Taken together, the works of the Puritans are so broad in their scope, so rich in their language, so meticulous in their detail, and so varied in their approach, that it is a difficult thing to choose a single one to begin your reading of them. Some books excel in their exposition of Scripture, some in their systematizing of doctrine, some in their literary qualities, and some in their pastoral concern. It is unreasonable to expect any one book to be representative of such a varied canon. And yet such rare jewels do exist, Burrough’s book on contentment being one of them. Its language is accessible, its tone is pastoral, its organization is straightforward, and its topic is an urgent one for present-day Christians to study. It’s cheap, too, having been published by Banner of Truth as one of their series of Puritan Paperbacks. I strongly recommend it for an initial encounter with Puritan thought.
One admirable characteristic of Puritan writers is that they didn’t bother keeping the reader in suspense; you can learn an awful lot from a Puritan book by reading its table of contents. Burroughs uses his not only to inform us of the topics he will be exploring—the definition of contentment, what Christ had to say about contentment, the excellence of contentment, what’s bad about murmuring, what leads us to murmur, how we excuse our discontent, practical measures for developing contentment—but to list the conclusions that he reaches on each topic. It is not only an excellent preparation for in-depth reading, it makes it easy to refresh your memory about what you have read, and possible to find the sections you want to re-read.
Burroughs’ exposition is always straightforward, often poetic. He begins by laying out a clear, precise, yet loving definition of contentment—“that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition”—and proceeds to examine each part of this definition in detail, but not without a pastoral explanation of why he thinks it is an important endeavor—“I shall break open this description, for it is a box of precious ointment, and very comforting and useful for troubled hearts in troubled times and conditions.”
This book was written during a troubled time, when the energy of the English Reformation was threatening to explode what unity existed among Protestant believers. Burroughs’ troubles are not our troubles, but his book explores the understandings and attitudes which are to guide the Christian through troubles of any sort. The text he takes as his starting point is Paul’s statement in Philippians 4:11: “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” He describes this statement as “a very timely cordial to revive the drooping spirits of the saints in these sad and sinking times.” The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment is another such cordial, and we would be wise to drink deeply of it as we face these sad and sinking times of our own.