A token for mourners, or, The advice of Christ to a distressed mother bewailing…

Doct. That Christians ought to moderate their Sorrows for their dead Relations, how many afflicting circumstances and aggravations soever do meet together in their Death.

It is as common with ¹men, yea, with good men, to exceed in their sorrows for dead Relations, as it is to exceed in their loves and delights to living Relations; and both of the one and other, we may say as they say of waters, It's hard to confine them within their bounds. It is therefore grave ⟨p. 14⟩advice which the Apostle delivers in this case, 1 Cor. 7. 29, 30, But this I say Brethren, the time is short, It remaineth, that both they that have Wives, be as though they had none, and they that weep, as though they wept not, and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not. As if he had said, the floating world is near its port: God hath contracted the sails of ²mans life: its but a point of time we have to live, and shortly it will not be a point to choose, whether we had wives or not, children or not: all these are time-eaten things, and before the expected fruit of these comforts be ripe, we our selves may be rotten. Its therefore an high point of Wisdom, to look upon things which shortly will not be, as if already they were not, and to behave our selves in the loss of these carnal enjoyments, as the natural man behaves himself in the use of spiritual Ordinances: He hears as if he heard not, and we should weep as if we wept not; Their affections are a little moved sometimes by spiritual things, but they never lay them so to heart, as to be broken hearted for the sin they hear of, or deeply affected with the glory revealed: We also ought to be sensible of the stroke ⟨p. 15⟩God upon our dear Relations: but yet still we must weep, as if we wept not; that is, we must keep due bounds and moderation in our sorrows, and not be too deeply concerned for these dying shortliv'd things.