Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment - Burroughs - XVII - Chapter 13

Required reading 

Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs (available from Amazon or free on the internet, here for example) - Chapter 13.

My notes and thoughts
Burroughs' last chapter is a continuation of the previous one on the subject of 'How to attain contentment'.  I still think these last two chapters are more of a summary/conclusion.  No fresh ideas came out that I could see and even Burroughs suggests that he is repeating himself with statements like: 'It has been as many times we have hinted...'

Nevertheless I did enjoy the illustration for point 9 ('Let not men and women pore too much upon their afflictions'): 'It is just with them as with a child who has a sore: his finger is always on the sore; so men's and women's thoughts are always on their afflictions.  When they awake in the night their thoughts are on their afflictions, and when they converse with others-it may be even when they are praying to God-they are thinking of their afflictions.  Oh, no marvel that you live a discontented life, if your thoughts are always poring over such things.'  And what is the antidote?  'It will be of very great use and benefit to you, if you it to heart, not to be poring always on afflictions, but on mercies.'

Final verdict
To discuss the subject of discontentment is vitally important, particularly in our day where the diagnosis of depression is sky rocketing all around us.  Burroughs is not afraid to tell us that discontentment in a Christian is sinful and unacceptable.  Yet he does not leave us hanging - rather Burroughs tells us real Scriptural solutions to the problem; solutions that we will never hear from popular psychologists.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.