A Christian comes to contentment, not so much by way of addition, as by way of subtraction. That is his way of contentment, and it is a way that the world has no skill in. I open it thus: not so much by adding to what he would have, or to what he has, not by adding more to his condition; but rather by subtracting from his desires, so as to make his desires and his circumstances even and equal… [A] heart that has no grace, and is not instructed in this mystery of contentment, knows of no way to get contentment, but to have his possessions raised up to his desires; but the Christian has another way to contentment, that is, he can bring his desires down to his possessions, and so he attains his contentment.
Jeremiah Burroughs

Bible – English_World – Amos Chapter 3:1-15.

Index: World English Bible

 

Amos 3

[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]

3:1 Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:

3:2 “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins.”

3:3 Do two walk together, Unless they have agreed?

3:4 Will a lion roar in the thicket, When he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, If he has caught nothing?

3:5 Can a bird fall in a trap on the earth, Where no snare is set for him? Does a snare spring up from the ground, When there is nothing to catch?

3:6 Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city, Without the people being afraid? Does evil happen to a city, And Yahweh hasn’t done it?

3:7 Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, Unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.

3:8 The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord Yahweh has spoken. Who can but prophesy?

3:9 Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, And say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, And see what unrest is in her, And what oppression is among them.”

3:10 “Indeed they don’t know to do right,” says Yahweh, “Who hoard plunder and loot in their palaces.”

3:11 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “An adversary will overrun the land; And he will pull down your strongholds, And your fortresses will be plundered.”

3:12 Thus says Yahweh: “As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, Or a piece of an ear, So shall the children of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch, And on the silken cushions of a bed.”

3:13 “Listen, and testify against the house of Jacob,” says the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts.

3:14 “For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel on him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; And the horns of the altar will be cut off, And fall to the ground.

3:15 I will strike the winter house with the summer house; And the houses of ivory will perish, And the great houses will have an end,” says Yahweh.