consider thou hast a great many more mercies then thou hadest 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 mecies then afflictions Object You will say I but you doe not know what our afflictions are our afflictions are so as you doe 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 afflictions in this world so great as the mercies you have If it were but this mercie that you have this day of grace and salvation continued to you it 's a greater mercy then any affliction set any affliction by this mercy and see which would weigh heaviest this is certainly greater then 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 then your afflictions that you have the use of your limbs yout sences that you have the health of your bodies health of body is a greater mercy then 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 al his riches that he might have his health therefore thy mercies are more then thy afflictions We find in Scripture how the Holy Ghost doth agravate 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 Mâ—ses to Korah and his company when they murmured And Moses said unto Korah hear I pray you yee sâ—ns of Levi there 's somewhat that you are sons of Levi 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 himselfe to doe 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 marke how Moses agravates 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 himselfe to doe the service of the Tabernacle of the Lord c. You see 't is a great honour that God puts upon a man a great mercy that he doth bestow upon any man to separate him from others for himselfe 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 himselfe that though they cannot doe good to themselves yet they may do good to others this should quiet them And yet in the 10. verse And he hath brought thee neer to him and all thy Brethren the Sons of Levi with thee and seeke yee the Priest-hood also have not you enough already but still you are discontented with what you have and must have more seek ye yet more Seek ye the Priest-hood also for which cause both thou and all thy Company are gathered together against the Lord And what is Aaron that yee murmure against him what hath God given you such things and yet will you be murmuring because you cannot have more me thinks 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 countervaile all their Afflictions by being more abundant in the work of the Lord that is the first text of Scripture that shewes how the mercies we enjoy are Agravations to the sin of murmuring And then a second Scripture is in the 2. of Job 10. ver A speech of Job to his wife what saith Iob when his wife would have had him cursse God and die 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 evill you see Iob did help himselfe 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 evill yet doe not we receive good as well as evill let us set one against the other that 's the way we should go In the 7. of Ecclesiastes the 14. vers 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 joyfull 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 joyfull but what if Afflictions befals 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 colume of afflictions and write one against the other and see if God hath not fill'd one colume 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 child but he hath been mercifull to you in another child set one against the other God afflicted David in Absolom but he was mercifull to David in Solomon and therefore when David cryed out oh Absolom 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 mercifull 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 concerne you so to doe for those mercies will be agravations of your sins and you had better make Gods
by what he finds in himself 57 He fetcheth supply from the Covenant Page 61 1 In Generall ibid 2 From particular promises 64 14 He realliseth the things of Heaven 67 15 He letteth his heart out to God ibid Lessons whereby Christ teacheth Contentment 1 Self-deniall 68 Whereby a Christian knows 1 That he is nothing 69 2 That he deserves nothing ibid 3 That he can do nothing 70 4 That he can receive no good of himself ibid 5 If God withdraw himself he can make use of nothing ibid 6 That he is worse than nothing 71 7 That there is no loss of him if he perish ibid 8 That he comes to rejoyce in Gods waies 72 2 Lesson To know the vanity of the Creature 73 3 Lesson to know that one thing wherefore 74 SERMON V 4 Lesson To know his relation in this world 76 5 Lesson Wherein the good of the Creature is Page 79 6 Lesson The knowledge of his own heart 82 Which helps to Contentment 1 By discovering wherein discontent lies ibid 2 By knowing what is suitable to our condition 83 3 By this we know what we are able to mannage 84 7 Lesson To know the burden of a prosperous estate 85 Which is four fold 1 The burden of trouble ibid 2 The burden of danger 86 3 The burden of duty 89 4 The burden of account ibid 8 Lesson A great evill to be given up to our own hearts desire 91 SERMON VI 9 Lesson The right knowledge of Gods providence 94 Wherein four things 1 The universality of it ibid 2 The efficacy of it 95 3 The variety of it ibid 4 Gods particular dealing with his people 97 In three things 1 They are ordinarily in affliction 98 2 When he intends them greatest mercies he brings them lowesi ibid 3 He works by contraries Page 99 The excellency of Contentment 1 Excellency By it we give God his due worship 101 2 Excel In it there is much exercise of grace 103 1 There is much strength of grace ibid 2 There is much beuty of grace 104 3 Excel The soul is fitted to receive mercy 106 4 Excel It is fitted to do service 107 5 Excel Contententment delivers from temptation 108 6 Excel It brings abundance of comfort 110 7 Excel It fetcheth in that that we possess not 111 In 4 particulars 131 SERMON VII 8 Excel Contentment a great blessing of God upon the soule 115 9 Excel A contented man may expect reward 116 10 Excel By Contentment the soul comes neerest the Excellency of God himself 117 â—se 1 To be humbled for want of Contentment Page 118 The Evils in a murmuring spirit 1 It is an Argument of much corruption in the soul 119 2 It is a note of a wicked man 120 3 Murmuring is accounted Rebellion 121 4 It is exceeding contrary to grace in conversion 122 The works of God in conversion 1 To make us sensible of the evill in sin 123 2 A sight of the excellency of Christ ibid 3 Taking the heart from the creature ibid 4 Casting the soul on Christ for all good 124 5 Subduing the soul to Christ as King ibid 6 Giving up the soul to God in Covenant 125 5 Evill Murmuring below a Christian 126 1 Below his relation 1 To God as a Father ibid 2 To Christ as a spouse ibid 3 To Christ as a member 127 4 To Christ as a Co-heir ibid 5 To Gods Spirit as a temple ibid 6 To Angels as one with them ibid 7 To Saints as of the same body ibid 2 Below his dignity Every Christian a King Page 128 3 It is below the spirit of a Christian 129 4 Below the profession of a Christian 131 5 Below the grace of faith ibid SERMON VIII 6 Below the helps of a Christian 132 7 Below the expectation of a Christian ibid 8 Below what other Christians have done 133 6 Evill by murmuring we undoe our prayers ibid 7 Evill The effects of a muring heart 1 Loss of much time 134 2 Vnfitness for Duty ibid 3 Wickedrisings of heart 135 4 Vnthankfulness ibid 6 Shifting 138 8 Evill Discontent a foolish sinne ibid 1 It takes away the comfort of what we have ibid 2 We cannot help our selves by it 139 3 It causeth foolish carriage to God and man ibid 4 It takes out the sweetness of mercies before they come ibid 5 It makes Affliction worse 141 9 Evill It provokes the wrath of God ibid 10 Evill There is a curse upon it Page 146 11 Evill There is much of the spirit of Satan in it 147 12 Evill It brings an absolute necessity of disquiet ibid 13 Evill God may justly withdraw his protection from such ibid Agravations of the sin of murmuring 1 Agravation The greater the mercies the greater the sin of murmuring 150 SERMON IX 2 Agrav When we murmur for small things 157 3 Agrav When men of parts and abilities murmur 158 4 Agrav The freeness of Gods mercy ibid 5 Agrav Discontent for what we have 159 6 Agrav When men are raised frrom a low condition ibid 7 Agrav When men have bin great sinners 160 8 Agrav When those murmur that are of little use in the world 161 9 Agrav To murmur when God is about to humble us ibid 10 Agrav When Gods hand is apparâ—nt in an affliction Page 162 11 Agrav To murmur under long afflictions 163 Pleas of a discontented heart 1 Plea I am but sensible of my affliction 1 Sense of affliction takes not away sense of mercies 165 2 It hinders not Duty ibid 3 It will make us bloss God for the mercies of others ibid 2 Plea My trouble is for my sins 1 It is not if you were not troubled for sin before 166 2 When the greatest care is to remove affliction ibid 3 If after affliction is removed sin troubles not ibid 4 If there be not care to avoid sin after 167 5 There is the more cause to accept of the punnishment ibid 3 Plea God withdrawâ— himselfe 1 We think God is departed when he doth but afflict 168 2 Disquiet is a sign and cause of Gods departure ibid 3 If God depart from us we should not from him 169 4 Plea I am troubled for mens ill dealing 1 Men are Gods instruments 170 2 We should rather pittie them then murmur Page 171 3 We have righteous dealing with God ibid SERMON X 5 Plea It is an affliction I looked not for 1 It is folly not to look for afflictions ibid 2 We should be more carefull of our carriage in it 172 6 Plea The affliction is exceeding great 1 It is not so great as thy sins ibid 2 It might have bin greater 173 3 It is greater for thy murmuring ibid 7 Plea It is greater then others afflictions Answered in 4 things 173 8 Plea If any other affliction they could be Content Answered in 4 things 174 9 Plea My afflictions make me unservicable to God 1 Though thou art mean thou art a member of the
mercies a means to lessen your sins then to be the agravation of your sins If you make not the mercies of God to helpe you against your murmuring you will make them to be agravations of the sinne 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 doth agravate this sin thus In the midst of our sins we doe make account God should accept of our services doe but consider thus if in the midst of our many sinnes wee hope that God will accept of our poor services why then should not we in the midst of our afflictions blesse 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 slight them and disregard them If thou in the midst of Gods mercies shalt not be willing to bear afflictions that God layes upon thee then it were just with God that in the midst of thy sins he should not regard any of thy duties now iâ— there not as much power in thy manifould sins to cause God to reject thy duties and seivices as there is power in afflictions in the mid'st of many mercies to take off thy heart from being affected with Gods mercies And that 's the fist aggravation of of the sinne of murmuring to murmur in the mid'st 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 doe 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 bin 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 leavs off his trees what a most unreasonable thing were it for him to be weeping and wringing his hands because he looses a few leavs off his trees when he hath abundance of all kinde 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 leavs from them is enough to disquiet them It was a great evill when Ahab having a kingdom yet the want of his neighbours 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 child that hath all the limbs and parts compleat a child that is very comly and hath excellent parts wit and memory but it may be there is a wart that grows upon the finger of the child and she murmurs at it and Oh what an affliction this is to her she is so taken up with that as she forgets to give any thankes to God for her child and all the goodnesse of God to her in the child is swallowed up in that would not you say this were a folly a very great evill in a woman so to do Truly 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 child saith she Why am I thus As if she should say I had as good have none onely because she found a little paine and trouble in her body To be discontent when the affliction is small and little that increases very much the sin of murmuring it is to much for any one to murmur upon the heaviest crosse that can befall one in this world but upon some small things to be discontent and murmur that 's worse I have read of one when he lay upon a heap of damask-roses he complained that there was one of the rose leaves lay double under him So we are ready thus for very small things to make complaints and to be discontented with our condition and that 's a second aggravation A third aggravation is this For men that are of parts and abilities that God hath given wisdom to for them to be discontent and murmur that is more then if others do it Murmuring and discontentednesse it too much in the weakest yet we can bear with it sometimes in children and women that are weake but for those that are men men of understanding that have wisdom that God imployes in publick service that they should be discontent with every thing this is an exceeding great evill for men in their families to whom God hath given parts and wisdom when things fall out amisse there to be alwaies murmuring and repining their sin is greater then for women or children to do it A fourth agravation 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 evill Suppose a man were in a family entertaind 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 plentifull provision and all given him Gratis and payes nothing for his board 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 houre longer for a thing then he would this we would account a great evill 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 sinne A fift aggravation of the sin
was to prepare thee for afflictions we should look at all our outward prosperity as a preparation to afflictions if thou hadst done so then it would not have bin so difficult for thee to have indured afflictions now when thou hadst a great estate yet if thou hadst made use of this mercy of God to prepare thee for thy afflicted estate then the change of thy estate would not be so greivious That every Christian should do have I an estate now I should prepare for poverty have I health now I should prepare for sicknesse 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 wouldst do so the change of thy condition would not be so greivious to thee Marriners that are in a calme will prepare for stormes would they say if we never had calmes we could bear storms but now we have had calmes so many years or weeks together this is greivious In thy calme thou art to prepare for stormes and the storme would be lesse 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 a forehand with me in the waies of his mercy this one consideration may help murmuring hearts Dost thou murmur because once thou wert better know God was before hand with thee in the waies 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 liv'd in health and peace and plenty what though the remaining part of my time have some sorrow and affliction The Lord hath granted to me a comfortable sunshine 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 months together what if you have a little storme when you are within sight of land will you murmur and repine Oh no but rather blesse 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 shal never see comfortable day more for outward things in this world Oh then you have cause to fall down and blesse Gods name that you have had so many comfortable dayes Now you reason quite contrary whereas you should blesse God that you have had so much comfort you make what you have had before to be an agravation of your afflictions now and so murmur and are discontented That which God gave you before upon what termes 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 heyrs indeed for grace be doth give it to your selves to have and to hold for ever though not for every one that comes out of your loines to have and to hold for ever God doth not give any outward thing so upon no 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 his covenant he gives me them for ever what am I therefore that the Sun should alwaies shine upon me that I must have fair weather all my daies that which God gives to me he gave it to me as a pledge of his love let me returne it 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 returne to me as a pledge of your obedience that that you had from me as a pledge of my love wee should chearfully come in to God and blesse God that we have any thing to render unto him as a pledge of our obedience and say Oh it is thy love O Lord that hath given us any thing that doth inable 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 A Twelfth Plea Another reasoning of a murmuring heart is this Oh but after I have taken a great deale of pains for such a comfort yet then I am erost 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 crosse the more obedience and submission Secondly when thou didest take a great deal of paine was it not with submission to God Didest 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 didest 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 wholy upon thee for-successe and a blessing And what was it that thou didest aime at in thy labour was it not that thou mightest walke with God in the place that God had set thee A Christian should doe 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 doe it that I might provide for my family but the cheif thing that I aime at is that I might yeeld 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 suffring thou wilt doe it if thy heart be right Thirdly there will be the more testimony of thy love to God if so be thou shalt now yeild up thy selfe 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 showne that thou canst offer that to God that cost thee dear Now these are the principall reasonings of a discontented heart A Thirteeneth Plea There 's one Plea more that may be nam'd and that is this Saith some though I confess