The mourners cordial against excessive sorrow discovering what grounds of hope Gods people have…

3. The things upon which our Hope feeds it self concerning them, and from which it supplies ⟨p. 59⟩us with our consolation: and they must be such things as are in themselves hopeable, and upon a presumption that they shall come to pass, do contain matter of good consolation in them. Now that which must comfort us in our mourning for those that are dead, must give us particular relief against those very things which are the grounds of our Sorrow: and the proper reason of this sorrow is, a supposed loss which there is sustained by their death: and this must be either with respect to our selves, or unto them: That which is with respect unto our selves is, that we have lost them, and that which refers unto them is that they are lost: hereupon the evil which we apprehended to be suffered by this loss, is that by which we take the measure of our sorrows: all the hope then which we can entertain about it, either that the thing is not so as we think, or that it is not so bad as we did suspect it to be, will give us mitigation here: and that is it which we are to make enquiry after. Let us then for the present take it for granted upon supposition, that we that are Mourners are true believers; and they for whom we are in mourning, are such as are dead in Christ: and in this case, the Word of God is fully stored with abundant provision to establish our Hope, against those very things which Christians are wont to make the greatest arguments of their grief.

Here then observe,

1. This Hope doth not take away all occasion of mourning wholly from us; because there is undoubtedly a present grievous loss sustained by us • we a•• sers by the Death of all such on a temporal respect for we are bereaved of their desirable and delectable company; we can no farther enjoy them, and solace ourselves with them in this life; we have no hopes ever to see them any more among the living; all the benefit which […] had by their sweet company, pleasant intercourses or whatsoever was dear to us in their presence with it, is now utterly gone, and we must see their faces and hear their voices no more; yea and many times there is a great deal of the sense of the anger of God imprinted upon our minds, upon the taking of such away from us; and a sad and sorrowful remembrance is left behind of the fearful provocation that we had given to God to bereave u, and that carries a sad and smarting sting in it, which makes deep wounds in our consciences, and ingeminates our grief. And they are lost also as to themselves in many respects They are ot in respect of the present life, which is in it self a very desirable blessing, but now they are cut off from it, and it may be in the very bud, or in the blossom of their age, before they have had the opportunities to do much of their work; and their bodies are lost as to any capacity of being serviceable to their souls in their natural employments and rational services, being now