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sumed by the Blow of thy Hand.

When thou with Rebukes doft correct Man for Iniquity, thou makest his Beauty to confume a way likea Moth: Surely every Man is VANITY. Hear my Prayer, O Lord, and give Ear unto my Cry : Hold not thy Peace at my Tears; for I am a (c) STRAN

(c) Gen. XLVII.9. The Days of the Years of my PILGRIMAGE, are an hundred and thirty Years: Few and evil have the Days of the Years of my Life been, and have not attained unto the Days of the Years of the Life of my Fathers, in their PILGRIMAGE. Heb. XI. 13, 14, 16. These all died in Faith, not having received the PROMISES, but having seen them afar off; and were perfwaded of them, and embraced

them; and confeffed that they were STRANGERS and PILGRIMS on GER with thee, and a So- the Earth: For they that say such JOURNER, as all my Fathers things, declare plainly that they

were.

Country: Wherefore God

is not ashamed to be called their O spare me, that I may God, for he hath prepared for them

recover STRENGTH, before I go hence, and be no more. Hear this, all ye People; give ear, all ye Inhabitants of the Earth:

Both low and high, Rich and Poor together.

My Mouth shall speak of WISDOM, and the Meditation of my Heart shall be of UN

DERSTANDING.

I will incline mine Ear to a Parable; I will open my dark Saying on the Harp.

They that trust in their Wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of

their Riches;

None of them can by any means (d) REDEEM

a City (d) Luke xv1. 19, &c. There was a certain RICH Man, which was cloathed in Purple and fine Linen, and fared sumptuously every Day. And there was a Beggar, named Lazarus, which was laid at his Gate full of Sores; and defiring to be fed with the Crumbs which fell from the rich Man's Table:

Moreover the Dogs came and licked his Sores. And it came to pass that the Beggar died, and was carried by the Angels into Abraham's Bosom : The rich Man also died, and was buried; and in Hell he lift up his Eyes, being in Torments, and feeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his Bosom. And he cried, and said, Father Abraham, have Mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his Finger in Water, and cool my Tongue, for I am tormented in this Flame. But Abra

ham faid, Son, remember that thou his in thy Life-time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: But now he is comforted,

Bro

and thou art tormented. And befides all this, between us and you there is a great Gulph fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you, cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldst send him to my Father's House; for I have five Brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they alfo come into this Place of Torment. Abraham faith unto him, They have Mofes and the Prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, Fa

ther

L

Pfalm XLIX. 1, to 20.)

Brother, nor give to God a
Ransom for him.

For the REDEMPTION of their Soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever.

That he should still (e) LIVE for ever, and not fee CORRUPTION.

For he feeth that wife Men die, likewise the (f) Foor and the brutish Person

perish, and leave their Wealth

to others.

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This their Way is their FOLLY, yet their Pofterity approve their Sayings.

Like (b) SHEEP they are laid in their Grave, Death shall FEED on them, and the Upright shall have Dominion over them in the Morning; and their Beauty shall CONSUME in the Grave from their Dwelling.

ther Abraham, but if one went un-
to them from the Dead they will
repent: And he faid unto him, If
they hear not Mofes and the Pro-
phets, neither will they be perfuad-
ed though one rose from the Dead.
(e) Heb. Ix. 27. It is appointed
unto Men once to DIE, but after
this the JUDGMENT.

(f) Ecclef. 11. 18, 19. I hated all my Labour which I had taken under the Sun, because I should LEAVE it unto the Man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether

he

shall be a WISE Man or a Fool?

(g) Ecclef. vI. 1,2. There is an EVIL which I have feen under the Sun, and it is common among Men. A Man, to whom God hath given RICHES, WEALTH, and HONOUR, fo that he wanteth nothing for his Soul of all that he defireth, yet

God giveth him not Power to cat

thereof, but a Stranger eateth it: This is VANITY, and is an evil Difeafe.

(b) Ecclef. VII1.8, 12, 13. There is no Man that hath Power over the

SPIRIT to retain the Spirit, neither

hath he Power in the day of Death: And there is no DISCHARGE in that War; neither shall Wickedness DE

shall be well with them that fear

LIVER those that are given to it. Though a Sinner do EVIL an hundred times, and his Days be prolonged, yet furcly I know that it God, which fear before him. But it shall not be well with the Wicked, neither shall he prolong his cause he feareth not before God. Days, which are as a SHADOW; beChap. 1x. 5, 10. For the LIVING know that they shall DIE: But the ther have they any more a Reward, DEAD know not any thing, neifor the Memory of them is forgot. ten. Whatsoever thy Hand findeth to do, do it with thy Might; for there is no WORK, nor DEVICE, nor KNOWLEDGE, nor WISDOM, in the Grave whither thou goest.

But God will (i) REDEEM my Soul from the Power of

(1) 1 Pet. 1. 18. Ye know that ye were not REDEEMED with CORRUPTIBLE things, as Silver and Gold, from your VAIN Conversation, received by Tradition from your Fathers. I Cer. xv. 42,43, 44. So alfo is the RESURRECTION from the Dead; it is sown in CORRUPTION, it is raised in INCORRUPTION; it is sown in DISHONOUR, it is raised in GLORY; it is sown in WEAKNESS, it is raised in POWER; it is sown a NATURAL BODY, it is railed a SPIRITUAL BODY.

the

the Grave, for he shall RE

CEIVE me.

Be not thou afraid when one is made (k) RICH, when the Glory of his House is increased.

For when he DIETH, he shall carry (1) NOTHING away; his Glory shall not defcend after him.

Though, whilft he lived, he blessed his Soul: And Men will praise thee, when thou dost well to thy felf.

He shall go to the Generation of his Fathers, they shall never fee Light.

Man that is in Honour, and UNDERSTANDETH not, is like the Beasts that perish. Lord, thou hast been our (m) DWELLING PLACE in all Generations.

Before the (n) MOUNTAINS were brought forth, or ever thou hadit formed the Earth and the World: Even from everlafting to everlafting, thou art God.

(k) James v. 1, 2, 3. Go to now, ye RICH Men, weep and howl for your Miseries that are come upon you; your Riches are CORRUPTED,

and your Garments are MOTH-EATEN; your Gold and Silver is CANKERED, and the Ruft of them shall be a Witness against you, and shall eat your Flesh as it were Fire; ye have heaped TREASURE together for the laft Days.

and it is

We

(1) 1 Tim. VI. 7, 8, 9, 10. brought NOTHING into this World, and it is certain we can carry NOTHING out; and having Food and RAIMENT, let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich, fall into TEMPTATION, and a

SNARE, and into many foolish and hurtful LUSTS, which drown Men in Deftruction and Perdition: For the LOVE OF Money is the Root of all EVIL; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the FAITH, and pierced them elves through with many SORROWS. Job 1. 21. Job faid, NAKED came I out of my Mother's Womb, and

NAKED shall I return thither: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; Bleffed be the Name of the Lord. Ecclef. v. 13, 14, 15, 16. There is a fore Evil which I have feen un

der the Sun, namely, RICHES kept for the Owners thereof, to their hurt: But those Riches perish by evil travail; and he begetteth a Son, and there is NOTHING in his Hand. As he came forth of his Mother's Womb, NAKED shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his Labour which he may carry away in his Hand. And this alfo is a fore EVIL, that in all Points as he came, so shall he go: And what PROFIT hath he that hath laboured for the Wind?

(m) 2 Chron. VI. 18. Will God in very deed DWELL with Men on the Earth? Behold, Heaven, and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee. 2 Cor. VI. 16. Ye are the TEMPLE of the living God; as God hath faid, I will DWELL in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my People.

(n) Heb. 1. 10. Thou, Lord, in the Beginning hast laid the Foundation of the EARTH, and the HEAVENS are the Works of thine Hands. Ifai. XL. 12. Who hath measured the Waters in the Hollow of his Hand, and meted the Heaven with the Span, and comprehended the Duft of the Earth in a Measure, and weighed the Mountains in Scales, and the Hills in a Balance ?

Pfalm xc. 1, to 12.

Thou be after him under the Sun ?

Thou turnest Man to Destruction, and sayest, Return ye Children of Men.

For (o) a thousand Years in thy Sight, are but as yef terday, when it is past, and as a Watch in the Night.

Thou carrieft them away as with a Flood, they are as fleep, in the Morning they are like Grafs which groweth up.

In the Morning it flourisheth, and groweth up, in the Evening it is cut down and withereth.

For we are confumed by thine Anger, and by thy Wrath are we troubled.

Thou hast set our Iniquities before thee, our fecret Sins in the Light of thy Countenance.

For all our (p) DAYs are paft away in thy Wrath: We fpend our Years as a TALE that is told.

The Days of our † Years are threefcore Years and ten; and

(0) 2 Pet. 111. 8. Be not ignorant of this one thing, that one Day is with the Lord as a thousand Years, and a thousand Years as one

ver. 9. The Lord is not flack concerning his Promise (as some Men count slackness) but is longsuffering to us-ward; not willing that any should PERISH, but that all should come to REPENTANCE. Ecclef. x1. 8, 9. But if a Man live many Years, and REJOICE in them all; yet let him remember the Days of 'DARKNESS, for they shall be many. All that cometh is VANITY. Rejoice, O young Man, in thy Youth, and let thy Heart chear thee in the Days of thy Youth, and walk in the Ways of thy Heart, and in the Sight of thine Eyes:

But know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into JUDGMENT.

(p) Ecclef. v1. 12. Who knoweth what is good for Man in this Life, all the Days of his VAIN Life, which he spendeth as SHADOW? for who can tell a Man, what shall

† See Ld. C. J. Hales's Origination of Mankind, wherein he states the several Periods of human Life, page 170. "Touching the Decays of the

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Age of Man's Lite, we do indeed learn from the sacred Scripture, (for " no human Hiftory reacheth so high) that the Lives of the Ancients " were very long, especially before, and for fome time after the Flood: " And this the Divine Wisdom, Providence, and Goodness, ordered for " moft excellent Ends, namely, the Peopling of the new World; and " that without any other Means than his own Will, or at least by Means " unknown to us. In Arphaxad the Son of Shem, the great Age of the " Ancients was cut to halves, namely to 440 Years; and in his Grand"child Peleg, it was again cut to halves, for he lived but 242 Years; " and it is also true, that afterwards, gradually to the Days of Mofes, the "Lives of Men became shorter and shorter, till they fixed in that com

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mon Period of the Life of Man, of 70 or 80 Years: And although it " be true that the Hiftorics of former times give us some Account of longer Lives of Men, as the Lives of Moses, Aaron, Phinehas, and fome " others

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and if by reason of Strength they be fourscore Years, yet is their Strength LABOUR and SORROW; for it is foon cut off, and we fly away.

Who knoweth the Power of thine Anger? Even according to thy Fear, so is thy Wrath.

So teach us to number our Days, that we may apply our Hearts unto WISDOM.

Liked as a Father PITIETH his Children, so the Lord PITIETH them that fear him.

For he knoweth our Frame; he remembreth that we are but Duft.

As for Man, his (q) Days areas Grass; as a FLOWER of the Field, so he flourisheth. For the Wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the Place thereof shall know it

no more.

(9) Fames IV. 13, 14. Go to now, ye thar fay to-day, or to morrow, we tinue there a Year, and buy and fell, will go into a City, and conand get Gain; whereas, ye know not what shall be on the Morrow :

For what is your LIFE? it is even a VAPOUR, that appeareth for little time, and then vanisheth away.

a

But the Mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting, upon them that fear him; and his Righteousness unto Childrens Children.

To fuch as keep his COVENANT, and to those that remember his COMMANDMENTS to do them.

d Pfalm CIII. 13, to 18.

"others, and those mentioned by Pliny, Lib. VII. cap. 48. and some in " our own Experience: Yet Mofes himself states the ordinary Standard " of the Life of Man to be 70, or at most 80 Years, Psalm xc. 10.

2 Sam. xIx. 32, 35. And this we shall find true upon the Confidera" tion of the Chronological Account of the Years of the ancient Patriarchs "and Kings that fiicceeded Moses; as likewise of the Time that the If"ractites lived in the Wilderness, all which that were twenty Years old, " and upwards, at the coming into the Wilderness, when the Spies were "sent into Canaan, which was shortly after their coming thither: all

these, I fay, except Joshua and Caleb, died within the 40 Years Peregri" nation in the Wilderness: And at this Stay, the ordinary Age of Men " hath been for these 4000 Years; abating those Casualties, either of Dif"eafes, or other Accidents, that have shortned the ordinary compleat Ages "of Man's Life.

Ecclef. x11. 13,14. Let us hear the Conclusion of the whole Matter: Fear God, and keep his Commandments; for this is the whole Duty of Man. For God shall bring every Work into Judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be Good, or whether it be Evil.

M

2 Cor.

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