5$, Chap.r4. .ln'Expofition upon the Book.of Jos. erf.5. ges of infancy, of childhood, of youth, of full age, and old Non de annis age, but the months and dayes of our lives : yea , his know- fed de menfì- ledge reacheth unto (which to usarealmoft indifcernable) hours, bus &dicburminutes andmoments, even thefe are meafured. numbred, call up folum fit by the infinite foreknowledge of the eternal God. mentio ad di- Secondlyobferve, lint-tam de The days andmonths ofmanslife are fa- and fixed. fingnlariblu There is a refolve paffed upon every man, our times are not Dei notitiam now to be difpofed of : God hath pall the account of time from exprimen- all eternity. As to every thing there is a feafon (Ecc1: 3. r.) fo dam. Bold. to every perfon : and this is true not onely of Jingle perfons, but even of wholegenerations, yea of all the generations of man- kinde (Al . 17. 26.) He hath made of one blood, all nations of Oren to dwell on all the face of the earth, and bath determined the timesbefore appointed. Godbath determined not only how long man (hall live, but how long the world (hall live ; he faid of mankinde before the flood, his days 'hall be an 120 years, Gen;' -6. 3 . He told Abraham, his feedfhould be a (franger four ban. tired years. He told the Jews their captivity thould continue feventy years in literal Babylon. And he bath told us (if we could read the figures) how many years the Church of the Gofpel thould groan under myftical Babylon. All things and perfons on earth are dated in heaven. Whatfoever man is Lord of, 1am fare he is not Lord of time ; he cannot difpofe of one mi- nute for himfelf or others. We live not at our own pleafure, nor at the pleafure of any creature, God keeps reckoning for us. The very hairs of our head are numbred, then furely thedays of our lives are numbred. The hairs of the head are the meane1f parts, indeed but an excrement of man, and there are fuch mul- titudes, fuch numbers ofhairupon the head, that it is a wonder they fhould be numbred , or any account kept of them : yet to thew the providence of God extending to the leaft things, it extends to the numbring of hairs and days. Now if God bath determined the dayes of mans life, then enquire not ofthe (tars or of (tar-gazers for the number ofthem. WhenDavidwould know the number of his days, he dour not refort toAftrologers, but to God ; Lord teach me to number my days, he puts that requeft to God ; nordid he put it to God as enquiring for the precife number of his days, ( about this we muff not be curious, as toknow whether we (ball live 20. or 30. whether
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