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,…

tho it be long it shall not always last, and because it is a sleep that is called Death, it shall be the last that she shall sleep, for when awaked she shall sleep no more for ever: And yet is this the Body that thou thus bewailest? and for this dost thou thus Night after Night break thy sleep? and when she sleepeth quietly in the Lord, and dreameth not of any of the things that are done in this World, canst not thou rest nor sleep in thy Bed, without dreaming of her that is so unconcernedly sleeping in the Bed of the Grave? Let her quiet and resting Body rebuke, O my Soul, thy unquiet and restless thoughts.

tho it be long it shall not alwayes last, and because it is a sleep that is called Death, it shall be the last that she shall sleep, for when awaked she shall sleep no more for ever: And yet is this the Body that thou thus bewailest? and for this dost thou thus Night after Night break thy sleep? and when she sleepeth quietly in the Lord, and dreameth not of any of the things that are done in this World, canst not thou rest nor sleep in thy Bed, without dreaming of her that is so unconcernedly sleeping in the Bed of the Grave? Let her quiet and resting Body rebuke, O my Soul, thy unquiet and restless thoughts.

Moreover, consider, O my Soul, whose State thou hast more reason to lament and bewail, thine own, or the state of the Soul of thy Relation that was converted and sanctified, that did repent and believe, before Death made the separation betwixt thee ⟨p. 225⟩and her, or betwixt her Body and her Soul? Dost thou not believe that her Soul being absent from her Body, is now present with the Lord? and being so, is perfectly freed from all sin, sorrow, Temptation, Inclination to sin, and from a possibility of sinning? and is possessed of all good, filled with all Joy, perfect in the Knowledge of God and Christ, and in Love to, and Delight in all the Persons in the (to us) unsearchable Trinity? Whilst thou thy self art grieving, groaning under the Burden of remaining sins, conflicting with Satan and the Powers of Darkness, clogged with the Flesh, and ensnared with the Allurements and Affrightments of this evil and deluding World? Thou in a state imperfect and Militant, the Soul of thy Relation in a state perfect and Triumphant? Is it not thy frequent Doubts and Fears whether thou lovest God, and whether God loveth thee, with a differencing, special and peculiar Love? Are they not thy often Complaints, that thou hast but little Enjoyment of God and Communion with him in his Ordinances, and sometimes none at all? That thou seekest God but canst not see him, and searchest for him but canst not find him? That thou goest from Meditation to Prayer, from Praying to Hearing, from Hearing to attending upon im at his Table, and after all, thy sorrowful