First, I'd just like to introduce you to my brand new daughter, Anne Marie Rose Frayling. She was born last Friday. Praise the Lord. She's a blessing. She's healthy. Mom is healthy. I'm glad I've got your attention. So we're doing the last chapter of The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, titled Applications and Conclusions. There's a lot of bold statements made in this, as there is throughout the rest of the book. And I think to properly understand what Jeremiah Burroughs was getting at, we have to take a look at the whole of scripture and not the statements outside of the context of scripture. It's tempting to do that because he's not quoting a lot of scripture when he makes the statements. So I've attempted to draw some of those out at different places. But this is, really what he calls how to attain contentment, which again is a bold, I mean, we talked about the art and mystery, and then he goes, in summary here, how to attain contentment. So again, this is the art and mystery of contentment. This isn't the program to contentment, even though he's presenting his best version of that, I guess, in summary of the rest of the book. So he divides it up into two sections, considerations and directions. So considerations, things to ponder, things to meditate on biblically. So considerations. We were content with the world without grace and should be now with grace without the world. So any contentment that we've ever had, before Christ brought us to him. How much more should we have now? The creatures suffer for us. I'll explain that. The way of God toward all creatures, the experience of God doing us good in afflictions, the emphasis there is the experience, to meditate back on experiences throughout our life. This has been the condition of our betters. People throughout history, real people in the Bible, meditate on others that have come before us. God is beforehand with us with his mercies. The greatness and abundance of the mercies we have, we have but little time in the world. So we'll expand on all of these. You see that many men of the world have a kind of contentment. Then cannot you have as much contentment with God and Christ without the world as they can with the world without God and Christ? It is an infinite shame that this should be so. I don't know if this is a particular struggle that I have. I think I just never had contentment at any point in my life. So it wasn't something that I dwelled on. But there are things throughout this that I think will strike a chord more in one way than others. So I would urge you to concentrate on what pricks you and consider those and really think about it, make a note, whether it's mental or physical. And one of the things that Jeremiah Burroughs says multiple times throughout this chapter and others is that this is not a simple thing, and this is not a quick thing. This is a long thing. So this is not something, again, that you're going to listen to me here and be done with it. This is throughout your life. Consider how the creatures suffer for us. So he's using his reasoning for this. God subjects other creatures. They are fain to lose their lives for us, to lose whatever beauty and excellence they have, to be serviceable to us. Why should not we be willing to part with anything in service to God? Certainly, there is not as great a distance between other creatures and mankind as there is between mankind and God." So this is purely his reasoning. for this. One of the statements we're going to get to is that he makes a big point on, and I didn't expand on it nearly as much as he does, but it's faith over reason. But this is, as you can read it, I don't know where you would find this. I think you could stretch and interpret different scripture to this. But this is, really you have to apply your own logic for this. I look upon the creature and see what it suffers to be useful to me. I found the choice of words here particularly brutal, and I wanted to include them. Thus, the brute beast must die, must be roasted in the fire and boiled, must come onto the plate, be hacked in all pieces, must be chewed in the mouth and in the stomach turned to that which is loathsome. If one should behold it, and all to nourish me, to be useful to my body, and shall not I be willing to aid anything for God for his service? Every time the creature is upon your plates, you may think, what? Does God make the creature suffer for my use, not only for my nourishment, but for my delight? What am I, then, in respect to the infinite God? So again, this is the emphasis there is, what am I in respect to God? the way of God toward all creatures. We do not always have summer, but winter succeeds summer. We do not always have day, but day and night. We do not always have fair weather, but fair and foul. Before we got started, I had on my computer different files. And one of them is a password file. It's a text file. It just happens to be titled, You Dummy, You Should Know This. And so this was one of the ones where I looked at, and I thought, you dummy, you should know this. But dummy, I just forget over and over. And so to meditate and to purposely think of these things is important. So I would urge you again, if you haven't read any of this for yourself, Take my book, look online, go through your email. You can send out another email, I'm sure, with a link to this again. But it's enriching. So to continue on that, this was a new word to me. The cessitude of conditions. So this is expanding on the thought, the way of God toward all creatures. Now seeing God has so ordered things with all creatures, that they're a mixture of conditions. Why should we think it much that there should be a vicissitude of conditions with us, sometimes in a way of prosperity and sometimes in a way of affliction? And so the thought there is there is not a mountain to climb where you go straight up to the top. It doesn't wave to the top. It doesn't wave to the bottom. There is a natural mixture. And so it's not going to look the same as anyone else, and it's not going to look the same at the same time. And that is the way it always works for everyone. And so that's natural and right to think of it that way. The experience of God doing us good in afflictions. Consider all the experiences that you have had of God's doing good to you in the want of many comforts. When God crosses you in this context, it's not intended to be conflict cross you in the way that we would think that person has cut me off in traffic, they've crossed me or they've gone against me, something like that. This is intended to be take up your cross and follow me. Thought of as afflictions or trouble in that context. how we would typically use it now. So when God crosses you, have you never had experience of abundance of good and afflictions? So when we think back throughout our entire life, has this ever been true once? Could it be true again? Do we know God's intention for our life? No. So take heart. This could be the circumstance and the intention of God is that He's bringing good and afflictions, and we can't see it yet. So that's something to consider is our life up to this point. When we, and this is speaking to ministers, cannot only say to you that God has said he will work good out of your afflictions, but we can say to you that you yourselves have found it so by experience that God has made former afflictions to be great benefits to you and that you would not have been without them or without the good that came by them. So again, at the end there, whether it was good in the moment or good came by that, whether it was to you or others, it is something right to consider in the midst of affliction. This has been the experience of our betters. So there's two people that I've listed here, but it goes on and on in the book. I just kept it brief. I didn't think this was anything of any controversy that needed to be gone through in that much detail, but it's incredibly helpful to consider. Moses might have had all the treasure in Egypt, yet what a low condition he lived in when he went to live with Jethro, his father-in-law. After, when he returned to Egypt with his wife and children and all that he had had, he had only one beast to carry him. He went back to Egypt from his father-in-law in a mean condition. Even Luther himself, when he was about to die, though he was a man of such public youth and was a great man in the courts of princes, said, Lord, I have neither house nor lands nor estate to leave anything to wife or children, but I commit them to thee. And so yes, it would be endless. But it wouldn't be complete without that. But above all, set Christ before us who professes that the birds of the air had nests and the foxes had holes, yet the Son of Man had no place to hide his head. So if you're looking for some humility, just go right there. experience of a mean condition, so that's a low condition. It is useful for men and women of wealth to go to poor people's houses and see how they live, to go to hospitals, and to see the wounds of soldiers and others, and to see the lamentable condition that people live in, who live in some almshouses. You hear sometimes of them, but if you went to see them, it would not only stir up charity in yourselves toward them, but stir up thankfulness in your hearts towards God. It would be a special means to help you against any discontent. You would go away and see the cause to bless God and say, if I were in such a condition as they are, what should I do? How could I bear it? And yet, what reason is there that God so orders and disposes of things that they should be in so low in their conditions and I so high? I know no reason but free grace. God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy. God is beforehand with us with his mercies. And really, just the first line here, his mercies should content us. If we're really considering what we deserve and what we've been saved from, His mercy should contend us. Suppose God should now take away your wealth from some of you who have lived comfortably a great while. You will say, that aggravates our misery, that we have had wealth. But it is through your unthankfulness that it does so. Again, these are reaching back into each other, that vicissitude, that non-linear path through life. You lack many comforts now, but has not God been beforehand with you? Oh, you have had mercy enough already to make you spend all the strength you have had and time you shall live to bless God for what you have had already. There's no reason for what we've been given to not spend all the rest of our life and time blessing God. It's a matter of our frame, my frame, and where I am living in this world and thinking in this world. As I've spent more time considering this, it's just clear to me that's conclusions that I've been able to draw. So I take that for what it is. Ephesians 1.3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. And maybe you have not such great blessings in earthly places as some others have. But if the Lord has blessed you in heavenly places, that should content you. These are blessings in heaven. He has set you here for the present. as it were in heaven in a heavenly place. Consider the greatness of God's mercies. The things we lack if we are godly are things of very small moment in comparison to the things we have. And the things we have are things of very great moment. Why should you be troubled so much for the want of something when a man or woman may have and yet be a reprobate? Does everybody know what the term reprobate means? Raise your hand. Yeah, that's fair. Can everybody hear that? Somebody who's turned their back on the faith, someone who is unrepentant. What am I discontented for? I am discontented for what? what a dog may have, what a devil may have, what a reprobate may have. Shall I be discontented for not having that when God has given me what makes angels glorious? And the story that he went off on a tangent with here. was two men. And this is what led into what a dog may have. One man was blind, and one man could see. And he says, well, aren't you troubled? Aren't you discontented? Your lifetime of just affliction and blindness out every day that you have. And so the response is, what would I be discontented for? These are things available to all these other creatures, but not the Holy Spirit. not salvation. Consider what matters and what, quite frankly, doesn't. Consider that we have but a little time in this world. These afflictions are but for a moment. Consider we have not long to live. It may be over before our days are at an end, When a sailor is at sea, he does not think it much if a storm arises, especially if he can see the heavens clear beyond it. Where am I looking? Do I look to my daughter and my wife for my comfort? Do I look to the heavens for my comfort? Do I look to my parents? You know. If you look at not just where you spend your conversation, but how you spend your time, I think you'll come to your own conclusions, as I have, that it's very little in heaven. The amount of time that I spend in scripture versus the amount of time that I spend working, which is I have to work. I'm taking care of my family. But then to make an active choice, I've got a Bible over here and I've got a remote over here to say I've made a choice today and this is what I'm doing. But to consider just how little time we have in this world. Whether you've lost someone recently or a great distance from now. Consider how fleeting this life is. So, considerations. We were content with this world without grace, and should be now with grace without the world. The creatures suffer for us. Shall not I be willing to make anything for God for his service? To be made anything for God for his service? The way of God toward all creatures, that's a vicissitude of conditions. The experience of God doing us good and afflictions, to look back and consider other times of our life. All of these may not apply to every situation, but there's certainly going to be something to consider that will show you or point you to God's providence in that, because he is providential in all things. So by definition, he will be there. He is there in that moment. So it's a matter of finding that. This has been the condition of our betters, Paul, Moses, Luther, Christ. Don't forget that. God is beforehand with us with his mercies. His mercies should be done. Yes, Bob? Vicissitude is a variation. So if you think of a wave going up and down, it's not a smooth wave. It's not a regular wave. It's going to change and alter its path whenever it will. And it's not our doing that does that. God is beforehand with us with his mercies. His mercies should content us. The greatness and abundance of the mercies we have, we are discontented for small things. When we look at what is small, what is a small moment, what is a large moment, when we make a comparison, in a right way. We have but little time in this world. These afflictions are but a moment. Are there any questions or comments on this section? Everybody understand it and memorize it? Good. Directions for attaining contentment. There must be grace. Do not grasp too much of the world. Have a call to every business. I'll explain this. using 17-teens language. I kept most of that because I couldn't think of a better way to say it after I'd read it three or four times. Some of this I did alter, and some of this I did combine points. So you'll have to forgive me for that. Or you can choose not to. Do not grasp too much of the world. Have a call to every business. Walk by rule. Exercise. And it's exercise, it's action, lust, much faith, labor to be spiritually minded, do not promise yourselves great things, get hearts mortified to the world, do not focus too much on afflictions, make a good interpretation of God's way to you. That one, we'll talk about it, but I've already mentioned it a couple times, kind of indirectly. Do not regard the fancies of other men. Do not be inordinately taken up with the comforts of the world. There must be grace to make the soul steady. You can never make a ship go steady by propping it outside. You know there must be a ballast within the ship to make it go steady. And so there is nothing outside us that can keep our hearts in a steady, constant way but what is within us. Grace is within the soul. And it will do this. Read the book five times. If you're not taking anything to heart and taking it to faith, it doesn't really matter. Do not grasp too much of the world. If you voluntarily choose a way among thorns, then you have no cause to complain. That was probably three paragraphs that I boiled down to one sentence there. So hopefully I can make it more clear. If men and women will thrust themselves on things of the world which they do not need, then no wonder they are pricked and meet with what disturbs them. Those that have least to do in the world, that is, unless God calls them to it, are likely to meet with many things that will dissatisfy them. Does that make sense? 1700 language kind of clicking. It doesn't look like it is. I'll read it one more time, see if we can get some eyes to come back to the glaze over. Maybe some more coffee will help. If men and women will thrust themselves on things of the world which they do not need, then no wonder they are pricked and meet with what disturbs them. Those that have least to do in the world, that is, unless God calls them to it, are likely to meet with many things that will dissatisfy them. All right, I'll just continue on. Be sure of your call to every business you go about. Whatever business it is, large or small, be sure of your call to it. Nothing in the world will quiet the heart so much as this. When I meet with any cross, and so that's affliction, I know I am where God would have and my place in calling, I am about the work that God has set me. What God calls a man to, in that he may have comfort whatever befalls him." So it's, I mean, you could do a pretty long series on being called, knowing where to be called, and discerning that. But just on the surface, there's comfort in that. Knowing that, and Jesse, you talked, I considered putting a picture of a cheetah up here. Being in God's will and knowing that you are, there's a great joy and comfort within that. And I think he's speaking to that again here. This is also the car accident. I even pulled up some clip art and thought about it, but I decided not to include it. But just to bring back that visual, if you weren't here for it, there was two cars and the first was a collision and the second was going the same direction. And how smooth and steady they were able to go. And then there was an image of a cheetah that was built for a specific purpose. And so a cheetah doing anything other than what it's meant to do is just It's not there. It doesn't have what God has intended for it. So when we are using that analogy, it's kind of a rough analogy, but I think it's a good one. It stood out to me, so I appreciate that. When we are within God's will, and we know that we are doing what is right because we have read the word, and we've discerned it well, and we've listened to wise people, and we've talked to our brothers and sisters in Christ about it, and we are confident in that, then there is a joy to be had there that's not in other things. I'll continue on. Walk by rule in the work that I am called to. I must walk by the word, order myself in this business according to God's mind as far as I am able. When I know that I have not put myself on the work, but God has called me to it, And I walk by the rule of the word in it. Whatever may come, God will take care of me there. And so I don't think that's, again, this is, if you take this apart from the rest of the Bible, you can say, all right, prosperity gospel time. But that's certainly not what I'm intending to do here. So I hope nobody takes it that way. Take care of me there, I think, is intended to be what we need. And what we need is Christ. And so in that way, God will take care of me. Let men and women keep within the bounds of the command of God, of the rule that God has set them in his word, and then they are protected by God. And they may go about their business in peace and never be troubled for anything, but cast all their care upon God. Yes? I mean, in my mind, when I read this, it's that he's not saying there's not gonna be affliction when we're doing the things that God has called us to, but rather, there's gonna be peace in the midst of those afflictions when we're doing what God's called us to. Because we can all do lots of things that we think that we should go do and have no business doing or reason to do or cause to do them, and then we need affliction, and there's no peace, but it's because God is afflicting us to pull those powers out. Yes. Thank you. No, that was well said. That was well said. There's another, I was trying to remember, there's another slide later on that I think speaks to that specifically. So I'll try to, we'll circle back and talk about that a little more. Thank you. Exercise much faith. A man may go very far with the use of reason alone to help him to contentment, but when reason is at a nonplussed, then set faith at work. And I would say that you don't have to wait for reason to be a nonplussed here. I think that's a helpful statement to think on, but I would say set faith at work and just end it at that, perhaps. exercise faith not only in the promise that all shall work together for good to them that fear God, but likewise exercise faith in God himself as well as his word and the attributes of God. So there's, I think this goes back to reading and understanding the word and then, you know, when we get into the attributes of God, I think of, Sunday Cool series we had last summer with Simon. And then thinking of time spent in catechism and different ways, helpful ways, that we could learn the attributes of God to better understand who he is, to have faith in that and not a faith in a cloud in the sky, right? We don't have faith in a unknown God. Exercise faith by often resigning yourself to God, by giving yourself up to God and his ways. The more you, in a believing way, surrender up yourself to God, the more quiet and peace you will have. What can you do by your faith? I can do this. I can, in all states, cast my care upon God, cast my burden upon God. I can commit my way to God in peace. Faith can do this. Therefore, when reason can go no higher, let faith get on the shoulders of reason. And say, I see land, though reason cannot see it. I see good that will come out of all this evil. And so this was the thought, and I pulled this out of a section. He's talking about a sailor at sea again. I guess there was a lot of sailors in London in the early 17th century, or at least a lot of Yeah, popular analogy at the time. So he's talking about a sailor that, you know, when he can see no further, you know, use what can help you to see land, and faith will extend your view. Labor to be spiritually minded. Again, this was a particular conviction for myself. Many Christians who have an interest in the things of heaven converse Very little with them. Their meditations are not upon heavenly things. I think about how many times I've, and I apologize, Ryan, but the truth be told, how many times I've nodded off or I've gotten so frustrated with my child that I can't pay attention to a single thing that's sad. Or maybe it was something that happened the day before and I'd come to church out of habit rather than faith. I think these are things that most of us deal with. and struggle with. And so I would encourage you to struggle with them more openly. I'm attempting to so at my own embarrassment. So I'll continue on on that note. This I say, and I'm certain of, the reason why we are so troubled with our nakedness, with any wants that we have, is because we converse so little with God, so little with spiritual things. So I may compare the sinful distemper of murmuring and the temptations and evils that come from that to snakes that crawl up and down below. But if we could get higher, we should not be stung by them. A heavenly conversation is the way to contentment. Colossians 3, 1 through 3. Can I just have somebody read this one? Jesse. Go for it. Thank you. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. So to To take that as a directive for our lives on a daily basis is going to take intentionality. I think it's going to take brothers and sisters in the faith to help us. So I think this is small groups, personal relationships, and a practical way to help us with us. I know it does for myself. I'm sure there are other ways as well, prayer. I was at a sermon a couple weeks ago, talked about bullet prayers, small things to raise up, that there's nothing too small. To be of that spiritual mindset, to talk and meditate on heavenly things, to have that be the frame of our mind. how contenting and how encouraging it would be if my mind was in that frame throughout my day. When I go to my daughter and she's kicking and screaming because it doesn't even matter why, shoes, anything, that I can pray in that moment instead of walk away from her and come back later. That would be an amazing thing. Do not promise yourself great things. If we would not pitch our thoughts high and think that we might have what others have, so much and so much, we would not be troubled so much when we meet with disappointment. If God raises you, you will have cause to bless him. But if you should not be raised, there would not be much trouble. God, you are in the place that God would have you to be. When you are in a different place, you are in the place that God would have you to be, not the place that you would have you to be, regardless of whatever circumstances have taken place to lead to that. 1 Timothy 6, 8-9, Nathan, you want to take this? Many, sorry. Many. Sorry about that. Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires. Yes, sir? That right there is simply a prayer of revival in multiple places. I mean, there's 26, but the psalmist says in Psalm 131, O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high. I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous. So I mean, this isn't just someone's way of trying to think better. I mean, this is just simply biblical advice that we try to chase after things that are too high for ourselves. And here, there's a context of resting in God and trying to be God versus God being God, those kinds of things. We can end up setting ourselves up for independent frames apart from God. Thank you. Yeah, I think it, yeah, thank you for that. That's, these are, this book is written as meditation. We would almost call this the way, the style that it's written, the way that it breaks things out into paragraphs, almost like a bathroom style book, almost. Because you can read it one paragraph or one page at a time as a standalone thought and encouragement and meditation. So with that, there's places within this to break out into those separate thoughts. So whatever pricks you, whatever takes on your heart, find it in the Psalms. find it in other places, continue to meditate on that so that it might benefit you for the rest of your life. Labor to get your hearts mortified to the world. Paul said, I die daily. I mean, I think I could have just done that, but I continued on. We should die daily to the world. We are baptized into the death of Christ. That is to signify that we have taken such a profession as to profess to be even as dead men to the world. No afflictions or troubles will break the bones of one who has a mortified heart and is dead to the world. That is, they will not be very grievous or painful to such as one as mortified to the world. This, I fear, is a mystery and riddle to many. Yeah, heart. Heart. Because I have a one week old baby and I've got a lot of typos. That's all right. That's my fault. And so this was, I believe, the way that he's praise things. I think this was written to other ministers, not necessarily lay people at the time. And so when he takes these as particular critiques throughout the book, I think he's speaking to other ministers at the time, his contemporaries. I believe, just based on reading the book, I don't know enough history or background on it, but I believe that's how this was intended, which I don't think would be that surprising. But it is not my work to open you to what mortification is or death to the world is, but only what it is to have our hearts so taken off from the things of the world as that we use them as if we use them not, not accounting that our lives, our comforts, our happiness consist in these things. The things in which our happiness consists are of a different kind. And we may be happy without these, so without our lives. Do not focus too much on affliction. So this is Genesis, Jacob, Rachel. This was the birth of Benjamin. Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, do not fear, for you have another son. And as her soul was departing, for she was dying, she named him Ben-O-I, but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephra, Bethlehem now. And Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It's the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day. Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Edith. So the significance that I've attempted to pull out here is the naming of the son. what that means to, what I've, you know, I think appropriately, what it means to Jacob going forward throughout his life. To have left his son named Ben-O-I would have been a reminder of this affliction of his wife's death throughout his life. And, you know, possibly, likely passed on throughout his people. Son of My Sorrow is not a, Tremendous legacy, or something to say over and over again throughout her life. Son of the right hand, right side or hand, it's possibly also south, son of the south, which would have been a reference to the location. But just the fact that he, Rachel did name him, and then he just took that sorrow and would not dwell on that. You may find many people whose thoughts are taken up about what their crosses and afflictions are. It is just with them as with a child who has a sore. His finger is always on the sore. I think that's a, if that's all you remember for do not focus on afflictions, I think that's enough to remember it. Get your finger off the sore. It's only gonna make it worse. You should rather labor to have your thoughts on those things that may comfort you. There are many who, if you propound any rule to them, will do them good, will take it well while they are with you and thank you for it, but when they're gone, they forget it. When afflictions befall us, we should not give way to having our thoughts continually upon them, but rather upon those things that may stir up our thankfulness to God for mercy. A man or woman who has a weak spirit must not be looking into the fire for their afflictions, upon those things that deject I cast them down, but they ought to be rather looking on that which may be suitable for healing and helping them. Make a good interpretation of God's way towards you. This is one that I hope you remember this, because I think without this, there's a tendency to take everything else in the wrong way. and I mentioned it briefly before, you should think thus. It may be that God intends only to try me by this. And maybe God saw my heart, was too much set on the creature, and so he intends to show me that it is in my heart. And maybe that God saw my wealth, did continue, I should fall into sin. that the better my position was, the worse my soul would be. Maybe that God intended only to exercise some grace. And maybe God intends to prepare me for some great work that he has for me. So though 10 interpretations might be presented to you concerning God's way towards you, but if one is good and nine bad, you should take the one that is good and leave the other nine. God is always providential. God is always righteous. If your way is not aligned with his, you're doing it wrong. Do not so much regard the fancies of other men. And I found that confusing. Do not regard the standards of the world, I thought was a better title. We think poverty to be such a great evil. Why? Because it's so esteemed by others, rather than that people feel it so themselves unless they are an extremity of poverty. So unless there's starvation, what are you achieving? What are you going for? Is it a right thing or is it a greedy thing? Is this a love of money? What standard are you living towards? You need the latest phone? Do you need, what do you need? Do you need to be home and watch the game at a certain time? What do you have to have? What standards are you, have you pulled from outside of the Bible for your life? You may think your wealth to be small, and you are thereupon discontented. And it is a grievous affliction to you. But if all men in the world were poorer than you, then you would not be discontented. Then you would rejoice in your estates, though you had not a penny more than what you have. Were it not for the disgrace, disregard, and slightings of other men, my condition would not be so bad as it is now. That's what makes my condition afflictive, not the condition itself. Your posture toward the world, your frame within that, not the condition itself. Do not be inordinately taken up with the comforts of this world when you have them. And this one, truthfully, I struggle with this. And I could probably read this a few more times. For instance, God takes away a child, and now you are inordinately sorrowful beyond what God allows in a natural or Christian way. And so there's the caveat there. what God allows in a natural or Christian way, there's a right way to be sorrowful. If something had happened, if there was a complication, if my daughter had died, if my wife had died, if something happened, if, you know, brain damage or whatever it may have been, there is a way to engage that. appropriately. And there is a way to engage that inappropriately. So this is speaking to what is inappropriate and that. And I don't want to define what that is. Now, though I never knew before how your heart was toward 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, husband, or any other comfort. God has taken it away. I found this a lot easier to think of house rather than family. Perhaps that means I need to think about what to be meditating more if God took away my family. I think truthfully that's probably what it means. Now therefore, the way for you not to be a moderate in your sorrow for afflictions is not to be a moderate in your love and delights when you have prosperity. So though our path through our life would be in that vicissitude, that variation of condition, our response to that should be a more moderate response rather than riding the high and crashing in the low. So the considerations, we were content with the world without grace and should be now with grace, without the world, The creatures suffer for us. Shall not I be willing to be made anything for God for his service? The way of God toward all creatures, the vicissitude of conditions, the experience, so reflection back on your life, the experience of God doing us good and afflictions. This has been the condition of our betters. Paul, Moses, Luther, Christ. God is beforehand with us with his mercies. His mercies should content us. The greatness and abundance of the mercies we have. We are discontented for small things. We have but little time in the world. These afflictions are but a moment. And then move on to directions. There must be grace to make the soul steady. Do not grasp too much of the world. Grasp onto what you need. Have a call to every business. Be confident where you have been called. Walk by the word in peace. Let faith get on the shoulders of reason. Our conversations reflect our heart. Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation. Get hearts mortified to the world. Die daily. Do not focus too much on afflictions. Focus on comfort. Make a good interpretation. Take the one that is good and leave the nine that are bad. Do not regard the fancies of other men. Do not consider the standards of the world to be an affliction. Do not overindulge sorrow during afflictions. And do not overindulge in delight during prosperity. I think that's it. So it went a little long. I thought we were going to have more time for questions. So, Ron, do you mind just praying briefly? We thank you, Father, that you give us wonderful opportunities in the times we've been in. We welcome you to let go of the things of the world and simply have your hand in the center of everything. Amen. Father, we pray now, Father, for our worship, that you come together and support our body, bring our hearts to be filled with the Holy Spirit, have it play within our lives this very day. We pray, we sing, we give a preaching to the world. Thank you for Aaron, for his gift to us and people, for offer his desire to serve you. We give you a new life.