Now, when we are tempted to over-grieve for any earthly thing, the best way is diversion.* Do I grieve for these ? Ay, but is my soul as it should be ? Let me weep over my dead soul, as Christ wept over Lazarus when he was dead. Let me weep over my dull soul, let me weep over that.
As physicians, when the blood runs too much one way, they give an issue another way ; so let us tui'n our grief the right way. How is it with us ? Is the life of grace there ? Is reckonings even between God and my soul ? Am I fit to end my days ? Am I in a state fit for heaven ? Then we shall weep for something. It is pity such pearls as tears should be lost. God hath no bottles for tears that are shed over-much for the things of the world. But if they be for our sins, and the sins of the time we live in, and for the ills and miseries of the state that are on us, and hang over our heads, then let us weep to purpose ; turn our grief the right way ; and then let us grieve amain, if we will, so our grief run in that channel.
' Those that joy, as if they did not.' *'
3. Joy tve may and ive oiiyJit ; for God envies not our joy. He hath given us wherewith in this life to joy, abundance of comforts of all sorts for all our senses, flowers and colours, &c. We have nothing in soul or body but it hath objects to delight in. God hath made himself for the soul to delight in, and there is somewhat to delight us in every creature. So sweet is God, we may and ought to rejoice. God gives us wife and chil- dren to rejoice in : ' Eejoice in the wife of thy youth,' Prov. v. 18. There is no questign of a liberty in these things.
But then there is a danger, especially in sweet afi'ections. There is dan- ger, because we are like to over-joy. And poison is the subtlest conveyed in sweet things. We are prone to over-joy. There is a danger ; there- fore there must be a restraint. ' We must joy as if we rejoiced not ;' that is, so joy, in any thing here, as considering that ' the time is short,' I can- not enjoy it long. Shall I joy in that I cannot enjoy ? ' The time is short.' I cannot enjoy them. If a man cannot enjoy a thing long, he cannot joy. ' The time is short ;' you must go. The things must go, and both must go. ' And the fashion of this world passeth away.' All the frame of things pass away ; marriage passeth away ; callings and friends pass away ; and all pass away. I beseech you, let us learn to joy as if we rejoiced not. The prophet calls Nineveh a rejoicing city, Jonah iii. 3, and we live in a jovial age. Men eat and drink as they did in the days of the old world, in Noah's time ; they marry and give in marriage. Mat. xxiv. 37; and therefore we had need to lay some restraint upon our joy : especially * That is, ' turning away from.'— G.
THE srirjTUAL man's aim. 49
when God calls us to mourning as well as jo_y, as be doth if wc look round about us. If we look upon the time, we shall see cause to joy as if wc did not. We must not always be on the merry pin, as we say, but we must temper and qualify our joy.
Now, considering that the apostle adds, weeping, gi'icving, and joy, you sec that
lu'lujion is cspecialhj in moderating the affections.
Religion is purging the affections from the evil that is in them, and moderating them, if they be lawful and good ; and therefore think not that you are religious enough if you know a great deal, as many Christians are very greedy of knowing, and yei if you look to their lives, their gi'ief and joy is intemperate ; they have not learned to bridle and to school their affections. You see that religion is in moderating of grief and joy in earthly things. Let us see men shew the power of religion in bearing of crosses, so that ' they weep as if they wept not ;' and in bearing prospe- rity so as they can learn to abound, to joy as if they rejoiced not. That man hath learned religion to purpose ; for religion is especially about the affections. For we are good if we joy welKand grieve well, but not if we know much. The devil knoweth more than we. Therefore, especially labour, that God would vouchsafe grace to govern the affections, that we may know how to grieve and how to joy ; as naturally indeed we do not.
And then we see here another point, which now I add, that
The aff't'ctions of God's 2'>eople are mixed.
They so weep as that it is mingled with joy, and their joy is mingled with weeping. ' They weep as if they wept not,' ' they joy as if they joyed not.'