Christians comfort from Gods Covenant Page 53 61 Gods Covenant his assurance office Page 63 Particular promises part of the Covenant Page 54 In Conversion we give our selves to God in Covenant Page 124 See Work Creature To know the vanity of the Creature Page 73 To enjoy God in the Creature Page 80 In Conversion the heart taken from the Creature Page 123 Creatures suffer for us Page 189 Crowns God hath Crowns for all graces Page 174 Curse Curse of God upon murmuring Page 164 D Daily see Bread Danger Danger of Prosperity Page 89 Dear A sign of love to give God that that cost us dear Page 185 Deliverance may be sought in afflictions Denial see Self Depaited We think God is departed when we are afflicted Page 168 Though God were departed from us we should not from him Page 169 See Disquiet Dependance We should live in a continual Dependance upon God Page 179 Deserve We deserve nothing of God Page 69 Desires A Christian should take from his Desires Page 29 Devil Devil his Rhetorick Page 136 Devil most discontented Page 147 Dew A Christian lives on the Dew of Gods blessing Page 40 Dignity Dignity of a Christian Page
120 Discouragement Disconragment opposed to Contentment Page 7 Discontent Discontent the reason of it Page 73 Discontent a sin of idle men Page 76 Discontent the root of it Page 82 Discontent how aggravated Page 153 Discontent Pleas for it Page 165 See Grace Shift Foolish Mercies Devil Disgrace Disgrace how sanctified Page 45 Dishonor A Christian discontented when God is dishonored Page 15 Dispose see Freely Disquiet Disquiet the cause of Gods departing Page 168 See Murmuring Duty Duty of a Christian in prosperity Page 89 What unfits for Duty Page 134 God accepts of weak Duty Page 156 Sense of affliction hinders not duty Page 165 E Efficacy Efficacy of Gods Providence Page 95 Ever God gives grace for ever Page 184 Evil. Evil of afflictions taken from Gods children Page 56 Excellency Excellency of God how we come near it Page 117 Excellency of God what ibid Expectation Expectation of a Christian Page 132 F Faith Ordinary works done in Faith precious Page 7 Murmuring below the grace of Faith Page 131 Exercise of Faith brings Contentment Page 198 See Affliction Mean Faithfulness God in rewarding looks to faith fulness Page 178 Father God the Father of a Christian Page 126 We should labor for the spirit of our Father Page 129 Feel What we feel to be preferred to others fancies Page 205 Fill see God Fit God knows what afflictions are fit Page 174 Grace makes fit for any condition ib. Foolish Discontent a foolish sin Page 138 139 Frame Contentment a frame of Spirit Page 2 Free Freely c. A Christian freely submits to God Page 15 Freedome what Page 16 God gives freely Page 41 Freeness of Gods mercies aggravates sin Page 158. Fretting Fretting 〈…〉 to quietness of spirit Page 6 G Glory What a Christian hash here is an earnest of Glory Page 43 Glory of God wherein it appears Page 105 Glory to be given to God in the enjoyment of Blessings Page 193 God To look up to God in all conditions Page 19 Nothing can fill the heart but God Page 28 Happiness of a Saint in God Page 38 Saints enjoy all in God Page 40 Outward comsorts taken away when they keep us from God Page 50 See Life Creature Excellency Walk Good 〈◊〉 of themselves unfit to receive good Page 70 We should not be discontent that God is good to others Page 173 God doth good to his by afflictions Page 193 See Sanctifie Christ Grace Grace much exercised in Contentment Page 103 Grace the strength of it ibid Grace better than the Creature Page 113 Discontent contrary to Grace Page 122 Grace should content us without the world Page 193 See Beauty Gracious Contentment a gracious frame of heart Page 13 Great Afflictions not so great as our sins Page 172 Afflictions greater for murmuring Page 173 Not to promise our selves great things Page 200 H. Habitual Contentment an habitual frame Page 13 To praise God for what be had Page 188 Heart Contentment quiets the heart Page 5 The heart to be let out to God Page 67 The knowledge of our own hearts Page 83 Benefits of knowing our own hears Page 84 A great evil to be given up to our own heart Page 90 Rising of the heart Page 135 Distemper of the heart how esteemed with God Page 18â— See Gracious Heaven Heaven in the Souls of the Saints here Page 56 Things of Heaven real to a Saint Page 67 Heaven what Page 11â— Contentment better than Heaven ib Help Help of a Christian what Page 13â— No Help by discontent Page 139 High see Calling Angels Honor What is the greatest Honor God hath of us in the world Page 81 Humble We should not murmure when God would humble us Page 161 see Contentment Idle see Discontent Joy Joy immoderate how known Page 20â— Injoy Godly men content with that they injoy Page 4 Good men injoy what they have Page 116 see God Inward Inward discontent Page 4 Inward concent ibid Judgment Many not content in their Judgment see Afflictions Page 11 K Kind To submit to afflictions of every king Page 22 King The soul subdued to Christ as King Page 124 Every Christian a King Page 128 L Life Life of a Saint where it is Page 56 Conversion a work all our life Page 125 Long Long afflictions not to be murmured at Page 163 Look Afflictions to be looked for Page 171 Care in afflictions not looked for Page 172 Loss No loss if we perish Page 71 Love Love of God in what a Christian hath Page 41 Love in afflictions to the godly Page 44 Love in a Christians eslate Page 110 Love to God a sign of it Page 113 Low Lowest God brings lowest when he intends the greatest mercies Page 98 Men raised from a low condition should not murmure Page 139 Obedience seen most in a low Calling Page 178 The soul oft best in a low outward estate Page 180 M Man Man Gods instrument in affliction Page 170 Mannage see Heart Mean Actions of a mean Christian accepted Page 178 Faith makes mean works glorious ib Mercy How the soul is sitted to receive mercy Page 206 Mercies lessened by discontent Page 135 Discontent deprives of Mercies Page 139 The greater Mercies the greater sin to murmure Page 150 Every man hath more mercies than afflictions Page 154 Greatness of Mercies should make us content Page 187 God is before hand with his Mercies to us Page 188 see Discontent Member Every Christian a Member of Christ Page 127 Mean Christians Members of Christs Body Page 176 Mystery Contentment a Mystery Page â—26 Mortified To get out hearts mortified to the world Page â—00 Murmuring Murmuring opposite to quietness of spirit Page 6 Murmuring the evil of it Page 119 Murmuring a note of a wicked man Page 1â—0 Murmuring bolow a Christian Page 120 Murmuring the effects of it Page 134 Murmuring breeds disquiet Page 147 Murmuring the way to relapse into it Page 150 Murmuring aggravations of it ib See Affection Rebellion Loss Child Curse Mercy â—â—â—all N Nature see Angels Necessary The knowledge of one thing necessary Page 74 Nothing How a Christian comes to know he is nothing Page 69 A Christian of himself can do nothing Page 70 Naturally we are worse than nothing Page 71 See Deserve Use O Obedience When God gives in love we should return in Obedience Page 184 The greater affliction the more Obedience ibid One All Gods works from eternity but One Page 96 P Pain Pain sanctified to a Christian how Page 46 Parts Discontent aggravated in men of parts Page 158 Passage see Portion People Gods dealing with his people Page 97 Three things in Gods way with his people Perfection see Uprightness Particular The Creatures particular comforts Page â—â—3 Pity Pity to men that deal ill with us Page 171 Plague Promises concerning the plague Page 54 55 56 Plea see Discontent Portion A Christian not content with little for his portion Page 28 Possess Men discontent for what they possess Page 159 Poverty Poverty sanctified by Christs