ll appear bold Impiety to
quarrel at what is done. In other Instances we can at least flatter
ourselves with Hope, that the Calamity may be diverted, or the
Enjoyment recovered; but here alas! there is no Hope. "Tears will
not," as [*]Sir _William Temple_ finely expresses it, "water the
lovely Plant so as to cause it to grow again; Sighs will not give it
new Breath, nor can we furnish it with Life and Spirits by the Waste
of our own." The Sentence is finally gone forth, and the last fatal
Stroke irrecoverably given. Opposition is vain; a forced Submission
gives but little Rest to the Mind; a cordial Acquiescence in the
Divine Will is the only thing in the whole World that can ease the
labouring Heart, and restore true Serenity. Remaining Corruption will
work on such an Occasion, and a painful Struggle will convince the
Christian how imperfect his present Attainments are: And this will
probably lead him to an attentive Review of the great Reasons for
Submission; it will lead him to urge them on his own Soul, and to
plead them with GOD in Prayer; till at length the Storm is laid, and
_Tribulation worketh Patience, and Patience Experience, and Experience
a Hope which maketh not ashamed,_ while _the Love of God is so shed
abroad in the Heart_[n], as to humble it for every preceding
Opposition, and to bring it even to a real Approbation of all that so
wise and good a Friend hath done; resigning every other Interest and
Enjoyment to his Disposal, and fitting do with the sweet Resolution of
the Prophet, _Tho' the Fig-tree do not blossom, and there be no Fruit
in the Vine, &c. yet will I rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of
my Salvation_[o]. And when we are brought to this, the whole Horizon
clears, and the Sun breaks forth in its Strength.

NOW I appeal to every sincere Christian in the Assembly, whether there
will not be Reason indeed to say _it is well_, if by this painful
Affliction we more sensibly learn the Vanity of the Creature and we
are awakened to serious Thoughts of our own latter End; if by it we
are quickned in the Duties of Life, and formed to a more intire
Resignation of Soul, and Acquiescence in the Divine Will. I shall only
add once more, and 'tis a Thought of delightful Importance,

IV. THAT pious Parents have Reason to hope _it is well_ with those
dear Creatures who are taken away in their early Days.

I SEE not that the Word of GOD hath any whit passed a damnatory
Sentence on any Infants; and i