sharpest trials, consider, That you have, deserved greater and heavier
all a godly man's crosses, losses, and changes: and why then should
he not sit mute and silent before the Lord? But,
3. Thirdly, Consider, That a holy silence is that excellent precious
grace, that lends a hand of support to every grace, Rom. 15:4. Silence
is custos, the keeper, of all other virtues; it lends a hand to faith, a
hand to hope, a hand to love, a hand to humility, a hand to self-
denial, &c. A holy silence hath its influences upon all other graces
that be in the soul; it causes the rosebuds of grace to blossom and
bud forth. Silence is virtus versata circa adversa, a grace that keeps a
man gracious in all conditions. In every condition silence is a
Christian's right hand; in prosperity, it bears the soul up under all
the envy, hatred, malice, and censures of the world; in adversity, it
bears the soul up under all the neglect, scorn, and contempt that a
Christian meets with in the world. It makes every bitter sweet, every
burden light, and every yoke easy. And this the very heathen seemed
to intimate in placing the image of Angeronia with the mouth bound,
upon the altar of Volupia, to shew that silence under sufferings was
the ready way to attain true comfort, and make every bitter sweet. No
man honours God, nor no man justifies God at so high a rate, as he
who lays his hand upon his mouth, when the rod of God is upon his
back. But,
4. Fourthly, To move you to silence under your sorest and your
sharpest trials, consider, That you have, deserved greater and heavier
afflictions than those you are under, Lam. 3:39; Micah 7:7–9. Hath
God taken away one mercy? Thou hast deserved to be stripped of all.