not only make them feel them, but do often make the conflict dubious to them, that they feem to be almoft foiled; yet do they acquit themselves, and come off with honour. It is not the excellency of grace to be infenfible in trouble, (as fome philofophers would have their wife men), but to overcome and be victorious.

Among the reft of this holy man's troubles, this was one, that the wicked did reproach him: This is a fharp arrow, that flies thick in the world. It is one of the sharpeft ftings of poverty, that as it is pinched with wants at home, fo it is met with fcorn abroad. It is reckoned among the fharp fufferings of holy men, Heb. xi. that they suffered bitter mockings. Now, men commonly return thefe in the fame kind, that is, by the tongue, whereof David is here aware; he refrains himself even from good, not only from his juft defence, but even from good and pious difcourfes. We do so easily exceed in our words, that it is better fometimes to be wholly filent, than to speak that which is good; for our good borders so near upon evil, and fo easy is the tranfition from the one to the other, that though we begin to speak of God and good things, with a good intention, yet how quickly run we into another channel; paffion and felf having ftolen in, turn us quite from the first defign of our fpeech; and this chiefly in difputes and debates about religion, wherein, though we begin with zeal for God, yet oft-times in the end, we teftify nothing but our own paffion, and fometimes we do lie one againft another in defence of what we call the truth.

It cannot be denied, that, to an holy heart, it is a great violence to be fhut up altogether from the ipeech of God. It burns within, efpecially in the time of affliction, as was the cafe of Jeremiah; Then I faid, I will not make mention of him, nor fpeak any more in his name: But his word was in my heart as a burning fire but up in my bones; and I was weary with forbearing, and could not stay, Jerem. xx. 9.; fo

is it here with David; therefore he breaks out; the fire burns upward, and he speaks to God.

Let this be our way, when we cannot find ease among men, to feek it in God; he knows the language of his children, and will not mistake it; yea, where there may be somewhat of weakness and diftemper, he will bear with it. In all your diftresses, in all your moanings, go to him, pour out your tears to him; not only fire, but even water, where it wants a vent, will break upward; these tears drop not in our own lap, but they fall on his, and he hath a bottle to put them in; if ye empty them there, they fhall return in wine of strong confolation.

Ver. 4. Now David's requeft is, Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.] In which he does not defire a response from God, about the day of his death, but inftruction concerning the frailty and fhortness of his life: But did not David know this? Yes, he knew it, and yet he defires to know it. It is very fit we afk of God that he would make us to know the things that we know, I mean, that what we know emptily and barely, we may know fpiritually, and fruitfully: If there be any measure of this knowledge, that it may increase and grow more. We know that we are finners, but that knowledge commonly produces nothing but cold, dry, and fenfelefs confufion; but the right knowledge of fin would prick our hearts, and caufe us to pour them out before the Lord. We know that Jefus is the Saviour of finners; it were fit to pray, that we knew more of him, fo much of him as might make us fhape and fashion our hearts to his likeness. We know we must die, and that it is no long courfe to the utmost period of life, yet our hearts are little inftructed by this knowledge; how great need have we to pray this prayer with David here, or that with Mofes, Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wifdom, Pfal. xc. 12. Did we indeed know and confider how quickly we fhall pafs from hence, it

were

were not poffible for us to cleave fo faft to the things of this life; and, as foolish children, to wade in ditches, and fill our laps with mire and dirt; to prefer bafe earth and flesh to immortality and glory.

That I may know how frail I am.] Moft part of men are foolish inconfiderate creatures, like unto the very beafts that perish, Pfal. xlix. 12. only they are capable of greater vanity and mifery; but, in as irrational a way, they toil on and hurry themselves in a multitude of business, by multitudes of defires, fears, and hopes, and know not whither all tends; but one well advised thought of this one thing would temper them in their hotteft purfuits, if they would but think how frail they are, how vain a paffing thing, not only these their particular defires and projects are, but they themselves, and their whole life. David prays that he may know his end; and his prayer is answered, Behold thou haft made my days as an handbreadth, v. 5. If we were more in requests of this kind, we should receive more speedy and certain anfwers. If this be our requeft, to know ourselves, our frailties and vanity, we fhall know that our days are few and evil, both the brevity and vanity of them.

Ver. 5. Thou baft measured out my days as an handbreadth.] That is one of the fhortest measures; we need not long lines to measure our lives by, each one carries a measure about with him, his own hand, that is the longest and fulleft measure. It is not fo much as a fpan; that might poffibly have been the meafure of old age in the infancy of the world, but now it is contracted to an hand-breadth, and that is the longeft; but how many fall fhort of that? many attain not to a finger-breadth; multitudes pafs from the womb to the grave; and how many end their course within the compass of childhood!

Whether we take this hand-breadth for the fourcore years, that is ordinarily the utmoft extent of man's life in our days, or for the four times of our age, in which we use to diftinguifh it, childhood,

youth,

youth, manhood, and old age; there are great numbers we see take up their lodging ere they come near the laft of any of thefe, and few attain to the outmoft border of them. All of us are but a hand-breadth from death, and not fo much; for many of us have passed a great part of that hand-breadth already, and we know not how little of it is behind. We use commonly to divide our lives by years, months, weeks and days, but it is all but one day; there is the morning, noon, afternoon and evening; Man is as the grafs that Springs in the morning, Pfal. xc. 5.; as for all the days that are paft of our life, death hath them rather than we, and they are already in its poffeffion; When we look back on them, they appear but as a shadow or dream, and if they be so to us, how much more fhort are they in the fight of God? So fays David here, When I look on thee and thy eternity, mine age is as nothing before thee; what is our life, being compared to God, before whom a thousand years are but as one day, and lefs, like yefterday, when it is past, and that is but a thought! The whole duration of the world is but a point in respect of eternity; and how small a point is the life of man, even in comparison with that!

The brevity of our life is a very useful confideration; from it we may learn patience under all our croffes and troubles; they may be shorter than life, but they can be no longer. There are few that an affliction hath lain on all the days of their life; but though that were the cafe, yet a little time, and how quickly is it done! While thou art afleep, there is a ceffation of thy trouble; and, when awake, bemoaning and weeping for it, and for fin that is the caufe of it, in the mean time it is fliding away. In all the bitter blafts that blow on thy face, thou who art a Christian indeed, mayeft comfort thyfelf, in the thought of the good lodging that is before thee. To others it were the greatest comfort, that their afflictions in this life were lengthened out to eternity.

Likewife

Likewise, this may teach us temperance in these things that are called the good things of this world. Though a man had a leafe of all these fine things the world can afford for his whole life, (which yet never any man that I know of had), what is it? a feigned dream of an hour long. None of these things that now it takes fo much delight in, will accompany the cold lump of clay to the grave. Within a little while, thofe that are married and rejoice, bal be as if they rejoiced not, 1 Cor. vii. 29. nor ever had done it; and if they shall be fo quickly, a wife man makes little difference, in these things, betwixt their prefence and their abfence.

This thought should also teach us diligence in our bufinefs. We have a fhort day, and much to do; it were fit to be up early, to remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth; and ye that are come to riper years, be advised to lay hold on what remains, ye know not how little it is.

The more you fill yourselves with the things of this life, the lefs defires you will have after thofe rivers of pleafures that are at God's right hand; thofe fhall never run dry, but all these other things shall be dried up within a little fpace; at the furtheft, when old age and death come, if not fooner. And on the other fide, the more we deny ourselves the fenfual enjoyments of a prefent world, we grow the liker to that divine eftate, and are made the furer of it; and I am fure all will grant that this is a very gainful exchange.

Verily, every man at his best eftate is altogether vanity.] It is no wonder that the generality of men are ftrangers to God, for they are ftrangers to themselves. The cure of both thefe evils is from the fame hand. He alone can teach us what he is, and what we are ourfelves. All know and fee that their life is fhort, and themselves vanity. But this holy man thought it needful to afk the true notion of it from above, and he receives the measure of his life, even an handVOL. II. breadth.

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