greatest afflictions, &c.,
4. Eight reasons why Christians must be mute and silent under their
greatest afflictions, &c.,
Use. This truth looks sourly upon five sorts of persons,
Six considerations to prevent men from using sinful shifts and
courses to deliver themselves out of their afflictions, &c.,
Twelve considerations to prevail with Christians to be mute and
silent under the sharpest afflictions that they meet with in this world,
&c.,
The heinous and dangerous nature of murmuring, discovered in
twelve particulars,
Obj. 1. Did I but know that my afflictions were in love, I would be
quiet, I would hold my peace, &c., answered eight ways,
Obj. 2. The Lord hath smitten me in my nearest and dearest comforts
and contentments, and how then can I hold my peace? Answered
twelve ways,
Obj. 3. Oh! but my afflictions, my troubles, have been long upon me,
and how can I hold my peace? Answered ten ways,
Obj. 4. I would be mute and silent under my afflictions, but they
daily multiply and increase upon me, &c., how then can I be silent?
Answered eight ways,
Obj. 5. My afflictions are very great, how then can I hold my peace?
&c. Answered six ways,
Obj. 6. Oh! but my afflictions are greater than other men's, &c., how
then can I be silent? Answered six ways,
Obj. 7. I would hold my peace, but my outward afflictions are
attended with sore temptations, &c., how then can I be silent?
Answered five ways; wherein eight advantages are discovered that
saints gain by their temptations,
Obj. 8. Oh! but God hath deserted me, he hath forsaken me, and hid
his face from me, &c., how can I then be silent? Answered six ways;
also eight advantages the saints gain by their being clouded,
Obj. 9. Oh! but I am falsely accused and sadly charged, and
reproached in my good name, &c., how then can I be silent?
Answered ten ways,
Obj. 10. I have sought the Lord in this my affliction for this and that
mercy, and still the Lord delays me, and puts me off, &c., how can I
then hold my peace? How can I be silent? &c. Answered six ways,
Quest. But what are the reasons that God doth so delay and put off
his people? Answered seven ways,
Directions. What are the means that may help persons to be silent
and quiet under their greatest afflictions, their sharpest trials? &c.
Answered from
THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY
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.
To all afflicted and distressed, dissatisfied, disquieted, and
discomposed Christians throughout the world.
"The Lord is in his Holy Temple—let all the earth keep silence
before him." Hab. 2.20.
DEAR HEARTS,—The choicest saints are 'born to troubles as the
sparks fly upwards,' Job 5:7. 'Many are the troubles of the righteous;'
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 cheer. But God, who is infinite in wisdom and
matchless in goodness, hath ordered troubles, yea, 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 thy afflictions are increased, the more
thy heart shall be raised heavenward.
Because I would not hold you too long in the porch, I shall only
endeavour 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
white that I have in my eye. The true reasons of my sending this
piece into the world, such as it is, are these:
I. First, The afflicting hand of God hath 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 honour 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 till he was
afflicted; the Christ-cross is no letter in the book, and yet, saith he, it
hath taught me 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
hath 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. Austin observes on that, Ps.
66:16, 'Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he
hath done for my soul.' 'He doth not call them,' saith 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. Lilmod
lelammed, we therefore learn that we may teach, is a proverb among
the Rabbins. And I do therefore 'lay in and lay up,' saith the heathen,
that I may draw forth again and lay out for the good of many. When
God hath 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 neighbours', yea, and for
strangers too.
Secondly, What is written is permanent; litera scripta manet, and
spreads itself further by far, for time, place, and persons, than the
voice can reach. The pen is an artificial tongue; it speaks as well to
absent as to present friends; it speaks to them afar off as well as
those that 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. 11:4. Though 'the prophets do not live for ever,' yet their labours
may, Zech. 1:6. A man's writings may preach when he cannot, when
he may not, and when, by reason of bodily distempers, he dares not;
yea, 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, saith, '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 wives of their bosoms,
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 or boulter,4 where the
good corn 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 or magazine for their souls, and
therefore they stand in the more need of a written word. But,
Fourthly, Its marvellous 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 fall of the leaf, 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, Isa. 28:25,—so every spiritual
husbandman must observe the fittest times to sow his spiritual seed
in. He hath 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 labours have found.
God hath 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 art thou, that darest
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 buckler 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 that is not
friendly is not worthy to have a friend, and he that hath a friend, and
doth not shew 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 ensigns in a battle make a
great noise and a fine show, but act nothing, so these counterfeit
friends will compliment highly, bow handsomely, speak plausibly,
and promise lustily, and yet have neither a hand nor heart to act
anything cordially or faithfully. From such friends it is a mercy to be
delivered, and therefore king Antigonus was wont 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 hath 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 hath not any authors or author come to my
hand, that hath 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 Thes. 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 visitation 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 world, 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
that 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 give 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, thy clothes cannot warm thee, nor thy food nourish
thee, nor physic cure thee, nor friends comfort thee, Micah 6:14; so
without a blessing from heaven, without the precious breathings and
influences of the Spirit, what here is done will do you no good, it will
not turn to your account in the day of Christ; and 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 Nilus, 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 Nilus; they only look
to the wit, the learning, the arts, the parts, the eloquence, &c., 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 that 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, saith Bernard, without
meditation, is dry and formal, and reading without meditation is
useless and unprofitable. He that 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 that 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! saith Austin, the more I
meditate on thee, the sweeter thou art 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.
Gerson calls meditation 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, placeth felicity in the
contemplation of the mind. You may read much and hear much, yet
without meditation you will never be excellent, you will never be
eminent Christians.
Thirdly, Read, and try what thou readest; take nothing upon trust,
but all upon trial, as those 'noble Bereans' did, Acts 17:10, 11. You will
try and tell 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 glisters, yet I judge that you will find
nothing here to glister, that will not be found upon trial to be true
gold.
Fourthly, Read and do, read and practise what you read, or else all
your reading will do you no good. He that hath a good book in his
hand, but not a lesson of it in his heart or life, is like that ass that
carrieth burdens, and feeds upon thistles. In divine account, a man
knows no more than he doth. 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 that
practiseth 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 practising 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, Ps. 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 do
believe? Where are those rules of godliness which they do 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 do 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 conversations they reproach our works; they cry up our labours
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.2
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. 30:15. The application is
easy. But,
Fifthly, Read and apply. Reading is but the drawing of the bow,
application is the hitting of the white. The choicest truths will no
further profit you than they are applied by you; you were as good not
to read, as not to apply what you read.4 No man attains to health by
reading of Galen, or knowing Hippocrates, his aphorisms, but by the
practical application of them; 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 that 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 that prays
over what he reads. Luther professeth 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 spent' 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 alway
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,
that 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 whilst I live, I may be serviceable to his
glory and his people's good; that no discouragements may discourage
me 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 labours
with my weak prayers, that they may contribute much to your
internal and eternal welfare, and so rest,
Your soul's servant in our dearest Lord,
THOMAS BROOKS
THE MUTE CHRISTIAN UNDER THE
SMARTING ROD
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.—Ps.
39:9
Not to trouble you with a tedious preface, wherein usually is a flood
of words, and but a drop of matter,