The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment Annotated

What does it mean to live contentedly before God? In The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, beloved English Puritan pastor Jeremiah Burroughs presents a biblical framework for answering this enduring question. First published in 1648, Burroughs' practical theology of contentment serves up timeless wisdom for Christians wrestling with discontentment, covetousness, anxiety and envy.

Structured across nearly a dozen sermons, Burroughs mines Scripture to excavate the true nature of contentment. He demonstrates that it transcends earthly fortunes and material possessions alone. Rather, the "self-sufficiency" furnished by communion with Christ Himself becomes the fountainhead that quenches thirsts no tangible thing can satisfy. Burroughs uncovers domino effects triggered when the soul anchors itself steadfastly in God rather than chasing elusive worldly substitutes.

With intricate reasoning influenced by his theological mentor William Ames, Burroughs provides correctives to misunderstandings that hinder contentment. He clarifies that divine contentedness does not breed idleness or excuse wholesome betterment of one's station in life. On the contrary, souls filled with God's presence shine His image most purely. They turn reliance on Christ alone into catalysts empowering diligence, wisdom and stewardship for blessing others despite lingering uncertainties externally.

Across centuries, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment has won sustained appreciation from luminous thought leaders like Richard Baxter, John Owen, Charles Spurgeon and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. By returning adrift souls to first things in the ever-flowing fountain of life, Burroughs kindles embers of early Protestant vigor ready to warm postmodern hearts chilled by more recent winds of doctrine.