( ~~eye be fatisfie.! with feeing, or his ear with hearing, or his heart with luiting ; death knocks at his·door, and often w;ll not g1ve h1m leave to meditate an excufe before he comes to judgement: Is not thiS a wonder to \ee dumb belfrs outfrrip mans life? The Phrenix l)ves tho11[and1 (fay fo1ne) but a thoufand years are a long life with man: M ethujha/em (you faw) thelongefr ltver, came fhort of th1s number. and yet could we attain to fo ripe an age, what are a thonfand years to the dayes e:cr\afling? If you took a little moat to compare.with the :vhole earth, what great difference were m thefe two ? and 1fyou compare th1s life whtch IS fo fh ort, Wtth l!cduJ,IS. 9 the life to cotlle, whtch fhall never have end , how much leffe w1ll tt yet appear? As drops ofrain are umo the Sea , an~ as agravel~.ftone u z,n comparifon to the[and ; fo are a thoHfand yean ro theday" cveriaftmg. But wtll you have an exact account, and learn the juil: number : It was the Arit~metick of holy men to reckon their dayes but Few;] as if the fhortefr cut were the bell: account. The Hebrews coula fubdud the time of fleep, which is half our life: fo that i( the dayes of men were tbreefcorepar1 ,,d ten, P{•l. 90 , 10 here's five and thmy year1 ftruck offat one blow. . The Phth)fophers could fubduct the time of weaknefs, which is moft of ltfe; fo that tf vwere be v_alere , that onely a true /Jfe which enjoy"good health, here's the begmnmg and the endmg of our days ftruck off - at the fecond blow. The Fathers could fubduct all times not prefent, and what fay you to thU; account? were the dayes <>f life at noon . man grown to man-hood? look ye back, and the time pail: is nothing; look ye forward, and the time to come is but uncertain : and iftime pafl:, and time to come t1:and both for ctphers, w!Jnt is our life but the prefcm? and what is that ~uta moment? Nay, as if" moment were too much, look at Scripture, and you Will fee 1t brought to a leffer paffe: Job (for h1s part) goes about to fubduCt the time of his birth, which is the bud of life; Let rhe day perijh (faith he) wherein !JVM born; nay, let it not be joyned unto the dayCJ of theyear, nor let it come into the count ofmonethJ, Job 3.6. Solomon could fubdu:t not onely childhood, but the ]ob 3· 6 time of youth too, which is the ftrength oflife: Ta~awaygritfottt of thine heartand caufe evil to depart from the jlejh; for childhood and youth bth are bm vanity, Ecdef. Ecdi[.Il. to' r I. ro. Pmtl could fubduct the time of finne , which is the joy oflife ; She that lives in pleajisre (lives not, nay fhe) !<dead whilejhe is alive, I Tim. 5. 6. Sun;me all, and 1 Tim. s.6 fuppofe that th~ time ofbirth, and childhood, andyouth, and fin were gone , to what an epitome were mans lifecome·? Think of this all ye that travel towards Heaven, had we not need to make hafte , that mufl: go fo long a journey in fo fhort a time : How can he choofe but run that remembers his day:' are f ew_? nay, that every day runs awa7 with his life? The workman that fets a ttme for hts task, he liftcns to the clock and counts the houres, not a minute muft paffe , but his work goes onviards : ho~ then do we negleCt our time while we fhould ferve God? Work_ while it i1 day, faith Chriil:; and , ThiJ ;, the day of faivation, faith the Apoil:le. Would you know your ] oh" 9 4 task~ you mull work_: would you know the time ! it is thi1 day: a great task a 2 cor. 6. • fhort time; had we not need with MofeJ to member o11r dayu, left we lofc a minu~e? It is true, ofall mrmbers we cannot skill to number our dayes: we can number our . fheep, our oxen, our fields, our coyn; but we think our dayes are infinitc,and never go about to number them. The Saints that went before us call: another account · Mofes h•d his tabi<J, Job hadhi~ mrafum; all agree both for meafure a~d numbcr,m;gnitude and mult1tude ; our hfe ts but fhort, our dayes arc but Jew. FCJv] and evil they have been. Give me leave a little to amplifie on this point: would we thmughly know the fuortnelfe of our time, the fewneffe ofour dayes? I fhall then fet before you the mag– ntwde of the one, and the multitude of the other: . And firft, for the magnitude of the time of our life; Aman (fay the Phylofophers) · ts M.c~ocofmm, a lmle world; little for goodneffe, a world ofwickedneffe. Ofthis world, 1fyou 'Ihave the dimenfions according to the rules of Geometricians, the length, bread:h, and depthof our fhort ltfe ; then firft for our length frot;r Eail: to Weft, from Ot~r btrth to ?ur bunal, I need not to take fo many paces, as w1ll makemil/e pa(fiu, a m1le; our ltttle l1fe bears no proportion to fuch a length: I dare not fay as Stob~m relates., that o~r hf~ hath the lafl: of a cubits length; f~r that's rr.orc than the Scrip– ture w11l afford tt: lt IS b~t "!pan or hand-breadth,. fa1th David, that's little : nay, f%1. 39· s A le £m m carmme Lyrtto,falth,•t IS but an mch /ong,that s leffe : nay,faithPitltllrch,A/1our puu«um eft life" bllt a pr!ck_, apomt; yet leffe, faith Seneca, it i1 a point that we live, and lejfe than a quod mtmu,, pomt: thats leffe than etthcr I can fay, or you conceive. What is it? not a mile but ~ •dhuc vut• B b b ' " 0 ffiiQUO .
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