A looking-glass OF human FRAILTY: SET BEFORE US IN A SERMON PREACHED AT THE FUNERALS OF Mris. ANNE CALQUIT, Late Wife of m NICHOLAS CALQUIT, Draper, Who died on the 7. day of April 1659. and was interred the 19 of the same month, At the Parish Church of All-hallows the less in Thames Street. By NATH. HARDY, Minister of St. Dionys. Backchurch. Psal. 144. 4. Man is like to vanity, his days are as a Shadow that passeth away. Qui aeternitate Dei perspecta breve & poenè ad puncti instar humanae vitae spatium cogitaverit, ante aculos suos semper habebit interitum, &c. Hieron. London, Printed by R. D. for Joseph Cranford, at the Sign of the Castle & Lion in St. Paul's churchyard. 1659. To his highly esteemed Friend, Mr. Nicholas Calquit. IMuch fear, lest the perusal of this Sermon prove the reviving of your sorrow, and cause that wound which the death of your dear Consort hath made, to bleed afresh. But I hope with all, that as your love hath prompted you to desire a perpetuation of her memory, so your prudence teacheth you to moderate your grief for her dissolution. That which especially concerneth you, and whereof (I trust) you are not forgetful, is, 1. Diligently to inquire into the deserving cause wherefore God hath deprived you of so great a comfort so soon, that the shower of your tears for her, may be swallowed up in the river of godly sorrow for sin. 2. By this sad experience to be so effectually convinced of the uncertainty of all earthly enjoyments, that it may be a curb to all inordinate affection. 3. Finally, when you contemplate her dust, so to remember your own death, that it may be a spur to a speedy and constant preparation. So shall you have just reason to say with David, It is good for me that I have been afflicted. Psal. 119. 78. That these white flowers may (through God's grace) spring from the black root of your doleful loss, That that wise Providence which hath made this sore breach, would be pleased to make it up, That what was (I hope in love) denied to her, may be (and that in mercy) conferred on you, namely, a long life on earth, and that which is (I trust) already conferred on her, may (at length) be given to you, namely, an eternal life in Heaven, is the hearty Prayer of him whom you have by many favours obliged to be Your affectionate Friend, NATH. HARDY. A looking-glass OF human Frailty. Psalm the 39th. verse the 5th Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. THere are two evils to which the children of men in this world are subject; namely, of Sin, and of Affliction: the former whereof calls for penitence, the later for Patience: of both these David giveth us a pattern, of the one in the foregoing, and the other in this Psalm, that being (as St. Ambrose hath well observed) forma poenitentiae, a Psalm of Repentance for his Sins, and this forma poenitentiae, 〈…〉. a Psalm of contentation under his sufferings. The two great duties of God's servants under afflictions are, a silent submission, and a sanctified use of them: The former of these maketh afflictions still-born children, in as much as it shuts the mouth, and represseth all clamorous cries. This the Psalmist learned when he said, I was dumb, and opened not my mouth. The other maketh afflictions pregnant Vers. 9 mothers, in as much as they enable us to the exercise of many excellent graces. Among the several influences which sanctified troubles have on us, it is not the least, that it openeth our eyes. Schola crucis schola lucis is a known and experienced saying, the school of the cross is very lightsome, and though bitter to the taste, is a singular salve for the eye. Apollonius writeth of a People who see nothing in the day, but all in the night: In the day of prosperity we forget, in the night of adversity we remember both God and our selves, as his sovereignty, so our own frailty. Alexander who was flattered by the people as a God, having received a wound in his body, confessed himself to be mortal. This holy man whom you find fancying a stability in the time of his prosperity, I said my mountain is Psal. 30. 7. so strong it cannot be moved; being now under a cross, acknowledgeth his brittle fragility in the words of the text: Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand breadth, &c. Though there is no parcel of holy writ which doth not deserve our serious view, yet some Scriptures have as it were asterisms annexed to them, to intimate, that they ought to be more especially pondered by us, and such is this which I am now to handle. The truth is, there is no lesson more substantial than the nothingness of our substance or age, no meditation more serious and weighty than that of man's lightness and vanity; nor would any Doctrine be more closely laid to heart than this, that our days are as an hand, breadth. That this transitoriness of our lives might not be slightly passed over in our minds; whereas some Scriptures have one asterism either in the beginning or end, and others two, to wit, both in the beginning and the end, this verse hath three notes of attention, in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end. The first word we meet with, is a Behold, which argueth it to be rem seriam, a serious lesson: the word in the middle of the verse is verily, which speaketh it to be rem certam, a certain truth: and the last is Selah, which intimateth it to be rem magnam, a momentous Doctrine. Behold is a note of attention, Verily of asseveration, and Selah of meditation: Behold calls upon us to take notice, Verily requireth us to believe, and Selah willeth us to consider it: I hope there will need no more to quicken your hearts and ears whilst I shall with all possible brevity discuss this delineation of the shortness of life: Thou hast made my days, &c. The Text you see consists of three clauses; The subject of the first is days, and those days measured, and the measure short, Thou hast made my days as an hands breadth; The subject of the second is age, and that age being weighed in the balance, found light, very light, a mere nothing, mine age is nothing before thee: The subject of the third is man; and that considered not in his autumn, but spring, who is found to be very vain, every man in his best estate is altogether vanity. For our more methodical proceeding, observe in the text a particular exemplification of one and the same Doctrine. The Doctrine is no other than life's brevity, which is, Particularly exemplified in David himself, and that two ways. Absolutely in the first clause, thou hast made my days as an hands breadth. Comparatively in the second, mine age is as nothing before thee. Generally amplified, in reference to the whole race of mankind, every man in his best estate, &c. Before I enter upon these severals, it will not be incongruous to observe, that, 1. The Psalmist thinketh it not enough to mention, but ineulcateth this doctrine of the brevity of human life; nor is it only here, but elsewhere to be observed; yea, not only in him, but Job: so that in several places, when those holy men fall upon this subject, they set it forth with multiplied expressions both proper and metaphorical. That which we may well conceive to be hereby intimated, is, 1. On the one hand our dùlness and unwillingness to lay this truth to heart. There is no lesson we are more untoward to learn, and therefore the Schoolmaster repeats it so often, among all the neiles of the Sanctuary, none harder to enter into us than this, and therefore the Masters of the Assemblies fasten it so strongly, indeed it is but reason that what we are so prone to cast behind our backs, should be frequently set before our eyes. 2. On the other hand our duty, which is not once, but again and again to consider it; God hath spoken once (saith the Psalmist) and Psal. 62. 11. I have heard it twice: It may admit this gloss, what God speaketh but once, we should hear with twice that attention which we give to what is spoken by men; and surely if we should hear twice what God speaketh once, we should hear often what he speaketh often. That lesson which is so much iterated cannot be enough conned, and what the Holy Ghost hath uttered in such multiplied words, is certainly most worthy our multiplied thoughts. For both these reasons, no doubt it is, that the Penmen of holy writ do in their manifold expressions not only use similitudes to represent the shortness of life, but such similitudes as are most obvious and familiar to us, that which way soever we turn our eyes, we may be put in mind of it. When we are at Sea, the speedy sailing of the Ship; when in foreign Job 9 25. 26. parts, the short time of our sojourning; 1 Pet. 1. 17. isaiah 38. 19 when on the Road, the quick riding of the Post; and when in Tents, the sudden taking down and removing of them, do all proclaim to us the passing away of our life; the vanishing of the clouds, and flight of the Eagle above Job 7. 9 us; the withering of the flowers, and isaiah 40. 6. cutting down of the grass beneath us; the tales we tell in the day, and dreams we have Psal. 90. 4. in the night; finally, the breath we daily send out of our mouths, and here the narrow breadth of our hands are all made use of to represent this truth unto us, that whether we look upward or downward, both waking and sleeping, both by other creatures, and by our own selves, we may be admonished of our mortality. 2. This good man reflecting his thoughts upon man's frailty, applieth it to himself, in that he saith, my days, and mine age, thereby setting us an excellent pattern of bringing home general truths to our own particulars: We are all very backward to grant that in hypothesi, which we know to be true in thesi; that all men are sinners we easily acknowledge; and yet who saith in good earnest, I am a sinner; that every man is mortal none will deny, and yet who considers, that himself is so. It was St. Hierom's complaint in communi strage morientium nemo se cogitat Hieron. moriturum: even at such times when multitudes are taken away by death, no man (almost) thinketh it will seize upon him: So that whereas it is a joyous promise to the godly man, a thousand shall fall at thy side, Psal. 91. 7. and ten thousand at thy right hand, yet it (to wit, the plague) shall not come nigh thee: It is the impious practice of the wicked man, though a thousand fall at his side, and ten thousand at his right hand, not to think death shall (nay to think it shall not) come nigh him. But surely it is our duty, and will be our wisdom, to bring home both examples and doctrines to ourselves, that what we see verified in others, and what we confess is appointed for all, we also look upon as impending over our own heads. They are both intended by God, Oh let them be so made use of by us as glasses wherein to see our own faces. Do we then see others brought to their graves? what should our thoughts be but to allude to those words of St. Paul to Saphyra, Behold, the feet of them who have buried this my brother (or sister) are at the door to carry Acts 5. 9 me out. Do we assent to this truth, death is the end of all men? what should out meditation be, but this, death will be my end? The truth is, universal propositions include each particular, and therefore the inference is just; so that David in this verse saying, every man, might also well say, My days; and withal, universal propositions can have little influence upon the will and affections, unless every one look upon himself as included in them: To what purpose is it to believe the Remission of sins, and The resurrection of the flesh, if I do not also believe The Remission of my sins, and The Resurrection of my flesh? to as little purpose is it to acknowledge that every man is vanity, if I do not in particular consider, that I am so. Behold, thou hast made my days, &c. 3. David having particularly asserted his own frailty, goeth on to lay it down as a general maxim. Probably for his own comfort, in that it was not his case alone: It is a great alleviation of an affliction to consider that it is common; with this St. Paul cheered up the Corinthians, There hath no temptation taken you 1 Cor. 10. 13. but such as is common to man: and in this particular of death, when Joshua and David Josh. 23. 14. 1 King's 2. 2. perceived their own death approaching, they reflect on its general extent, I go the way of all the earth, thereby rendering it so much the less terrible to themselves. Certainly, for others warning to make account of the like. Lest any should think, that though David's days were but an hands breadth, yet theirs may be of a longer measure, he lets the whole race of mankind know, that they are all concerned; so that as Christ said to his Disciples, What I say unto you I say unto all, David seemeth to say here, What I Mark 13. 14. say of myself I say of all: It was not so in other things, though David could say of himself in one place, My Cup runneth over; Psal. 23. 4. 86. 2. and in another place, I am holy, he could not say so of every man, nay, but a few men, they are not many who enjoy that measure of prosperity, and fewer who attain that piety which he had; but there are none who are not under the law of mortality, and therefore no wonder, if as he saith, Thou hast made my days, so he concludes, every man in his best estate, &c. These things being premised, I shall now proceed to the distinct handling of the several clauses, and accordingly, I shall begin with the particular exemplification, Gen. 1. and that As it is set down absolutely in those words, Partic. 1. Thou hast made my days as an hands breadth, wherein the Psalmist layeth down a double assertion, the one concerning himself, My days are as an hands breadth, the other concerning God, Thou hast made. 1. David affirmeth his days to be as an hands breadth, by which metaphor, I conceive two things are intended. 1. An hands breadth is a determinate measure, The time of life is set. The Vulgar Latin reads it, mensurabiles, days which Vulg. Lat. may be measured, that argueth Tempus finitum, that this life is finite: our days are both numerabiles and mensurabiles, such as may be numbered and measured, as being finite; But dies palmares, which is the true reading of the original, goeth further, in that his days are said to be as an hands breadth, it noteth not only Tempus finitum, but definitum, such a time as shall end, but the end whereof is fixed, so true is that of Job, Is there not an appointed time to man upon Job 7. 1. earth? 2. Chiefly an hands breadth is a short measure, and so is the time of life, St. Jerome understands it so, and therefore reads it expressly Hieron. breves: Indeed both the words here used serve to illustrate this truth. 1. The Psalmist doth not say, my years, or my months are as an hands breadth, but my days, which next to hours, is the shortest dimension of time. Those sacred Annals, the Books of Chronicles are called in the Hebrew, words of days, for this reason probably, to intimate the short lives of the Kings of Israel and Judah, which are there recorded. The truth is, the singular number may serve to represent man's life, which is but one day, the prosperous life a sunshining, the afflicted a rainy day, the long life a summers, and the short a winter's day; some have only a morn and breakfast, others stay till noon and dine, the eldest live but till evening and sup in this world, all must go to bed in the grave when the night of death cometh. 2. But that which is principally intended, is the measure of those days, which is not an ell, or a yard, or a cubit, the length of an arm, or an elbow; no, nor yet the length, but only the breadth of an hand: nor is this affirmed of one particular day by itself, but of all his days together, the whole time of his life. Thus as Parrhasius, when he had drawn Cyclops asleep on a little table, the placeth satyrs about him measuring his thumb with a long stalk, to express the greatness of his stature; so here the Psalmist, to set forth the shortness of his life, brings in God, as it were measuring it with an hands breadth. That you may yet more fully discern the fitness of the resemblance, it will not be amiss to observe a distinction of a double handbredth. The one greater, which is the whole space between the top of the thumb and the little finger when the hand is expanded, it is in account near twelve inches, and is called a span. The other lesser, which is only the breadth of the four fingers, and those not distant from, but closed one to the other. The former of these is by the Greek called {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, and that is the word here used by Symmachus: the later is called {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, and that is the word used by the Seventy. Indeed in some copies it is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, old days, which may admit of a good construction to this purpose, as old garments are quickly worn out, so are our days. But doubtless the best reading (as agreeing with the Hebrew) is, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, which signifieth, the lesser hands breadth; so that what Anacharsis said of seamen is upon this account true of all men, there is but the space of four fingers between them and death. Indeed this metaphor may very justly take in the whole latitude of life which men attain in this world, the four fingers breadth representing the four ages of man, to wit, Childhood, Youth, Manhood, Old age: the life of a child is scarce an inch, of an old man but a span; of the one it may be said, his days are but a finger's breadth, and of the other it can but be said, his days are as an hands breadth. 2. Having taken this view of dies palmares, the measure of our days, which is an handbredth, it will be requisite to consider the Tuposuisti, who it is that hath made our days such, and the foregoing verse informeth us, that it is Jehovah, the Lord, to whom David directeth there his prayer, and here his complaint. My times (saith this holy man elsewhere Psal. 31. 15. to God) are in thy hands; that is, at his dispose; so much Abraham intended by the phrase, when he saith to Sarah concerning Hagar, behold, thy maid is in thy hands, Gen. 16. 6. do with her as pleaseth thee: Thus were David's times in God's hands, to appoint the continuance of them, according to the pleasure of his own will; yea, Job (speaking of man indefinitely) saith, his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass. He that hath set bounds to the Sea, hither to it shall go and no further, hath appointed limits to man's life. Thus long he shall live, and no longer. Our Saviour said to his Disciples, the hairs of your head are numbered, and surely then the days of our life are numbered; and if the sparrow fall not to the ground, much less doth a man, without the Father, by whose providence all things are ordered, and consequently, all man's days are appointed; so true is this of the Psalmist, Thou hast made my days as an hands breadth. To close up this with a double meditation. 1. Since God hath made our days as an hands breadth, let us be content they should be so, not murmuring at the brevity either of our own or others' lives, we are apt (with Jonah) to say, we do well to be angry, when (like his gourd) our life, or the life of any of our friends quickly withereth; but this holy man's practice is far better, and aught to be our pattern, who saith in this Psalm, I was dumb and opened not my mouth, because thou didst it. The more to enforce this lesson of contentation in this respect upon us, consider, 1. It is not in thy power to make them longer, no not an hair's breadth, than this hands breadth, which of you (saith our Saviour) by Luke 12. 25. taking thought, can add one cubit to his stature? (I may add) or one day to his life? Indeed a prudent care of prolonging our days is commendable as because God requireth it so, because the time how long we shall live is unknown to us: but an impatient anxiety in respect of life's shortness is foolish, since it maketh our life so much the more bitter, and not at all longer. 2. Besides, though God be the efficient, yet we are the meritorious cause of the abbreviation of our days; God at first made our days of such a breadth as could not be measured, nor should our life have known death if we had not known sin: It is very observable what Hezekiah saith to this purpose, I have cut off like a Weaver my life: Isa. 38. 12. he will cut me off with pining sickness; acknowledging it to be his own act as well as Gods, yea (as the order imports) therefore Gods, because his, Had not we ourselves cut short our lives, God would never have cut them short, and therefore let us so acknowledge our deservings as to clear divine justice, and submit to his dispose. 2. Since God hath made our days as an hands breadth let us so account them. No arithmetic in numbering, nor Geometry in measuring our days better than that which God himself teacheth. But alas it is an usual practice to make our days far longer in our imaginations than they are in reality. It was the injustice of that Steward to his Lord, who when the debt was an hundred measures of wheat, bid the debtor, write fourscore; and when an handred measures of oil, to write down fifty: but such is our injustice to ourselves, that when our days are not fifty, we write down fourscore; and whereas they are but an hands, breadth, we fancy them to be of a far larger size. Indeed, as the deceitful hourglass, having the sand up on both sides, maketh a man think there is a good deal of the hour to run out, whereas by reason of an hollowness in the middle it sinketh presently; so do our days, by reason of strength and health promise us to be many, and on a sudden, by reason of some ill humour seizing on the vitals in the middle of the body, they prove to be few. It is a saying in the Civil Law, Praesumitur quilibet vivere centum annos, Every one is presumed to live an hundred years; the rise whereof is that fond opinion in the minds of most men, whereby they flatter themselves with apprehensions of long life, Oh let us remember it is the property of a good man (according to the Greek father's phrase) {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, 〈◊〉 Naz. to esteem his life as a Pilgrimage of a short continuance, And this especially for four ends. 1. To hasten our repentance for our sins. The measure of our days, is the space of our repentance, since it is narrow, let this be speedy; that cannot be long extended, let not this be long deferred; One of the days of thy life must be the day of repentance, and if one, whynot this day? especially considering the measure (for aught thou knowest) may be at the utmost extent, and this day may prove thy last. It is true, At what time soever a finner repents from the bottom of his heart, God will do away his offence; but than he must repent whilst he hath time: At what time the wind serveth the Mariner, he may sail to the Haven; but than he must sail while the wind serveth, which will not be always, nor long, and therefore let us be so wise, as to take time whilst it is afforded. 2 To lessen our affections towards this world. Whenas the measure of our days is contracted to an hands breadth, why should the earthy desires of our hearts be so much enlarged? Could we at our pleasure add day to day and year to year, it were good policy to join house to house, and field to field; but to what purpose are many goods, when (with the rich fool in the Gospel) we have perhaps but a few hours, whilst thou livest, thy days are but as the breadth of thy hand, when thou diest, thou shalt have no more ground than the length of thy body, why so greedy in grasping large revenues and vast possessions? 3. To lengthen our patience under the afflictions of this present life, our days are of a narrow breadth, a short length, and afflictions can last no longer, nor be extended broader than our days; Why should not our patience be as large and long as our afflictions? One Greek reading of this clause is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, days of strife and misery; such were David's at this time, and many times are ours, but the comfort is, they are {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, only an hands breadth: Man that is born of a woman (Saith Job) is of few days, and full Job 14. 1. of trouble. True our days are full of trouble, I but withal they are few; the fewness of our days would be a trouble, were it not that they are full of trouble, and the fullness of their trouble might be a grief, were it not for their fewness: Neither on the one hand should the pleasure of our days much elevate us, nor on the other, the sorrows of them perplex us, when we consider, that those though sweet, are but short, and these though sharp, are but few, very few, no more than will make up as it were an hands breadth. 4. To quicken us in the practice of good works, They say of the Birds of Norway, that they fly faster than others, not because Nature hath given them more, or swifter wings, but because the days are shorter there than elsewhere they make the greater haste, Oh that the consideration of the short measure of our days might accelerate us in our race to heaven, so as with great speed and diligence we may learn to work out our salvation. It is said of the Devil, he is come down to the Inhabitants of the earth, having great wrath, Rev. 12. 12. because he knoweth his time is but short; how should we bestir our selves with great zeal in God's service, since we know our time is short. Take in the whole life of man, it is but as the breadth of four singers, sure we had not need to lose any of them: He that having but four acres to sow with corn (all which is little enough to supply his family) and should only sow one, and let the rest overrun with weeds, will he not deservedly be branded for a fool? Oh why then are we so foolish to misspend the greatest part of our days in doing nothing, or worse than nothing, when as all our days are but four fingers breadth; Nature, or rather the God of nature, hath not given us (to use Seneca's expression) so large a time of life, as to trifle away any part of it; yea, he that spends it best will still have cause to say with David in the close of this Psalm, O spare me, that I may recover strength before I go hence, and be no more seen. 2. You have heard the brevity of man's life exemplified in David, by an absolute assertion under the metaphor of an hand breadth, go we on to the comparative proposition, mine age is nothing before thee. The subject of this proposition is variously rendered. By the Caldee it is read body, and indeed it is man's duration in respect of his body, which is said to be as nothing, since the soul is immortal. Aquila reads it {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, the time of the soul's imprisonment in the body; the Seventy translate it {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, which is rendered by the Vulgar Latin substantia, but properly signifieth subsistentia, and is so to be understood here, my subsistence. The Hebrew word is most genuinely translated by aevum, mine age, to wit, in this world; for that is sometimes the signification of the word. Concerning his age, David saith, it is as nothing: If you compare this with the former clause, you shall observe a gradation, ascending in the subject, whereas there days, here an age, which is made up not only of days, or months, but years, descending in the predicate, there an hands breadth, (which is but small) here nothing. Solomon speaking of the comforts of life, seemeth to call them Prov. 23. 5. non entities, Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for this reason (no doubt,) because their being is a continall tendency to not being. Upon the same account, the age of David's life is here said to be nothing, because of no continuance; the word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} is near a kin to {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, which cometh from {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} cessavit, and so soon doth man's age cease, that it is as if it were not at all. But yet this must be taken with its restrictions. David doth not say, mine age is nothing, but it is as nothing; nor doth he say this positively, but respectively, in reference to God, it is as nothing before thee. The Prophet Isaiah (speaking of the whole world of mankind) saith, The Nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he Isa. 40. 15. taketh up the Isles as a very little thing; but as if this were not full enough, a little after he saith, All Nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him less than nothing Vers. 17 and vanity: a small dust, a single drop are little things, I but they are something; the Prophet cannot enough set forth the distance between God and the Nations unless he go lower, and therefore he saith, they are as nothing. Nay, as if this were not enough, he will strain the sense, and speak a contradiction, rather than not express his meaning, where he saith, they are less than nothing, than which (to speak properly) nothing can be less. And surely if this be true of all Nations, well might David affirm it of his age, and if you would know the meaning of those words before thee, it is explained in that of the Prophet, when having said before him, he addeth, they are counted to him, that is, in comparison of him. Suitable to this it is that the Psalmist having set forth God's eternal duration, and presently after speaking of man's years, he calleth them in the language of the Seventy {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, which Tertullian reads Psal. 90. 4, 5. nullificamina; and it is the same in effect with that which goeth before, a thousand years are in thy sight but as yesterday, which being past, is nothing. Dei esse est suum esse, say the Schools, from that of God to Moses, I am that I am, God's being is of and from himself; yea, it is himself, he is One undivided, unconfined, simple, eternal, and original being, and as there is no being, but from him, so all other beings are as nothing in respect of him. It will not be amiss (for the further illustration of this truth) to consider the age of David's life in several references. 1. David might truly have said, Mine age is short in respect of Methuselah's: the days of Methuselah are said to be nine hundred sixty Gen. 7. 5. and nine years: the days of David, by a Sam. 5. 4. computation of the time when he began, and how long he reigned, were not much above threescore and ten, so that he lived not so many tens as Methuselah did hundreds. The life of man before the flood, was as a large Volume bound up in folio, but since it is contracted to a far lesser volume, and is (as it were) bound up in decimo sexto, so that whereas David saith in the former clause, my days are as a hands breadth, he might have said, they are as a finger's breadth in comparison of the ancient Patriarchs. 2. David might have said, Mine age is very short in comparison of the age of the world. St. Paul saith of the fashion of this Macrocosm it passeth away, but the age of the Microcosm, 2 Cor. 7. 31. man passeth away far swifter. The World was almost as many thousand years old as David was scores in his times, that number is now well nigh doubled, but man's age is rather shortened. How many hundreds of years the world may yet continue is not known to us, but the ordinary number of the years of man's age now, compared with the number of six thousand years, is but so much as a week is to a year, or a minute to an hour, so that whereas he saith my days are as a span long, he might have said they are not an inch long, in respect of the world's duration. 3. David might have said, Mine age in this World is exceeding little, in comparison of the duration of the other world. The age to come is no less than an eternity, and though it have a beginning, it shall have no end; so that whereas the Psalmist saith My days are as an hands breadth, he might have said, they are as an hair's breadth in respect of the continuance of the world to come. 4. Finally, David might have said, Mine age is scarcely any thing before the Angels, whose duration began with this world, and shall continue in the world to come, and so is coaetaneous with both the worlds. But all these are far short of this comparison which he here maketh of his age with God, who is eternal, both a part ante, and a part post, from everlasting to everlasting. The utmost imaginable extent of Time in comparison of eternity is far less than an instant, is in respect of the longest Time. Were it possible to divide eternity into parts, a million of years would not be so much as a ten hundred thousandth part; and what then is seventy or fourscore years? no wonder if David say, mine age is nothing (a mere nothing) before thee. It is an excellent lesson which may here be taken forth by us, namely, to look upon our selves in reference to God, that so we may be vile and little in our own eyes. There are many exeellencies wherein we are apt to glory, and whereof to boast, which if they would but compare with divine attributes, would appear mean and contemptible. Wert thou strong as Samson, yet thou mayst say, My strength is nothing before thee, not so much and weak stripling is before a mighty Giant; wert thou as wise as Solomon, yet say, my wisdom is nothing before thee, not so much as the silly brute is before the intelligent Angels; the very foolishness of God (to use St. Paul's language) being wiser than the wisdom of men; Wert thou honourable as Alexander, yet say, mine honour is nothing before thee, not so much as the glimmering candle is before the glorious Sun; wert thou rich as Croesus, thou must say, my riches are nothing before thee, not so much as the drop of water is to the Ocean: Finally, wert thou as old as Methuselah, thou must say, mine age is nothing before thee, not so much as a new born babe to aged Methuselah. To end this, since man's age is nothing before God, let it be nothing before man himself, indeed as for that part of our age which is past, it is so with us, many years since, being but as a few days, and the time which is gone, is as nothing, Oh that we would look with the same eye upon that which is to come. Indeed in one sense we must reckon our age as something, and that precious, well were it if we would set an higher value upon our time than to waste it away in folly, but still as to the duration we must account it as nothing, and then we would have none to spare, but wholly employ it for the gaining of that which is as something before God, a joyful and happy eternity. And so much shall serve to be spoken of the first part of the text, the particular exemplification, pass we on to the general Amplification, in these words, Gen. 2. Every man in his best estate is altogether vanity. A clause wherein each word is emphatical, which will the better appear, if you take a view of 1. The extensiveness of the subject concerning whom this doctrine is asserted, which is, 1. Not the creeping pismire, the crawling worm, the stupid ass, or any of the sensitive creatures but Man, who is endued with reason. 2. Not one or a few particular men, in some one part of the world, but of every man, who either hath been, is, or shall live in any part of the world. 3. Not only of mean, poor, and ignoble persons, but of man at his best estate, Quamvis floreat dignitate, opibus, potentia, as Mollerus glosseth upon the text, though he flourish in wealth, honour, and power; for though the Seventy reading be {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, every man living, yet the Hebrew {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} which signifieth constitutus, fixed, or settled, is most properly referred to him who seemeth to be in a stablished prosperous estate. 2. The intensiveness of the predicate in that every man at his best estate is, 1. Not only like to vanity, that is the language of the Psalmist elsewhere, Adam is as Abel, homo similis factus est, man is become Psal. 144. 4. like to vanity; but he is vanity, as if it were not only his resemblance, but his substance. 2. Nor is he only said to be vain in the concrete, as Zophars' language is, vain man would be wise; but vanity in the abstract, as Job 11. 12. if it were not only an accident, but his essence. 3. Nor is it only said, he is vanity, as it is elsewhere in this Psalm, but is altogether vanity, as if from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet he were nothing but vanity. 4. Nay, in the Hebrew the Emphasis is yet further, in that vanity is the subject, and man the predicate, for so the words are to be rendered, according to the original, Altogether vanity is every man, as if man were not to be defined by vanity, but vanity by man; so that if you ask, What is vanity? the answer is, it is man: No marvel if the Psalmist elsewhere affirm, that man is lighter than vanity; so that were man put in one scale, and vanity in the other, man would Psal. 62. 9 mount up as being lighter, and vanity itself would weigh him down. To illustrate the truth of this assertion, know. 1. That there is a double vanity, to which every man at his best estate is subject, namely, of disposition and condition. 1. Man is vanity in his disposition. The Grammarian in Aulus Gellius maketh vanus and stultus synonimous: vanus quasi mente vacuus, and so every man is vanity, because a fool, Indeed vain man would be wise, but he is foolish in his thoughts, projects, desires, and actions. In the very next verse it is said, they are disquieted in vain, to wit, with Vers. 6. foolish projects, and fruitless cares. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity; it is no less true of his words and works: no wonder if man be compared to a shadow, having no light of knowledge in his mind, heat of grace in his heart, nor substance or solidity in his actions. 2. But that which is here chiefly intended is, the vanity of man in respect of his condition; in reference to this it is that it is said in the beginning of the next verse, man walketh in a vain show, as if his residence in this world Vers. 6. were but like that of a Player upon the stage, and this is here affirmed of his best estate and condition. 2. man's condition at the best is but vanity in three respects, because inconstant and perishing, empty, and unsatisfying, false and deceiving. 1. Vanum quod evanescit, that which is vain hath no solidity, and therefore no permanency; lightness is the proper adjunct of vanity and inconstancy the effect of lightness. Such is man's best estate, he seemeth to be settled as the earth, but he vanisheth with the wind, changeth with the moon, and ebeth with the water, Homo Bulla is true of man, at his best estate he is like the bubble which swells up by the rain falling upon the water, and falls presently, or which the child causeth with the breath of his mouth at the end of the reed, and vanisheth with the least shaking of his hand. It was not without reason that man is called by the philosopher, Ludus fortunae, fortune's may-game, with whom she sports herself, by putting him as it were into various shapes, in altering his condition, Man at his best estate, like the Venice glass, is bright, but brittle; or like Sodom's Apples, golden coloured, but mouldering; his strength a rush, soon shaken; his riches, dust, quickly driven away; his honour a fancy, presently gone. To day Nabuchadnezzar jets it on the house top, as if he expected a salutation from the celestial Majesty, and suddenly he is turned to graze with the beasts of the field, with which agreeeth that of the Poet, Quem dies vidit veniens superbum, Sen. Trag. Hunc dies vidit fugens jacentem. Show me that Rose that will not fade, that fruit which will not putrify, that cloud which will not vanish, that garment which will not fret, and then (not till then) expect to find that man who in his best and most prosperous estate is not subject to mutation and dissolution. 2. Vanity and inanity go together. One of the Hebrew words {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} which is rendered vain, signifieth empty; that which is vain is empty, and being so, cannot satisfy, such is man's best estate, as not able to give any true content. Man at his best estate, as he is mutable, so he is unsatiable, his desires are still larger than his fortune; nor is it any time so well with him, but that still he would be better. Ahab in the midst of his opulency is sick for Naboth's Vineyard; Hamon in the height of dignity is troubled at the want of Mordecay's knee. Health, beauty, wealth, honours, Say of Content as the depth saith of wisdom, it is not in us. Man in his most prosperous concondition feedeth upon wind which cannot fill the stomach, and therefore like the horseleech he still crieth, Give, give. 3. That which deceiveth our expectation seeming to be what it is not, and promising (as it were) to do that it cannot, is vain in the worst sense, being at once both vanity and vexation. This is true of man at his best estate who promiseth to himself and others that which he cannot perform, and so is deceived and deceiveth. The rich fool, being in a prosperous estate, promised himself much pleasure, but was miserably disappointed. Job saith of his brethren, they dealt deceitfully with him as the Job. 6. 15. brooks do by the Traveller which are dry in the scorching heat, when he is most thirsty. It is a remarkable passage in the Psalms, Men of low degree are vanity, men of high degree Psal. 62. 9 are a lie: a man of low degree is at his worst, a man of high degree at his best estate, and yet whereas men of low degree are said to be vanity, men of high degree are said to be a lie, which is as it were the dregs of vanity, because it tends to deceive, which yet is most justly affirmed of men of high degree, who by reason of their place and state in this world, seem to promise much, and yet are in truth a lie, not performing what they promise, and so disappointing both their own and others hopes. The use we are to make of this doctrine, is, in reference both to others, and our selves. 1. In respect of others, whether enemies or friends. Are the Churches or our enemies (to outward appearance) in an established condition of prosperity? let us not give way to excess of grief and fear, or anger, but rather remember in their best estate they are vanity, and being so, are set in slippery places. They seem to be fixed stars, but in truth they are only blazing comets, which appear for a little time and then vanish away. 2. Are our friends for the present in a flourishing estate? take we heed how we let out either our hopes or love too much towards them, considering that they are but vanity, and therefore our hope which is placed on them will end in shame, and our love in vexation: Why so big with expectation of advantage or advancement from thy rich Ally, honourable Lord, potent friend? alas, thou dost but set thy foot upon the water which cannot bear thee: Why so inflamed with affection to thy beautiful Wife, child, or near relation? Alas, thou dost but embrace a shadow in thine arms, which cannot, must not stay long with thee. 2. In respect of our selves. 1. Reflect we with sorrow and hatred upon sin, the true cause of man's vanity. Man in his first estate was altogether excellency; God saw every thing that he made, and behold it was very good: surely this was much more Gen. 1. 32. true of man the masterpiece of the creation, the image and glory of his Maker, not vanity, but divinity was his nature; he was not enveloped with rags of frailty, but ennobled with robes of innocency; nor did he walk in a vain show, but a sacred representation of God himself. And now if you would know how this flower was blasted, it was by the breath of the Basilisk; how this image was defaced, it was by the poison of the Serpent; how man became vanity, it was by reason of iniquity: so true is that of the wiseman, He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity. The Hebrew words, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} vanity, and {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} mourning Prov. 22. 8, are somewhat near in sound; Oh, let us mourn for that vanity to which sin hath subjected us, and let us abhor sin which hath subjected us to it. 2. Provide we for ourselves another, a better estate than the best which this world affords, an estate of glory in the Heavens, man's best estate on earth is mutable, but that is durable; empty, but that is satisfying; uncertain, but that is sure; only for term of years, but that is for eternity. Philosophers generally affirm, that the Heavens are in continual motion, and the earth stands immovable, though there are those who assert, that the heavens stand still, and the earth moveth: This indeed is a riddle in philosophy, but it is a certain truth in Divinity, that the things of earth are in a continual flux, and the things of Heaven in a stable permanency. And therefore in whatsoever state we are here, let us learn to be content, be it never so mean, so as not to repine; and let us not be content, be it never so high, so as to rest satisfied; and whether our estate in this world be high or low, let the first and best of our desires and endeavours be after that estate which is not a shadow, but a substance; not a lease, but an inheritance; not vanity, but felicity, and shall be far more in the fruition than it is in the expectation. To the possession whereof he bring us who hath purchased it for us. Amen. I Have done with my Text, but I must not yet have done. This sad providence wills us to sit still a while longer, and by taking a serious view, to make a Religious use of it. It is not very many months since I was employed to perform a far more welcome office for this our Sister, namely, the consummating her Nuptials. She being in the prime of her years, happily matched to a dearly loving and loved Husband, enjoying a confluence of all outward contentments, seemed as it were (to use the Psalmists phrase) to be in a settled estate, and (according to our usual phrase) to be provided for as to this world. But alas! in how short a revolution of time, how doleful an alteration? This young, strong, hail, beautiful Gentlewoman in her best estate becometh a sad instance of the general doctrine in my Text; This flourishing flower is blasted by the wind of a violent disease, and plucked as it were out of her husband's bosom, by the rough hand of Death, and I am now called to officiate her Funerals. Thus have you sometimes seen the bright sunshine on a sudden vailed with a dark cloud, and a serene sky hung with black. But yet let not, Oh let not her near and dear friends shed too many tears over her Grave, remembering the Tu posuisti in the Text, who it is that hath made her days as an hands breadth, even He in whose hands all our times are to prolong and cut short as he pleaseth: Besides, why should they weep above measure, since they do not grieve as without hope of (that which is most truly called) her best estate, her eternal welfare. Her Education was Religious, and her Conversation virtuous; she was well instructed in, and affected to the best things. The silver Picture of her comely body had in it the golden Apple of a well disposed soul; the golden ring of her Soul had set into it the precious Diamond of virtue. A spotless innocency, humble modesty, and calm meekness were her choice Ornaments; She was an obedient Daughter, a loving Sister, an affectionate Spouse, a true friend, and (I trust) a good Christian. In the time of her sickness she gave evidence of many graces, a confident reliance upon her gracious God for deliverance from all her pains, a penitent bewailing her careless expense of time, with serious resolves (if God should prolong her days) of more exactness in her Christian course, together with her patient submission to the good will of her heavenly Father. When she beheld upon her hands the marks of her disease, she said, These are God's Tokens, and I willingly embrace them. That saying of Solomon, Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Prov. 31. 30, Lord she shall be praised, which was the subject of my discourse occasioned by her Nuptials, was often in her thoughts; so that she was not at all troubled with any anxious fears lest the disease should spoil her beauty; and though the rod were smart upon her back, nay, I may say her face, her whole body, she resolved to kiss it. Some few days before her death a drowsiness seized upon her, which continued (for the most part) to her last hour, when one Brother took (as it were) the other by the heel, death following her sleep, yea, her death being but a sleep, and the grave to which she is now going a bed wherein she shall repose herself till the morn of the Resurrection, when she will (I hope) be married to the Lamb; nor shall any Funerals succeed those joyful Nuptials. Weep not then for her who is not dead but sleepeth, dry your eyes, and (with this holy man) open not your mouths, or if you do, let it be in Ely's language, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good in 1 Sam. 3. 18, his sight. And now since the Text and occasion preach to us how vain we are, how short our lives are, and to what changes we are subject; what remaineth, but that every one of us be exhorted to prepare for changes, especially our last, and so to order our steps, that when these days on earth, which are as an hands breadth, are ended, we may pass to an eternity of days without either number or measure in the highest Heavens. Amen. FINIS.