manner we also shall be in the other life renewed by Christ, and shall know our parents, our wives, and children.

And this, among other things, was that with which † Auguftine comforted the lady Italica, after the death of her dear husband, telling her that the fhould know him in the world to come among the glorified faints. Yea, and a greater than either of these, I mean Paul, comforted himself, that the Theffalonians, whom he had converted to Chrift, fhould be "his joy and crown of rejoicing, in the prefence "of the Lord Jefus Chrift at his coming," 1 Theff. ii. 19, 20. which muft needs imply his diftinct knowledge of them in that day, which must be many hundred years after death hath feparated them from each other. Whether this knowledge fhall be by the glorified eyes difcerning any lineaments or property of individuation remaining upon the glorified bodies of our relations; or whether it shall be by immediate revelation, as Adam knew his wife, or as Peter, James, and John knew Mofes and Elias in the mount; as it is difficult to determine, fo it is needlefs to puzzle ourselves about it.

It is the concurrent judgment of found divines, and it wants not countenance from fcripture and reason, that fuch a knowledge of them fhall be in heaven; and then the fadness of this parting will be abundantly recompensed by the joy of that meeting. Efpecially confidering,

Thirdly, That at our next meeting, they fhall be unspeakably more defirable, fweet, and excellent, than ever they were in this world. They had a defirablenefs in them here, but they were not altogether lovely, and, in every refpect, defirable; they had their infirmities, both natural and moral; but all these are removed in heaven, and for ever done away: No natural infirmities hang about glorified bodies, or finful ones upon perfected spirits of the juft. O what lovely creatures will they appear to you then, when that which is now fown in dishonour, shall be raised in honour! 1 Cor. xv. 43. And then, to crown all,

Fourthly, You fhall have an everlasting enjoyment of them in heaven, never to part again. The children of the refurrection can die no wore, Luke xx. 36. you shall kifs their pale lips and cold cheeks no more; you shall never fear another parting pull, but be together with the Lord for ever, 1 Thef. iv. 14. And this the apoftle thought an effectual cordial in this cafe when he exhorted the Theffalonians to "comfort one another with these words."

Confid. 10. The prefent felicity into which all that die in Chrift are prefently admitted, fould abundantly comfort Chriftians over the death of uch as either carried a lively hope out of the world with them, or have left good grounds of fuch an hope behind them.

Such there are, that carried a lively hope to heaven with them, who could evidence to themselves and friends, their intereft in Chrift

Aug. Ep. 6·

and in the covenant. Yea, though they had died in filence, yet their converfations would fpeak for them, and the tenor of their lives leave no ground of doubting touching their death. Others dying in their infancy and youth, though they carried not fuch an actual hope with them, yet they have left good grounds of hope behind them.

Parents, now ponder these grounds; you have prayed for them, you have many times wrestled with the Lord on their behalf; you have taken hold of God's covenant for them, as well as for yourfelves, and dedicated them to the Lord; and they have not, by any actions of theirs, destroyed those grounds of your hope, but that you may, with much probability, conclude they are with God.

Why, if the cafe be fo, what abundant reafon have you to be quiet, and well fatisfied with what God hath done? Can they be better than where they are? Had you better provifions and entertainment for them here than their heavenly Father hath above?

There is no Chriftian parent in the world, but would rejoice to fee his child out-ftrip and get before him in grace, that he may be more eminent in parts and services than ever he was: And what reafon can be given, why we should not as much rejoice to see our children get before us in glory, as in grace? They are gotten to heaven a few years before you, and is that matter of mourning? Would not your child (if he were not ignorant of you) fay, as Chrift did to his friends, a little before his death, when he faw them caft down at the thoughts of parting, John xiv. 28. « If ye loved me, ye would re"joice, because I go to the Father." q. d. Do not value your own fenfible comfort, from my bodily prefence with you, before my glory and advancement in heaven. Is this love to me? Or is it not rather felf-love?

So would your departed friend fay to you: You have profeffed • much love all along to me, my happiness seemed to be very dear to you. How comes it to pafs, then, that you mourn fo exceedingly now? This is rather the effect of a fond and fleshly, than of a rational and fpiritual love; if you loved me with a pure fpiritual love, ye would rejoice that I am gone to my Father. It is infinitely better for me to be here, than with you on earth, under fin and forrow. Weep not for me, but for yourselves.'

Alas! though you want your friends company, he wants not yours; your care was to provide for this child, but Jefus Chrift hath provided infinitely better for it than you could; you intended an eftate, but he a kingdom for it; you thought upon fuch or fuch a match, but Chrift hath forbid all others, and maried your child to himself. Would you imagine a higher preferment for the fruit of your bodies?

A King from heaven hath fent for your friend, and do you grudge at the journey? O think, and think again, what an honour it is to you, that Chrift hath taken them out of your bosom, and laid them

in his own; ftript them out of thofe garments you provided, and cloathed them in white robes, wafhed in the blood of the Lamb. Let not your hearts be troubled, rather rejoice exceedingly, that God 'made you inftruments to replenish heaven, and bring forth an heir for the kingdom of God.

Your child is now glorifying God, in an higher way than you can, and what though you have loft its bodily prefence for a time; yet, I hope, you do not reckon that to be your lofs, which turns to God's greater glory.

When Jacob heard his Jofeph was lord of Egypt, he rather wished himself with Jofeph, than his Joseph with him in wants and ftraits; fo fhould it be with you: You are yet rolling and toffing upon a tempeftuous fea, but your friend is gone into the quiet harbour; defire rather to be there than that he were at fea with you again.

Confideration 11. Confider how vain a thing all your troubles and felfvexation is; it no way betters your cafe, nor eafes your burden.

As a bullock, by wrestling and sweating in the furrow, makes his yoke to be more heavy, and galls his neck, and fpends his ftrength the fooner, and no ways helps himself by that: Why thus ftands the cafe with thee; if thou be as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke, what Chrift faith of caring, we may fay of grieving, (Matth. vi. 27.) "Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit to his fta❝ture ?"

Cares may break our sleep, yea, break our hearts, but they cannot add to our ftature, either in a natural, or in a civil notion: So our forrowing may fooner break our hearts, than the yoke God hath laid

on you.

Álas! what is all this but as the fluttering of a bird in the net, which, instead of freeing, doth but the more entangle itfelf. It was therefore a wife refolution of David, in this very cafe, when the will of God was fignified in the death of his child, 2 Sam. xii. 23. “But "now he is dead, wherefore fhould I faft? Can I bring him back again? I fhall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

Can I bring him back again? No; I can no more alter the purpofe and work of God, than I can change the feafons of the year, or alter the courfe of the fun, moon, and stars, or disturb the order of the day and night; which are all unalterably established by a firm conftitution and ordinance of heaven.

As these feafons cannot be changed by man, fo neither can this courfe and way of his providences be changed. Job xxiii. 13. " He "is of one mind, and who can turn him? And what his foul defireth, "even that he doth." Indeed, while his pleasure and purpose are unknown to us, there is room for fafting and prayer, to prevent the thing we fear: But when the purpofe of God is manifested in the iffue, and the ftroke is given, then it is the vaineft thing in the world to fret and vex ourselves, as David's fervants thought he would do, as foon as he should hear the child was dead: But he was wifer than

fo, his tears and cries to God before had the nature and use of means to prevent the affliction; but when it was come, and could not be prevented, then they were of no ufe, to no purpose in the world: "Wherefore fhould I faft?" 2, d. To what end, use, or purpose will it be now?

Well then, caft not away your ftrength and fpirits to no advantage; referve them for future exercises and trials: Time may come, that you may need all the strength you have, and much more, to fupport greater burdens than this.

Confideration 12. The Lord is able to restore all your loft comforts in relations double to you, if you meekly fubmit to him, and patiently wait upon him under the rod.

When Efau had loft his bleffing, he faid, "Haft thou but one "bleffing, my Father?" Gen. xxvii. 38. But your Father hath more bleffings for you than one; his name is the "Father of mer"cies," 2 Cor. xiii. 11. He can beget and create as many mercies for you as he pleaseth; relations, and the comforts of them, are at his command.

It is but a few months, or years past, and these comforts, whose lofs you now lament, were not in being; nor did you know whencë they should arife to you, yet the Lord gave the word, and commanded them for you; and, if he please, he can make the death of these but like a scythe to the meadow that is mown down, or a razor to the head that is fhaved bare; which, though it lay you under the present trouble and reproach of barrennefs, yet doth but make way for a double increafe, a second spring, with advantage.

So that even as it was with the captive church, in refpect of her fpecial children, in the day of her captivity and reproach, the Lord made up all with advantage to her, even to her own aftonishment. Ifa. xlii. 20. "The children which thou fhait have, after thou haft "loft the other, fhall fay again in thine ears, the place is too strait "for me; Give place to me that I may dwell."

Thus may he deal with you, as to your natural children, and relations; fo that what the man of God faid to Amaziah, i Chron. xxv. 9. may be applied to the cafe in hand. "Amaziah faid to the "man of God, but what fhall we do for the hundred talents? And the man of God answered, the Lord is able to give thee much "more than this."

O fay not, What fhall I do for friends and relations? Death hath robbed me of all comfort in them. Why, the Lord is able to give you much more. But then, as ever you expect to fee your future bleffings multiplied, look to it, and be careful that you neither dif honour God, nor grieve him, by your unfubmiffive, and impatient carriage, under the prefent rod.

God took away all Job's children, and that at one ftroke, and the ftroke immediate and extraordinary, and that when they were grown up, and planted (at least fome of them) in diftinct families; yea, VOL. V. No. 48.

4 N

whilft they were endearing each other by mutual expreffions of affec tion. This must be yielded to be an extraordinary trial, yet he meekly receives, and patiently bears it from the hand of the Lord.

You have heard of the patience of Job, (faith the apoftle James v. 11.) "and feen the end of the Lord." Not only the gracious end, or intention of the Lord in all his afflictions, but the happy end and iffue the Lord gave to all his afflictions, of which you have the account, Job xlii. 10. "The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had "before." The number of his children was not double to what he had, as all his other comforts were: But though the Lord only reftored the fame number to him again that he took away, yet it is likely the comfort he had in thefe latter children was double to what he had in the former. There is nothing loft by waiting patiently, and fubmitting willingly to the Lord's difpofe.

It is as eafy with the Lord to revive, as it is to remove your comforts in relations. There is a fweet expreffion to this purpofe, in Pfal. lxxxi. 28. "For thou, Lord, will light my candle, the Lord "my God will enlighten my darkness."

Every comfortable enjoyment, whether it be in relations, eftate, health, or friends, is a candle lighted by providence for our comforts in this world, and they are but candles, which will not always laft; and those that last longeft will be confumed and wasted at laft; but oftentimes it falls out with them as with candles, they are blown out before they are half confumed; yea, almost as soon as lighted up, and then we are in darkness for the present.

It is a dark hour with us, when thefe comforts are put out; but David's faith did, and ours may comfort us with this, that he that blew out the candle, can light up another: "Thou, Lord, fhalt light my "candle, the Lord my God fhall enlighten my darkness." That is, the Lord will renew my comforts, alter the prefent fad state I am in, and chase away that trouble and darkness which at present lies upon me: Only beware of offending him, at whofe beck your lights and comforts come and go. Michal difpleafed the Lord, and therefore had no child unto the day of her death, 2 Sam. vi. 23.

Hannah waited humbly upon the Lord for the blefling of children, and the Lord remembered her; he enlightened her condition with that comfort, when she was as a lamp despised. There is no comfort you have loft but God can restore it, yea, double it in kind, if he fees it convenient for you. And if not, then,

Confideration 13. Confider, though he fhould deny you any more comforts of that kind, yet he hath far better to bestow upon you, fuch as these deferve not to be named avith.

You have an excellent Scripture to this purpose, in Ifa. Ivi. 4, 5. For thus faith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my fabbaths; " and chufe the things that pleafe me, and take hold of my cove"nant; even to them will I give in my house, and within my walls, "a place, and a name better than of fons and daughters; I will give