An exposition with practical observations continued upon the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters…

There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying.] That is the last thing which the Text holds forth about this vision.

There was silence.] The Hebrew thus, Silence, and I heard a ¹voice, we supply, there was. The readings are various, yet the sense one. I heard the voice, as it were, of a gentle gale, I heard a gale and a voice, I heard a silent murmur. Our Translators put in the margin, I heard a still voice, which comes near to that, I heard a silent voice (by a usual figure) silence and a voice, for a voice of silence. If any should say, these two are so opposite, that they cannot be predicated or affirmed one of another. Silence is the direct contrary to a voice, therefore to say, there was a silent voice, seemeth to be a contradiction in the adjunct. I answer it is frequent to affirm contraries one of another, in an inferior & remiss degree. Though we cannot say light is dark, yet we may say, this is a dark light; that is, a glimmering, imperfect, obscure light, (Zech. 14. 6.) The day shall be neither clear nor dark, it shall be, as it were, a dark light. So a low voice, may well be called a silent voice; I heard a silent voice, that is▪ I heard a low or a still voice speaking to me. Thus it suits well with what he said, at the 12 Verse; Now a thing was secretly brought unto me. And we may further clear it by that ⟨p. 103⟩1 Kings 19. 12. where the expression is of the same importance; ²here we have silence and a voice, there, after the noise of a great wind and of an Earthquake, it is said that Elijah heard (as some render it) the voice of a subtle, fine, slender, attenuated silence, or as we translate, a still small voice, a sweet ravishing whisper, a voice without a sound. Hence we have a kind of music, which in our common language we call still music.