pe that these were some of
the _first Fruits of the Spirit_[f], which he would, in due Time, have
ripened into Christian Graces, and are now, on a sudden, perfected by
that great Almighty Agent _who worketh all, and in all_[g]?

SURE I am, that this blessed Spirit hath no inconsiderable Work to
perform on the most established Christians, to finish them to a
complete Meetness for the Heavenly World: Would to GOD, there were no
greater Blemishes to be observed in their Character, than the little
Vanities of Children! With infinite Ease then can he perfect what is
lacking in their unfinished Minds, and pour out upon them, in a
Moment, that Light and Grace, which shall qualify them for a State, in
Comparison of which, ours on Earth is but Childhood or Infancy.

NOW what a noble Source of Consolation is here! Then may the
affectionate Parent say, "_It is well_, not only with me, but _with
the Child_ too: Incomparably better than if my ardent Wishes, and
importunate Prayers for its Recovery, had been answered. _It is_
indeed _well_, if that beloved Creature be _fallen asleep in
Christ_[h]; if that dear Lamb be folded in the Arms of the
compassionate Shepherd, and gathered into his gracious Bosom.
Self-love might have led me to wish its longer Continuance here; but
if I truly _loved_ my Child with a solid, rational Affection, I should
much rather _rejoice_, to think _it is gone to_ a heavenly _Father_[i],
and to the World of perfected Spirits above. Had it been spared to me,
how slowly could I have taught it! and in the full Ripeness of its Age,
what had it been, when compared with what it now is! How is it shot up
on a sudden, from the Converse and the Toys of Children, to be a
Companion with Saints and Angels, in the Employment, and the
Blessedness of Heaven! Shall I then complain of it as a rigorous
Severity to my Family, that GOD hath taken it to the Family above? And
what if he hath chosen to bestow the distinguished Favour on _that
one_ of my little Flock, who was formed to take the tenderest Hold of
my Heart? Was there Unkindness in that? What if he saw, that the very
Sprightliness and Softness which made it to me so exquisitely
delightful, might, in Time, have betrayed it into Ruin; and took this
Method of sheltering it from Trials which had, otherwise, been too
hard for it, and so fixing a Seal on its Character and Happiness? What
if that strong Attachment of my Heart to it, had been a Snare to the
Child, and to me?