Looking unto Jesus a view of the everlasting gospel, or, the souls eying of…

I answer, the words are not absolute, but comparative. Christ doth not simply forbid us to weep for our friends, but rather to turn our worldly grief into godly sorrow for sin as sin. Christ herein pointed the women to the true cause and subject of all their sorrow, which was their sins; and thus we have cause to weep indeed. Oh! our sins were the cause of the sufferings of Christ, and in that respect, Oh that our heads were fountains, and our eyes rivers of tears! Oh that our tears were as our meat and drink! Oh that we could feed with David on the Bread of tears, and that the Lord would give us plenteousness of tears to drink! Oh that the Lord would strike (as he did at Rephidim) these rocky hearts of ours, with the rod of true remorse, that water might gush out! Oh that we could thus mourn over Jesus whom we have pierced, and be in bitterness for him, ¹as one that is in bitterness for his first-born!

1. 1Zach. 12.10.

¹5. No sooner he was come to the place of Execution, but they gave him Vinegar to drink mingled with Gall: in that they gave him drink it was an argument of their humanity; this was a custom amongst Jews and Romans, that to the condemned they ever gave wine to drink:² Give strong wine unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy heart. But in that they gave him Vinegar mingled with Gall, it was an argument of their cruelty and envy.³ Theophylact speaks plainly, that the Vinegar mingled with Gall was poisonous and deadly, and therefore when Christ had tasted it, he would not drink, choosing rather the death of the Cross, to which he was destinated by his Father, than any poisonous death.