applauded for his noble achievements in the field of battle?-It is but flesh. What is that illustrious monarch, sitting on a splendid throne, and clothed in all the robes of majesty?—It is but flesh. What is that profound philosopher, diving into the depths of science, or soaring above the intellects of his fellows?-It is but flesh. What is that pursuasive orator, that so impresses with his eloquence, that charms and affects the passions of the human mind?-It is but flesh. What that fine form and beautiful countenance, that attract the attention and fascinate the senses?-It is but flesh. "Death, (says one) will alike condemn their eyes to impenetrable night; their tongue to eternal silence; their whole system to the grave. I see a superb monument: I approach this striking object. I see magnificent inscriptions: I read the pompous titles of general, prince, monarch; but I long to see the inside of this elegant piece of workmanship; and I peep under the stone that covers him, to whom all this pomp is consecrated. There I find what? A putrid car case, devoured by worms! O vanity of human grandeur! Vanity of vanities: all is vanity!"* Now, is this the case? Then why should we think so much of our bodies? why should all our happiness be placed in the gratification of our senses? Why should we spend so much time and money in adorning that which must soon decay?—Especially aged people; how painful is it to see them so fond of useless decorations? The day is nearly closed; the evening is advancing; and yet they want to go down to the grave covered with finery. Their strength, perhaps, is gone; their frame has the marks of death upon it. It is but a skeleton; and yet they want to cover it with ornaments. What an affecting sight, to sse old age and new fashions meeting together! How much happier they whose adorning is not "the outward adorning of plaiting the hair, of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but is that of the hidden man of the heart, which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."+ Seek then this grace. Let not the body be adorned at the expense of the soul. Remember, "to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Put ye on, therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."* II. Observe the Comparison." All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." Human nature in its lowest state is but grass, and in its highest, but a flower. "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." He is then of earthly extraction.Though God was his Maker, yet he was not constituted pure intelligence. "The first man, says the Apostle, was of the earth, earthy."+ Like grass, how easily endangered-how soon cut down. How exposed to the winds and storms of adversity. Nor can he screen himself from these. They pass over the field of life, and often prove destructive in their career. The Rom. viii. 6. & xiii. 14. + Gen. ii. 7. "We diseases to which we are liable are numerous, and the casualities we are subject to, are not a few. Ten thousand things lie in ambush to push us to the grave. And even events trifling in themselves have proved destructive. read of some, that a fly or a grape stone have dispatched them; some that have died by plucking an hair from their breasts; the Almighty thus turning a very hair into a spear to destroy them. If we consider the vicissitude of natural things, we shall find that death reigns in them all. The day dies into night, summer into winter; time itself, that destroys all things, yet dies continually; nor can it exist two minutes together. Our very life is nothing but a succession of dying; every day, and every hour wears away part of it, and so far as it is already spent, so far are we already dead and buried: so that the longest liver has no more, but that he is longer a dying than others.”* But another figure is here used by the Prophet: "all the goodliness thereof, is as the flower of the field." Not as the flower of the garden, where * Hopkins. it is cultivated and protected, but of the field, where every hand is ready to gather it, or any foot may tread it down. The flower is noted for three qualities: sweetness, that affects the smell; beauty, that affects the eye; softness, that affects the touch. The metaphor, therefore, is here employed to represent man at his best estate. But as the most beautiful flower soon loses these qualities, so it is said, "the days of man are as grass; as a flower of the field so he flourisheth; the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof knoweth it no more. In the morning, it flourisheth and groweth up; in the evening, it is cut down and withereth."* Have you not, reader, known this in your own circle? You have been favoured with earthly comforts; you have often looked upon them with peculiar pleasure; you have taken more than usual care with those flowers which have appeared tender and beautiful in your own eyes; you have transplanted them, as you thought, to a more genial soil; you have said, well, these are delightful objects * Psa. ciii. 14, 16, & xc. 6: |