Exposition of Job 4-7, Commentary on Job · Chapter 4 · Verses 19-21

Exposition of Job 4-7 · Commentary on Job · Chapter 4 · Verses 19-21

p. 142JOB. Chap. 4. Verſ. 19, 20, 21.

How much leſſe on them that dwell in houſes of clay, whoſe foundation is in the duſt, which are cruſhed before the moth?

They are deſtroyed from morning to evening: they periſh for ever without any regarding it.

Doth not their excellency which is in them, goe away? they die, even without wiſedome.

THeſe three verſes, containe a deſcription of man in oppoſition to the Angels. The forme of the argument was given before to this effect; That if Angels, thoſe excellent creatures, cannot ſtand before God, or be juſtified in his ſight; then much leſſe man, a weake creature, man who dwels in a houſe of clay, and whoſe foundation is in the duſt.

Two things this Context holds forth to us, concerning the weakneſſe of man, in oppoſition to Angels.

Firſt, It ſhewes that man is a materiall ſubſtance, ſo are not Angels, Angels are ſpirits, ſpirituall ſubſtances.

Secondly, It ſhewes us, that man is a mortall ſubſtance, ſo are not Angels, ſpirits die not.

That, man is a materiall ſubſtance, is proved in the beginning of the 19. verſe, from thoſe words, He dwels in a houſe of clay, whoſe foundation is in the duſt.

That, man is a mortall ſubſtance, is implied in the former; That which is made of clay and duſt, muſt needes be brittle ware. But beſides that his mortality is implied in thoſe words, it is proved expreſly and in termes in the words following to the end of the Chapter. And this mortality of man is ſet forth, by divers adjuncts or circumſtances.

1. By a ſimilitude, ſhadowing the quickneſſe or the ſuddenneſſe of mans death, They are cruſhed before the moth.

2. By the ſhortneſſe of life; They are deſtroyed from morning to evening.

p. 1433. By the everlaſting power, which death hath upon us (reſpecting this world) They periſh for ever.

4. By the common and generall inſenſibleneſſe and inconſideration of this fraile life, of this long laſting death; Man (ſaith he) is deſtroyed from morning to evening, he dieth quickly, periſheth for ever, he lies, as long as the world laſts, in his grave, yet ſuch is the ſtupidity of man, that none regard all this, he dies without any regarding.

5. And leaſt any ſhould ſay, ſurely, man is not ſuch a pitifull creature, as this ſad deſcription repreſents him; man was the moſt excellent part of the inferior creation, God planted many noble endowments upon man: and is there no more to be ſaid of him but this? he is cruſh'd like a moth, and dies, no man regarding? That objection is taken away in the laſt verſe; as if the Holy Ghoſt had ſaid, I grant that man, beſides duſt and clay (which are his materials) hath many heavenly, yea divine endowments, he hath the impreſſions of Gods Image in reaſon and underſtanding ſtamped upon him; but, though he be thus qualified, yet all his excellency (all that which may be accounted the choiſeſt and the beſt in him) will not keepe him ſweet, or protect him from death and rottenneſſe: Doth not (ſaith he) their excellency which is in them goe away? as if he had ſaid, If you alledge, that man is more than duſt and clay, then weakneſſe and corruption; tis granted: but what then? Doth not their excellency that is in them, goe away? doth it not vaniſh, and where is it? and where is he? All naturall perfections (whatſoever man hath under the notion of a reaſonable creature) be they never ſo high and raiſed, quickly paſſe wither and decay: They have no abiding excellency in them, Doth not their excelleny that is in them, goe away? They have wiſdome, but they die without wiſedome, even as bruit beaſts, either their wiſdome decayes, while they live; or, it is not able to keepe them alive: wiſedome, parts, and learning ſtand them in no ſtead to prevent death. Now if their excellency goe away, they muſt goe too; if wiſedome cannot keepe them alive, die they muſt; as we ſhall ſee further in opening the ſeverall parts, having thus given the ſenſe in generall.

Theſe things conſidered, we may ſee the ſtrength of the Argument in the 19. verſe, How much leſſe on them who dwell in houſes of clay, &c. as if he ſhould ſay; Foraſmuch, as Angels cannot ſtand in competition with God, or approve themſelves in his ſight, certainly p. 144much leſſe can man, how great thoughts ſoever he hath of himſelfe; much leſſe can man be juſtified in his ſight, who comes ſo many degrees ſhort of Angelicall perfections; For, his ſoule which is within him, though it be a noble and a ſpirituall ſubſtance, and that wherein he is moſt like to Angels, yet this ſoule of his, ſojournes, dwels and acts, in a body compoſed of corruptible clay, and hath no better a foundation (in a naturall capacitie) than the very duſt; And, ſo ſubject is this man to mortality, thus compoſed of duſt and clay, as, what through the inward diſtempers of his body, what through outward accidents and caſualties, he is as tranſitory and as ſubject to death, as the meaneſt worme, as the pooreſt creature in the world, he is cruſhed before the moth.

How much leſſe on them that dwell in houſes of clay.

The Hebrew beares a double rendring, either how much leſſe, (as we) or how much more: If it be rendred how much leſſe, then it referres to the firſt clauſe of the former verſe; Thus, if he Patricula foreign pro qua eſt ſimpliciter foreign hoc loco …rum que deſig nat, ſc. vel quanto minus vel quanto magis, Druſ.puts no truſt in his Angels, then much leſſe doth he put truſt in men, who dwell in houſes of clay. If it be rendred, how much more, then it referres to the latter clauſe of that verſe; Thus, If he charged his Angels with folly, then how much more may he charge them with folly, who dwell in houſes of clay? Which words, are a deſcription of man, either in his civill condition, or in his naturall conſtitution. Some take theſe words in the very letter, The houſe, for that which we ordinarily call a houſe, the houſe wherein man ordinarily inhabits; as if Eliphaz had thus ſaid, Angels dwell in Heaven, they have everlaſting manſions, but man, dwels in a houſe of clay, the beſt and goodlieſt houſes are but clay and duſt, a little refined and ſublimated by art or nature, brick and ſtone, all theſe materials, or but dirt concocted by the heate of fire and Sunne; ſo that, if the alluſion were to the very houſes in which man-kind dwels, in oppſition to the habitation of Angels, theſe ſet them farre inferiour to, and below the Angels. As, theſe take it for the houſe wherein man lives, ſo ſome underſtand it, of the houſe, where man lyes being dead, namely the grave: The Chaldee is expreſſe paraphraſing thus, How much more the wicked, who dwell in a ſepulcher of clay? That, the grave is called a houſe, the Prophet helps us. Iſa. 14. 18, 19. All the Kings of the Nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own houſe, that is, in the grave, as the next p. 145words prove, But thou art caſt out of thy grave, &c. But I rather take it (as was before intimated) to be an expreſſion of mans naturall conſtitution, He dwels in a houſe of clay, whoſe foundation is in the duſt. And ſo the Apoſtle is expreſſe (2 Cor. 5. 1.) If our earthly houſe of this Tabernacle were diſſolved; the earthly houſe is the body; and (2 Cor. 4. 7.) the body is called an earthen veſſel, We have this treaſure▪ (namely the precious Promiſes foreign Turbidus, lututentus, mixtus, ut cum aquae turbantur & in eis lutum itae commevetur, ut confundantur & luto miſcentur, ut in cementum degenerent.and truths of God in the diſpenſation of the Goſpel) in earthen veſſels: We dying men, preach eternall life; we have death in our faces, while the word of life is in our mouths. The word here uſed, ſignifies clay, either wrought or unwrought, either naturall ſlimy dirt, or dirt made up for uſe, by art: So Gen. 11. 3. when they attempted the building of that Tower, it is ſaid, They had ſlime for morter; it is the word of the Text, which is uſed for both ſlime and morter; they had ſlime (which is natural) for morter; that is (by Art and induſtry) they made morter of ſlime: The body of man is a houſe of clay, but not of rude naturall clay; the power, and (if I may ſo ſpeak) the art of God hath wrought it beyond it ſelf, and refined it for this goodly building, the body of man.

The body of man is called a houſe or building in two reſpects. Firſt, becauſe of the comely fabrick: it is ſet up by line or by rule, there is admirable architecture, admirable skill in building and raiſing up of the body of man, ſtory after ſtory, room after room, and contrivance after contrivance, in all ſo compact and ſet together, that the moſt curious piles in the world are but rude heaps compared to it; ſo then in reſpect of the frame and ſtructure, it is fitly called a houſe.

Secondly, **Hoc corpus luteum domus animae dicitur, quia anima humana quantum ad aliquid eſt in corpore ſicut homo in domo, vel ſicut nanta in navi, in quā tum ſcilicet eſt motor corporis; anima a utem non unitur corpori accidentaliter ſed formaliter, ut forma materiae, dicitur enim materia fundamentum formae, eò quod eſt prima pars in generatione, ſunt fundamen…um in conſtitutione domus. Aquin.the frame of the body is called a houſe, in reſpect of the ſoul; the ſoul dwels in or inhabits the body, as the whole man inhabits or dwels in a houſe; the ſoule guides and orders the body, as the inhabitant orders the affairs of the houſe, or as the Mariner and Pilot ſteer and direct the motions of the ſhip: Not that the ſoul is in the body accidentally (we muſt not ſtrain the ſimilitude ſo far) as a man is in a houſe, or a Mariner is in a ſhip: there is a formall union between the body and the ſoul; only the ſoul is ſaid to dwell in the body, and the body or the matter is after called a foundation, becauſe there is the beginning. Man was begun at his body, as the houſe is at the foundation: firſt God formed man (that is the body) out of the duſt of the earth, and then he breathed p. 146into him the breath of life, and man became a living ſoule.

Thus the body is a houſe, and it is a houſe of clay, or a houſe of Co…pus humanum lutum digitur, quod ex te…ra & aqua gravioribus clementis▪ abundantius conſtat. Aquin.earth, ſo called, chiefly in two reſpects.

Firſt, becauſe of the matter of it, it is made of earth. Though all Elements (as Naturaliſts teach) meet in mixt bodies, yet earth is predominant in groſſe or heavie bodies.

Secondly, becauſe of the continuance of it, or the means by which it is ſupported: for, as it was at the firſt framed out of the earth, ſo it is ſtill ſupported and maintained by earth; earthly creatures, meat and drink with ſuch like accomodations, continue and repair this houſe from day to day, untill at laſt it be laid down in the duſt, and returne to earth again. So then, it is called an earthly houſe, not only from the matter of which it is made, but alſo from the means by which it is kept in repair, earth and earthy all.

Whoſe foundation is in the duſt.

Theſe words aggravate the weakneſs of mans condition. Suppoſe man were formed out of the duſt and were but clay, yet, had he a ſtrong foundation, that would ſupport and ſtrengthen him. The ſtrength of a building is in the foundation, and that building whoſe wals are but weak may ſtand long, being firmely founded. The Church of Chriſt is weak of it ſelf; but becauſe the Church hath foreign Pulvis prop…ie rarior & tenuinat, qualis in ſuperfi…ie terrae, Me…. in Gen. Significa… non ſimplici…ur pulverem, ſed pulve…ē canoſum … l…moſum Fapius in Gen. 2. 7 Pulvis leviſſimus ex quo nihil firmum aut diuturnum ompingi poteſt.Gen 2:7ſuch a mighty foundation, CHRIST the Rock, a living and an unmoveable Rock: (That confeſſion of Peter, Thou art Chriſt the Sonne of the living God, is the Churches foundation Rock) therefore the gates of Hell ſhall not prevaile againſt it. But when the building is weak, and the foundation weak too, in how tottering a condition is ſuch a building? Mans foundation is but ſand or duſt: and the word ſignifies flying, light, unſtable, moveable duſt, ſuch as lies on the ſurface of the earth, and is plaid about with every puffe of winde, though ſome (I confeſſe) take the word not ſtrictly, for this flying duſt, but for ſlimy duſt, or duſt moiſtned, which is ſlime. This was the matter out of which God created man (Gen. 2. 7.) duſt out of the earth, or out of the duſt of the earth. That duſt which can hardly be collected or kept together to make a ſubſiſtence, that is laid together as the foundation of man, His foundation is in the duſt.

Hence we may obſerve firſt, what the pedigree and originall of man is what treaſure ſoever he carries about him, yet he is an earthen veſſell, or as the Apoſtle ſpeaks of the firſt man, 1. Cor. 15. 47. p. 147he is of the earth earthy, Earth is the Originall of man, and man himſelf is no better, Earthy; yea, the Earth is call'd his earth, as if he had propriety in nothing but earth, Pſal. 1…. 6. 4. ſpeaking of the greateſt Princes, Truſt ye not in Princes, nor in the ſonne of man, his breath goeth forth, and he returneth to his earth. Our bodies can challenge no alliance with, or propriety in any thing but earth, it is our earth. The wiſe man (Eccleſ. 12. 7.) cals the body, not only an Allie to the duſt, or a-kin to duſt, but plain duſt, Then (ſpeaking of Death) ſhall the duſt returne to the earth as it was? it came from the earth, and in death it returnes to the ſame point from whence it ſet out.

A ſecond thing we may take notice of from mans originall, which exceedingly advances the infinite wiſdome, and the Almighty power of God. Duſt and Earth are the matter out of which we are formed. But doth the countenance of man repreſent duſt and earth? Could any one ſay, who had nothing to judge by, but the eye, that man was made of ſuch mean materials? What characters of Beauty and Majeſty ſit in his viſage? how unlike is he to his own parent, the Earth? Man hath received from God, not only an excellent fabrick or compoſure of body, but if you conſider it, the very matter of which the body is compoſed, is farre more excellent then earth or duſt. Take a piece of earth, or a handfull of duſt, and compare them with the fleſh of man, that fleſh is earth indeed, but that fleſh is farre better then meer earth. This ſhewes the power of the Creator, infinitely exceeding the power of a creature. A Goldſmith can make you a goodly Jewel, but then you muſt give him gold and precious ſtones of which to make it; he can put the matter into a hetter form, but he cannot make the matter better. The Engraver can make a curious Statue, exactly limb'd, and proportion'd to the life, out of a ruff piece, but the matter muſt be the ſame you put into his hands; if you give him Marble, it will be a Marble Statue, but he cannot mend the matter. Mans work Materiam ſuperabat opus.often exceeds his matter, but mans work cannot make the matter exceed it ſelf. Now God took up a rude lumpe of earth, or ſubtile duſt, and he not only put that into an excellent form, but he mended the matter alſo. Man is earth, but he is earth ſublimated and refined; Not only doth the forme exceed the matter, but the matter formed exceeds the matter unformed.

Thirdly, as this lifts up the wiſdome and power of God, ſo it ſhould humble and lay man low. Eliphaz improves this principle as p. 148an Argument to take down the ſpirit of Job from his ſuppoſed heights and ſelf-conceits. Surely thou art great in thy owne thoughts, when thou preſumeſt to enter a conteſt with God: But, look to thy Originall; ſuch towring, lofty, and aſcending thoughts would quickly be abated, if thou wouldeſt remember tha thou art but a clod of earth, a little refined clay, moving ſlime, enlivened duſt, breathing aſhes; did we ſpiritually look upon the matter of our bodies, it would take down the ſwelling of our ſpirits; when our ſpirits are like Jordan in the time of harveſt, overflowing all the banks of humility and moderation, this thought ſpiritualiz'd will bring us into our channels again, and recall us to our owne bounds and banks. Some Naturaliſts obſerve of the Bees, that when they are up and angry, do but throw a little duſt upon them, they are quiet and hive again. Certainly, when our imaginations are buzzing and humming in the aire, when thy are flying and mounting up to Heaven, not in holy aſpirings to God (which we ever ought) but in bold aſpirings againſt God, which we ſhould never dare, in ſuch a diſtemper of our ſpirits, if we could but caſt this duſt upon them, it would quiet and bring them in again.

Hath not man cauſe to lye as low in his thoughts, as that from whence he was extracted? ſhould not he be humbled to the duſt, who is duſt? Eſpecially, this earth ſhould be abaſed in all addreſſes to Heaven, in all our approaches unto God, as Abraham, Geneſis 18. 27. I have taken upon me to ſpeak unto the Lord, who am but duſt and aſhes. We ſhould never be ſo low in our own thoughts, as when we make uſe of our higheſt priviledges; and the nearer we are admitted to come to Heaven, the more ſhould we (for the magnifying of Free-grace, which makes this admiſſion) remember that we are but Earth.

Fourthly, if the body be but clay, and hath but a foundation of duſt, then doe not beſtow too much care and coſt upon your clay, upon your duſt. How many are there who beſtow much paines to trim up a vile body, and neglect a precious ſoule? Moſt uſually they who beſtow moſt paines upon this mortall houſe of clay, beſtow leaſt about that immortal inhabitant. In an over cared for body, there ever dwels a neglected ſoul. You ſhall have a body cleanly waſhed, and a ſoule all filth; a body neatly clothed and dreſt, with a ſoule all naked and unready; a body fed, and a ſoule ſtarved; a body full of the creature, and a ſoule empty of Chriſt; theſe are poor ſoules indeed. That complaint of the Moraliſt againſt p. 149Heathens, may be renewed againſt ſome Chriſtians, they are buſied moſt between the combe and the glaſſe, and troubled more at a diſorder in their haire, then at a diſorder in the Common-wealth Inter' pectinem & ſpeculum occupari. Sen.(he ſaid, I ſay) then at a diſorder in the Church, or in their owne hearts. It is a ſad thing, that any who bear the name of a Chriſtian, ſhould ſpend much time betweene the combe and the glaſſe, and but little betweene Ordinance and Ordinance, betweene the Bible and the Pulpit, betweene reading and hearing, betweene both, and holy meditation; the body is but a houſe of clay, it is but duſt, therefore be not ſo induſtrious for it. We uſually laugh at children when they are making Houſes of Clay, and Pies of Dirt. They whoſe care is thus over active for the body, are but children of a greater ſtature, and ſhew, they have ſo much more folly in their hearts then they, by how much they have more years over their heads, and are fooliſh about more ſerious matters then they. There is no child to the old child.

Fifthly, ſeeing this houſe of clay is founded alſo in duſt, obſerve, that man is a very fraile, an unſteady, and an unſtable creature, every puffe muſt needs ſubject him to ruine. Look upon his foundation, it is nothing but duſt. When CHRIST (Math. 7. ult.) had finiſhed his Sermon upon the Mount, he compares his hearers to ſuch as build either upon the Rock, or upon the Sand, they that heare and doe not, are like a houſe built upon the ſand; and what becomes of that houſe? when the rain deſcended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, that houſe fell, and the fall thereof was great. A foundation of duſt or ſand cannot ſtand out one ſtorme. The houſe of mans body is walled and roofed with clay, and bottom'd upon no better then duſt; the ſtrength of the Church (as was toucht before) is deſcribed by the matter of its foundation A Rock, Matth. 16. And the new Jeruſalem (which as it is conceived to be the moſt pure ſtate of the Church here on earth, ſo it muſt be the ſtrongeſt) is ſet forth having twelve foundations, and they all of ſtone, and all thoſe ſtones moſt precious, and therefore moſt durable, Rev. 21. 19. The ſtrength and ſtability of that eſtate which the Saints ſhall inherit, when theſe houſes of earth are by death levelled to the earth (the ſtability (I ſay) of that eſtate) is deſcribed under the notion of a City which hath foundations (Heb. 11. 10.) He (namely Abraham) looked for a City which hath foundations, whoſe builder and maker is God. When the Holy Ghoſt ſaith foundations, who can tell how many they may be? we can eaſily tell p. 150the feweſt they can be; two is the loweſt number; ſo that at leaſt this City hath a foundation upon a foundation. The foundation of Chriſts perfect righteouſneſſe is laid upon the foundation of Gods eternall free love: here is foundation upon foundation. The City above hath theſe foundations, and therefore we receive a City that cannot be ſhaken. I note theſe things, to ſhew by conſent of Scripture, that the ſtability of any condition in alluſion to a building is expreſt by the ſtrength of its foundation Now, all our outward glory and excellency, our life, and all the pompe of it, hath ſcarce ſo much as deſerves to be called a foundation; a foundation of duſt hath only the name of a foundation. That Image in Daniel which typed out all the deſcents of worldly greatneſſe, had a head of gold, the breaſt and armes of Silver, the thighes of Braſſe, and the legs of Iron, but the feet were part of Iron and part of Clay. The feet are the foundation, and the feet of this Image ſpeak thus much to all the world, that all worldly pompe & greatneſſe, all worldly power and majeſty muſt fall, for the image ſtands upon clay; and though it have a mixture of iron in the feet which is ſtrong, yet it ſhall not ſtand by the iron which is ſtrong, but fall and be broken by the clay which is weak. As it was in thoſe great Monarchies, into which the outward power of Nations and Kingdomes was contracted: ſo if you look upon any particular man, though you may conceive him to have a head of gold, armes and breaſt of ſilver, thighes of braſſe, and legs of iron, yet when you come to the feet, the foundation of the whole body, it is but duſt, which a ſmall ſtorm will diſſipate and blow away, The body of man hath ſo weak a foundation, that it is ſometime compared to that which hath no foundation, a Tabernacle, (1 Cor. 5.) If the earthly houſe of this Tabernacle were diſſolved, ſaith the Apoſtle. Now a Tabernacle hath a roofe or a covering, but no foundation: The Tabernacle of Tectum habet, fundamentum non habet.the body hath a covering, but hardly any foundation, only a foundation in the duſt.

Laſtly, Conſider the forme of ſpeaking in this Scripture, How much leſſe on them, who dwell in houſes of clay? He ſpeakes of the whole man, as dwelling in a houſe of clay; Now we know that a body cannot properly be ſaid to dwell in abody, the houſe doth not dwell in a houſe; yet he ſpeakes, as of a compleat perſon dwelling in a houſe of clay, which yet is to be underſtood of one part of the perſon, The ſoule; that dwels in a houſe of clay, that is, it acts and officiates in a body compoſed of clay. Hence obſerve, ſeeing p. 151the whole man commeth under the notion of the ſoule;

That the ſoule of man is The man, The ſoule goes away with the Non qued anima ſi… bono ut quidam poſuerunt, dicentes hominem nihil aliud eſſe quàm animam indutam corpore, ſed quia anima eſt principatior pars hominis, unum quodque autem conſuevit appellari id, qu…d eſt in eo principalius. Aquin. in loc.name of the whole perſon: The ſoule is not the man in a naturall conſideration, (as ſome have philoſophiz'd, aſſerting that man is nothing but a ſoule cloathed with a body) for, man is man by the union of ſoule and body, and the perfection of man as man, conſiſts in that union; but the ſoule is the man in a morall conſideration, becauſe it is the more noble and excellent part of man: and it is uſuall to denominate the whole from that part which is more excellent. The body is but as the Cabinet, the ſoule is the Jewell; the body is but as the ſheath or the ſcabbard, the ſoule is as the knife or the ſword; You know when a man buyeth a ſword, he buyes a ſcabbard too, or when he buyes a knife, he buyes the ſheath too, yet he ſaith, this knife coſt me ſo much, or I gave ſo much for this ſword he makes no mention of the ſcabbard or of the ſheath; now the body is the ſheath or ſcabbard of the ſoule (Dan. 7. 15.) you have it expreſt ſo, I was grieved (ſaith the Prophet) in my ſpirit in the middeſt of my body, ſo we tranſlate it, but the Chaldee is (and ſo we have it in ſome Margents) in the middeſt of my ſheath; The ſoule is the blade, a blade of admirable mettle and temper; the body how beautifull ſoever by nature, or gay by art is but a velvet, or an emboſſed ſheath and ſcabbard: therefore at firſt, when God formed man out of the duſt of the earth, and had breathed into him the breath of life, the reſult of all is, and man became a living ſoule; it is not ſaid, man became a living body, though life was breathed into the body, and the body ſtood up and lived, yet the beſt part is named for all, the duſt and the clay are (as it were) quite forgotten in the ſtory, man became a living ſoule. And that may be a reaſon, why the fear of God and keeping foreignhis Commandements (Eccleſ. 12. ult) is called all man, becauſe theſe things chiefely concerne that part of man, which (upon the matter) is all man. The feare of God and keeping his Commandements, are ſoule worke, and tend to the eternall welfare of the ſoule; and though the body ſhares in all the bleſſings, and aſſiſts in moſt labours of the ſoule, yet the ſoule labours moſt for, and is the chiefeſt ſeate of bleſſedneſſe. How ſtrangely have ſome departed from this point of truth, which the Scripture every where writes as with a Sun-beame: who inſtead of making the ſoule to be the chiefe part of man, deny that man hath any ſuch part And whereas ſome (toucht at before) err'd on the right hand, ſaying, p. 152that Man was nothing but a ſoule: Theſe goe aſtray more, and more dangerouſly on the left hand, ſaying that Man hath no ſoule at all: An opinion, howſoever lately dreſt in ſome fineneſſe of wit, and ſubtilties of Philoſophy, yet in it ſelf ſo groſſe, ſo diſhonourable to man, ſo contrary to this Text, and the whole tenour of the word of God, that I hope it is very mortal, and will ſhortly find a grave in every heart, but theirs, who have more reaſon to wiſh it, then to maintain it. I intend no diſpute about it, beyond the Argument before me, which if it be not demonſtrative (as many others from Scripture are) yet it carries (at leaſt) a faire probability, and an ingenuous ground; for how can man be ſaid to dwell in a houſe of clay, if he himſelf be nothing elſe but a houſe of clay? or how can the inhabitant and the houſe be in all, but one and the ſame?

But I ſhall dwell too long upon theſe houſes of clay, in which man cannot dwell long: for it followes:

Which are cruſhed before the moth.

What ſtrength is there in houſes which are cruſhed before the moth? or as others read it Which ſhall be conſumed after the manner of a moth? Maſter Broughton thus, Beaten to powder as a foreign Ad facies tineae, foreign, in medum tineae. Sept. Velut à tinea. Vulg. Pagnine.moth be they: That is, They are cruſhed as ſoon, or as ſpeedily as a moth. Another, They are conſumed as it were with a moth. A fifth tranſlates differently from all theſe, Which are cruſhed and conſumed before Arcturus. Arcturus is a Conſtellation in Heaven about the North Pole; we read of it in the 9^th of this Book of Job, verſe 9. Which makes Arcturus, Orion, and the Pleiades, &c. The ſame word here, ſignifies a moth, and ſometimes a Conſtellation, a knot or company of Stars: The ſenſe of this reading is made out thus, They are cruſhed before the face of Arcturus. That is, they are cruſhed as long, or whilſt Arcturus doth continue; in plain Engliſh, as long as there is a Star in Heaven, man will be a mortall man; or man will never change this condition of mortality, while the world ſtands. We may thus expound it, by that (Pſal. 72. 17.) where the Prophet deſcribing the Kingdome of Chriſt in the extent both of place and time, ſaith, His name ſhall be continued as long as the Sun; the Hebrew is, foreign Ad facies ſolu.His name ſhall continue before the face of the Sun; to continue before the face of the Sun, is to run in a line of equall continuance with the Sun; ſo here, They are cruſhed before the fate p. 153of thoſe Starres, that is, they ſhall be in ſuch a cruſhing periſhing condition as long as thoſe Starres continue, which is, as long as the courſe of this world continues. Our owne tranſlation which comes cleer to the letter of the Originall, is further to be looked into. They are cruſhed before the moth. It may have a three-fold interpretation, Firſt, before the moth, that is, before in time, or ſooner then the moth. How quickly is a moth cruſhed? man may be cruſhed before it, ſooner then it is cruſht. Secondly, Before the moth, may be as much, as, in the preſence of the moth; as if he ſhould ſay, man thinks he is able to ſtand it out againſt a potent Adverſary, yea againſt God himſelfe; but alaſſe poore creature, he is not able to ſtand before a moth, or contend with a flye, if God arme any of them againſt him. Thirdly, They are cruſhed before the moth, that is, man is cruſht and torne, vext and worne out by a thouſand miſeries and troubles which attend his life, before ever the moth has to doe with him, before ever he lyes downe in the bed of death, before the moth, that is, for the moth to fret on, or as a companion for the wormes.

All theſe renderings, though they differ in words, come neer and meet in the ſame generall ſenſe, namely, An illuſtration of mans frailty. Take them firſt by way of ſimilitude, Man is cruſhed as it were with a moth, it notes thus much to us, That death conſumes us without noiſe, ſecretly and ſilently: To doe a thing as a moth, is to doe it ſilently and without noiſe. Hoſ. 5. 12. God himſelfe ſaith, that he will be as a moth unto Ephraim, and as a Lion, ver. 14. when he ſaith he will be as a Lion, it implieth open judgements, which come violently and viſibly, which come in, like thunder, roaring as a Lion upon them; But when he ſaith, I will be as a moth unto Ephraim, the meaning is, I will ſend ſilent and ſecret judgements upon you, which ſhall eate out your ſtrength, corrode your power, and blemiſh the beauty of your garments, and you ſhall not perceive it; Ye ſhall be undone, conſumed, and (as we ſpeak Proverbially) ye ſhall never know who hurt you. The open enemies of the Church are threatned with ſecret judgements, under this notion of a moth, Iſa. 50. 9. Loe they ſhall wax old as doth a garment, the moth ſhall conſume them. Againe, Chap. 51. 6, 7. Feare ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth ſhall eate them up like a garment, and the worme ſhall eate them like wool: that is, whereas, your enemies have made a great noiſe and clamour with their revilings p. 154againſt you; I will come againſt them without noiſe, they ſhall periſh with as little clamour as a garment doth, that is eaten with moths. And thus the life of man is ordinarily conſumed (as it were) by a moth; ſickneſſes and diſeaſes enter ſecretly, into his houſe of clay, they lye in the frame and between the rafters of this houſe, ſucking up the ſpirits, and waſting the ſtrength, ſpending the heate, and drinking up the naturall moiſture of the body; we know not how we conſume, but we conſume; we know not how we decline, but we decline; we dye, we know not how, but we dye: Is it not then as with a moth, creeping upon us, yea feeding upon us without noiſe?

Againe, Take it by way of ſimilitude, not as before actively or inſtrumentally, they are cruſhed as by a moth, or as a moth cruſhes; but paſſively or ſubjectively; They are cruſhed as a moth, that is, they are cruſhed as a moth is cruſhed, alluding to the eaſineſſe of cruſhing a moth; A moth is duſt as ſoone as you cruſh it the leaſt touch kills it; Man in his houſe of clay is ſo weake, that if God doe but touch him, he dies and falls to duſt; the Lord needs not bring his great Artillery, and make batteries againſt the body of man: the body of man is no ſuch ſtrong Fort or Bulwarke to ſtand out a long ſiege, or endure much aſſaulting and oppoſition; he is cruſhed as a moth betweene your fingers; Hence David moſt humbly deprecates the ſtroake of God, which he ſaw comming, or felt as come, becauſe he was not able to beare it; Pſal. 39. 10. Remove thy ſtroake away from me, I am conſumed by the blow of thine hand, (Lord if thou ſtrike me thus I ſhall quickly conſume) And leaſt you ſhould think that Davids fleſh (he being a King) was tender and delicate, and ſo leſſe able to beare any hardſhip, therefore in the following words, he puts the caſe in generall concerning man or man-kind, Take the man whoſe ſtrength is as the ſtrength of ſtones, and his fleſh as braſſe; yet this man breakes and vaniſhes under the hand of God, ſo he affirmes, ver. 11. under this paſſive conſideration of a moth, When thou with rebukes doeſt correct man for iniquity, thou makes his beauty to conſume away like a moth (And then cloſes with that common axiome of mans mortality) ſurely every man is vanity, Selah.

Further, Man may well be ſaid to be cruſhed or die even as a moth, for as the garment breeds the moth, and then the moth eates the garment; ſo (beſides that power of God, or the outward ſtroake of his hand, of which David ſpake) mans own p. 155diſtempered body breeds ill humours they diſeaſes, and theſe breed death: As it was with Jonas gourd, ſo it is with us, we give life and ſuck to a worme in our own roots, which ſucks out our life, cauſing our leaves to fall, and our goodly branches ſuddenly to wither.

Thirdly, From that ſenſe, he is cruſhed before Arcturus, or as long as the Starres continue, Obſerve;

That, as mans ſtate is fraile and weake, ſo it will be, the for ever of this world. Doe not looke that ever there ſhall riſe up a generation of men, that ſhall have better houſes then houſes of clay, or houſes ſtronger built then our preſent buildings. As we are riſen up in our fathers ſtead, a generation of ſinfull men; ſo we are riſen up in our fathers ſtead, a generation of weake mortall men: and our children will ariſe in the ſtead of us their fathers, a generation of men, as mortall as we their fathers. Till the whole compages and courſe of nature be changed, man ſhall not exchange the infirmity of his nature, He ſhall never be without cruſhing ſickneſſes, till he is above them.

The ſad ſtory of man holds on ſtill, and growes yet more ſad, before it was cruſhing, now it is deſtroying.

Verſe 20. They are deſtroyed from morning to evening, they periſh for ever without any regarding it.

We may underſtand the former verſe of naturall death, and this of caſuall and violent death. Deſtuction and periſhing, import violence; Though I conceive naturall death be here alſo intended. They are deſtroyed from morning to evening, they periſh for ever without any regarding it, or as Mr. Broughton reads it between a morning and evening, they are waſted without any regarding, or without any thinking upon it.

They are deſtroyed, that is, they are ſubject or liable to deſtruction: A mane ad veſperam, i. e. per torum diem, qu…ppe mane & veſpera ſunt pa…tes diei Druſ.That phraſe from morning to evening, notes the whole day; it is as much as to ſay, they are deſtroyed continually or all the day long, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks out of the Pſalme, Rom. 8. 36. For thy ſake are we killed all the day long: The morning and the evening are the parts of a naturall day, Gen. 1. 5. or the two termes of a civill day, & theſe include and take in the full compaſſe of the day.

This ſenſe teacheth us, That man is deſtroyable every moment. He waſts in one ſenſe, while he growes, and dies from the morning of his birth and comming into the world, to the evening of his returne and going out of the world: And not only ſo, but he p. 156is obnoxious to the violent aſſaults of death every day, and all houres of every day: From the morning when he riſes, to the evening when he goes to bed, he walkes among armies of dangers, and within the Gunſhot of deſtruction. The Apoſtles catalogue of perils is true to this day. 2 Cor. 11. 26. In perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of mine own countrymen, in perils by the Heathen, in perils in the City, in perils in the wilderneſſe, in perils in the ſea, in perils among falſe brethren: Every place is a peril, and every perſon a peril. Where can we goe, with whom can we meete, and not goe among or meete with perils? And doe not all theſe perils ſpeake deſtruction from morning to evening? Pauls experiences, both in regard of a natural, but eſpecially of violent death, brought forth theſe concluſions, which come full up to the point. I die daily, (1 Cor. 15 31.) in deaths often (2 Cor. 11. 23.) we are killed all the day long, (Rom. 8. 36.)

Secondly, Take the words as a proverbiall ſpeech, by which the ſhorteſt time is ſignified. As (Iſa. 38. 12.) Hezekiah complayning, ſets forth his mortall ſickneſſe, threatning preſent death and cutting off, thus; Mine age is departed and removed from me as a ſheapheards tent; I have cut off like a weaver my life, he will cut me off with pining ſickneſſe, from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me, that is, either continually or ſuddenly: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me, I am waſting perpetually: or before night, within the compaſſe of this day thou wilt deſtroy and make an end of me; theſe were the thoughts of my heart, when I was in the hands of that acute diſpatching diſeaſe. The Pſalmiſt, (Pſal. 90. 5, 6,) deſcribes man as graſſe, in the morning it flouriſheth and groweth up, in the evening it is cut downe and withereth; that is, man continueth but a very ſhort time. His life is but a ſpanne long, or but a day long. Jonahs Gourd came up in a night, and periſhed in a night; and man commeth up in the morning, and periſheth in the evening. The Naturaliſts ſpeake of a Fly they call Ephemeron, a creature of one day, which comes forth in the morning, is very active about noone▪ but when the Sunne declineth, it declines too, and ſets, with the ſetting of the Sunne. Man is an Ephemeron, a creature of one day; for howſoever his life conſiſteth of many dayes, & is often lengthened out to many yeares, yet betweene morning and evening, or from morning to evening he is deſtroyed. The firſt ſtep he ſets upon p. 157the ſtage of the world, is a going out of the world; his aſcending to the height of his natural perfection, hath in it a decent. One part of his life compared with another, is an increaſe, but the whole in reference to his end, is a decreaſe: his life is but a breathing death, life ſhortning as faſt as it lengthns, his life is death haſtning upon him continually. A hand breadth is quickly meaſured: Behold (ſaith David Pſal. 29. 5.) thou haſt made my dayes an hand breadth; nothing needs no time to paſſe it in; mans age in it ſelf is but little, and comparatively it is nothing; it fals under no calculation before the face of Eternity. Mine age is nothing before thee.

But though the life of man be thus ſhort, and himſelf be deſtroyed between a morning and an evening, yet death laſts long, they periſh for ever without any regarding.

They periſh for ever] Death it ſeemes is everlaſting. They periſh the word is often uſed in this book for the diſſolution of ſoule and body, not for the annihilation of either, as periſhing properly imports: to periſh, is here but to dye, for thus even the righteous periſh, and no man layes it to heart. Iſay 57. 1.

But doth man periſh thus, dyes he for ever? ſhall there not be a foreign.returne, a reſurrection, ſhall not ſoule and body be reunited? how is it ſaid then, they periſh or dye for ever?

For ever, is ſome time put for an infinite time, and ſome time for an indefinite time, 1 Chron. 23. 25 The Lord God of Iſrael hath given reſt unto his people, that they may dwell in Jeruſalem for ever. And yet the Jewes are now ſo farre from dwelling in Jeruſalem, that they have ſcarce reſt or dwelling among any people. The like ſenſe of for ever, reade 1 Kings 2. 33. Pſal. 132. 12, 14. Yet further, for ever is put for the finite time of one mans life, 1 Sam. 27. 12. He ſhall be my ſervant for ever, that is, as long as he lives. Pſal. 23. 6. I will dwell in the houſe of the Lord for ever, that is, as long as I live. In the text before us, for ever, is as long as this world laſts; it notes the utmoſt terme of time, not (which is without terme) eternity. They periſh for ever, that is, they ſhall not live in this world any more; as (Job 14. 14.) If a man dye ſhall he live again? As if he had ſaid, man can dye but once; he cannot live againe, that is, in this world; ſhall he any more return to his houſe, to his wife and children to his riches or honours, and, ſhall he here againe enjoy ſuch an eſtate as he had before? That (Pſal. 103. 16.) explains it ſo, As for man his days are as graſs, as a flower of the field ſo he flouriſheth, for the winde paſſeth over p. 158it and it is gone, and the place thereof ſhall know it no more, that is, he ſhall never returne to that locall place, or civill place in which he lived; he ſhall not return to that place of magiſtracy or miniſtrey, to that place of merchandizing or trading, of husbandry or handicraft, where he convers'd before. Thus his place will know him no more. Man dyes but once, and therefore when he dies, he is ſaid to dye for ever. There is a ſecond death, but it is only a ſecond condition of life. Some ſhall ſo live for ever, that they ſhall be dying for ever. The miſery of all men here, is, that they are dying while they live; the miſery of the damned hereafter, will be, that they are living while they dye. We ſee then, that as life is a continuall going out of the world, ſo from death there is no returning to the world, they periſh for ever: when once you die, you are dead for good and all (as we ſay) there's an end, in reſpect of any work proper to this world, whether naturall, civill, or ſpirituall. A dying man periſhes for ever from eating and drinking, from any outward content or pleaſure. When Barzillai was (as it were but) upon the borders of death and confines of the grave (2 Sam. 19. 25.) he beſpeaks David thus, who had invited him to Court, Can I taſte what I eat and what I drink? (and it followes) Can I any more heare the voice of ſinging-men and ſinging-women? Can I any more? as if he had ſaid, I am now nigh unto death, theſe delights are gone they are periſhed for ever, I can hardly taſte any thing I eat or drink; the pleaſant Voice or muſicall Inſtrument can I any more hear? much more then in death it ſelf are all theſe outward comforts periſhed, and will periſh for ever.

Againe, in reſpect of civill works, he that dyes, periſhes for ever; no more buying, or ſelling, or trading, or de aling, all theſe things are paſt, and paſt for ever. Yea, death puts an end to all ſpirituall workes, ſuch as were the Saints exerciſe and duty upon the earth, at the grave, there's an end of them alſo; a dying man periſhes for ever, in reſpect of repenting or believing, in reſpect of praying or hearing the word. Theſe are heavenly works, but the time for theſe is, while you are upon the earth, none of theſe labours are in Heaven or Hell, no nor in the grave whether thou goeſt, as the Preacher concludes (Eccleſiaſtes 9. 10.) Therefore (Iſay 38. 18.) Hezekiah in his ſickneſs makes it one part of his ſuit to God, that he might be ſpared, for (ſaith he) the grave cannot praiſe thee, they that go downe into the pit cannot hope for thy truth, the living, the living he ſhall praiſe thee, as I do this day. To praiſe p. 159God ſhall be the work of Saints for ever; and yet the Saints dying are truly ſaid periſh for ever, from praiſing God. All that praiſe ſhall ceaſe in death, which belong to the wayes of grace; and then ſuch praiſe begins as ſuits with glory, which is our end. That Hezekiah means it of ſuch praiſe, and not of all praiſe, is cleare from his own words, Verſe 20. We will ſing my ſong to the ſtringed inſtruments, all the dayes of my life in the houſe of the Lord, that is, in the ordinances of thy publick worſhip. They that are in the houſe of the grave, cannot praiſe the Lord in his houſe. And though the praiſes of the Lord in Heaven, are tranſcendent, and more perfect then thoſe in his houſe on Earth; yet it is a higher act of grace to deſire to live to praiſe God, then to be willing to dye that we may praiſe him; becauſe in this we deny our ſelves moſt; Prayſing God on earth is a work as well as a reward, but praiſing God in Heaven is a reward rather then a work. And we put forth the moſt ſpirituall acts of grace, when we cheerfully goe on with a work, which we know ſtands betweene us and the beſt part of our reward. But I returne to the Text.

They periſh for ever without any regarding,] or without any laying it to heart. The word heart is not in the mouth, but, it is in the heart of this Scripture. For the ſenſe is paralell with that, Eſay foreign Abſ que apponente. Pereunt eoquòd nemo opponat eis medicinam.57. The righteous periſh, and no man layes it to heart, The Chaldee gives a ſtrange gloſſe, They periſh or dye becauſe no man giveth them medicine; as if he had ſaid, there is no Phyſitian can give an Antidote againſt death, or by any medicines prolong mans life. It is a truth, that the decayes and ruines of Nature, will at laſt exceed the repairs of Art; but this gloſſe hath little regard to the text, which we tranſlate well, They periſh without any regarding it, that is, none or very few regarding it. The negative is not abſolutely univerſall, excluding all, as if there were none in the world who take notice of the ſhortneſſe and frailty of mans life, or of his for ever periſhing condition. So in that place of Iſaiah, the righteous periſh and no man layes it to heart; that is, there are very few, ſcarce any to be found who lay to heart (in compariſon of the number which neglect) the death of righteous men.

Obſerve hence, Few of the living regard how ſuddenly others do, or themſelves may dye. Till we ſee a friend gaſping and dying, till we ſee him bedewed with cold ſweats, and rackt with Convulſions, till our eye thus affects our hearts, our hearts are ſeldome affected with the ſenſe of our mortality. It is one reaſon why Solomon p. 160adviſes to go to the houſe of mourning, Eccleſ. 7. It is better to goe to the houſe of mourning, then to the houſe of mirth, for (ſaith he) that is the way of all men (all muſt dye) and the living will lay it to heart, or the living will regard it. As if he had ſaid, the living ſeldom lay death to heart, till they come to the houſe of death: He ſeems to promiſe for the living, that then they wil: yet his undertaking is not ſo ſtrict, as if every man that goes to the houſe of mourning did certainly lay it to heart: but he ſpeaks probably, that if living man will at any time lay death to heart, then ſurely he will when he goes to the houſe of mourning. When will a man think of death, if not when he ſees death? and looks into that dark chamber of the grave? There are many who lay it to heart only then: for a fit at a Funerall, they have a paſſion of the heart about mortality. And very many have gone ſo often to the houſe of mourning, that they are growne familiar with death, and the frequency of thoſe meetings take off all impreſſions of mortality from their hearts. As we ſay of thoſe Birds that build & rooſt in ſteeples, being uſed to the continuall ringing of the bels, the ſound diſquiets them not: or as thoſe that dwel near the fall of the river Nylus, the noiſe of the water deafens them ſo, that they minde it not. Many have been ſo often at the grave, that now the grave is worn out of their hearts; they look upon it as a matter of cuſtome and formality for men to dye and be buried, and when the ſolemnity of death is over, the thoughts of death are over: as ſoone as the grave is out of their ſight, preparations for the grave are out of mind. It is ſtoried (2 Sam. 20. 12.) that when Amaſa was ſlain by Joab, and lay wallowing in his blood in the midſt of the high way, every one that came by him ſtood ſtill, but anon Amaſa is removed out of the high way into the field, & a cloth caſt upon him, & then (the text ſaith) all the people went on after Joab. It is ſo ſtill, we make a ſtop at one that lyes gaſping and groaning, at one that lyes bleeding and dying, but let a cloth be throwne over him and he draw aſide, put into the grave, and covered with earth, then we goe to our buſineſſe, to trading and dealing, yea to coveting and ſinning, as if the laſt man (that ever ſhould be) were buried. Thus, men periſh for ever, without any regarding. If this kinde of periſhing were more regarded, or regarded by more, fewer would periſh. Thoughts of death ſpiritualliz'd have life in them: thoughts of death laid to the heart, are a good medicine for an evil heart. It followes,

p. 161Verſe 21. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they dye, even without wiſdome.

This Verſe (as I noted in the begining) prevents an objection which might be made, as if man had wrong done him: and that it were too great a diminution to his honour, whom God made the chief creature in the inferiour world, and but little inferiour to Angels themſelves, that he ſhould be looked upon only as a heape of duſt, or a lumpe of clay, as a mortall, momentany periſhing creature; therefore he grants that man hath an excellency; but all the excellency that he hath, whether naturall or artificiall, bred in him, or acquired by him, as a man, when he goes, goes too, Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? or journieth not their excellency with them? as Mr. Broughton tranſlates, alluding to our paſſing out of the world, as in a journey; when a man dies he takes a journey out of the world, he goes out for ever; and (ſaith he) doth not his excellency journey along with him? yes, the queſtion affirmes it, when man goes, his excellency goes too. The word (Jether) which we tranſlate excellency, ſignifies primarily, a reſidue or a remaine, and that two ways. Firſt, a reſidue of perſons, Judges 7. 6. But all the reſt of the people bowed downe on their knees to drink water. So the vulgar underſtands it here. They who are left after them, ſhall be taken away from them: namely their heirs or poſterity. Secondly, it ſignifies a reſidue of things, Pſ. 17. 14. where deſcribing worldly men who have their portion in this life, he ſaith, their bellies are fill'd with hid treaſure, they are alſo full of children, and leave the reſt of their ſubſtance to their babes. Thus others take it here. Doth not the wealth and riches which men leave when they dye, dye alſo and go away, as their perſons are mortall, ſo are their eſtates; there is a moth will eat both. And Iather, quod eſt ſupereſſe non ſolum exceſſum quantitatis ſignificat, ſed etiam qualitatis dignitatis, ficut verbum latinū ſupero non ſolum ſupereſſe, ſed etiam vince…e & excellere. Pined. foreignas the word ſignifies a quantitive remainder, or overplus, both of perſons and things, ſo alſo a qualitative exceſſe or remainder: or that which exceeds in quality: any exceſſe in the goodneſſe of a quality, is called excellency. Thus Jacob cals Reuben in regard of his primogeniture; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power; yet blots him in the next Verſe, becauſe of his ſinne, thou ſhalt not excell, Gen. 49. 3, 4. This ſenſe of the word ſuits well with the ſcope of the text in hand. His excellency, that is, whatſoever doth excell, or is beſt in him. But what is that? Some by his Excellency underſtand the ſoule; as if he had ſaid, that beſt part p. 162of man, the ſoule, which may be oppoſed to clay and duſt before ſpoken of, that noble gueſt, that royall inhabitant of this houſe of clay goeth out when death enters. Death diſſolves the union between ſoule and body.

Or rather we may take excellency for any ſpeciall endowment; firſt of the body, as beauty or ſtrength. Secondly of the minde, as wit and knowledge, learning or skill. Thirdly, we may take it for thoſe worldly excellencies of riches, honour, or authority; when a man goeth out, all theſe excellencies which are in him, or which are about him, go out too. This excellency is the ſame which is called the goodlineſſe of man, by the Prophet (Eſay 40. 6.) The voice ſaid, cry, what ſhall I cry? All fleſh is graſſe, and all the goodlineſſe thereof is as the flower of the field. Not only is the fleſh, but the goodlineſs thereof fading alſo. So here, not only the houſe of clay and the foundation of duſt, but the excellency of it: all the adorning and poliſhing, the guilding and painting, the rich hanging and precious furniture of this houſe go away.

Taking excellency here for the ſoule, then, we ſee wherein our excellency conſiſts As man was the principall part of the creation, ſo the ſoule is the principall part of man. The conſtitution of the ſoule is mans naturall excellency, and the converſion of the ſoule is mans ſpirituall excellency.

Secondly obſerve, Death is the going away, or the departure of the ſoule from the body. Death is called ſometime a departure of body and ſoule out of the world, Now letteſt thou thy ſervant depart in peace (ſaith old Simeon, Luke 2.) Man goes to his long home, Eccleſ. 12. 5. I go the way of all fleſh, ſaith Moſes, and I goe away, ſaith our Lord Chriſt of his death. Death is alſo called a departure of the ſoule from the body. The death of Rachel is thus deſcribed, Geneſis 35. 18. And it came to paſſe, that as her ſoule was in departing, for ſhe dyed.

From the other interpretation, which I rather inſiſts upon. Obſerve, that in death all a mans naturall and outward excellency whatſoever, leaves him and departs from him, Pſal. 49. 16. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his houſe is increaſed; why? for when he dyeth he ſhall carry nothing away with him, his glory ſhall not deſcend after him; though a man have an excellent out-ſide, a great ſtock of riches, beauty and honour, though he have excellent linings of wiſdome and knowledge, yet all ends as to him, when he ends, and therefore David p. 163concludes (Pſal. 39.) Man at his beſt ſtate, or in his beſt eſtate is altogether vanity. The excellencies that are in him goe away, in that day all his thoughts periſh, his counſels and his projects periſh with him. One of the ancients ſtanding by Caeſars Tomb, (who was one of the moſt accompliſht men in the world, for naturall, civill, and morall excellencies; learned, valiant, noble, rich and powerfull,) he (I ſay) ſtanding by Caeſars Tomb, wept and cried out, where is now the flouriſhing beauty of Caeſar? what's Ʋbi nunc pulch…itudo Caeſaris? quo abiit magnificentia tua.become of his magnificence? where are the armies now, where the honours of Caeſar? where are now the victories, the triumphs and trophies of Caeſar? All's gone, all's departed, the goodlineſſe of them is as the flower of the field, his excellency which was in him is gone away. And thus it will be ſaid of all thoſe, who (without grace) are moſt excellent in any thing below. Though your clay be curiouſly wrought, and ſtampt with ſuch beauty, as renders you almoſt Angelicall to the eye of others. Though your bodies are ſtrongly joynted, and bleſſed with ſuch health as renders your lives moſt active and comfortable to your ſelves; though your mindes are ſtored with variety of learning, and you know as much as is knowable in the whole circle of Nature, or of times; yet when Death comes, all theſe excellencies go away. Nothing will ſtay by us then, and go (not from us but) with us, but the excellency of the knowledge of Chriſt Jeſus our Lord, for whom (Paul did, and) we ought to ſuffer the loſſe of all things, and count them but dung, that we may winne Chriſt, (Phil. 3. 8.) For notwithſtanding all other knowledge and wiſdome, we ſhall dye and conclude (as this Chapter concludes of man) without wiſdome. They dye even foreignwithout wiſdome, or word for word. They dye not and in wiſdome. We may underſtand it two wayes. Firſt (as if he had ſaid) though men are excellent in wiſdom, yet they dye; their wiſdom is to them in death, as if they had no wiſdome; they have no more priviledge or defence againſt the ſtroak of death, by all their wiſdome, learning Nalla eſt ſapi. entia qua mortem effugiant. Merc.and knowledge, then fooles or bruit beaſts who have no knowledge, no wiſdome at all, they dye even without wiſdome, or even as if they had no wiſdome. Died Abner as a foole dyeth, ſaid mourning David? 1 Sam. 3. 33. yes, Abner dyed as a foole dyeth. And ſo in one ſenſe doe the wiſeſt of men. He was the wiſeſt of all the children of men, and he ſpake it by the wiſdome of God, who asking this queſtion, How dyeth the wiſe man, anſwers, as the foole, Eccleſ. 2. 16. Let not any man pride himſelf in the excellency p. 164of his wiſdome: for that dwels in a houſe of clay whoſe foundation is in the duſt: his frailty is not curable by his excellency, nor his mortality conquerable by his wiſdome, he ſhall dye as if he had no wiſdome. And ſome who have moſt worldly wiſdome, dye Non in ſapient…a extenuatio eſt, i. e. in magna ſtultitia, Pined.with leaſt, yea, they with the greateſt folly. Not in wiſdome, may be an extenuation, or a more gentle, eaſie expreſſion, for, in abundance of folly. I remember it is obſerved concerning Paracelſus (a great Phyſitian, a man exceedingly verſt in Chymicall experiments) that he brag'd and boaſted, he had attained to ſuch wiſdom in diſcerning the conſtitutions of men, and ſtudying remedies, that whoſoever did follow his rules, and keep to his directions, ſhould never dye by any diſeaſe, caſually he might, and of age he muſt, but he would undertake to ſecure his health againſt diſeaſes; a bold undertaking. But he who by his art promiſed to protect others, to extreame old age from the arreſt of death, could not by all his art or power make himſelf a protection in the prime of his youth, but dyed even as one without wiſdome, before, or when he had ſeene but thirty. Secondly, they dye without wiſdome. That is, they cannot carry their wiſdome away with them; as not their worldly riches and pompe ſo nor their worldly wiſdome and knowledge, Chap. 36. 12.

Thirdly, They dye even without wiſdome, that is, they prepare not wiſely for death. This is the condition of moſt men, their excellency goes away with them, and they die without wiſdome; they have had wiſdome, but they die as if they had none, that is, they apply not their wiſdome while they live, to fit themſelves for death: They die before they underſtand what it is to live, on why they live. This wiſdome is wanting in moſt men, and of all ſuch, the Pſalmiſt concludes to this ſenſe of the place, Man being in honour and underſtandeth not, is like the beaſts that periſh, Pſal. 49. 20. That is, he periſhes fooliſhly and without wiſdome, like a beaſt, though in his life a man of honour and excellency. He Moriuntur in ſimen…es vel inſipienter. Druſ. Prius moriuntur quam quicquam intellexg…i…t de divina ſapientia, Mer.that dies unpreparedly, dies fooliſhly. It is the wiſdome of man to live in the world in the meditation of, and preparation fo his departure out of this world. And it is ſuch a wiſdome as is above man, therefore David prayes, Pſal. 39. 4. Lord make me to know mine end and the meaſure of my dayes, what it is; that I may know how fraile I am: as if he had ſaid; Lord I have been conſidering this and that thing (haply Davids thoughts were in the duſt, and he had been handling the clay out of which he was made) yet ſaith p. 165he, by all thoſe conſiderations of my naturall conſtitution, I cannot bring my heart to be ſo ſenſible of my frailty, as I ought to be; therefore he turnes himſelfe to God, Lord make me to know this thing. Here is our wiſdom, when we ſeek to God to ſpiritualize naturall conſiderations, and make them effectuall for the attaining of this wiſdom, the knowing of our end, and the meaſure of our days.

But is it not ſome ignorance of our duty no petition for the knowledge of our end? May we deſire to know what God hath no where promiſed to reveale? To petition for the literall knowledge of our end, that is, what yeare or day, our lives ſhall end, is a ſinfull curioſity, and a preſumptuous intruſion into the ſecret will of God: But to petition for a ſpirituall knowledge of our end, that is, how we may end well, any day of the yeare, or any houre of the day, is a holy duty, and an humble ſubmiſſion of our ſelves to the revealed will of God. Thus to know our end, how ſoone ceaſing (as one tranſlates) ſhort lived and brittle ware we be; Thus to know, how defective we are (as the Greeke renders it) or what we lack, namely to the end of our dayes, is above the inſtruction of any creature. We may preach, and you hear of death as long as you and we live, and yet not know he frailty of our lives, till God makes us know it; therefore (ſaith he) Lord make me to know how fraile I am; none could teach him this leſſon but God himſelfe. The ſame holy deſires are breathed out, Pſal. 90. 12. So teach us to number our dayes, that we may apply our hearts unto wiſdome; as if Moſes had ſaid; Lord I have been numbring my dayes my ſelfe, and telling over my life, I can tell no further than three or foure ſcore, and yet though I can tell no farther, I cannot apply my heart unto wiſdome; we need but little Arithmetick to unmber our dayes, but we need a great deale of grace to number them. A child may be wiſe enough to number the dayes of an old man, and yet that old man a child, in numbring his own dayes, that is, not able to number his own dayes ſo, as to apply his heart to wiſdome. To number them ſo, is a very ſpeciall point of wiſdome; the true Chriſtian Phyloſophy: perfectly Meditatio mo… tis vita eſt perfecta. Greg. Moral. 13. Su… ma philoſophia, Bern.to meditate on death is the perfection of life. And it is therefore our wiſdome to die well, becauſe we can die but once; Aman had need doe that wiſely which he can doe no more. An errour in death, is like an error in Warre you cannot commit it twice. We have moſt reaſon to looke to it, not to erre at all, where it is not p. 166poſſible to erre againe. Actually to erre twice, is more ſinfull, but not to have a poſſibility of erring twice, is moſt dangerous. We tranſgreſſe the lawes of living over and over a thouſand thouſand times: But as for the lawes of dying, no man ever tranſgreſſed them a ſecond time. That we ſo often tranſgreſſe the law of living, is an aggravation of ſin upon all men. And that we can tranſgreſſe the law of dying but once, is the ſeale of miſery upon moſt men. Let us then cry unto God to be taught this great wiſedome, how to die, and not without wiſedome.