"Mute Christian
under the Smarting Rod" or,
"The Silent Soul with Sovereign Antidotes"
by Thomas Brooks, 1659, London.
"I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for
You are the one who has done this!" Psalm 39:9
(A Christian with an Olive Leaf in his mouth, when he is under the greatest
afflictions, the sharpest and sorest trials and troubles, the saddest and
darkest Providences and changes. With answers to diverse questions and
objections that are of greatest importance—all tending to win and work souls
to be still, quiet, calm and silent under all changes that have, or may pass
upon them in this world.)
"The Lord is in his Holy Temple—let all the earth keep
silence before him." Hab. 2.20.
The Epistle Dedicatory—To
all afflicted and distressed, dissatisfied, disturbed, and agitated
Christians throughout the world.
Dear hearts—The choicest saints are 'born to troubles as
the sparks fly upwards', Job 5:7. 'Many are the afflictions of the
righteous: but the Lord delivers him out of them all.' Psalm 34:19. If
they were many, and not troubles, then, as it is in the proverb, the more
the merrier; or if they were troubles and not many, then the fewer the
better. But God, who is infinite in wisdom and matchless in goodness, has
ordered troubles, yes, many troubles to come trooping in upon us on every
side. As our mercies—so our crosses seldom come single; they usually come
treading one upon the heels of another; they are like April showers, no
sooner is one over but another comes. And yet, Christians, it is mercy, it
is rich mercy, that every affliction is not an execution, that every
correction is not a damnation. The higher the waters rise, the nearer Noah's
ark was lifted up to heaven; the more your afflictions are increased, the
more your heart shall be raised heavenward.
Because I would not hold you too long in the porch, I
shall only endeavor two things—first, to give you the reasons of my
appearing once more in print; and secondly, a little counsel and direction
that the following tract may turn to your soul's advantage, which is the
objective that I have in my eye. The true REASONS
of my sending this piece into the world, such as it is, are
these—
First, The afflicting hand of God has been hard upon
myself, and upon my dearest relations in this world, and upon many of my
precious Christian friends, whom I much love and honor in the Lord, which
put me upon studying of the mind of God in that scripture that I have made
the subject-matter of this following discourse. Luther could not understand
some Psalms until he was afflicted; the Christ-cross is no letter in the
book, and yet, says he, it has taught one more than all the letters in the
book. Afflictions are a golden key by which the Lord opens the rich
treasure of his word to his people's souls; and this in some measure,
through grace, my soul has experienced. When Samson had found honey, he gave
some to his father and mother to eat, Judges 14:9, 10; some honey I have
found in my following text; and therefore I may not, I cannot be such a
churl as not to give them some of my honey to taste, who have drunk deep of
my gall and wormwood.
Augustine observes on that, Ps. 66:16, 'Come and hear,
all you that fear God, and I will declare what he has done for my soul.' 'He
does not call them', says he, 'to acquaint them with speculations, how wide
the earth is, how far the heavens are stretched out, what the number of the
stars is, or what is the course of the sun; but come and I will tell you the
wonders of his grace, the faithfulness of his promises, the riches of his
mercy to my soul'. Gracious experiences are to be communicated. 'We
learn—that we may teach'—is a proverb among the Rabbis. And I do therefore
'lay in and lay up,' says the heathen, that I may draw forth again and lay
out for the good of many. When God has dealt bountifully with us, others
should reap some noble good by us. The family, the town, the city, the
country, where a man lives, should fare the better for his faring well. Our
mercies and experiences should be as a running spring at our doors, which is
not only for our own use—but also for our neighbors', yes, and for strangers
too.
Secondly, What is written is permanent and spreads
itself further by far—for time, place, and people—than the voice can reach.
The pen is an artificial tongue; it speaks as well to absent as to present
friends; it speaks to those who far off as well as those who are near; it
speaks to many thousands at once; it speaks not only to the present age but
also to succeeding ages. The pen is a kind of image of eternity; it will
make a man live when he is dead, Heb. 11:1. Though 'the prophets do not live
for ever', yet their labors may, Zech. 1:6. A man's writings may preach when
he can not, when he may not, and when by reason of bodily
distempers, he dares not; yes, and that which is more, when he is
not.
Thirdly, Few men, if any, have iron memories. How
soon is a sermon preached forgotten, when a sermon written
remains! Augustine writing to Volusian, says, 'That which is written is
always at hand to be read, when the reader is at leisure.' Men do not easily
forget their own names, nor their father's house, nor the wife of their
bosom, nor the fruit of their loins, nor to eat their daily bread; and yet,
ah! how easily do they forget that word of grace, that should be dearer to
them than all! Most men's memories, especially in the great concernments of
their souls, are like a sieve, where the good grain and fine flour goes
through—but the light chaff and coarse bran remain behind; or like a
strainer, where the sweet liquor is strained out—but the dregs left behind;
or like a grate that lets the pure water run away—but if there be any
straws, sticks, mud, or filth, that it holds, as it were, with iron hands.
Most men's memories are very treacherous, especially in good things; few
men's memories are a holy ark, a heavenly storehouse for their souls, and
therefore they stand in the more need. But,
Fourthly, Its marvelous suitableness and usefulness
under these great turns and changes that have passed upon us. As every wise
husbandman observes the fittest seasons to sow his seed—some he sows in the
autumn and some in the spring of the year, some in a dry season and some in
a wet, some in a moist clay and some in a sandy dry ground, Isaiah 28:25; so
every spiritual husbandman must observe the fittest times to sow his
spiritual seed in. He has heavenly seed by him for all occasions and
seasons, for spring and fall; for all grounds, heads, and hearts. Now
whether the seed sown in the following treatise be not suitable to the times
and seasons wherein we are cast, is left to the judgment of the prudent
reader to determine; if the author had thought otherwise, this babe had been
stifled in the womb.
Fifthly, The good acceptance that my other weak
labors have found. God has blessed them—not only to the conviction, the
edification, confirmation, and consolation of many—but also to the
conversion of many, Rom. 15:21. God is a free agent to work by what hand he
pleases; and sometimes he takes pleasure to do great things by weak means,
that 'no flesh may glory in his presence.' God will not 'despise the day of
small things;' and who or what are you, that dare despise that day? The
Spirit breathes upon whose preaching and writing he pleases, and all
prospers according as that wind blows, John 3:8.
Sixthly, That all afflicted and distressed Christians
may have a proper salve for every sore, a proper remedy against every
disease, at hand. As every good man, so every good book is not fit to be the
afflicted man's companion; but this is. Here he may see his face, his head,
his hand, his heart, his ways, his works; here he may see all his diseases
discovered, and proper remedies proposed and applied. Here he may find
arguments to silence him, and means to quiet him, when it is at worst with
him. In every storm here he may find a tree to shelter him; and in
every danger, here he may find a city of refuge to secure him; and in
every difficulty, here he may have a light to guide him; and in every
peril, here he may find a shield to defend him; and in every
distress, here he may find a cordial to strengthen him; and in every
trouble, here he may find a staff to support him.
Seventhly, To satisfy some bosom friends, some
faithful friends. Man is made to be a friend, and apt for friendly offices.
He who is not friendly is not worthy to have a friend; and he who has a
friend, and does not show himself friendly, is not worthy to be accounted a
man. Friendship is a kind of life, without which there is no comfort of a
man's life. Christian friendship ties such a knot that great Alexander
cannot cut. Summer friends I value not—but winter friends are worth their
weight in gold; and who can deny such anything, especially in these days,
wherein real, faithful, constant friends are so rare to be found? 1 Sam.
22:1-3.
The friendship of most men in these days is like Jonah's
gourd, now very promising and flourishing, and anon fading and withering; it
is like some plants in the water, which have broad leaves on the surface of
the water—but scarce any root at all; their friendship is like melons, cold
within, hot without; their expressions are high—but their affections are
low; they speak much—but do little. As drums, and trumpets, and flags in a
battle make a great noise and a fine show—but do nothing; so these friends
will compliment highly and handsomely, speak plausibly, and promise lustily,
and yet have neither a hand nor heart to do anything cordially or
faithfully. From such friends it is a mercy to be delivered, and therefore
king Antigonus was used to pray to God that he would protect him from his
friends; and when one of his council asked him why he prayed so, he returned
this answer, Every man will shun and defend himself against his professed
enemies—but from our professed or pretended friends, of whom few are
faithful, none can safe-guard himself—but has need of protection from
heaven.
But for all this, there are some that are real friends,
faithful friends, active friends, winter friends, bosom friends, fast
friends; and for their sakes, especially those among them that have been
long, very long, under the smarting rod, and in the fiery furnace, and that
have been often poured from vessel to vessel—have I once more appeared in
print to the world.
Eighthly and lastly, There are not any authors or
author come to my hand, who have handled this subject as I have done; and
therefore I do not know but it may be the more grateful and acceptable to
the world; and if by this essay others that are more able shall be provoked
to do more worthily upon this subject, I shall therein rejoice, 1 Thess.
1:7, 8, 1 Cor. 9:1, 2. I shall only add, that though much of the following
matter was preached upon the Lord's chastening visitations of my dear
yoke-fellow, myself, and some other friends—yet there are many things of
special concernment in the following tract, that yet I have not upon any
accounts communicated to the world. And thus I have given you a true and
faithful account of the reasons that have prevailed with me to publish this
treatise to the work, and to dedicate it to yourselves.
II. Secondly, The second thing promised was, the giving
of you a little GOOD COUNSEL, that you
may so read the following discourse, as that it may turn much to your soul's
advantage; for, as many fish and catch nothing, Luke 5:5, so many read good
books and get nothing, because they read them over cursorily, slightly,
superficially; but he who would read to profit, must then,
First, Read and look up for a
blessing—'Paul may plant, and Apollos may water,' but all will be
to no purpose, except 'the Lord gives the increase,' 1 Cor. 3:6, 7. God must
do the deed, when all is done, or else all that is done will do you no good.
If you would have this work successful and effectual, you must look off from
man—and look up to God, who alone can make it a blessing to you. As without
a blessing from heaven, your clothes cannot warm you, nor your food nourish
you, nor medicine cure you, nor friends comfort you, Micah 6:14; so without
a blessing from heaven, without the precious breathings and influences of
the Spirit, what here is written will do you no good, it will not turn to
your account in the day of Christ; therefore cast an eye heavenwards, Haggai
1:6.
It is Seneca's observation, that the husbandmen in Egypt
never look up to heaven for rain in the time of drought—but look after the
overflowing of the banks of Nile, as the only cause of their plenty. Ah, how
many are there in these days, who, when they go to read a book, never look
up, never look after the rain of God's blessing—but only look to the river
Nile; they only look to the wit, the learning, the arts, the parts, the
eloquence, etc., of the author, they never look so high as heaven; and hence
it comes to pass, that though these read much, yet they profit little.
Secondly, He who would read to profit must read and
meditate. Meditation is the food of your
souls, it is the very stomach and natural heat whereby spiritual truths are
digested. A man shall as soon live without his heart, as he shall be able to
get good by what he reads, without meditation. Prayer, says Bernard, without
meditation, is dry and formal; and reading without meditation is useless and
unprofitable. He who would be a wise, a prudent, and an able experienced
statesman, must not hastily ramble and run over many cities, countries,
customs, laws, and manners of people, without serious musing and pondering
upon such things as may make him an expert statesman; so he who would get
good by reading, that would complete his knowledge, and perfect his
experience in spiritual things, must not slightly and hastily ramble and run
over this book or that—but ponder upon what he reads, as Mary pondered the
saying of the angel in her heart.
Lord! says Augustine, the more I meditate on you, the
sweeter you are to me; so the more you shall meditate on the following
matter, the sweeter it will be to you. They usually thrive best who meditate
most. Meditation is a soul-fattening duty; it is a grace-strengthening duty,
it is a duty-crowning duty. Meditation is the nurse of prayer. Jerome calls
it his paradise; Basil calls it the treasury where all the graces are locked
up; Theophylact calls it the very gate and portal by which we enter into
glory; and Aristotle, though a heathen, places felicity in the contemplation
of the mind. You may read much and hear much—yet without meditation you will
never be excellent, you still never be eminent Christians.
Thirdly, Read, and test
what you read; take nothing upon trust—but all upon trial, as those
'noble Bereans' did, Acts 17:to, 11. You will try and count and weigh gold,
though it be handed to you by your fathers; and so should you all those
heavenly truths that are handed to you by your spiritual fathers. I hope
upon trial you will find nothing—but what will hold weight in the balance of
the sanctuary; and though all be not gold that glitters, yet I judge that
you will find nothing here to blister, that will not be found upon trial to
be true gold.
Fourthly, Read and do,
read and practice what you read, or else
all your reading will do you no good. He who has a good book in his hand—but
not a lesson of it in his heart or life, is like that donkey that carries
burdens, and feeds upon thistles. In divine account, a man knows no more
than be does. Profession without practice will but make a man twice told a
child of darkness. To speak well is to sound like a cymbal—but to
do well is to act like an angel [Isidore]. He who practices what he
reads and understands, God will help him to understand what he understands
not. There is no fear of knowing too much, though there is much fear in
practicing too little; the most doing man, shall be the most knowing man;
the mightiest man in practice, will in the end prove the mightiest man in
Scripture, John 7:16, 17, Psalm 119:98-100. Theory is the guide of practice,
and practice is the life of theory.
Salvian relates how the heathen did reproach some
Christians, who by their lewd lives made the gospel of Christ to be a
reproach. 'Where,' said they, 'is that good law which they believe? Where
are those rules of godliness which they learn? They read the holy gospel,
and yet are unclean; they read the apostles' writings, and yet live in
drunkenness; they follow Christ, and yet disobey Christ; they profess a holy
law, and yet lead impure lives.' Ah! how may many preachers take up sad
complaints against many readers in these days! They read our works, and yet
in their lives they deny our works; they praise our works, and yet in their
lives they reproach our works; they cry up our labors in their discourses,
and yet they cry them down in their practices—yet I hope better things of
you into whose hands this treatise shall fall. The Samaritan woman did not
fill her pitcher with water, that she might talk of it—but that she might
use it, John 4:7; and Rachel did not desire the mandrakes to hold in her
hand—but that she might thereby be the more apt to bring forth, Gen. xxx.
15. The application is easy. But,
Fifthly, Read and apply.
Reading is but the drawing of the bow, application is the hitting of the
bulls-eye. The choicest truths will no further profit you than they are
applied by you. It would be as good not to read, as not to apply what you
read. No man attains to health by reading books on health—but by the
practical application of their remedies. All the reading in the world will
never make for the health of your souls—except you apply what you read. The
true reason why many read so much and profit so little—is because they do
not apply and bring home what they read to their own souls. But,
Sixthly, and lastly, Read and
pray. He who makes not conscience of praying over what he reads,
will find little sweetness or profit in his reading. No man makes such
earnings of his reading, as he who prays over what he reads. Luther
professes that he profited more in the knowledge of the Scriptures by
prayer, in a short space, than by study in a longer. As John by weeping got
the sealed book open, so certainly men would gain much more than they do by
reading good men's works, if they would but pray more over what they read!
Ah, Christians! pray before you read, and pray after you read, that all may
be blessed and sanctified to you; when you have done reading, usually close
up thus—So let me live, so let me die, that I may live eternally.
And when you are in the mount for yourselves, bear him
upon your hearts, who is willing to 'spend and be spend' for your sakes, for
your souls, 2 Cor. 12:15. Oh! pray for me, that I may more and more be under
the rich influences and glorious pourings out of the Spirit; that I may 'be
an able minister of the New Testament—not of the letter—but of the Spirit,'
2 Cor. 3:6; that I may always find an everlasting spring and an overflowing
fountain within me, which may always make me faithful, constant, and
abundant in the work of the Lord; and that I may live daily under those
inward teachings of the Spirit, which may enable me to speak from the heart
to the heart, from the conscience to the conscience, and from experience to
experience; that I may be a 'burning and a shining light,' that everlasting
arms may be still under me; that while I live, I may be serviceable to his
glory and his people's good; that no discouragements may discourage one in
my work; and that when my work is done, I may give up my account with joy
and not with grief. I shall follow these poor labors with my weak prayers,
that they may contribute much to your internal and eternal welfare.
Your soul's servant in our dearest Lord,
Thomas Brooks.
THE MUTE CHRISTIAN UNDER THE SMARTING ROD
"I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for You are
the one who has done this!" Psalm 39:9
Not to trouble you with a tedious
preface, wherein usually is a flood of words, and but a drop
of matter,
This Psalm consists of two parts. Narration and prayer
take up the whole. In the former, you have the prophet's disease discovered;
and in the latter, the remedy applied. My text falls in the latter part,
where you have the way of David's cure, or the means by which his soul was
reduced to a still and quiet temper. I shall give a little light into the
words, and then come to the point that I intend to stand upon.
'I was silent.' The Hebrew word signifies to be mute,
tongue-tied, or dumb. The Hebrew word signifies also to bind, as well as to
be mute and dumb, because those who are dumb are as it were tongue-tied;
they have their lips stitched and bound up. Ah! the sight of God's hand in
the afflictions which were upon him, makes him lay a law of silence upon his
heart and tongue.
'I would not open my mouth, for You are the one who has
done this!' He looks through all secondary causes to the first cause, and is
silent—he sees a hand of God in all, and so sits mute and quiet. The sight
of God in an affliction is of an irresistible efficacy to silence the heart,
and to stop the mouth of a godly man. In the words you may observe three
things:
1. The person speaking, and that is, David; David a king,
David a saint, David 'a man after God's own heart,' David a Christian; and
here we are to look upon David—not as a king—but as a Christian, as a man
whose heart was right with God.
2. The action and carriage of David under the hand of
God, in these words, 'I was silent; I would not open my mouth.'
3. The reason of this humble and sweet carriage of his,
in these words, 'for You are the one who has done this!' The proposition is
this:
Doctrine: That it is the great duty and concern of
gracious souls to be mute and silent under the greatest afflictions, the
saddest providences, and sharpest trials which they meet with in this world.
For the opening and clearing up of this great and useful
truth, I shall inquire,
First, What this silence is that is here pointed at in
the proposition.
Secondly, What a gracious, a holy, silence does include.
Thirdly, What this holy silence does not include.
Fourthly, The reasons of the point; and then bring home
all by way of application to our own souls.
I. What is the silence meant, here in this verse?
I answer, There is a sevenfold
silence.
First, There is a STOICAL
silence. The stoics of old thought it altogether below a man that has
reason or understanding either to rejoice in any good, or to mourn for any
evil; but this stoical silence is such a sinful insensibleness as is very
provoking to a holy God, Isaiah 26:10,11. God will make the most insensible
sinner sensible either of his hand here on earth—or of his wrath in hell. It
is a heathenish and a horrid sin to be without natural affections, Rom.
1:31. And of this sin Quintus Maximus seems to be foully guilty who, when he
heard that his mother and wife, whom he dearly loved, were slain by the fall
of an house, and that his younger son, a brave, hopeful young man, died at
the same time in Umbria, he never changed his countenance—but went on with
the affairs of the commonwealth as if no such calamity had befallen him.
This carriage of his spoke out more stupidity than patience, Job 25:13.
And so Harpalus was not at all appalled when he saw two
of his sons laid in a coffin, when Astyages had bid him to supper. This was
a sottish insensibleness. Certainly if the loss of a child in the house be
no more to you than the loss of a chick in the yard—your heart is base and
sordid, and you may well expect some sore awakening judgment. This age is
full of such monsters, who think it below the greatness and magnanimity of
their spirits to be moved, affected, or afflicted with any afflictions which
befall them. I know none so ripe and ready for hell as these.
Aristotle speaks of fish, that though they have spears
thrust into their sides, yet they awake not. God thrusts many a sharp spear
through many a sinner's heart, and yet he feels nothing, he complains of
nothing. These men's souls will bleed to death. Seneca reports of Senecio
Cornelius, who minded his body more than his soul, and his money more than
heaven; when he had all the day long waited on his dying friend, and his
friend was dead, he returns to his house, sups merrily, comforts himself
quickly, goes to bed cheerfully. His sorrows were ended, and the time of his
mourning expired before his deceased friend was interred. Such stupidity is
a curse that many a man lies under. But this stoical silence, which is but a
sinful sullenness, is not the silence here meant.
Secondly, There is a POLITIC
silence. Many are silent out of policy. Should they not be silent,
they should lay themselves more open either to the rage and fury of men, or
else to the plots and designs of men—to prevent which they are silent, and
will lay their hands upon their mouths, that others might not lay their
hands upon their estates, lives, or liberties—'And Saul also went home to
Gibeah, and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.
But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? and they
despised him, and brought him no presents; but he held his peace,' or was as
though he had been deaf, 1 Sam. 10:26, 27. This new king being but newly
entered upon his kingly government, and observing his condition to be but
base and low, his friends but few, and his enemies many and potent, sons of
Belial, that is, men without yoke, as the word signifies, men that were
desperately wicked, that were marked out for hell, that were even incarnate
devils, who would neither submit to reason nor religion, nor be governed by
the laws of nature nor of nations, nor yet by the laws of God—now this young
prince, to prevent sedition and rebellion, blood and destruction, prudently
and politically chooses rather to lay his hand upon his mouth than to take a
wolf by the ear or a lion by the beard—he turns a deaf ear to all they say,
his unsettled condition requiring silence.
Saul knew this was a time for silence; he knew his work
was rather to be an auditor than an orator. But this is not the silence the
proposition speaks of.
Thirdly, There it's a FOOLISH
silence. Some fools there be that can neither do well nor speak
well; and because they cannot word it neither as they would nor as they
should, they are so wise as to be mute—Prov. 17:28, 'Even a fool is thought
wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.' As he
cannot be wise that speaks much, so he cannot be known for a fool that says
nothing. There are many wise fools in the world, who, by holding their
tongues, gain the credit and honor of being discreet men. He who does not
uncover his lack of wisdom by foolish babbling, is accounted wise, though be
may be otherwise. Silence is so rare a virtue, where wisdom does regulate
it, that it is accounted a virtue where folly does impose it. Silence was so
highly honored among the old Romans, that they erected altars to it. That
man shall pass for a man of understanding, who so far understands himself as
to hold his tongue. For though it be a great misery to be a fool, yet it is
a greater that a man cannot be a fool but he must needs show it. But this
foolish silence is not the silence here meant.
Fourthly, There is a SULLEN
silence. Many, to gratify an humour, a lust, are sullenly silent;
these are troubled with a dumb devil, which was the worst devil of all the
devils you read of in the Scripture, Mark 9:17-28. Pliny, in his Natural
History, makes mention of a certain people in the Indies, upon the river
Ganges, called Astomy, that have no mouth—but do only feed upon the smell of
herbs and flowers. Certainly there is a generation among us, who, when they
are under the afflicting hand of God, have no mouths to plead with God, no
lips to praise God, nor no tongues to justify God. These are possessed with
a dumb devil; and this dumb devil had possessed Ahab for a time—1 Kings
21:4, 'And Ahab came into his house, heavy and displeased, and laid him down
upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.' Ahab's
ambitious humour, his covetous humour, being crossed, he is resolved to
starve himself, and to die of the sullens. A sullen silence is both a sin
and a punishment. No devil frets and vexes, wears and wastes the spirits of
a man, like this dumb devil—like this sullen silence.
Some write of a certain devil, whom they call Hudgin, who
will not, they say, hurt anybody, except he be wronged. I cannot speak so
favorably of a sullen silence, for that wrongs many at once, God and Christ,
bodies and soul. But this is not the silence here meant.
Fifthly, There is a FORCED
silence. Many are silent per force. He who is under the power of his
enemy, though he suffers many hard things, yet he is silent under his
sufferings, because he knows he is liable to worse; he who has taken away
his liberty, may take away his life; he who has taken away his money, may
take off his head; he who has cut him in the foot, may cut him in the throat
if he will not be still and quiet—and this works silence per force. So, when
many are under the afflicting hand of God, conscience tells them that now
they are under the hand of an enemy, and the power of that God whom they
have dishonored, whose Son they have crucified, whose Spirit they have
grieved, whose righteous laws they have transgressed, whose ordinances they
have despised, and whose people they have abused and opposed; and that he
who has taken away one child, may take away every child; and he who has
taken away the wife, might have taken away the husband; and he who has taken
away some part of the estate, might have taken away all the estate; and that
he who has inflicted some distempers upon the body, might have cast both
body and soul into hell-fire forever; and he who has shut him up in his
chamber, may shut him out of heaven at pleasure. The thoughts and sense of
these things makes many a sinner silent under the hand of God; but this is
but a forced silence!
And such was the silence of Philip the Second, king of
Spain, who, when his invincible Armada, that had been three years a-fitting,
was lost, he gave command that all over Spain they should give thanks to
God, that it was no more grievous. As the cudgel forces the dog to be quiet
and still, and the rod forces the child to be silent and mute, so the
apprehensions of what God has done, and of what God may do, forces many a
soul to be silent, Jer. 3:10, 1 Kings 14:5-18. But this is not the silence
here meant—a forced silence is no silence in the eye of God.
Sixthly, There is a DESPAIRING
silence. A despairing soul is a terror to himself; he has a hell
in his heart, and horror in his conscience. He looks upwards, and there he
beholds God frowning; he looks inwards, and there he finds conscience
accusing and condemning of him; he looks on the one side of him, and there
he hears all his sins crying out—We are yours, and we will follow you; we
will go to the grave with you, we will go to judgment with you, and from
judgment we will go to hell with you; he looks on the other side of him, and
there he sees infernal fiends in fearful shapes, amazing and terrifying of
him, and waiting to receive his despairing soul as soon as she shall take
her leave of his wretched body; he looks above him, and there he sees the
gates of heaven shut against him; he looks beneath him, and there he sees
hell gaping for him; and under these sad sights, he is full of secret
conclusions against his own soul. There is mercy for others, says the
despairing soul—but none for me; grace and favor for others—but none for me;
pardon and peace for others—but none for me; blessedness and happiness for
others—but none for me—there is no help, there is no help, none! Jer. 2:25,
18:12.
This seems to be his case who died with this desperate
saying in his mouth—farewell, life and hope together. Now, under these
dismal apprehensions and sad conclusions about its present and future
condition, the despairing soul sits silent, being filled with amazement and
astonishment—Psalm 77:1, 'I am so troubled that I cannot speak.' But this is
not the silence here meant. But,
Seventhly and lastly, There is a
PRUDENT silence, a HOLY, a
GRACIOUS silence; a silence that springs
from prudent principles, from holy principles, and from gracious causes and
considerations; and this is the silence here meant. And this I shall fully
discover in my answers to the second question, which is this:
II. What does a prudent, a gracious, a holy silence
include?
Answer. It includes and takes in these eight things:
First, It includes a sight of
God, and an acknowledgment of God as the author of all the afflictions which
come upon us. And this you have plain in the text—'I was silent;
I would not open my mouth, for You are the one who has done this!' The
psalmist looks through secondary causes to the first cause, and so sits mute
before the Lord. There is no sickness so little—but God has a finger in it;
though it be but the aching of the little finger. As the scribe is more eyed
and properly said to write, than the pen; and he who makes and keeps the
clock, is more properly said to make it go and strike, than the wheels and
weights that hang upon it; and as every workman is more eyed and properly
said to erect his works, rather than the tools which he uses as his
instruments. So the Lord, who is the chief agent and mover in all actions,
and who has the greatest hand in all our afflictions, is more to be eyed and
owned than any inferior or subordinate causes whatever.
So Job, he beheld God in all—Job 1:21, 'The Lord
gave, and the Lord has taken away.' Had he not seen God in the affliction,
he would have cried out—Oh these wretched Chaldeans, they have plundered and
spoiled me; these wicked Sabeans, they have robbed and wronged me! Job
discerns God's commission in the Chaldeans' and the Sabeans' hands, and then
lays his own hand upon his mouth. So Aaron, beholding the hand of God
in the untimely death of his two sons, holds his peace, Lev. 10:3. The sight
of God in this sad stroke is a bridle both to his mind and mouth, he neither
mutters nor murmurs. So Joseph saw the hand of God in his brethren's
selling of him into Egypt, Gen. 14:8, and that silences him.
Men who don't see God in an affliction, are easily cast
into a feverish fit, they will quickly be in a flame, and when their
passions are up, and their hearts on fire, they will begin to be saucy, and
make no bones of telling God to his teeth, that they do well to be angry,
Jonah 4:8, 9. Such as will not acknowledge God to be the author of all their
afflictions, will be ready enough to fall in with that mad principle of the
Manichees, who maintained the devil to be the author of all calamities; as
if there could be any evil of affliction in the city, and the Lord have no
hand in it, Amos 3:6. Such as can see the ordering hand of God in all
their afflictions, will, with David, lay their hands upon their mouths, when
the rod of God is upon their backs, 2 Sam. 16:11, 12. If God's hand
be not seen in the affliction, the heart will do nothing but fret and rage
under affliction.
Secondly, It includes and takes
in some holy, gracious apprehensions of the majesty, sovereignty, authority,
and presence of that God under whose acting hand we are—Hab 2:20,
'But the Lord is in his holy temple—let all the earth be silent', or as the
Hebrew reads it, 'Be silent, all the earth, before his face.' When God would
have all the people of the earth to be hushed, quiet, and silent before him,
he would have them to behold him in his temple, where he sits in state, in
majesty, and glory—Zeph. 1, 'Hold your peace at the presence of the Lord
God.' Chat not, murmur not, repine not, quarrel not; stand mute, be silent,
lay your hand on your mouth, when his hand is upon your back, who is all eye
to see, as well as all hand to punish. As the eyes of a well-drawn picture
are fastened on you which way soever you turn, so are the eyes of the Lord;
and therefore you have cause to stand mute before him.
Thus Aaron had an eye to the sovereignty of God, and that
silences him. And Job had an eye upon the majesty of God, and that stills
him. And Eli had an eye upon the authority and presence of God, and that
quiets him. A man never comes to humble himself, nor to be silent under the
hand of God, until he comes to see the hand of God to be a mighty hand—1
Pet. 5:6, 'Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God.' When
men look upon the hand of God as a weak hand, a feeble hand, a low hand, a
mean hand—their hearts rise against his hand. ' Who is the Lord,' says
Pharaoh, 'that I should obey his voice?' Exod. 5:2. And until Pharaoh came
to see the hand of God, as a mighty hand, and to feel it as a
mighty hand, he would not let Israel go.
When Tiribazus, a noble Persian, was arrested, at first
he drew out his sword and defended himself; but when they charged him in the
king's name, and informed him that they came from the king, and were
commanded to bring him to the king, he yielded willingly. So when
afflictions arrest us, we shall murmur and grumble, and struggle, and strive
even to the death, before we shall yield to that God that strikes, until we
come to see his majesty and authority, until we come to see him as the king
of kings, and Lord of lords, Isaiah 26:11, 12. It is such a sight of God as
this, that makes the heart to stoop under his almighty hand, Rev. 1:5. The
Thracians being ignorant of the dignity and majesty of God; when it
thundered and lightened, used to express their madness and folly in shooting
their arrows against heaven! As a sight of his grace cheers the soul, so a
sight of his greatness and glory silences the soul. But,
Thirdly, A gracious, a prudent
silence, takes in a holy quietness and calmness of mind and spirit, under
the afflicting hand of God. A gracious silence shuts out all
inward heats, murmurings, frettings, quarrelings, wranglings, and boilings
of heart—Psalm 62:1, 'Truly my soul keeps silence unto God, or is silent or
still;' that is, my soul is quiet and submissive to God; all murmurings and
repinings, passions and turbulent affections, being allayed, tamed, and
subdued. This also is clear in the text; and in the former instances of
Aaron, Eli, and Job. They saw that it was a Father that put those bitter
cups in their hands, and love that laid those heavy crosses upon their
shoulders, and grace that put those yokes about their necks; and this caused
much quietness and calmness in their spirits.
Marius bit in his pain when the surgeon cut off his leg.
Some men, when God cuts off this mercy and that mercy from them, they bite
in their pain—they hide and conceal their grief and trouble; but could you
but look into their hearts, you will find all in an uproar, all out of
order, all in a flame; and however they may seem to be cold without, yet
they are all in a hot burning fever within. Such a feverish fit David was
once in, Psalm 39:3. But certainly a holy silence allays all tumults in the
mind, and makes a man 'in patience to possess his own soul,' which, next to
his possession of God, is the choicest and sweetest possession in all the
world, Luke 21:19.
The law of silence is as well upon that man's heart and
mind as it is upon his tongue, who is truly and divinely silent under the
rebuking hand of God. As tongue-service abstracted from heart-service, is no
service in the account of God; so tongue-silence abstracted from
heart-silence, is no silence in the esteem of God. A man is then graciously
silent when all is quiet within and without, Isa 29:13, Mat. 15:8, 9.
Terpander, a harpist and a poet, was one that, by the
sweetness of his verse and music, could allay the tumultuous motions of
men's minds, as David by his harp did Saul's. When God's people are under
the rod, he makes by his Spirit and word such sweet music in their souls as
allays all tumultuous motions, passions, and perturbations, Psalm 94:17-19,
Psalm 119:49, 50, so that they sit, Noah-like, quiet and still; and in peace
possess their own souls.
Fourthly, A prudent, a holy
silence, takes in an humble, justifying, clearing and acquitting of God of
all blame, rigor and injustice, in all the afflictions he brings upon us;
Psalm 51:4, 'That you may be justified when you speak, and be clear when you
judge,' that is, when you correct. God's judging his people is God's
correcting or chastening of his people—1 Cor. 11:32, 'When we are judged, we
are chastened of the Lord.' David's great care, when he was under the
afflicting hand of God, was to clear the Lord of injustice. 'Ah! Lord, says
he, there is not the least show, spot, stain, blemish, or mixture of
injustice, in all the afflictions you have brought upon me; I desire to take
shame to myself, and to set to my seal, that the Lord is righteous, and that
there is no injustice, no cruelty, nor no extremity in all that the Lord has
brought upon me.' And so in that Psalm 119:75, 137, he sweetly and readily
subscribes unto the righteousness of God in those sharp and smart
afflictions which God exercised him with. 'I know, O Lord, that your
judgments are right, and that you in faithfulness have afflicted me.
Righteous are you, O Lord, and righteous are your judgments.'
God's afflictions are always just; he never afflicts but
in faithfulness. His will is the rule of justice; and therefore a gracious
soul dares not cavil nor question his proceedings. The afflicted soul knows
that a righteous God can do nothing but that which is righteous; it knows
that God is uncontrollable, and therefore the afflicted man puts his mouth
in the dust, and keeps silence before him. Who dare say, 'Why have You done
so?' 2 Sam. 16:10.
The Turks, when they are cruelly lashed, are compelled to
return to the judge who commanded it, to kiss his hand, give him thanks, and
pay the officer who whipped them—and so clear the judge and officer of
injustice. Silently to kiss the rod, and the hand that whips with it—is the
noblest way of clearing the Lord of all injustice.
The Babylonish captivity was the sorest, the heaviest
affliction that ever God inflicted upon any people under heaven; witness
that 1 Sam. 12:and Dan. 9:12, etc. Yet under those great afflictions, wisdom
is justified of her children—Neh. 9:33, 'You are just in all that is brought
upon us, for you have done right—but we have done wickedly!' Lam. 1:18, 'The
Lord is righteous, for I have rebelled against him.' A holy silence shines
in nothing more than in an humble justifying and clearing of God from all
that which a corrupt heart is apt enough to charge God with, in the day of
affliction. God, in that he is good, can give nothing, nor do nothing—but
that which is good. "Others do evil frequently; God can never do evil," says
Luther.
Fifthly, A holy silence takes in
gracious, blessed, soul-quieting conclusions about the outcome of those
afflictions which are upon us. "It is good for a man to bear the
yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid
it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust—there may yet be hope. Let him
offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with
disgrace. For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings
grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does
not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men."
Lamentations 3:27-33. In this choice scripture you may observe these FIVE
SOUL-STILLING CONCLUSIONS.
(1.) First, and that more generally, That
afflictions shall work for their good
ver. 27, 'It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.' A
gracious soul secretly concludes—as stars shine brightest in the night, so
God will make my soul shine and glisten like gold, while I am in this
furnace, and when I come out of the furnace of affliction—Job 23:10, 'He
knows the way that I take; and when he has tried me, I shall come forth as
gold!' 'It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your
decrees.' Psalm 119:71.
Surely, as the tasting of honey did open Jonathan's eyes,
so this cross, this affliction, shall open my eyes. By this stroke I
shall come to have a clearer sight of my sins and of myself, and a fuller
sight of my God, Job 33:27, 28; 40:4, 5; 13:1-7.
Surely this affliction shall proceed in the purging away
of my dross, Isaiah 1:25.
Surely as ploughing of the ground kills the weeds, and
harrowing breaks hard clods; so these afflictions shall kill my sins, and
soften my heart, Hosea 5:15, 6:1-3.
Surely as the plaster draws out the infectious core;
so the afflictions which are upon me shall draw out the core of pride, the
core of self-love, the core of envy, the core of earthliness, the core of
formality, the core of hypocrisy, Psalm 119:67, 71.
Surely by these afflictions, the Lord will crucify my
heart more and more to the world, and the world to my heart, Gal. 6:14;
Psalm 131:1-3.
Surely by these afflictions, the Lord will keep pride
from my soul, Job 33:14-21.
Surely these afflictions are but the Lord's
pruning-knives, by which he will bleed my sins, and prune my heart, and make
it more fertile and fruitful; they are but the Lord's portion, by which he
will clear me, and rid me of those spiritual diseases and maladies, which
are most deadly and dangerous to my soul!
Affliction is such a potion, as will carry away all
soul-diseases, better than all other remedies, Zech. 13:8, 9.
Surely these shall increase my spiritual experiences,
Rom. 5:3, 4.
Surely by these I shall be made more partaker of God's
holiness, Heb. 12:10. As black soap makes white clothes, so does sharp
afflictions make holy hearts.
Surely by these God will communicate more of himself unto
me, Hosea 2:14.
Surely by these afflictions, the Lord will draw out my
heart more and more to seek him, Isaiah 36:16. Tatianus told the heathen
Greeks, that when they were sick, then they would send for their gods to be
with them, as Aganmemnon did at the siege of Troy, send for his ten
counselors. Hosea 5:15, 'In their afflictions they will seek me early,' or
as the Hebrew has it, 'they will morning me;' in times of affliction,
Christians will industriously, speedily, early seek unto the Lord.
Surely by these trials and troubles, the Lord will fix my
soul more than ever upon the great concernments of the eternal world, John
14:1-3; Rom. 8:17, 18; 2 Cor. 4:16-18.
Surely by these afflictions the Lord will work in me
more tenderness and compassion towards those who are afflicted, Heb.
10:34, 13:3. The Romans punished one that was seen looking out at his window
with a crown of roses on his head, in a time of public calamity.
Surely these afflictions are but God's love-tokens.
Rev. 3:19, 'As many as I love—I rebuke and chasten.' Seneca persuaded his
friend Polybius to bear his affliction quietly, because he was the emperor's
favorite, telling him, that it was not lawful for him to complain while
Caesar was his friend. So says the holy Christian—'O my soul! be quiet, be
still; all is sent in love, all is a fruit of divine favor. I see honey upon
the top of every twig, I see the rod is but a rosemary branch, I have sugar
with my gall, and wine with my wormwood; therefore be silent, O my soul!'
And this general conclusion, that all should be for good, had this blessed
eject upon the church—Lam. 3:28, 'He sits alone, and keeps silence, because
he has borne it upon him.'
Afflictions abase the carnal attractions of the world,
which might entice us. Affliction abates the lustiness of the flesh within,
which might else ensnare us! And it abates the spirit in its quarrel against
the flesh and the world; by all which it proves a mighty advantage unto us.
(2.) Secondly, Afflictions shall
keep them humble and low—Lam. 3:29, 'He puts his mouth in the
dust, if so be there may be hope.' Some say, that these words are an
allusion to the manner of those that, having been conquered and subdued, lay
their necks down at the conqueror's feet to be trampled upon, and so lick up
the dust that is under the conqueror's feet. Others looked upon the words as
an allusion to poor petitioners, who cast themselves down at princes' feet,
that they may draw forth their pity and compassion towards them. As I have
read of Aristippus, who fell on the ground before Dionysius, and kissed his
feet, when he presented a petition to him; and being asked the reason,
answered—he has his ears in his feet. Take it which way you will, it holds
forth this to us, That holy hearts will be humble under the afflicting hand
of God. When God's rod is upon their backs, their mouths shall be in the
dust. A good heart will lie lowest, when the hand of God is lifted highest,
Job 13:1-7; Acts 9:1-8.
(3.) Thirdly, The third soul-quieting conclusion you have
in Lam. 3:31, 'For the Lord will not cast off forever;'
the rod shall not always lie upon the back of the
righteous. 'In the evening—sudden terror! Before morning—it is
gone!' Isaiah 17:13. As Athanasius said to his friends, when they came to
bewail his misery and banishment—'it is but a little cloud—and it will
quickly be gone.' There are none of God's afflicted ones, that have not
their intermissions and respites; yes, so small a while does the hand of the
Lord rest upon his people, that Luther cannot get diminutives enough to
extenuate it; for he calls it a very little little cross that we bear—Isaiah
26:20, 'Come, my people, enter into your chambers, and shut your doors
behind you—hide yourself as it were for a little moment (or for a little
space, a little while), until the indignation is over-pass.' The indignation
does not pass—but over-pass. The sharpness, shortness, and suddenness of the
saints' afflictions, is set forth by the travail of a woman, John 16:21,
which is sharp, short, and sudden.
4.) Fourthly, The fourth soul-silencing conclusion you
have in Lamentations 3:32 'But though he causes grief,
yet will he have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies.'
'In wrath God remembers mercy,' Hab. 3:2. 'Weeping may endure for a
night—but joy comes in the morning,' Psalm 30:5. Their mourning shall last
but until morning. God will turn their winter's night into a summer's day,
their sighing into singing, their grief into gladness, their mourning into
music, their bitter into sweet, their wilderness into a paradise. The life
of a Christian is filled up with interchanges of sickness and health,
weakness and strength, want and wealth, disgrace and honor, crosses and
comforts, miseries and mercies, joys and sorrows, mirth and mourning. All
honey would harm us; all wormwood would undo us—a composition of both is the
best way in the world to keep our souls in a healthy constitution. It is
best and most for the health of the soul that the warm south wind of mercy,
and the cold north wind of adversity—do both blow upon it. And though every
wind that blows, shall blow good to the saints, yet certainly their sins die
most, and their graces thrive best, when they are under the frigid, drying,
nipping north wind of calamity, as well as under the warm, nourishing south
wind of mercy and prosperity.
(5) Fifthly, The fifth soul-quieting conclusion you have
in Lament. 3:33, 'For He does not afflict willingly (or as the Hebrew has
it, 'from his heart'), 'nor grieve the children of men.' Christians conclude
that God's heart was not in their afflictions,
though his hand was. He takes no delight to afflict his children;
it goes against his heart. It is a grief to him to be grievous to them, a
pain to him to be punishing of them, a sorrow to him to be striking them. He
has no will, no desire, no inclination, no disposition, to that work of
afflicting of his people; and therefore he calls it 'his strange work,'
Isaiah 28:21. Mercy and punishment—they flow from God, as the honey and the
sting from the bee. The bee yields honey of her own nature—but she does not
sting but when she is provoked. God takes delight in showing of mercy, Micah
7:18; he takes no pleasure in giving his people up to adversity, Hosea 11:8.
Mercy and kindness flows from him freely, naturally; he is never severe,
never harsh; he never stings, he never terrifies us—but when he is sadly
provoked by us. God's hand sometimes may lie very hard upon his people, when
his heart, his affections, at those very times may be yearning towards his
people, Jer. 31:18-20.
No man can tell how the heart of God stands—by his hand.
God's hand of mercy may be open to those against whom his heart is set—as
you see in the rich poor fool, and Dives, in the Gospel. And his hand of
severity may lie hard upon those on whom he has set his heart—as you may see
in Job and Lazarus. And thus you see those gracious, blessed, soul-quieting
conclusions about afflictions, that a holy, a prudent silence does include.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do
not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked
schemes. Psalms 37:7
Sixthly, A holy, a prudent
silence includes and takes in a strict charge, a solemn, command, that
conscience lays upon the soul to be quiet and still. Psalm 37:7,
'Rest in the Lord, (or as the Hebrew has it, 'be silent to the Lord'), 'and
wait patiently for him.' I charge you, O my soul—not to mutter, nor to
murmur; I command you, O my soul, to be dumb and silent under the afflicting
hand of God. As Christ laid a charge, a command, upon the boisterous winds
and the roaring raging seas—Mat. 8:26, 'Be still; and there was a great
calm,'—so conscience lays a charge upon the soul to be quiet and still—Psalm
27:14, 'Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your
heart—wait, I say, on the Lord.' Peace, O my soul! be still, leave your
muttering, leave your murmuring, leave your complaining, leave your chafing,
and vexing—and lay your hand upon your mouth, and be silent. Conscience
allays and stills all the tumults and uproars that are in the soul, by such
like reasonings as the clerk of Ephesus stilled that uproar—Acts 19:40, 'For
we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being
no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.' O my soul! be
quiet, be silent, else you will one day be called in question for all those
inward mutterings, uproars, and passions that are in you, seeing no
sufficient cause can be produced why you should murmur, quarrel, or
wrangle—under the righteous hand of God.
Seventhly, A holy, a prudent
silence includes a surrendering, a resigning of ourselves to God, while we
are under his afflicting hand. The silent soul gives himself up
to God. The secret language of the soul is this—'Lord, here am I; do with me
what you please, write upon me as you please—I give up myself to be at your
disposal.'
There was a good woman, who, when she was sick, being
asked whether she were willing to live or die, answered, 'Whichever God
pleases.' But, said one that stood by, 'If God would refer it to you, which
would you choose?' 'Truly,' said she, 'if God would refer it to me, I would
even refer it right back to him again.' This was a soul worth gold.
'Well,' says a gracious soul, 'The ambitious man gives
himself up to his honors—but I give up myself unto God. The voluptuous man
gives himself up to his pleasures—but I give up myself to God. The covetous
man gives himself up to his bags of money—but I give up myself to God. The
wanton man gives himself up to his lust—but I give up myself to God. The
drunkard gives himself up to his cups—but I give up myself to God. The
papist gives up himself to his idols—but I give myself to God. The Turk
gives up himself to his Mahomet—but I give up myself to God. The heretic
gives up himself to his heretical opinions—but I give up myself to God.
Lord! lay what burden you will upon me, only let your everlasting arms be
under me!
Lord! lay what burden you will upon me, only let your
everlasting arms be under me. Strike, Lord, strike, and spare not, for I am
lain down in your will, I have learned to say amen to your amen; you have a
greater interest in me than I have in myself, and therefore I give up myself
unto you, and am willing to be at your disposal, and am ready to receive
whatever impression you shall stamp upon me. O blessed Lord! have you not
again and again said unto me, as once the king of Israel said to the king of
Syria, 'I am yours, and all that I have is yours,' 1 Kings 20:4.
God says, "I am yours, O soul! to save you! My mercy is
yours to pardon you! My blood is yours to cleanse you! My merits are yours
to justify you! My righteousness is yours to clothe you! My Spirit is yours
to lead you! My grace is yours to enrich you! My glory is yours to reward
you!" And therefore, says a gracious soul, "I cannot but make a resignation
of myself unto you. Lord! here I am, do with me as seems good in your own
eyes. I know the best way to have my own will, is to resign up myself to
your will, and to say amen to your amen."
I have read of a gentleman, who, meeting with a shepherd
in a misty morning, asked him what weather it would be? 'It will be,' says
the shepherd, 'that weather which pleases me.' And being courteously
requested to express his meaning, replied, 'Sir, it shall be whatever
weather pleases God; and whatever weather pleases God—pleases me.' When a
Christian's will is molded into the will of God, he is sure to have his
will. But,
Eighthly and lastly, A holy, a
prudent silence, takes in a patient waiting upon the Lord under our
afflictions until deliverance comes—Psalm 11:1-3; Psalm 62:5, 'My
soul, wait only upon God, for my expectation is from him;' Lam. 3:26, 'It is
good that a man should both hope, and quietly (or as the Hebrew has it,
'silently') wait for the salvation of the Lord.' The farmer patiently waits
for the precious fruits of the earth, the mariner patiently waits for wind
and tide, the watchman patiently wait for the dawning of the day; and so
does the silent soul in the night of adversity, patiently wait for the
dawning of the day of mercy, James 5:7, 8. The mercies of God are not styled
the swift—but the sure mercies; and therefore a gracious soul
waits patiently for them. And thus you see what a gracious, a prudent
silence does include.
III. The third thing is, to discover what is included in
a holy, a prudent silence under affliction.
Now there are eight
things that a holy patience includes.
1. First, A holy, a prudent
silence under affliction does not exclude and shut out a sense and feeling
of our afflictions, Psalm 39:9, though he 'was silent, and laid
his hand upon his mouth,' yet he was very sensible of his affliction—verses
10, 11, 'Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your
hand. You rebuke and discipline men for their sin; you consume their wealth
like a moth—each man is but a breath.' He is sensible of his pain as
well as of his sin; and having prayed off his sin in the former
verses, he labors here to pray off his pain.
Diseases, aches, sicknesses, pains—they are all the
daughters of sin, and he who is not sensible of them as the births and
products of sin, does but add to his sin and provoke the Lord to add to his
sufferings, Isaiah 26:9-11. No man shall ever be charged by God for feeling
his burden, if he neither frets nor faints under it. Grace does not destroy
nature—but rather perfects it. Grace is of a noble offspring; it neither
turns men into stocks nor to stoics. The more grace, the more sensible of
the tokens, frowns, blows, and lashes—of a displeased Father. Though Calvin,
under his greatest pains, was never heard to mutter nor murmur, yet he was
heard often to say 'How long, Lord, how long?' A pious commander being shot
in battle, when the wound was searched, and the bullet cut out, some
standing by, pitying his pain, he replied, Though I groan, yet I
bless God I do not grumble. God allows his people to groan, though
not to grumble. It is a God-provoking sin to lie stupid and senseless under
the afflicting hand of God. God will heat that man's furnace of affliction
sevenfold hotter, who is in the furnace but feels it not.
"Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the
plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned? For they would
not follow his ways; they did not obey his law. So he poured out on them his
burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they
did not understand; it consumed them—but they did not take it to heart."
Isaiah 42:24-25. Stupidity lays a man open to the greatest fury and
severity.
The physician, when he finds that the potion which he has
given his patient will not work, he seconds it with one more violent one;
and if that will not work, he gives another yet more violent one. If a
gentle plaster will not serve, then the surgeon applies that which is more
corroding; and if that will not do, then he makes use of his knife! So when
the Lord afflicts, and men feel it not; when he strikes and they grieve not;
when he wounds them, and they awake not—then the furnace is made hotter than
ever; then his fury burns, then he lays on irons upon irons, bolt upon bolt,
and chain upon chain, until he has made their lives a hell. Afflictions are
the saints' medicines; and where do you read in all the Scripture that ever
any of the saints drunk of these medicines, and were not sensible of it.
2. Secondly, A holy, a prudent,
silence does not shut out prayer for deliverance out of our afflictions.
Though the psalmist lays his hand upon his mouth in the text, yet he
prays for deliverance—"Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the
blow of your hand. Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help; be not
deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my
fathers were. Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart
and am no more." Psalm 39:10-13. 'Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.'
James 5:13. 'Call upon me in the day of trouble—I will deliver you, and you
shall glorify me.' Psalm 50:15
Times of affliction, by God's own injunction, are special
times of supplication. David's heart was more often out of tune than his
harp; but then he prays and presently cries, 'Return to your rest O my
soul.' Jonah prays in the whale's belly, and Daniel prays when among the
lions, and Job prays when on the ash-heap, and Jeremiah prays when in the
dungeon. Yes, the heathen mariners, as stout as they were, when in a storm,
they cry every man to his god, Jonah 1:5, 6. To call upon God, especially in
times of distress and trouble, is a lesson that the very light and law of
nature teaches. The Persian messenger, though a heathen, says thus—'When the
Grecian forces hotly pursued our army, and we must needs venture over the
great water Strymon, frozen then—but beginning to thaw, when a hundred to
one we had all died for it, with my eyes I saw many of those gallants whom I
had heard before so boldly maintain there was no God, every one upon his
knees, and devoutly praying that the ice might hold until they got over.'
And shall blind heathen nature do more than grace? If the time of affliction
be not a time of supplication, I know not what is.
As there are two kinds of antidotes against poison, that
is, hot and cold; so there are two kinds of antidotes against all the
troubles and afflictions of this life, that is, prayer and patience—the one
hot, the other cold—the one quenching, the other quickening. Chrysostom
understood this well enough when he cried out—Oh! says he, it is more bitter
than death to be robbed of prayer; and thereupon observes that Daniel chose
rather to run the hazard of his life, than to lose his prayer. Well! This is
the second thing. A holy silence does not exclude prayer; but,
3. Thirdly, A holy, a prudent
silence does not exclude men's being kindly affected and afflicted with
their sins, as the meritorious cause of all their sorrows and sufferings,
Lam. 3:39, 40, 'Why does a living man complain, a man for the punishment of
his sin? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.' Job
40:4, 6, 'Behold, I am vile, what shall I answer you? I will lay my hand
upon my mouth. Once have I spoken—but I will not answer; yes, thrice—but I
proceed no further.' Micah 7:9, 'I will bear the indignation of the Lord,
because I have sinned.' In all our sorrows we should read our sins! When
God's hand is upon our backs, our hands should be upon our sins.
It was a good saying of one, 'I hide not my sins—but I
show them. I wipe them not away—but I sprinkle them; I do not excuse
them—but accuse them. The beginning of my salvation is the knowledge of my
transgression.' When some told Prince Henry, that darling of mankind, that
the sins of the people brought that affliction on him, Oh no! said he, I
have sins enough of my own to cause that. 'I have sinned,' says David, 'but
what have these poor sheep done?' 2 Sam. 24:17. When a Christian is under
the afflicting hand of God, he may well say, 'I may thank this proud heart
of mine, this worldly heart, this froward heart, this formal heart, this
dull heart, this backsliding heart, this self-seeking heart of mine—for this
cup is so bitter, this pain so grievous, this loss so great, this disease so
desperate, this wound so incurable! It is my own self, my own sin—which has
caused these floods of sorrows to break in upon me! But,
4. Fourthly, A holy, a prudent
silence does not exclude the teaching and instructing of others, when we are
afflicted. The words of the afflicted stick close; they many
times work strongly, powerfully, strangely savingly, upon the souls and
consciences of others. Many of Paul's epistles were written to the churches
when he was in prison, that is, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians, Philemon; he begot Onesimus in his bonds, Philem. 10. And many
of the brethren in the Lord waxed bold and confident by his bonds, and were
confirmed, and made partakers of grace by his ministry, when he was in
bonds, Philip. 1:7, 13, 14.
As the words of dying people do many times stick and work
gloriously, so many times do the words of afflicted people work very nobly
and efficaciously. I have read of one Adrianus, who, seeing the martyrs
suffer such grievous things for the cause of Christ, he asked what that was
which enabled them to suffer such things? and one of them named that 1 Cor.
2:9, 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart
of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him.' This word
was like apples of gold in pictures of silver, Prov. 25:11, for it made hint
not only a convert—but a martyr too. And this was the means of Justin
Martyr's conversion, as himself confesses.
Doubtless, many have been made happy by the words of the
afflicted. The tongue of the afflicted has been to many as choice silver.
The words of the afflicted many times are both pleasing and profitable; they
tickle the ear, and they win upon the heart; they slide insensibly into the
hearers' souls, and work efficaciously upon the hearers' hearts—Eccles.
10:12, 'The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious.' Jerome reads it, "the
words of the mouth of a wise man are grace." They minister grace to others,
and they win grace and favor from others. Gracious lips make gracious
hearts; gracious words are a grace, an ornament to the speaker, and they are
a comfort, a delight, and an advantage to the hearer.
Now, the words of a wise man's mouth are never more
gracious, than when he is most afflicted and distressed. Now, you shall find
most worth and weight in his words; now his lips, like the spouse's, are
like a thread of scarlet; they are red with talking much of a crucified
Christ; and they are thin like a thread—not swelled with vain and
unprofitable discourses. Now his mouth speaks of wisdom, and his tongue
talks judgment, for the law of the Lord is in his heart, Psalm 37:30. Now
his lips drop as honey-combs, Cant. 4:1l; now his tongue is a tree of life,
whose leaves are medicinal, Prov. 12:18. As the silver trumpets sounded most
joy to the Jews in the day of their gladness, so the mouth of a wise man,
like a silver trumpet, sounds most joy and advantage to others in the days
of his sadness, Num. 10:10.
The heathen man could say—'when a wise man speaks, he
opens the rich treasure and wardrobe of his mind'; so may I say, 'when an
afflicted saint speaks, Oh the pearl, the treasures that he scatters!' But,
5. Fifthly, A holy, a prudent
silence does not exclude moderate mourning or weeping under the afflicting
hand of God. Isaiah 38:3, 'And Hezekiah wept sore', or, as the
Hebrew has it, 'wept with great weeping.' But was not the Lord displeased
with him for his great weeping? No! ver. 5, 'I have heard your prayers, I
have seen your tears—behold, I will add unto your days fifteen years.' God
had as well a bottle for his tears—as a bag for his sins, Psalm 56:8. There
is no water so sweet as the saints' tears, when they do not overflow the
banks of moderation. Tears are not mutes; they have a voice, and their
oratory is of great prevalence with the almighty God. Therefore the weeping
prophet calls out for tears—Lam. 2:18, 'Let your tears flow like a river day
and night; give yourself no relief; let not the apple of your eye cease;'
or, as the Hebrew has it, 'Let not the daughter of your eye be silent.' That
which we call the pupil or apple of the eye, the Hebrews call the daughter
of the eye, because it is as dear and tender to a man as an only daughter;
and because therein appears the likeness of a little daughter. Upon which
words, says Bellarmine—'cry aloud—not with your tongue—but with your eyes;
not with your words—but with your tears; for that is the prayer that makes
the most forcible entry into the ears of the great God of heaven.'
When God strikes, he looks that we should tremble; when
his hand is lifted high, he looks that our hearts should stoop low; when he
has the rod in his hand, he looks that we should have tears in our eyes, as
you may see by comparing of these Scriptures together, Psalm 55:2, 38:6, Job
30:26-32. Says the Greek poet—'the better any are—they are more inclining to
weeping, especially under affliction.' As you may see in David, whose tears,
instead of gems, were the common ornaments of his bed; as Jonathan, Job,
Ezra, Daniel, etc. How, says one, shall God wipe away my tears in heaven, if
I shed none on earth? And how shall I reap in joy, if I sow not in tears? I
was born with tears, and I shall die with tears—and why then should I live
without them in this valley of tears?
There is as well a time to weep, as there is a time to
laugh; and a time to mourn, as well as a time to dance, Eccles. 3:4. The
mourning garment among the Jews was the black garment, and the black garment
was the mourning garment—Psalm 43:2, 'Why do you go mourning?' The
Hebrew word signifies 'black'. Why go you in black? Sometimes Christians
must put off their gay ornaments, and put on their black—their mourning
garments, Exod. 33:3-6. But,
6. Sixthly, A gracious, a
prudent silence does not exclude sighing, groaning, or roaring under
afflictions. A man may sigh, and groan and roar under the hand of
God, and yet be silent. It is not sighing—but muttering; it is not
groaning—but grumbling; it is not roaring—but murmuring—which is opposite to
a holy silence—Exod. 2:23, 'And the children of Israel sighed by reason of
the bondage.' Job 3:24, 'For my sighing comes before I eat.' His sighing,
like bad weather, came unsent for and unsought—so Psalm 38:9, 'Lord, all my
desire is before you; and no groaning is not hid from you.' Psalm 102:5, 'By
reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin.' Job 3:24,
'And my roarings are poured out like the waters.' Psalm 38:8, 'I am feeble
and sore broken; I have roared by reason of the disturbance of my heart.'
Psalm 22:1, 'My, God! my God! why have you forsaken me? why are you so far
from helping me, from the words of my roaring?' Psalm 32:3, 'When I kept
silence, my bones waxed old, through my roarings all the day long.' He
roars—but does not rage; he roars—but does not repine.
When a man is in extremity, nature prompts him to roar,
and the law of grace is not against it. And though sighing, roaring,
groaning, cannot deliver a man out of his misery, yet they do give some ease
to a man under his misery. When Solon wept for his son's death, one said to
him, Weeping will not help. He answered, 'Alas! I weep, because weeping will
not help.' So a Christian many times sighs, because sighing will not help;
and he groans, because groaning will not help; and he roars, because roaring
will not help. Sometimes the sorrows of the saints are so great, that all
tears are dried up, and they can get no ease by weeping; and therefore for a
little ease they fall a-sighing and a-groaning. And this may be done, and
yet the heart may be quiet and silent before the Lord. Peter wept and
sobbed, and yet was silent. Sometimes the sighs and groans of a saint do in
some manner, tell that which his tongue can in no manner utter. But,
7. Seventhly, A holy, a prudent
silence, does not exclude nor shut out the use of any just or lawful means,
whereby people may be delivered out of their afflictions. God
would not have his people so in love with their afflictions, as not to use
such righteous means as may deliver them out of their afflictions. Mat.
10:23, 'But when they persecute you in this city, flee into another.'
Acts 12:5, When Peter was in prison, the saints thronged together to pray,
as the original has it, and they were so instant and earnest with God in
prayer, they did so beseech and besiege the Lord, they did so beg and bounce
at heaven-gate, that God could have no rest, until, by many miracles of
power and mercy, he had returned Peter as a bosom-favor to them. "After many
days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him—but Saul learned of their
plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill
him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through
an opening in the wall." Acts 9:23-25
The blood of the saints is precious in God's eye, and it
should not be vile in their own eyes. When providence opens a door of
escape, there is no reason why the saints should set themselves as marks for
their enemies to shoot at. 2 Thess. 3:1, 2, The apostles desired the
brethren 'to pray for them, that they may be delivered from absurd and
wicked men; for all men have not faith.' It is a mercy worth a seeking, to
be delivered out of the hands of wicked, villainous, and troublesome men.
Afflictions are evil in themselves, and we may desire and
endeavor to be delivered from them, James 5:14, 15, Isaiah 38:18-21. Both
inward and outward means are to be used for our own preservation. Had not
Noah built an ark, he would have been swept away with the flood, though he
had been with Nimrod and his gang on the tower of Babel, which was raised to
the height of some 2000 feet. Though we may not trust in means; yet we may
and ought to use the means. In the use of them, eye that God that can only
bless them, and you do your work. As the pilot that guides the ship has his
hand upon the rudder, and his eye on the star that directs him at the same
time; so when your hand is upon the means, let your eye be upon your God,
and deliverance will come. We may neglect God as well by neglecting of
means, as by trusting in means. It is best to use them, and in the use of
them, to live above them. Augustine tells of a man, that being fallen into a
pit, one passing by falls to questioning of him, as to how he got into the
pit. Oh! said the poor man, ask me not how I came in—but help me and tell me
how I may come out! The application is easy. But,
8. Eighthly, and lastly, A holy,
a prudent silence, does not exclude a just and sober complaining against the
authors, contrivers, abettors, or instruments of our afflictions.
2 Tim. 4:14, 'Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The
Lord will repay him for what he has done.' This Alexander is conceived by
some to be that Alexander that is mentioned, Acts 19:33, who stood so close
to Paul at Ephesus, that he ran the hazard of losing his life by appearing
on his side. Yet if glorious professors come to be furious persecutors,
Christians may complain—2 Cor. 11:24, 'Five different times the Jews gave me
thirty-nine lashes.' They inflict, says Maimonides, no more than forty
stripes, though he be as strong as Samson—but if he be weak, they abate of
that number. They scourged Paul with the greatest severity, in making him
suffer so often the utmost extremity of the Jewish law, when as those who
were weak had their punishment mitigated—ver. 25, 'Thrice was I beaten with
rods,' that is, by the Romans, whose custom it was to beat the guilty with
rods.
If Pharaoh makes Israel groan—Israel may make his
complaint against Pharaoh to the Keeper of Israel, Exod. 2. If the proud and
blasphemous king of Assyria shall come with his mighty army to destroy the
people of the Lord—Hezekiah may spread his letter of blasphemy before the
Lord. Isaiah 37:14-21.
It was the saying of Socrates, that every man in this
life had need of a faithful friend and a bitter enemy; the one to advise
him, and the other to make him look about him; and this Hezekiah found by
experience.
Though Joseph's bow abode in strength, and the arm of his
hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. Yet Joseph
may say, that the archers, (or the arrow-masters, as the Hebrew has it,)
have severely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him. Gen. 49:23, 24.
And so David sadly complained of Doeg. Yes, Christ himself, who was the most
perfect pattern for silence under sorest trials, complains against Judas,
Pilate, and the rest of his persecutors, Psalm 69:20, 30, etc. Yes, though
God will make his people's enemies to be the workmen that shall fit them and
square them for his building; to be goldsmiths to add pearls to their crown;
to be rods to beat off their dust; to be scullions to scour off their rust;
to be fire to purge away their dross; and water to cleanse away their
filthiness, fleshliness, and earthliness; yet may they point at them, and
pour out their complaints to God against them, Psalm 132:2-18. This truth I
might make good by over a hundred texts of Scripture; but it is time to come
to the reasons of the point.