Sit loose to the GRIEFS of this world

Sit loose to the GRIEFS of this world. "Those who mourn, as if they did not." This world is the valley of tears. There are always some mourning. No sooner is the tear dried up on one cheek — that it trickles down another. No sooner does one widow lay aside her mourning clothes, than another takes them up. Those who are in Christ should weep as though they wept not, "for the time is short." Do you weep over those who died in the Lord? It is right to weep: "Jesus wept." Yet weep as though you wept not, "for the time is short!" They are not lost, but gone before. The sun, when it sets, is not lost; it is gone to shine in another hemisphere. Just so, have believers gone to shine in a brighter world. It is self-love that makes you mourn for them; for they are blissfully happy. You would not mourn if they were with a distant friend on earth — why do you mourn that they are with the sinner's Friend? "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light upon them, nor the heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto fountains of living waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes!"
"The time is short" — and you will follow soon. A few days, and you may be leaning together on the bosom of Jesus! You are nearer them today than you were yesterday. "The time is short" — and you will meet with all the redeemed at the right hand of Christ — we shall mingle our voices in the new song, and wave together the eternal palm! "Weep as though you wept not!"
Do you weep over those that died out of the Lord? Ah! there is deeper cause for weeping here — and yet the time is short, when all this will be explained to you, and you will not be able to shed a tear over the lost. A little while, and you will see Jesus fully glorified, and you will not be able to wish anything different from what has happened. When Aaron lost his two sons, he remained silent.
Do you mourn over bodily pain, and poverty, and sickness, and the troubles of the world? Do not murmur. "The time is short!" If you have believed in Christ, these are all the Hell you will ever bear. Do you think that the dying thief would complain of his pains, when he was within a step of paradise? So it is with you. Your Hell is dried up, and you have only these two shallow brooks to pass through — sickness and death. And you have a promise that Christ shall go with you, foot for foot, and bear you in His arms. When we get to the presence of Jesus, all our griefs shall look like children's' griefs! A day in His presence will make you remember your miseries no more. Therefore take courage, and run with patience!

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