Contentment is freely submitting to and taking pleasure in God's disposal. Submitting to God's disposal - What is that? The word submit signifies things else but 'to send under'. Thus in one who is discontented the heart will be unruly, and would even get above God so far as discontent prevails. But now comes the grace of contentment and send it under, for to sumbit is to send under a thing. Now when the soul comes to see its own unruliness - Is the hand of God bringing an affliction and yet my heart is troubled and discontented - What, it says, will you be above God? Is this not God's hand and must your will be regarded more than God's? O under, under! Get you under, O Soul! Keep Under! Keep low! Keep under God's feet! You are under God's feet, and keep under his feet! Keep under the authority of God, the majesty of God, the sovereignty of God, the power that God has over you! To keep under, that is to submit. The soul can submit to God at the time when it can send itself under the power and authority and sovereignty and dominion God has over it.
Contentment in taking pleasure in God's disposal...To be well pleased with God's hand comes from this: not only to see that I should be content in this affliction, but I see that there is good in it. I find there is honey in this rock, and so I do not only say, I must, or I will sumbit to God's hand. No, the hand of God is good, 'it is good that I am afflicted'. To acknowledge that it is just that I am afflicted is possible in one who is not truly contented. I may be convinced that God deals juslty in this matter, he is righteous and just and it is right that I should submit to what he has done; O the Lord has done righteously in all his ways! But that is not enough! You must say, 'Good is the hand of the Lord.' when it was a sore and hard word...Whatever the affliction, yet through the mercy of God mine is a good condition.
The soul that has learned this lesson of contentment looks up to God in all things. He does not look down at the instruments and means, so as to say that such a man did it, that it was the unreasonableness of such and such instruments...but he looks up to God. A contented heart looks to God's disposal, and submits to God's disposal, that is, he sees the wisdom of God in everything. In his submission he sees his sovereignt, but what makes him take pleasure is God's wisdom. The Lord knows how to order things better than I. The Lord sees further than I do; I only see things at present but the Lord sees a great while from now. And how do I know but that had it not been for this affliction, I should have been undone. I know that the love of God may as well stand with an afflicted condition as with a prosperous condition.
Taken from: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Jeremiah Burroughs pg.33,34
Contentment in taking pleasure in God's disposal...To be well pleased with God's hand comes from this: not only to see that I should be content in this affliction, but I see that there is good in it. I find there is honey in this rock, and so I do not only say, I must, or I will sumbit to God's hand. No, the hand of God is good, 'it is good that I am afflicted'. To acknowledge that it is just that I am afflicted is possible in one who is not truly contented. I may be convinced that God deals juslty in this matter, he is righteous and just and it is right that I should submit to what he has done; O the Lord has done righteously in all his ways! But that is not enough! You must say, 'Good is the hand of the Lord.' when it was a sore and hard word...Whatever the affliction, yet through the mercy of God mine is a good condition.
The soul that has learned this lesson of contentment looks up to God in all things. He does not look down at the instruments and means, so as to say that such a man did it, that it was the unreasonableness of such and such instruments...but he looks up to God. A contented heart looks to God's disposal, and submits to God's disposal, that is, he sees the wisdom of God in everything. In his submission he sees his sovereignt, but what makes him take pleasure is God's wisdom. The Lord knows how to order things better than I. The Lord sees further than I do; I only see things at present but the Lord sees a great while from now. And how do I know but that had it not been for this affliction, I should have been undone. I know that the love of God may as well stand with an afflicted condition as with a prosperous condition.
Taken from: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Jeremiah Burroughs pg.33,34
5 comments:
Love the Puritans. Thanks for sharing this with everyone. Contentment is something I struggle with as well. Burroughs book is a great reminder for us that our contentment is found in Christ.
-Justin
Solas4me
"A Darling Life"
Oh my. I've got to get this book. I'm struggling with this right now, too. Thanks for sharing about this excellent resource.
This is one of my favorite books. It's one that I'm able to re-read and be convicted all over again. Thanks for this post.
So much of this I needed to hear! Such a great reminder for this seemingly never ending process of adopting!
Love this post! I have got to get this book. I promise I am not a crazy stalker! After our wonderful and encouraging conversation today (thank you by the way!) I was positive that you must have a blog. I will be praying for your adoption!
In Christ,
Krista
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