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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77996	The rare jewel of Christian contentment Wherein is shewed; 1. What contentment is. 2. The holy art or mystery of it. 3. Several lessons that Christ teacheth, to work the heart to contentment. 4. The excellencies of it. 5. The evils of murmuring. 6. The aggravations of the sin of murmuring. By Jeremiah Burroughs. The first of the eleven volumes that are published by Thomas Goodwin, William Greenhil, Sydrach Sympson, Philip Nye, William Bridge, John Yates, William Adderly.	Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.; Greenhill, William, 1591-1671.; Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.; Nye, Philip, 1596?-1672.; Simpson, Sidrach, 1600?-1655.; Yates, John, d. ca. 1660.; Adderley, William.	1666 (1666)	Wing B6107B; ESTC R201188	189,505	233

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

as now If he wants outward comforts good chear feasting a good Conscience is a continual feast he can make up the want of a feast by that peace he hath in his own Conscience if he wants melody abroad he hath a bird within him that sings the most meldious songs that are in the world and the most delightful And then Doth he want honor he hath his own Conscience witnessing for him that is as a thousand witnesses the Scripture saith in Luk. 17. verse 21. Neither shall they say Lo here or Lo there for behold the Kingdom of God is within you A Christian then whatsoever he wants he can make it up for he hath a Kingdom in himself the Kingdom of God is within him If one that is a King should meet with a great deal of trouble when he is abroad yet he contents himself with this I have a Kingdom of mine own now here it is said the Kingdom of God is within a man truly upon this Scripture of the Kingdom of God being within those that are learned if they would but look into that Comment upon the Gospel that we have of a learned man they shall find a very strange conceit that he hath about this very Text he confesses indeed it is inutterable and so indeed it is The Kingdom of God is within you he makes it that there is such a presence of God and Christ within the soul of a man that when the body dies he saith that the soul goes into God and Christ that is within him the Souls going into God and Christ and enjoying of that communion with God and Christ that is within its self that is Heaven to it saith he He confesses he is not able to expresse himself nor others cannot understand fully what he intends but certainly for the present before death there is a Kingdom of God within the soul such a manifestation of God in the soul that is enough to content the heart of a Godly man in the world the Kingdom to content hath now within him he shall not stay till afterwards till he goes to Heaven but certainly there is a Heaven in the soul of a Godly man he hath Heaven already Many times when you go to comfort your friends in their afflictions you will say Heaven will pay for all nay you may certainly find Heaven pays for all already there is Heaven within the souls of the Saints that is a certain truth no soul shall ever come to Heaven but that soul that hath Heaven come to it first VVhen you die you hope you shall go to Heaven But if you shall go to Heaven when you die Heaven will come to you before you die Now this is a great mystery to have the Kingdom of Heaven in the soul no man can know this but that soul that hath it that Heaven which is within the soul for the present I say it is like the white stone and the new name that none but those that have it can understand it It is a miserable condition my Brethren to depend upon creatures altogether for our Contentment you know rich men account it a great happiness if they need not go to buy things by the penny as others do they have all things for pleasure or profit upon their own ground and all their inheritance lyes entire together they have no body comes within them but they have all within themselves there lies their happiness whereas other poorer people are fain to go from one market to another to provide them necessaries but yet great rich men they have Sheep and Beeves Corn and Clothing and all things else of their own within themselves and herein they place their happiness But this is the happiness of a Christian that he hath that within himself that may satisfie him more than all these That place which we have in the first of James seems to allude to that condition of men that have all their estates within themselves James 1.4 But let patience have her perfect work that we may be perfect and entire wanting nothing the word there used signifies to have the whole inheritance to our selves not a broken inheritance but that where all lies within themselves as a man that hath not a piece of his estate here and a piece there but he hath it all lies together and the heart being patient under afflictions findes it self to be in such an estate as this is finds his whole inheritance to be together and all intire within its self And now still to shew this by further similitudes it is with him being filled with good things just like as it is with many a man that enjoys abundance of comforts at home at his own house God grants to him a convenient habitation a comfortable Yoke fellow and fine Walks and Gardens and hath all things at home that he could desire now this man cares not much for going abroad other men are fain to go abroad to take the air but he hath a sweet air at home and they are fain to go abroad to see friends because they have railings and contendings at home many ill husbands will give this reason if his wife make any moan and complaint of his ill husbandry of their bad husbandry and will make that their excuse to go abroad because they can never be quiet at home Now we account those men most happy that have all at home those that have close houses that are unsavoury and smells ill they delight to go into the fresh air but it is not so with many others that have those at home those that have no good clear at home they are fain to go abroad to friends but those that have their tables furnished they had as leive stay at home So a carnal man he hath but little Contentment in his own spirit it is Austines similitude saith he An ill conscience is like a scoulding Wife a man saith he that hath an ill conscience he cares not to look into his own soul but loves to be abroad and looks into other things but never looks to himself but one that hath a good conscience he delights in looking into his own heart he hath a good conscience within him And so a carnal heart because there is nothing but filthyness a filthy stink in himself nothing but vileness and baseness within him upon this it is that he seeks his Contentment elsewhere and as it is with a vessel that is full of Liquor if you strike upon it it will make no great noise but if it be empty then it makes a great noise So it is with the heart An heart that is full of grace and goodness within such a one will bear a great many stroakes and never make any noise but an empty heart if that be struck that will make a noise those men and women that are so much complaining and always whining it is a sign that there is an emptiness in their hearts but if their hearts were

that bear the sway and are imployed in publike service and they carry all before them but you consider not their danger And so the Ministers they stand in the fore-front of all the spight and malice of ungodly men indeed God imploys them in honorable service and that service that the Angels would take delight in but though the service be honorable above the imployment of other works yet the burden of danger that likewise is greater than the danger of men that are in an inferior condition Now when the Soul comes to get wisdom from Christ to think of the danger that it is in then it will be content in that low estate in which it is A poor man that is in a low condition thinks I am low and others are raised but I know not what their burden is and so if he be rightly instructed in the School of Christ he comes to be contented 3. In a prosperous estate there is the burden of Duty You look onely at the sweet and comfort that they have and the honor and respect that they have that are in a prosperous condition but you must consider of the duty that they owe to God God requires more duty at their hands than at yours you are ready to be discontented that you have not such parts and abilities as such have but God requires more duty of them that have more parts God requires more duty of them that have greater estates than of you that have not such estates Oh! you would fain have the honour but can you carry the burden of the Duty 4. The last is The burden of Account in a prosperous Estate There is a great account that they are to give to God that enjoy great estates and a prosperous condition Now we are all Stewards and one is a Steward to a meaner man perhaps an ordinary Knight another is a Steward to a Nobleman an Earl now the Steward of the meaner man he hath not so much as the other hath under his hand now shall he be discontented because there comes not so much under his hand as under the others No thinks he I have less and I am to give the less account So your account in comparison of the Ministers and Magistrates will be nothing you are to give an account of your own Souls and so are they but you are to give an account for your own family and so are they but you are not to give account for Congregations and for Towns and Cities and Countries You think of Princes and Kings Oh! what a glorious condition they are in But what do you think of a King to give account for all the disorder and wickedness in a Kingdom that he possibly might have prevented What abundance of Glory might a Prince bring to God if so be that he bent his soul and all his thoughts to lift up the Name of God in a Kingdom now what God looses for want of this that King Prince or Governor he must give an account for It 's a speech of Chrysostome in that place of the Hebrews where it 's said that men must give an account for their Souls he wonders that any men in publike place can be saved because their account is so great that they are to give And I remember I have read a speech of Philip that was King of Spain though the story saith of him that he had such a Natural conscience that he profest he would not do any thing against his conscience no not in secret for the gaining of a world yet when this man was to die Oh saith he that I had never been a King Oh that I had liv'd a solitary and private life all my daies then should I have died a great deal more securely I should with more confidence have gone before the Throne of God to give my account but here 's the fruit of my Kingdom that I had all the glory of it it hath made my account to be harder to give to God and thus he cries out when he was to die And therefore you that live in private conditions remember this If you come into Christ's School and be taught this Lesson you will be quiet in your afflictions or private estate in regard your account is not so great as others It s a speech I remember I have met withal in Latimers Sermons that he was wont to use That the half is more than the whole That is when a man is in a mean condition he is but half way towards the height of prosperity that others are in yet saith he this is more safe though it be a meaner condition than others Those that are in a high and prosperous condition there is annexed to it the burden of trouble and of danger and of duty and of account And thus you see how Christ trains up his Scholars in his School and though they be weak otherwise yet by his Spirit he gives them wisdom to understand these things a right The eight lesson is this Christ teaches them what a great and dreadful evil it is to be given up to ones hearts desires The understanding this Lesson that it is a most dreadful evil one of the most hideous and fearful evils that can befall any man upon the face of the Earth for God to give him up to his hearts desires when the Soul understands this once and together with it for it goes along together that spiritual Judgements are more fearful than any outward judgements in the world the understanding of this will teach any one to be content in Gods crossing of them in their desires Thou art crost in thy desires now thou art discontented and vext and fretted at it Is that thy onely Misery that thou art crost in thy desires No no thou art infinitely mistaken the greatest misery of all is for God to give thee up to thy hearts lusts and desires to give thee up to thine own counsels so you have it in Psal 81.11 12. But my people would not hearken to my voice and Israel would none of me what then So I gave them up unto their own hearts lusts and they walked in their own counsels Oh saith Bernard Let me not have such a misery as that is for to give me what I would have to give me my hearts desires it is one of the most hideous judgments in the world for a man to be given up to his hearts desires We have not indeed in Scripture any certain evident sign of a Reprobate we cannot say except we knew a man had committed the sin against the Holy Ghost that he is a Reprobate for we know not what God may work upon him but the neerest of all the blackest sign of a Reprobate is this for God to give up a man to his hearts desires all the pain of Diseases all the calamities that can be thought of in the world are no judgements in comparison of this for a man to be given up to his hearts desires

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

revealed in his Word and we may there find he hath set it down to be his ordinary way even from the beginning of the world to this day but more especially in the times of the Gospel that his People here should be in an afflicted condition Now men that do not understand this they stand and wonder to hear of the People of God that they are afflicted and the enemies prosper in their way for those that seek God in his way and seek for Reformation for them to be afflicted routed and spoiled and the enemies to prevail they wonder at it But now one that is in the School of Christ he is taught by Jesus Christ that God by his eternal Counsels hath set this to be his course and way to bring up his People in this world in an afflicted condition and therefore saith the Apostle Account it not strange concerning the fiery tryal 1 Pet. 4.12 We are not therefore to be discontented with it seeing God hath set such a course and way and we know such is the will of God that it should be so The second thing that is in Gods way is this Vsually when God intends the greatest mercy to any of his People he doth bring them into the lowest condition God doth seem to go quite cross and work in a contrary way when he intends the greatest mercies to his People he doth first usually bring them into very low conditions if it be a bodily mercy an outward mercy that he intends to bestow he useth to bring them bodily low and outwardly low if it be a mercy in their estates that he intends to bestow he brings them low in that and then raises them and in their names he brings them low there and then raises them and in their spirits God doth ordinarily bring their spirits low and then raises their spirits usually the People of God before the greatest comfort have the greatest afflictions and sorrows now those that understand not Gods ways they think that when God brings his People into sad conditions that God leaves and forsakes them and that God doth intend no great matter of good to them but now a Childe of God that is instructed in this way of God he is not troubled my condition is very low but saith he this is Gods way when he intends the greatest mercy to bring men under the greatest afflictions When he intended to raise Joseph to be the Second in the Kingdom God cast him into a dungeon a little before So when God intended to raise David and set him upon the Throne he made him to be hunted as a Partridge in the mountains 1 Sam. 26.20 God went this way with his Son Christ himself went into Glory by suffering Heb. 2.20 And if God deal so with his own Son much more with his People As a little before break of day you shall observe it is darker than it was any time before so God doth use to make our conditions darker a little before the mercy come When God bestowed the last great mercy at Nazby we were in a very low condition God knew what he had to do before-hand he knew that his time was coming for great mercies it is the way of God to do so Be but instructed aright in this course and tract that God uses to walk in and that will help us to Contentment exceedingly The Third thing that there is in Gods way and course is this It is the way of God to work by contraries to turn the greatest evil into the greatest good To grant great good after great evil is one thing and to turn great evils into the greatest good that 's another and yet that 's Gods way the greatest good that God intends for his People many times he works it out of the greatest evil the greatest light is brought out of the greatest darkness and Luther I remember hath a notable expression for this saith he it is the way of God he doth humble that he might exalt he doth kill that he might make alive he doth confound that he might glorifie this is the way of God saith he but saith he every one doth not understand this this is the Art of Arts and the Science of Sciences the knowledge of knowledges to understand this that God doth use when he will bring life he doth use to bring it out of death he brings joy out of sorrow and he brings prosperity out of adversity yea and many times he brings Grace out of Sin that is makes use of sin to work furtherance of Grace it is the way of God to bring good out of evil not only to overcome the evil but to make the evil to work towards good here 's the way of God now when the soul comes to understand this it will take away our murmuring and bring Contentment into our spirits But I fear there are but few that understand it aright perhaps they read of such things and hear of such things in a Sermon but they are not by Jesus Christ instructed in this that this is the way of God To bring the greatest good out of the greatest evil Thus having dispatcht the Third Head the Lessons that we are to learn we come to the Fourth and that is The excellency of this Grace of Contentment And there is a great deal of excellency in Contentment that 's a kind of Lesson too for us to learn And this Head likewise will be somewhat long Saith the Apostle I have learned As if he should say Blessed be God for this Oh! it is a mercy of God to me that I have learned this Lesson I find so much good in this Contentment that I would not for a world but have it I have learned it saith he Now the very Heathens had a sight of a great Excellency that there is in Contentment I remember I have read of Antisthenes a Philosopher that desired of his Gods speaking after the Heathenish way nothing in this world to make his life happy but CONTENTMENT and if he might have any thing that he would desire to make his life happy he would ask of them That he might have the spirit of Socrates that he might have such a spirit as Socrates had to be able to bear any wrong any injuries that he met withal and to continue in a quiet temper of spirit whatsoever befell him for what was the temper of socrates whatever befell him he continued the same man whatever cross befell him no body could perceive any alteration of his spirit though never so great crosses did befall him This a Heathen did attain to by the strength of Nature and a common work of the spirit Now this Antisthenes saw such an excellency in this spirit As when God said to Solomon What shall I give thee he asked of God wisdom so saith he If the Gods should put it to me to know what I would have I should desire this thing that I might have the spirit of Socrates he

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

night we have not always fair weather but fair and foul the vegetive creatures do not always flourish but the sap is in the root and they seem as if they were dead there 's a vicissitude of all things in the world the Sun doth not shine always to us here but there is darkness comes after light now seeing God hath so ordered things with all creatures that there is a mixture of conditions why should we think it much that there should be a vicissitude of conditions with us sometimes in a way of prosperity and sometimes in a way of affliction The Fifth CONSIDERATION A further Consideration is this The Creatures do suffer for us why should not we be willing to suffer to be serviceable to God God subjects other creatures they are fain to lose their lives for us to lose what ever beauty and excellency they have to be serviceable to us why should not we be willing to part with any thing in way of service for God certainly there is not so great a distance between other creatures and Man-kind as there is between Man-kind and God 'T is an expression of that Martyr Master Hooper that we read of in the Book of Martyrs in labouring to work his own heart and the hearts of others to contentedness in the midst of his sufferings he hath this similitude and you may be put in mind of that every day saith he I look upon the creature and see what it suffers to be useful to me as thus The bruit beasts must die must be roasted in the fire and boyl'd must come upon the trencher be hackt all in pieces must be chewed in the mouth and in the stomach turn'd to that which is loathsome if one should behold it and all to nourish me to be useful to my body and shall not I be willing to be made any thing for God for his service what abundance of alterations the creature comes under to be made useful for me to preserve me then if God will do so with me for his use as he doth subject the creatures to me for my use why should not I rest contented If God will take away my estate and make me poor if God will take away my life hack me in pieces put me in prison whatsoever he doth yet I shall not suffer more for God then the creature doth for me and surely I am infinitely more bound to God than the creature is to me and there is not so much distance between me and the creature as between me and God such Considerations as these wrought the heart of that Martyr to contentedness in his sufferings And every time the creature is upon your trenchers you may think What! doth God make the creature suffer for my use not only for my nourishment but for my delight what am I then in respect of the infinite God The Sixth CONSIDERATION Another Consideration for the working of Contentment it is To consider that we have but a little time in this world If thou beest godly thou shalt never suffer but only in this world why do but shut your eyes and presently another life is come as that Martyr said to his fellow Martyr Do but shut your eyes saith he and the next time they are opened you shall be in another world Athanasius saith it is but a little cloud when he was banished and it will be over notwithstanding presently These afflictions they are but for a moment A Marriner when he is abroad doth not think it much if a storm arises especially if he can see the Heavens clear beyond it saith he it will be over presently Consider we have not long to live it may be it may be over before our daies be at an end but suppose it should not death will put an end to all all afflictions and troubles will soon be at an end by death The Seventh CONSIDERATION Consider the condition that others have been in that have been our betters We made some use of that before to shew the evil of discontentment But further for to work this upon our hearts it is a mighty Argument to work upon our hearts a contentedness in any condition Thou many times doest consider who are above thee but consider who are under thee Jacob that was the heir both of Abraham and Isaac for the blessing was upon him and the promise ran along in him yet was in a poor mean condition Abraham that was his Grandfather was able to make a kind of Army of his own houshold 300. to fight with a King yet Jacob his Grand childe he goes over Jordan with a staff and lives in a very poor and mean condition for a long time and Moses that might have had all the treasures in Egypt and as some Historians say of him Pharoahs Daughter adopted him for her Son because Pharoah had no heir for the Crown and so he was like to have come to the Crown yet what a low condition did he live in when he went to live with Jethro his Father-in-law 40 years together afterward when he returned to Egypt he and his wife and children and all that he had and yet he had but one beast to carry him to Egypt he went in a mean condition when he went from his Father-in law to Egypt back again And Elijah we know how he was fed with Ravens and how he was fain to shift for his life from time to time and run into the wilderness up and down and so did Elisha he was divers times in a very low condition the Prophets of God they were to be hid in a Cave by Obadiah and there to be fed with bread and water and the Prophet Jeremiah put into a Dungeon and Oh how was he used and it were an endless thing to name the particulars of the great sufferings of the people of God In former time we have sometimes made use of this Argument other ways the great Instruments of God in the first Reformation they lived in great straights in a very low condition even Luther himself when he was to die saith he Lord though he were a man of such publick use and was a great man in the Courts of Princes Lord I have neither House nor Lands nor Estate to leave any thing to Wife or Children but I commit them to thee and so Musculus that was a very choice instrument of God in his time though he was a man that was worth even a Kingdome for excellency of his spirit and learning for he was one of the learnedst men of his time yet sometimes he was put to dig in the common ditch to get bread for his family What would we do if we were in such a condition as these men were But above all set Christ before us that professes that the Birds of the Air had nests and the Foxes had holes yet the Son of man had no place to hide his head in that low condition he was in the consideration of such things as