Hell and be partakers of Eternal Glory in Heaven And when you did not prevail with them did you go to your Knees and pray to God Lord change my Husbands Heart convert and sanctifie his Soul that when he dies he might not be Damned Lord shew my Son his Sin and Danger convince him melt and break his Heart for Sin awaken his Conscience make him feel the burden of his Sin now that he might not bear the heavy Load of thy powerful Wrath for ever Tho he should be Poor yet let him not be wicked if thou wilt not give him Riches yet give him thy Grace or if thou hast given him the one good Lord deny him not the other Afflict him in this World rather than Damn him in the next Deal as thou pleasest with him in Temporals but deny not my Prayer for him for Special Spiritual Grace and for the Eternal Salvation of his Soul If you did your Duty you may have peace on Earth tho he hath no rest in Hell And the remembrance of this may be your Comfort in your sorrow If you did not it is safer for you to sorrow that you sinned than that he is Damned while you neglect to sorrow for the neglect of your Duty in endeavouring to prevent his damnation Sorrow for his Misery will never help him out but penitent sorrow for your own Sin is one appointed means to escape that Misery you lament that he is in Q. 3. Which is most fitting in your Reason and Judgment That God should be just in the Damnation of an impenitent Sinner tho he were your Relation or that he should deal with his separated Soul in a way of Mercy contrary to his Truth because he was your Relation Is it not more sitting that God should punish him for ever for his sinalâ— unbelief and impenitent hardness of Heart tho he were your Husband or your Son than that God should violâ—â—e his own word in saving him in an unconverted state because he was your Husband or your Son Do not you know that God is no respecter of Persons Rom. 2.11 And would not this be a respect oâ— a Person to save him in his Sin when he died in his Sin meerly because he was while he liâ—ed so related unto you Think of this to quiet your Heart and make your sorrow less Passionate but more Rational and so more moderate For is not his damnation more grievous to you because he was yours than the damnation of another never related to you tho the Soul of the one is equally Immortal and Miserable as the other And why should you have harder Thoughts of God in your sorrow for punishing yours because yours than of punishing of others when yours were equally sinful in Life and equally impenitent at death as others were Q. 4. Is not God and Christ the only Saviour of Souls infinitely more merciful than you And yet if the Father of Mercies and the Saviour of Sinners do approve of the Damnation of your impenitent Husband or Wise Father or Mother Son or Daughter why should you be filled with turbulent disquieting sorrow Should you appoint to him the measures of his Mercy or the Persons he should shew it to Doth he owe it to you or them or any other Is it not free so that he may have Mercy on whom he will have Mercy and Compassion on whom he will have Compassion Rom. 9.15 May not God act as a just God but you will sorrow as if he were not a Merciful God If the most Merciful God and Compassionate Saviour approve of the Everlasting Punishment of your Impenitent Relations as an Act of Justice and therefore good and therefore amiable Why should you so excessively grieve as if your Mercy was beyond the Mercy of the Father and the Son Q. 5. Have not you more cause to Joy and Rejoice at to give Thanks and Praise to God for your well-grounded Hopes of Heaven than to discâ—mpose your self for this Wâ—rk by your vexing sorrow because others are lost without hopes of finding Mercy What if the nearest to you in Relation shall for their wilful final refusing of Remedying Grace perish for ever should not you admire and magnifie praise and celebrate the free distinguishing Grace and differencing Mercy of God to you that you shall be for ever saved And say Will God shew Eternal Mercy to me when he will pour out his Eternal Wrath upon my Father or Mother Brother or Sister Husband or Wife or Child What was I more than they that they should be Damned and I should be saved after Death Was not I equally involved in the Guilt of Adam 's Sin as they were Was not I born a Child of Wrath as well as they Was not my Heart as bad my Sin as great my Nature as corrupt as theirs was Was not I as backward to good as prone to evil as they were and it may be more too Should not I with others cry out and say Eph. 1.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us and me amongst them with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Should not I give thanks and praise to God for blessing me with such blessings which tend to Eternal Glory which Christ hath purchased promised prepared and possessed for me tho others near to me are Cursed with an Everlasting Curse in Hellish Places justly inflicted on them for their Sin and continuing finally Impenitent under the same And can you be lifted up in such high praises of your God for his Mercy to you when you are so cast down into depths of sorrow at the Thoughts of God's punishing Justice with others Q. 6. Do not the Holy Angels and Blessed Saints above know as much of the Torments of Hell and of the Misery of the Damned as you do and yet are they filled with such sorrow because of any being there as you are Do saved Souls above sorrow there because they do not find the Souls of others there whom they knew on Earth and were Related to that died before them As they do rejoice to see others there whom they were here acquainted with and Related to And will you pretend to be more Compassionate and Merciful than Angels and Saints in a perfect state of Bliss and Glory Q. 7. Shall not you your self being a Penitent Believer approve the Righteous Sentence of Damnation upon those that were your nearest Relations in this World but died impenitently in their Sins Do not you know the Saints shall judge the World final-unbelieving Men and Apostate Angels 1 Cor. 6.2 3. And shall you sorrow then or rejoice at the Condemning Sentence of Jesus Christ upon all the ungodly tho many of your Relations should be amongst them And if you are to come as near to pleasing of God and being pleased in what he doth now as what you shall hereafter be why should you have so much vexing sorrow at that now for which you shall
have none in that day tho others be condemned Do you think this Self-tormenting sorrow for the Damned proceeds from such Mercy in you to them in your imperfect state on Earth when you shall have no Mercy to them nor sorrow foâ— them in your perfect state in Heaven Q. 8. Should not your Zeal for Love to Desire after Delight in the Glory of God over-power and overcome all your passionate sorrow at the concernment of the Creature Is your own Salvation to be sought in subordination to the Gloâ—y of God And would you have the salvâ—tion of yours stand in competition with it or be prâ—ferred before it Would you have God lose his Glory in giving â—â—ing to your Relations If they did not anâ— indeed would not glorifie him by pâ—â—â—â—ent confâ—ssing of their Sin by serious tuâ—ning to him by thankful consenting to a Sâ—viour freeâ—y and frâ—quently offered to them but went on in Sin despised his Grace and slighted his Mercy and abused his Patience and finally refused the only Saviour and all this to his Dishonour in this World while they lived would you have God also to lose the Glory of his Justice Holiness Power and Truth in not punishing them for their Sin thus persistâ—d in when they died in the other World Should you so sorrow beyond all bounds when you mourn for their Death to mourn so much for their Damnation when God most righteously glorifieth himself in most just punishing them for their Sin who by their Sin did so wickedly dishonour him As for the Eternal state of Infants whom the sorrowful Religious Parents follow to the Grave and lodge them in the Dust I shall not now discourse it but think they are to hope well concerning them and tho they be their Parents not to take upon them to be their Judges and when they have passed a Sentence upon them according to their ungrounded fears next torment themselves and pierce themselves through with self-wracking Sorrows CHAP. X. The Ninth and Tenth Rule Five Reasons for great Sorrow for the Death of Ministers Rule 9. OVR sorrow for such as die full of Days and full of Grace and Hopes of Glory should not be so deep as for such that are holy but taken from us in the midst of their Days When an Holy Person Converted when Young hath led an Holy Conversation filled up his Duties in his General and Particular Calling been useful and serviceable in his respective Circumstances hath fought a good Fight hath kept the Faith and finished his Course when the Lease of Man's Life Seventy years is almost out is ripe for Heaven and Nature is worn parts of the Body decayed with Age and with such a Constitution in a Course of Nature could not live much longer but with grief and pains with aches and groans like ripe and mellow Fruit without violent shaking fall to the ground we have more cause to give thanks to God they lived so long served him so much were useful so many years and such a long-standing Comfort to Relations than to be bowed down with sorrow to be filled straitned and loaded with grief that they died at last Wherefore the Survivors of such should reckon up their Mercies take an account of their many Comforts and remember Blessings old and new had and received in the long Enjoyment of such a Relation in Life and then let thankfulness and sorrow joy and grief contend for Victory and strive which should exceed the other and when all is laid together and duly weighed by a Soul that is desirous that God should have the praise of his manifold Mercies in a Relative state almost for Forty years as well as himself have a sense of his loss if Nature prompt him to be sorrowful Grace would provoke him to be thankful but yet if the Contest remain as his Condition is mixt with Mercy and Affliction so let his frame of Heart be mixt with a Tincture of both and let them take their turns that one while he may be sorrowful for his loss another while be thankful for so many Mercies before that loss did befall him Rule 10. Our sorrow for the Death of Godly and Zealous Men that were in a Publick Station and Capacity admits of greater degrees than sorrow for our own Relations as private Persons Tho our sorrow for these may be more sensitive and passionate yet the sorrow for the other may exceed in degrees as more Judicious and Rational Sorrow for Godly Religious Zealous Magistrates for Able Holy and Laborious Ministers when taken away by Death should be more extensive and intensive than for others that did only live a private Life that is there should be more Mourners in number and all these should mourn with greater degrees at least of Rational sorrow for publick Persons than for private Thus all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah with a very great mourning 2 Chron. 35.24 25. When Samuel died all the Israelites were gathered together and lamented him 1 Sam. 25.1 The hearing that a Minister is Sick should fill many Hearts with much sorrow The hearing that he is recovered is matter of Joy Phil. 2.26 27 28. But the hearing that he is dead should multiply the sorrow of many And there are great Reasons of great sorrow for the death of such 1. The Death of such publick Persons is a publick loss And the more general the loss is the more general the sorrow should be When a private Person dieth that was godly as he was a Praying Christian many are losers by his death for he prayed for many while he lived yea for all Mankind in common and for the Church of God in special and therefore such a Man's death should be lamented by many but when a Publick Preacher dieth many do lose his Preaching Labours as well as the benefit of his fervent Prayers and all that are losers should be Mourners 2. The death of such is a Spiritual Loss Can we sorrow for the Temporal Losses that befall us by the death of private Persons and shall we not sorrow for our loss in Spirituals by the death of such that in their Life were helpers of our Souls in our way to Heaven Was he a Spiritual Father to many and might have been to more Is a Spiritual Birth a greater Mercy than our Natural Birth And shall our Natural Parents be lamented when they die and no sorrow for the other when they can Preach to us and Pray with us and for us no more How many Persons may one Minister instruct What a number might such a one at once and from day to day teach and direct in the way to Eternal Salvation And when such a one dieth what a loss would it be if God in Mâ—rcy did not raise up others when he falleth into his Grave 3. By the Life and Labours of such the Kingdom of Sin and Satan is battered and shaken and the Kingdom of Christ is encreased and carried on therefore all that are
THE MOURNERS DIRECTORY Guiding him to The Middle Way BETWIXT The Two Extreams DEFECT Of Sorrow for His Dead EXCESS Of Sorrow for His Dead To which is added The Mourners Soliloquy By THOMAS DOOLITTLE M. A. John 11.31 The Jews then which were in the house with her and comforted her when they saw Mary that she rose up hastily and went out followed her saying she goeth unto the Grave to weep there 33. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping which came with her he groaned in the Spirit and was troubled 34. And said where have ye laid him they say unto him Lord come and see 35. Jesus wept 2 Cor. 1.3 Blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies and the God of all Comfort 4. VVho comforteth us in all our Tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we our selves are comforted of God LONDON Printed by J. A. for Tho. Cockeril at the Three Legs in the Poultrey over against the Stocks Market 1693 THE EPISTLE To the Congregation Assembling in Mugwell-street London Beloved for Jesus sake DEath that by the God of Life for many Years had been restrained from my Family at last by a Commission from him brake in and hath taken from me One that was nearest to me the smallness of the Gift presented to you at her Funeral begs its Excuse from the greatness and necessity of the Subject LOVE TO CHRIST and from her Desire tâ—â—â— that Book might be the last Token of her Love to the followers of her Body to its long but blessed be God which is one of my great Supports not to its last Home being lodged there only till the Lord shall come and this one thing was all the Care she took about the Circumstances of her Funeral for your Spiritual good to beget and more and more to inflame your Love to the Lord Jesus both ours and yours Her Death was the Occasion of this ensuing Discourse first studied for my own use when my design was to labour after till I had attained these two things A lively sense of Gods afflicting Hand in the Death of one so dear and a quietness of Mind patiently submitting to his Wise Righteous and Holy Will next preached to you and because Death will also part you and yours now presented to your view for the Comfort Guidance and Support of those that shall be the sorrowful Survivors The reason of its delay so long was the holy Hand of God in Afflicting me with my usual painful Distemper shortly after her Decease which made interruptions in the preaching of it to you in which Sickness I thank you for the concernedness of your Spirits for me and the Prayers I understand you put up to God in your Families for me and when I heard it was your design to meet together among your selves to spend some time in Prayer upon my account it was no small refreshment to me in mine Affliction and when I desired it might be where I might have the benefit of hearing and joyning with you you readily consented The next Lords day following God healing of me contrary to the expectations of any except some few that visited me on Saturday brought me to my publick Work amongst you which I hope you will take notice of as an Encouragement to pray on aâ— Occasions since this late Experience you have had that God suffers not the Seed of Jacob to seek his Face and Favour in vain but is so ready to return answers to a praying People Amongst those that thus did meet some were such as were Catethized by me twenty years since whom now God hath made Masters of Families Religiously maintaining the holy Worship of God daily in your Houses and have often said to me you still bless God for the good you got then and for the foundation thereby was laid on which you still continue to build And tho there are now above fifty Youths and Young Men that twice every Lords-day usually present themselves as Catechumens yet considering the Ignorance of many Married and Ancient People I lately preached and urged such with many Arguments to get into their Memories the Catechism as the nearest and easiest way that I can think of to help them to the Knowledge of the first Principles of Christian Religion which alas they are yet unaccquainted with and offered them my Assistance by private Instructions at first to understand what they should this way commit to memory The effect it then had brought above fifty Persons from 24 to 70 years of Age to receive Catechisms from my hand making a promise one by one that they would learn them and come to me to explainâ—iâ— to them and this many of them did with many Tears bitterly bewailing they had lived so long in so much darkness and Ignorance of things so necessary to salvation these I have since publickly invited to come and receive what help I can yield them herein but some seem to have forgotten their promise which hereby I claim and mind them of and renew the offer of my assistance to them or if they refuse that this may be left in writing as a witness against them I am sensible I have but a little time to carry with you in my Grave whither I am going I can neither Preach nor Catechize nor do any thing for my self or you the daily Thoughts whereof are spurs and goads to me to put on and hasten to do all I can while I am with you Oh that I could preach every Sermon as a dying man and so near unto Eternity Oh that you might hear as those that stand upon the brink of the Grave and borders of another Eternal World not knowing which of you might pass out of Time into an everlasting State before you might have an opportunity to hear again that you and I might mind and practise what is preached and heard according to Gods Word With blushing I do acknowledge my inability for such grâ—at work but tho I have but half a â—alent the Lord knows I do desire to use it and improve it for his Glory and the advantage of Immortal Souls that shortly must be damned or saved and that my endeavours might be so watered with the blessing of God who can work by whom he will that they may issue in the Conviction Conversion Sanctification of the hearers that they may be saved and not damned and the account might be given at last by me and them with joy and not with grief For this I beseech you that you would constantly and importunately pray yea strive and labour in your Prayers that out of our Assembly as well as others some might be daily added to the Church that might at death be of the Church triumphant and therein sing eternal Praises to their glorious God powerful Redeemer and Sanctifier for which also my Prayers shall be added to yours who
God hath a right to mine because he had redeemed them with his Blood and sanctified them by his Grace and Spirit and thereby set the Mark and Character of his own upon them and what had I to do to desire to keep his own with me when he had a purpose to call them and take them home unto himself If I had forfâ—ited the Mercy of their staying with me God retained his right to dispose of them at his pleasure therefore tho I have much to say against my self I have nothing to say against God or his proceedings with me in what he hath done unto me or taken from me But when our sorrow comes to be turbulent Passion we muâ—mur and think we do well we â—epâ—â—e and justifie our evil Act and Sorrow and think we do well to sorrow on till it break over all Banks and Bounds of Modâ—ration like Jonah when God himself did ask him Dost thou well to be angry Answered yes I do well to be angry even to the death Jon. 4.9 In this case such a one being asked do you well to sorrow thus when you see God hath done his holy Will And all your sorrow is unprofitable to the dead and hurtful to your self in Excess of passionate sorrow doth reply Yes I do well to sorrow even unto death God hath afflicted me and I am afflicted and I am sorrowful and will be so Will you But pray you take heâ—d what thoughts you have of God the mean while for in turbulent sorrow its hard not to have hard and unworthy Thoughts of God and to justifie him in the midst of vexing sorrows Ans 7. In kindly sorrow for our dead our Eyes are more clear to see our Mercies in our Affliction and what God continueth to us as well as what he taketh away from us So when Children thus mourn for their dead Mother they can see Mercy in a Living Father or for a Father taken from them by death can read tho with Tears in their Eyes God's sparing Mercy in continuing their Mother Parents mourning for the death of one Child can take notice of the goodness of God in preserving the rest from the Jaws of Death and say Where God hath taken away one he might have taken two where two he might have taken all he hath taken away some and therefore we sorrow under his heavy hand but yet he hath pleased to leave more with us than he hath removed from us and therefore in our Affliction come upon us we can see God's Mercy to us or if he hath taken more than he hath left yet we have one still and in our sorrow for our dead we can see much Mercy in one Child that doth Live But when our sorrow for our dead comes to be turbulent and the Actings of corrupt Affections the sense of the Less of one Relation takes away all thankfulness for and content in all the râ—st Parents setting their Hearts upon one Child more than all the râ—st and the Love they had to that one did equal the Love to all the othâ—r they loving that most and too much God singles that out first for a Prisoner of Death and then the remaining can scarce be called Mâ—rcies if moved to mitigate their sorrow for the one that is dead by the sight of those that live say What tell you us of these when the other is gone What are these tho with us when the other is taken away from us Thus Jacob coulâ— tâ—ke no comfort from all his Sons and Daâ—ghters wheâ— he supposed his Son Joseph was dâ—ad Gen. 37.33 34 35. But correct your turbulent â—orroâ— which hinders the sigâ—t of â—â—â—d'â— Mercy in thâ—m thaâ— live lâ—st he by death remove them also and make you groan and sigh and sâ—b fâ—r them when dead which yoâ— could see no Mercy in because one did die before Ans 8. In kindly sorrow for our dead we can better sympathize with others exercised with the like dealings of God Many can sorrow for their own dead that are not affected with the death of the Relations of others especially such as are turbulently sorrowful for their own Vexing Passion in our selves is joined with least compassion to others as we narrow our Love too much to our selves and where Self-love is too much Love to others is the less or none so the sorrow for the Evils that befall our selves when vexatious and corroding is less or none for the Afflictions that come upon others Tâ—ey think their Tears are few enough to express their own sorrows or too precious to be wasted for the sorrows of others These are more hard-hearted than Jews who wept with Mary and Martha for their dâ—ceased Brother Ans 9. In kindly sorrow for our dead we shall be more mindful of our own Death and stirred up to greater Care to make Holy Preparations for it As soon as David did hear his Child was deâ—d hâ— said I must go down to it When you sorrow rightly following your dead to their Gâ—â—ve you will have serious thoughts of your own My Wife is gone and I shall shortly follow My Husband is dead and so must I be too Our Mother is loâ—ged in the Dust and after a while we must be carried to lye by her therefore we will so mourn that we may reserve some Tears of Repentance for our Sin that as our Bodies must go to her Body in the Grave so our Souls may go to her Soul in the highest Heaven But turbulent sorrow for the dead is as if they again should never live and hinders their thoughts of their own Mortality as if they should never die While they are thinking in how many days they shall Bury their dead they are hoping how many years yet they shall live What turbulent discomposing besotting sorrow is this that when these Mourners stand and see the Corps they mourn over let down into the Grave cannot see where e're long they themselves shall be lodged Ans 10. In kindly sorrow for our dead we shall be moved to perform our Relative Duties with more Tenderness and Kindness with more Care and Love to those Relations that yet are with us When the Mother is dead the Father must shew more Care than he did before or did need to do because their Mother did much ease him of it So when the Father is dead the more the Mother should take Care accordding to her Capacity When Father or Mother or both are dead the natural kindly sorrow for them will dispose their Children as Brothers and Sisters to discharge their Relative Duties and live in greater Love than ever When Jacob was dead Joseph mourned all his Brethren mourned all went up to Bury their Father and at his Burial mourned greatly After this Joseph and his Brethren returned into Egypt they remembâ—ing how cruel they had been to Joseph said Now our Father is dead our Brother will certainly requite us for all the Evil we did to him but Josâ—ph was but
not you see he doth not mourn as he is a Child and stands in that Relation but as he hath Flesh that is pained by the strokes Might not he cry out under the Rod and yet be a stubborn Child a disobedient Child and not desire his Father's love in the way of his Duty nor lay to heart his Father's displeasure for the Evil he hath done Will you ask me Sir Are you sure God is displeased with me because by Death he hath removed my Relation from me I will ask you Are you sure that he is not Which doth it look most like Love or Displeasure And if you are not sure he is not displeased with you under such a Rod should not you sorrow lest he should be displeased Is the displeasure of God so small a thing in your Eye that the fear of it should not be ground of your Sorrow And say what if God should be angry with me in what he hath taken from me What if my Father should be displeased and the Death of this Relation be the fruit of it Is not here ground to sorrow as a Christian as well as a Man The loss of a good Husband or Wife Father Mother or Child is a burden heavy to be born but the loss of the favour of God is greater and his displeasure presseth more hard upon a Soul sensible of it and therefore prays O Lord if thou rebuke me let it not be in thine anger if thou chasten me let it not be in thy sore displeasure Psalm 6.1 The loss of a Relation is a Rebuke it is a chastening and it may be in anger and displeasure when it is so Sorrow for God's displeasure as Christians as for your own Affliction as Men. 3. When you Sorrow more for the loss of your Temporal Good by the Death of your Relation than for the Spiritual Advantage you might have gained by the continuance of their Lives You sorrow too much as Men but too liâ—tle as Christians You may sorrow for the one as well as for the other but you should not sorrow so much for the one as for the other because the one is better than the other and the loss of the one a greater loss than the other By their Death you sustain the loss of some outward Comforts for your Body and loss of some inward Advantages for your Soul as now they can instruct and teach you no more they can pray with you and for you no more they can help you to answer your doubts about your Spiritual State no more nor give you Arguments against your own Corruptions or Satan's Temptations any more nor reprove you for your Sin nor comfort you under your Afflictions nor exhort you to be making holy Preparations for Death nor direct you therein any more for ever nor by their continued Example stir you up to secret Prayer to maintain Communion with God all these were great Advantages you had by the Life of your holy Relations and by their Death they cease For this you do not sorrow saying My Godly Father my Holy Mother made many a Prayer shed many a Tear for me they pleaded with God for Grace and Mercy and Pardon for me but Death hath broken off the continuance of their Prayers and what a loser am I thereby They did observe and watch my Life and Actions what was Evil they reproved me for what was Good they did incâ—urage and countenance me in but Death hath closed their Eyes that they can now see neither Good nor Evil in me and hath tied their Tongue that they can speak no more to me concerning the one nor the other and who can tell the greatness of my loss for my Immortal Soul that I am under by their Death The like might be said concerning a Religious Husband an holy Zealous Wife Wherefore if you mourn never so much for your loss by their Death as to your Bodies and outward Estate and not so much as to your loss to your Soul and spiritual Condition it 's more like Men than Christians 4. When you Sorrow more for the want of their Company in Life than you do for want of a sanctified improvement of their Death you sorrow too much as Men and too little as Christians Nature helps you to the one but it must be Grace that must inable you to do the other Your Father or Mother Husband or Wife or Child is dead and you sit down and sorrow and say I shall never see these in my house any more they shall never sit with me at my Table any more they shall lodge in my Bed no more and dwell with me on Earth no more for ever I shall see them no more whom I did love to look upon when they were absent from me a Week or two a Month or two A Month a Day or two how glad was I at their return If their absence filled me with Sorrow their presence again did drive away my Sorrow and renewed my Joy If I parted with them when to go a Journey I did it with Tears of Grief but when they returned I received them with Tears of Joy If I sorrowed that they were gone yet the hopes of their safe return did asswage my Sorrow But now they are gone without return They have taken a long Journey and never to me will come back again They were use to take their leave and say farewel till I see you again but now they took their leave saying The Lord be with you for I shall be with you no more Oh this word no more doth even break my heart what my Father or Mother gone and shall I see them no more my Wife or Husband gone and shall I set mine Eyes on him or her no more My dear Child gone looking on whom did delight my Eyes and must I see him no more I look for my Relations at my Table but their place is empty and I cannot see them there I lock but I cannot see them I go to the Chamber where they did use to sit and Work or to the Closet where they did use to Pray but I cannot see them there I see the Work but them I cannot see I see their Hand-writing but them I cannot see I see their wearing Clothes but them that did use to wear them I cannot see to see these and not them doth renew and encrease my Sorrow when I can see these every day and no day can see them the more I multiply my Sorrow and methinks this Sorrrow is pleasent Sorrow and this Grief is delightful Grief and when I feel Sorrow added to Sorrow at the remembrance of them I must see no more methinks it pleaseth me to remember them tho it grieves me that I can not must not see them nor enjoy their Company nor my comfort in their Company any more for ever Is this your Sorrow And have you nothing else to do than to feed your Sorrow And please your self with this kind of Sorrow