creation, and fuch other Employments as are gratifying to the Flesh; and, on the other Hand, the fpiritual Principle is not more strengthened by any Thing than by Sobriety and Temperance, and a Contempt of Pleafure, and a Courage and Conftancy in enduring Hardships and Difficulties in the Way of our Duty. As Luxury effeminates a Soldier, and unfits him for the laborious Part of his Office, in which the Exercises of an hard Campaign harden him; so it is in the fpiritual Warfare: Pleasure effeminates a Soldier of Chrift, whereas a steady Preparation of Mind for bearing the Crofs, hardens and confirms him in his Duty.

2. A Second Virtue this Mourning comprehends, is Contrition and Penitence; by which I underftand not any tranfient Act of Sorrow, but fuch a deep Repentance as leaves lafting Impreffions, and makes us put on the Habit of Mourners; I mean deep Confideration in our Thoughts, a Seriousnefs in our Speech, and a Gravity in our Garb, and Way of living; an abandoning of Idlenefs, Vanity, Frolicks, Intemperance, Luxury, indecent or exceffive Mirth, Lafciviousness, and whatfoever is inconfiftent with a grave, ferious, and penitent Deportment, and the Exercise of Fafting and Mortification, as far as is confiftent with Health, and answers the End of fubduing Luft. Now there are many Things contribute towards the begetting and keeping up of this ferious penitent Temper in good People. (1.) The Confideration of their paft Sins. It is the continual Grief of their Heart, that they have proved unthankful and difobedient to Almighty God; and this Grief lafts, not only while their Sins and

Corruptions prevail, but even long after, by the Grace of God, they have got the Maftery of them. After they are ever fo well advanced, and have made ever fo good a Progrefs in Sanctification, they are always mindful what wicked Perfons they have been, and are humbled to their dying Day on account of thofe very Sins which they have all Reason to believe God has pardoned, and they have long ago repented of. For it is a great Miftake to think that Repentance is only one Fit, as it were, of godly Sorrow and Mourning for Sin; it is an habitual Imper of the Mind, and Course of Life, and ferves till to humble us for what is paft, as well as to guard us against the like Sins and Follies for the future. (2.) This contrite penitent Temper is kept up by a great Sense of unmortified Corruptions; for in this Life we have never fuch an abfolute Conqueft over our Lufts, but that they are ever and anon rebelling, and giving us a great deal of Uneafinefs: They are like the Remnants of the açcurfed Nations which God left among the If raelites, to prove and try them. For if ever we remit our Watch, they are Snares and Traps unto us, and Scourges in our Sides, and Thorns in our Eyes. The best Man upon Earth has many a bitter Conflict with his Lufts and Corruptions, and doth not in every particular Combat come off fuccessful, but is often foiled and overcome, tho' God gives him Grace to renew the Combat, and never to give out till he comes off victorious in the End. (3.) As unmortified Corruptions, fo imperfect Graces occafion a great deal of penitential Sorrow to good Men; That Drinefs, and want of Appetite and Tafte, which is incident to

their Devotions; that Negligence, and want of Care and Zeal, which attends and clogs their best Services; that Aptness to be led away with Temptations; that fpiritual Sleepinefs and Drowsiness, which in the Parable of the Virgins feized the Wife as well as the Foolish; the many Hazards they run, and the little Comfort they find in these their negligent Courfes, affords them great Matter for Grief and Mourning, while they pafs through this wretched Life, this Valley of Tears; for fo indeed the very best of it may be called, if compared with Heaven. (4.) The Sins of others contribute to this penitential Mourning. (a) Rivers of Waters, fays the Pfalmift, run down mine Eyes, because they keep not thy Law. And tho' all Mourners may not be of fo melting a Temper, fo as to be able to fhed Tears in fuch abundance; yet their Grief and Mourning perhaps is not the lefs, as grieving not only for their own and other Men's Sins; but for their too great Infenfibility and Hard-heartedness on account thereof: They have not those Rivers of Tears, but heartily with they had them, and mourn that they have them not. They can say with the Prophet Jeremiah, (b) My Bowels, my Bowels, I am pained at my very Heart. And with the fame Prophet elfewhere, (c) O that my Head were Waters, and mine Eyes a Fountain of Tears, that I might weep Day and Night. (5.) As a Senfe of Sins abounding occafions this Mourning, it is nourished by a Sense of God's Judgments, either threatened, or impending, or executed: For the Mourner defcribed in my Text is not one of thofe hardened obdured Creatures that difregards and defpifes God's Judg

K 4

ments,

(4) Pfal. cxix. 136,

(6) Jer. iv. 19.

(c) Jer. ix. 1.

ments, and will not understand the Language and Meaning of his Rods: He is not like Pharaoh, who prefently forgot and turned infenfible, as foon as the Rod was removed from off his Back; but, like the Pfalmift, he can truly say, (d) My Flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy Judgments.

3.. The third and laft Virtue I fhall name, as comprehended under this godly Mourning, is a Distaste of the World, and a Longing for Heaven. For tho' a good Man thinks it Duty (and accordingly practifes it very carefully) o be content in every State of Life, yet all the while his Heart is in Heaven, that is his Home and Country, and he is but in a State of Pilgrimage here; and, accordingly, this prefent Life at best is infipid to him, in Comparison of that which is to come. This occafions a pious Mourning for our Lord's Abfence, and (e) a Defire to be with Chrift, which is beft of all. And the And the very best of Saints, if they have ever fo much Grace bestowed upon them, look upon it only as an Earnest of that immenfe Happiness which they hope for hereafter; and it ferves only to fharpen their Appetite after it. (f) O that I had Wings like a Dove! for then would I flee away and be at Reft; fays the devout Pfalmift.

What has been faid may fuffice for the First Thing I propofed, namely, to fhew what is meant by them that Mourn.

II. I proceed now to the Second, which is, to confider how bleffed they are from the Comforts they fhall reap both here and hereafter. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

(d) Pfal. cxix. 120. (e) Phil: i. 23. (f) Pfal. lv. 6.

There

There are many Things that comfort these Mourners I have defcribed: For this Mourning or penitential Sorrow is like Ground well prepared, ready manured and watered, fit to receive the Seeds, and to bring forth the Fruits of all Chriftian Virtues, which bring in a rich Harveft of Comfort and Felicity. For (1.) Tho' this penitential Sorrow is inconfiftent with a Course of carnal Pleasure, and the Excefs and Luxury attending a voluptuous Life; it is no way inconfiftent with spiritual Joy, or rejoicing in the Lord, but fits and prepares the Mind fo much the better for it. It is one of the Characters the Apoftle St. Paul gives of himself and of his fellow Chriftians, that tho' externally they appeared forrowful, yet they were poffeffed with a great inward Joy. As forrowful, yet always rejoicing, 2 Cor. vi.

10.

To look only at the outward Troubles and Afflictions of good Men, (efpecially in thofe Days of Perfecution,) one would have thought they had Load enough to break any Man's Back; but if at the fame Time we could fee the inward Confolations they are poffeffed of, we should be convinced they have an inward Spring of Joy, which all outward Calamities cannot exhaust or dry up. The fame St. Paul tells us, that (g) be took Pleasure in Infirmities, in Reproaches, in Neceffities, in Perfecutions, in Diftreffes, for Chrift's Sake. And the Prophet Habakkuk comforts himfelf with this Confideration, Hab. iii. 17. that although the Fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall Fruit be in the Vines, the Labour of the Olive fhall fail, and the Fields fhall yield no Meat, the Flock Shall be cut off from the Fold, and there shall be no

(g) 2 Cor. xii. 10.

Herd