Section 1139
III. To assign the reasons which induce a people to sorrow after this manner, upon the death of a gospel-minister
And which will serve to justify such sorrow when it is kept within due bounds.
1. The characters which a minister of the gospel bears, lay a foundation for such sorrow, and furnish out a reason for it: he is a servant of the most high God; not only by creation, as all men are, and by grace, as every saint is, but by his office as a minister; whose work and business it is to show unto men the way of salvation: he is a minister of Christ; of his appointing and sending, of his calling and qualifying, and whom he owns and makes useful: he is a steward of the mysteries of God, and of his manifold grace; and if he is faithful, which is required of stewards, and also wise, and gives to everyone their portion of meat in due season, as on that account he is highly esteemed and valued in the family, so his loss will be justly lamented. He is an ambassador of Christ; personates him, stands in his stead, and speaks in his name, bringing a message, being sent on an embassy of peace, from him: he is a spiritual guide and governor in the church, whose faith is to be followed, and the end of his conversation considered, which is Christ, the same to-day, yesterday, and for ever. And now in proportion to the characters he bears, is the loss of him, and in proportion to the loss of him, is sorrow for him; persons of figure and character, as in the state, so in the church, the death of them is to be lamented.
2. The relations which a gospel-minister stands in to his people, are another reason why they do, and why they may sorrow for him after a godly sort, and in moderation, when he is parted from them by death, and they cannot see his face anymore: he stands in the relation of a father to them, of a spiritual father to some of them, as he has been the instrument of begetting them again to Christ by the gospel; so that he is not only an instructor of them, but a father to them; as he also is to the rest that are under his care, he having a paternal affection for them, and a fatherly regard to them: he lays up for them on weekdays, as parents do for their children, and then he freely spends it on them on Lord’s-days, and most gladly spends, and is spent, for them; though the more he loves, the less is he loved by them. And, O how does he exhort, comfort, and charge them, as a father does his children! and therefore when he is removed from them by death, who can blame them for weeping and crying out, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! Likewise he stands in the relation of a shepherd to them; as he is their father, and they his family, he is their pastor, and they his flock, whom he has willingly took the oversight and charge of; and whom he feeds with knowledge and understanding, and watches over, and for their souls, that he may give an account of them with joy, and not with grief; and when therefore he is taken from them, can it be otherwise, but that they must be filled with grief and sorrow on account of it?
3. The work of a gospel-minister, from which he is taken off by death, is such, that when it is seriously considered, and thoroughly thought of, will justly occasion sorrow in those among whom he has labored. His business is to deliver out the pure gospel of Christ, to publish salvation by him, to proclaim peace by his blood, to preach pardon and righteousness through him, and every other important truth; to state and defend the same, and to show the influence they have, and the argument they carry in them, to engage to holiness of life and conversation: and as he is highly to be esteemed of for his work sake, and to be accounted worthy of double honor, especially if he labors in the word and doctrine; and if he is a workman approved of God, and that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth; as he will not fail of meeting with respect and value from those who love the truth, as it is in Jesus; so when he comes to die, and has done his work, his death will be bewailed for the same reason, for which he was highly esteemed in life.
4. The usefulness of a gospel-minister is another reason of sorrow with those to whom his labors of love have been acceptable and serviceable. Such an one is made use of by the Lord to turn men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God; to convert sinners from the evil of their ways, whereby souls are saved from death, and a multitude of sins covered; he is a minister by whom others believe in Christ, and have peace and comfort; the word preached by him is the means by which faith comes, and the holy Spirit with his several graces is received. He is a Boanerges, a son of thunder, to some, to awaken and convince them of their sins, and of their dangerous state and condition by nature; and he is a Barnabas, a son of consolation, to others, through whose ministry their distressed minds are relieved, their disconsolate souls are comforted, their faith is increased, the joy of it furthered, and they are fed, nourished, refreshed, and edified: when therefore it is the pleasure of the Lord to call home such an useful servant of his, and take him off from his work and usefulness, and especially in the midst of it, it must be very afflicting and grieving, to such particularly, who have received much spiritual benefit and advantage by him.
5. It increases the sorrow, when at such a time as this, a gospel-minister is removed, in which there are not many of that character, and so small a prospect of more. The harvest is great, and faithful and painful laborers are few. There are scarce any that naturally care for the estate and souls of men, and are heartily concerned for their spiritual and eternal welfare; all comparatively seek their own things, their honor and applause from men, their ease, reputation, and riches; and none, or few, the things that are Jesus Christ’s, or relate to his honor, glory, kingdom and interest in the world: and what adds to the sorrow is, that there are so few rising up to fill up the places of those that are removed; few that come forth with the same spirit, and are zealously attached to the truths of the everlasting gospel: blessed be God, there is here and there one that promises usefulness, or otherwise the sorrow and grief, at the loss of gospel-ministers, would be insupportable.
To all which may be added, that a faithful minister of the gospel can be very ill spared at this time of day, when errors and heresies of all kinds are rampant among us; it is the last day, and there are many antichrists in the world, many false prophets are gone forth into it; there are many saying, lo here is Christ, and lo there; to the great confusion and distraction of the weak and simple. These come not in privily, as they formerly did, bringing in damnable heresies, denying the Lord that bought them; but openly spread their poison, and declare for their wretched schemes with fury and rancor, charitably scattering firebrands, arrows, and death; raging waves of the sea they are, foaming out their own shame; there is scarce an error or heresy that has appeared in the world from the first ages of christianity, but what is revived in this; and there is no truth of the gospel, but what is opposed and denied: and to lose an able and zealous defender of them, at such a time as this, is a double loss, and cannot fail of affecting the minds of such who heartily espouse the Redeemer’s cause. But,