Part 10
' content to loſe a ſon everyday.' Owhat a ſweet exchange hadhe made! Surelyhe hadgold for braſs, a pearl for a pebble, a treaſure for a trifle ; for fo great, yea, and far greater is the diſproportion betwixt the
fweet light ofGod's countenance, and the faint, dim light of the best creature-enjoyment.
Would itpleaſe theLord to make this fun arife and ſhine uponyou, now when the ſtars that ſhined with adim and bor. - rowed light are gone down, you would fee ſuch gain bythe
exchange, as would quickly makeyou caſt inyour votes with himwenowmentioned, andſay, Lord, let everydaybe fuch
as this funeral day; let all myhours be as this, ſothat I may fee and taſte what I now do. Howgladly would I part with the dearest, and nearest creature-comfort I own in this world. The gracious and tender Lord hath his divine cordials refervedon purpoſe for ſuch fad hours ; theſe are ſometimes given before ſome ſharp trial, toprepare for it, and fometimes after,
toſupportunder it.
Ihave often heard it from the mouth, andfound it inthe diaryofafweet Chriſtian nowwithGod, that a little before the Lord removedherdearhusbandbydeath,therewas ſuch ana-
272 AToken for Mournets.. bundant outletofthe loveofGoduntoherfoul, forſeveraldays
andnights following, thatwhenthe Lord took away ayherhus bandbydeath, though he was agracious and ſweet tempered (and by hermoſt tenderlybeloved) husband ; ſhe was fcarce
ſenſible ofthe ſtroke,butcarried quite above allearthly things, their comforts, and their troubles: fo that she had almoſt loft thethoughts ofher dear husband in God. And had notthe Lord taken this courſe with her, the concluded that blow had
notbeen poffibleto be borne by her, ſhe must have ſunkwithout fuch apreparative. Ahusband, awife, a child, are great, verygreat things, as they ſtandby othercreatures; but furelythey willfeem little things, and next tonothing, when the Lord ſhall ſet himſelf bythem beforethefoul.
Andhowknowyou,butGodhathbidden theſe earthly comforts ſtand aſide this day, tomake way for heavenly ones ? It may be,God is coming tocommunicatehimſelfmore ſweetly, moreſenſiblythan ever to your fouls; and theſe are thepro-
videnceswhich mustcaſtup, and prepare the wayofthe Lord. PoſſiblyGod's meaning intheirdeath is but this ; child, ſtand aſide, thou art in myway,and filleftmyplace in thy parent's heart.
Confideration 14. Becarefulyou exceed not in yourgrieffor theloss of earthly things, confidering that Satan takes thead-
vantage of all extremes.
You cannottouch any extreme, butyou will be touchedby that enemy, whoſe greatest advantages lie in affaulting you here.
Satan is called, The ruler of the darkness ofthis world, Eph . vi. 12. (i e.) his kingdom is ſupported by darkneſs. Now, thereis a twofold darkneſs, which givesSatan great advantage; thedarkneſs ofthe mind, viz. ignorance ; and the darkness of the condition, viz. trouble and affliction. Of the former the apostle ſpeaks chiefly in that text; butthe latter alſo is by himoften improved, tocarry onhis deſigns upon us. When it isadark hour oftrouble with us, then is his fitteſt ſeaſon to tempt.
Thatcowardly ſpirit falls uponthepeopleofGod,whenthey aredown and low in ſpirit, as well as ſtate. Satan would never have defired that the hand of God ſhould have been ſtretched outupon Job's perſon, estate, and children, but that hepromised himself a notable advantage therein, topoiſon his
ſpirit with vile thoughts of God. " Dothis (faithhe) and "hewillcurſethee to thy face."
A Token for Mourners. 273 What the Pfalmiſt obſerves of natural, is as true ofmetaphoricaldarkness, Pfal. civ. 20. " Thou makeſt darkneſs, and " it is night, wherein all thebeasts of the foreftdo creep forth,
" the young lions roar after theirprey." When it is darknightwith men, itisnoon-daywith Satan ; i. e. our fuffering time is his buſieſt working-time; manyadifmal ſuggeſtion he thenplants, and grafts uponyour affliction, whicharemuch moredangerous to us than the affliction itſelf.
Sometimes he injects deſponding thoughts into the afflicted foul; "Then ſaid I, Iam cut offfrombefore thine eyes," Pfal. xxxi. 22. and Lam. iii. 18, 19. " My hope is periſhed from " the Lord, remembring my affliction, and my miſery, the "wormwood andthe gall."
Sometimes he ſuggeſts bardthoughts ofGod. Ruth i. 20. " The Lord hath dealt very bitterly with me." Yea, that he hathdealt more ſeverely with us, than any other, Lam. i. 12.
"Seeandbehold, if there be any forrow like unto my forrow, "which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted "me in thedayofhis fierce anger."
Andfometimes murmuring and repining thoughts againſt theLord; the foul is diſpleaſed at the hand ofGod upon it. Jonahwas angry at the hand ofGod, and said, " Ido well to " be angry, even unto death," Jonah iv. 9. What diſmal thoughts are theſe ? and how much more afflictive to a gracious foul, than the lofs ofany outward enjoyment inthis world.
And ſometimes very irreligious, and atheistical thoughts, as if there were no privilege to be had by religion, and all our pains, zeal, andcare about duty, were littlebetter than loft labour, Pfal. lxxiii. 13, 14. " Verily I have cleanſed myheart "invain, andwashed my hands in innocency ; for all theday "long Ihave been plagued, and chaſtened every morning."
Bytheſe things Satan gets no ſmalladvantage upon the afflictedChriſtian; for albeittheſe thoughts are his burden, and Godwill not imputethemtothe condemnation ofhis people ; yetthey rob the foul of peace, and hinder it from duty, and
make it act uncomely under affliction, to the ſtumbling and hardening of others in their fin : bewaretherefore, leftby your exceſſes of forrow ye give place to the devil ; we are not ignorantof his devices.
Confideration 15. Give no way to exceſſive forrows upon the account of affliction, if ye have any regard tothehonour of God, and religion, which willhereby be exposed to reproach.
Ifyou flight yourownhonour, do not flight the honourof
VOL. VIL Mm
274 A Token for Mourners. God, and religion too; takeheedhowyou carry itin adayof
trouble; many eyes areuponyou. It is a true obſervation that alateworthy * author hathmadeupon this cafe : What will the Atheist, and what will the profane ſcoffer ſay, when • theyſhall ſee this ? So fottiſh and malicious they are, that if ⚫theydo but ſeeyou in affliction, they are ſtraightway ſcorn- • fullydemanding, Where is yourGod ? •Butwhatwouldthey ſay, ifthey ſhouldhearyouyourſelves • unbelievingly cry out, Where is ourGod ? Will they not • beready to cry, this is the religiontheymake ſuch boast of, • which you ſee how little itdoes forthem in adayofextremity : they talk ofpromiſes, rich and precious promiſes ; but ' where are they now ? Or to what purpoſe do they ſerve! • They faid they had atreaſure in heaven; what ails them to mourn ſo, then, if their riches are there ?" Obeware what you do beforethe world ; theyhave eyes to ſeewhat you can do, as well as ears tohear what you can fay : and as long as your carriage under trouble is ſo much like their own, they will never think your principles are better
than theirs. Carnal worldlings will bedrawnto think, that whatever fine talk you might have aboutGod, and heaven,
your hearts were moſt upon the fame things that theirs were,
finceyour grieffor their removal is as great as theirs.
They know by experience what a ſtay it is to the heart, to have an able, faithful friend todepend upon,or tohavehopesof
a great eftate ſhortlytofall tothem; andthey willneverbeperfuaded you have anyfuch ground ofcomfort, if they feeyou
as much caſt down as theythat pretendto no ſuchmatter.
Bythis means the precepts of Chrift to conſtancy and con. tentment inall eſtates, will cometobe lookedupon (likethoſe oftheſtoics) only as magnifica verba, brave words ; but fuch as are impoffible to be practifed ; andthe whole of the gofpel willbe taken for an airy notion, ſince theythat profeſs great-
eſt regard to it, are no morehelpedthereby. O what a shameis it that religionſhould, inthis cafe,make no more difference betwixt man and man ! wherefore ſhew to theworld (whatever their common cenſuresare) that it is not ſomuch yourcare to differ fromthem inſome opinions, and
a little ſtrictneſs, as in humility, meekneſs, contempt of the world, andheavenly-mindedness ; andnow lettheſe gracesdifplaythemſelves byyour chearful, patientdeportmentunderall
your grievances .
* M. M. hisappendix toSolomon'sprescription,p. 122.
ATokenfor Mourners. 275 * Wherefore hathGod planted thoſe excellent graces in your fouls ? but that he mightbe glorified, andyoubenefitedby the exerciſes ofthem in tribulation : ſhouldtheſebe fuppreffed and hid, and nothingbutthepride, paſſion, andumortified earthlineſs ofyour hearts ſet on work, and discovered intime of trouble, what a ſlur, what a wound willyou give to the glorious name which is called upon byyou? And then if your hearts be truly gracious, that willpierce you deeper than ever your affliction, which occafioned it, did.
Ibeſeech you, therefore, betender ofthe name ofGod, if youwillnotbe ſo of your own peace and comfort.
Confid. 16. Bequiet, and hold your peace, you little know howmany mercies lie in thewomb of this affliction.
Great are thebenefits of a ſharp, rouzing affliction to the people ofGod at ſometimes, and all might have them at all times, were they more carefulto improve them. Holy David thankfullyacknowledgeth, Pfal. cxix. 71. " It isgood for me " that I have been afflicted."
And furely there isas much good in them for you, as for him; ifthe Lordſanctifythem to ſuch ends, and uſes, as his were ſanctified unto.
Sucha ſmarting rod as this,came not before therewas need enough of it, and poſſibly you saw the need ofſome awakeningprovidence yourſelves ; butif not, the Lord did : he took notupthe rod to ſmite you, till his faithfulneſs, and tender love to your fouls, called uponhim to correct you.
You now fit penſive under the rod,ſadlylamenting anddeploring the loſs of fome earthly comfort ; your heart is furchargedwith forrow, your eyes rundown upon every menti- - on, and remembrance ofyour dear friend : why, ifthere were
nomore, thisalone maydiſcoverthe need youhad ofthis rod ; for dothnot all this ſorrow at parting plainlyſpeakhow much yourheart was ſetupon,howfaſt yourheartwas glewed to this earthlycomfort ?
Nowyou fee that your affections were funk manydegrees deeper into the creature, than you are aware of : and what ſhouldGoddo in this cafeby you ? Shouldhe ſuffer you to cleave to the creature, more and more ? Should he permit it topurloin, and exhaust your love and delight, and ſteal away
your heart from himself? This he could notdo, andlove you. Themore impatient you are, under this affliction, themore
need youhad ofit.
Andwhatifbythis ſtrokethe Lordwillawaken your drowzy Mm2
276 ATokenfor Mourners. foul, andrecoveryou out ofthat pleaſant,butdangerous ſpi ritual ſlumberyou were fallen into, whilſt you had pillowed yourhead upon this pleaſant, ſenſible creature-enjoyment ? Is notthis reallybetter for you, than ifhe ſhould fay, Sleep on: he isjoined to idols,lethimalone; he is departing from me, the fountain, to a broken ciſtern ; lethim go.
Yea, what ifby this ſtrokeupon oneofthepleaſanteſtthings youhad in this world, God will diſcover toyou, more ſenſibly
and effectuallythan ever,the vanityboth of that andall earthly comforts, ſo as that you shall from henceforth never let forth
yourheart, your hope, your love, and delight to any ofthem, asyou didbefore ? You couldtalkbefore of the creatures va. nity, butIqueſtion whether ever you had to clear, and convin cing a fight of its vanity, as you have this day: and is notthis aconfiderable mercyinyour eyes ?
Now, if ever God is weaning you from all fond opinions, and vain expectations from this world; by this yourjudgment ofthe creatures is rectified, and your affections to all other enjoyments on earth moderated: and is this nothing ? O doubt
leſs it is agreater mercy to you, than to haveyour friend alive again. Andwhat ifby this rodyourwandering, gadding heart ſhall be whipped home to God? your neglected duties revived ? your decayed communion with God restored ? a ſpiritual, heavenly frame of heart recovered ? What will you ſay then? •Surelyyou willbleſs that mercifulhandwhich removedthe obſtructions, and adore the Divine wisdom, and goodneſs,that
byſuch a device as this recovered you to himself. Nowyou can pray more conſtantly, more ſpiritually, more affectionately thanbefore, O bleffed rod, which buds and bloſſoms with
ſuch fruits as theſe ! Letthisbe written among your best mercies, for you ſhall have cauſe to adore andbleſs God eternally for this beneficial affliction.
Confideration 17. Suffer not yourselves to be transported by impatience, and swallowed up of grief, because God bath exercised you under a smart rod; for, as fmartingas it is, it is comparatively a gentle stroke to what others, as good as yourselves, have felt.
Your dear relation is dead ; be it fo, here is buta ſingle death before you, but others have ſeenmanydeaths contrived
intooneupontheir relations, towhich yours is nothing.
Zedekiah faw his children murdered before his eyes, and
thenhadthoſe eyes (alas ! too late) put out. The fulfilling Theworthyauthor ofthatexcellent bookbe
A Token for Mourners. 277 fore-mentioned, tells us ofa choice, and godly of the Scripgentlewoman in the north of Ireland, who, tures. whenthe rebellion broke out there, fled with
three children, one of them upon the breast; they hadnot gone far beforetheywere stripped naked by the Irish, who, to their admiration, ſparedtheirlives, (it is like,concluding that coldandhunger would kill them) afterwards goingon at the
foot of a river which runs to Locheach, others met them, and wouldhave caftthem into the river; but this godly woman,
notdiſmayed, aſked a little libertyto pray, and as the laynakedon the frozenground,got reſolution nottogoonher own
feet, to ſo unjust adeath, uponwhich having called her, and therefuſing, was dragged by the heels along that ruggedway, tobe caſtin with her little ones, and company.
But ſhe then turned, and onher knees ſays, You ſhould, I am fure, be Chriſtians, and men I fee you are, intaking awayour miferable lives, youdo us a pleaſure ; butknow, that aswe neverwronged you nor yours, you must remember to die alſo yourſelves, and one day give an account ofthis cruel-
ty, to theJudgeofheaven and earth. Hereupon they refolved notto murderthem with their own hands, but turned them all nakedupon a ſmallislandinthe river, without anyprovifion, theretoperiſh.
The next day, the two boys having crept aſide, found the hideof abeast which had been killed, at the root of a tree, which the mother caſt overthem lying uponthe ſnow. The next dayalittle boat goes by, unto whom the calls for God's faketotake them in, but they being Irish,refuſed ; the defired a little bread, but they said theyhad none; then the begs a coal of fire, which ſhe obtained ; and thus, with fome fallen chips, made a little fire, and the children taking a piece of thehide laid it on the coals, and began to gnaw the leather ; butwithoutanextraordinaryDivine ſupport,what couldthis do?
Thus they livedtendays,withoutany viſible meansofhelp, having nobread, but ice and fnow, nor drink, exceptwater.
The twoboys being near ſtarved, ſhe preſſedthem to go out of herfight, notbeing able to fee theirdeath ; yetGoddelivered themas miraculouſly at last, ashe had fupportedthem allthat while.
Butjudge whether anaturaldeath, inanordinary way be comparable to fuch a trial as this ; and yet thus the Lorddid
bythis choice and eminently graciouswoman. AndMr. Wall, in his None-but-Chrift, relates as fad a paf-
-278 ATokenfor Mourners. fage of a poor family inGermany, whowere drivenunto that extremityin the famine,that at lastthe parents made a motion
one to the other to fell one of the children for bread to ſuſtain themselves, and the reft; but when they came to confider which child it ſhould be, their hearts ſo relented, and yerned upon every one, that they reſolved rather all todie together. Yea, we read in Lam. iv. 10. " The hands of the pitiful wo- " men have fodden their own children."
But why ſpeak I of theſe extremities ? How many parents, yea,ſomegodlyones too,have lived toſeetheir childrendying
inprophaneneſs, and ſome by the hand of justice, lamenting their rebellions with arope about their necks. Ah! reader, little doſt thouknow what ſtings there are in the afflictions of others ! ſurelyyou have no reaſon to thinkthe Lord hath dealt more bitterly with you than any. It is a gentle ſtroke, a mercifuldiſpenſation,ifyou compare itwithwhat others have felt.
Confideration 18. IfGod be your God, you have really left nothing by the removal of any creature-comfort.
God is the fountain of all true comfort ; creatures, the very beſt and fweeteft, are but ciſterns to receive, and convey to us whatcomfortGod is pleaſed to communicate tothem ; and if
the ciſtern be broken, or the pipe cut off,ſothat no morecomførtcanbe conveyed to us thatway, he hath other ways and mediums to do itby, which we think notof; and ifhepleaſe hecanconveyhis comforts to hispeople without anyofthem: And it he do it more immediately, we shall be no loſers by that; for no comforts in the world are ſo delectable, and ra-
viſhingly ſweet, as thoſe that flow immediately from the fountain.
And it is the ſenſuality ofourhearts that cauſes us to affect them ſo inordinately, and grieve for the loss of them ſo immoderately, as ifwe had notenough inGod,without theſe creature-fupplements.
Is the fulness ofthe fountainyours ? And yet do you caſt downyourſelves, becauſe the broken ciſtern is removed ? The best creatures are no better,Jer. ii. 13. Cisterns have nothing but what they receive, and broken ones cannot hold what is put into them. Why thendoyou mourn, as ifyour life were bound up in the creature ? You have as free an acceſs to the
fountain as you had before. It is the advice of anHeathen, (and letthemtakethecomfort of it) to repair, by a new earth-
lycomfort, whatwe have lost in the former.
AToken for Mourners. 279
"Thou hast carried forth him whom thou lovedſt, (faith * " Seneca) feek one whom thou mayeſt love in his ſtead: It is
better to repair, than to bemoan thy lofs." But ifGod never repair your loſs,in things ofthe ſame kind, youknow he can abundantly repair it in himself. Ah ! Chriſtian, is not one kiſs ofhis month, one glimpse of his countenance, one ſeal ofhis Spirit, a more ſweet and fub-
ſtantial comfort, than the ſweetest relation in this world can afford you ? Ifthe ſtream fail, repair to the fountain, there is enough ftill ; God is where he was, and what hewas, though the creature be not.
Confideration 19. Though you may want a little comfort in your life, yet furely itmay be recompensed to you by a more eafy death.
The removal ofyour friends beforeyou, may turn to your great advantage, whenyour hour iscomethatyou must follow them. O how have manygood fouls been clogged, and enſnared, in their dyinghour,by the loves, cares, and fears they havehad about thoſethey must leave behindthem in a finful, evilworld!
Your love to them might have proved a ſnare to you, and cauſed you to hang back, as loath to go hence ; for theſe are the things that make men loath to die. And thus it might have been with you, exceptGod had removed them before-
hand, or ſhould giveyou in that day ſuch fights ofheaven, and taſtes ofdivine love, as ſhould master, and mortify all your
earthly affections totheſe things.
I knew a gracious perſon, now in heaven, who for many weeks in her laſt fickness, complained that ſhe found it hard to
part with a dear relation, andthatthere was nothing proved a greater clog to her foul, than this : It is much more eaſyto
think of going to our friends, who are in heaven beforeus, thanofparting withthem, and leaving our defirable anddear
ones behind us.
Andwho knows what cares, and distracting thoughts you maythen bepeſtered and diſtracted with, upon their account ? Whatshallbecome oftheſe, when I am gone ? I am now to
leavethem, God knows to what wants, miſeries, temptations, and afflictions in the midstofa deceitful, defiling, dangerous world.
I know it is ourduty to leave our fatherless children, and
* Quem amabas extulifti, quære quem ames : Satius eftamicum repararequamfere. Senec, Epift. p. 637 .
280 Token for Mourners. friendleſs relations, with God; to trust them with him that gavethem to us: And fome have been enabled chearfully to do ſo when theywere partingfromthem. * Luther could fay, • Lord, thou haftgivenme awifeand children, I have little to ◄leave them ; nourish, teach,and keep them ; O thou Father
* ofthe fatherless, and Judge ofthe widow.' But every Chriſtianhath not a Luther's faith ; ſome find it a hard thing to diſentangle their affections at ſuch atime: But now, ifGod
has fent all yours before you, you have ſomuchthe leſs todo; deathmaybe easier to you than others.
Confideration 20. But ifnothing that hathbeenyetfaid will Stick with you, then, lastly, remember that you are near that state, and place, which admits no forrows, norfad reflections,
upon any fuch accounts as these.
Yet a little while, and you ſhall not miss them, you ſhall not needthem, but you ſhall live as the angels ofGod: We now live partlyby faith, partly by ſenſe, partly uponGod, and partlyuponthe creature ; our ſtate is mixed,therefore our comforts are ſo too. But whenGod shallbe all in all, and we ſhall be as the angels ofGod in the way and manner of our living; how much willthe cafe be altered with us then, from what it is now ?
Angels neither marry, nor are given in marriage, neither ſhall the children of the refurrection ; when the days of our
finning are ended, the days of our mourning ſhall be fo too. Nograves were opened till fin entered, and no more ſhall be
openedwhen fin is excluded.
Our glorified relations ſhall live with us for ever ; they ſhal complainnomore, die no more; yea, this is the happiness of
that ſtate towhich you are paffing on, that your fouls being in thenearestconjunction withGod,the fountainofjoy, you ſhall haveno concernment out ofhim. You shall not be put upon theſeexerciſes ofpatience, nor ſubjected to ſuch forrows as you now feel, any more. It is but a little while, and the endof all theſe things will come. O therefore bear up, as perſons
that expect ſuch a day of jubilee at hand.
Andthus Ihave finiſhedthe ſecond general head ofthis difcourſe,which is a diſſuaſive from the finofimmoderate ſorrow.
3. I now proceed to the third thing propoſed, namely, to remove the pleas and excuſes for this immoderate grief. It is natural to men, yea, to good men, to justify their exceffes, or at least to extenuate them, by pleading for their paffions,
*MelchiorAdam, inthe life ofLuther.
A Token for Mourners. 281 as iftheywantednotcaute, andreaſon enough toexcuſe them. Iftheſe be fullyanſwered, and the foul once convinced, and left without apology for its fin, it is then inafairway for its cure, which is the last thing deſigned in this treatiſe.
Mypreſent buſineſs, therefore, is, to fatisfy thoſe objections, and anſwer thoſe reaſons which are commonly pleaded inthis cafe, to justify our exceſſive grief for loſt relations. And thơ 1Chall carry it in that line of relationtowhich the text directs, yet itis equally applicable to all others.
Plea 1. You preſs me, bymanygreat confiderations tomeekneſs, andquiet fubmiffion under this heavy ſtroke of God ; but you little knowwhat ſtings my foul feelsnow in it.
This childwas achildof many prayers, itwas aSamuel begged of the Lord, and I concluded, when I had it, that it broughtwith it the returns, and anſwers of many prayers. But nowIfee itwas nothing lefs; Godhad no regard tomy prayer
about it, nor was itgiven me inthatſpecialwayof mercy, as I - imagined ittobe : My child is not onlydead, butmyprayers - in the fame day ſhut out, and denied.
Anfwer 1. That you prayed for your children before you had them, was your duty ; and if you prayed not for them fubmiſſively, referring it to the pleaſure of God to give, or deny
them, to continue, or remove them, as ſhould feem good to him, that was your fin : You oughtnot to limitthe HolyOne of Ifrael, not preſcribe to him, or capitulate with him, forwhat termyou ſhall enjoy your outward comforts : If you did ſo, it was your evil, andGod hath juſtly rebuked it by this ſtroke.
Ifyou did prayconditionally, and fubmiffively referring both the mercyasked, andcontinuance of it to the willofGod, as you ought todo; then there is nothing in thedeath of your child, that croffes the true ſcope andintentinyour prayer. Answer 2 Your prayers may be answered, though the thing prayed forbe with-held, yea, or though it ſhouldbe given for
alittle while, and ſnatched away from you again. There are four ways of God's anſwering prayers ; by giving the thing prayed for preſently, Dan ix 23. orby ſuſpending the answer /
for a time, andgiving it afterwards, Luke xviii. 7 or by withholding from you that mercy which you ask. and giving you amuchbetter mercy inthe roomof it, Deut. iii. 24. comparedwith Deut. xxxiv. 4, 5. Or, laſtly, bygiving you patience to bear the lofs, or want of it, 2 Cor xii. 9.
Now, if the Lordhave takenawayyour child, or friend, and VOL. VII. Nn
282 A Token for Mourners. in lieu thereof givenyoua meek, quiet, fubmiſſive heart to his will, you need not ſayhe hath ſhut out your cry.
Plea 2. But I have lost a lovely, obliging, and moſt endearing child, one thatwas beautiful, and ſweet; it is a ſtony heart that would not diſſolve into tears for the loss ofone ſodefireable, ſo engaging as this was : Ah ! itisnocommon lofs.
Answer 1. The more lovely, and engaging, your relation was, the more excellent will your patience, and contentment with thewill of God, in its death, be; the more lovelineſs, the more ſelf-denial, the more grace. Had it been a thousand times more endearingly ſweet than it was, itwas not too good to deny for God. If therefore obedience tothe will of Goddo indeed maſter natural affections, and that you look upon pa tience and contentment as much more beautiful than the ſweet-
eſt, and moſt deſireable enjoyment on earth, it may turn to you for a teſtimony of the truth and ſtrength of grace : that you can, like Abraham, part with a child whom you ſo dear-
ly love, in obedience tothe will of your God, whom you love infinitelymore .
Anfwer 2. The loveliness andbeauty of our children, and relations, though it must be acknowledged a good gift from the
hand of God ; yet it is but a common gift, and oftentimes becomes a ſnare, and is, in its own nature, but a tranſitory, vaniſhing thing, and therefore no ſuch great aggravation of the
loſs as is pretended.
Iſay, it is but a common gift ; Eliab, Adonijah, andAbſalom, had as lovelypreſences as any in their generation. Yea, itisnot only common to the wicked, with the godly, but to
brute animals, as well as men, and to moſt that excel in it, it becomes a temptation; the ſouls of ſomehadbeen more beautiful and lovely, if their bodies hadbeen leſs ſo. Besides, it is but a flower which nourishes in its month, and then fades. This therefore ſhould not be reflected on as ſo great a circum-
ſtance to aggravate your trouble .
Anfwer 3. But ifyour relation ſleep in Jeſus, he will appear tenthousand times more lovely inthe morning of the refurrection, than ever he was in the world. What is the exacteſt, pureſt beauty of mortals, to the incomparable beauty of the faintsin the refurrection ? "Then ſhall the righteous ſhine forth " as the fun, in thekingdom of their Father," Matth xiii. 43. 'In this hope you part with them, therefore act fuitably to your
hopes.
Plea 3.Oh! but mychild was nipped offbydeath in the verybud ; I didbut fee, andlove, and part: Had I enjoyedit
AToken for Mourners. 283 longer, and had time to fuck out the ſweetneſs of ſuch an enjoyment, I could have borne it eaſier ; but its months or years with me were ſo few, that they only ſerved to raiſe an expectation which was quickly, and therefore the more ſadlydiſappointed.
Answer 1. Did your friend die young, or was the bond of _ any other relation diſſolved almoſt as foon as
made ? Let not this ſeem ſo intolerable a Vide Mr. Baxter's Epistle to the Life of Mr.
load to you ; for if you have ground to hope theydied in Chriſt, then they lived
John Faneway.
longenough in this world. It is truly faid, he hath failed long enough, that hath won the harbour ; he hath fought long enough that hath obtained
the victory ; he hath runlong enough that hath touched the goal; and he hath lived long enough uponearth, thathathwon
heaven, be hisdays here never ſo few.
Answer 2. The fooner your relation died, the leſs ſinhath beencommitted, and the leſs ſorrow felt : What can you fee in this worldbut fin, or forrow ? A quick paſſage through itto glory, is a ſpecial privilege. Surely the world is not ſo defireable a place, that Chriſtians ſhould defire an hour's time longer in it for themſelves, or theirs, than ferves to fit them for a better.
: Answer 3. Andwhereas you imagine thepartingwould have been eafier, iftheenjoymenthadbeen longer, it is a fond, and groundleſs ſuſpicion: The longer you had enjoyed them, the
ſtronger would the endearments have been. A young, and tender plant, maybe easilydrawn up by a ſingle hand; but when ithath ſpread, and fixed its root many years in the earth,
it will require many a ſtrong blow, and hard tug to root it up. Affections, like thoſe under-ground roots, are fixed and ſtrengthenedbynothing morethan confuetude, and long poffefſion; it is much eafier partingnow, than itwould be hereafter, whatever you think. However, this ſhould fatisfy you, that God's time isthe beſt time.
Plea 4. O but I have loſt all in one, it ismyonlyone, I have none left in its room to repair the breach, and make up the
lofs: IfGod hadgiven me other children to take comfort in,
the lofs had not been ſo great; but to loſe all at one ſtroke, is inſupportable.
Answer 1. Religion allows not unto Chriſtians a liberty of expreffing thedeath of theirdear relations by ſo hard a word as Nn2
284 AToken for Mourners. the loss of them is; they are not loft, but ſent before you : And it is a shameful thing for a Chriſtian to be reproved for
fuch an uncomely expreſſion by a heathen ; it isenough tomake us blush to read what an heathen ſaid in this cafe †, ' Never • ſay thou hast loſt any thing (faith Epictetus) but that it isre *turned Is thy fon dead ? He is only reſtored. Is thy inheritance taken from thee ? It is alſo returned ' And a while after he adds, Ει τέτο θεοις Φιλον τέτο γενέσθω, i. e. Let every ⚫thingbe as the gods would have it.'
Answer 2. It is no fit expreſſion to ſayyou have lostall in one, except that one be Chriſt; and he being once yours, can
never be loft. Doubtless, your meaning is, you have lost all your comfort of that kind ; andwhat though you have ? Are there not multitudes of comforts yet remaining, of a higher kind, and more precious anddurable nature? If youhaveno more of that fort, yet ſo long as you havebetter, what cauſe haveyou to rejoice !
Answer 3. You too much imitate the way of the world in this complaint ; they know not how to repair the lofs of one
comfort, but by another of the ſame nature, which must be putin its room to fillup the vacancy : Buthave you no other way to fupply your loſs ? Have you not aGod to fill the place of any creature that leaves you ? Surely thiswouldbetter
become a manwhoſe portion is in this life, than one that pro feſſesGod is his all in all.
Plea 5. Obutmy only one isnot onlytaken away, but there remains no expectation, or probability of any more : Imust now look upon myself as a dry tree, never to take comfort in
children any more, which is a cutting thought.
Answer : Suppoſe what you ſay, that you have no hope, nor expectation of another child remaining toyou ; yet if you have ahopeof better thingsthan children, you have no reaſon tobe caſtdown: BleſsGod for higher and better hopes than theſe. In Ifa. Ivi. 4, 5. the Lord comforts themthathaveno expectations of ſons or daughters, with this ; " That hewill " give unto them in his houſe, and within his walls, a place, "andanamebetter than ofſons and daughters; evenanever- " laſting name that ſhall not be cut off" There are better mercies, and higher hopes than theſe ; though your hopes of children, or from children, ſhouldbe cutoff, yet if your eter pal hopes are ſecure, and ſuch as ſhall not make you ashamed, you ſhould notbe ſo caſtdown.
*Nonamittunturfedpraemittuntur. †Epift.Enchirid. cap. 15.
AToken for Mourners. 285
Answer2. IfGod will not have your comforts to lie any more in children then reſolve to place them in himself, and you thall never find cauſe to complain of lofs by ſuch an exchange: You will find that inGod which is not to be had in the creature ; one hour's communion with him, ſhall give you thatwhich the happiest parent never yet had from his children ; you will exchange braſs for gold, periſhing vanity, for folid and * abiding excellency.
Plea6. But the ſuddenneſs of the ſtroke is amazing, God gave little or no warning to prepare for this trial : Death executedits commiffionas foon as it opened it. Mydearhusband, wife, or child, was ſnatched unexpectedly out of my arms, by
a furprizing ſtroke; and this makes my ſtroke heavierthanmy
complaint. : Answer 1. That the death of your relation was ſo ſudden andſurprizing, was much your own fault, who ought tohave lived inthe daily ſenſe of its vanity, and expectation of your
ſeparation from it ; you knew it to be adying comfort in its beſt eſtate, and it is no ſuch wonderful thing toſee thatdead, which you knew before to be dying: Besides, you heard the changes ringing about you inother families ; you frequently
ſawother parents, huſbands, and wives, carrying forth their dead; and what were all theſe but warnings given you topre-
pare for the like trials ?
Surely, then, it was your own ſecurityand regardleſsneſs that made this affliction ſo ſurprizing toyou ; andwhois tobe blamed for that, you know.
Answer 2. Thereis muchdifferencebetwixtthe ſuddendeath of infants, and that of grown perſons ; the latter may have
much work todo; many fins actually to repent of, and many evidences of their intereſt in Chriſt to examine and clear, inorder totheir more comfortabledeath; and ſoſuddendeath may
be deprecatedby them.
Butthe cafe of infants, who exerciſe not their reaſon, is far different ; they have no ſuchwork todo, but are purely paſſive : Allthat isdone in order to their ſalvation, isdone byGod im-
mediately upon them, ſo it comes all to one, whether their deathbemore quick, or more flow.
Answer 3 You complain of the ſuddenneſs of the ſtroke: but another will be ready to ſay, had my friend died in that
manner, my affliction hadbeennothing to what now it is ; I haveſeenmany deaths contrived into one; Isawthe gradual
approaches of itupon mydear relation, who felt every thread of deathas itcameon towardhim,whooftencriedwithJob, chap.
286 A Token for Mourners.
iii . ver. 21, 22. " Wherefore is light giventohim that is inmi-
ſery, and life tothebitter in ſoul ? Whichlong fordeath, but " it cometh not, anddig for it more than for hid treaſures :
" Which rejoice exceedingly, and are gladwhen theycan find " the grave."
That which you reckon the ſting of your affliction, others would have reckoned a favour and privilege. How many tender
parents, and other relations, who loved their friends as dearly as yourſelves, have been forced to their knees, upon no other errandbut this, to beg the Lord to haften the ſeparation, and put an end to that forrow, which to them was much greater
than the forrow for the dead.
Plea 7. You preſs me to moderation of forrows, and I know Iought to ſhew it; but you do not know how the caſe ſtands withme, there is a ſting in this affliction, that none feels but
myſelf; and, O ! how intolerable is itnow ! I neglected proper means in ſeaſon to preſerve life, or miſcarried in the use of means. I now fee ſuch a neglect, or ſuch a miſtake about the means, as I cannot but judge greatly to contribute to that ſad
lofs which I now, too late, lament.
Omy negligence, O my raſhneſs, and inconfiderateneſs ! how doth myconfcience now ſmite me for my folly ! and by this ag-
gravatemyburden beyond what is usually felt by others. Had I ſeaſonably applied myself to the use of proper means, and kept ſtrictly to fuch courſes and counſels as thoſe that are able and skilful might have preſcribed, I might now have had a liv ing husband, wife, or child : whereas I am now not only be reaved, but am apt to think I have bereaved myself of them. Surely there is no forrow like unto my forrow.
Answer 1. Though it be an evil to neglect, and flight the means ordained byGod for recovery of health, yet it is noleſs evil to aſcribe too much to them, or rely too much on them : the beſt means in the world are weak and ineffectual, without God's aſſiſtance and concurrence, and they never have that his
affiftanceor concurrence, when his time iscome; andthat it was
fullycome inyour friend's cafe, is manifeſted now by the event. So that ifyour friend had had the moſt excellent helps the world affords, they would have availed nothing. This confideration takesplace only in your cafe, who fee what the will of God is bythe iffue, and may not be pleaded by any whilft it remains dubiousanduncertain, as it generallydoth in time of fickneſs.
Answer 2. Doyou not unjustly charge, and blame yourſelves for that which is not really your fault, or neglect ! How far you are chargeable in this cafe, willbeſt appear by comparing
ATokenfor Mourners. 287
the circumstances you are now in, with thoſe you were inwhen your relation was only arreſted by ſickness ; and it was dubious toyou what was your duty, and beſt courſe to take.
Poſſibly you had obſerved ſo many toperiſh in phyſicians hands, and ſomany to recover without them, that you judged
it fafer for your friend to be without thoſe means, than tobe hazarded by them.
Or, if divers methods and courſes were preſcribed, and perfuaded to, and you now ſee your error, in preferring thatwhich was moſt improper, and neglecting what was more ſafe, and
probable: yet as longas itdid not ſoappeartoyour underſtanding at that time, but you followed the beſt light you had toguide you at that time, itwere moſt unjust tocharge the fault upon yourſelves, for chuſing that courſe that then ſeemed beſt toyou, whether it were ſo in itſelf, or not.
To be angry with yourſelves for doing, oromitting whatwas thendone, or ommitted, according toyour beſt diſcretion, and judgment, becauſe you now fee it by the light of the event, far
otherwife than youdid before ; it is to be troubled that you are but men, or that you arenot asGod,who only can forſee iſſues, and events ; and that you acted as all rational creatures are bound todo, according to the light they have, at the time and
ſeaſon of action .
Answer 3. Toconclude, Times of great affliction are ordinarilytimes of great temptation, and it is uſual with Satan then to charge us with more fins than we are guiltyof, and alſo make thoſe things tobe ſins, which, upon impartial examination, will not be found to be fo.
Indeed, had your neglect or miſcarriage beenknownorvoluntary, or had you really preferred a little money (being able togive it) before the life of your relation, anddiddeliberately chuſe to hazard this, rather than part with that ; no doubt,
then, but there had been much evil of fin mixed with your af-
fliction ; andyour confciencemayjuſtlyſmiteyou for it, as your fin; but in the other cafe, which is more common, and I prefume yours; it is a falſe charge, and you ought not toabet the deſign of Satan in it.
Judge by the forrowyou now feel byyour friend, in what degree he was dear to you, and what you could now willingly give toranſomhis life if itcould be done with money. Judge,
I fay, by this. how groundless the charge is that Satan now draws up against you, and you are but too ready to yield to the truthof it.
Plea 8. But my troubles are uponahigherſcore, and account;
288 A Token for Mourners. my child or friend is paſſed intoeternity, and I know not how it is with his foul : were I ſure myrelation were with Chrift, I ſhould be quiet; but my fears of the contrary are overwhelming; O it is terrible tothink of thedamnation of one todear tome.
Answer 1. Admitwhat the objection ſuppoſes, thatyouhave real grounds to fear the eternal condition of yourdear relation; yet it is utterly unbeſeeming you, even in ſuch a cafe as this, to diſputewith, orrepineagainst the Lord
Ido confeſs it isafore andheavytrial, and that there is no cauſe more ſad, and ſinking to the ſpirit of a gracious perfon: their death is but a trifle to this; but yet if you be fuchas feat the Lord, methinks his indiſputable ſovereigntyover them, and his diftinguiſhing love and mercyto you, ſhould at least filence you inthis matter.
First, His indiſputable ſovereignty over them, Rom. ix. 20. " Whoart thou,Oman, who diſputeſt withGod ?" He speaks
inthe mattersofeternalelection, andreprobation. What if the Lordwill not be gracious to thoſethat areſodear tous ? Is there anywrong done to them or us thereby ? Aaron's two fonswere cut off in the act of fin, by the Lord's immediate hand, andyet he held his peace, Lev. x. 3. God told Abra
ham plainly, that the covenant ſhould not be eſtabliſhed with Ishmael, for whom he ſo earnestly prayed, O let Ishmael live before thee! andhe knew that there was no falvation out of the covenant, and yet he ſitsdown filentunder the word ofthe Lord.
Secondly, But if thisdo not quiet you, yet methinks his diftinguiſhing love and mercy to you ſhould do it. Owhatdo
you owe toGod, that rootand branchhath not been caſt toge ther into the fire ! that the Lord had given you goodhope,
through grace that it ſhallbe wellwithyou for ever. Letthis ſtopyour mouth, and quiet your ſpirit, though you would havegrounds for this fear.
Answer 2. But prayexamine the groundsofyour fear, whe ther itmay not proceedfromthe ſtrength of your affections to
theeternal welfare of your friend, or from the fubtilty ofSatan, deſigninghereby to overwhelm and ſwallow youup in ſuppoſed,
as well as from juſt grounds and cauſes ? Intwo caſes it isvery probable your fearmayproceedonly from your ownaffection, orSatan's temptation.
First, If your relationdiedyoung, before itdidanything to deſtroy your hopes . Or, Secondly, If grown, andin fomegooddegreehopeful; only
A Token for Mourners. 289 hedidnotinlife, oratdeath, manifeft, and give evidence of grace, with that clearness as you defired. Asto the care of infants in general, it is none of our concernto judgetheir condition ; andas for those that ſprang from covenanted parents, it becomes us to exercife charity towards them; the fcripture ſpeaks very favourably of them.
Andas for themore adult, who have efcaped the pollutions of the world, and made confcience of fin and duty, albeit they never manifeſted what you coulddefire they had; yet inthem,
as in youngAbijah, " may be foundfome good things towards ** the Lord," which you never took notice of. Reverence of yourauthority, bashfulness, and thame-facedneſs, reſervedneſs ofdifpofition, and many other things, may hide thoſe ſmall
andweak beginnings of grace that are in children, fromtheobfervations of the parents God might fee that inthem thatyou never faw; he deſpiſeth notthe day of ſmall things .
However it be, it is now out of your reach ; your concernmentrather is toimprove the affliction toyour own good, than judge and determine their condition, which belongs not to you but toGod.
Plea 9. O but I have finned in this relation, and God hathpunishedmy fin in diffolving it. O, faith one, my heart was let toomuch upon it, I even idolized it, that was my fin :
and, faith another, I wanted due affections, anddid not love my relation, at leaſt not ſo ſpiritually as I ought; that was my
fin. NowGod is viſiting me for all the neglects and defects thathath been in me towards iny relation.
Anfwer 1. There is noman ſo thoroughly fanctified, asnot to fail, andcome ſhort inmany things pertaining to his relative duties and to ſpeak, as the thing is, the corruptions of the holieſt perfons are as muchdiscoveredinthis, asanyotherthing whatfoever; and it is a very common thing for confcience, not
onlyto charge theſe failures uponus, but to aggravate them to theutmoſt whenGod hath made the ſeparation. So that this is nomore than what is usual, and verycommon, with perſons in your cafe.
Answer 2. Admit that which the objection ſuppoſes, that Godhad afflicted you for your fin, and removed that comfort
from you, which you idolized, and too much doted on; vet thereis no reasonyou shouldbe fo caſt down under your affiction: For all this may be, and probably is the fruit of his love
to, and care of your foul, Rev. iii. 19. He tells the afflicted, for theircomfort, "Whom I love, Irebuke and chaften." How
VOL. VII.
290 A Token for Mourners.
much better is it tohave an idolized enjoyment takenfrom you,
in mercy, than if God ſhould fayconcerning you, as he did of Ephraim, Hofea iv. 17. " He is joined to idols, let himalone." O it is better for you that your Father now reckons with you for your follies withthe rod in his hand, than to ſay ashe doth tofome, let them goon, I will not hinder them in, or rebuke them for their ſinful courſes ; but will reckon with them for all together in hell at laſt .
Answer 3. Andas to what you now charge upon yourſelf, thatthe neglect of duty did ſpring from the want of love to
your relation ; your forrow at parting may evidence that your relation was rooted deep in your affection ; but ifyour love was not ſo ſpiritual and pure, to loveand enjoy them inGod; that was undoubtedly your fin, and is the fin ofmoſtChriſtians, for which both you, and all others, ought to be humbled.
Plea 10. God hath bleffed me with an eſtate, and outward comforts inthe world, which I reckoned tohave left to my po ſterity; and now I have none to leave it with, nor have I any comfort tothink of it; the purpoſes of my heart are broken off, and thecomfort of all my other enjoyments blaſtedby this
ſtroke in an hour. Howare the pains and cares of many years periſhed.
Answer 1. How many are there in the world, yea, of our own acquaintance, whomGod hath either denied, or deprived both of the comforts of children and eſtates too ? If he have left you thoſe outward comforts, you ought to acknowledge his goodness therein, and not to flight theſe becauſe he hath de
prived you of the other.
Answer 2. Though your children are gone, yet God hath many children left in the world, whoſe bowels you may refreſh with whathe hath beſtowed upon you ; and your charity to
them willdoubtleſs turn toa more confiderable account, than if you had left a large eftate to your ownpoſterity.
Surely we are not ſentinto this world toheap upgreat eſtates for our children : and if youhave beentooeager in thisdeſign, you maynow readGod's juſt rebuke of your folly. Bless God you have yet an opportunity to ſerve him eminently by your
charity, and God deny you other executors, let your own hands be your executors, to diſtribute to the neceffity of the
faints, that the bleſſings of them that are ready to periſh may come upon you .
Plea 11. O but the remembranceof its wittywords, and pretty actions, is wounding.
Answer 1. Let it rather lift up your hearts toGod in praife,
A Token for Mourners. 291
that gave you ſo defirable a child, than fill your heart with diſcontent athis hand inremoving it. How many parents are there in the world, whoſe childrenGod hath deprived of reaſon and underſtanding, ſo that they only differ from the beasts in external ſhape and figure ? And how many thew betimes fo perverſe a temper, that little comfort can be expected from them.
Answer 2. Theſe are but ſmall circumſtances, and trivial things in themselves ; butby theſe little things Satan manages a great deſign against your foul, to deject or exaſperate it : And
furely this is not your buſineſs at this time; you have greater things than the words and actions of children to mind; to ſearch out God's ends in the affliction, to mortify the corruption it is ſenttorebuke, toquiet yourhearts inthewillofGod; this is your work.
Plea 12. Lastly, It is objected, ObutGod hides his face from me in my affliction ; it is dark within, as well as without, and this makes mycafe moredeplorable, greatly afflicted, and EX ſadlydeferted.
Answer 1. Though you wantat preſent ſenſiblecomfort, yet you have reaſon to be thankful for gracious ſupports. Though the light of God's countenance ſhine not upon you, yet you find the everlasting arms are underneath you ; the care of God
worketh for you, whenthe confolations ofGod are withdrawn from you.
Answer 2. TohaveGodhidehisfaceinthe time of trouble, is no new or unusual thing ; God's dearest ſaints, yea, his own Son, hath experienced it, who in the deeps of inward and outward trouble, when wave called untowave, felt not thoſe ſweet, * ſenſible influences of comfort from God, which had always filledhis foul formerly. If Chriſt cry in extremity, " MyGod, " myGod, why haſt thou forſaken me !" Then fure we need not wonder, as if ſome ſtrange thing hadhappened tous.
Answer 3. May not your ſubmiſſive carriage under the rod provokeGod to hide his face from you. Pray conſider it well, nothing is more probable than for this to be the cauſe of God's withdrawment from you. Could you, in meekneſs and quietneſs, receive that cup your Fatherhath givenyou to drink : acceptthe punishment of your iniquities ; ſay, Good is the word
of the Lord, It isthe Lord, let him do what he will : You would foon findthe cafe altered with you ; but the comforting
fpirit finds no delight, or reſt, ina turbulent and tumultuous breaft.
292 AToken for Mourners. Andthus Ihave fatisfied the moſt confiderable pleasurged, in justificationof our exceffes
4. Icome now to the last thing propoſed namelythe means of curing and preventing theſe finful exceſſes of forrow for the death of our dear relations .
And although much hath been ſaid already to diffuade from this evil, and I have enlarged already much beyond my firſt in tention ; yet I shall caſt in ſome farther heip and aſſiſtancetowards the healing of this diſtemper, by preſcribing the following
rules :
Rule 1. Ifyou would not mourn exceſſively for the loss of creature-comforts, then beware that you let not yourdelight and love exceffively, or inordinately, upon them, whilst you do enjoy them.
Strong affections make ſtrong afflictions ; the higher the tide, the lower theebb. According to the meaſure of our delight in the enjoyment, is our grief in the loss of theſe things. The apoſtleknits theſe two graces, temperance and patience, toge ther, in the precept, 2 Pet. i. 16. and it is veryobfervable how
intemperance and impatience are inſeparably linked in experi ence, yea, the experience of the beſt men You read, Gen. xxxvii. 3. " Now Ifrael lovedJoſeph more than all his children, " because he was the fon ofhis old age; and madehim a coat " of many colours ."
Thiswas the darling; Jacob's heart was ſo exceedingly fet uponhim, his very life was bound up in the life of the lad. Now when the ſuppoſeddeath of his child was brought tohim, how did he carry it ? See ver. 34, 35. " And Jacob rent his " clothes, and put fackcloth upon his loins ; and mourned for " his ſon manydays : And all his fons, and all hisdaughters, "roſeup to comfort him, but he refuſedtobe comforted. And " he ſaid, for I will go down into the grave to myfon mourn *" ing. Thus his father wept for him." Here, as in a glaſs, are the effects ofexceſſive love toa child repreſented : Here you may fee what work immoderate lovewill make, even in a fanctified heart. O therefore let your moderation be known to all men, in your delights and forrows about earthly things ; for ordinarily the proportion of the one is anſwerable to the other.
Rule 2. Ifyou wouldnot be overwhelmed with grief for the lofs of your relations, be exact and careful in difcharging your duties tothem while you have them
The teftimony of your confcience, that you have laboured in all things todiſchargethe duties you owed to yourrelations,
A Token for Mourners. 293
whilfttheywerewithyou, will prove an excellentallay toyour
forrows for them when they are no longeryours. It isnot fo much the ſingle affliction, as the guilt charged uponus intimes of affliction, that makes our load toheavy. Owhata terrible thing is ittolook uponourdead friends, whilst confcience isaccuſingandupbraidingus for our dutiesneglected, and fuch or fuch fins committed ? O you little think how dreadful a ſpectacle this will make the dead body of thy
friend to thee !
Conſcience, if notquite ſtupid ordead, will speak atfuch a time. O therefore, as ever you would provide for a comfortable parting at death, or meet again atjudgment ; be exact, punctual, and circumſpect, inall your relative duties.
Rule 3. If you would not be overwhelmed by trouble for the lofs of dear relations, then turn to God under your trouble, and pour out your forrows, by prayer, into his bosom.
This will eaſe and allay your troubles. Bleſſed beGod for the ordinanceof prayer ; how much are all the faints beholden to it, at alltimes, but eſpecially inheart-ſinking and diſtreſsful times It is fome relief, when in diſtreſs, wecanpour out our trouble into the boſom of awife, or faithful friend; how much more when we leave our complaint before the gracious, wife, and faithfulGod ? I told you before of that holy man, whohaving loft bis dear and only fon, got to his clofet, there
poured out his ſoul freely tothe Lord, and when he camedown tohis friends, that were waiting below tocomfort him, and fearinghow he wouldbear that ſtroke, he came from hisduty with a chearful countenance, telling them he would be content.
to bury a fon, if it were poſſible, every day, provided he might enjoy fuch comfort as his foul hadfoundinthat private hour.
Gothy way, Chriſtian, tothyGod, get thee tothyknees in the cloudyand dark day ; retire from all creatures, that thou mayeſt have thy fall liberty with thyGod, and there pour out
thy heart before him, in free, full, and broken-hearted confeffions of fin: Judge thyself worthy of hell, as well asof this trouble: justifyGod in all his finarteſt ſtrokes ; beg him, in this diſtreſs , to put underthee everlasting arms; intreat one
ſmile, one gracious look, to enlighten thy darkness, and chear thy drooping ſpirit. Say, with the prophet, Jer. xvii. 17. " Be thou not a terror to me, thou art my hope in theday of
" evil." And trywhat relief fuch a courte will afford thee. Surely, if thyheart be fincere inthiscourſe, thou ſhaltbe able
to ſay with that holy man, Piaim xciv. 29. " In the multitude
294 AToken for Mourners. " of mythoughts which I had within me, thy comforts have "delighted my soul."
Rule 4. If you wouldbear the loss ofyourdear relations with moderation, eye God inthewhole process of the affliction more, andfecondary causes and circumstances of the matter leſs-
" I was dumb, Iopened not mymouth, becauſe thou didſt " it," Pfal. xxxix. 9. Confider the handof the Lord in the whole matter : And that,
First, As a ſovereign hand, which hath right to diſpoſe of thee, and all thy comforts, without thy leaveor confent, Job xxxiii. 13.
Secondly, As a father's hand correcting thee in love and faithfulness. Prov. iii. 11. " Whom the Lord loveth he cor- " recteth, as a father the ſon inwhom he delighteth." O if onceyou could but ſee affliction as a rod in a father's hand, proceeding from his love, and intendedfor your eternal good ; how
quiet would you then be ?
And furely if itdraws your heart nearer toGod, and mortifies it more to this vainworld, it is a rod in the hand of ſpecial love: If it end in your love to God, doubt not but it comes
fromGod's love to you.
Thirdly, As a juſt andrighteous hand. Haſt not thou procuredthis to thyself by thy own folly ? Yea, the Lord is just inall that iscomeupon thee; whatever he hath done, yet he hath done thee no wrong.
Fourthly, Laſtly, As a moderate and merciful hand that hath puniſhedthee leſs than thine iniquities deſerve: He that hath caſt thee into affliction, might juſtly have caſt thee intohell. It
is of the Lord's mercythat thouartnotconfumed. Why doth the livingman complain ?
J Rule 5. If you would bear your affliction with moderation, compare it with the afflictions of other men, and that willgreat.
lyquiet your spirits.
Youhave no cauſe to ſayGod hath dealt bitterly with you, and that there is no forrow likeyour forrow : Look round about you, and impartially confiderthe conditionthat others are in; and theynothing inferior toyou in any reſpect. You had one deadchild, Aarenhadtwo ata ſtroke,Job allatone ſtroke ; and both theſeby an immediate ſtroke from the hand ofGod. Some
godly parents have lived to fee their children die in their finby thehandof justice; others have ſeen them live to the diſhonour
ofGod, and breaking of their own ſpirits, and would have eſteemed it a mercy if they had died from the womb, and
AToken for Mourners. 295 given up the ghofſt when they came out of the belly, as Job
ſpeaks,
In what mifery have ſome parents ſeen their children die ! Godholding them as ſo many terrible ſpectacles of miſery be-
fore their eyes ; ſo that they have begged the Lord, with importunity, to let looſe his hands, and cut them off; deathbeing, intheir eſteem, nothing tothoſe continual agonies inwhich theyhave ſeen them lie weltering from day today. O you little know what a bitter cup others have had given them to drink ? Surely, if you compare, you muſt ſay, the Lord hath dealt gently and graciouſly with me.
Rule 6. Carefully ſhun, andavoidwhatsoevermay renewyour forrow, arprovoke you to impatience.
Increaſe not your forrowby the ſight of, or difcourſes about ſad objects ; and labour to avoid them, as occaſions preſented by the enemy of your fouls, to draw forth the corruptions of your heart.
I told you before, why Jacob would not have the child of which Rachel died, called after the name his wife had given, Benoni, the ſon of my forrow; leſt it ſhould prove a daily oс- ✔caſion of renewing his trouble for the lofs ofhis dearwife ; but
he called his name Benjamin.
Your impatience is like tinder,or gun powder, ſo long as you canprevent the ſparks from falling on it, there is no great danger; but you that carry fuchdangerous prepared matter in your own hearts, cannot be too careful toprevent them. Do by murmuring, as you do by blafphemous thoughts ; think quite another way, and give no occafion.
Rule7. In the day ofyour mourning for the death ofyour friends,feriously confider yourown death as approaching, and
that you, andyourdeadfriendare distinguiſbed by a small intervalandpoint of time. 2 Sam. xi . 13. Ishallgo to him. Surely the thoughts of your owndeath, as approaching alſo, will greatly allay your forrows for thedead that are gone before you.We are apt to fancya long life in the world, and then the
lofs of thoſe comforts which we promiſed ourſelves ſo much of the ſweetneſs and comforts of our lives from, ſeems an intolerable thing.
Butwould you realize your own deaths more, you would
Could notbe ſodeeplyconcerned for their deaths as you are. youbut look into your owngraves more ſerioufly, you would
be able to look into your friend's grave more compoſedly.
296 Preparationsfor Sufferings. Andthus I have finiſhed what I deſigned from this ſcripture. The Father of mercies, and God of all comforts, whoſe fole prerogative it is to comfort them that are caſtdown, write all his truths upon yourhearts, thatthey may abide there, and reduce your difordered affections to that frame which beſt ſuits the will of God, andthe profeffionyou make ofſubjectionand
refignation thereunto.
PREPARATIONS
FOR SUFFERINGS
OR, The beſt WORK in the worſt TIMES .
Wherein the Neceſſity, Excellency, andMeans of our readi
neſs for Sufferings are evinced and preſcribed ; our Call to Suffering cleared, andthe great unreadineſs of manyProfef-
fors bewailed.
THE EPISTLE TO THE READER. Twas the obfervation ofthe learnedGerfon(whentheworld
was not fo old, by many years, as now it is) that mundus Jenescens patitur phantafias : The aged world, like aged per
fous, dotes, andgrows whimſical, in its oldage; the truthof which obfervation isconfirmedbynoone thing more, thanthe
fond andgroundleſs dreams, andphantasms of tranquillity, and continuing profperity, wherewith the multitude pleaſe them.
ſelves, evenwhilit the ſins of the times are ſo great, and the ſigns of the times ſoſad andlowringas theyare.
It is not the defign of this Manual to ſcare, and affrightany man, with imaginarydangers, much leſs to ſow jealoufies, and foment thediſcontents of the times; it being ajuſt matter of lamentation, that all the tokens ofGod's anger produce with manyof us no better fruitbut bold cenſures, and loud cla
mours, insteadof humiliation for our own fins, and due pre
The Epiffle to the Reader. 297 parationtotakeupourown croſs, and followChriſt in a fuf-
fering path, which is the only mark and aim of this tract. We read the hiſtories of the primitive ſufferers,butnotwith aſpirit prepared to follow them. Some cenfure them as too prodigal of their blood, and others commend their courage, and conſtancy ; but where are they that fincerely refolve, and
prepare to be followers of them, who through faith and pa. tience inherit the promises ? Heb. vi. 12. or take them for an - " example of fuffering, affliction, and of patience," Jam. v. 10. It is as much our intereſt, as it is our duty, tobe ſeaſonably awakened out of our pleasant, but moſt pernicious drowzineſs. Troubles will be ſo much the more ſinking, and intolerable, by how much they ſteal uponus by way of ſurprizal. For look, as expectation deflowers any temporal comfort, by fucking -out much of the ſweetness thereof before-hand, and ſo we find
the leſs in it when we come to the actual enjoyment : So the expectation of evils abates much of the dread and terror, by accuſtoming our thoughts before-hand to them, and making preparation for them: So thatwe findthem not ſogrievous, a-
mazing, and intolerable, when they are come indeed.
This was exemplified to us very lively by holy Mr. Bradford the martyr, when the keeper's wife came running into his chamber, ſaying, 'O, Mr Bradford, I bringyou heavytidings, ' for to-morrowyou must be burned, your chain isnowbuying, *and preſentlyyou mustgo toNewgate.' He put off his hat, andlooking up toheaven, faid, O Lord, I thankthee for it; I
have looked for this a long time: Itcomes not ſuddenly to me, the Lord make me worthy of it. See in this example the fingular advantageof a prepared andready foul. Reader, The cup of fufferings is a very bitter cup, and it is but needful that we provide fomewhat to ſweeten it, that we maybe able to receive it with thanksgiving ; and what thoſe
fweetening ingredients are, and how to prepare them, you will have ſome direction andhelp in the following diſcourſe; which
hathonce already been preſented to the public view; and that
itmayat this time alſo(wherein nothingcanbemoreſeaſonable) become farther useful, and affifting, to the people ofGod in their preſentduties, is thehearty defire of
Thine,
and the church's
fervant in Christ,
JOHN FLAVEL
VOL. VII.
298 Preparations for Sufferings : Or,
Acts xxi . 13 . Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep, and to break my
heart ? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerufalem for the name of the Lord Jejus.
CHAP. I.
Wherein the text is opened, andthe doctrinepropounded. THE Divine providence is not more ſignally diſcovered in
governing the motions of the clouds, than it is in dil poing and ordering the ſpirits and motions of the miniſters of
the goſpel, who, in a mystical ſenſe, are fruitful clouds, todif penfe the ſhowers of goſpel-bleſſings to the world. The mo tion of the clouds is not ſpontaneous, but they move as they are moved by the winds; neither can goſpel-miniſters chufe
their own ſtations, and govern their own motions, but mustgo when and where the Spirit and providence ofGod directs and
guides them ; as will evidently appear in that dangerous voyage to Jerufalem in which the apostle was at this time engaged. Acts xx. 22. " And now, behold, Igobound inthe Spiritto " Jerufalem," [bound in the Spirit :) Alluding tothewateryva
pours which are bound up in clouds, and conveyed according to the motions of the winds. This journey was full of danger; Paul foreſaw his buſineſs was not only to plant the gospel al Jerufalem with his doctrine, but to water it alſo with his blood; but ſo effectually was his willdetermined by the will ofGod, that he chearfully complies with his duty therein, whatsoever difficulties anddangers did attend it.
And indeed itwas his great advantage, that the will ofGod was ſo plainly, and convincingly revealed to him touching this
matter ; for no fooner did he employ himself to obey this call ofGod, but he is preſently affaulted by many ſtrong temptations to decline it .
The firſt rub he met in his way, was from thediſciples of Tyre, who pretending to ſpeak by the Spirit, ſaid unto Paul,
thathe ſhould not go up toJerufalem, Acts xxi. 4. The Lord by this trying the ſpirit of his apoſtle much, as he didthe
youngprophetcoming fromJudea to Bethel, 1 Kings xiii. 18.
but not with like ſucceſs.
His next diſcouragement was at Caeſarea, where Agabus (whom Dorotheus affirms to be of the ſeventy-two diſciples, and hadbefore prophefiedof the famine inthe reign of Claudius,
The best Work in the worst Times. 299 which accordinglycame to paſs) takes Paul's girdle, and binding
his own hands and feet with it, faid, " Thus faith the Holy " Ghoſt, ſo ſhall the Jewsat Jerufalem bind the manthat own-
" eth this girdle, and ſhalldeliver him into the hands of the " Gentiles," Acts xxi. 11. And furely he was not ignorant what he muſt expect whenever he ſhould fall into their hands ;
yet neither could this affright him from his duty.
But then, laſt of all, he meeteth with the foreft trial from hisdearest friends, whofell uponhim with paſſionate intreaties,
and many tears, beſeeching him to decline that journey : O they could not give up ſuch a miniſter as Paul was ! this even
melted himdown, and almoſt broke his heart, which yet was eafier todo, than to turn him out of the path of obedience : Where, by the way, we may note two things :
First, That divine precept, not providence, is to rule out our wayof duty.
Secondly, That no hindrances, or diſcouragements, whatfoever, will justify our neglect of a knownduty.
All theſe rubs he paſſes over ; all theſe diſcouragements he overcame, with this heroic and truly Chriſtian reſolution in the text; " What meanye toweep, and to break my heart ? For " I am readynot tobe bound only, but alſo to die at Jerufalem,
" for the name of the Lord Jeſus."
In which words we have,
1. Aloving and gentle rebuke. 2. Aquieting and calming argument. First, He lovingly and gently rebukes their fond and inordinate forrow for his departure, in theſe words, What mean ye to weep, and to break my heart ? As if he ſhould ſay, What mean theſe paſſionate intreaties, andtempting tears ? To what purpoſe is all this a-do ? They are but fomany ſnares of Satan, to turn myheart out of the way of obedience : You do as much as in you lies to break my heart; let there be no more of
this, I beſeech you.
Secondly, He labours to charm their unruly paſſions with a veryquieting and calming argument ; For I am ready, &c. ετοίμως εχω, parate habeo. I am prepared, and fitted for the greateſt ſufferings which ſhall befal me inthe pursuit of my
duty; be it a priſon, or be it death, I am provided for either : Liberty is dear, and life much dearer, but Chriſt is dearer than either.
Butwhat was there in all this, to fatisfy themwhoſe trouble itwas to fee him ſo forward ? Let the words be conſidered, Pp2
1 300 Preparations for Sufferings : Or, andwe ſhall find diversthings inthem tofatisfyand quiet their hearts, and make themwilling to give him up.
First, Iam ready; that is, God hath fittedandpreparedmy heart for thegreateſt ſufferings; this is the work ofGod: flefn andblood would never be brought to this, were not all its in-
tereſts and inclinations ſubdued, andover-ruled by the Spirit of God. Whatdoye therefore in all this, but work against the
deſign of God, who hath fitted and prepared my heart for this
fervice ?
Secondly, Iam ready; that is, mywill andreſolution ſtands ina fullbent, my heart is fixed, you cannottherefore ſtudy to domeagreater injury, than to diſcompoſe and diſorder my heartagain, by caſting ſuch temptationsastheſe in myway, to cauſe the fleſh torebel, andtheenemy that iswithin to renew hisoppoſition.
Thirdly, Iam ready ; that is, myheart is ſo fixed to follow thecallofGod, whatever ſhall befal me, that all your tears and
intreaties to the contrary are but caſt away; theycannot alter my fixed purpoſe ; you had asgoodbe quiet, andchearfullyre-
ſign me to the will ofGod.
Thus you feethe equipage and preparation of Paul's ſpirit to receivebothbonds anddeath for Chriſt at Jerufalem; this made him victorious over the temptations of friends, and the malice and cruelty of his enemies : By this readiness , and preparation of his mind, he was carried through all, and enabled to finiſh his courſe with joy. From hence the obſervation is, Doct. That it isa bleſſed and excellent thing, for thepeople
ofGod to be prepared, and ready for the hardest fervices, andworst of sufferings, to which the Lordmay callthem. This is that which every gracious heart is reaching after, praying, and triving toobtain; butah ! how few will attain it!
Certainly there are notmany among the multitudes of thepro-
fefſors of this generation, that can fay as Paul here did, " I am " readytobebound, or todie for Chriſt ."
CHAP. II. Shews, that although God takes no delight in afflicting hispeople,
yet hefometimes expoſeth them to greatand grievous fuffer-
ings; witha brief account why, andhow he calls them thereunto. T
1 HE mercies and compaſſions ofGod over his people, are exceeding greatand tender, Pfal, ciii. 13. "Likeas " a father pitieth his children, to the Lord pitieth themthat
The best Work in the worst Times. 301
" fearhim." He delights not in afflicting and grieving them, Lam. iii. 33. " He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the
" children of men." The ſcripture intimates to us aſeeming conflict betwixt thejuſtice and mercyofGod, when he isabout to deliver uphis people intotheir enemies hands, Hofea xi. 8, 9. " How ſhall I give thee up, Ephraim ? How ſhall I deliver " thee, Ifrael ? Howſhall I make thee as Adma ? How ſhall " I ſet thee as Zeboim ? Mine heart is turned within me, my " repentingsare kindled together." Which thews us withwhat