xii. 10. "They fhall mourii for him, (namely Chrift, whom "they pierced) as one mourneth for an only fon." Fourthly, And yet, to heighten the affliction, it is fuperaded, ver. 12. " And the was a widow." So that the staff of her age, on which the leaned, was broken *: fhe had now none left to comfort or affift her, in her helpless, comfortless ftate of widowhood; which is a condition not only void of comfort, but exposed to oppreffion, and contempt. Yea, and being a widow, the whole burthen lay upon her alone; fhe had not an hufband to comfort her, as Elkanah did Hannah, in 1 Sam. i. 8. "Why weepeft thou, and why is "thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten fons?" This would have been a great relief; but her husband was dead, as well as her fon, both gone, and the only furviving, to lament the loss of thofe comforts that once fhe had. Her calamities came not fingle, but one after another, and this reviving, and aggravating the former. This was her cafe, and condition, when the Lord met her. Secondly, Let us confider the counfel which Chrift gives her, with respect 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 shall confider, 1. The occafion. 3. The counsel itself, 1. The occafion of it, and that was his feeing of her. This meeting at the gate of the city, how accidental, and occafional foever it seems, yet, without doubt, it was providentially fuited to the work intended to be wrought: The eye of his omniscience 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 stands out of our fight, so that we see him not; yet he fees us, and his eye (which is upon all our troubles) ftill affects his heart, and moves his bowels for us. 2. The motive stirring him up to give this relieving, and comfortable counsel to her, was his own compaffion: She nei He was most dear to her on a twofold account, both because he was her only fon, and that he was the comfort and fupport of her widowhood. Pifcator on the place. ther 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 Christ was for her; he bore our infirmities, even natural, as well as moral ones, in the days of his flefh; 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 iniferies, Heb. iv. 15. Laftly, The counsel itself, Weep not; herein fulfilling the office of a comforter to them that mourn, whereunto he was anointed, Ifa. xvi. 1, 2, 3. Yet the words are not an absolute 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 ftus pid, and infenfate; he only prohibits the exceffes, and extravagancies of our forrows for the dead, that it fhould 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 gospel reveals. The refurrection of her fon from the dead, is the ground upon which Christ builds her confolation, and relief; well might he fay, Weep not, when he intended quickly to remove the caufe of her tears, by reftoring him again to life. Now, though there be somewhat 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 special refurrection, as the did: I say, this is not to be expected by any that now lose their relations; the occafion and reafon of fuch miraculous, special refurrections, being removed, by a fufficient and full evidence, and confir mation of Chrift's divine power and Godhead; yet those that now bury their relations, if they be such as die in Christ, have as good and fufficient reafon to moderate their paffions, as this mourner had, and do as truly come within the reach and compass of this Christ's comfortable, and supporting counsel, Weep not, as the did: For do but confider, what of support or comfort can a particular and present 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 fhortly 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. a It was once the cafe of a godly minifter of this nation, who was much troubled at his return, and faid, I am like fheep driven out of the ftorm almost to the fold, and then driven back into the form again; or a weary traveller that is come hear his home, and then must go back to fetch fomewhat he had forgotten; or an apprentice, whofe time is almoft expired, and then must begin a new term. But to die, and then return again from the dead, hath lefs of privilege, than to return only from the brink of the grave; for the fick hath not yet felt the agonies and last struggles, or pangs of death; bat 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 fecond diffolution, there is a perfect aura, forgetfulness, and infenfiblenefs, of all that which they faw, or enjoyed, in their eftate of separation : It being neceffary, both for them and others, that it fhould be. For them felves it is neceffary, that they may be content to live, and endure the time of feparation from that bleffed and ineffable ftate, quietly and patiently; and for others, that they may live by faith, and not by fenfe; 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 happinefs, 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 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 gronnd of all folid comfort and Vifturofque dii celant, ut vivere durent. How long or short men live is kept a mystery, To make us both live well and lefs afraid to die. relief, against the death of our relations, lies in the 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. 1. 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 because our hearts are carnal, and meafure things rather by time and sense, than by faith and etenity. Thus you fee the counfel, with its ground, which, for the moft part, is common to other Chriftian 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 circumstances, and aggravations feever 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 fhort; it remaineth that both they that have wives, be as though they had none; and "they that weep, as though they wept not; and thofe that re"joice, 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 fhortly 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 wisdom to look upon things which fhortly will not be, as if already they were not, and to behave ourselves, in the lofs of thefe carnal * Therein we have a noble fpecimen of the future refurrection. Calvin on the place. ↑ Whatever we love ardently while we have it, we lament bitterly when we lose it. Greg mor. ‡ Karpos œuvesaλwevos, i. e. the time is contracted. enjoyments, as the natural man hehaves 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 them fo to heart, as to be broken-hearted for the fin they hear of, or deeply affected with the glory revealed. We also ought to be sensible of the ftroke of God upon our dear relations; but yet still we muft weep, as if we wept not; this is, we must keep due bounds, and moderation in our forrows, and not to be too deeply concerned for these dying, fhort-lived things. To this purpose the apoftle exhorts, Heb. xii. 5. "My fon, "defpife not the chaftening of the Lord, neither faint when "thou art rebuked of him." These are two extremes, despifing, 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 alfo another extreme, and that is fainting: if, when goods are taken away, the heart be taken away, and when children die, then the fpirit of the parent dies alfo ; this is fainting under the rod. Thou lamenteft, faith Seneca, thy deceafed friend; but I would not have thee grieve beyond what is meet: that thou shouldft 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 wal thou must not. Happy man, that still keeps the golden bridle of moderation upon his paffions, and affections, and ftill keeps the poffeffion of himself, whatsoever he lose the poffeffion of. Now the method in which I propofe to proceed, shall be, 1. To discover the figns." う 2. To diffuade from the fin. 3. To remove the pleas. 4. To propofe the cure of immoderate forrow. First, I fhall 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, First, How much foever we cenfure, and condemn immoderate forrow; yet the afflicted must be allowed an awa kened, and tender fenfe of the Lord's afflicting hand upon them. |