Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	affliction_n	great_a	sin_n	1,620	5	5.2580	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30598	The rare jewel of Christian contentment wherein is shewed, I. What contentment is, II. The holy art or mystery of it, III. Several lessons that Christ teacheth, to work the heart to contentment, IV. The excellencies of it, V. The evils of murmuring, VII. The aggravations of the sin of murmuring / by Jeremiah Burroughs.	Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.	1649 (1649)	Wing B6103; ESTC R32016	217,805	276

of affliction takes not away sense of mercies Page 165 2 It hinders not Duty ibid 3 It will make us bless 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 Page 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 Page 167 5 There is the more cause to accept of the punishment ibid 3 Plea God withdraws himself 1 We think God is departed when he doth but afflict Page 168 2 Disquiet is a sign and cause of Gods departure ibid 3 If God depart from us we should not from him Page 169 4 Plea I am troubled for mens ill dealing 1 Men are Gods instrrments Page 170 2 We should rather pity them than murmur Page 171 3 We have righteous dealing with God ibid 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 careful of our carriage in it Page 172 6 Plea The affliction is exceeding great 1 It is not so great as thy sins ibid 2 It might have been greater Page 173 3 It is greater for thy murmuring ibid 7 Plea It is greater than others afflictions Answered in 4 things Page 173 8 Plea If any other affliction they could be content Answered in 4 things Page 174 9 Plea My afflictions make me unservicable to God 1 Though thou art mean thou art a member of the body Page 176 2 Thy generall calling is high Page 177 3 Thou art equal with Angels ibid 4 God highly esteems the actions of mean Christians Page 178 5 Faithfulness in a mean calling shall be rewarded ibid 10. Plea My condition is unsetled 1 Every man in his setled estate is vanity Page 179 2 God will have us live in dependance ibid 3 Thy spiritual condition may be setled Page 181 11 Plea I have been in a better condition 1 Thy eye should not he evill because the eye of God hath been good Page 182 2 Prosperity was to prepare thee for affliction ibid 12 Plea I am crost after much pains 1 The greater the cross the more the obedience Page 184 2 Thy pains should be with submission to God Page 185 3 Contentment in such a condition is a testimony of more love to God ibid 13 Plea Distempers of heart accounted as words before God ibid Considerations to work the heart to Contentment 1 Consid The greatness of the mercies we have Page 187 2 God is beforehand with us with mercies Page 188 3 The abundance of mercies we enjoy Page 189 4 All creatures in a visicitude ib. 5 The creature suffers for us ibid 6 We have little time in the world Page 190 7 It hath been the condition of our betters Page 191 8 We were once content with the world without grace and should now with grace without the world Page 193 9 When we had Contentment we gave not God the glory ibid 10 Experience of Gods doing us good in afflictions ibid Directions to Contentment 1 There must be grace to make the soul steady Page 195 2 Not to gripe too much of the world ibid 3 Have a cal in every business Page 196 4 Walk by rule ibid 5 Exercise much faith Page 197 6 Labour to be spiritually minded Page 198 7 Promise not your selves great things Page 200 8 Get mortified hearts to the world ibid 9 Pore not too much on afflictions Page 201 10 Make a good construction of Gods wayes towards us Page 202 11 Regard not others fancies but what we feel Page 205 12 Be not inordinately taken with the comforts of the world Page 206 The CONTENTS of the last Sermon On EXODVS 14.13 STanding still five waies evill Page 304 Good three wayes Page 307 Doct. 1 When God is in a way of salvation he may bring his people into straights Page 311 Reasons 1 Because God will humble them Page 313 2 He delights in the exercise of their faith Page 315 3 He delights in their prayers Page 316 4 To discover those that are evill ibid 5 That the adversaries may vent theie malice Page 317 6 That Christs work may appear the more ibid Use Not to sink because of straights Page 318 Doct. 2. In straights Gods people are mightily troubled ibid Reasons 1 Because there is much flesh in the best Page 319 2 There is a great deal of guilt ib. 3 There is self-confidence ib. Use 1 To blame our selves for sinking in straights Page 320 2 To think what will become of wicked men ibid Doct. 3 In those straits we should quiet our selves and look for Gods salvation Page 321 1. Quiet our selves 1 Because then we are fit to look to the wisdom faithfulness and power of God Page 322 2 Because else we cannot make use of our graces ibid 3 We cannot shew our subjection to God Page 323 4 Nor our reverence to God ib. 5 We cannot make use of that we hear ib. 6 We shall hinder others Page 224 2 To expect salvation from God 1 Hereby we sanctifie Gods Name ib. 2 This shews the excellency of faith Page 325 3 It engageth God in our Cause ib. Doct. 4 The sight of salvation after straits a glorious thing Page 328 FINIS THE RARE JEWEL OF CHRISTIAN Contentment PHILIPPIANS 4.11 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content HERE is a very seasonable Cordial to revive the drooping spirits of the Saints in these sad and sinking times For the hour of temptation is already come upon all the world to try the Inhabitants of the earth and in special this is the day of Jacobs troubles in our owne bowels Our great Apostle experimentally holds forth in this Gospel-Text the very life and soul of all practical Divinity wherein we may plainly reade his own proficiency in Christs School and what lesson every Christian that would evidence the power and growth of godliness in his own soul must necessarily learn from him These words are brought in by Paul as a plain argument to perswade the Philippians that he did not seek after great things in the world and that he sought not theirs but them He did not passe for a great estate he had better things to take up his heart withal I do not speak saith he in respect of want For whether I have or have not my heart is fully satisfied I have enough I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I have learned Contentment in every condition is a great art a spiritual mystery It is to be learned and so to be learned as a mystery And therefore verse 12. he affirms I know how to be ab●sed and I know how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed The word which is translated Instructed is derived from that word which signifies Mystery and it is

as one of the foolish women shall we receive good at the band of God and not evil you see Job did help himself against all murmuring thoughts against the waies of God with this consideration that he had received so much good from the Lord what though we receive evil yet do not we receive good as well as evil let us set one against the other that 's the way we should go In the 17. of Ecclesiastes the 14. 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 column of afflictions and write one against the other and fee if God hath not fil'd one column as full as the other you look altogether upon your afflictions but look upon your mercies also for instance It may be God hath afflicted you in one child but he hath been merciful to you in another child set one against the other God afflicted David in Absolom but he was merciful to David in Solomon and therefore when David cryed out Oh Absolom my Son my Son if David had thought upon Solomon and cried Oh Solomon my son my son it would have quieted him And it may be God hath been merciful to thee in a wife or in thy husband set that against thy affliction it may be God crosses thee in thy estate but it may be he doth imploy thee in his service it may be thou art afflicted in some of thy friends but thou hast other friends that are great mercies to thee and therefore you should set one against the other and it doth concern you so to do for those mercies will be aggravations of your sins and you had better make Gods mercies a means to lessen your sins than to be the aggravation of your sins If you make not the mercies of God to help you against your murmuring you will make them to be aggravations of the sin of murmuring I beseech you for this take but this one consideration further and if you will but work it upon your hearts I hope you may find a great deal of power in it You find afflictions and your hearts are troubled and murmur consider how Gods mercies doth 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 manie sins we hope that God will accept of our poor services why then should not we in the midst of our afflictions blesse God for his manie 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 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 smal 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 orchyards 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 neighbours vinyard 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 is this to her she is so taken up with that as she forgets to give any thanks 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 evil 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 only because she found a little pain 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

an afflicted condition and a sad condition and yet they can bring their hearts to a Contentation out of a sunctified judgment this is freedom Thirdly This freedom it is in opposition to stupidness for a man and woman may be contented meerly out of want of sence this is not free as a man in a dead palsie that doth not feel you nip his flesh he is not freely patient but if one should have their flesh nipt and feel it and yet for all that can be able to bridle themselves and do it freely that is another matter So it is here many are contented meerly out of stupidnesse they have a dead palsie upon them but now a gracious heart hath sence enough and yet is contented and therefore is free Sixthly Freely submitting to and taking complacency in Gods dispose Submitting to Gods dispose What is that The word Submit it signifies nothing else but to send under as thus One that is discontented the heart will be unruly and would even get above God so far as discontentment prevailes but now comes the grace of Contentment and sends it under to submit it is to send under a thing now when the soul comes to see the unrulinesse that there is in it here 's the hand of God that brings an affliction and my heart is troubled and discontented what saith the Soul Wilt thou be above God Is it not Gods hand and must thy will be regarded more than Gods O under under O thou soul get under keep under keep low keep under Gods feet thou art under Gods feet and keep under his feet keep under the Authority of God the Majesty of God the Soveraignity of God the Power that God hath over thee Keep under that is to submit then the Soul can submit to God when it can send it's self under the Power and Authority and Soveraignity and Dominion that God hath over it that is the Sixth Particular Yea but that is not enough yet you have not got to this Grace of Contentment except in the next place you take Seventhly Taking a complacency in Gods dispose That is thus I am well pleased in what God doth so far as I can see God in it though as I said I may be sensible of the affliction and may desire that God in his due time would take it off and use means to take it off yet I may be well pleased so far as Gods hand is in it To be well pleased with Gods hand that is a higher degree than the other and this comes from hence not only because I see that I should be content in this affliction but because I see that there is good in this affliction I find there is hony in this rock and so I do not only say I must or I will submit to Gods hand no but the hand of God is good it is good that I am afflicted That it is just that I am afflicted that may be in one that is not truly contented I may be convinced that God deals justly in this God is righteous and just and t is fit I should submit to what he hath done O the Lord hath done righteously in al his waies but that is not enough but thou must say Good is the hand of the Lord the expression of old Ely Good is the word of the Lord when it was a sore hard word that word that did threaten very grievous things to Ely and his house and yet Good is the word of the Lord saith Ely Perhaps some of you may say as David It is good that I was afflicted nay you must come to say thus It is good that I am afflicted Not good when you see the good fruit that it hath wrought but when you are afflicted to say It is good that I am afflicted Whatever the affliction be yet through the mercy of God my condition is a good condition it is the top indeed and the height of this art of Contentment to come to this pitch to be able to say Well my condition and afflictions are thus and thus and is very grievous and sore yet I am through Gods mercy in a good condition and the hand of God is good upon me notwithstanding Now I should have given you divers Scriptures about this I shall but give you one or two that are very remarkable you will think this is a hard lesson to come thus far not only to be quiet but to have a complacency in affliction Prov. 16.6 In the house of the righteous is much treasure but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble Here 's a Scripture now that will shew that a gracious heart hath cause to say it is in a good condition what ever it be In the house of the Righteous is much Treasure his house what house it may be a poor Cottage perhaps he hath scarce a stool to sit on perhaps he is fain to sit upon a stump of wood a piece of a block instead of a stool or perhaps he hath scarce a bed to lie upon or a dish to eat in yet saith the Holy Ghost In the house of the righteous is much treasure Let the righteous man be the poorest man in the world It may be there are some that have come and taken all the goods out of his house for debt perhaps his house is plundered and all is gone yet still In the house of the righteous is much treasure the righteous man can never be brought to be so poor to have his house rifled and spoiled but there will remain much treasure within if he hath but a dish or a spoon or any thing in the world in his house there will be much treasure so long as he is there there is the presence of God and the blessing of God upon him and therein is much treasure but in the revenues of the wicked there is trouble There is more treasure in the poorest bodies house if he be godly than in the house of the greatest man in the world that hath his brave hangings and brave wrought beds and chairs and couches and cupbords of plate and the like what ever he hath he hath not so much treasure in it as in the house of the poorest righteous soul therefore in a verse or two after my text no mervail though Paul saith he was Content you shall see in Phil. 4.18 But I have all and abound I am full I have all Alas poor man what had Paul that could make him say he had all where was there ever man more afflicted than Paul was many times he had not tatters to hang about his body to cover his nakednesse he had not bread to eat he was often in nakednesse and put in the stocks and whipt and cruelly used yet I have all saith Paul for all that Yea you shall have it in 2. Cor. 6.10 he professes there That he did possess all things as sorrowful yet alwaies rejoycing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing and yet