The Art of Divine Contentment

In Modern English

By: Thomas Watson, Jason Roth

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Is it possible to be content when life is painful and disappointing? The Art of Divine Contentment considers the implications of the Apostle Paul's claim that he had learned to be content in any situation (Phil 4:11). Our discontent is sinful when we murmur against God and accuse Him of injustice or cruelty. But by frequently beholding God's sovereignty, love, and grace, we can learn to be more content in all circumstances.

Thomas Watson (1620-1686) was an English Puritan preacher and author. Watson originally published The Art of Divine Contentment around 1660. The source text for this edition is from an 1829 printing by L. B. Seeley and Sons in London. This book is a complete sentence-by-sentence modern update of Watson’s original text. Updates include:

• New descriptive chapter and section headings.
• Modern English sentence structure.
• Modern English vocabulary.
• Added paragraph breaks for topic transitions.
• English Standard Version (ESV) scripture references.
• Full scripture quotations and annotations in footnotes.
• Active table of contents.

contentment

I enjoyed this teaching very much. The AI reading can get confusing as to which scripture the author is referring to, but #1 it was a free listen, and #2 it was a Puritan teaching on contentment so I considered it a challenge to figure out which scripture was being quoted. Most were simple, but Ph, pronounced "f", was a challenge. Psalms, pronounced peas, wasn't as difficult.

AI reading ruined awesome book

Truly full of great information for self and to use in counseling. A MUST have in a Christian Counselor's library.

Negatives of discontentment and positives of contentment.

I liked the substance of the book. Like most puritans, Watson uses all of scripture and excellent word pictures to prove his many points.

The virtual voice was good. However, they need to train the voice on how to properly cite biblical references. (Ps 39:2 is pronounced ‘peas 39 to 2’). It took some thought to get the references right sometimes.

the abbreviated names of the Bible became irritating. but it might be my opinion.

virtual voice should speak the full name of the books of the Bible not the abbreviations.

Practical Wisdom (in bite-size nuggets)

This excellent translation by Jason Roth is very understandable and still maintains an old English feel.

It's detailed TOC is extremely helpful. The female AI voice is amazing and even pleasant to me, but mispronounces the 3 letter names of every Bible reference.

l loved the content and thorough treatment of this often neglected subject!