Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	affection_n	heart_n	love_n	6,065	5	5.2645	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

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

God himself especially such as together with their corruptions have much melancholly and the Devil working both upon the corruptions of their hearts and the melancholly distemper of their bodies though there may lie much grace at the bottom yet there may be some risings against God himself under affliction Now Christian quietness is opposite to all these things that is When afflictions come be it what affliction it will be yet you do not murmur though you be sensible though you make your moan though you desire to be delivered and seek it by all good means yet you do not murmur nor repine you do not fret nor vex there is not that tumultuousness of spirit in you there is not unsetledness in your spirits there are not distracting fears in your hearts no sinking discouragements no base shiftings no risings in rebellion any way against God This is the quietness of Spirit under an affliction and that is the second thing when the soul is so far able to bear an affliction as to keep quiet under it Now the Third thing I would open in the description is this It is an inward quiet gracious frame of Spirit It is a frame of Spirit and then a gracious frame of Spirit Contentment it is a Soul-business First It is inward Secondly quiet Thirdly it is a quiet Frame of Spirit Frame by that I mean these three things There are three things considerable when I say Contentment consists in the quiet frame of the spirit of a man First That it is a grace that spreads it self through the whol soul as thus it is in the Judgment that is the judgment of the soul of a man or woman tends to quiet the heart in my Judgment I am satisfied that is one thing to be satisfied in ones understanding and judgment as thus this is the hand of God and this is that that is sutable to my condition or best for me although I do not see the reason of the thing yet I am satisfied in my judgment about it And then It is in the thoughts of a man or woman As my judgment is satisfied so my thoughts are kept in order And then it comes to the Will My will yeelds and submits to it my affections are all likewise kept in order so that it goes through the whol soul There is in some a partial Contentment and so 't is not the frame of the soul but some part of the soul hath some Contentment as thus many a man may be satisfied in his judgment about a thing and yet for his life cannot rule his affections nor his thoughts cannot rule his thoughts nor his will nor the affections though the judgment be satisfied I make no question but many of you may know this by your own experience if you do but observe the workings of your own hearts Cannot you say when such an affliction befals you I can bless God I am satisfied in my judgment about it I have nothing in the world to say in respect of my judgment against it I see the hand of God and I should be content yea I am satisfied in my judgment that my condition is a good condition in which I am but I cannot for my life rule my thoughts my will and my affections me thinks I feel my heart heavy and sad and troubleed more than it should be and yet my Judgment is satisfied This seem'd to be the case of David Psal 42. Oh my soul why art thou disquieted David as far as his judgment went there was a contentedness that is His judgment was satisfied in the work of God upon him and he was troubled but he knew not wherefore Oh my soul why art thou thus cast down within me That Psalm is a very good Psalm for those that feel a fretting discontented distemper in their hearts at any time for them to be reading or singing he hath it once or twice in that Psalm Why art thou cast down O my soul in vers 5. And why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance David had enough to quiet him and that that he had had prevailed with his judgment but after it had prevailed with his judgment he could not get it further He could not get this grace of Contentment to go through the whol frame of the soul There is a great deal of stir sometimes to get Contentment into their judgments that is to satisfie their judgments about their condition Come to many that the hand of God is upon perhaps in a grievous manner and seek to satisfie them and tel them that there is no such cause to be disquieted O not such cause saith the troubled spirit O then there is no cause that any should be disquieted there was never any such affliction as I have and a hundred things they have to put off what is said to them so as you cannot so much as get into their judgments to satisfie them but there is a great deal of hope of Contentment if once your judgments come to be satisfied that you can sit down and say in your judgments I see cause to be contented but though you have gotten thus far yet you may have much to do with your hearts afterward for there is such unruliness in our thoughts and affections that our judgments are not alwaies able to rule our thoughts and affections and that makes me to say that Contentment is an inward quiet gracious frame of spirit that is the whol soul Judgment Thoughts Will Affections and all are satisfied and quiet I suppose in the very opening this you begin to see it is a lesson that you had need learn and it is not a thing soon got if Contentment be such a thing as this is The second thing is this which is very observable That spiritual Contentment comes from the frame of the Soul A man or woman that is contented in a right way their contentment doth not so much come from outward arguments or any outward thing that helps them to be content as it doth from the disposition of their own hearts It is the disposition of their own hearts that causes this Contentment That brings forth this gracious Contentment rather than any external thing that doth it as thus I would open my self one that is disquieted suppose a childe or man or woman if you come and bring them some great matter to please them that perhaps will quiet them and they will be contented it is the thing you bring them that quiets them but it is not the disposition of their own spirits not from any good temper that there is in their own hearts but from some external thing that is brought them but when a Christian is contented in a right way the quiet doth come more from the inward temper and disposition of their own hearts than from any external arguments or possession of any thing in the world I would yet open

hath to deal with a most wretched creature A discontented heart he is troubled because he hath no more comfort but one that is a self-denying man he rather wonders that he hath so much as he hath Oh saith one I have but a little I but saith he that hath learned his lesson of self-denyal I rather wonder that God bestows upon me the liberty of breathing in the air knowing how vile I am and knowing how much sin the Lord doth see in me and that is the way of contentment by learning self-denial Eightly There is a further thing in self-denial which brings contentment Because thereby the soul comes to rejoyce and take sat is faction in all Gods ways I beseech you observe this If a man be selfish and have self-self-love prevail in his heart those things that suits with his own ends he will be glad of them but a godly man that hath denied himself he will suit with and be glad of all things that shall suit with Gods ends Saith a Gracious heart Gods ends are my ends and I have denyed mine own ends and so he comes to find contentment in all Gods ends and ways and his comforts are multiplied whereas the comforts of other men are single it is but very rare that Gods ways shall suit with a mans particular ends but always Gods ways suit with his own ends now if you will only have contentment when Gods ways suit with his own ends you can have it but now and then but a self-denying man denies his own ends and only looks at the ends of God and therein is contented When a man is selfish he cannot but have a great deal of trouble and vexation for if I regard my self my ends are so narrow that I shall have a hundred things will come and justle me and I cannot have room in those narrow ends of mine own as you know in the City what a deal of stir there is in the narrow streets as Thames street being so narrow they justle and wrangle and fight one with another because the place is so narrow but now in the broad streets there they can go quietly so men that are selfish they meet and so justle one with another one man is for self in one thing and another man is for self in another thing and so they make a great deal of stir but those whose hearts are inlarged and make publike things their ends and can deny themselves they can walk at breadth and never justle one with another so as the other do The lesson of self-denial is the first Lesson that Jesus Christ doth learn men in the seeking of Contentment The second Lesson is The vanity of the Creature That is the second Lesson in Christs School that he teaches those that he would make Scholars in this Art The vanity of the Creature That whatsoever there is in the Creature hath an emptiness in it Vanity of vanities that all is vanity that is the lesson the Wise man learned that the creature in its self can do us neither good nor hurt but it is all but as a wind there is nothing in the creature that is sutable to a gracious heart to feed upon for the good and happiness of it My Brethren the reason why you have not Contentment in the things of the world it is not because you have not enough of them that is not the reason but the reason is because they are not things proportionable to that immortal soul of yours that are capable of God himself many men think when they are troubled and have not Contentment that it is because they have but a little in the world and if they had more then they should be content That were just thus Suppose a man is an hungry and to satisfie his craving stomach he should gape and hold open his mouth to take in the wind and then should think the reason why he is not satisfied is because he hath not enough of the wind no the reason is because the thing is not sutable to a craving stomach Truly there is the same madness in the world the wind that a man takes in by gaping will as soon satisfie a craving stomach which is ready to famish as all the comforts in the world can satisfie a soul that knows what true happiness means You would be happy and you seek after such and such comforts in the creature well have you got them do you find your heart satisfied as having that happiness that is sutable to you No no it is not here but you think it is because you want such and such things O poor deluded man It is not because you have not enough of it but because it is not the thing that is proportionable to that immortal soul that God hath given you Why do you lay out your money for that which is not bread Isa 55.2 and your labour for that which satisfieth not You are mad people you seek to satisfie your stomachs with that that is not bread you follow the wind you will never have Contentment all the creatures in the world say Contentment is not in us riches saith Contentment is not in me pleasure saith Contentment is not in me if you look for Contentment in the creature you will fail No Contentment is higher when thou comest into the School of Christ Christ teaches thee that there is a vanity in all things in the world and the soul that by coming into the School of Christ by understanding the glorious mysteries of the Gospel comes to see the vanity of all things in the world that is the soul that comes to true Contentment I could tell you of abundance of sentences from Heathens that shews the vanity of all things in the world and yet they did not learn the vanity of the creature in the right School But now when a soul comes into the School of Jesus Christ and there comes to see a vanity in all things in the world then such a soul comes to have Contentment If you seek Contentment elsewhere you do like the unclean spirit seek for rest but find none A third Lesson that Christ teaches a Christian when he comes into his School is this He learns him to understand what that One thing is that is necessary which he never came to understand before you know what he saith to Martha O Martha thou cumbrest thy self about many things but there is one thing necessary The soul before sought after this and the other thing but now saith the soul I see really that it is not necessary that I should be rich but it is necessary that I should make up my peace with God it is not necessary that I should live a pleasurable life in this world but it is absolutely necessary that I should have pardon of my sin it is not necessary that I should have honor and preferment but it is necessary that I should have God to be my portion and have my part in Jesus

willing to be at thy dispose SERMON VII at Stepney Sept. 7. 1645. PHIL. 4.11 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content WE proceed now There are some two or three things more of the excellency of Contentment and then we are to proceed to Application of the Point The eight Excellency is Contentment is a great blessing of God upon the soul There is Gods blessing upon those that are content the blessing of God is upon them and their estates and upon all that they have We read in Deut. of the blessing of Judah the principle Tribe this is the blessing of Judah And he said hear Lord the voice of Judah and bring him unto his people let his hands be sufficient for him and be thou an help to him from his enemies Let his hand be sufficient for him that is bring in a sufficiency of all the good unto him that he may have of his own that 's the blessing of Judah So when God gives thee a sufficiency of thine own as every contented man hath there is the blessing of God upon thee the blessing of the principal Tribe of Judah is upon thee It is the Lord that gives us all things to enjoy we may have the thing and yet not enjoy it except God come in with his blessing now whatsoever thou hast thou dost enjoy it Many men have estates and do not enjoy them it 's the blessing of God that gives us all things to enjoy it is God that through his blessing hath fashioned thy heart and made it suitable to thy condition The ninth Excellency Those that are content they may expect reward from God that God shall give unto them the good of all those things that they are contented to be without and this brings in abundance of good to a contented spirit There is such and such a mercy that thou thinkest would be very comfortable unto thee if thou hadst it but canst thou bring thy heart to submit to God in it thou shalt have the blessing of the mercy one way or other if thou hast not the thing it self in re thou shalt have it made up one way or other thou shalt have a Bill of exchange to receive somewhat in lieu of it there is no comfort that any soul is content to be without but the Lord will give either the comfort or somewhat in stead of it Thou shalt have a reward to thy soul for what ever good thing thou art content to be without You know what the Scripture saith of active obedience and the Lord doth accept of his servants their will for the deed though we do not do a good thing yet if our hearts be upright to will to do it we shall have the blessing though we do not do the thing You that complain of weakness you cannot do as others do you cannot do as much service as others do if your hearts be upright with God and would fain do the same service that you see others do you would account it a great blessing of God upon you the greatest blessing in the world if you were able to do as others do now you may comfort your selves with this having to deal with God in the way of the Covenant of Grace you shall have from God the reward of all you would do as a wicked man shall have punishment for all the sin he would commit so thou shalt have the reward for all the good thou wouldst do Now may we not draw an argument from active obedience to passive There is as good reason why thou shouldst expect that God will reward thee for all thou art willing to suffer as well as for all that thou art willing to do now if thou beest willing to be without such a comfort and mercy when God sees it fit thou shalt be no looser Certainly God will reward thee either with the comfort or with that that shall be as good to thee as the comfort therefore consider how many things have I that others want and can I bring my heart into a quiet contented frame to want what others have I have the Blessing of all that they have and I shall either possess such things as others have or else God will make it up one way or other either here or hereafter in eternity to me Oh! what riches are here with Contentment thou hast all kind of riches Tenthly and lastly By Contentment the soul comes to an Excellency neer unto God himself yea the neerest that may be for this word that is Translated Content is a word that signifies a Self-sufficiency as I told you in the opening of the words A contented man is a self-sufficient man What is the great glory of God but to be happy and self-sufficient of himself Indeed he is said to be Al-sufficient but that 's but a further addition of the word All rather than of any matter for to be sufficient is All-sufficient Now is this the Glory of God to be Sufficient to have Sufficiency in Himself El-shaddai to be God having Sufficiency in himself Now thou comest neer to this thou partakest of the Divine Nature as by Grace in general so in a more peculiar manner by this Grace of Christian Contentment what 's the Excellency and Glory of God but this Suppose there were no creatures in the world and that all the creatures in the world were annihilated God would remain the same blessed God that he is now he would not be in a worse condition if all Creatures were gone neither would a contented heart if God should take away all creatures from him a contented heart hath enough in the want of all creatures and would not be more miserable than now he is Suppose that God should continue thee here and all creatures that are here in this world were taken away yet thou still having God to be thy portion wouldest be as happy as now thou art and therefore Contentation hath a great deal of Excellency in it Thus we have shewed in many particulars the Excellency of this Grace laboring to present the beauty of it before your souls that you may be in love with it Now my brethren what remains but the practice of this for this Art of Contentment it 's not a speculative thing onely for contemplation but it is an art of Divinity and therefore practical ye are now to labor to work upon your hearts that there may be this Grace in you that you may honor God and honor your profession with this Grace of Contentment for there is none doth more honor God and honor their profession than those that have this Grace of Contentment Now that we may fall upon the practice there is required First That we should be humbled in our hearts for the want of this that we have had so little of this Grace in us For there is no way to set upon any duty with profit till the heart be humbled for the want of the performance

understanding every one may understand that this man hath a very strong brain that such things shall not distemper him whereas other people that have a weak brain if they do not digest but one meals meat the sumes that do arise from their stomachs do distemper their brain and make them unfit for every thing whereas you shall have others that have strong heads and strong brains though their stomachs be ill that they do not digest meat yet still they have the free use of their brain this argues strength So it is in a mans spirit you shall have many that have weak spirits and if they have any ill fumes if accidents befall them you shall presently have them out of temper but you shall have other men that though things do fume up yet still they keep in a steady way and have the use of reason and of other graces and possess their souls with patience As I remember it 's reported of the Eagle it 's not like other Fowls other Fowls when they are hungry make a noise but the Eagle is never heard to make a noise though it wants food and it 's from the magnitude of his spirit that will not make such complaints as other Fowls will do when they want food it is because it is above hunger and above thirst So it is an argument of a gracious magnitude of spirit that whatsoever befalls it yet it is not always whining and complaining so as others are but goes on still in its way and course and blesses God and keeps in a constant tenour whatsoever thing befalls it such things as causes others to be dejected and fretted and vexed and takes away all the comfort of their lives it makes no alteration at all in the spirits of these men and women I say this is a sign of a great deal of strength of Grace 3. It 's also an argument of a great deal of beauty of Grace It 's a speech that Seneca a Heathen once had saith he When you go abroad into groves and woods and there you see the tallness of the trees and their shadows it strikes a kind of awful fear of a Deity in you and when you see the vast rivers and fountains and deep waters that strikes a kind of fear of a God in you but saith he do you see a man that is quiet in tempests and that lives happily in the midst of adversities why do not you Worship that man He doth think him a man even to be honored that shall be quiet and live a happy life though in the middest of adversities The Glory of God appears here more than in any of his Works there is no Works that God hath made the Sun Moon and Stars and all the World wherein so much of the Glory of God doth appear as in a man that lives quietly in the midst of adversity That was that that convinced the King when he saw the three children could walk in the midst of the fiery furnace not to be touched the King was mightily convinced by this that surely their God was a great God indeed and that they were highly beloved of their God that could walk in the midst of the furnace and not be touch't whereas the others that came but to the mouth of the furnace were devoured so when a Christian can walk in the midst of fiery trials and not his garments singed but have comfort and joy in the midst of all as Paul in the stocks can sing that wrought upon the Jaylor so it will convince men when they see the power of Grace in the middest of afflictions such afflictions as would make others to roar under them yet they can behave themselves in a gracious and holy manner Oh! it 's the glory of a Christian It is that that is said to be the glory of Christ for so by Interpreters it is thought to be meant of Christ In Micah 5.5 And this man the text saith shall be the peace when the Assyrian shall come into our Land and when he shall tread in our Pallaces This man shall be the peace when the Assyrian shall come into our land for one to be in peace when there is no Enemies it 's no great matter but saith the text when the Assyrian shall come into our Land then this man shall be the peace that is when all shall be in an hubbub uproar yet then this man shall be peace That 's the tryal of Grace when you find Jesus Christ in your hearts to be peace when the Assyrian shall come into the Land You may think you find peace in Christ when you have no outward troubles but is Christ your peace when the Assyrian comes into the Land when the Enemy comes Suppose you should hear the enemy come marching to the City had taken the Works and were plundering what would be your peace Jesus Christ would be peace to the soul when the enemy comes into the City and into your houses If there be any of you that have been where the enemy hath come What hath been the peace of your souls That which is said of Christ may be applied to this grace of Contentment when the Assyrian the Plunderers the Enemies when any affliction trouble distress doth befall such a heart then this Grace of Contentment brings peace to the soul at that time brings peace to the soul when the Assyrian comes into the Land The Grace of Contentment it 's an excellent Grace there 's much beauty much strength in it there is a great deal of worth in this Grace and therefore be in love with it The third thing in the Excellency of Contentment is this By Contentment the soul is fitted to receive mercy and to do service I 'le put these two together Contentment makes the soul fit to receive mercy and to do service no man or woman in the world is so fit for to receive the Grace of God and to do the Work of God as those that have contented spirits 1. Those are fitted to receive mercy from the Lord that are contented as now If you would have a vessel to take in any liquor you must hold the vessel still if the vessel stir and shake up and down you cannot powre in any thing but you will bid hold still that you may powre it in and not lose any So if we would be the vessels to receive Gods mercy and would have the Lord powre in his mercy to us we must have quiet stil hearts we must not have hearts hurrying up down in trouble discontent and vexing but we must have still and quiet hearts if we would receive mercy from the Lord If a Childe flings and throws up and down for a thing you will not give it him then when he cries so but first you will have the Childe quiet though perhaps you do intend the Childe shall have the thing he cries for but you will not give it him till he is quiet and comes and