A77618:125
The silent soul, with sovereign antidotes against the most miserable exigentsThe silent soul, with soveraign antidotes against the most miserable exigents
The silent soul, with sovereign antidotes against the most miserable exigents: or, A Christian with an olive-leaf in his mouth, when he is under the greatest afflictions, the sharpest and sorest trials and troubles, the saddest and darkest providences and changes, with answers to divers questions and objections that are of greatest importance, all tending to win and work souls to be still, quiet, calm and silent under all changes that have, or may pass upon them in this world, &c. / By Thomas Brooks preacher of the Word at Margarets New Fish-street London, and pastor of the Church of Christ meeting there.The silent soul, with soveraign antidotes against the most miserable exigents: or, A Christian with an olive-leaf in his mouth, when he is under the greatest afflictions, the sharpest and sorest trials and troubles, the saddest and darkest providences and changes, with answers to divers questions and objections that are of greatest importance, all tending to win and work souls to bee still, quiet, calm and silent under all changes that have, or may pass upon them in this world, &c. / By Thomas Brooks preacher of the Word at Margarets New Fish-street London, and pastor of the Church of Christ meeting there.
London: printed by R.I. for John Hancock, 1660
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Reas. 4. A fourth reason why the people of God should be mute and silent under their afflictions, is this, because it is ten thousand times a greater judgement and affliction to be given up to a fretful spirit, a froward spirit, a muttering or murmuring spirit under an affliction, than it is to be afflicted. This is both the Devils sin, and the Devils punishment. God is still afflicting, crossing, and vexing of him, and he is still a fretting, repining, vexing, and rising up against God; no sin to the Devils sin, no punishment to the Devils punishment. A man were better to have all the afflictions of all the afflicted throughout the world, at once upon him, than to be given ⟨p. 78⟩up to a froward spirit, to a muttering, murmuring heart under the least affliction. When thou seest a soul fretting, vexing, and stamping under the mighty hand of God, thou seest one of Satan's firstborn, one that resembles him to1 the life; no child can be so much like the Father, as this froward soul is like to the Father of lies; though he hath been in chains almost this six thousand years, yet he hath2 never lain still one day, nor one night, no not one hour in all this time, but is still a fretting, vexing, tossing and tumbling in his chains, like a princely Bedlam; •ee is a Lion, not a Lamb, a roaring Lion, not a sleepy Lion, not a Lion standing still, but a Lion going up and down; he is not satisfied with the prey he hath got, but is restless in his designs to fill hell with souls: He never wants an Apple for an Eve, nor a Grape for a Noah, nor a change of raiment for a Gehezi, nor a wedge of gold for an Achan, nor a Crown for an Absalom, ⟨p. 79⟩nor a bag for a Judas, nor a world for a Demas; if you look into one company, there you shall find Satan a dishing out his meat to every palate; if you look into another company, there you shall find him a fitting a last to every shoo; if you look into a third company, there you shall find him a suiting a garment to every back: he is under wrath; and cannot but be restless: Here with Jael, he allures poor souls in with milk, and murders them with a nail; there with Joa•, he embraces with one hand, and stabs with another;