TheRipe (almond gathered. 487 remains of the vulgar,which have no quality or profefsionto difiinguilh them; yet all is but duft. At a game of Chefs, we feeKings and Qseens, andBi(hops, and Knights upon the board, and they have their feveral walks, and contefl one with the other inpoints ofState and honour : but when the game is done all together with the Pawns arc Ihuffled in one bag; in like manner in this life men appear in diffe- rent garbo, and take divers eourfes, force are Kings,fome arc Ofhcers,fomeBifhops, foire Knights,fomeof othef ranks andorders.But when this life like a game is done, which is fometimcs fooner,fometimcs later,all are (baffledtogether with themanyor vulgar fort of people, and lie in darknefs and obfcurity till the lafit man is born upon the earth,but after that, . Erunt ipfes quoq; forafepulchres. the Grave which hath fwallowedup all the Eons ofAdam, [hall be fwallowedup it felfinto victory. Till then we 1hall all gooà..E&vnr l,y, in our feveral rank andor- der, take ourlaflwallt, the wayofall lido; and it is happyifwegoitasAbrahamdid here iri peace, and a fpecial blefsing, ifwe begathered as hewas to his Fathers in the Astumn of agoad old age. In which words we have twoActs of a Tragedy, the former of eduponbis Stage, thoufhaltgo to thy Fathers, the latterunder the /raffia, and be buried in agood old age. Nonedie better than they, who have life in their hope : andnone live better ¡than they, whohave death in their mind and thought ; efpeciallyif it be inthe time of their health, and bloomof their beauty, and prideof their youthand top of their earthly happinefs. For this caufe fofeph of Arimathea, is fuppoledby many, to have fet his Sepulchre in his Garden, as it were tofawce hisfweetefi pleafures, with the fad thoughts ofhis Funeral : and John furnamedthe Almoner began his Sepul- ihre, on theday he was Confecrated PatriarchofAlexandria: and it was the man- ner of the ancient Emperors attheir Coronation feat}, tohave feveralforts ofMar- ble (hewed them, to the end that they might choofe one ofthem for totir Tomb- flóne ; and agreeable hereunto the interlincary glofs yieldeth a reafoti why God commanded that theoyle wherewith theKingswereannoynted,(houldbecompoun- ded with Cinnamon,andother fpices,quod fit cinericü coloris, becaufe it isof the co- lour ofAlhes, or rather fischmould as is diggcd out ofGraves, to put themin mind that very day in which they were made Gods upon earth, that they fhould die like men. Inwhich regard we have great caufe to blebs the providence of our heavenly Father,who in the midflofour Marriage feafs,and many occafonsof mirth and joy, prefents. us with fuch fad fpedacles,ashere we fee; to the end we (hould not exceed in our mirth, or too far fee Our heart upon the pleafures and comforts-of this life, which like flicksunder a pot aftera blaze fall fuddenly into afhes. Let us learn from all the changes and chances of thismortal life,not to ling a requiem to our fouls here, with the fool in the Gofpel, becaufe we bave wealth laid upfor oss for manyyears, for ifour riches takenot their wings,- and fly away from us, we (hall be taken away from them, we(hall be arrefledby Gods Bayliff, Death, and thenwe muffgo. But thou (hale go. Our ofervations from this Scripture arifeth from two fprings, s. The manner. z.ZThe matter. The former divides it felf into two Rivelets, the latter into three: Intheformer, to wit, the manner I obferve, I. That thefe words were fpoken to eRbraham in a Dream, ( when the Soonwas góiag downa heavyfleep Fellupon him.) z. That they were fpokcn by way ofGracious promife. In the latter,to wit,the matterI obferve three blefsings heftowed uponAbraham. R r r t. Ilí Sophacl,in tie.
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