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

1. Muse on His Apparition to Mary Magdalen: Oh the Grief before He appeared! And, Oh the Joys when He appeared!— 1. Before, she apprehended nothing, but that some or other had took away her Lord; these were all the words she uttered before he appeared; They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him; so she told Peter and John: And when Two Angels appeared in White, asking her; Woman, Why weepest thou? she gives the same Answer to them; They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. A Soul in desertion knows not what to do, but to weep and cry; Oh my Lord is gone! I have lost my Lord, my God, my Jesus, my King! In this Meditation, consider, O my Soul, as if thou hadst been in Mary's Case: Was it not a sad Case, when the Angels of Heaven knew not how to comfort her? Suppose any Son of Consolation had stood by, and had such a one persuaded; O Mary, suppress thy Sadness, refresh thy Heart with this Blessed Vision; thou didst seek but One, and thou hast found Two; a dead Body was thy Errand, and thou hast light on Two alive: Thy Weeping was for a Man, and thy Tears have obtained Angels: Observe them narrowly; the Angels invite thee to a Parley, it may be they had some happy News to tell thee of thy Lord: Remember what they are, and where they sit, and whence they come, and to whom they speak; they are Angels of Peace; neither sent without Cause, nor seen but of Favour; they sit on the Tomb, to show they are no Strangers to thy Loss: They come from Heaven, from whence all happy News descendeth; they speak to thy self, as if they had some special Embassage to deliver unto thee. No, no; these Cordials are in vain; neither Man nor Angel can do her good, or comfort her drooping Soul: Either Christ Himself must come in Presence, or she cries; Miserable Comforters are ye all! Alas! small is the Light that a Star can yield, when the Sun is down: A sorry Exchange it is, to go & gather Crumbs, after the Loss of the Bread of Life. Oh, What can these Angels do? They cannot persuade me that my Master is not lost; for my own Eyes will disprove them: They can less tell me where He may be found; for they themselves would wait upon Him, if they knew but where: I am apt to think, they know not where He is;

1. Muse on His Apparition to Mary Magdalen: Oh the Grief before He appeared! And, Oh the Joyes when He appeared!— 1. Before, she apprehended nothing, but that some or other had took away her Lord; these were all the words she uttered before he appeared; They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him; so she told Peter and John: And when Two Angels appeared in White, asking her; Woman, Why weepest thou? she gives the same Answer to them; They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. A Soul in desertion knows not what to do, but to weep and cry; Oh my Lord is gone! I have lost my Lord, my God, my Jesus, my King! In this Meditation, consider, O my Soul, as if thou hadst been in Maries Case: Was it not a sad Case, when the Angels of Heaven knew not how to comfort her? Suppose any Son of Consolation had stood by, and had such a one perswaded; O Mary, suppress thy Sadness, refresh thy Heart with this Blessed Vision; thou didst seek but One, and thou hast found Two; a dead Body was thy Errand, and thou hast light on Two alive: Thy Weeping was for a Man, and thy Tears have obtained Angels: Observe them narrowly; the Angels invite thee to a Parley, it may be they had some happy News to tell thee of thy Lord: Remember what they are, and where they sit, and whence they come, and to whom they speak; they are Angels of Peace; neither sent without Cause, nor seen but of Favour; they sit on the Tomb, to shew they are no Strangers to thy Loss: They come from Heaven, from whence all happy News descendeth; they speak to thy self, as if they had some special Embassage to deliver unto thee. No, no; these Cordials are in vain; neither Man nor Angel can do her good, or comfort her drooping Soul: Either Christ Himself must come in Presence, or she cryes; Miserable Comforters are ye all! Alas! small is the Light that a Star can yield, when the Sun is down: A sorry Exchange it is, to go & gather Crumbs, after the Loss of the Bread of Life. Oh, What can these Angels do? They cannot perswade me that my Master is not lost; for my own Eyes will disprove them: They can less tell me where He may be found; for they themselves would wait upon Him, if they knew but where: I am apt to think, they know not where He is;