556. Chap. 14. An Expofition upon the Bookof JO 'Verfe:2à into which any fort or nation of men fall ; fo it is a mercy that' God bath Moaned and leffened the daies of mankind, confi- dering thegeneral tronble intowhich we are fallen. Let it not be a trouble to us that ourdayes are few, feeing if our dayes were more our troubles would be more, and ourfurrows would encreafeas the number of our years encreafed. He that is dif- pleafedbecaufe his dayes are few, is alfo difpleafed becaufe hit troubles are fo few. We have little reafon to be in love with this life becaufe our dayes are few, and leffe becaufe our trou- bles are many. But we have much reafon to love God, who when we had procured to our felves many troubles while we live, have contrafted and epitomiz'd our lives into a few dayes. fob having afferted the fhortneffe and troublefomeneffe of mans life in a dire propofition, proceeds to illuftrate both by a double fimilit_ude. L. of aFlower.' 2. Of a Shadow, in the fecond Verfe. Verfe 2. He comethforth like a flower, and iscut- down : he fleeth alfo as fbadoiv, ánd continueth not. Man is like a flower and a. fhadow, he is but the íhadow of a .flower, or the flower of aíhädow. He cometh forth lì74 áio'ver. Some refirain this fimilitude tothofe who die in Childhood or inyouth : Such i._deed are bl: fted in their-bloffome, and cropt in their flower. But as one part of mans life compared with another, may be called the flower of his life, fo his whole life laid together maybe called a flower; . and that is the meaning of this place. As man in his heft eltate, and in all, effaces is al- together vanity, fo man inhis heft dayes, and in all his dayes is but a flower. And whereas' there are many Rarities and. Excellencies in a :flower, three fpecially: Firft, Odour or fweetnefs affefting the fmell. Secondly, Beauty and variety of colouraffefting the eye. Thirdly, Softne1 and fmoothneffe afféding the Touch whereas (I fay) thereare thefe three rarities in a flower, Yob paffeth them all by, and fpeaks of it not as flourifhing but withering, not in its fpringing upbut in itscuttingdown, or of its .fpringing only in relation to cuttinldown. Hecomethfor'thlikeaflower. Ind
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