"O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" Was not this "touching beyond the reach of tears?" But even when children have not been in circumstances to act as Absalom did, still, on account of their conduct in private, if not in public, how many a father and mother have, from that time to this, virtually taken up David's lamentation, and with eyes darkened and dimmed with tears, exclaimed, "would God I had died for thee, my son, my son!" Or, when the conduct of daughters has not been conducive to honour and happiness, and when with a slight substitution of terms a father or a mother, or both, have with red and swollen eyes been constrained to ejaculate, "would God I had died for thee, my daughter, O my daughter!" then, how much more poignant has been their grief, and how much more plentiful their tears! In these instances, how often has the reckless or wicked conduct of children been such, as to wring tears from their parents' eyes, as well as to cause them to wring their hands through grief; or such, as to make them shed not only tears of the greatest bitterness, but almost of blood; or such, as to bring down their grey hairs with sorrow to the grave, if not to render them prematurely grey? Not to allude to other cases of this description in sacred or secular history, such as that of the prodigal, which has often been literally realized, so it has been in innumerable instances with parents in reference to children, who were once the darlings of their hopes, or the idols of their hearts. In other words, on account of their children's follies, of one kind or an other, from the least to the greatest degree of aggravation, not only has a gush of tearful feelings been frequently felt by Christian parents in their hearts, but a flood of tears has burst from their eyes. If, then, your children, whether young or old, have in any sense been acting foolishly, has it been so with you, my dear readers, who are parents, and professedly God's people? If they have been to you a source of grief rather than joy, have you secretly, if not openly, mourned over them before Him who " scorns not tears?" Or, with a moistened eye, as well as a melancholy heart, have you poured out your plaint before him on their account? If not, then you cannot say to God in this sense, "put thou my tears into thy bottle;" and if not, ought you not to do so, if you would not be strangers to the yearnings of a parent's bowels towards those who are bone of your bones, and flesh of your flesh? Will you not, therefore, have a tear for them in secret as well as for yourselves; a tear before God, who is the most compassionate of parents, as well as before a confident among men; and especially, as in the covenant, well ordered in all things and sure, there is abundant provision for your children, as well as for yourselves? VI. PASTORS' TEARS FOR THEIR PEOPLE'S FALLS. "See! our great High Priest appears! THE people of God, as pastors, may likewise, on account of their people's falls, say to God, "put thou my tears into thy bottle." When pastors and people are at all what they ought to be, the tie which connects them may be said to be as close and tender as that which binds parents and children, if not more close and more tender. For while the tie between parents and children is frequently little more than a bodily tie, and unattended with any true affection, the tie between pastors and people, when it is of the right kind, is a spiritual tie, and always accompanied with genuine love; while the one tie, also, is the tie of nature, the other is the tie of grace, which is superior to nature, and consequently stronger. However this may be, as it is with parents and children, so it is in many respects with pastors and people, who stand to each other in the relation of spiritual fathers, and spiritual children. Especially, just as parents shed tears of joy when their children, according to the flesh, "walk in the truth," or conduct themselves with propriety, and again shed tears of grief when they fall; so it is, in each of these respects, with pastors as to those who are their children by faith in Christ Jesus, or who are under their care by way of foster. with almost all the prophets, and priests of the old economy. Hence, while we read of them rejoicing in times of godliness, in times of wickedness it is said of them, as "the ministers of the Lord," that they "wept between the porch and the altar." So it was So it was with Isaiah, "the mighty orb of song," who, on account of Judah's sins, cried, in tears fiery and rainbow-beaming as his genius,' "I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people." So it was, also, with Jeremiah, "the sweet, sad singer of Israel," who no less powerfully than pathetically exclaimedin tears warm and 'copious and soft as a woman's' "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" And wherefore were they "spoiled" and "slain," but on account of their sins?-sins |