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CHAP. XV. The Fourth Remedy against excessive Sorrow, the Antecedents, Concomitants, and Consequents of the Resurrection of those that sleep in Jesus. The First, Christ Himself will come for their Redemption from the Grave.

CHAP. XV. The Fourth Remedy against excessive Sorrow, the Antecedents, Concomitants, and Consequ•nts of the Resurrection of those that sleep in Jesus. The First, Christ Hims•lf will come for their Redemption from the Grave.

THE Fourth Argument for the mitigating of our Sorrow for our Deceased that sleep in Jesus brought by the Apostle, is the Antecedents, Concomitants and Consequents, that is, the things that shall go before, accompany, ••d follow after their being awaked out of their sleep, and Resurrection from their Graves: All of them exceeding wonderful and glorious, and when known and believed firmly will be exceeding comfortable unto us, as they are in themselves greatly desirable. Oh that God would give us that Faith, that might enable us to look upon them as sure and near at hand, yea that may presentiate them unto us, tho yet they are future, that it may be the substance, or subsistence, or as it were the ready presence of such things hoped for, and the evidence or convincing demonstration of things not yet seen, as if we did now behold them with our Eyes, which is the nature, ⟨p. 175⟩power, and working of a lively Faith, Heb. 11.1. then should we now wipe tears from our Eyes, in the fore-believing views thereof, as God will do then, when we shall actually behold them; then our Sorrow would now be turned into Joy, and our Heaviness into Rejoicing; now we know, and say, they are dead, and therefore Sorrow filleth our Hearts; but let us believe what is revealed concerning them, that they shall be raised, and what great and glorious things shall then be done to them, and for them, and let the Faith of the one make us as joyful, as the Knowledge of the other at present makes us sorrowful. These Remedies for the assuaging of our sorrow, may be reduced to these five general Heads: But remember, it is not the bare Notion of them, nor cursory talking of them, nor superficial thinking of them, but our serious pondering, and powerful, practical Believing of them, and the Spirits effectual applying, and laying them warm to our Hearts, that must he the Cure to those that are deeply sorrowful for their Dead.