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"them an everlafting name, that shall not be cut off." Men's names are to be continued in their iffue, in their male iffue efpecially, and confequently to fail in fuch as wanted iffue, Num. xvii. 4. and a numerous iffue is deemed no finall honour, Pfal. cxxvii. 4, 5. God therefore promifed here to fupply, and make good the want of iffue, and whatsoever, either honour here, or memorial hereafter, might from it have accrued to them, by bestowing upon them matter of far greater honour, and more durable; a name better, or before the names of fons or daughters.

Annotations on the place.

It is a greater honour to be the child of God, than to have the greatest honour, or comfort, that ever children afforded their parents in this world.

Poor heart, thou art now dejected by this affliction that lies upon thee, as if all joy and comfort were now cut off from thee in this world.

A cloud dwells upon all other comforts, this affliction hath so imbittered thy foul, that thou tastest no more in any other earthly comforts, than in the white of an egg. O that thou didft but confider the confolations that are with God for fuch as answer his ends in afflic tion, and patiently wait on him for their comfort! he hath comforts for you far transcending the joy of children.

This fome have found when their children have been cut off from them, and that in fo eminent a degree, that they have little valued their comfort in children, in comparison with this comfort.

I will therefore fet down a pregnant inftance of the point in hand, as I find it recorded by the grave and worthy author of that excellent book intituled, The fulfilling of the fcripture.

Another notable inftance of grace, with a very remarkable paffage in his condition, I fhall here mention. One Patrick Mackewrath, who lived in the weft parts of Scotland, whofe heart, in a remarkable way the Lord touched, and after his conversion (as he fhew⚫ed to many Chriftian friends) was in fuch a frame, fo affected with a new world, wherein he was entered, the discoveries of God, and of a life to come; that for fome months together he did seldom fleep, but was still taken up in wondering. His life was very re'markable for tenderness, and near converse with God in his walk; and, which was worthy to be noted, one day, after a fharp trial, C having his only son fuddenly taken away by death, he retired alone for feveral hours, and when he came forth did look fo cheerfully, that to those who afked him the reason thereof, and wondered at the fame in fuch a time; he told them, He had got that in his retirement with the Lord, that to have it afterwards renewed, he • would be content to lose a fon every day.'

O what a fweet exchange had he made! Surely he had gold for brafs, a pearl for a pebble, a treasure for a trifle; for fo great, yea, and far greater is the difproportion betwixt the fweet light of God's countenance, and the faint, dim light of the best creature-enjoyment.

Would it please the Lord to make this fun arise and shine upon you, now when the stars that shined with a dim and borrowed light are gone down, you would fee fuch gain by the exchange as would quickly make you caft in your votes with him we now mentioned, and fay, Lord, let every day be fuch as this funeral day; let all my hours be as this, fo that I may fee and tafte what I now do. How gladly would I part with the deareft and nearest creature-comforts I own in this world. The gracious and tender Lord hath his divine cordials reserved on purpose for fuch fad hours; these are sometimes given before some sharp trial, to prepare for it, and fometimes after, to fupport under it.

I have often heard it from the mouth, and found it in the diary of a fweet Chriftian now with God, that a little before the Lord removed her dear husband by death, there was fuch an abundant outlet of the love of God unto her foul for feveral days and nights following, that when the Lord took away her husband by death, though he was a gracious and sweet tempered (and by her moft tenderly beloved) husband, she was scarce fenfible of the stroke, but carried quite above all earthly things, their comforts, and their troubles: fo that she had almoft loft the thoughts of her dear husband in God. And had not the Lord taken this courfe with her, the concluded that blow had not been poffible to be borne by her, fhe muft have funk without fuch a preparative.

A husband, a wife, a child, are great, very great things, as they ftand by other creatures; but furely they will feem little things, and next to nothing, when the Lord fhall set himself by them before the foul.

And how know you, but God hath bidden these earthly comforts ftand afide this day, to make way for heavenly ones? It may be, God is coming to communicate himself more fweetly, more fenfibly than ever to your fouls; and thefe are the providences which must caft up, and prepare the way of the Lord. Poffibly God's meaning in their death is but this: child, ftand afide, thou art in my way, and filleft my place in thy parent's heart.

Confideration 14. Be careful you exceed not in your grief for the loss of earthly things, confidering that Satan takes the advantage of all extremes. You cannot touch any extreme, but you will be touched by that enemy, whofe greateft advantages lie in affaulting you here.

Satan is called, The ruler of the darkness of this world, Eph. vi. 12. i.e. his kingdom is fupported by darkness. Now, there is a twofold darkness, which gives Satan great advantage; the darkness of the mind, viz. ignorance; and the darkness of the condition, viz. trouble and affliction. Of the former the apostle speaks chiefly in that text; but the latter alío is by him often improved to carry on his defigns upon us. When it is a dark hour of trouble with us, then is his fitteft season to tempt.

That cowardly fpirit falls upon the people of God when they are down and low in spirit as well as ftate. Satan would never have de

fired that the hand of God should have been stretched out upon Job's perfon, eftate, and children, but that he promised himself a notable advantage therein, to poifon his fpirit with vile thoughts of God. "Do this (faith he) and he will curfe thee to thy face."

What the Pfalmift obferves of natural, is as true of metaphorical darkness, Pfal. civ. 20. " Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the foreft do creep forth, the young lions roar after their prey."

When it is dark night with men, it is noon-day with Satan; i. e. our suffering time is his bufieft working-time; many a dismal suggestion he then plants, and grafts upon your affliction, which are much more dangerous to us than the affliction itself.

Sometimes he injects desponding thoughts into the afflicted foul; "Then, faid I, I am cut off from before thine eyes,” Pfal. xxxi. 22. and Lam. iii. 18, 19. "My hope is perifhed from the Lord, remem"bering my affliction, and my mifer, the wormwood and the gall."

Sometimes he fuggefts hard thoughts of God. Ruth. i. 20. "The "Lord hath dealt very bitterly with me." Yea, that he bath dealt more feverely with us than any other, Lam. i. 12. "See and behold, "if there be any forrow like unto my forrow, which is done unto me, "wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce "anger,"

And fometimes murmuring and repining thoughts against the Lord; the foul is difpleafed at the hand of God upon it. Jonah was angry at the hand of God, and faid, "I do well to be angry, even "unto death," Jonah iv. 9. What difmal thoughts are these? and how much more afflictive to a gracious foul, than the lofs of any outward enjoyment in this world.

And fometimes very irreligious and atheilical thoughts, as if there were no privilege to be had by religion, and all our pains, zeal, and care about duty, were little better than loft labour, Pfal. Ixxiii. 13, 14. "Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands "in innocency; for all the day long I have been plagued, and chaf"tened every morning."

By these things Satan gets no fmall advantage upon the afflicted Christian; for albeit thefe thoughts are his burden, and God will not impute them to the condemnation of his people; yet they rob the foul of peace, and hinder it from duty, and make it act uncomely under affliction, to the ftumbling and hardening of others in their fin: beware therefore, left by your exceffes of forrow ye give place to the devil; we are not ignorant of his devices.

Confideration 15. Give no way to exceffive forrows upon the account of affliction, if ye have any regard to the honour of God and religion, which will hereby be expofed to reproach.

If you light your own honour, do not flight the honour of God and religion too; take heed how you carry it in a day of trouble; many

eyes are upon you. It is a true obfervation that a late worthy * author hath made upon this cafe: What will the Atheist, and what will the profane fcoffer fay when they fhall fee this? So fottish and malicious they are, that if they do but fee you in affliction, they are ⚫ straightway scornfully demanding, Where is your God?

But what would they fay, if they fhould hear you yourselves unbelievingly cry out, Where is our God? Will they not be ready to cry, this is the religion they make fuch boaft of, which you fee how little it does for them in a day of extremity: they talk of promifes, rich and precious promifes; but where are they now? Or to what purpose do they ferve? They faid they had a treasure in heaven; what ails them to mourn to then if their riches are there?'

O beware what you do before the world; they have eyes to fee what you can do, as well as ears to hear what you can fay: and as long as your carriage under trouble is so much like their own, they will never think your principles are better than theirs. Carnal worldlings will be drawn to think, that whatever fine talk you might have about God and heaven, your hearts were moft upon the fame things that theirs were, fince your grief for their removal is as great as theirs.

They know by experience what a ftay it is to the heart, to have an able, faithful friend to depend upon, or to have hopes of a great eftate fhortly to fall to them; and they will never be perfuaded you have any fuch ground of comfort if they see you as much caft down as they that pretend to no fuch matter.

By this means the precepts of Chrift to conftancy and contentment in all eftates, will come to be looked upon (like thofe of the floics) only as magnifica verba, brave words; but fuch as are impoffible to be practifed; and the whole of the gofpel will be taken for an airy notion, fince they that profefs greatest regard to it, are no more helped thereby,

O what a fhame is it that religion should, in this case, make no more difference betwixt man and man! wherefore fhew to the world (whatever their common cenfures are) that it is not fo much your care to differ from them in fome opinions, and a little ftrictnefs, as in humility, meeknefs, contempt of the world, and heavenly-mindedness; and now let thefe graces difplay themfelves by your cheerful, patient deportment under all your grievances.

Wherefore hath God planted thofe excellent graces in your fouls? but that he might be glorified, and you benefited by the exercises of them in tribulation: fhould these be fuppreffed and hid, and nothing but the pride, paffion, and unmortified earthlinefs of your hearts fet on work, and difcovered in time of trouble, what a flur, what a wound will you give to the glorious name which is called upon by you? And then if your hearts be truly gracious, that will pierce you deeper than ever your affliction which occafioned it did.

* M. M. bis appendix to Solomon's prescription, p. 1. 2.

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I beseech you, therefore, be tender of the name of God, if you will not be fo of your own peace and comfort.

Confid. 16. Be quiet, and hold your peace, you little know how many mercies lie in the womb of this affliction.

Great are the benefits of a harp, rouzing affliction to the people of God at fometimes, and all might have them at all times, were they more careful to improve them. Holy David thankfully acknowledgeth, Pfal. cxix. 71. "It is good for me that I have been afflicted."

And furely there is as much good in them for you, as for him; if the Lord fanctify them to fuch ends and ufes as his were fanctified

unto.

Such a smarting rod as this came not before there was need enough of it, and poffibly you faw the need of fome awakening providence yourselves; but if not, the Lord did: he took not up the rod to fmite you, till his faithfulness and tender love to your fouls called upon him to correct you.

You now fit penfive under the rod, fadly lamenting and deploring he lofs of fome earthly comfort; your heart is furcharged with forrow, your eyes run down upon every mention and remembrance of your dear friend: why, if there were no more, this alone may difcover the need you had of this rod; for doth not all this forrow at parting plainly speak how much your heart was fet upon, how faft your heart was glewed to this earthly comfort?

Now you fee that your affections were funk many degrees deeper into the creature, than you are aware of: and what should God do in this cafe by you? Should he fuffer you do cleave to the creature more and more? Should he permit it to purloin, and exhauft your love and delight, and steal away your heart from himself? This he could not do, and love you. The more impatient you are under this affliction, the more need you had of it.

And what if by this ftroke the Lord will awaken your drowzy foul, and recover you out of that pleasant, but dangerous fpiritual flumber you were fallen into, whilft you had pillowed your head upon this pleasant, fenfible creature-enjoyment? Is not this really better for you than if he fhould fay, Sleep on: he is joined to idols, let him alone; he is departing from me, the fountain, to a broken ciftern; let him go.

Yea, what if by this ftroke upon one of the pleafanteft things you had in this world, God will difcover to you, more fenfibly and effectually than ever, the vanity both of that and all earthly comforts, fo as that you fhall from henceforth never let forth your heart, your hope, your love, and delight to any of them, as you did before? You could talk before of the creature's vanity, but I queftion whether ever you had fo clear and convincing a fight of its vanity as you have this day: and is not this a confiderable mercy in your eyes?

Now, if ever God is weaning you from all fond opinions, and vain expectations from this world; by this your judgment of the creature