Chap. 29. an Expofition up; the Book ofJ o E. Vert. 18. 569 upon this as the moil neceffary of them all; for what are riches and honours to us if once life be gone ? Life isa biding withóut which we cannot enjoy any blefsing. Some live long, who have no outward blersings,but none can enjoy outward blefsings with- outlife. As the hoary head is aCrown of glory, if it befound in the wayofrigbteoufnefs (Prov.16. 31.) So the hoary head or long life is the Crownof all other Glories. what would the glory of Heavenäbe to us, if we had not long life,- even a life of eternity long to enjoy it in?And what are any of the gloriesof the earthb us, feting our dayes are few upon the earth ? and therefore when Job had spoken of all the gloryand honour of his prefent fiate,he adds this as the glory of it all, that he hoped to have a long time for the enjoyment of ir,or that he should multiply his dayes (in that felicity)as the rand .Long life muff needs bea bleffing,becaufe it is under a promife(Exod. 20. 12.) Honour thy father and thy mother ,that thy dayes may be long in the land,&c. And the Apo- file (Eph. 6.2.) calls that theftrfi Commandement with promife; that is, with a promife expre(l. And the.(hortning of life is threatned as a curie (Pfal. 55.23.) The wicked ¡hall not live out halfhis dayes, that is, not half thofe dayes which he might have lived by thecourfe of nature. Secondly, In that Jobfpeaks thus largely of his life, Then I fate: I fhallmultiply my dayes as the!and, Note ; Even a good man while be fpeakt and thinks of death, is apt to put deathagreat wayfrom him. Worldlymen look upon death alwayes as afar off ; and when inall probability they have bat a few lands in their glare to run, they are ready to'fay, that they (hall multiply their dayes as the fand. They who think it bell to live, would never dyes and theywho either know not of,or have no ground to hope for abetter life, muff needs think this the beR. And though beleiv- ers are perfwaded throughgrace, that there is a life not only bet. ter, but fomuch better thenchis, that the bell of this compared to it is a kind of death; yea Chouáh chip have fotne comfortable evidence of their intereft in that life , yet there are but fewgodly men living,who enjoy as fobdid,thecomforts of this life,but have at lcafl,fecret hopes of, and fair inclinations, not only to the con- D d d d tinu.
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