do nothing but mutter and murmur under the afflicting hand of God.
not worthy! It speaks out much of God within, when men are striving
to write after the fairest copies. And thus much for the reasons of the
point. I come now to the application.
V. You see, beloved, by what hath been said, that it is the greatest
duty and concernment of Christians to be mute and silent under the
greatest afflictions, the saddest providences, and the sharpest trials
that they meet with in this world. If this be so, then this truth looks
sourly and wistly upon several sorts of persons. As,
Use. This truth looks sourly upon five
sorts of persons,
1. First, This looks sourly and sadly upon murmurers, upon such as
do nothing but mutter and murmur under the afflicting hand of God.
This was Israel's sin of old, and this is England's sin this day. Ah!
what murmuring is there against God, what murmuring against
instruments, and what murmuring against providences, is to be
found amongst us! Some murmur at what they have lost, others
murmur at what they fear they shall lose; some murmur that they are
no higher, others murmur because they are so low; some murmur
because such a party rules, and others mutter because themselves are
not in the saddle; some murmur because their mercies are not so
great as others' are; some murmur because their mercies are not so
many as others' are; some murmur because they are afflicted, and
others murmur because such and such are not afflicted as well as