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The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
“Burroughs, being a wise pastor, works the teaching of contentment into every possible nook and cranny in the Christian life. It requires diligent application if we are to say with Paul that we have learned the secret of being content in all circumstances.” ~ from Nancy Wilson's Introduction Jeremiah Burroughs reminds us that peace and calm in the midst of great troubles is a requirement for a Christian, and that learning contentment is the ABCs of the Christian life. But contentment does not come naturally. We excuse our stress, anxiety, and discouragement by claiming that we are just planning for the future and reacting normally to trials. But in this Puritan classic, Burroughs presents readers with the high calling to be content whatever the “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal.” “The devil loves to fish in troubled waters.” ~Jeremiah Burroughs The authors in the Christian Heritage Series paid a high price for the words you see before you. Not all paid with blood, but each spent his life fighting for the truth. This faithful sacrifice has become a rich inheritance for the Church in our day, even though it is often neglected. The Christian Heritage Series aims to put these important theological classics on every Christian’s bookshelf in colorful, well-crafted, and affordable volumes, with introductions written by those that love the books and their heritage.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1648
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About the author
Jeremiah Burroughs
127 books88 followersJeremiah Burroughs (or Burroughes) was baptized in 1601 and admitted as a pensioner at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1617. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1621 and a Master of Arts degree in 1624. His tutor was Thomas Hooker.
Burroughs’s ministry falls into four periods, all of which reveal him as a zealous and faithful pastor. First, from about 1627 until 1631, he was assistant to Edmund Calamy at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Both men became members of the Westminster Assembly. Both men strongly opposed King James’s Book of Sports. Both refused to read the king’s proclamation in church that dancing, archery, vaulting, and other games were lawful recreations on the Lord’s Day.
Second, from 1631 to 1636, Burroughs was rector of Tivetshall, Norfolk, a church that still stands today. Despite the best efforts of his patron, Burroughs was suspended in 1636 and deprived in 1637 for refusing to obey the injunctions of Bishop Matthew Wren, especially regarding the reading of the Book of Sports, and the requirements to bow at the name of Jesus and to read prayers rather than speak them extemporaneously.
Third, from 1638 to 1640, Burroughs lived in the Netherlands, where he was teacher of a congregation of English Independents at Rotterdam, formerly ministered by William Ames. William Bridge was the pastor and Sidrach Simpson had established a second like-minded church in the city. Thus, three future dissenting brethren were brought together, all of whom would serve as propagandists for congregationalism later in the 1640s.
In the final period from 1640 to his death in 1646, Burroughs achieved great recognition as a popular preacher and a leading Puritan in London. He returned to England during the Commonwealth period and became pastor of two of the largest congregations in London: Stepney and St. Giles, Cripplegate. At Stepney, he preached early in the morning and became known as “the morning star of Stepney.” He was invited to preach before the House of Commons and the House of Lords several times. Thomas Brooks called him “a prince of preachers.”
As a member of the Westminster Assembly, Burroughs sided with the Independents, but he remained moderate in tone, acting in accord with the motto on his study door: Opinionum varietas et opinantium unitas non sunt ασυστατα (“variety of opinion and unity of opinion are not incompatible”). Richard Baxter said, “If all the Episcopalians had been like Archbishop Ussher, all the Presbyterians like Stephen Marshall, and all the Independents like Jeremiah Burroughs, the breaches of the church would soon have been healed.”
In 1644, Burroughs and several colleagues presented to Parliament their Apologetical Narration, which defended Independency. It attempted to steer a middle course between Presbyterianism, which they regarded as too authoritarian, and Brownism, which they regarded as too democratic. This led to division between the Presbyterians and Independents. Burroughs served on the committee of accommodation, which tried to reconcile the differences, but on March 9, 1646, he declared on behalf of the Independents that presbyteries were “coercive institutions.” Burroughs said he would rather suffer or emigrate than submit to presbyteries. Ultimately, the division between Presbyterians and Independents helped promote the cause of prelacy after the death of Oliver Cromwell.
Burroughs pursued peace to the end. He died in 1646, two weeks after a fall from his horse. The last subject on which he preached became his Irenicum to the Lovers of Truth and Peace, an attempt to heal divisions between believers. Many of his friends believed that church troubles hastened his death.
Burroughs was a prolific writer, highly esteemed by Puritan leaders of his day, some of whom published his writings after his death. Nearly all of his books are compilations of sermons.
Burroughs’s ministry falls into four periods, all of which reveal him as a zealous and faithful pastor. First, from about 1627 until 1631, he was assistant to Edmund Calamy at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Both men became members of the Westminster Assembly. Both men strongly opposed King James’s Book of Sports. Both refused to read the king’s proclamation in church that dancing, archery, vaulting, and other games were lawful recreations on the Lord’s Day.
Second, from 1631 to 1636, Burroughs was rector of Tivetshall, Norfolk, a church that still stands today. Despite the best efforts of his patron, Burroughs was suspended in 1636 and deprived in 1637 for refusing to obey the injunctions of Bishop Matthew Wren, especially regarding the reading of the Book of Sports, and the requirements to bow at the name of Jesus and to read prayers rather than speak them extemporaneously.
Third, from 1638 to 1640, Burroughs lived in the Netherlands, where he was teacher of a congregation of English Independents at Rotterdam, formerly ministered by William Ames. William Bridge was the pastor and Sidrach Simpson had established a second like-minded church in the city. Thus, three future dissenting brethren were brought together, all of whom would serve as propagandists for congregationalism later in the 1640s.
In the final period from 1640 to his death in 1646, Burroughs achieved great recognition as a popular preacher and a leading Puritan in London. He returned to England during the Commonwealth period and became pastor of two of the largest congregations in London: Stepney and St. Giles, Cripplegate. At Stepney, he preached early in the morning and became known as “the morning star of Stepney.” He was invited to preach before the House of Commons and the House of Lords several times. Thomas Brooks called him “a prince of preachers.”
As a member of the Westminster Assembly, Burroughs sided with the Independents, but he remained moderate in tone, acting in accord with the motto on his study door: Opinionum varietas et opinantium unitas non sunt ασυστατα (“variety of opinion and unity of opinion are not incompatible”). Richard Baxter said, “If all the Episcopalians had been like Archbishop Ussher, all the Presbyterians like Stephen Marshall, and all the Independents like Jeremiah Burroughs, the breaches of the church would soon have been healed.”
In 1644, Burroughs and several colleagues presented to Parliament their Apologetical Narration, which defended Independency. It attempted to steer a middle course between Presbyterianism, which they regarded as too authoritarian, and Brownism, which they regarded as too democratic. This led to division between the Presbyterians and Independents. Burroughs served on the committee of accommodation, which tried to reconcile the differences, but on March 9, 1646, he declared on behalf of the Independents that presbyteries were “coercive institutions.” Burroughs said he would rather suffer or emigrate than submit to presbyteries. Ultimately, the division between Presbyterians and Independents helped promote the cause of prelacy after the death of Oliver Cromwell.
Burroughs pursued peace to the end. He died in 1646, two weeks after a fall from his horse. The last subject on which he preached became his Irenicum to the Lovers of Truth and Peace, an attempt to heal divisions between believers. Many of his friends believed that church troubles hastened his death.
Burroughs was a prolific writer, highly esteemed by Puritan leaders of his day, some of whom published his writings after his death. Nearly all of his books are compilations of sermons.
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January 7, 2008In typical puritan style, not for the faint of heart. When you get to the point that you are done with pop-christianity and McChristian books, look no farther than this book for weighty, spiritual depth and life-changing principles. Read slowly in order to digest everything. It is packed full of sound principles; not to be skimmed in a day. But worth all the effort.
April 27, 2020
2020: Always timely.
2019: So good.
2018: Challenging and comforting. So much yet to be learned.
2016: So much wisdom here. I pray I will be a good student and learn my lessons well.
2019: So good.
2018: Challenging and comforting. So much yet to be learned.
2016: So much wisdom here. I pray I will be a good student and learn my lessons well.
April 16, 2012
This series of sermons by the Puritan Burroughs is a rare jewel of solid counsel and instruction for those battling discontent in their souls.
Discontent is all around us. We vent it in coffee shops to friends. Ads for the next cool thing cultivate it for us. In one of the most prosperous societies ever, discontent rages.
Contentment is an inward, quiet submission of the heart, which takes pleasure in God's providence in every situation. So says Burroughs. Many have contentment who don't have much, and many who have much are discontent. No amount of money, power, friendships, or sensational experiences can satisfy the heart of man. But to be content with your situation glorifies God, keeps you from sin, makes you Christ-like, is part of the Spirit's fruit, and brings much reward. Murmuring and complaining is the opposite, and we see it a lot in Scripture, especially Numbers. It is wicked rebellion, though we downplay our own discontent all the time. WE always have a reason, it seems. Why not consider all the reasons to be thankful, instead? There are lots more of those! How can we complain when God has given us far better than we deserve?
I especially enjoyed chapter 11, against the excuses for our discontent. If you only knew what I'm going through! It's too severe. I didn't expect it. It's worse than others face. I could handle something else, but not this. Burroughs deals with each of these well. Please read this chapter, if you say these things to yourself.
A note on the style: yes, Puritans can be long-winded and difficult reading. It is worth the effort. Do something a little harder than usual, and see the reward it brings! He uses lots of real life illustrations, too, that help.
Discontent is all around us. We vent it in coffee shops to friends. Ads for the next cool thing cultivate it for us. In one of the most prosperous societies ever, discontent rages.
Contentment is an inward, quiet submission of the heart, which takes pleasure in God's providence in every situation. So says Burroughs. Many have contentment who don't have much, and many who have much are discontent. No amount of money, power, friendships, or sensational experiences can satisfy the heart of man. But to be content with your situation glorifies God, keeps you from sin, makes you Christ-like, is part of the Spirit's fruit, and brings much reward. Murmuring and complaining is the opposite, and we see it a lot in Scripture, especially Numbers. It is wicked rebellion, though we downplay our own discontent all the time. WE always have a reason, it seems. Why not consider all the reasons to be thankful, instead? There are lots more of those! How can we complain when God has given us far better than we deserve?
I especially enjoyed chapter 11, against the excuses for our discontent. If you only knew what I'm going through! It's too severe. I didn't expect it. It's worse than others face. I could handle something else, but not this. Burroughs deals with each of these well. Please read this chapter, if you say these things to yourself.
A note on the style: yes, Puritans can be long-winded and difficult reading. It is worth the effort. Do something a little harder than usual, and see the reward it brings! He uses lots of real life illustrations, too, that help.
June 23, 2022
This book did me a world of good. I know I've read it before (my print copy is full of underlines), but I found myself immediately able to apply something that really made a difference in the moment. This quote, in particular, did the trick: "Christ teaches the soul [self-denial], so that, as in the presence of God on a real sight of itself, it can say, 'Lord, I am nothing. I deserve nothing. Lord, I can do nothing. I can receive nothing and can make use of nothing. I am worse than nothing. And if I come to nothing and perish, I will be no loss at all, and, therefore, is it such a great thing for me to be cut short here?' A man who is little in his own eyes will count every affliction as little and every mercy as great." I had, you see, been in a state. I'd been praying and praying about a certain rotten attitude. I suddenly realized that problem was a big ol' balloonful of somethingness, and this passage stuck a pin right in it. It was a big ol' boilful of somethingness, and the Holy Spirit used this to lance it. The relief was immediate. I went around all day rejoicing in the freedom of being nothing. You'd be amazed at how lightly a popped balloon can float! I had some quibbles with Burroughs here and there in the book, but the good parts were so good and had such a good effect that I have to give it five stars.
Derek Perkins did his usual fine job of narration.
Derek Perkins did his usual fine job of narration.
May 16, 2022
This book was a delight to read. This book was also supremely convicting to read! Burrough’s definitions and descriptions of Christian contentment are Biblically insightful, intensely practical, pastorally wise, and theologically robust. One particular definition goes like this: “The mystery (of contentment) consists not in bringing anything from outside to make my condition more comfortable, but in purging out something that is within” (55). How much misery will I be spared in realizing that contentment will not come from obtaining something I think I lack but by purging covetous desires never promised to me in the first place? In God, I have all that I need. One more helpful description of Christian contentment from Burroughs relates to the care of the Lord. He writes as if the God is speaking to the discontented person: “If my care over you does not please you, then take care of yourselves, if my protection over you will not please you, then protect yourselves?” (167). Discontentment means that I am functionally denying God’s providential care over the order and the events of my lives...woof.
June 21, 2020
Incredibly good. 10/5 stars.
Read during Covid lockdown, which was a very timely season to reflect on contentment. This is a book full of good, gentle, gracious heart surgery that commends the goodness of Christ in the gospel.
Recommend to anyone breathing
Read during Covid lockdown, which was a very timely season to reflect on contentment. This is a book full of good, gentle, gracious heart surgery that commends the goodness of Christ in the gospel.
Recommend to anyone breathing
October 22, 2023
Masterful. Burroughs's insights into the nature of true contentment in Christ were powerfully convicting. This is one worth reading slowly and meditating on.
January 31, 2025
Discontent is definitely a “respectable sin” in our day, one that is hardly addressed from the pulpit.
Praise God for the preservation of Burrows’ work. He exposed the discontent in my life with the shining lamp of Scripture, which has quite a lot to say about this sin.
Sinclair Ferguson captures the book well: “the title itself captured the imagination and stimulates thought: contentment is a jewel— and so we should value it highly; but it is rare and so we need to seek it.”
Praise God for the preservation of Burrows’ work. He exposed the discontent in my life with the shining lamp of Scripture, which has quite a lot to say about this sin.
Sinclair Ferguson captures the book well: “the title itself captured the imagination and stimulates thought: contentment is a jewel— and so we should value it highly; but it is rare and so we need to seek it.”
October 28, 2024
Very timely for me. Mr. Burroughs offers conviction and comfort from a pastoral perspective.
August 23, 2024
“What if I could show you a way to never to be in want of anything, ever again?”
This question is the premise for Jeremiah Burroughs’, “The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment”. He compellingly offers reason after reason as to why we can be content only when we are satisfied in the mercy of God, which is most clearly revealed in Christ.
I loved the countless practical applications and stories used to illustrate his points throughout each chapter and it was pretty easy to follow along. Whenever I start to get dissatisfied with where God has me in life, this is a book I’m going to run back to.
This question is the premise for Jeremiah Burroughs’, “The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment”. He compellingly offers reason after reason as to why we can be content only when we are satisfied in the mercy of God, which is most clearly revealed in Christ.
I loved the countless practical applications and stories used to illustrate his points throughout each chapter and it was pretty easy to follow along. Whenever I start to get dissatisfied with where God has me in life, this is a book I’m going to run back to.
January 22, 2009
Really fine.
June 27, 2025
I will be honest. This was a difficult read for me. Difficult, in a spiritually challenging and convicting way. I would recommend any reader to pray before and after each session of reading through this book. This book isn't for the spiritually faint and weak. I am currently in a season of suffering that may have caused me to stop reading this book altogether. However, I know that it was necessary for my good and sanctification, to continue and examine my heart throughout it. I will be meditating on these truths for a long time.
"I know I am where God would have me. Nothing in the world will quiet the heart so much as this: When I meet with any cross, I know I am where God would have me, in my place and calling; I am about the work that God has set me." - Jeremiah Burroughs
"I know I am where God would have me. Nothing in the world will quiet the heart so much as this: When I meet with any cross, I know I am where God would have me, in my place and calling; I am about the work that God has set me." - Jeremiah Burroughs
January 17, 2025
WOW what a gem (haha) of a book. Maybe not for every stage and season of life but soooo good for my far too often grumpy and complaining heart. Probably one I should read again many times in my lifetime
December 24, 2024
This is one of the best books I read all year.
"Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition."
"Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition."
October 17, 2024
Wow.
What a thought provoking, humbling, convicting, and even encouraging book. The many analogies in this book really helped me understand how contentment looks and functions practically in every aspect of life.
Praise God, for his constant grace and mercy towards me. Praise him for his kindness in giving me good gifts, despite how discontented my heart is towards him.
May the Lord work in my life, and help me be able to say “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”
Philippians 4:11
What a thought provoking, humbling, convicting, and even encouraging book. The many analogies in this book really helped me understand how contentment looks and functions practically in every aspect of life.
Praise God, for his constant grace and mercy towards me. Praise him for his kindness in giving me good gifts, despite how discontented my heart is towards him.
May the Lord work in my life, and help me be able to say “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”
Philippians 4:11
December 29, 2023
Exceptional book!
Brimming with great analogies to describe our place on this earth/looking to the future glory and full of scripture to inform your theology of contentment.
"So it is with the heart: when the heart of a man has nothing to do but to be busy about creature comforts, every little thing troubles him. But when the heart is taken up with the weighty things of eternity, the things of here below that disquieted it before are things now of no consequence to him in comparison with the other. How things fall out here is not much regarded by him, if the one thing necessary is provided for."
Brimming with great analogies to describe our place on this earth/looking to the future glory and full of scripture to inform your theology of contentment.
"So it is with the heart: when the heart of a man has nothing to do but to be busy about creature comforts, every little thing troubles him. But when the heart is taken up with the weighty things of eternity, the things of here below that disquieted it before are things now of no consequence to him in comparison with the other. How things fall out here is not much regarded by him, if the one thing necessary is provided for."
December 5, 2017
Zero punches pulled
May 22, 2024
This is my second time through The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, and I think I will reread this book until I die. It is one of the best books I have ever read.
January 6, 2023
This book is a very useful expansion of Burroughs’s sermons on contentment (Philippians 4:11). Once you grow accustomed to the style, the pace of reading is quick. Many of his illustrations are drawn from everyday life (surprisingly relevant even in modern times) and nautical themes (sailing). The most spiritually profitable and convicting/searching chapters are 11 on the excuses of a discontented heart and 13 on directions for attaining contentment.
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July 21, 2023I think I'm still developing the part of my brain that likes Puritans. Kinda like coffee. Took me awhile to finish cause I kinda lost the book for like 2 weeks
October 30, 2009
One of my friends encouraged me to read this book in preparation for a talk I was asked to give on the topic of contentment. She even let me borrow her copy so that I could read it! Mr. Burroughs first published the book in 1648, and it is loaded with wonderful insights, vivid analogies, helpful explanations, and practical applications. One of the most striking explanations that I gleaned from the book is that most Christians don’t handle affliction or loss with contentment because they don’t expect to encounter such adverse experiences. This is contrary to the teaching of Scripture and the example Paul sets for us of anticipating “bonds and affliction” in every city to which he traveled (Acts 20:22-23). Mr. Burroughs expounds on this and many other truths much more thoroughly than a brief review allows. I gleaned much from this book, especially in light of the personal experience God took me through to teach me the secret of contentment.
January 14, 2021
Excellent, excellent book! Highly recommended! Practical insights into a difficult virtue for the Christian, yet vitally needed. In typical Puritan style, the pacing of the book may be a little slow and seemingly dry to our modern ears, yet I find this is a strength of the book, for it causes the reader to be attentive, intentional, and put in the effort to pull up and plod forward when we want to step on the gas. We may want to get to “the sensational”, but what we need is to slow down and “paint the fence” (thanks Karate Kid). Since contentment isn’t something that comes naturally but must be learned, cultivating it will take time and work. Begin putting in the work by soaking in this book. Your soul won’t regret it.
May 3, 2009
Quite simply one of the best books I have ever read! Every Christian in America needs to read this book. We complain and complain, or as Burroughs says, "Murmur, Murmur, Murmur..." No matter our circumstance, the current economic problems, or whatever, we find our contentment in Christ and Christ alone. Please, people who read this, read this book and be changed. Thanks be to God that in His providence He raised up men like Burroughs to write things like this. Soli Deo Gloria!
August 16, 2012
When I read the Puritans, I sometimes wonder why I read anything else. This book is a 228-page treatment of Paul's declaration that he had learned to be content in every circumstance. Burroughs analyzes the subject of contentment from about every imaginable angle, and shows a timeless acquaintance with the workings of the human heart. Put asunder any fear that this 17th work will be hard to understand --it is plain spoken, practical and profound.
August 21, 2023
This took much longer than it should have but was somewhat challenging to read due to the puritan language and style. And also because it’s just plain hard to hear how many are the ways that we can be discontented! I was immensely challenged and convicted and did a lot of highlighting when I practically could have highlighted the whole book for the importance of the material. It seemed repetitive at times and I really need a giant outline to see all the different points. Ultimately my prayer is that I now recognize more of the ways I can be and show discontentment and can easier throw those off than before so as not to sin in those ways against the good, good Father who gives me good in all things, even when I don’t want to see it. Hopefully I have learned some skill in it and it can be said, “Oh let us not be ever learning this lesson of contentment and yet not come to have skill in it.” May it be so.
December 26, 2024
“God has all things in himself, and you have God for your portion, and in that you have all, and this is the mystery of contentment.” Like a rare jewel, Burroughs examines and unpacks the root and pursuit of Christian contentment from every angle. In each sermon, I was amazed by how vivid and applicable his illustrations were to me as a modern reader. I will revisit this one again.
June 1, 2025
I insist.
January 28, 2024
A true foundational book for the Christian life. Every Christian should read this! The gems summed up here on things such as the state of our hearts before God, our views on and experiences of afflictions, and God’s design for our lives, are key points from the whole Bible. People also do not talk like this very much nowadays, and it is a shame! I see how MUCH is missed in the Christian life if these truths are not learned and cherished.
February 13, 2019
An excellent book and one I wish I owned a copy of to refer when I find myself lacking...the jewel of Christian contentment.
There were a few points I disagreed with...
For men, to whom God has given gifts of wisdom, when things fall out amiss in their families, to be always murmuring and repining, is a greater sin than for women or children to do it.
There's some old-fashioned 17th century misogyny for you. :P
Or...
For instance, God takes away a child and you are inordinately sorrowful, beyond what God allows in a natural or Christian way; now though I never knew before how your heart was towards the child, yet when I see this, though you are a mere stranger to me, I may without breach of charity conclude that your heart was immoderately set upon your child or husband, or upon any other comfort that I see you grieving for when God has taken it away.
Talk about a "breach of charity".
In conclusion-- while it wasn't a breeze to get through and I didn't agree with about 5 percent of it-- I think I have benefited by reading it and can even see myself recommending it to others.
There were a few points I disagreed with...
For men, to whom God has given gifts of wisdom, when things fall out amiss in their families, to be always murmuring and repining, is a greater sin than for women or children to do it.
There's some old-fashioned 17th century misogyny for you. :P
Or...
For instance, God takes away a child and you are inordinately sorrowful, beyond what God allows in a natural or Christian way; now though I never knew before how your heart was towards the child, yet when I see this, though you are a mere stranger to me, I may without breach of charity conclude that your heart was immoderately set upon your child or husband, or upon any other comfort that I see you grieving for when God has taken it away.
Talk about a "breach of charity".
In conclusion-- while it wasn't a breeze to get through and I didn't agree with about 5 percent of it-- I think I have benefited by reading it and can even see myself recommending it to others.
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