The Rare Jewel Of Christian Contentment; Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs: Part 5

Jeremiah Burroughs was an English Congregationalist and eminent Puritan divine, born in East Anglia in 1599 or 1600.

I’m posting excerpts of the 3 hour 22 minute audiobook because this material is so valuable to any Christian who desires to grow in grace. It is not easy, nor is it trendy; but it is apparently tried and true.

If you are familiar with scripture, then you will understand Burroughs’ writing.

May God bless your studies.

This mp3 audiobook excerpt in this post is 19.5 minutes long:

Please listen through parts in order, as this is an audiobook and the initial parts lay a necessary foundation for the latter parts. See part one for a brief bio on Burroughs; part one also includes links to the Kindle version of this audiobook, and to the 3 hour 22 minute audiobook you will be listening to in this series: see CATEGORIES, Spiritual Disciplines for all parts.

Part  5

Today, I excerpted numerous sections of this post directly from the Kindle version (cited in post 1) of Burroughs’ book, because I think they harmonize better with the audiobook, than do points in my words, as in parts 1 – 4.

These are HIGHLIGHTS, that is, they leave out examples and text that provides much clearer understanding; but the following excerpts should enable a reader to know whether they want to spend 19 minutes listening to the audiobook, or move on.

Audiobook is below these excerpted texts: 

…to be thoroughly sensible of an affliction, and to endeavor to remove it by all lawful means, and yet to be content: there is a mystery in that.

Grace teaches us how to moderate and to order an affliction so that there shall be a sense of it, and yet for all that contentment under it.

You never learned the mystery of contentment unless it may be said of you that, just as you are the most contented man, so you are also the most unsatisfied man in the world.

Godliness teaches us this mystery, Not to be satisfied with all the world for our portion, and yet to be content with the meanest condition in which we are.

A little in the world will content a Christian for his passage, but all the world, and ten thousand times more, will not content a Christian for his portion.

A carnal heart will be content with these things of the world for his portion; and that is the difference between a carnal heart and a gracious heart.

A soul that is capable of God can be filled with nothing else but God; nothing but God can fill a soul that is capable of God.

Though a gracious heart knows that it is capable of God, and was made for God, carnal hearts think without reference to God.

A godly heart will not only have the mercy, but the God of that mercy as well; and then a little matter is enough in the world, so be it he has the God of the mercy which he enjoys.

Philippians 4:7, 9…The peace of God shall keep you, and the God of peace shall be with you.

Here is what I would observe from this text. That the peace of God is not enough to a gracious heart except it may have the God of that peace.

A carnal heart could be satisfied if he might but have outward peace

I must see from whence my peace comes, and enjoy the Fountain of my peace, as well as the stream of my peace.

Psalm 73:25, ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon the earth that I desire beside thee.’ There is nothing in heaven or earth that can satisfy me, but yourself.

There lies the first mystery of contentment. And truly a contented man, though he is the most contented man in the world, is the most dissatisfied man in the world; that is, those things that will satisfy the world, will not satisfy him.

A CHRISTIAN COMES TO CONTENTMENT, NOT SO MUCH BY WAY OF ADDITION, AS BY WAY OF SUBTRACTION.

I open it thus: not so much by adding to what he would have, or to what he has, not by adding more to his condition; but rather by subtracting from his desires, so as to make his desires and his circumstances even and equal.

A carnal heart knows no way to be contented but this: I have such and such possessions, and if I had this added to them, and the other comfort added that I have not now, then I should be contented.

But contentment does not come in that way, it does not come, I say, by adding to what you want, but by subtracting from your desires.

It is all one to a Christian, whether I get up to what I would have, or get my desires down to what I have, either to attain what I do desire, or to bring down my desires to what I have already attained.

Now I say that a heart that has no grace, and is not instructed in this mystery of contentment, knows of no way to get contentment, but to have his possessions raised up to his desires; but the Christian has another way to contentment, that is, he can bring his desires down to his possessions, and so he attains his contentment.

The world is infinitely deceived in thinking that contentment lies in having more than we already have. Here lies the bottom and root of all contentment, when there is an evenness and proportion between our hearts and our circumstances.

But now let God give a man riches, no matter how great, yet if the Lord gives him up to the pride of his heart, he will never be contented: on the other hand, let God bring anyone into mean circumstances, and then let God but fashion and suit his heart to those circumstances and he will be content.

Thus a gracious heart thinks in this way: ‘The Lord has been pleased to bring down my circumstances; now if the Lord brings down my heart and makes it equal to my circumstances, then I am well enough.’

So when God brings down his circumstances, he does not so much labor to raise up his circumstances again as to bring his heart down to his circumstances.

A CHRISTIAN COMES TO CONTENTMENT, NOT SO MUCH BY GETTING RID OF THE BURDEN THAT IS ON HIM, AS BY ADDING ANOTHER BURDEN TO HIMSELF.

You think there is no way in the world to get contentment, but, O that this burden were but off! O it is a heavy load, and few know what a burden I have.

What, do you think that there is no way for the contentment of your spirit, but to get rid of your burden? O you are deceived.

The way of contentment is to add another burden, that is, to labor to load and burden your heart with your sin

The heavier the burden of your sin is to your heart, the lighter will the burden of your affliction be to your heart, and so you shall come to be content.

You think there is no other way, when you are afflicted, but to be jolly and merry, and get into company. Oh now, you are deceived, your burden will come again.

If you would have your burden light, get alone and examine your heart for your sin, and charge your soul with your sin.

If your burden is in your possessions, for the abuse of them…and the abuse of any mercies that now the Lord has taken away from you, that you have not honored God with those mercies that you have had, but you have walked wantonly and carelessly; if you so fall to bemoaning your sin before the Lord, you shall quickly find the burden of your affliction to be lighter than it was before.

Indeed, a broken estate and a whole heart, a hard heart, will not join together; there will be no contentment. But a broken estate and a broken heart will so suit one another, as that there will be more contentment than there was before.

Burroughs, Jeremiah. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (p. 17- 22). Unknown. Kindle Edition. [Linked to part one of this series]

 

 

A core emphasis of this blog is the necessity of owning and confessing sin to God and to those necessary humans against whom we have sinned.

I was happy to discover, that Burroughs is another great Christian teacher who emphasized the necessity of adding the burden of one’s own sins to his burden of afflictions, if one would know greater blessedness, in the form of Christian contentment.

Christ said, in the beatitudes (Matthew 5:3ff) that those are blessed who know their own spiritual bankruptcy and mourn their sins.

As many times as these two attitudes are mentioned throughout the Bible, it seems certain that these are the root out of which all Christian blessings flow. I concluded that in both my series on the beatitudes found in the CATEGORIES of Beatitude Life, (narrative); and True Kingdom Citizen (mp3 sermon excerpts).

The Holy Spirit works these beatitude attitudes into born-again believers.

So many seem to be pretending that they are free of sin via their godliness. But Burroughs also seems to conclude that the owning of all of one’s sins leads him towards godliness; and conversely, the denying of all of one’s sins would lead him towards hypocrisy / worldliness.

The most important point to note, is what are you doing?

By self-observation, assessment, examination (as explained in the Jonathan Edwards posts, wherein were shown glimpses into his spiritual life – see categories, Jonathan Edwards), you may know which you are doing.