20 ell Funeral Sermon. may be ? that fo we may rather our (elves be Paid to meet it , then That to come fuddenly and unexpe&edly upon us. And to this purpofe was this Pfalm here penned, which contains in it (if you mark it well) a relation and nar- rative, both of the neceflìry of our mortality, and alto the brevity and un- certainty of our lives. To the end,that having thefe things always in our thoughts, and before our eyes; both the necellityof our mortality, that It is neceffary for us at fume time to dye, and alto the brevity and uncertainty of our lives, that it is po(fible for us to dye every hour, we might the fooner be awakened cut of our prefent courfe of finand incogitancy, into fludious endeavours and pra6tices of piety and devotion, of abftinence and mortification, of heavenly mindednefs and fpiritual affe&ions : in a word, of a wife and timely provifion of fuch gracious habits and difpofitions, which may in tome good meafure duels our fouls for a fit falute and entertainment of death, Theft words ( which I have now read unto you ) do contain in them the form and fubftance of a devout and pious prayer ; and whether David was the Author of ir, or t.Mofes; that fhould not need to trouble us, for to be (are the prayer it felf, is molt Divine and Heavenly ; and the very piety of the prayer does fufficiently declare the Author ( whoever he was ) to be highly pious and religious. In it we have particularly confiderable thefe four things ; Fait, Qale petit, who it is that prays, or the party praying, and that in. deed is not exprefled in terms, but conceived byfome, to be holy David, whole are moil of the other Pfalms ; but perfumedbyothers tobe Mofes, grounding their opinion ( and that not without good caufe) upon the Title and Infcription of the Pfalm. Pfalmus Molls viri Dei, a Pfalm of Mofes the man of God. Secondly, Pro luaus petit, who they are,whotn he praysfor; not (if you mark it) for himfelf alonr, but for others aswell, or forhimfelf conjun&lyand together with others. Dose nos, Teach us. Thirdly, aid petit, what it is which heprays for, and that is, negatively, no worldly advantage at all,no temporal concernment ; but (pofitively) co be caught and inflru&ed in the myfteriousart of fpiritual Arithmetick, to be put into a right way and method of numbring and countingup our days. Doce nos nume- rare dies nofiros. Teach us to number our days. Fourthly, Propter quid petit, the defignand end of his prayer, or theparticular reafon principally moving him to make this requeft ; and that is addullio cordis dfapientiam,the applicationof our heartsunto wifdom, or our fpiritual inflruftion and edification : Sic doce, ut adducamas. So teach us that we may apply our hearts unto wifdom. I (hall begin with the firft of chele; The party making the requell: and he (as is generally 'concluded)was holy tMofes, Amanof God. So the inkription of the Pfalm files him. One that was faithful in all bis beafe, fo the Author to the hebrews reports him, Chap. 3. y. See what an high chara&er, what a large commendation here is ; fome are faithful in this or that, in one or two particular inftances of piety. Thus one man is very temperate, another veryhumble, ano- ther very patient, another very mortified, another verycharitable: butMofesyou fee, he was a through proficient, an univerfal Saint, a,sòt sa 3sa, faithful in all. Whence be pleafed to cake awaywith youthis obfervation,that thebeftand moilex- cellent Saints ofall, have great need and reafon to pray to be better taught and in- flmeted in duty. And why,in many things we do all fall fhort and offend; the brighteftMoon hath its fpots, the richeft wine hash its lees, and there are dreggs and much corrupt matter lodging in the bell and molt improved Saint of us all. Well, but mark what it is which Mofes here prays for, onely to be caught to number his days. But did he not do this already ? was it not his daily work this,his conftant and continual employment ? Yes, doubclefs itwas; yeaand he did itcarefully andconfcientioufly too. But yet he thought he did it not well enough, and therefore prays here in theText to betaught to doit better. See
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