The mourner directory, guiding him to the middle way betwixt the two extremes, defect,…The mourner directory, guiding him to the middle way betwixt the two extreams, defect,…

3. If upon Scripture grounds believed and improved we have no reason to sorrow for the sakes of our holy Relation that are dead; for what do we sorrow, and for whom? Is it because we have not the Comfort of their Company? Is it because we are deprived of that ⟨p. 97⟩good by their falling asleep in Jesus, which we enjoyed while they lived with u•, either in reference to our own good Temporal or Spiritual? And is not this sorrowing for our selves more than for them? For can we say we sorrow because they have not the Enjoyment of our Company, when they were such that we are groundedly satisfied that they have the Enjoyment of God in the Company of innumerable Angels and Saved Souls above? And tho they loved our Company while they lived, do we, or can we think that they are not better pleased with that Society where now they are? Or that tho we sorrow for want of them, that they sorrow for want of us? For want of us! If we want them, they want not us. And if we sorrow that they continued no longer with us, they rejoice at what we do sorrow. And shall we sorrow at that for which they do rejoice? Upon a due debate with our selves in a composed frame of Mind, when the hurry of passionate sorrow is over, we see we might change the form of speaking of mourning for such of our dead, and more rationally call it a mourning for our selves because of the loss we sustain while we live, by their falling asleep in Jesus.

3. If upon Scripture grounds believed and improved we have no reason to sorrow for the sakes of our holy Relation that are dead; for what do we sorrow, and for whom? Is it because we have not the Comfort of their Company? Is it because we are deprived of that ⟨p. 97⟩good by their falling asleep in Jesus, which we enjoyed while they lived with u•, either in reference to our own good Temporal or Spiritual? And is not this sorrowing for our selves more than for them? For can we say we sorrow because they have not the Enjoyment of our Company, when they were such that we are groundedly sati•fied that they have the Enjoyment of God in the Company of innumerable Angels and Saved Souls above? And tho they loved our Company while they lived, do we, or can we think that they are not better pleased with that Society where now they are? Or that tho we sorrow for want of them, that they sorrow for want of us? For want of us! If we want them, they want not us. And if we sorrow that they continued no longer with us, they rejoice at what we do sorrow. And shall we sorrow at that for which they do rejoice? Upon a due debate with our selves in a composed frame of Mind, when the hurry of passionate sorrow is over, we see we might change the form of speaking of mourning for such of our dead, and more rationally call it a mourning for our selves because of the loss we sustain while we live, by their falling asleep in Jesus.