make it to bow to God in this condition in which God hath brought him now is his condition the better because he will not pull down his spirit no certainly abundantly worse a thousand to one but the tempest and storm overwhelms his soul and thus you see what a great deale of folly there is in the sinne of discontentment The ninth evill of murmuring and discontentment is this There 's a mighty deal of danger in the sin of discontentment for it exceedingly provoketh the wrath of God it is a sin that doth much provoke God against his creature we find most sad expressions in Scripture and examples too how God hath bin provoked against many for their discontent In Numb 14. you have a notable text and one would think that that was enough for ever to make you fear murmuring in the â—6 verse it is said The Lord speak unto Moses and unto Aaron saying what did he say how long shall I bear with this evill congregation which murmure against me how long shall I bear with them saith God This evil Congregation Oh it 's an evil congregation that murmur against me And how long shall I bear with them they do murmur and they have murmured as those that have murmuring spirits and murmuring dispositions they will murmur again again How long shall I bear with this evill congregation that murmur against me how justly may God speak this of many of you that are this morning before the Lord how long shall I bear with this wicked man or woman that doth murmur against me and hath usually in the course of their lives murmured against me when any thing falls out otherwise then they would have it And mark what follows after I have heard the murmurings of the Children of Israel you murmur it may be others hear you not nay it may be you speak not at all or but half-words yet God hears the language of your murmuring hearts and those muttering speeches and those halfe words that comes from you And observe further in this vers how the Lord repeats this sin of murmuring How long shall I bear with this evill congregation which murmur against me Secondly I have heard their murmuring Thirdly which they murmure against me murmur murmur murmur Three times in one verse he repeats it and this is to shew his indignation against the thing When you expresse indignation against a thing you will repeat it over again and again now the Lord because he would expresse his indignation against this sin he repeats it over again and again and it follows in the 28. verse Say unto them as truly as I live saith the Lord as ye have spoken in mine eares so will I do to you mark God swears against a murmurer sometimes in your discontent you will be ready to swear it may be do you swear in your discontent So doth God swear against you for your discontent And what was it that God would doe unto them vers 29 30. Doubtless your carkeises shall fall in the wilderness and you shall not come into the land concerning which I swear to make you dwel therein as if God should say if I have any life in me your lives shall go for it as I live it shall cost you your lives A discontented murmuring fit of yours may cost you your lives You see how it provokes God there is more evill in it then you were aware of it may cost you your lives and therefore look to your selves and learn to he humbled at the verie beginings of such distempers in the heart So in Psal 106. 24 25. Yea they despised the pleasant Land they beleeved not his word But murmured in their tents and harkened not unto the voice of the Lord therefore he lifted up his hand gainst them to overthrow them in the wildernesse Here are divers things observable in this Scripture First that which we spoke to before how a murmuring heart doth slight Gods mercies so it is here They despised the pleasant land and that a murmuring heart is contrary to faith they beleeved not his word but saith the text they murmured in their tents and harkned not to the voice of the Lord many men and women will hearken to the voice of their own base murmuring hearts that will not hearken to the voice of the Lord if you would harken to the voice of the Lord there would not be such murmuring as there is But mark what follows upon it you may not think to please your selves in your murmuring discontentednesse and think that no evill shall come of it Therefore he lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them you that are discontented you lift up your hearts against God and you cause God to lift up his hand against you perhaps God layes his finger upon you softly in some afflictions that are upon you in your families or else where and you cannot bear the hand of God that lies upon you as tenderly as a tender-hearted nurse that lays her hand upon the child you cannot bear the tender hand of God that is upon you in a lesser affliction it were â—ust with God to lift up his hand against you in another manner of affliction Oh a murmuring spirit provokes God exceedingly There is another place in 16. of Num. compare the 41. verse and the 46. ver together But on the morrow all the Congregation of the Children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron saying ye have killed the people of the Lord and mark in the 46. verse And Moses said unto Aaron take a Censer and put fire therein from off the Altar and put on Incense and go quickly unto the Congregation and make an attonement for them for there is wrath gone out from the Lord the plague is begun mark how Gods wraâ—h is kindled in the 41 verse the congregation had murmured and they murmured but against Moses and Aaron perhaps you murmur more directly against God and that was against God in murmuring against Gods Ministers it was against God but not so directly but it may be the murmuring of your hearts is more directly against Gods dealings with you if you murmur against those that God makes instruments because you have not every thing that you would have as against the Parliament or such and such that are publique instruments it 's against God it was but against Moses and Aaron that the Israelites murmured and they said that Moses and Aaron had killed the people of the Lord though it was the hand of God that was upon them for their former wickednesse in murmuring It is usuall for wicked vile hearts to deal thus with God that when Gods hand is a little upon them for to murmur again and again and so to bring upon themselves even infinite kind of evills but now the anger of God was quickly kindled Oh saith Moses go take the Censer quickly for wrath is gone out from Jehovah the plague is begun so while you are
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 a husband are the wives and though there are some husbands so vile as the wives may be forced to sue for maintainance certainly Jesus Christ will never deny maintainance to his spouse it 's a dishonour for a husband to have the wife go whining up and down what thou art macht with Christ art his spouse and wilt thou murmure now and be discontented in thy spirit You shall observe among those that are newly matched when there is discontent between the wife and the husband their friends will shake their heads and say they do not meet with that that they did expect ye see ever since they were married together how the man looks and the woman looks they are not so chearly as they were wont to be surely say they it is like to prove an ill match But it 's not so here it shall not be so between thee and Christ Oh Jesus Christ doth not love to see his spouse to have a lowring countenance no man loves to see discontentment in the face of his wife surely Christ doth not love to see discontentment in the face of his spouse 3 Thou standest in relation to Christ not only as a spouse but as a member Thou art bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh and to have a member of Jesus Christ to be in such a condition it 's exceeding unworthy 4 He is thy elder brother likewise and so thou art a co-heir with him 5. The relation that thou standest in to the Spirit of God thou art the Temple of the Holy Ghost the Holy Ghost is thy Comforter it is he that is appointed to conveigh all comfort from the Father and the Son to the Souls of his people And art thou the Temple of the Holy Ghost and doth he dwell in thee and yet for all that thou murmure for every little matter 6. The relation that thou standest in to the Angels thou art made one body with them for so Christ hath joyned principalities and powers with his Church they are Ministring Spirits for good of his people to supply what they need and thou and they are joyned together and Christ is the head of you and Angels 7. The relation that you stand in to the Saints you are of the same body with them they and you make up but one mysticall body with Jesus Christ and if they be happy you must needs be happy Oh how beneath a Christian is a murmuring Spirit if he considers his relations in which he stands Secondly A Christian should consider That murmuring and discontentednesse is below the high dignities that God hath put upon him Doe but consider the high dignytie that God hath put upon thee the meanest Christian in the world is a lord of heaven and earth he hath made us Kings unto himselfe Kings unto God not Kings unto men to rule over them and yet I say every Christian is lord of heaven and earth yea of life and death That is as Christ he is Lord of all so he hath made those that are his members to be lords of all all are yours saith the Apostle even life and death every thing is yours it 's a very strange expression that death should be theirs death is yours that is you are as it were lords over it you have that that shall make death to be your servant your slave even death it 's self your greatest enemies are turned to be your slaves faith makes a Christian to be as lord over all to be lifted up in excellency above all creatures that ever God made except the Angels yea and in some respect above them I say the poorest Christian that lives is raised to an estate above all the creatures in the world except Angels yea and above them in divers respects too and yet discontented that thou who wert as a firebrand of hell and might have been scorching and yelling and roâ—ing there to all eternity yet that God should raise thee to have a higher excellency in thee then there is in all the works of creation that ever he made except Angels and other Christians that are in thy condition yea and thou art nearer the Divine nature then the Angels because thy nature is joyned in an hypostaticall union to the Divine nature and in that respect thy nature is more honoured then the nature of the Angels And the death of Christ is thine he dyed for thee and not for the Angels and therefore thou art like to be raised above the Angels in divers respects yea thou that art in such an estate as this is thou that art set apart to the end that God might manifest to all eternity what the infinite power of a Deity is able to raise a creature too for that 's the condition of a Saint a beleever his condition is such as he is set apart to the end that God might manifest to all eternity what his infinite power is able to do to make the creature happy art thou in such a condition Oh how low and beneath this condition is a murmuring and discontented heart for want of some outward comforts here in this world How unseemly is it that thou shouldest be a slave to every cross that every affliction shal be able to say to thy soul bow down to us We accounted that a great slavery when men would say to our souls bow down As the cruel Prelats were wont do do in imposing things upon mens consciences they did in effect say let your consciences your souls bow down to us that we may tread upon them that is the greatest slavery in the world that one man should say to another let your consciences your souls bow down that we may tread upon them but wilt thou suffer every affliction to say bow down that we may tread upon thee truly it 's so when thy heart is overcome with murmuring and discontent Know that those afflictions which have caused thee to murmur have said to thee bow down that we may tread upon thee Nay not afflictions but the very Devill doth prevail against you in this Oh! how beneath is this to the happy estate that God hath raised a Christian unto what The Son of a King shal he have every base fellow to come and bid him bow down that he may tread upon his neck Thus doest thou in every affliction The affliction the crosse and trouble that doth befall thee saith bow down that we may come and tread upon thee Thirdly Murmuring it's below the Spirit of a Christian Below his Spirit the Spirit of every Christian should be like the Spirit of his Father every father loves to see his spirit in his child loves to see his image not his image of his body onely to say here 's a child for all the
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 selfe 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 of his spirit have I upon me that can find no rest at all Twelfthly murmuring and discontent hath this evill in it There is an absolute necessity that thou shouldest have disquiet all the daies of thy life As if a man that is in a great croud should complain that other folks touch him While we are in this world God hath so ordred things that afflictions must befall us and if we will complain and be discontented upon every crosse and affliction why we must complain and be discontent all the daies of our lives yea God in just judgment will let things fall out on purpose to vex those that have vexing spirits and discontented hearts and therefore there is a necessitie that they should live disquiet all their daies And men will not much care to disquiet those that are continually murmuring Oh they will have disquiet all their daies Lastly there 's this dreadfull evil in discontent and murmuring God may justly withdraw his care of yon and his protection over you seeing God cannot please you in his administrations we use to say so to discontented servants nay if you be not pleased mend your selves when you will If you have a servant not content with his diet and wages and work you say mend your selves so may God justly say to us we that professe our selves servants to him to be in his work and yet are discontented with this thing or that in Gods family God might justly say mend your selves What if God should say to any of you â—f my care over you doe not please you then take care of your selves if my protection over you will not please you then protect your selves Now all things that doe befall you befall you through a providence of God and if you be those that belong to God there is a protection of God over you and a care of God Now if God should say well you shall not have the benefit of my protection any longer and I will take no farther care of you would not this be a most dreadfull â—udgement of God from Heaven upon you Take heed what you doe then in being discontent with Gods will towards you and indeed upon discontent this may befall you And this is the reason why many people though Gods protection hath bin very gracious over them for a time and they have to riven abundantly yet a afterwards almost all that behold them may say that they live as if God had cast off his care over them and as if God did not care what befall them Now then my brethren put all these together all that we were speaking of the last day and these particulars that have been added now this morning for the setting out of a murmuring and discontentent spirit oh what an ugly face hath this sin of murmuring and discontentednesse oh what cause is there that we should lay our hands upon our hearts and go away and be humbled before the Lord because of this whereas your thoughts were wont to be exercised about providing for your selves and getting more comforts to your selves let the stream of your thoughts now â—e turned to humble your selves for your discontentednesse oh that you may have your hearts break before God for otherwise you will fall to it again oh the wretchednesse of mans heart You shall find in Scripture concerning the people of Israel how strangely they fell to their murmuring again and again doe but observe three tâ—â—â—s of Scripture for thâ—â— the first in the 15. of Exod. at the beginning there you shall have Moses and the Congregation singing to God and blessing God for his mercy Then sang Moses and the Children of Israel this song unto the Lord and spake saying I will sing unto the Lord for he hath tryumphed gloriously the Horse and his Rider hath he thrown into the Sea And then The Lord is my strength and song and he is become my salvation he is my God and I will prepare him an habitation my Fathers God and I will exalt him and so he goes on and who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the gods who is like thee glorious in holinesse fearfull in prayses doing wonders Thus their hearts triumphed in God but mark before the Chapter is ended in the 23 verse When they came to Marah in the same Chapter they could not drinke of the waters of Marah for they were bitter therefore the name of it was called Marah and the people murmured against Moses After so great a mercy as this was what unthankfulness was there here in their murmuring Then God gave them water but in the very next Chapter they fell to their murmuring you read not that they were humbled for their former murmuring and therefore they murmure again Exod. 16. â— c. All the Congregation of the Children of Israel came to the wildernesse of Sin c. And the whole Congregation in the second verse of the Children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wildernesse and the children of Israel said unto them would to God we had dyed by the hand of the Lord in the Land of Egypt when we â—ate by the flesh-pots and when we did eat bread to the full Now they want flesh they wanted water before but now they want meat they fell to murmuring againe they were not humbled for this murmuring against God neither when God gave them flesh according to their desires but they fell to murmuring again they wanted somewhat else In the very next Chapter they went not far in the 17. of Exod. beginning And all the Congregation of the Children of Israel journied from the wildernesse of Sin and pitched in Rephadim and there was no water for the people to drinke then in the second verse Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said give us water that we may drink and Moses said unto them why chide you with me wherefore doe you tempt the Lord And in the third verse And the people thiâ—sâ—ed there for water and the people murmured against Moses and said Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our Children and our Catâ—ell with thirst So one time after another still as soon as ever they had received the mercy then they were a little quieted but they were not humbled I bring these Scriptures for this to shew that if we have not been humbled for murmuring the next crosse that we meet withall we will fall to murmuring again And now there are divers agravations of this sinne of murmuring I le mention but one now and I shall but begin that The first Agravation is
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
the duty But godliness with contentment is great gain vers 6. there is the glory and excellency of it as if godlinesse were not gain except there were contentment withall The like exhortation you have in Heb. 13. 5. Let your conversation be without Covetousness and be content with such things as you have I do not find any Apostle or Writer of Scripture treat so much of this spiritual mystery of Contentment as this our Apostle hath done throughout his Epistles For the cleer opening and proving of this practical conclusion I shall indevour to demonstrate these four things First The nature of this Christian contentment what it is Secondly The art and mystery of it Thirdly What those lessons are that must be learn'd to work the heart to contentment Fourthly Wherein the glorious excellencies of this grace doth principally consist Concerning the first take this description Christian Contentment is that sweet inward quiet gracious frame of spirit freely submitting to and taking complacency in Gods wise and fatherly dispose in every condition I shall break open this discription for it is a box of precious oâ—ntment very comfortable and useful for troubled hearts in troubled times and conditions First Contentment I say is a sweet inward heart-thing it is a work of the spirit within doors It is not only a not-seeking help to our selves by outward violence or a forbearance of discontented murmurring expressions in froward words and carriages against God or others but it is the inward submission of the heart Psal 62. 1. Truly my soul waiteth upon God and ver 5. My soul wait thou only upon God so it is in your â—ooks but the words may be translated as rightly My soul be thou silent unto God Hold thy peace O my soul Not only the tongue must hold its peace but the soul must be silent Many may sit down silently forbearing discontented expressions yet are inwardly swollen with discontentment now this manifesteth a perplexed distemper and a great frowardnesse in their hearts And God notwithstanding their outward silence hears the peevish fretting language of their souls The shoe may be smooth and neat without whilst the flesh is pinched within There may be much calmnesse and stilnesse outwardly and yet wonderful confusion bitternesse disturbance and vexation within Some are so weak that they are not able to contain the disquietnesse of their own spirits but in words and behaviour discover what woful perturbations there are within their spirits being like the raging Sea casting forth nothing but mire and dirt being not only troublesome to themselves but to all those they live with Others there are who are able to keep in such distempers of heart as Judas did when he betrayed Christ with a kisse but still they boyl inwardly and eate like a Canker As David speaks concerning some whose words are smoother then honey and butter and yet have war in their hearts and as he saith in another place whilst I kept silence my bones waxed old so these whilst there is a serene calme upon their tongues have yet blustring storms in their spirits and whilst they keep silence their hearts are troubled and even worn away with anguish and vexation they have peace and quiet outwardly but war from the unruly and turbulent workings of their hearts that is within If the attainment to true contentment were as easy as keeping quiet outwardly there need be no great learning of it it might be had with lesse skill and strength than an Apostle had yea than an ordinary christian hath or may have Therefore certainly there is a great deal more in it than can be attained by common gifts and ordinary power of reason which often bridles in nature It is a heart businesse Secondly It is the quiet of the heart All is sedate and still there and to understand this the better This quiet gracious frame of spirit it is not opposed 1 To a due sense of affiiction God doth give leave to his people to be sensible of what they suâ—â—er Christ doth not say Do not count that a crosse which is a crosse but take up your crosse daily As it is in the body natural if the body takes physick and is not able to bear it but presently vomits it up or if it be not at all sensible if it stir not the body either of these waies the physick doth no good but argues the body much distempered and will hardly be cured So it is with the spirits of men under afflictions if either they cannot bear Gods potions but cast them up again or are not sensible of them and their souls are no more stirr'd by them then the body is by a draught of smal beer it is a sad symptome that their souls are in a dangerous and almost incurable condition So that this inward quietnesse is not in opposition to the sense of affliction for indeed there were no true contentment if you were not apprehensive and sensible of your afâ—lictions when God is angry It is not opposed 2 To an orderly making our moan and complaint to God and to our friends Though a Christan ought to be quiet under Gods correcting hand yet he may without any breach of Christian contentment complain to God as one of the Ancients saith though not with a tumultuous clamour and skreeking out in a perplexed passion yet in a quiet still submissive way he may unbosome his heart unto God And likewise communicate his sad condition to his gracious friends shewing them how God hath dealt with him and how heavy the affliction is upon him that they may speak a word in due season to his wearied soul It is not opposed 3 To all lawful seeking out for help in another condition or simply endeavouring to be delivered out of the present affliction by the use of lawful means No I may lay in provision for my deliverance and use Gods means waiting on him because I know not but that it may be his will to alter my condition and so far as he leads me I may follow his providence it is but my duty God is thus far mercifully indulgent to our weaknesse and he will not take it ill at our hands if by earnest and importunat prayer we seek unto him for deliverance till we know his good pleasure therein And certainly thus seeking for help with such a submission and holy resignation of spirit to be delivered when God will and as God will and how God will so that our wils are melted into the will of God this is no opposition to the quietnesse which God requires in a contented spirit Quest But then what is this quietnesse of spirit opposed unto Ans To murmuring and repining at the hand of God as the discontented Israelits often did which if we our selves cannot indure either in our children or servants much lesse can God bear it in us 2 To vexing and fâ—etting which is a degree beyond murmuring It is a speech I remember of an heathen a
of this for a man to be given up to his hearts desires now when the Soul comes to understand this the Soul then cryes out why am I so troubled that I have not my desires There is nothing that God conveys his wrath more through then a prosperous estate I remember I have read of a Jewish Tradition that they say of Vzziah when God struck Vzziah with a Leprosie they say that the beams of the Sun was darted upon the fore-head of Vzziah and he was struck with a Leprosie by the darting of the beams of the Sun upon his fore head the Scripture saith Indeed the Priests looked upon him but they say there was a speciall light and beam of the Sun upon the fore-head that did discover the Leprosie to the Priests and they say it was the way of conveying of it Whether that were true or no I am sure this is true that the strong beams of the Sun of prosperity upon many men makes them to be leprous would any poor man in the countrey have been discontented that he was not in Vzziahs condition he was a great King I but there was the Leprosie in his fore-head the poor man may say though I live meanly in the countrey yet I thank God my body is whole and sound would not any man rather have russet and skins of beasts to cloath him with then to have sattin and velvet that should have the Plague in it The Lord conveys the plague of his curse through prosperity as much as through any thing in the world and therefore the soul coming to understand this this makes it to be quiet and content And then spirituall judgements are the greatest judgements of all the Lord lays such an affliction upon my outward estate but what if he had taken away my life a mans health is a greater mercy then his estate and you that are poor people you should consider of that but is the health of a mans body better then his estate what is the health of a mans soul that 's a great deal better the Lord hath inflicted externall judgements but he hath not inflicted spirituall judgements upon thee he hath not given thee up to hardnesse of heart and taken away the spirit of prayer from thee in thine afflicted estate oh then be of good comfort though there be outward afflictions upon thee yet thy soul thy more excellent part is not afflicted Now when the soul comes to understand this that here lyes the sore wrath of God to be given-up to a mans desires and for spirituall judgements to be upon a man this quiets him and contents him though outward afflictions be upon him perhaps one of a mans children hath the fit of an ague or the tooth ake but perhaps his next neighbour hath the plague or all his Children are dead of the Plague now shall he be so discontented because his Children hath the tooth-ach when his neighbours children are dead now think thus Lord thou hast laid an afflicted conditioÌ„ upon me but Lord thou hast not given me the Plague of a hard heart Now take these eight things before mentioned and lay them together and you may well apply that Scripture in the 29. of Jsay the last verse saith the text there They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding and they that murmured shall learn doctrine Hath there bin any of you as I fear many may be found that have erred in spirit even in regard of this truth that now we are preaching of and many that have murmured Oh that this day you might come to understand that Christ would bring you into his School and teach you understanding And they that murmured shall learn doctrine what doctrine shall they learn These Eight doctrines that I have opened to you And if you will but throughly study these lessons that I have set before your eyes It will be a speciall help and means to cure your murmurings against and repinings at the hand of God And so you will come to learn Christian Contentment The Lord teach you throughly by his Spirit these lessons of Contentment SERMON VI. PHILIPPIANS 4. 11. For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I Shall only adde one lesson more in the learning of Contentment then I shall come to the Aug. 31. 1645. fourth head The excellency of Contentment The Ninth and last lesson that Christ teaches those that he doth instruct in this Art of Contentment It is the right knowledge of Gods providence and therein are these Four things 1 The universality of providence that the Soul must be throughly instructed in to come to this Art to understand the universality of providence that is how the providence of God goes through the whole world extends it's self to every thing Not only that God by his providence doth rule the world and govern all things in generall but that it reaches to every particular not only to Kingdoms to order the great affairs of Kingdoms but it reaches to every mans family â—â—â—eaches to every person in the family it reaches to every condition yea to every passage to every thing that falls out concerning thee in every particular not one hair falleth from thy head not a Sparrow to the ground without the providence of God There 's nothing befalls thee good or evill but there is a providence of the infinite eternall first Being in that thing and therein indeed is Gods infinitenesse that it reaches to the least things to the least worm that is under thy feet Then much more it reaches unto thee that art a rationall creature the providence of God is more speciall towards rationall creatures then any others The understanding in a spirituall way the universality of providence in every particular passage from morning to night every day that there 's not any thing that doth befall thee but there 's a hand of God in it it is from God it is a mighty furtherance to Contentment Every man will grant the truth of the thing that it is so but as the Apostle saith in Heb. 11. 3. By faith we understand that the worlds were made by faith we understand it why by faith we can understand by reason that no finit thing can be from it selfe And therefore that the world could not be of it's self but we can understand it by faith in another manner then by reason So whatsoever we understand of God in way of providence yet when Christ doth take us into his School wee come to understand it by faith in a better manner then wee doe by reason 2 The efficacie that there is in providence that is that the providence of God goes on in all things with strength and power and it is not to be altered by our power let us be discontented and vext and troubled and fret and rage yet we must not thinke to alter the course of providence by our discontent Some of Jobs friends said to him
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 that they should perform they will labour to perform it but first thou must be humbled for the want of it therefore that 's the thing that I shall endeavour 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 honour I might have brought to the name of God â—i and how might I have honoured my profession and what a deale of comfort might I have enjoyed but the Lord know it hath been â—â—â— otherwise oh how â—ar have I been from this grace of Contentment that hath been opened to me I have had a murmuring a veâ—ing and a fretting heart within me everie little crosse hath put me out oâ— temper and out of frame Oh the boisterousnesse of my spirit what a deal of evill doth God see in my heart in the vexing and fretting of my heart and murmuring and â—â—pining 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 endeavour in these particulars to speak unto it First I shall set before you The evill of a murmuring spirit there is more evill then you are aware of In the Second place I will shew you some agravations of this evil It s evill in all but in some more then in others Thirdly I shall labour to take away the pleas that any murmuring discontented heart hath for this disâ—â—mper of his There 's these three things in this use of humiliation of the Soul for the want of this grace of Contentmetâ— For the first now at this time The great evill that there is in a murmuring discontented heart In the first place This thy murmuring and discontentednesâ—â— it argues much corruption that is in the Soul as Contentment argues much grace and strong grace and beautifull grace so this argues much corruption and strong corruption and very vile corruptions in thy heart As it is in a mans body iâ— a mans body be of that temper that every scratch of a pin makeâ— his flesh to ranckle and to be a sore you will say surely this mans body is very corrupt his blood his flesh is corrupt that every scratch of a pin shall make it rankle so it is in thy spirit iâ— every little trouble affliction shall make thee discontentâ—â— and make thee murmur and even cause thy spirit within thee â—o ranckle or as it is in a wound in a mans body the evill of a wound it is not so much in the largenesse of â—he wound the abundance of blood that comes out of the wound but in the inflamation that there is in it or in a fretting and coâ—â—oding humour that is in the wound aâ— unskilful mâ—n when he comes sees a large wound in the flesh looks upon it as a dangerous wound and when he sees a great deal of blood gâ—sh out he thinks these are the evils of it but when a Chirâ—rgion comes and sees a great gash saith he this will be heald within a few-daies but there 's a lesse wound and there 's an inflamation or a freting humour that is in it and this will cost time saith he to cure so that he doth not lay balsome and healing salves upon it but his great care is to get out the freting humour or inflamation so that the thing that must heale this wound it is some drink to purge But saith the patient what good will this doe to my wound You give me somewhat to drinke and my wound is in my arme or in my leg what good will this doe that I put in my stomack Yes iâ— purges out the freting humour or takes away the inflamation and till that be taken away the salves can do no good So it is just for all the world in the souls of mâ—n it may be there is some affliction upon them that I compare to the wound now they think that the greatnesse of the affliction is that that makes their condition most miserable Oh no there is a freting humour an inflamation in the heart a murmuring spirit that is within thee and that is the miserie of thy condition and that must be purged out of thee before thou canst be heald and let God doe with thee what â—e will till he purges out that freting humour 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 turne 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 greivous but there is a murmuring heart within that 's more greivous Oh that we could but convince men women that a murmuring spirit is a greater evill then any affliction let the affliction be what iâ— will be We shall shew more afterward that a murmuring spirit is the evill of the evill and the misery of the misery Secondly The evill of murmuring is sâ—câ— that God when he would speak of wicked men and discribe them and shew the brand of a wicked and ungodly man or woman he instances in this sin in a more spâ—câ—all manner I might name many Scriptures but that Scripture in Jude is a most remarkable one In the 14 verse and so forward there iâ— is said That the Lord comes with ten thousands of hiâ— Saints to execute judgement upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly commitâ—ed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him Mark here in this 15. vers there is four times mentioned ungodly ones all that are ungodly among them all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly commited 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 doe and those that speake 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 dreadfull Scripure 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 contrarie to this Contentment is not so small a matter as you think you think you are not so ungodly as others because you doe not sweare and drink as others doe but you
world like the father but he hath the Spirit of his father too A father that is a man of Spirit loves to see his Spirit in his child rather then the feature of his body Oh the Lord that is our Father loves to see his Spirit in us Great men loves 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 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 calld 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 indeed to God that if it were possible it might passe from him but presently not my will but thy will be done As soone as ever he did mention the passing of the cup from him though it were the most dreadfull cup that ever was drunke 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 al kind of afflictions whatsoever without any murmuring against God in them now a murmuring Spirit is a base dejected Spirit crosse and contrary to the Spirit of a Christian and it 's very base I remember that the Heathens accouned it very base Plutarch doth report of a certaine people that did use to manifest their disdaine to men that were overmuch dejected by any affliction they did condemne them to this punishment to wear womens cloaths all their dayes or such a space of time at least they should go in womans cloths in token of shame and disgrace to them because they have 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 unmanlike Spirit to be overmuch dejected in afflictions and shall not a Christian account it an unchristian like Spirit to be overmuch 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 nor let their mothers sleep when they are weaning and so when God would wean us from the world and we fret vex and murmure 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 and to be alive to God that 's his profession to have his life to be hid with Christ in God to satisfie himselfe in God what is this thy profession and yet if thou hast not every thing that thou wouldest have to murmure and be discontent thou doest in that even deny thy profession Fiftly 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 Austine hath such an expression what is this thy 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 it 's 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 beleeve that thou shouldest be delivered out of such an affliction and then why shouldest thou account it such a great evill 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 capeable of a thousand times more then 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 he expects other manner of things from them then this Yea and it is below that that God hath from other Christians These things I shall open at another time SERMON VIII PHILIPPIANS 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 Sept. 21. 1645. the evill 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 then 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 sinke 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 Christianâ— for God expects not only 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 contentednesse under afflictions oh this is beneath the expectation of God from you Eightly It is below that that God hath had from other Christians others have
not only bin contented with little crosses but they have Triumphed under great afflictions they have suffered the spoiling of their goods with joy reade but the later part of the 11. of the Hebrews and you shall find what great things God hath had from his people and therfore not to be content with smaler crosses this must needs be a great evill The Sixth evill that there is in a murmuring spirit is this By murmuring you undoe your prayers for it is exceeding contrary to the prayers that you make unto God When you come to prayer to God you acknowledge his Soveraignity over you you come there to professe your selves to be at Gods dispose what doe you pray for except you acknowledge that you are at his dispose except you wil stand as it were at his dispose never come to petition to him if you will come to petition him and yet will be your own carver you go crosse 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 Lattimer that speaking concerning Peter that denyed his master saith he Peter forgot his Pater-noster for that was hallowed be thy name and thy kingdome 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 prayr to be as a pattern for your prayrs though you say not alwaies the same words what do you pray but give us this day our dayly bread for that 's Christs intention that we should have that as a patterne and is a directory as it were how to make our prayers now God doth not teach any of you to pray Lord give me so much a year or let me have such kind of cloath 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 eate I hope there 's none of you here but have that Obj. Put 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 murmure because we have not so much variety as others have we do as it were forget our Pater-nâ—ster It 's against our prayers we do not in our lives hold forth the acknowledgement of the Soveraignity of God over us as we seem to acknowledg in our prayrs 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 Soveraigne power and Authority that God had over me The seventh thing that I adde for the evill of discontentment is the wofull effects that comes to a discontented heart from murmuring I le name you five there are five evill effects that comes from a murmuring spirit 1. By murmuring and discontent in your hearts you come to loose a great deale of time how many times doe men and women when they are discontended let their thoughts run and are musing and contriving through their present discontendednesse then let their discontended 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 thinke 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 roul things up and down in your thoughts to feed a discontented humour Oh labour to see this evill effect of murmuring the losing of your time 2. It doth unfit you 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 performe 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 il from a friend or any losse or crosse oh what distractions doe they cause in the performance of holy duties When you should be in injoying communion with God you are distracted in your thoughts about the crosse 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 dutie 3. Consider What wicked risings of heart 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 doe what wonderfull 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 helpe your selves this way and the other way oh it had been ill with you doe you but remember those risings of heart and wicked resolutions that sometimes you have had in a discontented mood and learn to be humbled upon that 4. Vnthankefulnesse that 's an evill and a wicked effect that comes from discontent Vnthankfulnesse the Scripture doth ranke among very great sins For men and women that are discontent though they enjoy many mercies from God yet they are thankfull 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 spirituall things if they have not all they would have the comforts that they would have then what they have is nothing to them doe you think that God will take this well If you should give a friend a kinsman a pursse of money to go and trade withall and he should come and say what doe you give me they are but a few counters they will doe me no good you cannot bear this at his hand if he should doe so because he hath not as much money as he would
towards him Now then I am discontented and murmuring because I am afflicted Therefore thou art afflicted because God would humble thee and the great designe that God hath in afflicting of thee is to break and humble thy heart and wilt thou now maintain a spirit quite opposite to the work of God for thee to murmur be discontented is to resist the work of God God is doing thee good if thou couldst see it now if he be pleased to sanctifie thy affliction to breake that hard heart of thine and humble that proud spirit of thine it would be the greatest mercie that ever thou had'st in all thy life now wilt thou yet stand out against God It 's even as if thou shouldest say well the Lord is about to break me and humble me but he shall not this is the language of thy murmuring and thy discontentedness though thou darest not say so but though thou sayest not so in words yet it is certainly the language of the temper of thy spirit Oh consider what an agravation this is I am discontented when God is about to work such a work upon me as is exceedingly for my good but yet I stand out against him and resist him and that 's another agravation A tenth aggravation of the sin of murmuring and discontent is this The more palpable nnd remarkable the band of God appears to bring about an affliction the greater is the sin of murmuring and discontent under an affliction It 's a great evil any time to murmur and be discontent but though it be a sin when I see but an ordinary providence working for me not to submit to that but when I see an extraordinary providence working thats a greater sin that is when I see the Lord in some remarkable way working about such an affliction beyond what any could have thought of shall I resist such a remarkable hand of God shall I stand out against God when I see God doth express his will in such a remarkable manner that he would have me to be in such a condition Indeed before we see the wil of God apparent we may desire to avoid an affliction and may use means for it but now when we see God expressing his will from heaven in a manner beyond ordinary and more remarkably then certainly it is fit for us to fall down and submit to him and not to oppose when God comes with a mighty stream against us it is our best way to fall down before him and not to resist for as it is an argument of a mans disobedieuce when there is not only a command against a sin but when God reveals his command in a terrible way the more solemne the Command of God is the greater is the sin in breaking that command so the more remarkable the hand of God is in bringing an Affliction upon us the greater is the sin for us to murmur and be discontented Then God expects that we should fall down when he as it were speaks from heaven to thee by name and saith well I wil have this spirit of thine down do not you see that my hand is stretched out my eyes are upon you my thoughts are upon you and I must have that proud spirit of thine down Oh then it is fit for the Creature to yeild and submit unto him When you speak in an ordinary manner to your servants or children you expect they should regard what you say but when you make them stand still by you and you speak to them in a more solemn way then if they should dis-regard what you say you are very impatient So certainly God cannot take it well when ever he doth appear from heaven in such a remarkaple way to bring an Affliction if then we do not submit to him The eleventh agravation of the sin of murmuring is this To be discontented though God hath bin exercising of us long under afflictions yet fill to remain discontented For a man or woman at first when an affliction befals them to have a murmuring heart then it 's an evill but to have a murmuring heart when God hath been a long time exercising them with affliction it 's more evill Though an heifer at first when the yoke is put upon him he wrigles up and down and will not be quiet but if after many moneths or yeers it shall not draw quietly the husbandman would rather feede it fat and prepare it for the butcher then be troubled any longer with it So though the Lord was content to passe by that discontented spirit of thine at first yet God having a long time kept the yoke upon thee thou hast bin under his afflicting hand it may be divers years and yet thou remain discontent still it were just with God that he should bear thy murmuring no longer and that thy discontent under the affliction should be but a preparation to thy destruction So you see when a man or woman hath been long exercised with afflictions and yet are discontented that 's an agravation of the sin Mark that text in Heb. 12. 11. Now saith the Scripture No chastening for the present is joyous but greivous nevertheless afterwards it yeildeth the peaceable fruit of Righteousness unto them which are exercised therby It 's true our afflictions are not joyous but greivious though at first when our affliction comes it is very greivous But yet saith the text afterwards it yeeldeth the peaceable fruit of Righteousnesse to those that are exercised thereby When thou hast been a long time in the School of afflictions thou art a very dullard in Christs School if thou hast not learned this Contentment I have learned saith Saint Paul in every estate therewith to be content Paul had learned this Lesson quickly thou hast been a learning many yeers perhaps thou mayest say as Heman did That thou art afflicted from thy youth up in the 88. Psal Oh it 's a very evil thing if being exercised long with afflictions you are not yet contented The eye in the body of a man is as tender a part as any part that a mans body hath but yet the eye is able to continue in and bear a great deal of cold because it is more used to it so those that are used to afflictions those that God exercises much with Afflictions though they have tender spirits otherwise yet they should have learned Contentedness by this time A new Cart may creek and make an noise but after the use of it a while it will not do so So when thou art first a Christian and newly come into the work of Christ perhaps thou makest a noise and canst not bear affliction but art thou an old Christian and yet wilt thou be a murmuring Christian Oh that 's a shame for any that are Ancient Professors that have been a long time in the School of Jesus Christ to have murmuring and discontented spirits And thus you have had a leaven agravations of this sin of murmuring and discontent But now
may be ungodly in murmuring it 's true there is no sin but som seedes and remayners of it are in those that are godly but when they are under the power of this sin of murmuring it doth convince them to be ungodly as well as if they were under the power of drunkennesse or whordome or any other sin God will look upon you as ungodly for this sin as well as for any sin whatsoever This one Scripture should make the heart shake at the thought of the sin of murmuring Thirdly as it 's made a brand of ungodly men so you shal find in Scripture that God accounts it rebellion that is contrary to the worship that there was in contentednesse that 's worshiping of God crowching to God and falling down before him even as a dog that would crowch when you hould a staffe over him but a murmuring heart it 's a rebellious heart and that you shall find if you compare two Scriptures together they are both in the book of Numb 16. 41. But on the morrow saith the text all the congregation of the Children of Israell murmured against Moses and against Aaron saying ye have killed the people of the Lord. They all murmured now compare this with the Chap. 17. vers 10. And the Lord said unto Moses bring Aarons rod again before the testimony to be kept for a token against the Rebels in the 16. Chap. they murmured against Moses and Aaron and in the 17. Chap. bring the rod of Aaron again before the testimony for a token against the Rebels So that to be a murmurer and to be a rebel you see in Scripture phrase is all one It is a rebellion against God as it is the begining of rebellion and sedition in a kingdom when the people are discontent and when discontentment comes it grows to murmuring and you can go into no house almost but there is murmuring when men are discontent so that within a little while it breaks forth into sedition or rebellion Murmuring it's but as the smoke of the fire there is first a smoke and smother before the flame breaks forth and so before open rebellion in a kingdom there is first a smook of murmuring and then it breaks forth into open rebellion but because it hath rebellion in the seeds of it therefore it is accounted before the Lord to be rebellion Wilt thou be a Rebel against God When thou feelest thy heart discontented and murmuring aginst the dispensations of â—od towards thee thou shouldest check thy heart thus Oh thou wretched heart what wilt thou be a Rebell against God wilt thou rise in a way of Rebellion against the infinite God yet thus thou hast done charge thy heart with this sin of rebellion you that are guiltie of this sin of murmuring you are this day by the Lord charged as being guilty of rebellion against him and God expects that when you go home you should humble your souls before him for this sin that you should charge your souls for being guilty of rebellion against God many of you may say I never thought that I had bin a rebel against God before I thought that I had many infirmityes but now I see the Scripture speaks of sin in another manner then men doe the Scripture makes men though but murmurers to be Rebels against God Oh this rebellious heart that I have against the Lord that hath manifested it's selfe in this way of murmuring against the Lord That 's a third particular in the evill of discontentment A fourth particular in the evill of Discontentment it is a wickednesse that is exceeding contrary to Grace and especially contrary to the worke of God in bringing of the soul home to himselfe I know no distemper more opposite and contrary to the work of God in conversion of a sinner then this is Quest What 's the work of God when he brings a sinner home to himselfe Answ The usuall way is for God to make the â—oul to â—ee and be sensible of the dreadfull evill that there is in sin and the great breath that sin hath made between God and it for certainly Jesus Christ can never be known in his beauty and excellency till the soul know that I doe not speak what secret work of the Holy Ghost there may be in the Soul but before the Soul can actually apply Jesus Christ to its selfe it is impossible but it must come to know the evill of sinne and the excellency of Jesus Christ there may be a seed of faith put into the Soul but the Soul must first know Christ and know sin and be made sensible of it Now how contrary is this sin of murmuring to any such work of God hath God made me see the dreadfull evill of sin and made my soul to be sensible of the evill of sin as the greatest burden how can I be then so much troubled for every little affliction certainly iâ— I saw what the evill of sinne were that sight would swallow up all other evils and if I were burdened with the evill of sinne it would swallow up all other burdens what am I now murmuring against Gods hand saith such a Soul when as a while agoe the Lord made me see my selfe â—o be a damned wretch and apprehend it as a wonder that I was not in Hell 2. Yea it 's mighty contrary to the sight of the infinit excellency and glory of Jesus Christ and of the things of the Gospel What am I that soul that the Lord hath discovered such infinit excellency of Jesus Christ to and yet shall I thinke such a little affliction to be so grievous to me when I have had the sight of such glory in Christ that is more worth then ten thousand worlds for so will a true convert say oh the Lord at such a time hath given me that sight of Christ that I would not be without for ten thousand thousand worlds but hath God given thee that and wilt thou be discontent for a trifâ—e in comparison to that 3. A third work when God brings the Soul home to himself it is by the taking the heart off from the Creature the disingaging the heart from all creature comforts that 's the third work ordinarily that the Soul may perceive of its selfe It 's true Gods work may be altogether in the seeds in him but in the severall actings of the Soul in turning to God it may perceive these things in it the disingagement of the heatt from the Creature that 's the calling of the Soul from the world whom the Lord hath called he hath justified what 's the calling of the Soul but this the Soul that before was seeking for Contentment in the world and cleaving to the Creature now the Lord cals the Soul out of the world and saith oh Soul thy happinesse is not here thy rest is not here thy happinesse is else where and thy heart must be loosned from all these things that are here below in the world