Parallels.

A Post rides swiftly, he makes haste: So the Life of Man, or Time of a Man's Life, swiftly passeth away.

II. A Post ought to make no stay: So the Days of Man's Life stay not; the Hour-Glass of Time runs continually, and never stands still.

A Post (saith my Author) is an excellent Emblem of Time.* There are many Conside∣rations in Post-riding, which shews how exceeding speedy Time must be, to which it is here compared.

All these Things laid together, evince, that a Post makes great speed; yet saith Job, My Days are swifter than a Post. A Post may by one means or another be stayed; but the Days of Man's Life stay not. The Post may stay whilst he changes Horses, &c. But the Chariot of Time, viz. the Sun, stayeth not to change Horses. The Sun is the Measure of Time, and that makes no Stop, hath no Stage, or Baiting-place.

Parallels.

THe VVind passeth away speedily: So doth the Life of Man.

II. The VVind passeth irresistibly, you cannot stop the VVind: So no Man, be he never so strong, can hinder the speedy Motion of his Days.

III. The VVind, when it is past, returns no more: As you cannot stop the VVind, or change its Course; so all the Power in the VVorld is not able to recall or direct the VVind; which way the VVind goes, it will go; and so soon as it comes, it is gone: So when a Man's Days are gone, there is no recalling of them again: Our Days pass, and shall not return, by any Law or Constitution of Nature, or by any Efficacy of natural Causes. He remem∣bred that they were but Flesh,* Wind that passeth away.

Parallels.

AS the Cloud (such a Cloud as you see hanging in the Air) is consumed, or gradually spent: So the Days or Life of Man by little and little is consumed.

II. A Cloud comes to its Height, and then is quickly disperst, and vanisheth: So Man soon comes to his full Strength, and presently is gone.

III. A Cloud is like a Bottle full of Rain, or Sponges full of Water; God crushes these Sponges, or unstops these Bottles, and they are emptied, and in emptying vanish away, and return no more: So Man, being emptied of Life, vanisheth away, and returns not again.

Obj. But why then doth Solomon affirm the Clouds return again after Rain?* how then doth Job say, that the Cloud vanisheth, so Man goeth to the Grave, and returneth no more.

Answ. Solomon in that Place of Ecclesiastes gives a Description of old Age, and the sad Condition of Man in it: he calleth it the evil Day, and wishes Men would consider their latter End, before those evil Days overtake them: Before the Light of the Sun, Moon,* and Stars be darkned, and the Clouds return after the Rain. In old Age the Clouds return after the Rain thus; as in some very wet Time, when we think it hath rained so much, as might have spent and quite exhausted the Clouds, and drawn those Bottles dry, yet you shall see them return again, it will rain day after day as fast as ever: So in old Age, when Rheums dis∣still so freely, that you would think an old Man had emptied himself of all, yet the Clouds will return again, and Flouds of watery Humours overflow. Thus the Clouds of old Age return, and in this Sense the Clouds of the Air return, after they are consumed and spent into Rain.

But how doth a Cloud return? not the same Cloud numerically, that Cloud which was dissolved doth not return; the same Sun goes down and vanisheth out of our Sight in the Evening, and returneth in the Morning, the same individual and numerical Sun: but that numerical Cloud which vanished, comes not again. Thus Man vanisheth and returns as the Clouds return after the Rain; that is, after one Generation of Men are dead, they re∣turn again in their Children, another Generation springs up, but there is no other Return∣ing to Life till the Resurrection; they that die shall not live again here; they shall not re∣turn to their House; their Place shall know them no more.

Parallels.

A Flower comes up in the Spring, and seems very beautiful, but its standing is very short, as you may observe in the Cowslip and divers other Flowers: So Man comes up, but his Abiding here is short, his standing is so small, that it is not so much as mentioned. We are born to die, and we die as soon as we are born; i. e. We are in a dying State.

II. A Flower is oft-times cut down or cropt off in its budding: So is Man; he comes up like a Flower, and is cut down; he is cut down by Death; Death is the Sithe which cuts down this Flower.

Page  3961. Natural Death, (1.) by Sickness. (2.) By Age.

2. Violent Death. (1.) Casual, when a Man is slain by Accident. (2.) Cruel; when a Man is slain by Murderers. (3.) Legal; when a Man is slain or cut off by the Magistrate.

III. A Flower, if it be not cut or cropt off, yet it soon withers away, and is gone. The very Sun, the Wind, and Air consumes its Beauty. The Naturalists tell us of a Plant, called Ephemeron, because it lasts but one Day; as also of a Worm, called Hemerobion, because it lives but one Day. Such a Plant and Worm is Man. The Heathen Poet gives his Wonder and Observation of the Rose, that it grows old in the very Budding. The Seventy read these Words of Job in the same Tenour, he Decays like a budding Flower; as if Death (saith Caryl) did rise early,* and watch for this budding Flower to cut it down. And though some of these Flowers stand till they wither, as Solomon in his Allegory sheweth; that is, till gray Hairs: yet all the Time of their standing they have been falling. So that we may well say with the Psalmist:* As for Man, his Days are as Grass: as a Flower of the Field so he flourisheth: for the Wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the Place thereof shall know it no more.

IV. The Owner of Flowers knows the best Time to crop them, &c. So God knows the best Time to crop off or take away by Death any of his choice Flowers. [See more Man a Flower, pag. 138, 139.]

Parallels.

A Shadow is next to nothing; what is there in a natural Shadow? So what's the Life of Man? he rather seems to live, than lives. A Shadow you know is opposed to a Substance.

II. A Shadow is a very uncertain Thing: So is the Life of Man. The Shadow, a Man may be under now, may, before he is aware, be gone. A Shadow is as fleeting and uncer∣tain a Thing as any Thing in the World.† Our Days on Earth are as the Shadow. How is it that there is no abiding no certainty of our Lives?

III. A Shadow is very swift in Motion; what flies more swiftly than a Shadow (as com∣mon Experience shews)? So the Life of Man is gone in a Moment, like Lightning, a Dream, a Bubble, the Flower of the Field or a flying Shadow. Our Days on Earth are as a Shadow; that is: They fly swiftly away like as a Shadow, and there is no abiding. A Vapor is much of the Nature of a Shadow.

Inferences.

FRom all these Similitudes we may infer, that the Life of Man is very short, his Days swiftly pass away.

Man that is born of a Woman is of few Days, &c. He comes up like a Flower, and is cut down; he flieth as a Shadow, and continueth not: his Life is like Wind, like a Cloud or Vapor, &c. All swift and fleeting Things.

*Behold thou hast made my Days as an Hand-breadth. The largest Extent of the Breadth of an Hand is but a Span; the lesser extent only four Fingers. To which the Measure of Man's Life is compared.

I. Man's Life is Short in Comparison of those who lived before the Flood; some then lived near a Thousand Years.

Page  397II. Much shorter when compared with the Life of God, who is from Everlasting, with∣out Beginning and without Ending.

Secondly, this may stir us a•• up, or be a great Motive to us to improve and redeem our Time. This, I say, Brethren, the Time is short.

I. Be persuaded your Days are few. 'Tis easy to say it, but hard to believe it, and live in the Sense of it. The Child hopes to be a Man; a Man hopes to be an Old Man; and he that is very old hopes to live yet many Days.

II. Be persuaded thy Days are uncertain, when thou liest down, thou knowest not whe∣ther thou shalt rise any more or no; when thou goest out, thou knowest not whether thou shalt return any more or no. What a small Thing may take away thy Life!

III. Learn from hence to get a true Measure of your Days. David desired a Measure of his Days, that he might know how frail he was. Some do not measure their Days by the King's Standard; they measure their Days by the Life of their Progenitors. My Father and my Grand-father, saith one, lived so long, and vvhy may not I live as long as they did? Others measure their Days by their present Health and Strength; Others by the sound and healthy Constitution of their Bodies. Novv these Things are not a fit nor lavvful Measure of your Days, but rather those Things of vvhich you have heard, viz. The Weaver's-Shut∣tle, the morning Dew, the Flovver of the Field, the early Cloud, the Shadovv and Vapor that flieth away.

IV. This may reprove and shevv the Folly of many vvicked Men, vvho, like the rich Man in the Gospel, say in their Hearts, We have Goods laid up for many Years, take your Ease,* eat, drink, and be merry, &c. Their inward Thought is, that their Houses shall continue for ever, and their Dwelling-places to all Generations.

V. It may tend to strengthen the Godly under Afflictions. Let them strive to bear up with Patience. All their Days are but few, and therefore the Days of Sorrow cannot be many.

VI. It may stir up all to labour to take hold of eternal Life. If our Days here are few, let us get a well-grounded Hope of living in Heaven; for they never die, who live in that Kingdom.

VII. Let us also endeavour to improve the Opportunity of Time; I mean those gracious Advantages God is pleased to afford us for the everlasting Good and Well being of our Souls when Time and Days shall be no more. Men of the World take great Care to improve all Opportunities to enrich themselves, or increase their outward Substance. They will not lose their Market-time, nor Change-time, nor Fair-time. They will be sure to come ear∣ly enough, and every Way to bestir themselves with Wisdom and Diligence: And shall not we be as wise and as diligent for the enriching our Souls? Shall we slight Seasons, Sab∣baths, Sermons, Convictions, &c. Let all remember, now is the accepted Time;* Now is the Day of Salvation; now, whilest it is called to Day, or never▪ Now Sinners may get an Inter∣est in Christ, Union with God, the Gifts and Graces of the Spirit; Now they may obtain Pardon of Sin, and Peace of Conscience; Now there is a Prize put into their Hands; they may be made for ever, if they look wisely about them; Now they may be made Heirs of God, Heirs of a Kingdom, Heirs of a Crown, of a Crown of Life, of a Crown of Glo∣ry, of a Crown that fadeth not away. But if they lose the present Opportunity, they may never have the like again. Time is, but in a very short Space, it may be said, Time was, nay, Time is past. Will it not be sad to hear God tell thee, and Conscience tell thee on thy Death-bed, Now Time is past, 'tis too late now, these Things shall be denied you now, you must perish for ever, and be damned in your Sins!