refpect to this, her fad, and forrowful cafe; " And when the Lord "faw her, he had compaffion on her, and faid unto her, Weep "not." Relieving and fupporting words; wherein we thall con fider, 1. The occafion. 3. The counfel itself. 1. The occafion of it, and that was his feeing of her. This meet+ ing at the gate of the city, how accidental, and occafional foever it feems, yet without doubt, it was providentially fuited to the work in tended to be wrought: The eye of his omnifcience forefaw her, and this meeting was by him defigned as an occafion of that famous miracle which he wrought upon the young man. Chrift hath a quick eye to difcern poor, mourning, and difconfolate creatures: And though he be now in heaven, and ftands out of our fight, fo that we fee him not; yet he fees us, and his eye (which is upon all our troubles) still affects his heart, and moves his bowels for us. 2. The motive ftirring him up to give this relieving, and comfortable counsel to her, was his own compaffion: She neither expected, nor defired it from him; but fo full of tender pity was the Lord towards her, that he prevents her with unexpected confolation: Her heart was nothing fo full of compaffion for her fon, as Chrift was for her; he bore our infirmities, even natural, as well as moral ones, in the days of his flesh; and though he be now exalted to the highest glory, yet ftill he continues as merciful as ever, and as apt to be touched with the fenfe of our miferies, Heb. iv. 15. Laftly, The counsel itfelf, Weep not; herein fulfilling the office of a comforter to them that mourn, whereunto he was anointed, Ifa. lxi. 1, 2, 3. Yet the words are not an abfolute prohibition of tears, and forrow; he doth not condemn all mourning as finful, or all expreffions of grief for dead relations as uncomely; no, Chrift would not have his people ftupid, and infenfate; he only prohibits the exceffes, and extravagancies of our forrows for the dead, that it should not be fuch a mourning for the dead as is found among the heathen, who forrow without measure, because without hope, being ignorant of that grand relief by the refurrection, which the gofpel reveals. The refurrection of her fon from the dead, is the ground upon which Chrift builds her confolation, and relief; well might he fay, Weep not, when he intended quickly to remove the cause of her tears, by reftoring him again to life. Now, though there be fomewhat in this cafe extraordinary, and peculiar, for few or none that carry their dead children to the grave, may expect to receive them again from the dead immediately, by a fpecial refurrection, as the did: I fay, this is not to be expected by any that now lofe their relations: the occafion and reafon of such miraculous, fpecial refurrections, being removed, by a fufficient and full evidence, and confirmation of Chrift's divine power and Godhead; yet thofe that now bury their relations, if they be fuch as die in Chrift, have as good and fufficient reason to moderate their paffions, as this mourner had, and do as truly come within the reach and compafs of this Chrift's comfortable, and fupporting counfel, Weep not, as fhe did: For do but confider, what of fupport or comfort can a particular and prefent refurrection from the dead give us, more than that it is, and as it is, a fpecimen, handfel, or pledge of the general refurrection? It is not the returning of the foul to its body, to live an animal life again, in this world of fin and forrow, and shortly after to undergo the agonies, and pains of death again, that is in itself any fuch privilege as may afford much comfort to the perfon raised, or his relations: It is no privilege to the perfon raised, for it returns him from reft to trouble, from the harbour back again into the ocean. It is matter of trouble to many dying faints, to hear of the likelihood of their returning again, when they are got fo nigh to heaven. It was once the cafe of a godly minister of this nation, who was much troubled at his return, and faid, I am like a sheep driven out of the ftorm almoft to the fold, and then driven back into the storm again; or a weary traveller that is come near his home, and then must go back to fetch fomewhat he had forgotten; or an apprentice, whofe time is almost expired, and then must begin a new term. But to die, and then return again from the dead, hath less of privilege, than to return only from the brink of the grave; for the fick hath not yet felt the agonies and laft ftruggles, or pangs of death; but fuch have felt them once, and must feel them again, they muft die twice, before they can be happy once; and, befides, during the little time they spend on earth betwixt the first and second diffolution, there is a perfect ausia, forgetfulness, and infenfibleness, of all that which they faw, or enjoyed, in their eftate of feparation: It being neceffary, both for them and others, that it fhould be fo. For themselves it is neceffary, that they may be content to live, and endure the time of feparation from that bluffed and ineffable state, quietly and patiently; and for others, that they may live by faith, and not by fense; and build upon divine, and not human authority and report. So that here you fee, their agonies and pangs are doubled, and yet their lives not fweetened by any fenfe of their happiness, which returns and remains with them; and therefore it can be no fuch privilege to them. And for their relations: Though it be fome comfort to receive them again from the dead; yet the confideration that they are returned to them into the ftormy fea, to partake of new forrows and troubles, from which they were lately free: And in a fhort time they muft VOL. V. Vilurofque dii celant, ut vivere durent. 4 I How long or short men live is kept a mystery, part with them again, and feel the double forrows of a parting pull, which others feel but once; furely fuch a particular refurrection, confidered in itself, is no fuch ground of comfort as at firft we might imagine it to be. It remains, then, that the ground of all folid comfort and relief, against the death of our relations, lies in. tlre general and laft refurrection, and what is in a particular one, is but, as it were, a fpecimen* and evidence of the general: and there the apoftle places our relief, 1 Thef. iv. 17. that we fhall fee, and enjoy them again, at the Lord's coming. And furely this is more than if (with this mother in the text) we fhould prefently receive them from the dead, as fhe did her fon: And if we judge not fo, it is becaufe our hearts are carnal, and measure things rather by time and sense, than by faith and eternity. Thus you fee the counfel, with its ground, which, for the moft part, is common to other Christian mourners with her; the difference being but inconfiderable, and of little advantage. Here, then, you find many aggravations of forrow meeting together; a fon, an only fon, is carrying to the grave; yet Chrift commands the penfive mother not to mourn. Hence we note, Doct. That Chriftians ought to moderate their forrows for their dead relations, how many afflicting circumflances, and aggravations foever meet together in their death. It is as common with men, yea, with good men, to exceed in their forrows for dead relations, as it is to exceed in their love and delights to living relations; and both of the one, and the other, we may fay, as they fay of waters, It is hard to confine them within their bounds. It is therefore grave advice which the apoftle delivers in this cafe, 1 Cor. vii. 29, 30. "But this I fay, brethren, the "time is short; it remaineth that both they that have wives, be as "though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept "not; and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not." As if he had faid, the floating world is near its port; God hath contracted the fails of man's life; it is but a point of time we have to live, and shortly it will not be a point to chufe whether we had wives or not, children or not. All these are time-eaten things, and before the expected fruit of thefe comforts be ripe, we ourselves may be rotten. It is therefore an high point of wifdom to look upon things which shortly will not be, as if already they were not, and to behave ourfelves, in the loss of these carnal enjoyments, as the natural man behaves himself in the ufe of fpiritual ordinances; he hears as if he heard not, and we should weep as if we wept not; their affections are a little moved, fometimes by fpiritual things, but they never lay Therein we have a noble specimen of the future refurrection. Calvin on the place. Whatever we love ardently while we have it, we lament bitterly when we lofe it. Greg mor. ‡ Kaipos ouves aλμevos, i. c. the time is contracted. them fo to heart, as to be broken-hearted for the fin they hear of, or deeply affected with the glory revealed. We alfo ought to be fenfible of the stroke of God upon our dear relations; but yet still we must weep, as if we wept not; that is, we must keep due bounds, and moderation in our forrows, and not to be too deeply concerned for thefe dying, fhort-lived things. To this purpose the apoftle exhorts, Heb. xii. 5. "My fon, dif"pife not thou the chaftening of the Lord, neither faint when thou art "rebuked of him." Thefe are two extremes, despiling, and fainting when God is correcting, to fay, I do not regard it, let God take all, if he will; if my eftate muft go, let it go; if my children die, let them die: this is to defpife the Lord's chaftening; and God cannot bear it, that we should bear it thus lightly. There is also another extreme, and that is fainting: if, when goods are taken away, the heart be taken away, and when children die, then the spirit of the parent dies alfo; this is fainting under the rod. Thou lamenteft, faith Seneca, thy deceased friend; but I would not have thee grieve beyond what is meet: that thou shouldst not grieve at all, I dare not require thee; tears may be excufed, if they do not exceed. Let thine eyes, therefore, be neither wholly dry, nor let them overflow: weep thou mayeft, but wail thou must not. Happy man, that ftill keeps the golden bridle of moderation upon his paffions, and affections, and ftill keeps the poffeffion of himself, whatsoever he lofe the poffeffion of. Now the method in which I propose to proceed, fhall be, 1. To discover the signs, 2. To diffuade from the fin, 3. To remove the pleas, 4. To propofe the cure of immoderate forrow. First, I hall give you the figns of immoderate forrow, and fhew you when it exceeds its bounds, and becomes finful, even a forrow to be forrowed for; and, for clearness fake, I will first allow what may be allowed to the Chriftian mourner, and then you will the better difcern wherein the excess and finfulness of your forrow lies. And, Firft, How much foever we cenfure, and condemn immoderate forrow; yet the afflicted must be allorved an arvakened, and tender fenfe of the Lord's afflicting hand upon them. It is no virtue to bear what we do not feel; yea, it is a moft unbecoming temper, not to tremble when God is fmiting. The Lord faith to Mofes, in the cafe of Miriam, Numb. xii. 24. "If her father had spit in her face, should the not be afhamed feven "days?" The face is the table, and feat of beauty and honour; but when it is fpit upon, it is made the fink of thame. Had her own father fpit upon her face when she had difpleafed him, would fhe not have gone afide, as one ashamed by fuch a rebuke, and not have fhewed her face to him again in feven days? How much more should The take it to heart, and be fenfible of this rebuke of mine, who have filled her face with leprous fpots, the figns of my displeasure against her? Surely God will be afhamed of those that are not ashamed when he rebukes them. It is not magnanimity, but ftupidity, to make light of God's corrections; and for this the afflicted are smartly taxed, Jer. v. 3. " I "have fmitten them, but they have not grieved." When God fmote Job in his perfon, children, and eftate, he arose and rent his mantle, and put duft upon his head, to fhew he was not fenfeless and unaffected, and yet bleffed the afflicting God; which, as plainly fhewed he was not contumacious and unfubmiffive. Secondly, We must allow the mourning, afflicted foul, a due and comely expreffion of his grief and forrow in his complaints both to God and men. It is much more becoming a Chriftian, ingenuously to open his troubles, than fuddenly to fmother them. There is no fin in complaining to God, but much wickedness in complaining of him. Griefs are eafed by groans and heart-preffures relieved by utterance. This was David's course and conftant way, who was a man of afflictions, Pfalm cxlii. 2, 3. "I poured out my complaint before him, I "fhewed before him my trouble; when my fpirit was overwhelmed "within me, then thou knoweft my path." To whom should children go, but to their father, to make their moan? Whence may they expect relief and comfort but from him? The 102d Pfalm is intituled, "A Pfalm for the afflicted, when he is "overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord." And happy were it if every afflicted foul would chufe this way to exprefs his forrows. Did we complain more to God, he would complain lefs of us, and quickly abate the matters of our complaint. O you cannot think how moving, how melting, how prevailing it is with God, when his poor, burdened, and afflicted people, in a day of diftrefs and defpondency, when deep calleth ynto deep, and one wave drives on another, then for the oppreffed foul, with humility, filial "confidence, and faith, to turn itfelf to the Lord, and thus befpeak him : Father, what shall I do? My foul is greatly bowed down by trouble; I am full to the brim, my vain heart hath looked for relief this way and that way, but none comes; every door of comfort is fhut up against me: Thou haft multiplied my forrows, and renewed my witneffes against me: Comfort is removed from my outward, and peace from my inner man; fharp afflictions without, and bitter reflections within. O Lord, I am oppreffed, undertake for me. Fathers of the ficfh pity their diftreffed children, when they complain to them; and wilt not theu, O Lord, whofe com• paffions as far exceed creature-compaffions as the fea exceeds a drop; O my Father! pity me, fupport me, deliver me." O how acceptable is this to God! how advantageous to the foul! We may alfo make our complaint to men. So did Job, chap. xix. ver, 21, "Have pity, have pity on me, O ye my friends, for the hand |