These Meditations presented to you, were first intended for a diversion to your and my sorrow, Conceived by the death of that Excellent Child your First-born, your Benjamin; but his ⟨image 3⟩Precious Mother's Ben-oni, for she brought him forth, not with the hazard only, but with the loss of her own Life; his Birth was her Death: from which very moment of time, You were pleased to concredit his Education to his tender Grand-Mother, your Pious Mother, and my Self; a Depositum, than which there could nothing have been more Sacred to us in the world: I am sure we were as tender of it, as of our own Lives; yea verily our Lives were bound up in the Child's Life. 1He was indeed Natus deliciarum, a Delectable Child, in whom Nature and Grace seemed to be at a strife, which should excel in her workmanship: and as he grew in age, so he grew in sweetness of disposition, and in all Natural and Moral Endowments, of ⟨image 3⟩which his Age was capable: yea he out-grew his Age, and was always before-hand with his Education; Imbibing instruction faster then we durst (rationally) infuse it, for fear of hurting the tender Vessel: So that he seemed to be a Man before his Childhood was expired: As many Loved him as knew him; and were in dispute with themselves, whether such Maturity did Prophesy an Eximious Life, or an Immature Death: I must confess (whether my infirmity or no, I know not) I was often offended at the mention of the latter, as too boldly entrenching upon God's Prerogative: But such (it seems) was the Divine Decree, so it proved; His work was done betimes, and ours about him afore we thought of it; and while we said of him in our hearts, as ⟨image 4⟩once Lamech said of his Son Noah, 2This Child shall Comfort us; he shall live with us; God said Nay, he shall leave you, and shall live with me; for before he was Eleven years old, God snatched him out of our Tuition, and removed him into an Higher Form; where he should learn no more by the sight of the eye, and hearing of the ear, which are subject to mistake; but by clear and perfect Vision; where he knows more than we could teach him; yea able to teach us what we are not capable to understand; while we see but in a glass darkly, he is seeing Face to Face. Oh could I but write what he is able to dictate concerning the Facial Vision which I am now (with fear and trembling) but peeping into;
THese Meditations presented to you, were first intended for a diversion to your and my sorrrow, Conceived by the death of that Excellent Child your First-born, your Benjamin; but his ⟨image 3⟩Precious Mother's Ben-oni, for she brought him forth, not with the hazard only, but with the loss of her own Life; his Birth was her Death: from which very moment of time, You were pleased to concredit his Education to his tender Grand-Mother, your Pious Mother, and my Self; a Depositum, than which there could nothing have been more Sacred to us in the world: I am sure we were as tender of it, as of our own Lives; yea verily our Lives were bound up in the Child's Life. 1He was indeed Natus deliciarum, a Delectable Child, in whom Nature and Grace seemed to be at a strife, which should excel in her workmanship: and as he grew in age, so he grew in sweetness of disposition, and in all Natural and Moral Endowments, of ⟨image 3⟩which his Age was capable: yea he out-grew his Age, and was alwayes before-hand with his Education; Imbibing instruction faster then we durst (rationally) infuse it, for fear of hurting the tender Vessel: So that he seemed to be a Man before his Childhood was expired: As many Loved him as knew him; and were in dispute with themselves, whether such Maturity did Prophesie an Eximious Life, or an Immature Death: I must confess (whether my infirmity or no, I know not) I was often offended at the mention of the latter, as too boldly intrenching upon God's Prerogative: But such (it seems) was the Divine Decree, so it proved; His work was done betimes, and ours about him afore we thought of it; and while we said of him in our hearts, as ⟨image 4⟩once Lamech said of his Son Noah, 2This Child shall Comfort us; he shall live with us; God said Nay, he shall leave you, and shall live with me; for before he was Eleaven years old, God snatch't him out of our Tuition, and removed him into an Higher Form; where he should learn no more by the sight of the eye, and hearing of the ear, which are subject to mistake; but by clear and perfect Vision; where he knows more than we could teach him; yea able to teach us what we are not capable to understand; while we see but in a glass darkly, he is seeing Face to Face. Oh could I but write what he is able to dictate concerning the Facial Vision which I am now (with fear and trembling) but peeping into;
- 1•er. 31.20.
- 2Gen. 5.29.
