The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment,
Jeremiah Burroughs- Humble gifts are more valuable than expensive possessions paid for yourself. “A godly man is like a child in an inn. An innkeeper has his child in the house, and this father provides the child’s diet, and lodging, and whatever is fit for him. Now a stranger comes, and the stranger has dinner and supper provided, and lodging; but the stranger must pay for it all. It may be that the child’s fare is simpler than the fare of the stranger — the stranger has it boiled and roasted and baked — but he must pay for it; there must come a reckoning for it. It is just so with many of God’s people; they have only simple fare. But God provides it as a Father, and it is cost-free. They don’t need to pay for what they have; it is paid for beforehand. But the wicked, in all their pomp, and pride, and finery — they have what they call for; but there must come a reckoning for it all.”
- Christ has paid for all. “A child of God doesn’t have a right merely by donation. Rather, what he has is his own, through the purchase of Christ. Every bit of bread that you eat, if you are a godly man or woman, Jesus Christ has bought it for you. You go to market and buy your food and drink with your money. But know this: before you have bought it, or paid any money, Christ has bought it at the hand of God the Father, with his blood. You may have it at the hands of men for money, but Christ has bought it at the hand of his Father by his blood. And certainly, it is a great deal better and sweeter now, even if it is but a little.”
- What the righteous and the wicked have to look forward to: “Just as every affliction that the wicked have here is but the beginning of sorrows, and a forerunner of those eternal sorrows they are likely to have hereafter in Hell, so every comfort you have is a forerunner of those eternal mercies you shall have with God in Heaven.”