1 The heathen could say, A recta c<mscientia ne latum quidem vnguem discedendum, Man may not depart an hair's-breadth all his life; long from the dictates of a good conscience. [Seneca in Kpist. and De Vita Beita. -G.]
Ps. XXXIX. 9.] UNDER THE SMARTING ROD. 305
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. viii. 26, ' Be still ; and there was a great calm,' — so conscience lays a charge upon the soul to be quiet and still : Ps. xxvii. 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 com- plaining, 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 xix. 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.1 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 ever- lasting 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 xx. 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 1 Ps. xxvii. 8 ; James iv. 7 ; 1 Sam. iii. 18, xv. 25, 26 ; Acts xi. 1?., 14, &c.
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make a resignation of myself unto thee. 'Lord ! here I am, do with me as seem'eth 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 < *<>i 1, 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. xl. 1-3 ; Ps. lxii. 5, ' My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my ex- pectation is from him;' Lam. iii. 26, 'It is good that a man should both hope, and quietly (or as the Hebrew hath it, silently) wait for the sal- vation of the Lord.' The husbandman patiently waiteth for the pre- cious 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, J araes v. 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.
III. The third thing is, to discover what a holy, a prudent silence under affliction cloth not exclude. Now there are eight things that a holy patience doth not exclude.