Death Improved and Immoderate Sorrow Reproved, Letter (1 of 5)

Death Improved and Immoderate Sorrow Reproved · Letter (1 of 5)

p. 1DEATH Improved, AND Immoderate Sorrow for Deceaſed RELATIONS And FRIENDS Reproved.

In a LETTER Conſolatory to the Vertuous and truly Religious Lady Wilbraham, of Weſton, in the County of Stafford, at the Death of her Daughter, the Lady Middleton, of Chirk Caſtle.

MADAM,

LET it not be thought Preſumption in me, though the meaneſt of a Thouſand, if I make bold to give my Advice in the midſt of ſo many, much abler Counſellors; and to preſcribe you Phyſick, when you have ſo many Learned Phyſicians at hand; for haply I have more experienced that Diſtemper under which you labour, than many of them, and can write a Probatum eſt upon my Receipts: Others may ſpeak more of the Diſeaſe than I can, yet few have felt the working of it p. 2in their own Bowels more than I, even from my Youth up; and I am at preſent making up a Doſe for my ſelf, who am in daily expectation of pa…ting with my Eldeſt Son, as you have done with your Eldeſt Daughter, he being one in whom I took no ſmall content, and from whom I expected much Comfort in my Age; the Lord grant I may take the ſame Counſel I give to others. When firſt I heard of your great, and (as I think) unexpected Loſs, and how ſoon your Joy, that a Man-Child was born into the World, was turned into Sorrow, that a Woman was taken out of the World. I confeſs I was ſuddenly ſurprized with Amazement, and cryed out, How vain a thing is Man, whoſe breath is in his Noſtrils, and how vain are all theſe tranſitory things we ſo much dote upon? And how little can they do for us when we have moſt need? And how fooliſh are we to ſpend our time and money for that which is not bread, and our labour for that which ſatisfieth not? When I ſaw ſo fair a Flower, ſo lately budded, and not fully blown, ſo ſoon withered and dead, and what need we had, eſpecially that were much older, to ſtand upon our Guard, not knowing the day nor hour wherein our Lord and Maſter comes. When I had ſpent ſome time in theſe Conſiderations, and bewailed the Publick Loſs, I began to conſider your Condition, who by reaſon of your tender, and haply too tender Love, and Care of your Children, eſpecially (as I imagined) of her, who was your Firſt-born, and the beginning of your Strength, and one who by reaſon of her Age and Maturity more fit for your more intimate Society, I was afraid your Burden would not be p. 3eaſily born; for I conceive you are better qualified to bear a heavy Burden of another Nature than this, ſtrong Affections many times breed ſtrong Afflictions, but God will have us hate Father and Mother, Wife and Children, and our own Lives for his ſake. Theſe things conſidered, I could not but ſympathize with you in your Suffering, and put my Soul as it were in your Soul's ſtead, and ſo bewailed and condoled your Condition, having many times my ſelf felt the weight of your Burden, I thought then with Job, That to thoſe that are afflicted pity is to be ſhewn by his friend, Job 6.14. But barely to pity, and not to endeavour to help, is but a poor kind of Charity; but it was out of my reach any other way to help, than by Counſel and Advice, and this I knew you needed not, yet not willing to be altogether ſilent, I reſolved to communicate to you my own Experience, and what it was that hath once and again calmed thoſe tumultuous Thoughts that raged in my Breaſt. But could I but imagine that your Sorrows were over, your Griefs ſuppreſt, your Trouble buried, and your Burden eaſed, I ſhould not be ſo uncharitable as to take them again out of the Aſhes, or blow the fire that is too apt of it ſelf to kindle; but I fear the Flame is too great to be ſo ſoon extinguiſhed, and your Diſtemper too deeply rooted to be ſo eaſily removed; and the Wound too great, to be ſo eaſily healed. Or that I could but imagine your Sorrows were moderate, and no more than your Duty, I ſhould not put you to the trouble of Reading, nor my ſelf of Writing theſe following lines. But I not only fear, but alſo hear that you are a Woman of a ſorrowful p. 4Spirit, drench'd in Sorrow, over-power'd with Grief, and, like Rachel, weeping for your Daughter, and will not be comforted, becauſe ſhe is not: And fearing, as others of your Friends do, what the event will be, in parting with this dear Pledge, or rather Piece of your ſelf, eſpecially when I read Godly Perſons have ſometimes been ſtrangely tranſported with Paſſion upon ſuch Occaſions; as Jacob at the ſuppoſed Death of Joſeph, Gen. 37.33. when he refuſed Comfort, and reſol…d to go down to the Grave with him; but he ſhould have learned to bury his Children and Friends when alive, by acting their Death to himſelf afore-hand. He ſhewed his Fatherly Love to his Son, but not his own Obedience to his Father. The next that offers himſelf to our conſideration, is David, a man after God's own heart, yet not without his Faults and Failings; we find him exceſſively mourning for the Death of rebellious Abſalom, that had kill'd his Brother Amnon, forc'd his Concubines, rebell'd againſt him, and ſought his Life; yet when he was cut off by a deſerved Death, partly by the hand of God, he mourns, and over-mourns, till he was ſoundly chidden and threatned by Joab, and wiſh'd he had dyed for him, 2 Sam. 18.33. We ſee Grace ſometimes at an under, and Nature predominant. Theſe things conſidered, I thought it was my Duty, not only to mourn with you, but to comfort you; not only as a Chriſtian, but alſo as a Miniſter, whoſe Duty it is to ſpeak a word in ſeaſon, and to comfort the comfortleſs. Troubles I know ſeem harder and heavier, and are worſe born when they come ſuddenly, and unexpectedly, as I ſuppoſe this did, p. 5fore-warn'd fore-arm'd; the more expectations we have of Trouble, the better preparation; but unexpected Troubles ſurprize us before we get on our Armour, and then tyrannize over us; doubtleſs then 'tis our Wiſdom to be always upon our Guard. Nature I know is prevalent, if not curb'd by Grace, but Grace is given to ſome to check its Extravagancies, and to regulate our diſordered Affections. The love of Chriſt, when 'tis predominant in the Soul, leſſens or deadens our Affections to all Earthly Enjoyments; the more directly we behold the Sun of Righteouſneſs in his Glory, the more dim-ſighted we are when we turn our Eyes to any Earthly Object. When a Chriſtian acts as a Chriſtian, and hath his Converſation in Heaven, he is ſet in a more Superiour Orb, that all theſe Sublunary things ſeem ſmall, and work ſmall alteration in him. But while our Graces are imperfect, (and that will be while we are on this ſide Heaven) we ſhall find Corruption ſtirring; but 'tis our Duty to take part with the Spirit againſt the Fleſh, and to make no proviſion for the fleſh, to fulfil the lust thereof. One of the Devil's Temptations to Job to make him murmur againſt God, was the death of his Children: And this is your Tryal at preſent, but in a lower degree, he loſt Ten at once, beſides other Loſſes, and that by an untimely Death, and, as might be imagined, by the immediate Hand of God; but the Devil was fruſtrate of his purpoſe, inſtead of curſing he bleſſed God, as I hope you will Job 1.21. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, bleſſed be the name of the Lord. There are I know too many that repine at the Loſs, which never gave God thanks p. 6for the Gift. We are by Nature like ſullen Children, if we have not what we would, we will not have what we may; if one thing be taken from us, we will throw all the reſt after it; if we may not have the Knife, we will none of the Meat. If Rachel may not have Children, ſhe matters not Life it ſelf; Give me children, or elſe I die, Gen. 30.1. not conſidering that God carries the Key of the Womb alſo under his Girdle, For children are the heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward, Pſal. 127.3. One Croſs many times overſhadows a thouſand Bleſſings, and hides them out of our ſight, and if one Comfort be ſnatch'd away, we can take comfort in nothing; we are like unto pettiſh Jonah, that would dye in a pet, and told God to his face, he did well to be angry, even to death, Jonah 4.8, 9. And why was he in ſuch a ruff? Why, the Gourd which he loved was withered, and then all God's dealing with him, his communicating himſelf to him, ſending him upon his Errand, delivering him out of the Whale's belly, ſignified nothing to him; how true is that of the Heathen, Ira furor brevis eſt? Anger is a ſhort Madneſs, and theſe are like unto wild Beaſts, hardly tamed. Now, though we are allowed to yield ſomething to Nature in ſuch caſes, yet nothing to Impatience; yet how apt are we in effect to charge God of Injuſtice, and bear our ſelves as if he had wronged us; yea, done us ſuch wrong, that God, and Chriſt, and Heaven, and Glory, and a thouſand other Mercies would not ſatisfie or make us amends, nor make us leave crying; witneſs our mourning, and over-mourning when God manifeſts his Will in taking away p. 7our Children, or Relations, without our conſent: He hath croſt us in our Wills, and will not let us have our Humour, in withering ſome Gourd we delighted in, and would have had to flouriſh; and now we are reſolved we will croſs him in his Will, and let him ſay what he will to the contrary, we will not ceaſe our Complaints. But when we act as Chriſtians 'tis not ſo; when our Graces are not clouded, nor raked up under the Aſhes of Corruption, then it will act otherwiſe; then there will be a total reſignation of our Wills unto God's Will, as two Bells melted together make one: When David came to himſelf, he could ſay, I held my tongue, and ſaid nothing, becauſe thou didſt it, Pſal. 39.9. And good Old Eli, when the Lord threatned the ſubverſion of his Houſe, 'Tis the Lord, let him do what ſeemeth him good, 1 Sam. 3.18. And Job, though at firſt he quarrels, yet at laſt lays his hand upon his mouth, Job 40.30. One Glimpſe of God's Love in Chriſt, is able to dry up all thoſe immoderate Tears we ſhed upon ſuch accounts, and to turn them into another Channel, and make us inſtead of accuſing God, fall out with our ſelves, and our ſins, for provoking him; and when we ſee our chiefeſt Treaſure, our choiceſt Jewels are ſafe, it will make us contemn all our other Loſſes; theſe things we may ſpare, Chriſt we cannot ſpare.

Madam, Yet miſtake me not, my deſign, and deſire in this Letter, is not to wipe all Tears from your Eyes, nor all Sorrow from your Heart, for ſome Grief in this condition is doubtleſs Lawful, and your Duty; and 'tis a ſin, yea, an Heathiniſh ſin, to be without Natural Affection, Rom. 1.31. p. 8yea, ſuch a ſin as was condemned by many of the Heathens, that had but the Light of Nature. Solomon adviſeth, To go to the houſe of mourning; for (ſaith he) the living will lay it to heart, Eccleſ. 7.2. That is, ſo mind it, as to make a good uſe of it, and doubtleſs many profitable Leſſons may be hence learnt: Such ſtroaks as theſe are not given in vain, we ſhould hear the voice of the rod, and of him that ſends it, Micah 7.9. Yea, God himſelf complains, Iſa. 57.1. The righteous periſheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none conſidering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. God's Rod hath a Voice, and we muſt hear it, and happy are thoſe that with Correction receive Inſtruction; When God's hand is ſtretched out, the inhabitants of the world ſhould learn righteouſneſs, Iſa. 26.9. God is now ſpeaking to us in this Providence, and 'tis our Wiſdom to hear what he ſaith, and to learn what he teacheth. When the Pillars are removed, the Houſe is weakned; and when the Righteous, are taken away, our danger is more: I would have you therefore ſenſible of the blow, as all of us ſhould be when ſuch a Breach is made among us, and when there are fewer helpers, let thoſe that are left put their ſhoulders more ſtrenuouſly to the Work, to keep up the Building. But my deſign and deſire is to prevent immoderation, which will hinder and not further you in the Work and unfit you for your Duty; you may, you ought do mourn, but not as thoſe without hope for thoſe that ſleep in the Lord, 1 Theſſ. 4.13. Ingenious Children, when one is beaten, the other will cry, but they muſt take heed of murmuring and repining againſt their Father; Lute-ſtrings, p. 9when one is touched, the other ſound; and 'tis one of thoſe Dues which we owe to our deceaſed Friends, to lament at their Funeral; 'tis thoſe uſually that live undeſired, that dye unlamented. It was a Judgment threatned againſt Jehoiakim, that when he died, he ſhould not be lamented, Jer. 22.18. But we muſt not Water our Plants ſo as to drown them, and that Sorrow that diſables us for our preſent Duty in our general or particular Calling, is doubtleſs our ſin. Our chiefeſt care for our Relations ſhould be while they are living, and that is to make proviſion to our power for Soul and Body, but for the Soul eſpecially; for alas, what is a moment of time to Eternity? But when God manifeſts by his Providence, that 'tis his Will to tranſport, and tranſplant theſe Flowers into a better Soil, though we ſhould not be inſenſible of the ſtroak, we ſhould not murmure or repine under it, or accuſe the Hand that gave it, but ſubmiſſively reſign them up to him, who gave them, or rather lent them to us. David did what he could for his Son while he was living, but ceaſed mourning for him when he was dead. Our Tears, though they may be ſhed upon other accounts, yet 'tis pity they ſhould run profuſedly in any other Channel but for ſin: It being the true penitential Tears that are the Holy Water that God affects, and the Devil hates; for if any …oſs or Croſs that befalls us, deſerve one Tear, our Sins deſerve a thouſand, for ſin is the cauſe of all our Loſſes and Croſſes that befal us, and without Repentance will be the deſtruction of Soul and Body; and when we ſee ſuch direful Effects, and taſt ſuch bitter Fruits, we ſhould bewail the Cauſe, and root up the Tree. If our Sin lay heavy, our p. 10Croſſes would ſeem light; if we bathed our Sins in our Tears, we ſhould not have ſo many left to pour out upon theſe Occaſions. Sin is the occaſion of the Death of your dear Daughter, and will be of your own Death, for had it not been for ſin ſhe had not dyed. By one man ſin entred into the world, and death by ſin, and ſo death paſſed ever all, for as much as all have ſinned; the wages of ſin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Nay, ſin it was that put our ſweet Saviour to death; theſe were the Nails that pierced his Hands and his Feet, the Spear that pierced his Side, his Betrayer, Accuſers, Judge, and Executioners; and can your Daughter be more dear to you than God's only and beloved Son was to him? He laid down his Life for her, and her Life is not too good to lay down for him; he laid down his Life to purchaſe for her a Manſion of Glory, and ſhe laid down her Life to go to take Poſſeſſion, for there is no other way to enjoy it.

Madam, In my preſent Addreſs to you there are two things deſigned by me. The firſt is, to abate the ſwelling Tide of your Sorrow, and to bring thoſe Waters within their proper Bounds and Banks; which I ſhall endeavour to do by giving you ſome few Conſiderations to Meditate upon, that ſo when the violent Storm of Paſſion ſhall be allayed, Reaſon may be ſpoke with, which cannot many times be heard when Paſſion is raging; and after that, my intention is to point you out ſome of thoſe many profitable Leſſons, which this Providence ſeems to hand out to us, which if we can learn, doubtleſs we ſhall gain by this loſs, or our gains will be greater than our p. 11loſs; for God's Rod hath a Voice, and 'tis our Duty to hear it, Micah 6.9. Nay, 'tis like Jonathan's Rod, 1 Sam. 14.27. it hath Honey at the end, and if we taſte of it, it will open and enlighten our Eyes. If God with Correction give Inſtruction, we may well ſay, as David, It was good for me that I was afflicted, before I was afflicted I went aſtray, but now I learn to keep thy commandments, Pſal. 119.67. Quae nocent docent, is a Proverb, and that Leſſon is beſt learnt that is ſet on with whipping, and beſt remembred. Correction is ſeldom a ſign of God's hatred, many times of his love; For whom he loveth he chaſteneth, and ſcourgeth every ſon that he receiveth: If we endure chaſtening, God dealeth with us as with ſons, for what ſon is he that his father, chaſteneth not. And if we be without chaſtening, then are we baſtards and not ſons, Heb. 12.6, 7, 8. Amos 3.2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will puniſh you for your iniquities. God will be ſure to plow his own Ground, whatſoever becomes of the waſt; and to weed his own Garden, though others are let alone, to grow wild; the puniſhing Angel muſt begin at God's Sanctuary, Ezek 9. And it was no ſign of Love, when God ſaid, Ephraim is joyned to Idols, let him alone, Hoſea 4.17. Since he hath made a match with Miſchief, let him have his belly full of it. When Ignatius was thrown to the Wild Beaſts to be devoured, Now, ſaith he, I begin to be a Chriſtian; for Afflictions are the Gemms and Jewels with which God doth adorn his beſt Friends; they are Pledges of our Adoption, and Badges of our Sonſhip; ſo that they are no ſigns of his diſinheriting us, and though he may ſeem to hide his Face, p. 12yet 'tis no ſign of his forſaking us. But now for the quieting your Spirit under your preſent Suffering, and this dark Providence, I beſeech you ponder well theſe few following Conſiderations, which well weighed, may through God's Bleſſing quell thoſe tumultuous Thoughts that ſwell in your Breaſt; and I deſire the Lord to bleſs them to this end.

1. Conſider who it is that hath done you this ſuppoſed Injury, to take away your Daughter without your conſent: And here you may conſider not only who it is, but alſo what Intereſt he claims in her; and then conſider whether your Plea will hold good againſt him. Is it not the great God of Heaven and Earth, whoſe Power no Creature is able to reſiſt; whoſe Will is his Law, and whoſe Glory is his End? Is it not he that is called Omnipotent, that doth what pleaſeth him in Heaven, and in Earth, and none can reſiſt him? And is he a fit Match for you to grapple with? Is it not he that meaſureth the water in the hollow of his hand, and meteth out Heaven with his ſpan, and comprehendeth the duſt of the earth in a meaſure, that weigheth the mountains in ſcales, and the hills in a balance. To whom all nations are as the drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the ſmall duſt of the balance, that taketh up the Iſles as a very little thing: And all nations are before him as nothing, and are accounted to him leſs than nothing, and vanity, Iſa. 40.12.15.17. Fear ye not me? (ſaith the Lord) do ye not tremble at my preſence, which have placed the ſ…nd for …he bound of the ſea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot paſs it; and though the waves toſs themſelves, yet can they not prevail, though they roar, yet can they not paſs over it, Je…. 5.22. He ſetteth p. 13bounds to the ſea, and ſaith, Hitherto ſhalt thou go, and no further; and here ſhall thy proud waves be ſtayed, Job 38.11. He numbreth the ſtars, and calleth them by their names, Pſal. 147.4. He removeth the mountains, and they know not: he overthroweth them in his anger. He ſhaketh the earth out of her place, and maketh the pillars thereof tremble. He commandeth the Sun, and it ariſeth not, and ſealeth up the Stars. He alone ſpreadeth forth the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the ſea. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the ſouth. Which doth great things paſt finding out, and wonders without number, Job 9.5, &c. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, and the clouds are his chariot; he walketh upon the wings of the wind. He maketh his angels ſpirits, and his miniſters a flaming fire. That layeth the foundations of the earth, that they ſhall not be removed for ever, Pſal. 104.3, &c. Is it not he that made the World of nothing, and can as eaſily reduce it into nothing? He hangs the Earth upon nothing, and that in the midſt of the open Air, and gave a Being to all his Creatures when they were nothing, and nothing comes to paſs without his Providence. Nay, is it not he that keeps the Keys of Life and Death at his Girdle? I kill (ſaith he) and I make alive; I wound, and I heal, neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. I lift up my hand, and ſay, I live for ever, Deut. 32.39. He brings to the gates of death, and back again, and doth what pleaſeth him in heaven, and in earth, and none can reſiſt him, neither dare any ſay; What doſt thou? And is this he that hath done you this wrong, and with him is it that you contend? But conſider, Shall we provoke the Lord to jealouſie, p. 14are we ſtronger than he? 1 Cor. 10.22. Shall we provoke him to a Duel, as ſometime Caligula did their Heatheniſh Jupiter. Was there ever any that hardened himſelf againſt God, and proſpered? Job 9.4. Who ever could boaſt of the laſt word, or glory in the laſt blow? The Walls of Aphek did Execution on the Blaſphemous Syrians, and the Angel of God upon the Aſſyrians. If we harden our heart againſt God, he will harden his hand againſt us, for he will lay us upon our back, ere he leave. But haply though we do acknowledge God doth excel us in Power, yet we imagine we have the better Cauſe, and therefore, with Jonab, we think we do well to be Angry; or at leaſt, with Job, we would diſpute the Point with him, Job 13.3. Surely I would ſpeak to the Almighty, and I deſire to reaſon with God. Why, what hath God done? Why, he hath taken away your Daughter in the midſt of her days. Well, but hath he no Intereſt in her? Is it not he whoſe we are, and whom we ſerve? Was it not he that gave her her Being, and breathed into her the breath of Life, and ſhe became a living Soul? Did he not give her her Being? 'Tis not long ſince there was nothing heard of her; and did he not continue her in her Being till her death? Was it not he that fed and cloathed her at his own Coſt and Charges? And was ſhe not engaged to him for every bit of Bread ſhe did eat, and every drop of Drink ſhe drank, and for the Cloathes ſhe did wear? Was it not his wool, and his flax that cloathed her, his corn and his wine that fed her, his ſilver and his gold that enriched her, Hoſ. 2.8. Let us take heed then of paying our Rent to a wrong Landlord; her Limbs and Senſes, her p. 15Peace and Plenty, her Wit and Reaſon, yea, her Life and Breath were given, or rather lent her by God. It was he that covered her in your Womb, and through him ſhe was born, Pſal. 139.13. It was he that put bowels of Compaſſion into your Heart, to make Proviſion for her, when ſhe could make none for her ſelf; and to him ſhe was indebted for every breath ſhe breathed, and for every Mercy that rendred her Life more comfortable to her; and doth it become Chriſtians thus to quarrel with our great Benefactor? Or is it meet that we ſhould require of him an Account of his doings? Or expect that he ſhould bring his Will to ours? Whoſe is the Pot but the Potmakers, and may not he if he pleaſe daſh it in pieces with his foot? And who can ſay, why doſt thou thus? Now, if this great God, this Omnipotent Being, this God that hath ſuch an Intereſt in us, and ſuch Authority over us, yea, greater than any Man upon Earth hath over any thing he doth enjoy, hath taken away one of his own Creatures, and glorified himſelf with her that he had made for his own Glory, ſhall we take Offence at it? That it was his Hand I doubt not but you acknowledge, for nothing comes to paſs without his Providence. Affliction ſprings not out of the dust, neither doth trouble ariſe out of the ground, yet man is born to trouble, as the ſparks fly upward, Job 5.6. Theſe things come not to paſs by Fate, or blind Fortune, as the Heathens imaginee, or by Chance, as the Philiſtines ſuppoſed, 1 Sam. 6.9. but the hand of God is in all this; and therefore the lamenting Church concludes, That ſhe will bear the indignation of the Lord becauſe ſhe had ſinned againſt him; Why ſhould a living man complain, p. 16a man for the puniſhment of his ſins? Lam. 3.39. Is there evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it? Amos. 3.6. That is, the Evil of Puniſhment for the Evil of Sin. He is not guilty of ſin, He is of purer eye than to behold iniquity with approbation. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Who is he that ſaith, and it cometh to paſs, if the Lord commandeth it not? Lam. 3.37. I form the light, and I create darkneſs; I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do theſe things, Iſa. 45.7. Yea, we may find that the Evil that came upon Jeruſalem came from God, Micah 1.12. For God ſits at the Stern, and guides the great Affairs of the World; and when we ſin, what can we expect from a Righteous Judge but Sufferings? Where ſin goes before, ſorrow follows, as the ſhadow follows the ſubſtance. But now you have found out the Perſon, and the Fact is confeſt, what Accuſation will you form againſt this Omnipotent God, ſeeing he hath meddled with nothing but his own Creature, the work of his own hands, and one that he hath a greater Intereſt in than ever you had? What Arguments will you uſe to defend your Cauſe againſt him? Job indeed had a good mind to quarrel him, and as good a Cauſe for ought I know as any Man living; for God himſelf commends him above all the Men upon the Earth, for a perfect and an upright man, one that feared God, and eſchewed evil; yet holdeth he his integrity (ſaith he to Satan) although thou movedst me againſt him, to deſtroy him without a cauſe, Job 2.3. Oh (ſaith he) that God would anſwer me, Job 31.30. But when God accepted the Challenge, and poſed him with ſome hard Queſtions, he cries out, I am vile, what ſhall I p. 17anſwer? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once h…ve I ſpoken, but I will not anſwer; yea, twice, but I will proceed no further, Job 40.4, 5. Yea, we find him at the loſs of his ſeven Sons and three Daughters, the loſs of all his Cattel, bleſſing the Lord: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, bleſſed be the name of the Lord, Job. 1.…1. We find him not curſing at the Chaldeans, or reviling at the Sabeans, as many would have done; he knew whoever was the Rod, God's Hand held it; and whoever was the Inſtrument, God was the Author. This Conſideration quieted David, when that dead Dog Shimei railed upon him, and curſed him; The Lord (ſaith he) hath bid him curſe David, 2 Sam. 16.7. This quiered good Old Eli, when the ſad Tidings of the death of his two Sons, and the ruine of his Family was fore-told, 'Tis the Lord (ſaith he) let him do what ſeemeth him good, 1 Sam. 3.18. This Conſideration alſo ſilenced Aaron, when his two Sons, Nadab and Abihu, were both ſlain with fire from Heaven, Levit. 10.3. And Aaron held his peace. He bridled his Paſſion, and ſubmitted his Will to God's Will. And how then dare we diſpute the Point with God, that have neither Might nor Right on our ſide, that are but frail, yea, ſinful Duſt and Aſhes, poor Worms, that if he tread upon us, he leaveth us dead behind him? Who are we, that we ſhould be diſcontent with his dealing, while we have no wrong done us, or think to ſtruggle out of his hand when we have no Power, or be ſullen under his Rod, when 'tis for our own good? God is not engaged to give us any Account of his doing; but ſure it may ſuffice us, when he tells us, All ſhall work p. 18together for our good, if we love him, Rom. 8.28. And then why not this Providence? We take bitter Pills, and unſavoury Potions upon the Word of a Phyſician, when he Sugars them with the hopes of Health: And ſhall we miſtruſt the great Phyſician, that cannot deceive, nor be deceived? Yea, how unſuitable is it for Chriſtians to repine under ſuch Diſpenſations of Providence, who daily pray, Thy will be done in …arth, as it i… in heaven, chearfully, readily, and willingly, and yet murmure when his Will is done, and prefer our own Wills before his? Nay, further conſider if you are not Acceſſory to this Croſs that you now lye under: Or have you not a hand in making the Rod, wherewith ye are beaten? There are two ways we may be Acceſſory to the Death of our Relations: The one is, by lodging them too near the Heart; even in that Room which Chriſt hath reſerved for himſelf: This makes God like a Jealous Husband, remove that Servant out of the Family, which he ſees his Wife dotes upon; as a Father takes away the Knife, for fear of Danger, or the Meat, for fear of a Surfeit; for many times we graſp thoſe Thorns ſo hard till they prick us to the heart; and then like Children we cry when we have hurt our ſelves. Some on the other ſide through Careleſneſs or Covetouſneſs neglect the neceſſary means of preſerving or reſtoring the Health of their Relations. But if you can clear your ſelf of the former, I think all that know you will clear you of the latter; for the hand of God was ſo evidently ſeen in this Viſitation, that no Providence, no C…, no Coſt, nor Pains could prevent, or remove it; God denying a Bleſſing to all the means p. 19that were uſed, and did immediately diſpute his own Right, and claim his own Intereſt, and ſilence all Gain-ſayers. Oh how good is it for us to hang looſe to all Creature-Comforts, and not ſet up any Idols in our Hearts, but leave all our Relations to be at God's diſpoſe; for many times we our ſelves weave the Spider's Web out of our own Bowels, with which we are intangled; and twiſt the Snare with our own fingers wherein we are held: Let us therefore in the firſt place conſider who 'tis that hath done this ſuppoſed Injury, and the ſerious Conſideration of it will do much to allay the Storms of our Paſſion, and quell and ſuppreſs thoſe tumultuous Thoughts that rage in our Breaſt, and do much towards the calming of our Spirits.

2. And as we have conſidered who 'tis we contend with, even the Mighty God of Heaven and Earth; in the next place, 'tis not amiſs to conſider who we are, that thus quarrel him, even Duſt and Aſhes, Worms-meat, poor, frail, indigent Creatures we are that thus oppoſe the Will of this great God, and find fault with his Government of the World. What King (ſaith our Saviour Chriſt) going out to make war againſt mother King, ſitteth not down first, and conſulteth whether he be able with ten thouſand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thouſand? Or elſe while the other is yet a great way off, he ſendeth an ambaſſage, and deſireth conditions of peace, Luke 14.31, 32. And this is our Wiſdom to do when we ſee we cannot grapple with him, to lay down our Arms, and ſubmit and ſue for Peace, before the Contention grow too high; for doubtleſs we may eaſily ſee we are not a meet Match for him, p. 20our Original is but from the Earth; The Lord formed man out of the duſt of the earth, and breathed into him the breath of life, and man became a living ſoul, Gen. 2.7. and ere long we muſt be reſolved into Earth, Duſt thou art, and unto duſt thou ſhall return, Gen. 3.19. And is ſuch a deſpicable Worm able to contend with the Almighty? Yea, all of us, high and low, rich and poor, noble and baſe, were bewen out of the ſame rock, and digged out of the ſame hole of the pit, Iſa. 51.1. And all had the ſame Original, and are poor, frail, contemptible Nothings. Is my ſtrength (ſaith Job) the ſtrength of ſtones, or are my ſinews of braſs? Job 6.12. And what if it were? Were our Fleſh of Braſs, and our Sinews of Iron, could we then grapple with the Almighty? Was ever any that hardened himſelf againſt God, and proſpered? Duſt we are by Creation, ſinful Duſt by our Defection, and to Duſt we ſhall return at our Diſſolution. Our father was an Amorite, and our mother an Hittite. This may make us ſprinkle the Duſt of Humility upon our Heads. 'Tis ſaid, ſome Creatures are bred in Sugar, we cannot boaſt of ſo ſweet an Original, but may look back to the ſlimy Clay, and may ſay to corruption, thou art my father, and to the worm, thou art my mother, and my ſiſter. The greateſt Perſons are but a little Air and Duſt tempered together, but Soul and Soil, Breach and Body, a Pile of Duſt, and a puff of Wind. God need not to Muſter an Army againſt us, if he tread upon us, we are left dead behind him; if he with-hold our breath, we dye, and our thoughts periſh; he can with a frown turn us into Hell, yea, turn Heaven and Hell and all into nothing: And are we able to p. 21grapple with him? Nay, this is not all; we have not this our poor Being of our ſelves, he it was that made the Clay of nothing, and he it was that gave us our Shape and Being; he was the Potter, and we were the Clay in his hands; he gave us a Being, and 'tis he that gives us a comfortable Being. We are his Creatures, and he made us; the works of his hands, and faſhioned us: And ſhall we thus requite the Lord, O fooliſh people and unwiſe? Is not be our father that bought us? Hath not be made us, and eſtabliſh'd us? Deut. 32.6. Shall the pot ſay to him that made it, Why haſt thou made me thus? Shall the ax exalt it ſelf againſt him that heweth with it? God hath more Propriety in us than we have in our ſelves, or in any thing we enjoy, yea, in our Children; theſe were given, or rather lent us for a time; and the Soul is but a Tenant at will in the Body. Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price, therefore glorifie God in your bodies, and in your ſpirits, which are God's, 1 Cor. 6.19.20. He gave us our Being, and can if he pleaſe quickly render us a non entity, for when he loſt his Property in us we find not; nay, yet more, had we continued in our Integrity, in which we were created, we might have had more to ſay for our ſelves, than now we have. God made us in his own Image, Holy and Happy, but by our ſin we brought not only Death, but all Miſeries attending it: The wages of ſin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, Rom. 6.23. As by one man ſin entred into the world, and death by ſin; and ſo death paſſed upon all men, for that all have ſinned, Rom. 5.12. We are the ſinful Off-ſpring of Adam, and we have inherited our Fathers Corruptions. Infants p. 22are no Innocents, the firſt ſheet wherewith they are covered, is woven of ſin and ſhame, blood and filth, Ezek. 16.46. The Image of God is loſt, and the Image of Satan ſet in the room; Original Righteouſneſs gone, and Original Sin in the ſtead; and by this means we have debaſed our ſelves below other Creatures, and next to the faln Angels, are become the moſt vile; we became indebted unto God Ten Thouſand Talents, and cannot pay a Farthing; and therefore we were ſold Bond-ſlaves to Satan, under the wrath of God, the curſe of the Law, and liable to eternal Damnation, and may juſtly expect every day to be caſt into Priſon, till we have paid the utmoſt farthing. And yet ſhall we contend with our Maker, and complain of wrong, when all that we have on this ſide Hell is free Mercy, and Hell it ſelf is no wrong. Nay, let us further conſider, that we our ſelves are guilty of this we accuſe God for; our Poſterity received their contamination from us, which occaſioneth Death and other Miſeries; for had your Daughter not had ſin, ſhe had not dyed; and this God, which we now quarrel, is our greateſt Benefactor, and freely gives us all that we do enjoy; We live, and move, and have our being from him; we receive every good and perfect gift from him: We cannot live a moment without him, and yet ſhall we quarrel him? He gives us our Being, yea, a comfortable Being, and maintains us at his own Coſt and Charges ever ſince we had a Being: We have Meat, nor Drink, nor Cloathes to cover us; neither Corn nor Wine, Wool nor Flax, Silver nor Gold, but what is his, Hoſ. 2.8, 9. Neither Wit nor Reaſon, Limbs nor Senſes, Peace nor p. 23Plenty, Health nor Strength, Life nor Liberty, but by his Gift; and when he pleaſeth can call for all, or any of theſe from us, for we have not a breath to breath but what he puts into us; and are we fit to Challenge this great God to a ſingle Duel, when we cannot move a Tongue or Finger without his immediate Aſſiſtance; for we are ſo far below him, that if we do well, we cannot benefit him; if ill, we cannot hurt him, Job 35.7. The Sun would ſhine in its own brightneſs, though all the World were blind; ſo God will not ceaſe to be Glorious, though all the World were wicked: What can we give him that is not his own? And our offered Incenſe would have a bad ſavour if it did not ſmell ſtrong of the hand that offereth it. The Sun runs his courſe; though the Atlanters curſe him at his riſing, being ſcorched with his heat; and alſo the Moon, notwithſtanding the barking of ſnarling Curs. So God diſpoſeth the Affairs of the World; He ruleth, let the earth be never ſo unquiet. But to our buſineſs: The Contention lies between God and us; the Maker and Governour of all the World, and poor Duſt and Aſhes. Who ſhall have his Will, and diſpoſe of God's own Creatures, the work of his own hands; and you ſee on what diſadvantageous ground we ſtand, and may eaſily judge of the iſſue. The Queſtion in Controverſie is, Whether God can Lawfully and Juſtly take away any of thoſe, which we call our Relations, though they are his Creatures, and bring them out of this Vale of Miſery unto theſe Manſions of Glory, which he hath provided for thoſe that love him, without our leave and liberty, and free conſent, without p. 24doing us wrong. This we ſeem to deny, when we mourn, and over-mourn, and grudge and repine, when God makes his Will known in ſuch Diſpenſations of Providence; for if this be not it, what is it? He gave you your Daughter, or rather lent her to you for a time, and now requires but his own, and that to conſummate the Marriage between Chriſt and her Soul, and you ſeem to forbid the Banes, and deny your Conſent to the Marriage. Abraham was of another mind, when he was commanded to Sacrifice his only Son, which was a far greater Tryal; this was his only Child, but yours is not; he muſt be the Inſtrument to take away his Life, this is not required at your hands; he did actively ſubmit, you only paſſively, when you cannot reſiſt; what in this caſe we ſhould do, were we able to reſiſt, I know not. Now, though in plain words we do not ſay God doth wrong us, yet our murmuring at the Providence yields ſome ſuſpicion that theſe are our thoughts; for if God will not at our Requeſt alter his Eternal Decrees, to pleaſe our Humour, we are diſcontented, and in effect we ſeem to quarrel him, that he did not receive us into his Counſel, when he made his Decrees, and ſeem to ſay, as Alphonſo, King of Arragon did affirm, That if he had been of Counſel with God in the Creation, he could have ordered things better than they were: And we ſeem to think it was not well nor wiſely done of God to determine the Death of our Relations without our knowledge or conſent, eſpecially to call them out of the Vineyard ſo long before Night, though it be but to give them their Wages. Now, if this be not the ſtate of the Controverſie between p. 25God and us, I acknowledge I know it not; and in ſuch a caſe what Advocate ſhall we find to take our part, or plead our Cauſe. But let us for once ſuppoſe a poſſibility that we were able by fair means or ſoul, to perſwade God to alt…r his unalterable Decrees, that they might be more mutable than the Laws of the Medes and Perſi…, that altered not: And ſuppoſe he ſhould hang the Keys of Life and Death at our Girdles, a Priviledge which no Man living ever yet enjoyed: Suppoſe it were left at our diſpoſe, when, and how, and where our ſelves and Relations ſhould dye, do we verily believe we could manage the buſineſs better than he doth in whoſe hands it is? And could we determine of a fitter time, and know better their Work is done, when they could be ſpared, and when they are ripe for Glory? This were preſumption in us to think; ſo, doth not the chief Husband-man better know when his Corn is ready for the Barn, and his Roſes for his Boſom? We ſhould think it Preſumption in a Son or Servant, that ſhould follow the Dictates of his own Will, and prefer it before our juſt Command. But were ſuch a Priviledge granted us, which is impoſſible that it ever ſhould be, we might be the firſt that repented it; how oft-times have we ſeen an over-deſired, or over-cockered Child to be a Scourge to the Parents, and to bring their gray hairs with ſorrow to the grave. Sometimes by their vicious and lewd courſes, which hath made them wiſh they had buried them in their Childhood; ſometimes by continual Sickneſs, Weakneſs, Pains, or other Affliction, Parents have been ſcourged for their inordinate deſires. Rachel ſo earneſtly deſired p. 26Children, that if ſhe had them not, ſhe muſt die in a pet; God gave them to her, but it coſt her her Life: There are many, that by reaſon of Pains, or other Afflictions, long for death, and dig for it, as for hid treaſures, and rejoyce exceedingly when they can find the grave, Joh 3.21, 22. and their Friends are as willing to part with them, as they are to go, and long for their death as much as they deſired their lives. But can we indeed think it fit that our Wills ſhould be the Rule of God's actings, or that we are really wiſer than he is? God forbid: haply we are loath to ſpeak out, that theſe are our deſires; but doth not our reluctancy make it out? When a Child murmures, and repines, and cries, and ſnubs, when his Father Commands him to do a thing, doth it not ſhew, that if he durſt, he would diſobey, and that there is not a full reſignation of his Will to his Fathers Will? He that gives us our lives, and the lives of our Relations, is ever fitteſt to diſpoſe of them. Were Death at our diſpoſe; Heaven would be long empty, our Friends ſhould nor come there yet, and our Enemies never; our Friends ſhould live too long, and our Enemies die too ſoon. But theſe things, whatever we think or ſay to the contrary, are determined by wiſer Counſels, yea, an irreverſible Decree; 'Tis appointed once to doe, and after death the judgment, Heb. 9.27. And we our ſelves ſhall ere long know by Experience, that we are not ſecure from Death's Arreſt; and happy will it be for us if this Purſevant fetch us into Glory, and not force us into Hell: To prevent this, 'tis good to ſubject our Wills to God's Will in all things, for we ſhall never have content or ſatiſfaction p. 27in our mind till this be done, but fears and jealouſies what if this or that happen; you ſee how vain it is to oppoſe our Wills to God's Will, and think to reſiſt him, or ſtruggle out of his hand; 'tis a thouſand times eaſier to reſiſt the Tide, and keep it back when 'tis coming in, or to reſiſt the univerſal Darkneſs that follows the ſetting of the Sun. You have heard who 'tis we contend with, and that is God, that can do what pleaſeth him; and who we are that oppoſe him, thoſe that cannot fetch one breath, or move one finger without his aſſiſtance; and what the iſſue of ſuch a Conteſt will be, is not hard to Divine.

3. Conſ. We have already conſidered the Parties engaged in the Quarrel, it remains that conſideration be had of the wrong that is done, that if it may be, the Controverſie may be ended. In this Quarrel you are the Plaintiff, and God the Defendant, who hath done the ſuppoſed wrong, and 'tis much if the Judge of the whole Earth ſhould do wrong; and God ſeems to be willing to have it brought to the Tryal, and to ſay, as ſometimes to his own People, Micah 6.3. Oh my people, what have I done unto you, and wherein have I wearied you? teſtifie againſt me. God need not to give an Account of his Actions, being a free Agent, whoſe Will is his Rule, yet is willing to put the Matter to an indifferent Judge, as he doth the Controverſie which he had with his Vineyard, Iſa. 5.3, 4. And now, O Inhabitants of Jeruſalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my Vineyard. What could I have done more for my Vineyard, that I have not done in it? &c. He is willing the World ſhould judge p. 28whether his ways be equal or no; he deſires a Bill may be drawn up by the Plaintiff againſt him, and his Charge may be known, that he may anſwer for himſelf. The like we read of, Job 32.35, &c. Oh that my adverſary had written a book, I would take it upon my ſhoulder, and bind it as a crown unto me, I would declare unto him the number of my ſteps, &c. Can you ſay be hath been a hard Maſter, or a dry and barren Wilderneſs to you? I know you will not, you cannot; but God may better ſay to you, than Themiſtocles to his ingrateful Country-men, Are you weary of receiving ſo many Courteſies from one man? Or as Chriſt to the hard hearted Jews, Many good works have I done among you, for which of theſe do you ſtone me? Why is it that you complain, and ſpend ſo many ſighs, and ſobs, and ſorrowful tears? Why is your Countenance caſt down, or why doth Diſcontent appear in your Face? Why, God hath taken away from you your Daughter, which you loved, and from whom you expected much comfort, and that without your leave and …iking, and againſt your will. But will this bear an Action? Did not he love her as well as you? And was he not as well able to prefer her? Was not ſhe his, as well as yours? Yea, had he not a greater Intereſt in her? She was his by …ght of Creation, did not he make her of nothing? Was ſhe not his alſo by right of Redemption, when his only Son loſt his Life to buy her out of Slavery? She is Chriſt's by Donation, being one that his Father gave to him, which he will not loſe, John 6.39. And ſhe hath alſo devoted her ſelf to him, and reſigned her ſelf and all ſhe had to his diſpoſe. She is alſo his p. 29by Preſervation; 'tis he that maintained her at his own Coſt and Charges, ever ſince ſhe had a Being, and paid you well for Nurſing her. Chriſt hath alſo a Matrimonial Right in her, ſhe being eſpouſed to him. In the time of the Law, the Children begotten in Bondage were accounted the Maſter's; and you being God's Servant, he hath an Intereſt in your Children alſo. She is his Daughter as well as yours; his by Adoption: What Intereſt you have, was only given or lent, you being but Inſtrumental in her production, and will you yet diſpute the Point, which hath moſt Right to diſpoſe of her? She call'd him Father, and ſo ſhe was his Adopted Child, as well as you Mother: She was the Work of his hands; he was the Potter, ſhe but the Clay; and whoſe is the Pot but the Pot-makers? He made her for his Glory, and will you not give him leave to glorifie himſelf in her Salvation? By a mutual conſent ſhe is married to Chriſt, and if he demand his Wife, will you deny her? If any other lay any claim to her Body, yet the Spirit returns to God that gave it; He breathed into her the breath of Life, and 'tis he alone that reſtrains her breath. She was yours indeed by Relation; both you and ſhe are God's by Purchaſe. You are not your own, but bought with a price. And he that hath call'd her hence, will ere long ſend for you after her. This is no continuing City, you look for, and ſhe hath found one above, whoſe Builder and Maker is God. While ſhe was here ſhe was a Tenant at will, in a poor crazy Cottage, a Houſe of Clay, ſubject to moulder about her ea…s: Now ſhe is commanded by the Landlord to ſurrender, yet with a Promiſe of a better Habitation. p. 30God hath commanded to pull down this Earthly Tabernacle, and hath provided her a Palace, A houſe not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens, whoſe builder and maker is God; and hath exalted her from a Cottage to a Crown. And is this the wrong that you complain of? Hath not God much more cauſe to complain of you, that do what you can to hinder her Promotion. She was under Age, but now comes to Inherit. If you ſay, you had her not long enough, who ſhall be Judge, her Father or you? Do you pretend to any Promiſe of a longer time? Produce it if you can; if not, lay your hand upon your mouth. Could you have provided better for her than he hath done? If not, why do you envy her Happineſs? He hath ſent for her home to his own Court, provided a Husband for her, married her to his Son, who hath lodged her in his own Boſom: And what wrong is in all this? What cauſe of ſighs, and groans, and ſhowers of tears? And he claims as great a Priviledge in you as in her, and ere long if it be denied, will diſtrain for it, and try his Title, and repining will do no good; 'tis much better to ſubmit, as David did, who faſted and prayed when his Son was living, but when he was dead, comforted himſelf, and ſaid, I ſhall go to him, but he ſhall not come to me, 2 Sam. 12.23. But perhaps, if a ſeparation muſt be, you had rather have gone before her: But muſt your Will needs be preferred before God's, who gave you liberty to chooſe? Indeed this was David's fault and failing, till he was chid out of this Humour, 2 Sam. 18.33. O my ſon Abſalom, my ſon, my ſon Abſalom: would God I had died for thee, O p. 31Abſalom, my ſon, my ſon. Jonah in a pet had rather have died, than his Gourd ſhould have withered; he prayed for Death, and told the Lord, That he did well to be angry, even unto death, for the Gourd's ſake; but God had determined he ſhould live, and the Gourd ſhould die. Our Lives are not in our own hands, nor in our Enemies hands, but in the hands of God; we cannot appoint God what to do, or who to call for, neither is it fit we ſhould; he knows beſt when our Task is done, and when we are ready. But you did expect ſhe ſhould have lived longer, but what ground had you to build ſuch an Expectation upon? Tis true, ſhe was young; but do not far younger than ſhe was feel the dint of Death? Yea haply, if it were well conſidered, as many die before they come to her Age, as live beyond it; you your ſelf buried one at a far younger age, your knew ſhe was Mortal, and why ſhould you promiſe her more time than God had promiſed her? I am ſure God never made any Promiſe to fruſtrate his Eternal Decrees; ſhe might indeed have lived longer, even to the Age of Methuſalem, had God will'd it; and ſhe might alſo have died younger, yea, and never ſaw the Sun. But who is it that he hath made of his Cabinet-Counſel? Or who is it that can come to a compoſition for a Leaſe of his own or Friend's Life? But is this all the thanks you render to God for ſparing her with you to comfort you for about Twenty Years, that you murmur? Had it been more, haply had it been Twenty more, the thanks had been all one, and your ſorrow at the parting never the leſs; and will nothing content except we be our own carvers? But ſuppoſe you p. 32hoped ſhe ſhould ſurvive you, and what then? Would not there have been grief at the parting? But you would have had the burden caſt upon her ſhoulders, but God that bids us take up the Croſs, will have the making of it himſelf, and lays it upon whoſe back he pleaſeth, and will not humour us ſo far as to let us have our will, when it ſtands in competition with his own. And truly this Croſs is ſo perfectly of God's making, that he that runs may read it: But had he made uſe of any Inſtrument, his Hand might have been ſeen in the Work. But ſhe was hopeful, and could not be ſpared; and is not this matter of Comfort to you, which you make the ground of your Grief? The more Gracious, the more Glorious; the more Holy, the more Happy, the better ſhe was, the fitter for Heaven. There are two things which may trouble us at the death of Relations: the one is, when we can ſee no Evidence of Grace; the other, when we have neglected our Duty to them, eſpecially to their Souls, in their life-time. The reaſon why David did ſo wofully bewail the Death of Abſalom, is imagined to be one or both of theſe. When our Relations are fitted for Glory, I think 'tis no uncharitable wiſh to wiſh them out of a troubleſome World, in thoſe Coeleſtial Enjoyments. Paul did deſire to be diſſolved, and to be with Chriſt, which was beſt of all. But to wiſh thoſe out of Glory that are in, were both an unprofitable and uncharitable deſire, and argues more Paſſion and Self-love, than well grounded Charity. Now, there is no going to Heaven, but through the Ga…es of Death; and 'tis through Death's Portal that we muſt enter. She hath paid the Debt we all owe, p. 33and would you have her endure theſe Pangs and Pains over again? You came not into the World together, and it was unlikely that you would go together out; and when ever a parting was, it was like to be with grief. She hath changed her Husband, but 'tis for the better; an Earthly for an Heavenly; ſhe had a large Joynture before, but 'tis much amended, 'tis now advanc'd to a Crown and Kingdom. She hath left her Relations behind, but ſhe hath better there, Saints and Angels, the Souls of Juſt Men made perfect: There ſhe can ſerve the Lord without diſtraction, and ſing Hallelujahs to Eternity without wearineſs; here Corruption attended her beſt Duties, there ſin and ſorrow ſhall be no more; here ſhe was troubled with Satan's Temptations, there he cannot come to throw one Dart, or ſhoot one Arrow at her; here ſhe was liable to Pains, Aches, Griefs, and Troubles, all theſe are there removed; here ſhe could ſcarcely open an Eye, or an Ear, but it let in ſin, or ſorrow; there all tears ſhall be wiped away, and a ſad or ſorrowful thought ſhall never enter. And what cauſe hath ſhe to complain of wrong? And if neither of you be wronged, why is this waſt? Why ſo many ſighs, ſo many ſobs, ſo many ſorrowful tears, which might better run in another Channel? Had ſhe liberty …o ſpeak for her ſelf, it might probably be in ſuch words as theſe, which Chriſt upon the Croſs ſpake …o the Women that bewailed him, Luke 23.28. Weep not for me, but weep for your ſelves, and for …our children, &c. thoſe that are yet in the Vale of Tears; 'tis the Church-Militant that deſerves …ity, not the Church-Triumphant. Lament ra…her the condition of thoſe that ſurvive, for you p. 34know not what their Sufferings may be; the other are out of harms-way, and ſafely landed in the Port of Heaven. Now, is there ſuch a wrong done you or her, that God takes her to himſelf before you were willing to part with her, though he had a better Intereſt in her than you could pretend, and made her fit for Glory, and tranſlated her thither? You agree both in the thing, but the Quarrel is about the time, and the Controverſie is, whoſe Will muſt be obeyed, or whoſe Judgment muſt be preferred, which is the beſt time. Many of the wiſer Heathens have ſubmitted with leſs contradiction: Anaxarchus, when told of the death of his two Sons, anſwered, I knew that they were Mortal; Et ſtultus eſt qui mortem mortalium deflet. Now in the preſent Controverſie, may not God ſay to you, as ſometimes he did to his People, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone from me? What wrong have I done, that you thus complain? One of us muſt ſubmit, and muſt it be me? Muſt I alter my Eternal Decrees for your ſake, or will there be no Peace to be had? The Lord may ſay, as Jacob did to Laban, when he ſo fiercely purſued him, Gen. 31.36. What is my treſpaſs? What is my ſin? Declare it before the world, that they may be our judges. Nay, hath not God in this very Affliction ſugared your Pill, which might have been much bittered; ſhe might have been taken away in her younger years, before you had ſuch hopes of her Integrity, or at leaſt denyed you ſuch Evidence of her Converſion; then might you have feared ſhe had been loſt indeed; or inſtead of one, he might have taken all your Children, when as yet two ſurvive; o… p. 35by the ſame ſtroke he might have taken away your dear Husband, better to you than ten Sons, as Elkanah ſaid to Hannah, 1 Sam. 1.8. Or he might have ſuffered your Children to be a heart-breaking to you, as too many in theſe days are, by their vicious Lives and Converſations, who bring their gray hairs with ſorrow to the grave, which makes them with, with Auguſti… that they had never married, or had dyed childleſs. Theſe are not ſuch rare Examples in our days, but too frequent. She dyed a Natural Death, many now adays, as well as Job, Eli, Aaron, David, and others in former times were not ſo happy, as to ſay ſo of theirs. Neither is there any guilt upon you, as upon ſome that have cauſe to mourn for neglecting any means for the preſervation of her Life, when ſome be wickedly Acceſſory to their Childrens Death. If there were any fault, (which yet I cannot accuſe you of) it was in the exceſs of your Love, which I the more fear, when I ſee the exceſs of your Sorrow; and this is a fault which Indulgent Mothers are apt to run into. But you'll ſay, you could more eaſily have born any other Burden, or ſuffered any other Croſs: Why then it ſeems God hath let you Blood in the right Vein, as he did the Young Man in the Goſpel, that was willing to do any thing Chriſt commanded, but part with his Riches; but Chriſt will have a full reſignation of our ſelves, and all that is ours, or he will not own us. No beloved Delilah muſt be retained, the Croſs that Chriſt appoints we muſt bear, and muſt not pick and chooſe our own Burden: Luke 14.26. If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, wife and children, brethren and ſiſters, and his own p. 36life alſo, he cannot be my Diſciple. That is, if he prize any of thoſe before him, or will rather part with Chriſt than with any or all of theſe, he deſerves not the name of a Chriſtian; for all we have in the World is given to us as Love-Tokens from God, to ſignifie his Love to us, and to oblige our Love to him; and ſometimes God calls back ſome of theſe Gifts, to ſee whether we love him or his Tokens better. God gave you liberty before ſhe dyed, to let her and you ſee the Fruit of her Womb, a Son, which though he ſoon called off the Stage, yet at the Reſurrection be ſhall ſtand in his lot. But 'tis farther objected, It was a good Woman: And what then, muſt not good Women dye? If Death would ſpare the Gracious, Heaven would be empty, for no other ſhall go thither. Was ſhe too good to be the Child of God, the Spouſe of Chriſt, an Inhabitant in Heaven, a Companion for Angels and Glorified Saints? But was not her Goodneſs freely given her by her Husband? She had it not by Nature, ſhe was beautiful with the comelineſs he put upon her, and all this was in order to fit her for her Marriage. But was not her Goodneſs your Comfort, as well as her Reward? Had that been wanting, there had been more cauſe of Sorrow than now there is. But ſhe could not be ſpared: For that it is beſt to let God alone with the Government of the World, which he hath ſo wiſely managed for above Five Thouſand Years, and never was yet put to a ſtrait for want of Inſtruments; for he that of ſtones can raiſe children to Abraham, never wants Inſtruments to do his Work. 'Tis he that took her hence beſt knows whom he can ſpare; doubtleſs p. 37he can raiſe Inſtruments as well as in former times, and qualifie whom he pleaſeth for the Work; his Vineyard ſhall be dreſt, or he will ſend Labourers in at the eleventh hour; ſhe is call'd out by the Owner of the Vineyard, to receive her Wages, who can ſend in more if he want: Had ſhe had more Work to do, ſhe had had more time to do it in; her Father that loves her, knows the World is infectious, and he hath taken her out of the Corrupt Air, leſt ſhe ſhould take the Infection. But ſhe was in the Prime and Flower of her Age, and 'tis pity ſuch Bloſſoms ſhould be nipt; but God beſt knows when his Roſes are ripe, and when they ſhould be pluckt, and when 'tis the beſt Seaſon to gather his Flowers, and if he pluck this Roſe in the bud, to put into his Boſom, what need this Complaint? He takes not his People hence till they are ripe for Glory. Though we know not the reaſon of his doings, doubtleſs he hath wiſe and gracious ends in all his Actions; 'tis not neceſſary for us to be of his Counſel, yet he condeſcends ſo far to us, as to tell us, All things ſhall work together for good to thoſe that love God, Rom. 8.28. And why may nor this dark Providence do you good? Sometimes the righteous are taken away from the evil to come, Iſa. 57.1. And this may be the preſent caſe, and haply you may have more cauſe to mourn that you are alive, than that ſhe is dead; we know not what Cup may be put into our hands, haply ſuch as you would not deſire to ſee her drink. However Troubles and Afflictions are ſo common to Men of all Ranks and Conditions, that the Holy Ghoſt tells us, That bleſſed are the dead that dye in the Lord, for they reſt from p. 38their labours, and their works follow them, Rev. 14.13. To dye in the Lord is a Happineſs, to dye for the Lord, ſaith Latimer, is ſuch a Priviledge, that is not granted to the Angels in Heaven: Mors privare poteſt opibus non operibus. Death may deprive us of our Wealth, except we have ſent it before us to Heaven, but not our good Works. But this your Daughter was your firſt-born, and was it not fit ſhe ſhould have the Precedency in her Death, as well as in her Birth? The firſt-born hath no Priviledge againſt Death more than the reſt: When Death knocks, all muſt open; yea, God ſeems to claim a greater Intereſt in the firſt-born than in the reſt, Exod. 13.2. Our Saviour Chriſt was the firſt-born, yea, the only Son of his Father, and as well beloved as your Daughter could be, yet ſuffered Death for us: And ſhall we think a Son, or Daughter, or our own Lives too good for him? Abraham did not deny his Son, his only Son, when God required him; yea, was content to kill him with his own hands. And till there be a through reſignation of us, and ours, and all we enjoy, to God's diſpoſe, till we are content to be what he would have us be; and do and ſuffer what his Will is, we are not in a Chriſtian Poſture, and God if he love us, will bring us to this, and if one blow will not do it, more ſhall: Our ſtout Stomacks muſt ſtoop, and we muſt bend or break; the beſt way to get from under the Rod is Submiſſion, for we can neither grapple with God, nor ſtruggle out of his hands. Let us now ſum up all that is in Controverſie between God and you, and let us ſee whether it will be a conſiderable Charge. God took away your Daughter without your conſent, p. 39and againſt your will, laying more claim to her than you can, and brought her out of a ſtate of Miſery, which you had involved her in, out of the Devil's Slavery from under the Curſe of the Law, and the Wrath of God, and Eternal Damnation, and that by the precious Blood of his own Son, and by Regenerating her, and Adopting her for his Child, changing her Nature, and giving her the diſpoſition of a Child, cloathing her with the rich Robes of Chriſt's Righteouſneſs, and decking her with the Graces of his Spirit, Eſpouſing her to his Son, providing an Inheritance for her, and when ſhe came to Age, hath tranſported her thither, and gave her Poſſeſſion of the purchaſed Inheritance, thoſe Manſions of Glory provided for her from all Eternity; wip'd all Tears from her Eyes, and all Sorrow from her Heart, and all Sin from her Soul, married her to his Son, who lodged her in his Boſom, gave to her the largeſt Fountain, even a Kingdom of Glory. And for this you mourn, and will mourn, and think you do well to mourn, and, like Rachel, refuſe to be comforted, becauſe ſhe is not. This is the wrong that draws Tears from your Eyes, and ſorrowful Sighs and Sobs from your Heart: And may not God call Heaven and Earth to Witneſs againſt you, that your Complaints are cauſeleſs, and your Tears needleſs? Had he taken her in her ſins, and caſt her into Hell, he had wronged neither the one nor the other, though her condition had been deplorable; but now he may ſay of her, as ſometimes of his Vineyard, Iſa. 5.3. What could I have done more for her than I have done? And what Reaſon can you give why you ſorrow as one without hope for p. 40one that ſleeps in the Lord? Were it a deed of Charity, could you prevail to wiſh her out of thoſe Coeleſtial Enjoyments back again into a World of Troubles, Vexations, and Dangers, and that only to bear you Company? Do you think that all the Glory, Splendour, and Magnificence; all the Riches, Honours, and Promotions the World ever ſaw, would be a Temptation to her to leave the Beatifical Viſion, and thoſe Rivers of Pleaſures which are at the right hand of God for evermore? Alas, theſe are no more to thoſe Coeleſtial Enjoyments, than a piece of rotten ſhining Wood to the Sun in its Splendour. And do you think that Twenty Years in Heaven will not make amends for Twenty Years on Earth, which ſhe poſſibly might have lived?

4. Conſ. In the next place it will not be amiſs to conſider how little good your immoderate Mourning will do in this caſe: And truly in the upſhot you will find it will do much more hurt than good, even to your ſelf, and all about you; for by this means you perplex your ſelf in vain, ſo that you can neither enjoy your ſelf nor any thing you have with that ſerenity of Spirit, as otherwiſe you might do; and ſpend that Holy Water, thoſe Tears to no purpoſe, which were deſigned for a better uſe, and ſhould be ſpent upon another Account, and would do more good, did they run in a right Channel. You bewail the Effect, but 'tis much better to bewail the Cauſe, for were that removed, the Effect would ceaſe, Non valet medicamentum dum ferrum invulnere. Sin deſerves all the Tears we can ſhed, and 'tis better weep for living Sins than dead Children; if the latter deſerve one Tear, the p. 41other deſerves a thouſand: And it is not for your own ſins alone that this Flood-gate ſhould be opened, but for the ſins of the Times, our National ſins; for from the greateſt to the leaſt, all have gone aſtray; and if there be not a Reformation, we may expect a Deſolation, and God expects ſome to ſtand in the Gap, Ezek. 22.30. to turn away his wrath from the Nation; and although there be ſo few, that they cannot prevail for the Nation, yet their own Souls ſhall be ſaved, as God ſaid of Noah, Daniel, and Job, Ezek. 14.14. Yea, in a common Calamity, before he gives Commiſſion to the Deſtroyer, he marks all that are mourners in Sion to be paſt by, Ezek. 9.4. Here Tears will do good, for the fire of God's Indignation is only to be quenched with the Tears of True Repentance: But I fear there will be in the day of Viſitation few of thoſe Mourners found; few to ſtand up in the Gap, though many that make the Breach wider. This way may do good to your ſelf and others: Thus Job concerns himſelf more with his Children when alive, than when dead, Job 1.5.21. Now, which way can you imagine that the abundance of Tears which you pour out upon this Account of your Daughter's Death, can benefit either you, or any one elſe? In reference to God, 'tis neither pleaſing to him, neither will it prevail with him; not pleaſing, for he hath forbidden it: We ſhould not ſorrow as men without hope for them that ſleep in the Lord. For if we believe that Jeſus dyed and roſe again, even ſo alſo them that ſleep in Jeſus will God bring with him, 1 Theſſ. 4.13, 14. And it reflects ſome diſhonour upon him, when his People are ſo unſatisfied with his dealing, p. 42and repine under his Diſpenſation of Providence. It makes the World believe they take him for a hard Maſter, yea, and queſtion his Juſtice in the Act. It is no Credit to a Maſter, when his Servants quarrel at their Diet, their Lodging, their Work, and their Wages: Others imagine there is ſomething in it that makes them complain. Now, God's Glory is his End in all his Actions, and it ſhould be ours, and to preſerve that in the ſight of the World, we ſhould never hang down the head but for ſin, our own ſins, and the ſins of others, becauſe God is thereby diſhonoured, and his Laws violated: And then that they cannot be prevalent with God is as evident. You are offended that your Daughter is gone, Hinc illae lachrymae, but 'tis an impoſſible thing to bring her again, and what elſe can you be ſatisfied with? You can never prevail with him to alter his immutable Decrees, which are as firm as the Pillars of Heaven, and the Foundations of the Earth, and the Sun and Moon in their courſes. And then again I am ſure you are not benefited by it, the preſent vexation you lye under, muſt needs make your Life uneaſie, yea, make you a burden to your ſelf, thus to ſpend your time inter ſuſpiria & lachrymas, between Sighs and Tears, when the moſt miſerable Bond-ſlave can do no more. And hereby you alſo diſable your ſelf for your Duties to God and Man, both in your general and particular Calling and Relations. Diſcontent in the Heart makes a Chriſtian, like Jonah, inſtead of praying to God, quarrels him, Jonah 4.2, 3, 4. What Communion can you keep with God, when there are ſuch tumultuous Thoughts ariſing in the heart? p. 43Doubtleſs in this pet you cannot ſerve God without diſtraction, neither attend your Worldly Concerns; and that Sorrow is never pleaſing to God, that thus diſables you for your Duties, or hinders you in Heaven's way. Neither can there any benefit ariſe to your Friends and Relations; for while you are under ſuch diſcompoſure of Spirit, the whole Family muſt taſt of the Effects of it; for what comfort can you give others, that refuſe comfort your ſelf? Or how can you Counſel them, that will take no Advice your ſelf? You have been long in the School of Chriſt, and he expects, that being converted, you ſhould ſtrengthen your Brethren. But doth not your carriage put a block in others ways to comfort? This makes you that you can take little delight in your remaining Relations; nay, to overlook, and undervalue all your other Mercies, and cannot read Love in any of God's dealings with you; your finger is ſtill upon the Sore, and this one Croſs hides from your Eyes a thouſand Mercies. It had ſuch an effect upon David, though it was no doubt his failing, when God had given him a Signal Victory, and by that means brought him back again into his Throne; yet all this was nothing to him, becauſe Abſalom was dead; and neither God nor Man was thank'd for the Victory. So 'tis with you, the lives of your Husband, Children, Friends, Relations; your Health, Peace, Plenty, Liberty, Senſe, and a thouſand more, ſeem little in your Eyes: All Haman's Honour, Wealth, Promotion, Children, were nothing to him, ſo long as Mordecai the Jew would not bow to him, Eſther 5.13. And though God hath given you abundance of theſe outward p. 44things, yea, himſelf, and promiſed you Heaven and Glory into the Bargain, yet all this ſeems not ſatisfactory, your Daughter is not. Now, would not this make a Man ſuſpect ſhe was you… Idol, and therefore God took her out of the way, that your Affections might run in the right Channel. Well, but ſeeing no living Creature can be benefited by your Tears, let us ſee whether your deceaſed Daughter may, and here is leaſt ground of all to imagine it. Indeed were the Papiſts Doctrine of Purgatory true, and that Souls might be redeemed by Dirges, Maſſes, and ſuch other Fopperies, then your Money may do ſomething; but this Fire that was kindled to warm the Popes Kitchen, can never be extinguiſhed by your Tears, but by the Oyl of Angels. But to paſs by that exploded conceit, or rather deceit, as a groundleſs Fiction: But whether the Soul be in Heaven or Hell (for a third place the Scripture owns not) it is in a ſtated condition, which Eternity it ſelf cannot alter, and our Tears nothing avail to the one or to the other. In Heaven there can be no augmentation of Glory; for how can they have more than fulneſs of Joy and Pleaſures for evermore? What can they have more than the Beatifical Viſion of God, and Fruition of Glory, than rivers of pleaſures at God's right hand for evermore? Communion with, and Enjoyment of God bleſſed for ever. And can your Tears procure greater Glory? Here is the maximum quod ſic, the higheſt Pinacle of Glory, as much as ſ…ll Creatures are capable of at preſent, and at the Reſurrection, Soul and Body being reunited, their Glory ſhall be compleat, yea, everl…g Joy in the Preſence of God. And had p. 45you your wiſh for her, it would fall a thouſand times ſhorter than her real Enjoyment: And what cauſe is there of Tears, unleſs it be in thoſe that envy her Happineſs? Now on the other ſide, miſcarrying Souls can have no diminution of their Torments by the Tears of their Friends; in their life-time Prayers and Tears to God in their behalf had been ſit Phyſick, but when Death comes 'tis too late, let the Papiſts ſay what they will to the contrary; As the tree falleth, ſo it lyeth; and as Death leaves us, ſo Judgment ſhall find us. Their own Tears can then do them no good, though they ſhould weep as much Water as there is in the Sea. There is a time when God will be found, and there is a time when he will not be found. The Rich Glutton could not in Hell procure one drop of Water to cool his Tongue: There is no Redemption out of Hell, and there is no other place for miſcarrying Souls but Hell; the Tormentors will not be bribed, nor the fire quenched with Tears: Their worm dyeth not, and their fire never goeth out. Tophet is ordained of old, even for the King it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large, the pile thereof is fire and much wood, and the breath of the Lord like a river of brimſtone doth kindle it, Iſa. 30.33. So that 'tis evident immoderate Mourning for deceaſed Friends either needs not, or boots not; thoſe that dye well, are ſet out of the reach of Danger, and thoſe that miſcarry, out of the reach of Recovery. But I deſire you further to conſider, were your Daughter ſenſible in Heaven, what ſorrow you have for her on Earth, which is a thing too hard for me to determine, what thanks think you would ſhe return? We p. 46may imagine ſhe would ſpeak to you in the Language our Saviour Chriſt uſed to the Women th… lamented him upon the Croſs, Daughters of Jeruſalem, weep not for me, but weep for your ſelves, for the miſery that is like to come upon you. Yo… may ſigh away your Comfort, and ſob away you… Health, and weep away your precious time, and diſable your ſelf for your preſent Duty; but if you mourn all the days of your Life, and weep till Dooms-day, you would find your ſelf where you began, and to have gotten no ground. It is your Duty to do what you can for your Children while they live, as David faſted and prayed for his Son, but when dead, ſay as he, I ſhall g… to her, ſhe ſhall not come to me: Or as Job, Th… Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, bleſſed be the name of the Lord. God will not be perſwaded by all your Tears and Complaints to alter his Eternal Decrees to fit your Humour, though you ſhould drench your ſelf in Sorrow, and drown your ſelf in Tears, yet 'tis all one; you may as well mourn that God will not give you Power to reſiſt the Tide, when it comes in in its ſtrength; or reſiſt the univerſal Darkneſs that comes upon us at the Sun's ſetting, or ſtop the Sun and Moon in their courſes, or remove the Pillars of Heaven, or the Foundations of the Earth, as this; for you cannot alter his Decree, or preſerve the Life of one that he hath appointed to dye: He doth not only appoint that all Men ſhall dye, but the number of their Months are with him, and he appoints their Bounds that they cannot paſs; the time when, the manner how, the Inſtrument by whom, are all known to him; and by immoderate mourning at the p. 47execution of his Will, you ſeem to mourn that you are not God, or not able to reſiſt him, or that he made you not of his Counſel when he decreed your Daughter's death, which is ſo abſurd, that no Heathen could in plain words own it. And doth not Experience convince you, your Tears are vain? Was there ever any that by mourning brought a Soul out of Heaven or Hell, or got any benefit by it? And will you think you ſhall be the firſt? I know ſome have been raiſed from the Dead, by the mighty Power of God, who had determined it ſhould be ſo, for the confirmation of the Goſpel. But what is this to your caſe? Let your Grief therefore never exceed the bounds of Moderation, for it will never do you good, or any one elſe. But ſuppoſe it were poſſible to prevail with God in ſuch a Requeſt, and he ſhould give her her choice to go or ſtay, you would be never the better; you would never prevail with her to return: There was indeed ſuch a Petition made to Abraham for Lazarus to come back into the World, but it was refuſed; and Lazarus had met with ſuch hard Meaſures in the World, that he was not fond of the Journey; and doubtleſs ſhe would not be perſwaded with all your Arguments to leave the Boſom of Chriſt, and the ſweet Embraces of her dear Redeemer, to accompany you for a while, for long it cannot be, before a ſeparation muſt be made again, for this is no continuing City; and truly to wiſh her to leave the perfection of Glory, and to embrace an eſtate of Sin and Miſery, and ſubject her ſelf again to Drudgery and Slavery, Pain and Sickneſs, Dread and Danger, Perſecution and Affliction, argues more of Self-love, p. 48than of true Affection to her; and I believe when the Paſſion is over, upon conſideration you would not do it. If a poor Beggar's Daughter, going from door to door, were affected and beloved by ſome Mighty Prince, who ſhould take her, cloath and adorn her, marry her, and make her his Queen, and after this her Mother ſhould perſwade her to leave her Crown and Dignity, her Husband, Honour, and Preferment, and Pleaſure, and go along in her hand as before a begging, it would be hard to perſwade her: The Application is eaſie, and the Condeſcenſion far greater in this caſe, than in that; to leave Heaven, to converſe with you on the Earth; and were it in your power, would you expoſe her again to Sin and Suffering, and to bear again the Pangs of Death? Would you bring her back again into the Vineyard, now her Work is done, and ſhe is receiving her Wages, to endure the burden and heat of the day, and all to bear you Company? You are groaning under the preſent burden of Mortality, and are ſenſible of your Pains and Diſtempers, and would you wiſh her in the like condition? She is now ſafely landed in the Port of Glory, and would you have her back again upon the raging Sea, toſſed up and down with Storms and Tempeſts, among Rocks and Sands, among Pirates and Robbers, and all this under pretence of Love and Tenderneſs? What worſe can you wiſh to your greateſt Enemy? She is at her Journey's end, and would you have her tread over thoſe weary ſteps again, along the dirty, craggy, rocky, and thorny way, and paſs through thoſe Dangers again ſhe hath once eſcaped. She was an Heireſs, and is come to her p. 49Age, and hath received her Inheritance; and would you have her wave her Inheritance, reſign up her Crown and Kingdom, and again reduce her ſelf to ſervile Slavery, Bondage, and Beggery, carking Cares, and fretting Fears? She hath run the Race, and won the Prize, and would you have her run it again, and put it to a ſecond venture? She hath fought the good Fight, and won the Victory, and wears the Crown, and would you have her try for it in a ſecond Duel? Would you have her renounce her Crown and Diadem, diveſt her ſelf of her rich Robes, wherewith her Husband hath arrayed her, and re-aſſume the rags of Sin, and the ſtate of Suffering? She is now out of the Devil's reach, and muſt ſhe again feel his fiery Darts, and be taken …n his Snares, and ſubject her ſelf to the Allurements of the World, where ſhe ſhall have Snares …aid for her in every State and Condition, every Relation, every Calling, every Enjoyment, every Duty, yea, every Action? Would you have her …gain hated, perſecuted, and maligned for Righ…eouſneſs ſake, and under continual Fears, Troubles, Anxieties, and Afflictions? What pleaſure think …ou ſhe can take, that hath been enchaunting …ut Hallelujahs in the Heavenly Quire, when ſhe …omes to hear Swearing, Curſing, ribald and un…avoury Speeches; and to ſee the Laws of God broken, as is too frequent in the World; to ſee Holineſs made a Scorn, and Religion a Laughing-…tock, and thoſe that are Godly made a Prey? Now, what Arguments would you uſe to her to …ain her conſent to re-aſſume her former Eſtate? …he hath tryed both, and knows the difference …tter than we; and we uſually ſay, Contra guſtum p. 50non diſputandum, Experience is the beſt Maſter: Doubtleſs all your Arguments will prove vain in this caſe; ſhe better knows now the Vanity of the World, than formerly ſhe did, and the worth of Coeleſtial Enjoyments; and her love to God is much more enlarged, her Underſtanding being increaſed; for nothing but Ignorance can ſtave off our Affections from Chriſt. Will you tempt her with Gold, Silver, Precious Jewels? Alas, if you ſhould empty the Indies, it will no… do; ſhe muſt leave better Treaſures behind her▪ Theſe will but ſerve her to look upon but ti… Death, the other are more durable, and la… even to Eternity, ſhe treads better Metal i… Heaven under her feet, Rev. 21.21. The ſtree… of the City are of pure Gold. Or will brave Apparel, coſtly Ornaments entice her? Alas, ſhe muſt leave behind her the rich Robes of Chriſt'… Righteouſneſs, and thoſe Precious Gemms an… Jewels wherewith her Husband hath arrayed her, far more precious than the World affords, thoſ… Robes of Glory which no Man can deſcribe Or will Honour or Preferment do the work? Alas, the empty thing called Honour, bears no more proportion to Heavenly Glory, than painted fire on the Wall to true fire; or a King upo… a Stage, to a King upon his Throne; or a liveleſs Carkaſs, to a living Man. And what Preferment can there be greater, than to a Crown of Glory, and to be the Spouſe of the Son o… God? If you offer her all the Delights of the Sons of Men, what are thoſe to the Delights of the Sons of God? To thoſe Rivers of pleaſ…e, which are at God's right hand for evermore. Theſe are like Jonah's Gourd, ſoon withered; ſoon ripe, p. 51and ſoon rotten. Will ſtately Buildings, large Revenues, Crowns, and Kingdoms prove a Temptation? Alas, this is too weak a Bait, to allure a Heaven-born Soul: The New Jeruſalem, whereof ſhe is a Citizen, is not to be parallel'd in the whole World. See the deſcription of it, or rather the ſhadow, for no words in Humane Language can diſcover it, Rev. 21. where Gold and Precious Stones are the courſeſt Materials, yea, too courſe to deſcribe it in its Glory. And for ſpaciouſneſs, the whole Terreſtrial Globe doth not ſo much exceed one ſquare Inch of Earth, as the Heavens exceed the whole Globe. But it may be her dear Husband may allure her; but ſhe muſt then leave a better Husband, even Chriſt, to whom her Soul was eſpouſed before ſhe went. But her Father and Mother are here; but ſhe hath God for her Father, and Jeruſalem that is above is her Mother, and Angels, and glorified Saints her Brethren and Siſters, and conſtant Companions. She was, 'tis true, a loving and dutiful Child, and now is a loving and dutiful Wife, and ſhe cannot tranſgreſs her Maker's Laws, not her Husband's Will. With what ſcorn would ſhe reject ſuch offers as theſe, if made to perſwade her out of Heaven! Her love to her Huſband would anſwer all the Objections could be made. But how can you be ſo much againſt the conſummation of the Marriage, that were ſo willing of the Eſpouſals? I know you travelled in Birth till Chriſt was formed in her; it was both your deſire and deſign it ſhould be ſo, and your delight when it was done; and is his fetching her home ſo troubleſome? What greater miſchief could you wiſh to the greateſt Enemy you p. 52ever had in the World, than to wiſh him out of Heaven? And it would be the moſt ſignal Revenge, if you could procure it. And can it be Love th…n to your Daughter? You know not what Cup may be put into your hand to drink, and would you have a glorified Soul to Pledge you? Were you in a loathſom Priſon, would you wiſh your deareſt Friends to be in the like condition? Or were you ſick, muſt they be ſick alſo? Is this an effect of L…ve? Paul indeed deſired to be diſſolved, and to be with Chriſt; but he never deſi…ed any that were with Ch…iſt back again; he deſired Agrippa, and thoſe that were with him, were ſuch as he was, except his bonds. He did not deſire their Miſery, but their Happineſs. The World is but a Peſt-Houſe, and every one hath ſome Plague-ſore or other running upon him, and would you deſire any Friend you love to come into ſuch infected Company? It is but a little while and you will follow her; and it will be ſaid of you, as of her, She is dead alſo. And would there not be another ſeparation if ſhe ſurvived? We are in this Life like Men in a croud, almoſt thronged to Death, and he that firſt gets out, is beſt at eaſe; and would you wiſh her again in the midſt of the throng? Now, if you ſay, as I believe you will, theſe are not your deſires to have her back: Why then all theſe Tears, theſe Sighs, theſe Sobs, if you imagine ſhe is better than you? This looks as if you envied her Happineſs, and would have her bear part of your Burden. Nay, immoderate Sorrow ſignifies that you have hard thoughts of her condition, for who can mourn for thoſe he thinks happier than himſelf?? Who mourns for his Childrens p. 53Advancement, eſpecially if he knew they were out of Danger; this would look more like Envy than Love, to mourn for another's Welfare. If Galeacius, that Italian Marqueſs, when he was offered great Riches, if he would renounce his Religion, cryed out, Let their Money periſh with them, that hold all the Wealth in the World worth one day's Communion with Chriſt. How much more may a glorified Saint ſay ſo, if he were tempted by the World's Splendour to leave his Coeleſtial Enjoyment, that City of Pearl, that Manſion of Glory, the Beatifical Viſion, the Enjoyment of Chriſt, thoſe Rivers of Pleaſures, to come and make his abode in the World, for any earthly Greatneſs; how ſcornfully would a glorified Saint entertain ſuch a Motion? And how little would theſe Promiſes affect him? The Martyrs that had comparatively but a little taſte of Chriſt, yet diſreliſhed all things elſe in compariſon of him, and forſook all for him; Yea, loved not their lives to the death, but laid them down at the Stake for his ſake, and in his cauſe. But now they enjoy him in Glory, what value think you they put upon him? The greateſt cauſe of ſorrow for a dead Child is, when we fear their miſcarrying, and are conſcious of the neglect of our Duty to them, in reference to their Salvation. This we may mourn for, and it may be a corroſive to our hearts, and it ſhould make us careful for the time to come. But to mourn for thoſe immoderately, that we believe are tranſlated into Glory, and have the higheſt pitch of Happineſs we could wiſh for them, is our weakneſs, or our ſin, or both. Such Tears will neither glorifie God, nor benefit us or our Relations, living or dead, but p. 54are ſpent in vain. And ſeeing weeping cannot prevail with God, nor with our departed Friends to return, let us dry up thoſe Tears, and make no more ſuch waſt, but turn them into a right Channel, and mourn for ſin, which is the cauſe of their Death, and of our Trouble.

5. The laſt Conſideration I ſhall commend unto you, is to conſider your own Condition, the uncertainty of your Life, and the haſt that Death makes to poſt you after her; yea, you are following your lamented Daughter at the very heels: For when your Part is play'd, you will march off the Stage. How ſoon a parting blow will be given to divide you from your other Relations, you know not; how ſoon Death will enter into your Lodgings: had your Daughter lived, 'tis not likely you would have continued long together. You have lived a conſiderable time, the moſt People in the World die younger; why then take it you ſo ill that your Daughter is ſtept over the Stile before you, when you your ſelf are ready to tread upon her heels, and to tread out her foot-ſteps? Yet a few years, and then I ſhall go whence I ſhall not return, Job 16.22. And your place will know you no more, Job 7.10. The thread of your Life will ſoon be cut, which can never be pieced; and your Glaſs run out, which will never be turned; and the Day be over, which will never dawn again. Such Meditations of Death did always run in Job's mind, he is much upon this Subject, and had Death always in his Eye: And the like would do you no hurt, but much good. O remember that my life is wind, mine eye ſhall no more ſee good: The eye of him that hath ſeen me ſhall ſee me no p. 55more: Thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. As the cloud is conſumed and vaniſheth away, ſo he that goeth down to the grave, ſhall come up no more. He ſhall return no more to his houſe, neither ſhall his place know him any more, Job 7.7, &c. Let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, before I go hence, whence I ſhall not return, even to the land of darkneſs, and the ſh…dow of death, Job 10.20, 21. He knew that he had not long to trouble the World, and therefore deſired he might not meet with much Trouble in the World. Death, whether it ſtrikes you or your Relations, gives a parting blow; and which ever goes firſt, the other will not ſtay long behind. Now, is it worth the while to ſpend your days in ſorrowing for your dead Daughter, when ſhe hath drunk that Health that you your ſelf muſt ſo quickly Pledge? Or to wiſh her again for ſo ſhort an Enjoyment, when one of theſe days you will enjoy her to Eternity, when ſhe ſhall be much more lovely than here ſhe was? If you place your Happineſs in the Enjoyment of your Relations in this Life, 'tis a ſhort-liv'd Happineſs, and you will ſhortly have occaſion to ſay, as one about to leave the World, Spes & fortuna vale te, Farewel Hope and Comfort for ever. But ſure while God is preſent, a Chriſtian need not care much who is abſent. If we could be as ſenſible of the with-drawings of God from the Soul, as of the departure of Friends and Relations, it would prove our greater trouble: If our hopes were only in this life, we ſhould of all men be moſt miſerable. Indeed there is cauſe of ſorrow if they die unconverted, and breath out their Happineſs with their Lives. But for the Godly, they cannot only ſay, Dum ſpiro ſpero, p. 56While there is Life, there is Hope; but alſo Dum expiro ſpero, I have Hope in Death it ſelf, Prov. 14.32. Death it ſelf is a Door of Hope to give them entrance into the Paradice of God, but to the Wicked a Trap-door to let them into Hell. Both Godly and Wicked ſhall change their Place, but not their Company, for they ſhall have ſuch Company they delighted in here: Thoſe that muſt leave all their Comforts behind, no wonder if they are unwilling to depart. Never had Adam more cauſe to be unwilling to leave Paradice, or the Jebuſites the ſtrong Holds in Sion, or the unjuſt Steward to leave his Office, or the Devils to go out of the Demoniack, when they knew they ſhould never enter there again, than a wicked Man hath to leave the World. Solomon calls the Grave our long Home; Man goeth to his long home, Eccleſ. 12.5. And well he may, ſome haply may ſleep there Six Thouſand Years before the Reſurrection; but Heaven and Hell may be called ſo much better, for what is that ſpace of time to Eternity? 'Tis called alſo, The houſe of all the living; becauſe all that ever did or ſhall live, ſhall there dwell together. God hath provided all Men one Houſe in the Womb, and another in the Tomb; one when they enter into the World, and another when they go out; and the Wiſe Man tells us, The day of death is better than the day… of ones birth, Eccleſ. 7.1. For man that is born of a woman, is born to ſorrow, Job 14.1. therefore the Coffin is to be preferred before the Cradle. An Ancient Father calls the days wherein the Martyrs ſuffered, their Birth-days, becauſe then they began to live indeed; their Marriage-day, becauſe then the Marriage was conſummate p. 57between Chriſt and their Souls. It was an Epicure that ſaid, Ede, bibe, lude poſt mortem nulla voluptas. But 'tis better (ſaith Solomon) to go to the houſe of mourning, than to the houſe of feaſting, Eccleſ. 7.2. Now, through this Gate your dear Daughter is gone, and you are ſtepping after her, you are treading out her ſteps, and others ere long will do as much for you; you are but a Veſſel of Clay, and begin to crack; your Pains and Aches, and Decays in Nature may mind you that you are declining, that you have one foot in the Grave, and are you troubled that another hath ſtept in before you? Yet a little while and you will enjoy her to Eternity, when both of you will be ſtript of all Infirmities and Corruption, which here renders Communion leſs delightful, Where you ſhall be ever with the Lord, and with the ſpirits of juſt men made perfect, 1 Theſſ. 4.17. Heb. 12.23. Bleſſed is that Day, and happy will that Union be between Chriſt and the Soul; and happy is that Man, whether he die old or young, that ſhall come to Mount Sion, unto the City of the living God, the Heavenly Jeruſalem, and to an innumerable company of Angels, to the general aſſembly and Church of the firſt-born, which are written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the ſpirits of juſt men made perfect, and to Jeſus the Mediator of the new Covenant, &c. Heb. 12.22, 23, 24. Oh, what a Glorious Meeting will here be in Heaven! how Happy and Glorious will that day be, when we leave this wretched World, and wicked Company, to enjoy the Aſſembly of holy and happy Saints and Angels, yea, of God himſelf bleſſed for ever. Now ſhe that formerly was in her blood, and no eye pityed p. 58her, Ezek. 16.3, 4, 5, 6. doth now ſhine by the Beauty her Husband hath put upon her, as the ſtars for ever and ever; and ere long you will meet where you ſhall never part: Then will you ſolace your ſelves in each others Love, and both in the love of your dear Redeemer: When ſhe will never repent that ſhe died ſo young, nor you, that ſhe lived no longer. She is not loſt, but found; ſhe is but gone a days Journey before you, and at Night you will Lodge together; you will over-take her, and find her in her Father's Cabinet among his Jewels: She hath gotten the ſtart, and is at the Race end before you, ſhe hath won the Prize; and is this matter of Grief or Rejoycing? She hath caſt her Ground, and recovered the Hill, and is at the Race end before you: You came not together into the World, and it was unlikely you ſhould leave it together. There was a probability you think ſhe might have ſurvived you, but God determined otherwiſe. Some Roſes are taken in the bud, ſome are full blown, when others wither and fall, but thoſe that grow longeſt, prove but fading Flowers, and are of ſhort continuance, ſic tranſit gloria mundi. God is not engaged to ſhew us the Reaſon of his Actings, his Will is his Law, and 'tis our Duty to acquieſce in it. We cannot reſiſt his Power, and we pray his Will may be done; let us not contradict our own Petition. God knows beſt what is beſt, and he tells us, All ſhall work for the beſt to thoſe that love God, Rom. 8.28. and this may ſuffice us. If you prefer your own Will before his, or loved your Daughter better than your God, you cannot be his Diſciple. If you had rather enjoy her Company, p. 59than ſubmit to God, God will take it ill from you; he took her hence when he ſaw her Work was done, and left you as yet to moil, and toil, and ſweat in the Vineyard. Submiſſion under his ſtrokes is your beſt and wiſeſt courſe, contending againſt his Will is fooliſh and ſinful; fooliſh, becauſe you cannot reſiſt it; ſinful, becauſe you ought not to reſiſt; love to God and the Creature cannot be both in the ſame Party; in the prevailing degree, we cannot ſerve God and Mammon. 'Tis your Wiſdom rather to mind your own end, than to lament hers. The Scripture frequently minds us, and not in vain, for we are apt to forget it, of our latter end, and the brevity of our Lives: And this, if well minded, would imbitter all Earthly Enjoyments, and make us ſet a low value upon all Creature-Comforts. Man that is born of a woman, (ſaith Job) is of few days, and full of trouble; he cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down he fleeth alſo as a ſhadow, and continueth not, Job 14.1, 2. And what more fading than a Flower? What more fleeting than a Shadow? And ſometimes 'tis compared to a Weaver's Shuttle, yea, to a Poſt that haſteth away: Your Glaſs is alſo running, and the laſt Sand is ready to drop. 'Tis the Complaint of Old Themiſtocles, that a Man muſt die even when he begins to live; when he begins to be Wiſe, Death calls him hence; we uſually ſpend the flower of our Age, the ſtrength of our Bodies, and the vigour of our Spirits in ſinful Vanities, before we know why we live, or what Errand we came into the World upon, little conſidering that upon a little Inch of Time depends p. 58duplicate page p. 59duplicate page p. 60Eternity, our everlaſting well or ill Being; many had their time before they begin their Work, not conſidering that whether they ſleep or wake, work or play, their Glaſs is running, and their Time waſting. Few and evil (ſaith old Jacob) are the days of the years of my Pilgrimage; and yet few attain to the number of Years which he then had attained. There is but a little time between our Spring and Fall, and therefore our Lives may fitly he compared to Jonah's Gourd, that ſprung up in one Night, and periſhed in another: Death is ſtealing upon us, tacito pede, with a ſilent foot, and 'tis an abſurd thing (ſaith one) to ask when we ſhall die, but rather when we ſhall make an end of dying, for every day Death ſeizes upon ſome of our Lives, and gains ground upon us, and ſteals upon us inſenſibly, as the ſhadow doth upon the Dial, till our Sun be ſet; and whether ſleeping or waking, we are in continual motion; we are like Men under Sail, whether we heed or no, we are in continual motion. Yet many that have one foot in the Grave, and the other ready to drop into Hell, yet put far from them the evil day, and under gray hairs nouriſh green hopes and deſires; and Young Perſons depend over-much upon their Youth: But the Jewiſh Proverb is, That many an old Camel carries a young ones Skin to the Market. And we ſay, A young Sheep-skin may go thither as well as the old. And Experience teacheth us, that Old Men many times carry Young ones to their Graves. Man in Scripture is compared unto Graſs, which in the morning grows up and flouriſheth, and in the evening is cut down dead and withered, Pſal. 90.5, 6. Or like unto a Sleep, ver. 4. Or to a Dream p. 61when one awakes. To the Dream of a Shadow, as Pindarus hath it; or the ſhadow of Smoak (ſaith another.) Or if there be any thing more vain it may lively repreſent our Lives; and when Death comes, he knows no difference between the Poor and the Rich, the Noble and the Baſe. Time with his Sithe mows down the Lillies of the Crown, as well as the Graſs of the Field. All fleſh is graſs, and the glory thereof as the flower of the field; the graſs withereth, the flower fadeth, &c. Iſa. 40.6, 7. Who then would trouble themſelves much about Worldly things? Who would cark and care, pine and repine, when he knows not whether he have a day to live, or what ſhall be in the Womb of the next Morning? How much better is it to mind our own end, than to be troubled at anothers Death? For we muſt deny our ſelves in our Relations, if we will be the Diſciples of Chriſt. If we love any thing in the World above Chriſt, we cannot be his Diſciples; he will have the prevailing degree of our love, or he will not love us; if we lodge any thing nearer to our heart than himſelf, he will give us a Bill of Divorce, and put us away. The reſigning up our Comforts and Relations to him is the beſt way to ſecure them, for God will remove our Idols out of his ſight; we are his Spouſe, and have devoted our ſelves to him, and muſt hang looſe to the Creature, and ſtick faſt to him, and not break our Vows to God, made when we were eſpouſed to him, leſt we provoke him to Jealouſie by our over-fond affecting any Creature-Comfort. Theſe things we can ſpare, Chriſt we cannot ſpare; let all go, ſo our Husband remain. If we keep up our Love to him unſpotted, p. 62theſe ſaddeſt Providences will work for our good, Rom. 8.28. Submiſſion under the Correcting Hand of God, is the ſureſt, ſooneſt way to get from under the Rod, when murmuring and repining makes him double his ſtrokes; for he will either bend us, or break us; humble us, or make our hearts ake; he will bring down our ſtubborn Wills, or he will know why; for 'tis in vain for us to think to ſtruggle out of his hands, or to keep out of his reach; and indeed the World is not ſo deſirable now, neither have the Godly found it ſo heretofore: So as to deſire it for our ſelves or Relations; for though it be a Wicked Man's Heaven, 'tis a Godly Man's Purgatory, yea, all the Hell they are like to have; and who would deſire to live in Hell? When our Work is done, and our Wages ready, who would wiſh himſelf again in the Vineyard, to moil and toil, and bear the burden and heat of the day? When we are entring Canaan, ſhall we again have a hankering mind after Egypt, the Onions, and Garlick, and the Fleſh-pots, and to have our Ears bored, and be made Bond-ſlaves for ever? The World is full of the Devil's Lime-twigs, and he baits his Nets and Hooks with Riches, Honours, and Pleaſures, when he fiſhes for Souls. It may be ſaid of Poverty and Riches, as the Women in their Dances ſaid of Saul and David, Poverty hath ſlain Thouſands, but Plenty Ten Thouſands. Many thouſands dye of a Surfeit: Oh how hard have many found it to guide a great Ship in a Storm and Tempeſt, when a little one can thruſt into any little Creek or Harbour? 'Tis hard carrying our Cup even in a proſperous condition; 'tis much to keep under Pride, Senſuality, Paſſion, Luxury, Drunkenneſs, and Debauchery, and other enormous p. 63ſins, which are the Worms which breed in abundance. 'Tis not in vain that Agur prays, Prov. 30.8. Give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me; leſt I be full, and deny thee, and ſay, Who is the Lord? Or leſt I be poor, and ſteal, and take the Name of God in vain. A Mediocrity, a Competency, a Sufficiency without Superfluity, is the ſureſt Portion; a State too big may be as troubleſome as a Shooe too big for the Foot: 'Tis not the greatneſs of the Cage that makes the Bird ſing, neither a great Eſtate that produceth inward Joy. A Staff may be helpful to a Traveller, when a burden of Staves may be troubleſome. The Moon never ſuffers Eclipſe but at the Full. I know Poverty is a hard Weapon, but Abundance is more dangerous and wounding. Hence it is our Saviour Chriſt tells his Diſciples, how hard it is for a Rich Man to enter Heaven, even as hard as for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle, Matth. 19.24. The Reaſon is, becauſe 'tis hard for thoſe that have Riches to keep off their Affection from making them their God, by loving them, truſting in them, and taking them for their Portion. But this doth not always follow, ſome great Men are good Men; but many times Pride and Senſuality are the Worms that breed in the faireſt Fruit, or in the fineſt Cloath. And if Riches be ſo dangerous, what Eſtate ſhould we wiſh for our Friends? The World alſo is a Peſt-Houſe, and almoſt every one ready to infect another; and is there not cauſe to rejoyce when any of our Relations are out of the reach of the Infection? 'Tis an Egypt, not only for Slavery, Miſery, and Bondage, but alſo there is ſcarce a Houſe where there is not p. 64ſome dead Perſon in it; yea, many Families, Villages, and Towns there are where very few Spiritually alive are to be found; and who but Mad-men would delight to live among the Tombs? 'Tis a Sodom for Wickedneſs, and but a few Righteous Lots to be found in it; and their Souls alſo are continually vexed with the unclean Converſation of their wicked Neighbours. 'Tis a Raging Sea, and the Godly are Weather-beaten, and continually driven up and down by Storms and Tempeſts; and many Profeſſors here make ſhip wrack of Faith and a good Conſcience. 'Tis an Inn, where good and bad are Entertained for a Night, but the worſt Men are accounted the beſt Gueſts; and if any ſuffer, it ſhall be the Godly. The World is an Own Mother to Vice, but a Step-mother to Vertue, as the Earth is to Weeds, when it would choak the good Seed; ſo the Godly ſhould ſuffer, did not their Father look to them. Theſe are Strangers, and 'tis no wonder if they meet with hard Uſage, and that Dogs bark at them. Happy therefore is that Perſon that hath ſafely paſt through all theſe Dangers, and is ſafely arrived at home, and got to his Journey's end. The World doubtleſs is not deſirable for our ſelves, or our Relations, that are already paſt through the Pikes of Danger, and are out of the reach of the Devil and his Inſtruments, and we our ſelves are preſſing hard after. This may ſatisfie us in this Providence. If you apply this to the preſent …aſe, your Daughter is out of the danger, and you are a days Journey behind, and in a little time will over-take her; and ſeeing the World, out of which ſhe is gone, and you are haſtening, is not deſirable; and p. 65ſeeing after a ſhort ſpace you will enjoy her to Eternity without interruption. Then mourn not for her, but rather rejoyce that ſhe hath left you ſo much ground of Comfort behind her; that her Life was ſuch, that ſhe lived deſired, and dyed lamented, and was not a Corazine to your heart, as many Children are to their Parents in this Age, when they behold their vicious Lives and Converſations, and ſometimes their untimely Death. But ſhe hath left a good ſavour behind her, yea, a good Name, more precious than precious Ointment. Theſe Cordials may keep up your ſinking Spirit, from fainting under this ſad Providence; the Lord grant they may be effectual to this end.