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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

his estate in his dealings with men we would not think his condition so happy One may have a very fine new Shoo but no body knows where it pinches him but he that hath it on so you think such and such men are happy but they may have many troubles that you little think of 2. There is a burden of Danger in it Men that are in a prosperous condition they are in a great deal of danger you see sometimes in the evening when you light up your Candles the Moths and the Gnats will be flying up and down in the Candle but they scorch their wings and there they fall down dead so there is a great deal of danger in a prosperous estate those men that are set upon a pinacle on high these men they are in greater danger than other men are Honey we know doth invite Bees and Wasps unto it and so the sweet of prosperity doth invite the Devil and Temptation Men that are in a prosperous estate are subject to many temptations that other men are not subject to The Scripture calls the Devil Beel-zebub that is the God of Flies and so Beelzebub comes where the honey of prosperity is They are in very great danger of temptations that are in a prosperous condition The dangers of men that are in a prosperous estate that have more than others should be considered of by those that are lower think with thy self Though they be above me yet they are in more danger than I am the tall Trees are more shattered a great deal than low shrubs so you know the ship that hath all the sails up the top sail and all in a storm this is in more danger than that that hath all the sails drawn in And so men that have their Top-gallant and all up and brave they are more like to be drown'd drown'd in perdition than other men are and therefore you know what the Scripture saith how hard it is for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven such a text should make poor people to be contented with their estates We have a notable example for that in the Children of Kohath you shall find that they were in a more excellent estate than the other of the Levites but they were in more danger than the other and more trouble First That the Children of Kohath were in a higher condition than other of the Levites that I 'll shew you out of the fourth of Numb 4. vers there you shall find what their condition was This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the Congregation about the most holy things Mark the Levites were exercised about holy things but the sons of Kohath their service was about the most holy things of all and you shall find in the 21. of Joshua vers 10. That God did honor the sons of Kohath in a more special manner than he did honor the other Levites which honor the Children of Aaron being of the families of the Kohathites who were of the Children of Levi had for theirs was the first Lot and they were prefer'd before the other families of Levi those that were imployed in the most honorable imployment they had the most honorable Lot the first Lot fel to them Thus you see God honored the Children of the Kohathites But might other Levites say how hath God preferred this family before us They were honored more than the other were But now mark their burden that comes with heir Honor and that I will shew you out of two Scriptures first is Num. 7.6 7 8 9. And Moses took the Wagons and Oxen and gave them unto the Levites Two Wagons and four Oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon according to their service and four Wagons and eight Oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari according unto their service under the hand of Ithamer the son of Aaron the Priest But saith he vers 9. Unto the sons of Kohath he gave none because the service of the Sanctuary that belonged unto them was That they should bear upon their shoulders Mark the other Levites had Oxen and Wagons given unto them to ease them of their service but saith he to the sons of Kohath he gave none but they should bear their service upon their shoulders and that 's the reason why God was so displeased because that they would have more ease in Gods service than God would have them for whereas they should carry it upon their shoulders they would carry it upon a Cart Mark here you see the first burden that they had beyond what the other Levites had And those that are under them think not of their burden that they are to carry upon their shoulders when as others have means to ease them and many times those that are employed in the Ministery or Magistracy that sit at the Stern to order the great Affairs of the Commonwealth and State you think they live bravely They lie awake when you are asleep if you knew the burden that lies upon their spirits you would think that your labour and burden were very little in comparison of theirs 2. There 's another burden of danger more than the rest and that you shall find in Numb 4.17 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying Cut ye not eff the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites but thus do unto them that they may live and not die When they approach unto the most holy things Aaron and his Sons shall go in and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden but they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered lest they die Mark this text saith the Lord to Moses and Aaron Cut ye not off the tribe of the family of the Kohathites from among the Levites Cut them not off why what had they done had they done any thing amiss No they had not done any thing that provoked God but the meaning is this Take a great care of the family of the Kohathites to instruct them in their duty that they were to do for saith God they are in a great deal of danger being to serve in the most holy things If they should go in to see the holy things more than God would have them it is as much as their lives are worth and therefore if you should but neglect them and not inform them throughly in their duty they would be undone saith God They are to administer in the most holy things and if they should but dare to presume to do any thing otherwise than God would have them about those services it would cost them their lives and therefore be not you careless of them for if you neglect them you will be a means of cutting them off Thus you see the danger that the family of the Kohathites were in they were preferr'd before others but they were in more danger So you think there are such men in a Parish

turnings there and we should labour to know our hearts well that when they are out of tune we may know what the matter is 2. This knowledge of our hearts will help us to Contentment because by this We shall come to know what is most sutable to our condition As thus A man that knows not his own heart he thinks not what need he hath of affliction and upon that he is disquieted but that man or woman that hath studied their own hearts when God comes with afflictions upon them they can say I would not for any thing in the world have been without this affliction God hath so suted this affliction to my condition and hath come in such a way that if this affliction had not come I am afraid I should have fallen into sin A poor ignorant man that takes Physick the Physick works and he thinks it will kill him because he knows not the ill humors that are in his body and therefore he understands not how sutable the Physick is to him but a Physician takes a Purge and it makes him extreamly sick saith the Physician I like this the better it doth but work upon the humor that I know is the cause of my disease and upon that such a man that hath knowledge and understanding of his body and the cause of his distemper he is not troubled or disquieted So would we be if we did but know the distempers of our own hearts Carnal men and women they know not their own spirits and therefore they fling and vex upon every affliction that doth befall them they know not what distempers are in their hearts that may be healed by their afflictions if it please God to give them a sanctified use of them 3. By knowing their own hearts they know what they are able to mannage and by this meanes they come to be content the Lord perhaps takes away many comforts from them that they had before or denies them some things that they hoped to have got now they by knowing their hearts know this That they were not able to manage such an estate and they were not able to manage such prosperity God saw it and saith a poor soul I am in some measure convinc'd by looking into mine own heart that I was not able to manage such a condition A man desires greedily to gripe more perhaps than he is able to manage and so undoes himself As Country men do observe that if they do over-stock their Land it will quickly spoyl them and so a wise Husband-man that knows how much his ground will bear he is not troubled that he hath not so much stock as others why because he knows he hath not ground enough for so great a stock and that quiets him So many men and women that know not their own hearts they would fain have a prosperous estate as others have but if they knew their own hearts they would know that they were not able to mannage it If one of your little Children of three or four years old should be crying for the coat of her that is twelve or fourteen years old and say Why may not I have a coat as long as my Sisters If she had it would soon trip up her heels and break her face but when the childe comes to understanding she is not discontented because her coat is not so long as her Sisters but saith my coat is fit for me and therein takes content So if we come to understanding in the School of Christ we will not cry Why have not I such an estate as others have the Lord sees that I am not able to mannage it and I see it my self by the knowing of mine own heart You shall have children if they see but a Knife they will cry for it because they know not their strength and that they are not able to mannage it but you know they are not able to mannage it and therefore you will not give it them and when they come to so much understanding as to know that they are not able to mannage it they will not cry for it so we would not cry for such and such things if we knew that we were not able to manage them when you vex and fret for what you have not I may say to you as Christ saith you know not of what Spirit you are of It was a speech of Oecolampadius to Parillus saith he when they were speaking about his extream poverty Not so poor though I have been very poor yet I would be poorer I could be willing to be poorer than I am for the truth is as if he should say the Lord knew that that was more sutable to me and I knew that my own heart was such that a poor condition was more sutable to me than a rich certainly would we say if we knew our own hearts that such and such a condition is better for me than if it had been otherwise The seventh Lesson Is the burden of a prosperous estate Such a one that comes into Christs School to be instructed in this Art never comes to attain to any great skill in this Art till he comes to understand the burden that is in a prosperous estate Object You will say What burden is there in a prosperous estate Answ Yes certainly a great burden and there needs a great strength to bear it as men had need have strong brains that can bear strong Wine so they had need of strong spirits that are able to bear prosperous conditions and not to do themselves hurt there 's a fourfold burden in a prosperous estate Many men and women look at the shine and glittering of prosperity but they little think of the burden but there 's a fourfold burden 1. There 's Aburden of trouble A Rose hath its prickles and so the Scripture saith That he that will be rich pierceth himself through with many sorrows 1 Tim. 6.10 If a mans heart be set upon it that he must be rich and he will be rich such a man will pierce himself through with many sorrows he looks upon the delight and glory of riches that appears outwardly but he considers not what piercing sorrows he may meet withall in them The consideration of the trouble in a prosperous condition I have divers times thought of and I cannot tell by what similitude to express it better than by travelling in some Champion Country where round about is very fair and sandy ground and you see there a Town a great way off in a bottom and you think O how bravely is that Town seated but when you come and ride into the Town you shall ride through a dirty lane and through acompany of fearful dirty holes and you could not see the dirty lane and holes when you were two or three miles off so sometimes we look upon the prosperity of men and think such a man lives bravely and comfortably but if we did but know what troubles he meets withal in his family in

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

I am content with this fare and as for rewards let them be offered to those that cannot be content to dine with a dish of turnips So the truth is we see it apparently that the reason why many do betray their trust as in the Parliament service and Kingdom is because they cannot be contented to be in a low condition Let a man be contented to be in a low condition and to go meanly cloathed if God sees it fit such a man is shot-free as I may so say from thousands of temptations of the Devil that do prevail against others to the damning of their souls Oh in such times as those are when men are in danger of the loss of their estates I say those men that have not got this grace are in a most lamentable condition they are in more danger for their souls than they are for their outward estates you think it is a sad thing to be in danger of your outward estates that you may lose all in a night but if you have not this contented spirit within you you are in more danger of the temptations of the Devil to be plundered that way of any good and to be led into sin Oh when men think thus they must live as brave as they were wont to do these men make themselves a prey to the Devil but such as can say let God do with me what he pleases I am content to submit to his hand in it the Devil will scarce meddle with such men It 's a notable speech of a Philosopher that lived upon mean fare and as he was eating herbs and roots saith one to him If you would but please Dyonisius you need not eat herbs and roots but he answered him thus If you would but be content with such mean fare you need not flatter Dyonisius So temptations will no more prevail upon a contented man than a dart that is thrown against a brasen wall That 's the fifth particular The sixth Excellency is The abundant comforts in a mans life that Contentment will bring Contentment will make mans life exceeding sweet and comfortable nothing more than the Grace of Contentment many ways I will shew how it brings in Comfort 1. As first What a man hath he hath it in a kind of Independent way not depending upon any creature for his comfort 2. A contented man whose estate is low if God raises his estate he hath the love of God in it and then it 's abundantly more sweet than if he had it and his heart not contented or if he had not the love of God in it for it may be God grants to a discontented man his desire but he cannot say it is from love if a man hath quieted his spirit first and then God grant him his desire he may have more comfort in it and more assurance that he hath the love of God in it 3. This Contentment is a comfort to a mans spirit in this That it doth keep in his comforts and keep out whatsoever may damp his comforts or put out the light of them I may compare this Grace of Contentment to a Mariners Lanthorn a Mariner when he is at sea let him have never so much provision in his Ship yet if he be thousands of leagues from land or in a rode that he shall not meet with a Ship in three or four months if he hath never a Lanthorn in his Ship nor nothing whereby he may keep a Candle light in a storm he will be in a sad condition he would give a great deal to have a Lanthorn or something that may serve instead of it When a storm comes in the night and he cannot have any light come above board but it is puft out presently his condition is very sad so many men can have light of comfort when there is no storm but let there come but any affliction any storm upon them their light is puft out presently and what shall they do now when the heart is furnished with this Grace of Contentment this Grace is as it were the Lanthorn and it keeps comfort in the spirit of a man light in the midst of a storm and tempest When you have a Lanthorn in the midst of a storm you can carry a light every where up and down the ship to the top of the Mast if you will and yet keep it light so the comfort of a Christian when it is enlivened with the Grace of Contentment it may be kept light whatever storms or tempests come yet he can keep light in his soul Oh! this helps thy comforts exceeding much Seventhly There is this excellency in Contentment that it fetches in the comfort of those things we have not really in possession and perhaps many that have not outward things have more comfort than those have that do enjoy them themselves As now a man by distilling herbs though he hath not the herbs themselves yet having the water that is distill'd out of them he may enjoy the benefit of the herbs So though a man hath not the real possession of such an outward estate an outward comfort yet he by the grace of Contentment may fetch it in to himself By the Art of Navigation we can fetch in the riches of the East and West-Indies to ourselves so by the Art of Contentment we may fetch in the comfort of any condition to our selves that is we may have that comfort by Contentment that we should have if we had the thing it self There is a notable story you have for this in Plutarch in the life of Pyrrhus one Sineus comes to him and would very fain have had him desist from the wars and not war with the Romans saith he to him May it please your Majesty it is reported that the Romans are very good men of War and if it please the gods we do overcome them what benefit shall we have of that victory Pyrrhus answered him we shall straight then conquer all the rest of Italy with ease saith Sineus indeed it is likely which your Grace speaketh but when we have won Italy will then our wars end If the gods were pleased Pyrrhus that the victory were atchieved the way were then broad open for us to attain great conquests for who would not afterwards go into Africk and so to Carthage But saith Sineus when we have all in our hands what shall we do in the end then Pyrrhus laughing told him again we will then be quiet and take our ease and make feasts every day and be as merry one with another as we can possible saith Sineus what letteth us now to be as quiet and merry together sith we enjoy that presently without further travel and trouble which we should go seek for abroad with such shedding of blood and so manifest danger cannot you fit down and be merry now so a man may think if I had such a thing then I would have another and if I had that then you would have more and what if

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

of the duty before many men when they hear of a duty they should perform they will labor to perform it but first you must be humbled for the want of it therefore that 's the thing that I shall endeavor in the Application to get your hearts to be humbled for the want of this Grace Oh had I had this Grace of Contentment what a happy life I might have lived what abundance of honor I might have brought to the Name of God and how might I have honored my profession and what a deal of comfort might I have enjoyed but the Lord knows it hath been far otherwise Oh how far have I been from this grace of Contentment that hath been opened to me I have had a murmuring a vexing and fretting heart within me every little cross hath put me out of temper and out of frame Oh the boisterousness of my spirit what a deal of evil doth God see in my heart in the vexing and fretting of my heart and murmuring and repining of my spirit Oh that God would make you to see it Now to the end that you might be humbled for the want of this I shall endeavor in these particulars to speak unto it First I shall set before you The evil of a murmuring spirit there is more evil then you are aware of In the second place I will shew you some aggravations of this evil It 's evil in all but in some more than in others Thirdly I shall labor to take away the Pleas that any murmuring discontented heart hath for this distemper of his There 's these Three things in this Use of humiliation of the soul for the want of this Grace of Contentment For the first now at this time The great evil that there is in a murmuring discontented heart In the first place This thy murmuring and discontentedness it argues much corruption that is in the soul as Contentment argues much Grace and strong Grace and beautiful Grace so this argues much Corruption and strong Corruption and very vile Corruption in thy heart As it is in a mans body If a mans body be of that temper that every scratch of a pin makes his flesh to rankle and to be a sore you will say surely this mans body is very corrupt his blood and flesh is corrupt that every scratch of a pin shall make it ranckle so it is in thy spirit if every little trouble and affliction shall make thee discontented and make thee murmur and even cause thy spirit within thee to ranckle or as it is in a wound of a mans body the evil of a wound it is not so much in the largness of the wound and in the abundance of blood that comes out of the wound but in the inflammation that there is in it or in a fretting and corroding humor that is in the wound an unskilful man when he comes and sees a large wound in the flesh looks upon it as a dangerous wound And when he sees a great deal of blood gush out he thinks these are the evils of it but when a Chyrurgion comes and sees a great gash saith he this will be healed within a few days but there 's a less wound and there 's an inflammation or a fretting humor that is in it and this will cost time saith he to cure so that he doth not lay Balsom and healing Salves upon it but his great care is to get out the fretting humor or inflammation so that the thing that must heal this wound it is some drink to purge But saith the patient what good will this do to my wound You give me somewhat to drink and my wound is in my arm or in my leg what good will this do that I put in my stomach Yes it purges out the fretting humor or takes away the inflammation and till that be taken away the salves can do no good So it is just for all the world in the souls of men it may be there is some affliction upon them that I compare to the wound now they think that the greatness of the affliction is that which makes their condition most miserable Oh no there is a fretting humor an inflamation in the heart a murmuring spirit that is within thee and that is the misery of thy condition and that must be purged out of thee before thou canst be healed and let God do with thee what he will till he purges out that fretting humor thy wound will not be healed a murmuring heart is a very sinful heart so that when thou art troubled for such an affliction thou hadst need turn thy thoughts rather to be troubled for the murmuring of thy heart for that 's the greatest trouble there is an affliction upon thee and that is grievous but there is a murmuring heart within that 's more grievous Oh that we could but convince men and women that a murmuring spirit is a greater evil than any affliction let the affliction be what it will be We shall shew more afterward that a murmuring spirit is the evil of the evil and the misery of the misery Secondly The evil of murmuring is such that God when he would speak of wicked men and describe them and shew the brand of a wicked ungodly man or woman he instances in this sin in a more special manner I might name many Scriptures but that Scripture in Jude is a most remarkable one in the 14. verse and so forward there it is said That the Lord comes with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgement upon all and convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodlily committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly finners have spoken against him Mark here in this 15. verse there is four times mentioned ungodly ones All that are ungodly among them all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him This is in the general But now he comes in the particular to shew who these are these are saith he Murmurers that 's the very first Would you know who are ungodly men that God when he comes with ten thousand of Angels shall come to punish for all their ungodly deeds that they do and those that speak ungodly things against them These ungodly ones are Murmurers Murmurers in the Scripture are put in the fore front of ungodly ones it s a most dreadful Scripture that the Lord when he speaks of ungodly ones puts Murmurers in the very fore front of all you had need look to your spirits you may see that this Murmuring which is the vice contrary to this Contentment is not so small a matter as you think you think you are not so ungodly as others because you do not swear and drink as others do but you may be ungodly in Murmuring its true there is no sin but some seeds and remainers of it are in those that are godly but

glued to another you cannot take off but you must rend it so it s a sign thy heart is glued to the world that when God would take thee off thy heart rends if God by an affliction should come to take any thing in the world from thee if thou canst part from it with ease without rending it s a sign then that thy heart is not glued to the world 4. A Fourth Work of God in converting of a sinner is this The easting the soul upon Jesus Christ for all its good I see Jesus Christ in the Gospel the Fountain of all Good and God out of free Grace tendering him to me for life and for salvation and now my soul casts its self rouls its self upon the infinite Grace of God in Christ for all good now hast thou done so hath God converted thee and drawn thee to his Son to cast thy soul upon him for all thy good and yet art thou discontented for the want of some little matter in a Creature-comfort art thou he that hath cast thy soul upon Jesus Christ for all good as he saith in another case Is this thy faith 5. The soul is subdued to God and then it comes to receive Jesus Christ as a King to rule to order and dispose of him how he pleases and so the heart is subdued unto God Now how opposite is a murmuring discontented heart to a heart subdued to Jesus Christ as a King and receiving him as a Lord to rule and dispose of him as he pleases 6. There is in the work of thy turning to God the giving up of thy self to God in an everlasting Covenant as thou takest Christ the head of the Covenant to be thine so thou givest up thy self to Christ In the work of Conversion there is the resignation of the soul wholly to God in an everlasting Covenant to be his hast thou ever surrendred up thy self to God in an everlasting Covenant then certainly this thy fretting murmuring heart is mighty opposite to it certainly thou forgettest this Covenant of thine and the Resignation of thy self up to God It would be a marvellous help to you to humble your souls when you are in a murmuring condition if you could but obtain so much liberty of your own spirits as to look back to see what the work of God was in Converting you there is nothing would prevail more than to think of that I am now in a murmuring discontented way But how did I feel my soul working when God did turn my soul to himself Oh how opposite is this to that work and how unbeseeming Oh what shame and confusion would come upon the spirits of men and women if they could but compare the work of corruption in their murmuring and discontent with the work of God that was upon their souls in Conversion Now we should labour to keep the work of God upon our souls that was at our Conversion for Conversion must not be only at one instant at first men are deceived in this if they think their Conversion is finished meerly at first thou must be in a way of Conversion to God all the days of thy life and therefore Christ saith to his Disciples Except ye be converted and become as little children Ye be converted Why were they not converted before Yes they were converted but they were to continue the work of conversion all the days of their lives and what work of God there is at the first Conversion it is to abide afterwards As thus Always there must abide some sight and sense of sin it may be not in the way which you had which was rather a preparation than any thing else but the sight and sense of sin it is to continue still that is you are still to be sensible of the burthen of sin as it is against the Holiness and Goodness and Mercy of God unto thee and the sight of the Excellency of Jesus Christ is to continue and thy Calling out of the Creature and the Casting thy soul upon Christ as a King still receive him day by day and the Subduing of thy heart and the Surrendring of thy self up to God in the way of Covenant now if this were but daily continued there would be no space nor time for Murmuring to work upon thy heart That 's the Fourth Particulan The Fifth thing in the evil of Discontentment Murmuring and discontentment is exceeding below a Christian Oh! it is too mean and base a distemper for a Christian to give place to it Now it 's below a Christian in many respects 1. How below the relation of a Christian The relation to which thou standest With what relation you will say First The relation thou standest in to God Dost not thou call God thy Father and dost not thou stand in relation to him as a childe what thou murmurer In 2 Sam. 13.4 It 's a Speech of Jonadab to Ammon Why art thou being the Kings Son lean from day to day wilt thou not tell me and so he told him but that was for a wicked cause he perceived that his spirit was troubled for otherwise he was of a fat and plump temper of body but because of trouble of spirit he was even pin'd away why what 's the matter thou that standest in this relation to the King and yet any thing should trouble thy heart that 's his meaning is there any thing that should disquiet thy heart and yet standest in such a relation to the King the Kings Son So I may say to a Christian Art thou the Kings Son the Son the Daughter of the King of Heaven and yet so disquieted and troubled and vext at every little thing that falls out as if a Kings Son should cry out he is undone for losing a bable what an unworthy thing were this So dost thou thou criest out as if thou wert undone and yet a Kings Son thou that standest in such relation to God as unto a Father thou doest dishonor thy Father in this as if so be either he had not wisdome or not power or not mercy enough to provide for thee 2. The relation that thou standest in to Jesus Christ thou art the Spouse of Christ what one married to Jesus Christ and yet troubled and discontented Hast thou not enough in him doth not Christ say to his Spouse as Elkanah said to Hannah 1 Sam. 1.8 Am not I better to thee than ten sons So doth not Christ thy Husband say to thee Am not I better to thee than thousands of riches comforts such comforts as thou murmurest for want of hath not God given thee his Son and will he not with him give thee all things hath the love of God been to thee to give thee his Son in way of marriage why art thou discontented and murmuring consider thy relation to Jesus Christ as thou art a Spouse and married to him his Person is thine and so all the riches of Jesus Christ is thine as the riches of

our Father loves to see his spirit in us Great men love to see great spirits in their children and the great God loves to see a great spirit in his Children we are one Spirit with God and with Christ and one Spirit with the holy Ghost therefore we should have a spirit that might manifest the Glory of the Father Son and holy Ghost in our spirits that 's the spirit of a Christian indeed The spirit of a Christian should be a Lyon-like spirit as Jesus Christ is the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah so he is called so we should manifest somewhat of the Lyon-like Spirit of Jesus Christ he manifested his Lyon-like Spirit in passing through all afflictions and troubles whatsoever without any murmuring against God When he came to drink that bitter cup and even the dregs of it he prayed to God indeed that if it were possible it might pass from him but presently Not my will but thy will be done As soon as ever he did mention the passing of the cup from him though it were the most dreadful cup that ever was drunk since the world began yet at the mentioning of it not my will but thy will be done here Christ shewed a Lyon-like Spirit in going through all kind of afflictions whatsoever without any murmuring against God in them Now a murmuring spirit is a base dejected spirit cross and contrary to the Spirit of a Christian and it s very base I remember that the Heathens account it very base Plutarch doth report of a certain people that did use to manifest their disdain to men that were over-much dejected by any affliction they did condemn them to this punishment To wear womans cloathes all their dayes or such a space of time at least they should go in womens cloaths in token of shame and disgrace to them because they had such effeminate spirits they thought it against a manlike spirit and therefore seeing they did un-man themselves they should go as women Now shall they account it an unman-like spirit to be over-much dejected in affliction and shall not a Christian account it an unchristian-like spirit to be over-much dejected by any affliction whatsoever I remember another compares murmuring spirits to children when they are weaning What a deal of stir have you with your children when you wean them how froward and vexing are they So when God would wean thee from some outward comforts in this world Oh how fretting and discontented art thou Children will not sleep themselves not let their mothers sleep when they are weaning and so when God would wean us from the world and we fret vex and murmur this is a childish spirit Fourthly It s below the profession of a Christian The profession of a Christian what 's that A Christians profession is To be dead to the world and to be alive to God that 's his profession to have his life to be hid with Christ in God to satisfie himself in God What is this thy profession and yet if thou hast not every thing that thou wouldest have to murmur and be discontent thou dost in that even deny thy profession Fifthly It is below that special Grace of Faith Faith is that that doth overcome the world it is that that makes all the Promises of God to be ours Now when thou tookest upon thee the profession of Religion Did God ever promise thee that thou shouldest live at ease and quiet and have no trouble I remember Austin hath such an expression What is this my faith what did I ever promise thee saith he that thou shouldest ever flourish in the world art thou a Christian to that end and is this thy faith I never made any such promise to thee when thou tookest upon thee to be a Christian Oh its mighty contrary to thy profession thou hast never a promise for this that thou shouldest not have such an affliction upon thee And a Christian should live by his faith it is said that the just doth live by faith now thou shouldest not look after any other life but the life that thou hast by faith now thou hast no ground for thy faith to believe that thou shouldst be delivered out of such an affliction and then why shouldest thou account it such a great evil to be under such an affliction Certainly that good that we have in the ground for our faith it is enough to content our hearts here and to all eternity A Christian should be satisfied with that that God hath made to be the object of his faith the object of his faith is high enough to satisfie his soul were it capable of a thousand times more than it is Now if thou mayest have the object of thy faith full thou hast enough to content thy soul and know that when thou art discontented for want of such and such comforts if thou wouldest but think thus God did never promise me that I should have these comforts and at this time and in such a way as I would have but I am discontented because I have not these which God did never yet promise me and therefore I sin much against the Gospel and against the Grace of Faith There is yet another thing It s below the hopes of Christians Oh! the most glorious things that the Saints hope for And against the helps that Christians have Christians have great helps that may help them against murmuring And it is against that which God expects from Christians God expects other manner of things from them than this Yea and it is below that that God hath from other Christians These things I shall open at another time SERMON VIII at Stepney Sept. 21. 1645. PHIL. 4.11 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I Mentioned divers things the last day to set out the evil of discontent I shall name Two or Three more Sixthly It is below a Christian in this Because it s below those helps that a Christian hath more than others have they have the Promises to help them that others have not it s not so much to have a Nabal have his heart sink because he hath nothing but the Creature to uphold him but it s much for a Christian that hath Promises and Ordinances to uphold his spirit which others have not Seventhly It s below the expectation that God hath of Christians for God expects not onely that they should be patient in afflictions but that they should rejoyce and triumph in them now Christians when God expects this from you for you not so much as to have attained to contentedness under afflictions Oh this is beneathe the expectation of God from you Eighthly It is below that that God hath had from other Christians Others have not onely been contented with little crosses but they have triumphed under great afflictions they have suffered the spoiling of their goods with joy read but the latter part of the 11. of the Hebrews and you shall find what great things

God hath had from his people and therefore not to be content with smaller crosses this must needs be a great evil The Sixth evil that there is in a murmuring spirit is this By murmuring you undo your prayers for it is exceeding contrary to the prayers you make unto God When you come to prayer to God you acknowledge his Soveraignty over you you come there to profess your selves to be at Gods dispose what do you pray for except you acknowledg that you are at his dispose except you will stand as it were at his dispose never come to petition to him if you will come to petition to him and yet will be your own carver you go cross to your prayers to come as if you would beg your bread at your Fathers gates every day and yet you must do what you list this is the undoing of the prayers of a Christian I remember I have read of Latimer that speaking concerning Peter that he denied his Master saith he Peter forgot his pater-noster for that was Hallowed be thy Name and thy Kingdom come So we may say when you have murmuring and discontented hearts you forget your prayers you forget what you have prayed for for you must make the Lords Prayer to be as a pattern for your Prayers though you say not alwayes the same words what do you pray but give us this day our daily bread for that 's Christs intention that we should have that as a pattern and is a directory as it were how to make your prayers now God doth not teach any of you to pray Lord give us so much a yeer or let me have such kind of cloth and so many dishes at my table Christ doth not teach you to pray so but he teaches us to pray Lord give us our bread shewing that you should be content with a little What have you not bread to eat I hope there 's none of you here but have that Obj. But I do not know if I should die what should become of my Children Or if I have bread now I know not where I shall have it the next week or where I shall have provision for the Winter Answ Where did Christ teach us to pray Lord give us provision for so long a time no but if we have bread for this day Christ would have us content Therefore when we murmur because we have not so much variety as others have we do as it were forget out Pater-noster It s against our prayers we do not in our lives hold forth the acknowledgement of the Soveraignty of God over us as we seem to acknowledge in our prayers therefore when at any time you find your hearts murmuring then do but reflect upon your selves and think thus Is this according to my prayers wherein I held forth the Soveraign Power and Authority that God hath over me The seventh thing that I adde for the evil of discontentment is The woful effects that comes to a discontented heart from murmuring I 'le name you five There are five evil effects that comes from a murmuring spirit 1. By murmuring and discontent in your hearts you come to lose a great deal of time How many times do men and women when they are discontented let their thoughts run and are musing and contriving through their present discontentedness then let their discontented thoughts be working in them for some hours together and they spend their time in vain When you are alone you should spend your time in holy meditation but you are spending your time in discontented thoughts you who complain that you cannot meditate you cannot think on good things but if you begin to think of them a little presently your thoughts are off from them but if you be discontented with any thing then you can go alone and muse and roll things up and down in your thoughts to feed a discontented humor Oh labor to see this evil effect of murmuring the losing of your time 2. It doth unfit a man for duty A man or woman that is in a contented frame you may turn such a one to any thing at any time he is fit for to go to God at any time but when one is in a discontented condition then a man or woman is exceeding unfit for the service of God And it causes many distractions in duty it unfits for duty and when you come to perform duties Oh the distractions that are in your duties when your spirits are discontented when you hear of any ill news from Sea and cannot bear it or of any ill from a friend or any loss or cross Oh what distractions do they cause in the performance of holy duties When you should be enjoying communion with God you are distracted in your thoughts about the cross that hath befallen you whereas had you but a quiet spirit though there should great crosses befall you yet they would never hinder you in the performance of any duty 3. Consider what wicked risings of heart and resolutions of spirit there are many times in a discontented fit In some discontented fits the heart rises against God and against others and sometimes hath even desperate resolutions what to do to help themselves If the Lord should have suffered you to have done sometimes in a discontented fit what you had thought to do what wonderful misery had you brought upon your selves Oh it was a mercy of God that did stop you had not God stopt you but let you go on when you thought to help your selves this way and the other way Oh it had been ill with you do you but remember those risings of heart and wicked resolutions that somtimes you have had in a discontented mood and learn to be humbled upon that 4. Vnthankfulness that 's an evil and a wicked effect that comes from discontent Unthankfulness the Scripture doth rank among very great sins For men and women that are discontent though they injoy many mercies from God yet they are thankful for none of them for this is the vile nature of discontentment to lessen every mercy of God to make those mercies they have from God to be as nothing to them because they have not what they would have Sometimes it s so even in spiritual things if they have not all they would have the comforts that they would have then what they have is nothing to them do you think that God will take this well If you should give a friend a kinsman a purse of money to go and trade withall and he should come and say What do you give me they are but a few counters they will do me no good you cannot bear this at his hand if he should do so because he hath not so much money as he would So for you to be ready to say All that God hath given me is nothing worth will do me no good they are but counters though they are precious Graces of Gods spirit that are more worth than thousands of worlds yet for

you to say they are nothing they are but common gifts and all is but in hypocrisie all counterfeit Oh! what an unthankful thing is this the Graces of Gods Spirit are nothing to a discontented heart that hath not all that it would have and so for outward blessings though God hath given you health of Body and strength and bath given you some competency for your family some way of lively-hood yet because you are disappointed in somewhat that you would have therefore all is nothing unto you Oh! what unthankfulness is here God expects that every day you should spend some time in blessing his Name for what mercy he hath granted unto you there 's not any one of you who are in the lowest condition but you have abundance of mercies to bless God for but discontentedness makes them nothing It s an excellent speech that I remember Luther hath saith he This is the Rhetorick of the Spirit of God its a very fine speech of his to extenuate evil things and to amplifie good things if there falls out a cross to make the cross to be but little but if there be a mercy to make the mercy to be great as thus If there be a cross if the Spirit of God prevails in the heart such a man or woman will wonder that it is no greater and will bless God that though there be such a cross yet that it is no more that 's the work of the Spirit of God and if there be a mercy wonders at Gods goodness that God granted so great a mercy The Spirit of God extenuates evils and crosses and doth magnifie and amplifie all mercies and makes all mercies seem to be great and all afflictions seem to be little But saith he the Devil goes quite contrary the Rhetorick of the Devil is quite otherwise he doth lessen Gods mercies and amplifie evil things as thus A godly man wonders at his cross that it is no more a wicked man wonders his cross is so much Oh saith he none was ever so afflicted as I am If there be a cross the Devil puts the soul upon musing on it and making it greater than it is and so it brings discontent And then on the other side if there be a mercy then its the Rhetorick of the Devil to lessen the mercy Indeed saith he the thing is a good thing but what is it It is no great matter and for all this I may be miserable Thus the Rhetorick of Satan doth lessen Gods mercies and doth encrease afflictions And for this I 'le give you a notable example that we have in Scripture it is the example of Korah Dathan and Abiram In Numb 16.12 13. And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eltab which said We will not come up Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a Land that floweth with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness except thou make thy self altogether a Prince over us Mark they slighted the Land that they were going into the Land of Canaan that was the Land that God promised them that should flow with milk and hony But mark here their discontentedness because they met with some troubles in the wilderness Oh it was to slay them they made their affliction in the wilderness to be greater than it was Oh it was to kill them though it were indeed to carry them to the Land of Canaan But now their deliverance from Egypt though it was a great mercy they made that mercy to be nothing for say they You have brought us out of a Land that floweth with milk and honey what land was that It was the land of Egypt the Land of their bondage but they call it a Land that flowed with milk and honey though it were the Land of their most cruel and unsupportable bondage whereas they should have blessed God as long as they had liv'd for Gods delivering them out of the Land of Egypt yet meeting with some cross they make their deliverance from Egypt no mercy no it was rather a misery to them Oh say they Egypt was a Land that flowed with milk and honey Oh what baseness is there in a discontented spirit a discontented spirit out of envy to Gods Grace will make mercies that are great to be little yea to be none at all Would one ever have thought that such a word should have come from the mouth of an Israelite that had been under bondage and cried under it and yet when they meet with a little cross in their way to say you have brought us out of the Land that floweth with milk and honey to say they were better before than now and yet before they could not be contented neither this is the usual unthankful expression of a discontented heart And it is so with us now when we meet with any cross in our estates and taxations and troubles especially if any among you have been where the enemy hath prevailed you are ready to say We had plenty before and we are now brought to a condition of hardship we were better before when we had the Prelates and others to domineer and so we indanger our selves to be brought into that bondage again Oh let us take heed of this of a discontented heart there is this woful cursed fruit of discontent to make men and women unthankful for all the mercies God hath granted to them and this is a sore and grievous evil And lastly There 's this evil effect in murmuring It causes shiftings of spirit they that murmur and are discontent are liable to temptations to shift for themselves in sinful and ungodly ways discontent is the ground of shitting courses and unlawful ways How many of you may have your consciences condemn you of this that you in the time of your afflictions have sought to shift for your selves by wayes that have been sinful against God and your discontent was the bottom and ground of it If you would avoid shiftings for your selves by wicked ways labor to mortifie this sin of discontent to mortifie it at the root The Eight evil that there is in murmuring and discontent is this There is a great deal of folly extream folly in a discontented heart it s a foolish sin I shall open the folly of it in many particulars 1. It takes away the present comfort of what you have because you have not somwhat that you would have What a foolish thing is this that because I have not what I would have I will not enjoy the comfort of what I have Do not you account this folly in your children you give them some victuals and they are not contented perhaps they say it s not enough they cry for more and if you do not presently give them more they will throw away that they have and though you account that folly in your Children yet you deal thus with God God gives you many mercies but you see others have more mercies than you

and see you in a murmuring discontented fit have cause to say Oh let us go and take the Censer let us go to prayer for we are afraid that wrath is gone out against this family against this person And it were a very good thing for thee that art a godly wise when you see your husband come home and fall to murmuring because things go not according to his desire to go to prayer and say Lord pardon the sin of my husband and so for the husband to go to God in prayer falling down and beseeching of him that wrath may not come out against his family for the murmuring of his wife And the truth is at this day there hath been at least lately as much murmuring in England as ever was and even in this very particular the plague is begun and this very judgement it doth come many times upon murmuring upon those that are so discontented in their families are always grumbling and murmuring at any thing that falls out amiss I say this text of Scripture in Numbers doth cleerly hold forth this That the Lord brings the Plague upon men for this sin of murmuring he doth it in Kingdoms and Families and upon particular persons Though we cannot always point out the particular sin that God brings this for yet this should be examined how far we are guilty of this sin of murmuring because the Scripture holds forth this so clearly that Moses when he did but hear that they murmured Do they murmur saith he Go forth quickly and seek to pacifie the anger of God For wrath is gone out and the plague is begun And 1 Cor. 10.10 there you have a notable example of Gods heavy displeasure against murmuring Neither murmur ye as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer Take heed of murmuring as some of them did he speaks of the people of Israel in the wilderness but saith he what came of it They were destroyed of the destroyer Now the destroyer is thought to be the fiery Serpents that were sent among them They murmured and God sent fiery Serpents to sting them What do you think that such a cross and affliction doth sting you Perhaps such an affliction is upon you and it seems to be grievous for the present What do you murmur and repine God hath greater crosses to bring upon you Those people that murmur for the want of outward comforts for want of water sometimes and for the want of bread they murmur but the Lord sends fiery Serpents among them I may say to a murmuring heart Wo to thee that Strivest with thy Maker Wo to that man that woman that strives against their Maker What doest thou else but strive against thy Maker Thy Maker hath the absolute dispose of thee and wilt thou strive against thy Maker What doth this murmuring discontented heart of thine do otherwise but wrangle and contend and strive even with God himself Oh wo to him that strives against his Maker I may further say to thee as God speaks to Job Job 38.1.2 When Job was impatient Now God spake saith the text out of the whirlwind and said who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge So doest thou speak against Gods ways and his providences that hath fallen out concerning thy estate and outward comforts who is this who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge Where 's that man or woman whose hearts are so bold and impudent as dare speak against the administration of Gods providence The tenth Evil of murmuring and discontent is this There 's a great curse of God upon it so far as it doth prevail in one that is wicked it hath the curse of God upon it In Psal 59.15 see there what the curse of God is upon wicked and ungodly men Let them wander up and down for meat and grudge if they be not satisfied That is the imprecation and curse upon wicked and ungodly men that if they be not satisfied they shall grudge when thou art not satisfied in thy desires and findest thy heart grudging against God apply this Scripture What is the curse of the wicked upon me This is the curse that is threatned upon wicked and ungodly ones That they shall grudge if they be not satisfied And in Deut. 28.67 There it 's threatned as a curse of God upon men that they cannot be content with their present condition But they shall say in the morning would God it were even and at even would God it were morning and so they lie tossing up and down and cannot be content with any condition that they are in because of the sore afflictions that be upon them and therefore it is further threatned as a curse upon them in the 34. vers That they should be mad for the sight of their eyes which they should see This is but the extremity of their discontentedness that is They shall be so discontented as they shall be even mad Many men and women in discontented moods are mad kind of people and though you may please your selves in such a mad kind of behavior yet know that it is a curse of God upon men to be given up to a kind of madness for evils that they-suppose are upon them and that they fear In the 47. vers there is a notable expression for to shew the curse of God upon murmuring hearts the Lord threatning the curses that shall be upon them saith he verse 45 46 and 47. The Curso shall pursue thee and they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder and upon thy seed for ever Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things God here threatens to bring his curse so upon them as to make them a wonder and a sign to others Why because they have not served the Lord with joyfulness of heart that may be added to that of the wrath of God upon men therefore God would bring such a curse upon them as would make them a wonder to all that were about them Oh how far art thou then that hast a murmuring heart from serving the Lord with joyfulness The eleventh evil of discontent and murmuring is this There is much of the spirit of Satan in a murmuring spirit The Devil is the most discontented creature that is in the world He is the proudest creature that is and the discontentedst creature and the most dejected creature Now therefore so much discontentment as thou hast so much of the spirit of Satan thou hast It was the unclean spirit that went up and down and found no rest so when a man or womans spirit hath no rest it is a sign that it hath much of the unclean spirit of the spirit of Satan And thou shouldest think this with thy self Oh Lord what have I the spirit of Satan upon me It is Satan that is the most discontented spirit that is and Oh! how much