The Christians labour and reward, or, A sermon, part of which was preached at…

Fifthly, Let it moderate your sorrow, for the death of your Pious Friends, and useful Instruments in their Generations. Indeed, the loss of such is great, to those that are left behind; and therefore God allows us to mourn, when such breaches are made upon us; but withal, he sets bounds to our sorrow, that we sorrow not even as others, which have no hope, nor mourn so as to refuse to be comforted; to take our own loss so to heart, as not to rejoice in their gain: Is this thy kindness to thy Friends? wouldst thou have them ⟨p. 123⟩labour, and never rest? work, and never receive their reward? They could not have had these here, but they have them where they are gone. Oh be not unkind to them, by being over-kind to your selves. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, (saith our Saviour to his Disciples) because I said I go to the Father, Joh. 16.28. As if he had said to them, you are indeed (my Disciples) too selfish. You think what you shall lose if I depart hence, but you do not consider, what I should lose, by my staying here: You see the poor condition I live in here on Earth, and know the Royalty and Glory I am going to be possessed of in Heaven; and are you unwilling I should be advanced to my Throne there; and that after I shall have finished the work of your Redemption here? Truly you are unkind, and show but little love, in this, to me, your dear Lord and Saviour. Nor do we express much love to our deceased Friends, of whose happy change we have no reason to doubt, ⟨p. 124⟩if their incomparable advantage doth not make us more rejoice for them, than our loss, make us mourn for our selves. If we be, as they were, (sincere and faithful Christians) our loss is but short; ere long we shall recover it, by being taken up to them; they are not lost, but gone a little before, whither the rest of their Brethren, ere long, shall be called. And while we are left here behind, we have a God to live upon, who cannot dye, who will not leave us, and whose presence is sufficient to compensate, I trow, the absence, not of one, but all our Friends. Would Elkanah be thought better to his barren Wife, than ten Sons? May not God then look his Children, when bereaved of any Creature Comforts, should count the having him better, yea, infinitely better than them all. Let therefore every Saint, in this, and all other bereavements, solace himself with this of David,