A39658:315
The balm of the covenant applied to the bleeding wounds of afflicted saints First…
The balm of the covenant applied to the bleeding wounds of afflicted saints First composed for the relief of a pious and worthy family, mourning over the deaths of their hopeful children; and now made public for the support of all Christians, sorrowing on the same or any other account. To which is added, A sermon preached for the funeral of that excellent and religious gentleman John Upton of Lupton esq; by John Flavell, preacher of the gospel at Dartmouth in Devon.The balm of the covenant applied to the bleeding wounds of afflicted saints First composed for the relief of a pious and worthy family, mourning over the deaths of their hopeful children; and now made publick for the support of all Christians, sorrowing on the same or any other account. To which is added, A sermon preached for the funeral of that excellent and religious gentleman John Upton of Lupton esq; by John Flavell, preacher of the gospel at Dartmouth in Devon.
London: printed for J. Harris, 1688
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Consider what a difference there is betwixt the Saints meeting with afflictions, and their parting with them. You meet them with trembling and astonishment, but you shall part with them with praise and thanksgiving, blessing God for the manifold blessings they have instrumentally conveyed to your souls. It is good for me, saith David, that I have been afflicted. By these things sin is prevented, ⟨p. 173⟩discovered, and mortified, the ensnaring World embittered, and the Rest to come sweetened.
Consider what a difference there is betwixt the Saints meeting with afflictions, and their parting with them. You meet them with trembling and astonishment, but you shall part with them with praise and thanksgiving, blessing God for the manifold blessings they have instrumentally conveyed to your souls. It is good for me, saith David, that I have been afflicted. By these things sin is prevented, ⟨p. 173⟩discovered, and mortified, the ensnaring World imbittered, and the Rest to come sweetned.
Many other excellent Rules may be added; try these, and the blessing of the Spirit accompany them.
To conclude, be not swallowed up of sorrows for what you have lost, but balance all the troubles of this life, with the hopes of the next. Your dear Children are gone, your sweet Husband is gone; but consider who took them, and whither. It is said of Enoch, Gen. 5.24. He walked with God, and was not; for God took him. Mr. Upton is not, and yet he is: He is not with men, he is with God: He ceases not to be, though he cease to breathe: He is taken away, but God took him: He is better where he is, than where he was: Though he be not in your Bosom, he is in Christ's.