3 Acts xii. 7-11 ; Dan. ix 20, 24 ; Isa. xxxviii. i ; xxx. 19.
334 THE MUTE CHRISTIAN [Ps. XXXIX. 9.
a new song into my mouth, even praise unto our God ; many shall see it and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.' And so when Absalom had made a great conspiracy against him, and his subjects fell off from him, and he was forced to flee for his life, his spirit was quiet and calm. 2 Sam. xv. 25, 26, ' And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark oft rod into the city : if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and shew me both it and his habitation. But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee ; behold, here am 1, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.' And the same calmness and quiet- ness of spirit was upon him when Shimei bitterly cursed him, and railed upon him, chap. xvi. 5-14 ; and within a few days, as you may see in the two following chapters, the conspirators are destroyed, and David's throne more firmly established. Mercy is always Dearest when a man can in quietness possess his own soul. Salvation is at hand when a Christian comes to lay his hand upon his mouth. Mercy will be upon the wing, loving-kindness will ride post to put a period to that man's troubles who sits silent in the day of his sorrows and sufferings. Ah, ( 'hristians ! as you would have mercy near, as you would see to the end of your afflictions, as you would have deliverance come flying upon the wings of the wind, sit mute and silent under all your troubles. As wine was then nearest when the water-pots were filled with water, even to the brim ; so when the heart is fullest of quietness and calmness, then is the wine of mercy, the wine of deliverance, nearest.
12. The twelfth and last motive to work you to silence under your greatest trials is this, seriously consider the heinous and da ngerous nature of murmuring. Now that you may, let me propose these fol- lowing particulars to your most sober consideration.
(1.) First, Consider that murmuring speaks out many a root of bit- terness to be strong in thy soul, Heb. iii. 12. Murmuring speaks out sin in its power, corruption upon its throne, Heb. xii. 1. As holy silence argues true grace, much grace, yea, grace in its strength and in its lively vigour, so murmuring, muttering under the hand of God, argues much sin, yea, a heart full of sin ; it speaks out a heart full of self-love, Exod. xv. 24? ; xvi. 7, 8 ; and full of slavish fears, Numb. xiii. 32, 33 ; xiv. 1-3 ; and full of ignorance, John vi. 41, 42 ; and full of pride and unbelief, Ps. cvi. 24, 25 ; ' yea, they despised the pleasant land,' or the land of desire, Ps. lxxvii. 19, 20 : there is their pride ; 'they believed not in his word': there is their unbelief;1 what follows? They murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of God. They were sick of the sullens, and preferred Egypt before Canaan, a wilderness before a paradise. As in the first chaos there were the seeds of all creatures, so in the murmurer's heart there is not only the seeds of all sin, but a lively operation of all sin. Sin is become mighty in the hearts of murmurers, and none but an almighty God can root it out. Those roots of bitterness have so spread and strengthened themselves in the hearts of murmurers, that everlasting strength must put in, or they will be undone for ever, Isa. xxvi. 4. But,
(2.) Secondly, consider, That the Holy Ghost hath set a brand of in- famy upon murmurers. He hath stigmatised them for up godly per- sons: Jude 15, 16, ' To execute judgment upon all, and to convince
1 Unbelief is virtually all sin.
PS. XXXIX. 9.] UNDER THE SMARTING ROD. 335
all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.' But who are these ungodly sinners ? ' They are murmurers, complaiuers, walking after their own lusts,' &c, ver. 16. When Christ comes to execute judgment upon ungodly ones, murmurers shall be set in the front, they shall experience the fierceness of his wrath and the greatness of his wrath. The front, you know, is first assaulted, and most strongly assaulted. Christ will bend all his power and strength against murmurers; his little finger shall be heavier upon them, than his loins shall be upon others, 1 Kings xii. 11, 14; other sinners shall be chastised with whips, but ungodly murmurers shall be chastised with scorpions. If you can joy in that black character of ungodly sinners, be murmurers still ; if not, cease from murmurings. Where murmuring is in its reign, in its dominion, there you may speak and write that person ungodly. Let murmurers make what profession they will of godliness, yet if murmuring keeps the throne in their hearts, Christ will deal with them at last as ungodly sinners. A man may be denominated ungodly, as well from his murmuring, if he lives under the dominion of it, as from his drunkenness, swearing, whoring, lying, steal- ing, &c. A murmurer is an ungodly man, he is an ungodlike man ; no man on earth more unlike to God than the murmurer ; and therefore no wonder if when Christ comes to execute judgment, he deals so severely and terribly with him. In the wars of Tamberlain,1 one having found a great pot of gold, that was hid in the earth, he brought it to Tamberlain, who asked whether it had his father's stamp upon it ? But when he saw that it had not his father's stamp, but the Roman stamp upon it, he would not own it, but cast it away. The Lord Jesus, when he shall come with all his saints to execute judgment, Oh ! he will not own murmurers ; nay, he will cast them away for ever, because the}' have not his Father's stamp upon them. Ah, souls ! souls ! as you would not go up and down this world with a badge of ungodliness upon you, take heed of murmuring.