Chap.14. AnEzpofition upon the BookefJoan Vert. 1 1 Got means. Trees anfwer all natural caufes with futable e ffccts, when theSun turneth about, they put on their Green fuits, they fend out their Leaves, their Bloffoms and their Fruits : The Sun of Righteoufnefs íhines,thewarmBeams of theGofpel -light dart up- on thoufands of Souls,who continue in a Winter ofIgnorance and Unbelief, yieldingneither the pleafure of Leaves, nor the profit of Fruit. And though force bring forth Leaves, yet how few bring forth Fruit, efpeciallyFruit meet for Repentance from dead works, or the hopes of Eternal life ? We fee many Spiritual helps, but how rare are Spiritual effefts ; The Grafs and Trees of the Earthwill condemn thofe who make no growth in Grace,though they have beenoften wateredwith the word of Grace. Verfe to: But man dieth and wafteth away, yea, man giveth up the Ghoft, andwhere is he ? TheHebrew is, ffrong and powerful man dieth ; let him be as 13 ver po- ftrong as he will, die he muff, wafte, andgive up the Ghoft : Some tens cla- Obferve an inverfion of natural order in the words, For man rut. goes down the Grave by thefe fteps. He firft waftes, fecondly, Sant qui ve give up the Ghoft, and then dies. The Spirit of God doth lent hic elle not alwayes exactly attend (pries & poperius) firft or laft, ac- hyperon pro- cording to the order ofNature : Neither is there any redundancy reran. in thisplenty of words. There is not one Title in Scripture but bath its Ufe and Elegancy, andbecaufe the Spirit of God would E,01,6, ge- Ihew the certainty of this thing, he heaps many words together mcrationem into one affeveration , man waftes , dieth , and giveth up the ad copiam Ghoft, he is all things and fuffers all things, which fpeakMor- ran fantte tality, lacersput°. We render, yea, mangiveth up the Ghoft, as if that implied fame- Merc . what more then the former two : The particle, yea, (in theHe- brew) heightens the fenfe, man wafteth, dieth, yea, he giveth op the Ghoft. Some underftand wafting and dying, but as Preparatories or Antecedents to giving up the Ghoft : Man decays and waftes, yea, he dieth every day, but he doth not give up the Chaff every day, that's the lait A. Paul fpeakingof his outward troubI s. and perfecutions faith, /die day/y, and in another place, I have been in deaths often : Natural death fteals upon us part after part, it fiezeth now upon the Eyes and makes them dim, then Hhhh upon K;
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