Chap. 4. An Expofition upon the bookäf f OB. VerC 20, 159 God (hall be the work ofSaints for ever;and yet the Saints dying are truly Paid to perifh for ever,from prailing Gad. All that praife thall ceafe indcath,which belongs to the wayesof grace; and then fuch praife begins as fuits with glory,which is ourend. That Flea zekiab means it ofinch praife, and not of all praife, is clear from his own words, Verfe 20. We will fing myfang to theflringed In4 firuments, all the dayes of my life in the houfe of the Lord, that is, in the ordinances of thy publick woribip. They that are in the houfe of the grave, cannot praife the Lord in his houfe. And though the praifes of the Lord in Heaven,are tranfcendent, and more perfc t then thofe in his houfe on earth ; yet it is a higher adof grace to delire to live to praife God, then to be willing to dye that we may praife him ; becaule in this we deny our felves moll; Prayfng God on,earth isorkaswell as a reward, butpray,- , fing God in Fleaven is a reward rather then awork¿ And we put forth the molt fpiritual ats of grace, when We cheerfully go on with a work, whichwe know !lands between us and the belt part, of our reward. But i return to the Text. They perifh"for ever without any regarding,] or without any laying it to heart. The word heart is not in the mouth,bat,it is in L. the heart of this Scripture, For the !ante is parallel with that, Efay ,,o 57 The righteous perifh,and no man layesit to heart. The Chaldee .abfq;apponen -' gives a ftrange glofs, TheyperJh or dye becaufe no man giveth them Pereuvt eo medicine ; as if he had laid, there is no Phyfitian can give an g1dd op Antidote againll'death , or by any medicines prolong. mans Iife. ponat eH viede, it is a truth, that the decayes and ruines of Nature, will at laíf riñm, exceed the repairesof Art; but this glofs bath little regard to the Text, which we tranflate well, They perifh without any regarding, it, that is, none or very few regarding it. Thenegative is not ab- folutely univerfal, excluding all, as if there were none in the world who take noticeof the fhortnefs and frailty ofmanslife,or of his for ever perifhing condition. So in that placeofIfaiab,the righteous perifh and no man layer it to heart ; that is, there are very few,fcarce any tobe found who lay to heart(in cotnpatim fon of the number which neglect) the death of righteous men. Obferve hence, Few of the living regardhomfuddenly others do, or ehemfelves may dye. Till we fee a friend gafping and dying, till we fee him bedewed with cold fwcats,and rackt withConvul- fions, till our eye thus wells our hearts, our hearts are feldome of-,. feted with the fenfe of our mortality, It is one reafon why Sa- lomon
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