Facing Grief

In 1674, two years after his second wife’s death, John Flavel published A Token for Mourners. In it he meditates on the words of Luke 7:13: ‘And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, ‘Weep not.’ From this verse the author helps the reader to think about grief, distinguishing ‘moderate’ sorrow from ‘immoderate’. He spells out what is appropriate for a Christian mourner and what is not. This book is full of Scripture, counsel, warning, and wisdom gained from prayerful reflection on the personal experience of affliction in loss and grief.