Lxviii. to a Christian Brother, on the Death of His Daughter
The sermon offers comfort to a grieving Christian brother by reminding him that the death of his child is not a loss, but a gain, and that God's love is the fountain of all blessings.
Samuel Rutherford delivers a comforting sermon to a grieving family, assuring them of the hope of resurrection for their departed daughter. He encourages them to find solace in the belief that those who have passed away in Jesus will be brought back by God. Rutherford reminds them that their daughter is now in the presence of God, experiencing the glory of heaven, and that it is a blessing for her to be with the Lord. He emphasizes the eternal perspective of life and the assurance that their prayers for her have been answered through her sinless glorifying of God.
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REVEREND AND BELOVED IN THE LORD, -- It may be that I have been too long
silent, but I hope that ye will not impute it to forgetfulness of you.
As I have heard of the death of your daughter with heaviness of mind
on your behalf, so am I much comforted that she has evidenced to
yourself and other witnesses the hope of the resurrection of the dead.
As sown corn is not lost (for there is more hope of that which is sown
than of that which is eaten) (I Cor. 15.42, 43), so also is it in the
resurrection of the dead: the body 'is sown in corruption, it is raised
in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory'. I hope
that ye wait for the crop and harvest; 'for if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so also them which sleep in Jesus, will God
bring with him.' Then they are not lost who are gathered into that
congregation of the first-born, and the general assembly of the saints.
Though we cannot outrun nor overtake them that are gone before, yet we
shall quickly follow them: and the difference is, that she has the
advantage of some months or years of the crown, before you and her
mother. And we do not take it ill, if our children outrun us in the
life of grace; why then are we sad, if they outstrip us in the
attainment of the life of glory? It would seem, that there is more
reason to grieve that children live behind us, than that they are
glorified and die before. All the difference is in some poor hungry
accidents of time, less or more, sooner or later. So the godly child,
though young, died a hundred years old; and you could not now have
bestowed her better, though the choice was Christ's, not yours.
The King and Prince of ages can keep them better than you can do.
While she was alive, you could intrust her to Christ, and recommend her
to His keeping: now, by an after-faith, you have resigned her unto Him,
in whose bosom do sleep all that are dead in the Lord: you would have
lent her to glorify the Lord upon earth, and He has borrowed her, with
promise to restore her again, to be an organ of the immediate
glorifying of himself in heaven. Sinless glorifying of God is better
than sinful glorifying of Him. And sure your prayers concerning her are
fulfilled.
If the fountain be the love of God, as I hope it is, ye are enriched
with losses. You know all I can say better, before I was in Christ,
than I can express it. Grace be with you.
LONDON, Jan. 6, 1646
Sermon Outline
- Comfort in the Death of a Beloved
- The Advantage of the Departed
- The Godly Child's Death is Not a Loss, but a Gain
- The Child Died a Hundred Years Old
- The Choice Was Christ's, Not Yours
- Sinless Glorifying of God is Better than Sinful Glorifying
Key Quotes
“The body 'is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory'.” — Samuel Rutherford
“If the fountain be the love of God, as I hope it is, ye are enriched with losses.” — Samuel Rutherford
“Sinless glorifying of God is better than sinful glorifying of Him.” — Samuel Rutherford
Application Points
- You can trust in the love of God to keep your child safe, even in death.
- Grief and loss are a natural part of life, but they do not have to consume you.
- Sinless glorifying of God is better than sinful glorifying, so rejoice in the glorification of your child.