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

A bodily death is the common lot of all sorts of men, and Piety is no more a Bail against it than wealth or honour, or pleasures. Our Apostle doth not here go about to encourage his Thessalonians by telling them that they shall not lose their godly friends by death, no, but he endeavours to give them relief against oppressing sorrow in case they do lose them, presuming it to be a thing which they are daily to expect. The truth ⟨p. 13⟩of this, in Thesi, is confirmed unto us by daily observation, we see the best, the most holy, the most desirable to be going off the stage from time to time: all men may make that observation, Psal. 49.10. He sees that Wise men dye: when therefore Christ promiseth that some, viz. such as had believed on him, should never die, it is not meant of a bodily but of a spiritual Death. Nor do some extraordinary instances of those that were translated that they should not see Death, as Enoch and Elijah, invalidate the the general Truth of this assertion, being only special exceptions from the rule. But that which calls for our observation and enquiry here, is, why Gods Children who are united to Jesus Christ, whose sins are pardoned, and from whom the Curse is removed, must yet die as well as other men, upon whom the curse of Death lies in its weight? and we may take a summary account of it in the following Conclusions. For although there is enough to stop our mouths, and silence our cavillings, to consider that Infinite Wisdom hath seen meet in sovereign pleasure so to determine it: yet this Wisdom hath its reasons, and if we know them not all, yet it hath told us sufficient not only to silence, but to satisfy us too: here then let us observe.