silence in the eye of God.
God and the saints that it was no more grievous. As the cudgel forces
the dog to be quiet and still, and the rod forces the child to be silent
and mute, so the apprehensions of what God hath done, and of what
God may do, forces many a soul to be silent, Jer. 3:10, 1 Kings 14:5–
18. But this is not the silence here meant: a forced silence is no
silence in the eye of God.
Sixthly, There is a despairing silence. A despairing soul is
Magormissabib, a terror to himself; he hath a hell in his heart, and
horror in his conscience. He looks upwards, and there he beholds
God frowning, and Christ bleeding; he looks inwards, and there he
finds conscience accusing and condemning of him; he looks on the
one side of him, and there he hears all his sins crying out, We are
thine, and we will follow thee; we will to the grave with thee, we will
to judgment with thee, and from judgment we will to hell with thee;
he looks on the other side of him, and there he sees infernal fiends in
fearful shapes, amazing and terrifying of him, and waiting to receive
his despairing soul as soon as she shall take her leave of his wretched
body; he looks above him, and there he sees the gates of heaven shut
against him; he looks beneath him, and there he sees hell gaping for
him; and under these sad sights, he is full of secret conclusions
against his own soul. There is mercy for others, saith the despairing
soul, but none for me; grace and favour for others, but none for me;
pardon and peace for others, but none for me; blessedness and
happiness for others, but none for me: there is no help, there is no
help, no, Jer. 2:25, 18:12. This seems to be his case who died with
this desperate saying in his mouth, Spes et fortuna valete, farewell,
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: Ps. 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. II.
What doth a prudent, a gracious, a holy
silence include?
Ans. 2. It includes and takes in these eight things:
First, It includes a sight of God, and an acknowledgment 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 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 be but the aching of the little
finger. As the scribe is more eyed and properly said to write, than the
pen; and he 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 workman is more eyed and properly said to effect his
works, rather than the tools which he 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 be eyed and
owned than any inferior or subordinate causes whatsover; so Job, he
beheld God in all: Job 1:21, 'The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken
away.' Had he not seen God in the affliction, he would have cried out:
Oh these wretched Chaldeans, they have plundered and spoiled me;
these wicked Sabeans, they have robbed and wronged me! Job
discerns God's commission in the Chaldeans' and the Sabeans'
hands, and then lays his own hand upon his mouth. So Aaron,
beholding the hand of God in the untimely death of his two sons,
holds his peace, Lev. 10:3. The sight of God in this sad stroke is a
bridle both to his mind and mouth, he neither mutters nor murmurs.
So Joseph saw the hand of God in his brethren's 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 feverish
fit, they will quickly be in a flame, and when their passions are up,
and their hearts on fire, they will begin to be saucy, and make no
bones of telling God to his teeth, that they do well to be angry, Jonah
4:8, 9. Such as will not acknowledge God to be the author of all their
afflictions, will be ready enough to fall in with that mad principle of
the Manichees, who maintained the devil to be the author of all
calamities; as if there could be 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 God's hand be 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, sovereignty, 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 be silent,' or as the Hebrew reads
it, 'Be silent, all the earth, before his face.' When God would have all
the people of the earth to be bushed, quiet, and silent before him, he
would have them to behold him in his temple, where he sits in state,
in majesty, and glory: Zeph. 1. 'Hold thy peace at the presence of the
Lord God.' Chat not, murmur not, repine not, quarrel not; whist,
stand mute, be 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 eyes of the Lord; and
therefore thou hast cause to stand mute before him.
Thus Aaron had an eye to the sovereignty of God, and that silences
him. And Job had an eye upon the majesty of God, and that stills
him. And Eli had an eye upon the authority and presence of God, and
that quiets him. A man never comes to humble himself, nor to be
silent under the hand of God, until he comes to see the hand of God
to be a mighty hand: 1 Pet. 5:6, 'Humble yourselves 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,' saith Pharaoh, 'that I should
obey his voice?' Exod. 5:2. And until Pharaoh came to see the hand of
God, as a mighty hand, and to feel it as a mighty hand, he would not
let Israel go. When Tiribazus, a noble Persian, was arrested, at first
he drew out his sword and defended himself; but when they charged
him in the king's name, and informed him that they came from the
king, and were commanded to bring him to the king, he yielded
willingly. So when afflictions arrest us, we shall murmur and
grumble, and struggle, and strive even to the death, before we shall
yield to that God that strikes, until we come to see his majesty and
authority, until we come to see him as the King of kings, and Lord of
lords, Isa. 26:11, 12. It is such a sight of God as this, that makes the
heart to stoop under his almighty hand, Rev. 1:5. The Thracians
being ignorant of the dignity and majesty of God; when it thundered
and lightened, used to express their madness and folly in shooting
their arrows against heaven threatening-wise. As a sight of his grace
cheers the soul, so a sight of his greatness and glory silences the
soul.2 But,
Thirdly, A gracious, a prudent silence, takes in a holy quietness and
calmness of mind and spirit, under the afflicting hand of God. A
gracious silence shuts out all inward heats, murmurings, frettings,
quarrelings, wranglings, and boilings of heart: Ps. 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 repinings,
passions and turbulent affections, being allayed, tamed, and
subdued. This also is clear in the text; and in the former instances of
Aaron, Eli, and Job. They saw that it was a Father that put those
bitter cups in their hands, and love that laid those heavy crosses
upon their shoulders, and grace that put those yokes about their
necks; and this caused much quietness and calmness in their spirits.
Marius bit in his pain when the chirurgeon cut off his leg. 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 will find 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 fever within. Such a feverish fit David
was once in, Ps. 39:3. But certainly a holy silence allays all tumults in
the mind, and makes a man 'in patience to possess his own soul,'
which, next to his possession of God, is the choicest and sweetest
possession in all the world, Luke 21:19. The law of silence is as well
upon that man's 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 from heart-service is no service in the account of
God; so tongue-silence abstracted from heart-silence is no silence in
the esteem of God. A man is then graciously silent when all is quiet
within and without, Isa. 29:13, Mat. 15:8, 9.
Terpander, a harper and a poet, was one that, by the sweetness of his
verse and music, could allay the tumultuous motions of men's minds,
as David by his harp did Saul's. When God's people are under the
rod, he makes by his Spirit and word such sweet music in their souls,
as allays all tumultuous motions, passions, and perturbations, Ps.
94:17–19, Ps. 119:49, 50, so that they sit, Noah-like, quiet and still;
and in peace possess their own souls.
Fourthly, A prudent, a holy silence, takes in an humble, justifying,
clearing and acquitting of God of all blame, rigour and injustice, in
all the afflictions he brings upon us; Ps. 51:4, 'That thou mayest be
justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest,' that is,
when thou correctest. God's judging his people is God's correctiug or
chastening of his people: 1 Cor. 11:32, 'When we are judged, we are
chastened of the Lord.' David's great care, when he was under the
afflicting hand of God, was to clear the Lord of injustice. Ah! Lord,
saith he, there is not the least show, spot, stain, blemish, or mixture
of injustice, in all the afflictions thou hast brought upon me; I desire
to take shame to myself, 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 me.' And so in that Psalm
119:75, 137, he 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 judgments are right, and that thou in
faithfulness hast afflicted me. Righteous art thou, O Lord, and
righteous are thy judgments.' God's judgments are always just; he
never afflicts but in faithfulness. 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
incontrollable, and therefore the afflicted man puts his mouth in the
dust, and keeps silence before him. Who dare say, 'Wherefore hast
thou done so?' 2 Sam. 16:10.
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 kiss 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; witness that 1
Sam. 12, and Dan. 9:12, &c. Yet under those smart afflictions,
wisdom is justified of her children: Neh. 9:33, 'Thou art just in all
that is brought upon us, for thou hast done right, but we have done
wickedly;' Lam. 1:18, '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 he is good, can give nothing, nor do nothing, but that which is
good; others do frequently, he cannot possibly, saith Luther, on Ps.
120th.
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.
(1.) First, and that more generally, That they shall work for their
good: ver. 27, 'It is good for a man that he bear the yoke 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 the furnace of affliction:
Job 23:10, 'He knoweth the way that I take; and when he hath tried
me, I shall come forth as gold.'
Surely, as the tasting of honey did open Jonathan's eyes, so this
cross, this affliction, shall open mine eyes; by this stroke I shall come
to have a clearer sight of my sins and of myself, and a fuller sight of
my God, Job 33:27, 28; 40:4, 5; 42:1–7.
Surely this affliction shall issue in the purging away of my dross, Isa.
1:25.
Surely as ploughing of the ground killeth the weeds, and harrowing
breaketh hard clods, so these afflictions shall kill my sins, and soften
my heart, Hosea 5:15, 6:1–3.
Surely as the plaster draws out the core, so the afflictions that are
upon me shall draw out the core of pride, the core of self-love, the
core of envy, the core of earthliness, the core of formality, the core of
hypocrisy, Ps. 119:67, 71.
Surely by these the Lord will crucify my heart more and more to the
world, and the world to my heart, Gal. 6:14; Ps. 131:1–3.
Surely by these afflictions the Lord will hide pride from my soul, Job
33:14–21.
Surely these afflictions are but the Lord's pruning-knives, by which
he will bleed my sins, and prune my heart, and make it more fertile
and fruitful; they are but the Lord's portion, by which he will clear
me, and rid me of those spiritual diseases and maladies, which are
most deadly and dangerous to my soul.
Affliction is such a potion, as will carry away all ill humours, better
than all the benedicta medicamenta, as physicians call them, Zech.
13:8, 9.
Surely these shall increase my spiritual experiences, Rom. 5:3, 4.
Surely by these I shall be made more partaker of God's holiness, Heb.
12:10. As black soap makes white clothes, so doth sharp afflictions
make holy hearts.
Surely by these God will communicate more of himself unto me,
Hosea 2:14.
Surely by these afflictions the Lord will draw out my heart more and
more to seek him, Isa. 26:16. Tatianus told the heathen Greeks, that
when they were sick, then they would send for their gods to be with
them, as Agamemnon did at the siege of Troy, send for his ten
councillors. Hosea 5:15, 'In their afflictions they will seek me early,'
or as the Hebrew hath it, 'they will morning me;' in times of
affliction, Christians will industriously, speedily, early seek unto the
Lord.
Surely by these trials and troubles the Lord will fix my soul more
than ever upon the great concernments of another world, John 14:1–
3; Rom. 8:17, 18; 2 Cor. 4:16–18.
Surely by these afflictions the Lord will work in me more tenderness
and compassion towards those that are afflicted, Heb. 10:34, 13:3. As
that Tyrian queen said,
Evils have taught me to bemoan,
All that afflictions make to groan.
The Romans punished one that was seen looking out at his window
with a crown of roses on his head, in a time of public calamity.
Bishop Bonner was full of guts, but empty of bowels; I am afraid this
age is full of such Bonners.
Surely these are but God's love-tokens: Rev. 3:19, 'As many as I love,
I rebuke and chasten.' Seneca persuaded his friend Polybius to bear
his affliction quietly, because he was the emperor's favourite, telling
him, that it was not lawful for him to complain whilst Cæsar was his
friend. So saith the holy Christian, O my soul! be quiet, be still; all is
in love, all is a fruit of divine favour. I see honey upon the top of
every twig, I see the rod is but a rosemary branch, I have sugar with
my gall, and wine with my worm wood; therefore be silent, O my
soul! and this general conclusion, that all should be for good, had
this blessed effect upon the church: Lam. 3:28, 'He sitteth alone, and
keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.'
Afflictions abase the loveliness of the world without, that might
entice us; it abates the lustiness of the flesh within, which might else
ensnare us! and it abates the spirit in its quarrel against the flesh and
the world; by all which it proves a mighty advantage unto us.
(2.) Secondly, They shall keep them humble and low: Lam. 3:29, 'He
putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope.' Some say,
that these words are an allusion to the manner of those that, having
been conquered and subdued, lay their necks down at the
conqueror's feet to be trampled upon, and so lick up the dust that is
under the conqueror's feet. Others of the learned looked upon the
words as an allusion to poor petitioners, who cast themselves down
at princes' feet, that they may draw forth their pity and compassion
towards them. As I have read of Aristippus, who fell on the ground
before Dionysius, and kissed his feet, when he presented a petition to
him; and being asked the reason, answered, Aures habet in pedibus,
he hath his ears in his feet. Take it which way you will, it holds forth
this to us, That holy hearts will be humble under the afflicting hand
of God. When God's rod is upon their backs, their mouths shall be in
the dust. A good heart will lie lowest, when the hand of God is lifted
highest, Job 42:1–7; Acts 9:1–8.
(3.) Thirdly, The third soul-quieting conclusion you have in Lam.
3:31, 'For the Lord will not cast off for ever;' the rod shall not always
lie upon the back of the righteous. 'At even-tide, lo there is trouble,
but afore morning it is gone,' Isa. 17:13. As Athanasius said to his
friends, when they came to bewail his misery and banishment,
Nubecula est, citò transibit; it is but a little cloud, said he, and it will
quickly be gone. There are none of God's afflicted ones, that have not
their lucida intervalla, their intermissions, respites, breathing-
whiles; yea, so small a while doth the hand of the Lord rest upon his
people, that Luther cannot get diminutives enough to extenuate it;
for he calls it a very little little cross that we bear: Isa. 26:20, 'Come,
my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about
thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment (or for a little space, a
little while), until the indignation be overpast.' The indignation doth
not transire, but pertransire, pass, but over-pass. The sharpness,
shortness, and suddenness of the saints' afflictions, is set forth by the
travail of a woman, John 16:21, which is sharp, short, and sudden.
(4.) Fourthly, The fourth soul-silencing conclusion you have in
Lamentations 3:32. 'But though he cause grief, yet will he have
compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies.' 'In wrath
God remembers mercy,' Hab. 3:2. 'Weeping may endure for a night,
but joy cometh in the morning,' Ps. 30:5. Their mourning shall last
but till morning. God will turn their winter's night into a summer's
day, their sighing into singing, their grief into gladness, their
mourning into music, their bitter into sweet, their wilderness into a
paradise. The life of a Christian is filled up with interchanges of
sickness and health, weakness and strength, want and wealth,
disgrace and honour, crosses and comforts, miseries and mercies,
joys and sorrows, mirth and mourning; all honey would harm us, all
wormwood would undo us; a composition of both is the best way in
the world to keep our souls in a healthy constitution. It is best and
most for the health of the soul that the south wind of mercy, and the
north wind of adversity, do both blow upon it; and though every
wind that blows shall blow good to the saints, yet certainly their sins
die most, and their graces thrive best, when they are under the
drying, nipping north wind of calamity, as well as under the warm,
cherishing south wind of mercy and prosperity.
(5.) Fifthly, The fifth soul-quieting conclusion you have in Lament.
3:33, 'For he doth not afflict willingly (or as the Hebrew hath it, 'from
his heart'), 'nor grieve the children of men.' The church concludes,
that God's heart was not in their afflictions, though his hand was. He
takes no delight to afflict his children; it goes against the hair and the
heart; it is a grief to him to be grievous to them, a pain to him to be
punishing of them, a death to him to be striking of them; he hath no
will, no motion, no inclination, no disposition, to that work of
afflicting of his people; and therefore he calls it his 'work, his strange
work,' Isa. 28:21. Mercy and punishment, they flow from God, as the
honey and the sting from the bee. The bee yieldeth honey of her own
nature, but she doth not sting but when she is provoked. He takes
delight in shewing of mercy, Micah 7:18; he takes no pleasure in
giving his people up to adversity, Hosea 11:8. Mercy and kindness
floweth from him freely, naturally; he is never severe, never harsh;
he never stings, he never terrifies us, but when he is sadly provoked
by us. God's hand sometimes may lie very hard upon his people,
when his heart, his bowels, at those very times may be yearning
towards his people, Jer. 31:18–20. No man can tell how the heart of
God stands by his hand; his hand of mercy may be open to those
against whom his heart is set, as you see in the rich poor fool, and
Dives, in the Gospel; and his hand of severity may lie hard upon
those on whom he hath set his heart, as you may see in Job and
Lazarus. And thus you see those gracious, blessed, soul-quieting
conclusions about the issue and event of afflictions, that a holy, a
prudent silence doth include.
Sixthly, A holy, a prudent silence includes and takes in a strict
charge, a solemn command, that conscience lays upon the soul to be
quiet and still. Ps. 37:7, 'Rest in the Lord' (or as the Hebrew hath it,
'be silent to the Lord'), 'and wait patiently for him.' I charge thee, O
my soul, not to mutter, nor to murmur; I command thee, O my soul,
to be dumb and silent under the afflicting hand of God. As Christ laid
a charge, a command, upon the boisterous winds and the roaring
raging seas,—Mat. 8:26, 'Be still; and there was a great calm,'—so
conscience lays a charge upon the soul to be quiet and still: Ps. 27:14,
'Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thy
heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.' Peace, O my soul! be still, leave your
muttering, leave your murmuring, leave your complaining, leave
your chafing and vexing, and lay your hand upon your mouth, and be
silent. Conscience allays and stills all the tumults and uproars that be
in the soul, by such like reasonings as the clerk of Ephesus stilled
that uproar: Acts 19:40, 'For we are in danger to be called in question
for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an
account of this concourse.' O my soul! be quiet, be silent, else thou
wilt one day be called in question for all those inward mutterings,
uproars, and passions that are in thee, seeing no sufficient cause can
be produced why you should murmur, quarrel, or wrangle, under the
righteous hand of God.
Seventhly, A holy, a prudent silence includes a surrendering, a
resigning up of ourselves to God, whilst we are under his afflicting
hand. The silent soul gives himself up to God. The secret language of
the soul is this: 'Lord, here am I; do with me what thou pleasest,
write upon me as thou pleasest: I give up myself to be at thy dispose.'
There was a good woman, who, when she was sick, being asked
whether she were willing to live or die, answered, 'Which God
pleaseth.' But, said one that stood by, 'If God should refer it to you,
which should you choose?' 'Truly,' said she, 'if God should refer it to
me, I would even refer it to him again.' This was a soul worth gold.
Well! saith a gracious soul, the ambitious man giveth himself up to
his honours, but I give up myself unto thee; the voluptuous man
gives himself up to his pleasures, but I give up myself to thee; the
covetous man gives himself up to his bags, but I give up myself to
thee; the wanton gives himself up to his minion, but I give up myself
to thee; the drunkard gives himself up to his cups, but I give up
myself to thee; the papist gives up himself to his idols, but I give
myself to thee; the Turk gives up himself to his Mahomet, but I give
up myself to thee; the heretic gives up himself to his heretical
opinions, but I give up myself to thee. Lord! lay what burden thou
wilt upon me, only let thy everlasting arms be under me [Luther].
Strike, Lord, strike, and spare not, for I am lain down in thy will, I
have learned to say amen to thy amen; thou hast a greater interest in
me than I have in myself, and therefore I give up myself unto thee,
and am willing to be at thy dispose, and am ready to receive what
impression thou shalt stamp upon me. O blessed Lord! hast thou not
again and again said unto me, as once the king of Israel said to the
king of Syria, 'I am thine, and all that I have,' 1 Kings 20:4. I am
thine, O soul! to save thee; my mercy is thine to pardon thee; my
blood is thine to cleanse thee; my merits are thine to justify thee; my
righteousness is thine to clothe thee; my Spirit is thine to lead thee;
my grace is thine to enrich thee; and my glory is thine to reward
thee; and therefore, saith a gracious soul, I cannot but make a
resignation of myself unto thee. 'Lord! here I am, do with me as
seemeth good in thine own eyes.' I know the best way to have my
own will, is to resign up myself to thy will, and to say amen to thy
amen.
I have read of a gentleman, who, meeting with a shepherd in a misty
morning, asked him what weather it would be? It will be, saith the
shepherd, what weather pleaseth me; and being courteously
requested to express his meaning, Sir, saith he, it shall be what
weather pleaseth God, and what weather pleaseth God pleaseth me.
When a Christian's will is moulded into the will of God, he is sure to
have his will. But,
Eighthly and lastly, A holy, a prudent silence, takes in a patient
waiting upon the Lord under our afflictions until deliverance comes:
Ps. 40:1–3; Ps. 62:5, 'My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my
expectation is from him;' Lam. 3:26, 'It is good that a man should
both hope, and quietly (or as the Hebrew hath it, silently) wait for
the salvation of the Lord.' The husbandman patiently waiteth for the
precious fruits of the earth, the mariner patiently waiteth for wind
and tide, and so doth the watchman for the dawning of the day; and
so doth the silent soul in the night of adversity, patiently wait for the
dawning of the day of mercy, James 5:7, 8. The mercies of God are
not styled the swift, but the sure mercies of David, and therefore a
gracious soul waits patiently for them. And thus you see what a
gracious, a prudent silence doth include.
Quest III.
What a prudent, a holy silence under
affliction doth not exclude,
shewed in eight things
III. The third thing is, to discover what a holy, a prudent silence
under affliction doth not exclude. Now there are eight things that a
holy patience doth not exclude.