I 7 he rare Jewel ot'Chrijtian Contentment I 29 upon mufing on it, and making it greater than it is, and. fo it brings difcontent : And then on the other fide, if there be a mercy, theft its the Rhetorick of the Devil to lelfen the mercy, Indeed (faith he) the thing is agocd thing, bllt what is it? I is no great matter, and for all thjs 1 may be miferable. Thtlf the Rhetorick ofSatan cloth leffen Gcds mercies, and doth en~ creafe affl iCtions: And for this I' le give you a notable example that we have in Scripture, ic is the example of Kor4h, Dttthan, and Abiram, in NNmb.. '16.1 2,1 3,And Mofes (ent to c.tl Dathan And Abirain the fom of E!iab:wbich f(fid, we -nil/ mt c9m( .~tp . IJ ~If {mall thing that thoN haft brought 111 ~ep vut of a Land th~t fl nwh with milk .tnd honey, to k_i/1 u1 in the Wildcrnej1, except tbolum~tthy/elfaltogrthrrll Pri-nct ()V(rtJJr Mark, they £lighted che Land that they were goitig into, the L<Hld of c an4an, that was the Lar;d th~t God prom1fed them that Chould flow with milk and honey: B:.tt mark here their difcontentcdnefs, becaufe they mec 'with fom e troubles in che wilderner~, 0:1 it was to llay them, they made their afHiCl:ion ·in the wildernefs, robe greater than it was,Oh it was to kill chem,though it were indeed to carry them to the Land of C(fnaan, But now their deliverance from Egypt though it was agreat mercy, they made that mercy to be nothing, for fay they, You have brought u~ out of a Land that flo·Ncth with milk and honey, what Land was thar ? it wag the Land of Egypt, the Land of their bondage, but they call it a Land that flowed with milk and hooey,though it were the Land of their mofl cruel and n':Jfupportable bondage; whereas they fuould have ble£ted God as lo!Yg as they had liv'd for G::Jds de· livering them out of ~he L.and of ~gypt, yet meeting with -Con.~ crofs they make theu dehverance'from .Egypt no mercy, no, i t was rather a mifery to them, Oh fay they Egypt was a Lancl that flo'IVed with milk and honey! Oh what bafenefs is ther~ in a difcontented fpirit! a di[contented fpirit out of envy to Gods Grace vvill make mercies that are great to be little, yea to be none at all, Would one ever h~v~ thcught that fuch a word t11ould have come from the mouth of an Ifraelite thlt had beei1 under bond'age and cried under it; avd yet w ben ·they meet with a little crofs in their-way t) fay, you have brought u~ · - Y. ou,
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