words, 'I was dumb, and opened not my mouth.'
2. The action and carriage of David under the hand of God, in these
words, 'I was dumb, and opened not my mouth.'
3. The reason of this humble and sweet carriage of his, in these
words, 'because thou didst it.' The proposition is this:
Doct. That it is the great duty and concernment of gracious souls to
be mute and silent under the greatest afflictions, the saddest
providences, and sharpest trials that 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 doth include.
Thirdly, What this holy silence doth not include.
Fourthly, The reasons of the point; and then bring home all by way of
application to our own souls.
A Sevenfold Silence
I. For the first, What is the silence here meant? I answer, There is a
sevenfold silence.