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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	aaron_n	hand_n	lord_n	55	3	3.1532	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77618	The silent soul, with soveraign antidotes against the most miserable exigents: or, 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 divers questions and objections that are of greatest importance, all tending to win and work souls to bee still, quiet, calm and silent under all changes that have, or may pass upon them in this world, &c. / By Thomas Brooks preacher of the Word at Margarets New Fish-street London, and pastor of the Church of Christ meeting there.	Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.	1660 (1660)	Wing B4962A; Thomason E1876_1; ESTC R209789	146,060	409

on the other side of him and there hee sees infernal fiends in fearful shapes amazing and terrifying of him and waiting to receive his despairing soul as soon as shee shall take her leave of his wretched body hee looks above him and there hee sees the gates of Heaven shut against him hee looks beneath him and there hee sees hell gaping for him and under these sad sights hee is full of secret conclusions against his own soul there is mercy for others saith the despairing soul but none for mee grace and favour for others but none for mee pardon and peace for others but none for mee As that despairing Pope said the cross could do him no good because hee had so often sold it blessedness and happiness for others but none for mee there is no help there is no hope no Jer. 2. 25. ch 18. 1● this seems to be his case who died with this desperate saying in his mouth spes fortuna v●lete farewel 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 Psal 77. 4. 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 Quest 2 What doth a prudent a gracious a holy Silence include Answer 1 It includes and takes in these eight things First It includes a sight of God and an acknowledgement of God as the author of all the afflictions that come upon us And this you have plain in the Text I was dumb I opened not my mouth because thou didst it The Psalmist In second causes many times a Christian may see much envy hatred malice pride c. But in the first cause he can see nothing but grace and mercy sweetness and goodness looks through secondary causes to the first cause and so sits mute before the Lord. There is no sickness so little but God hath a finger in it though it bee but the aking of the little finger As the Scribe is more eyed and properly said to write than the pen and hee that maketh and keepeth the Clock is more properly said to make it go and strike than the wheels and weights that hang upon it and as every work-man is more eyed and properly said to effect his works rather than the tools which hee useth as his instruments so the Lord who is the chief Agent and mover in all actions and who hath the greatest hand in all our afflictions is more to bee eyed and owned than any inferiour or subordinate causes whatsoever So Job hee beheld God in all Job 1. 21. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away Had hee not seen God in the affliction hee would have cried out Oh these wretched Chaldeans they have plundred and spoiled mee These wicked Sabeans they have robbed and wronged mee Job discerns Gods Commission in the Chaldeans and the Sabeans hands and then laies his own hand upon his mouth So Aaron beholding the hand of God in the untimely death of his two sons holds his peace Levit. 10. 3. the sight of God in this sad stroak is a bridle both to his mind and mouth hee neither mutters nor murmurs So Joseph saw the hand of God in his brethrens selling of him into Egypt Gen. 45. 8. and that silences him Men that see not God in an affliction are easily cast into a feaverish fit they will quickly bee in a flame and when their passions are up and their hearts on fire they will begin to bee sawcy and make no bones of telling God to his teeth that they do well to bee angry Jonah 4. 8 9. Such as will not acknowledge God to bee the author of all their afflictions will bee ready enough to fall in with that mad principle of the Manachees who maintained the Devil to bee the Author of all calamities As if there could bee 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 Gods hand bee 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 Soveraignty Dignity Authority and presence of that God under whose afflicting hand we are Hab. 2. 20. But the Lord is in his holy Temple let all the earth bee silent or as the Hebrew reads it bee silent all the earth before his face When God would have all the people of the earth to bee husht quiet and silent before him hee would have them to behold him in his Temple where hee sits in state in majesty and glory Zephan 1. 7. Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God Chat not murmure not repine not quarrel not Whist stand mute bee silent lay thy hand on thy mouth when his hand is upon thy back who is totus oculus all-eye to see as well as all hand to punish As the eyes of a well-drawn picture are fastened on thee which way soever thou turnest so are the eies of the Lord and therefore thou hast cause to stand mute before him Thus Aaron had an eye to the soveraignty of God and that silences Levit. 10. 3 Job 37. 23 24. 1 Sam. 3. 11 19. him And Job had an eye upon the majesty of God and that stills him And Elie had an eye upon the authority and presence of God and that quiets him A man never comes to humble himself nor to bee silent under the hand of God till hee comes to see the hand of God to bee a mighty hand 1 Pet. 5. 6. Humble your selves 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 said Pharaoh that I should obey his voice Exod. 5. 2. And till Pharaoh came to see the hand of God as a mighty hand and to feel it as a mighty hand hee would not let Israel go When Tiribazus a Noble Persian was arrested at first hee drew out his sword and defended himself but when they charged him in the Kings name and informed him that they came from the King and were commanded to bring him to the King he yeelded willingly So when afflictions arrest us we shall murmure and grumble and struggle and strive even to the death before wee shall yeeld to that God that

10. 13. But God is faithful who will not suffer you to bee tempted above that yee are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that yee may bee able to bear it Rom. 16. 20. And the God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet shortly 1 John 2. 13 14. I write unto you Fathers because yee have known him that is from the beginning I write unto young men because you have overcome the wicked one I write unto you children because yee have known the Father I have written unto you Fathers because yee have known him that is from the beginning I have written unto you young men because yee are strong and the word of God abideth in you and yee have overcome the wicked one 1 John 5. 18. Wee know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not that is that sin that is unto death vers 16. nor hee sinneth not as other men do delightfully greedily customarily resolvedly impenitently c. but hee that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one toucheth him not The glorious Exod. 14. victory that the people of God had over Pharaoh and his great Host was a figure of the glorious victory that the Saints shall obtain over Satan and his instruments which is clear from that Rev. 15. 3. Where wee have the song of Moses and of the Lamb but why the song of Moses and of the Lamb but to hint this to us that the overthrow of Pharaoh was a figure of the overthrow of Satan and the triumphal song of Moses was a figure of that song which the Saints shall sing for their overthrow of Satan As certainly as Israel overcame Pharaoh so certainly shall every true Israelite overcome Satan The Romans were worsted in many fights but were never overcome in a set war at the long run they overcame all their enemies though a Christian may bee worsted by Satan in some particular skirmishes yet at the long run hee is sure of an honourable conquest God puts a great deal of honour upon a poor soul when hee brings him into the open field to sight it ou● with Satan by fighting hee overcomes hee gains the victory hee triumphs over Satan and leads captivity captive Augustine gives this reason why God permitted Adam at first to be tempted viz. that hee might have had the more glory in resisting and withstanding Satans temptation it is the glory of a Christian to bee made strong to resist and to have his resistance crowned with a happy conquest Sixthly By temptations the Lord will make his people more frequent and more abundant in the work of prayer every temptation proves a strong alarm to prayer When Paul was in the school of temptation hee prayed 2 Cor. 12. 8 9 thrice that is often daies of temptation are daies of great supplication Christians usually pray most when they are tempted most they are most busie with God when Satan is most busie with them a Christian is most upon his knees when Satan stands most at his elbow Augustine was a man much tempted So Bernard Basil G●rgonia Trucilla James Jacob Daniel and a man much in prayer holy prayer saith hee is a shelter to the soul a sacrifice to God and a scourge to the Devil Luther was a man under manifold temptations and a man much in prayer hee is said to have spent three hours every day in prayer hee used to say that prayer was the best book in his study Chrysostome was much in the school of temptation and delighted much in prayer Oh! saith hee it is more bitter than death to bee spoiled of prayer and hereupon as hee observes Daniel chose rather to run the hazard of his life than to lose his prayer But Seventhly By temptations the Lord will make his people more and more conformable to the Image of his Son Christ was much Luk. 4 tempted hee was often in the school of temptation and the more a Christian is tempted the more into the likeness of Christ hee will bee transformed of all men in the world tem●ted souls do most resemble Christ to the life in meekness low liness holiness heavenliness c. The Image of Christ is most fairly stampt upon tempted Heb. 12. 1 2 2 Cor. 3. 18. Heb. 2. 17 18 souls tempted souls are much in looking up to Jesus and every gracious look upon Christ changes the soul more and more into the Image of Christ tempted souls experience much of the succourings of Christ and the more they experience the sweet of the succourings of Christ the more they grow up into the likeness of Christ temptations are the tools by which the Father of spirits doth more and more carve form and fashion his precious Saints into the similitude and likeness of his dearest Son Eighthly and lastly Take many things in one God by temptations makes sin more hateful and the world less delightful and relations less hurtful by temptations God discovers to us our own weakness and the creatures insufficiency 1 Pet. 5. 8 in the hour of temptation to help us or succour us by temptations God will brighten our Christian Ephes 6. 10 18 Armour and make us stand more upon our Christian watch and keep us closer to a succouring Christ by temptations the Lord will make his ordinances to bee more highly prized and Heaven to be more earnestly desired Now seeing 2 Cor. 5. 1 2 3. that temptations shall work so eminently for the Saints good why should not Christians bee mute and silent why should they not hold their peace and lay their hands upon their mouths though their afflictions are attended with great temptations Object 8 Oh! But God hath deserted mee hee hath forsaken mee and hee that should comfort my soul stands afar off how can I bee silent the Lord hath hid his face from mee clouds are gathered about mee God hath turned his back upon mee how can I hold my peace supposing that the desertion is real and not in appearance only as sometimes it falls out I answer First It hath been the common lot portion and condition of the choicest Saints in this world to be deserted and forsaken of God Psal 30. 6 7. Psal 77. and 88. Job 23. 8 9. Cant. 3. 1 2 3 4. ch 5. 6 7. Isa 8. 17. Micah 7. 7 8 9. If God deal● no worse with thee than hee hath dealt with his most bosome friends with his choicest Jewels thou hast no reason to complain But Secondly Gods forsaking of thee is onely partial it is not total God may forsake his people in part but he never wholly forsakes them he may forsake them in respect of his quickning presence and in respect of his comforting Psal 9. 4. Gen. 49. 23 24 presence but hee never forsakes them in respect of his supporting presence 2 Cor. 12. 9. My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness Psal 73. 23 24. The steps

by one Grimwood shortly after the said Grimwood being in perfect health his bowels suddenly fell out of his body and so hee died miserably Narcissus a godly Bishop of Jerusalem was falsely accused by three men of many foul matters who sealed up with oaths and imprecations their false testimonies but shortly after that one of them with Euseb his whole family and substance was burnt with fire another of them was stricken with a grievous disease such as in his imprecation hee had wished to himself the third terrified with the sight of Gods judgements upon the former became very penitent and poured out the grief of his heart in such abundance of tears that thereby hee became blinde A wicked wretch under Commodus Niceph. the Emperour accused Apollonius a godly Christian to the Judges for certain grievous crimes which when hee could not prove hee was adjudged to have his leggs broken according to an antient Law of the Romans Gregory Bradway falsely accused one Brook but shortly after through terrours of conscience hee sought to cut his own throat but being prevented hee fell mad I have read of Socrates's two false accusers how that the one was trodden to death by the multitude and the other was forced to avoid the like by a voluntary banishment I might produce a multitude of other instances but let these suffice to evidence how swift and terrible a witness God hath been against those that have been false accusers of his people and that have laded their precious names with scorn and reproach the serious consideration of which should make the accused and reproached Christian to sit dumb and silent before the Lord. Eighthly and lastly God himself is daily reproached men tremble not to cast scorn and contempt upon God himself sometimes they charge the Lord that his waies are not equal that it is a Ezek. 18. 25. ch 29. 33. 17. 20 29. Jer. 2. 5 6. wrong way hee goeth in sometimes they charge God with cruelty My punishment is greater than I am able to bear Gen. 4. 13. Sometimes they charge God with partiality and respect of persons because here hee stroaks and there hee strikes here hee lifts up and there hee casts down here hee smiles and there hee frowns here hee gives much and there hee gives nothing here hee loves and there hee hates here hee prospers Rom 9 Psal 50. 21 It were very strange that I should please a world of men when God himself doth not give every man content Salv. one and there hee blasts another Mal. 2. 17. Where is the God of judgement i. e. no where either there is no God of judgement or at least not a God of exact precise and impar●ial judgement c. Sometimes they charge God with unbountifulness that hee is a God that will set his people to hard work to much work but will pay them no wages nor give them no reward Mal. 3. 14. Yee have said it is in 〈◊〉 to serve God and what profit is it that wee have kept his ordinances and that wee have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts Sometimes they charge God that hee is a hard Master and that hee reaps where hee hath not sown and gathers where hee hath not strowed Mat. 25. 24 c. Oh the infinite reproach and scorn that is every day that is every hour in the day cast upon the Lord his name his truth his waies his ordinances his glory Alass all the scorn and contempt that is cast upon all the Saints all the world over is nothing to that which is cast upon the great God every hour and yet hee is patient Ah! how hardly do most men think of God and how hardly do they speak of God and how unhansomely do they carry it towards God and yet hee bears They that will not spare God himself his name his truth his honour shall wee think it much that they spare not us or our names c. surely no. Why should wee look that those should give us good words that cannot afford God a good word from one weeks end to another yea from one years end to another why should wee look that they should cry out Hosanna Hosanna to us when as every day they cry out of Christ crucifie him crucifie him Mat. 10. 25. It is enough for the Disciple that hee bee as his Master and the servant as his Lord if they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub or a Master-flye or a dung-hill god or the chief Devil how much more shall they call them of his houshold It is preferment enough for the servant to be as his Lord and if they make no bones of staining and blaspheming the name of the Lord never wonder if they flye-blow thy name and let this suffice to quiet and silence your hearts Christians under all that scorn and contempt that is cast upon your names and reputations in this world The tenth and last Objection is this Sir In this my affliction I have sought to the Lord for this that mercy and still God delaies mee and puts mee off I have several times thought that mercy had been near that deliverance had been at the door but now I see it is afar off how can I then hold my peace how can I bee silent under such delaies and disappointments To this Objection I shall give you these Answers First The Lord doth not alwaies time his Answers to the swiftness of his peoples expectations hee that is the God of our mercies is the Lord of our times God hath delayed long his dearest Saints times belonging to him as Psal 70. 5 Psal 6. 13 Psal 13 1 2 Psal 94. 3 4 Zech. 1. 12 well as issue Hab. 1. 2. O Lord how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear even cry out unto thee for violence and thou wilt not help Job 19. 7. Behold I cry out of violence but I have no answer I cry but there is no judgement Psal 69. 3. I am weary of crying my throat is dry mine eyes fail while I wait for my God Psal 40. 17. Make no t●●rying O my God! Though God had promised him a Crown a Kingdome yet hee puts him off from day to day and for all his haste hee must stay for it till the set time is come Paul was delayed 2 Cor. 1. 8 9 Psal 105. 17 18 19 so long till hee even despaired of life and had the sentence of death in himself And Joseph was delayed so long till the Irons entred into his soul So hee delayed long the giving in of comfort to Mr. Glover though hee had sought him frequently earnestly and denied himself to the death for Christ Augustine being under convictions a showre of tears came from him and casting himself on the ground under a Fig-tree hee cries out O Lord how long how long shall I say to morrow to morrow why not to day Lord why not to day Though Abigail made haste to

put off the motions of his Spirit the directions of his word the offers of his grace the entreaties of his Son and therefore what can be more just than that God should delay thee for a time and put thee off for a season who hast delaied him and put off him daies without number if God serves thee as thou hast often served him thou hast no reason to complain But Seventhly and lastly The Lord delaies his people that Heaven may be the more sweet to them at last here they meet with many delaies and with many put offs but in Heaven they shall never meet with one put off with one delay here many times they call and cry and can get no answer Lam. 3. 8 44 here they knock and bounce and yet the door of grace and mercy opens not to them but in Heaven they shall have mercy at the first word at the first knock there whatever heart can wish shall without delay be enjoyed here God seems to say sometimes souls you have mistaken the door or I am not at leasure or others must be served before you or come some other time c. But in Heaven God is alwaies at leasure and all the sweetness and blessedness and happiness of that state presents it self every hour to the soul there God hath never God will never say to any of his Saints in Heaven come to morrow such language the Saints sometimes hear here but such language is no waies suitable to a glorified condition and therefore seeing that the Lord never delaies his people but upon great and weighty accounts let his people bee silent before him let them not mutter nor murmure but be mute And so I have done with the Objections I shall come now in the last place to propound some helps and directions that may contribute to the silencing and stilling of your souls under the greatest afflictions the sharpest trials and the saddest providences that you meet with in this world and so close up this discourse First All the afflictions that come upon the Saints they are the Prov. 3. 12 Jer. 9. 7 fruits of divine love Rev. 3. 19. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten bee zealous therefore and repent Heb. 12. 6. For whom the Lord loveth hee chasteneth and scourgeth every Son whom hee receiveth Job 5. 17. Behold happy is the man whom God correcteth therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty ch 7. 17 18. What is man that thou shouldest magnifie him and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him And that thou shouldest visit him every morning and try him every moment Isa 48. 10. Behold I have refined thee but not with silver I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction When Munster lay sick and his friends asked him how hee did and how hee felt himself hee pointed to his sores and ulcers whereof hee was full and said these are Gods Gems and Jewels wherewith hee decketh his best friends and to mee they are more precious than all the gold and silver in the world A Gentleman highly prizes his Hawk hee feeds her with his own hand hee carries her upon his fist hee takes a great deal of delight and pleasure in her and therefore hee puts vervells upon her leggs and a hood upon her head hee hood-winks her and fetters her because hee loves her and takes delight in her So the Lord by afflictions hood-winks and fetters his children but all is because hee loves them and takes delight and pleasure in them there cannot be a greater evidence of Gods hatred and wrath than his Hos 4. 14. 19 Ezek. 16. 42 Isa 1. 5 Nihil est infaelicius ●o cui nil unquam contigit adversi Seneca refusing to correct men for their sinful courses and vanities why should you bee smitten any more you will revolt more and more where God refuses to correct there God resolves to destroy there is no man so near the Axe so near the flames so near Hell as hee whom God will not so much as spend a Rod upon God is most angry where hee shews no anger Jerome writing to a sick friend hath this expression I account it a part of unhappiness not to know adversity I judge you to bee miserable because you have not been miserable nothing saith another Demetrius seems more unhappy to mee than hee to whom no adversity hath hapned God afflicts thee O Christian in love and therefore Luther cries out strike Lord strike Lord and spare not who can seriously muse upon this and not hold his peace and not bee silent under the most smarting Rod Secondly Consider that the trials and troubles the calamities and miseries the crosses and losses that you meet with in this world is all the Hell that ever you shall have here you have your Hell hereafter you shall have your Heaven this is the worst of your condition the best is to come Lazarus had his Hell first his Heaven Luke 16. 19 29 last but Dives had his Heaven first and his Hell at last thou hast all thy pains and pangs and throws here that ever thou shalt have thy ease and rest and pleasure is to come here you have all your bitter your sweet is to come here you have your sorrows your joyes are to come here you have all your winter nights your summer daies are to come here you have your passion week your Ascension day is to come here you have your evil things your good things are to come death will put a period to all thy sins and to all thy sufferings and it will bee an inlet to those joyes delights and contents that shall never have end and therefore hold thy peace and be silent before the Lord. Thirdly Get an assurance that Christ is yours and pardon of sin See my Treatise called Heaven on Earth yours and divine favour yours and Heaven yours and the sense of this will exceedingly quiet and silence the soul under the sorest and the sharpest trials a Christian can meet with in this world hee that is assured that God is his portion wil never mutter nor murmure under his greatest burdens hee that can groundedly say nothing shall separate mee from the love of God in Christ hee will be able to triumph in the midst of the greatest Rom. 8. 33 ult Cant. 2. 16 tribulations hee that with the Spouse can say My Beloved is mine and I am his will bear up quietly and sweetly under the heaviest afflictions In the time of the Marian Act. Mon. Persecution there was a gracious woman who being convened before bloody Bonner then Bishop So John Noyes Alice Driver Mr. Bradford Mr. Taylor and Justin Martyr with many more of London upon the trial of Religion hee threatned her that hee would take away her husband from her saith shee Christ is my husband I will take away thy childe Christ saith shee is better to mee than ten Sons I will

strikes till wee come to see his majesty and authority till wee come Isa 26. 11 12 Rev. 1. 5. to see him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords It is such a sight of God as this that makes the heart to stoop under his Almighty hand The Thracians being Herod ignorant of the dignity and majesty of God when it thundred and lightned used to express their madness and folly in shooting their arrows against Heaven threatning-wise As a sight of his grace chears the soul so a sight of his greatness and glory silences the soul But Thirdly A gracious a prudent Silence takes in a holy quietnesse Animus cujusque est quisque the mind is the man and calmnesse of mind and spirit under the afflicting hand of God A gracious Silence shuts out all inward heats murmurings frettings quarrellings wranglings and boilings of heart Psal 62. 1. Truly my soul keepeth silence unto God or is silent or still that is my soul is quiet and submissive to God all murmurings and repineings passions and turbulent affections being allayed tamed and subdued This also is clear in the Text and in the former instances of Aaron Ely and Job they saw that it was a Father that put those bitter cups into their hands and love that laid those heavy crosses upon their shoulders and grace that put those yoaks about their necks and this caused much quietnesse and calmnesse in their spirits Marius bit in his pain when the Chirurgian cut off his legg 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 would finde 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 feaver within Such a feaverish fit David was once in Psal 39. 3. But certainly a holy Silence allaies all tumults in the mind and makes a man in patience Luke 21. 19. to possesse his own soul which next to his possession of God is the choicest and sweetest possession in all the world The Law of Silence is as well upon that mans 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 Isa 29. 13. Mat. 15. 8 9. from heart service is no service in the account of God so tonguesilence abstracted from heartsilence is no silence in the esteem of God A man is then graciously silent when all is quiet within and without Terpander a Harper and a Poet was one that by the sweetnesse of his verse and musick could allay the tumultuous motions of mens minds As David by his Harp did Sauls When Gods people are under the Rod hee makes by his spirit and word such sweet musick in their souls as allaies all tumultuous motions passions and perturbations Psal 94. 17 18 19. Psal 119. 49 50. so that they sit Noah-like quiet and still and in peace possesse their own souls Fourthly A prudent a holy Plato calls God the horn of plenty and the Ocean of beauty without the least spot of injustice Silence takes in an humble justifying clearing and acquitting of God of all blame rigour and injustice in all the afflictions hee brings upon us Psal 51. 4. That thou mayest bee justified when thou speakest and bee clear when thou judgest that is when thou correctest Gods judging his people is Gods correcting or chastening of his people 1 Cor. 11. 32. When wee are judged wee are chastened of the Lord. Davids great care when he was under the afflicting hand of God was to clear the Lord of injustice Ah Lord saith hee There is not the least shew spot stain blemish or mixture of injustice in all the afflictions thou hast brought upon mee I desire to take shame to my self 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 hath brought upon mee And so in that Psal 119. 75. 137. hee sweetly and readily subscribes unto the righteousness of God in those sharp and smart afflictions that God exercised him with I know O Lord that thy judgements are right and that thou in faithfulnesse hast afflicted mee Righteous art thou O Lord and upright are thy judgements Gods judgements are alwaies just hee never afflicts but in faithfulnesse 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 uncontroulable and therefore the afflicted man puts his mouth in the dust and keeps silence before him 2 Sam. 16. 10. Who dare say Wherefore hast thou done so The Turks when they are cruelly lashed are compelled to return to the judge that commanded it to kiss his hand give him thanks and pay the officer that whipped them and so clear the Judge and Officer of injustice Silently to kisse 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 witnesse that 1 Sam. 12. Daniel 9. 12 c. yet under those smart afflictions wisdome is justified of her children Neh. 9. 33. Thou art just in all that is brought upon us for thou hast done right but wee have done wickedly 1 Sam. 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 hee is good can give nothing nor do nothing but that which is good others do frequently hee cannot possibly saith Luther in Psal 120. Fifthly A holy Silence takes in gracious blessed soul-quieting Conclusions about the issue and event of those afflictions that are upon us Lam. 3. 27 34. In this choice Scripture you may observe these five soul-stilling Conclusions First And that more generally That they shall work for their good vers 27. It is good for a man that hee bear the yoak in his youth A gracious soul secretly concludes As stars shine brightest in the night so God will make my soul shine and glister like gold whilst I am in this furnace and when I come out of this furnace of affliction Job 23. 10. Hee knoweth the way that I take and when hee hath tried mee I shall come forth as gold Surely as the tasting of hony did open Jonathans eyes so this cross this affliction shall open mine eyes by this stroak I shall come to have a clearer sight of my sins and of my self and a fuller sight of my God Job 33. 27