3. The attribute or adjunct, ' If this house of our tabernacle.' It is otKi'a iirlyeia, an earthly tabernacle-house ; and that in three regards, — in regard of its composition, sustentation, and dissolution.
[1.] In regard of its original and composition. We were made out
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of the dust of the ground. That curious frame that we see, it is but dust moulded up into a comely shape ; the matter out of which we were made was earth ; all elements meet in mixed bodies ; yet in gross and heavy bodies, such as ours ai'e, earth is predominant. This speaketh the wisdom and power of God, to make such a curious frame out of dust. We read in the plagues of Egypt the magicians could not bring forth lice out of the dust of the ground, Exod. viii. 17-19. And yet God raised out of the dust of the ground such a noble creature as man is. And it serveth to humble us in the sense of our vileness, who are but dust and ashes, as to our original, Gen. xviii. 27 ; Isa. xl. 15. What should we glory in ? The nobility of our birth ? We were made out of the dust of the ground, as the worms are ; yea, the worms are of the elder house, for every creeping thing was made before man. In our beauty or strength ? Prov. xxxi. 30, ' Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain.' That part which we glory in is but dust well coloured. Or in pomp of living ? High and low shall lie down in the dust alike, and the worms shall cover them. Job xxi. 26. But chiefly it should remember us of our frailty. It is not brass or iron, or stone or stiff clay that we were made of, but dust, which hath no coherence and consistence, but is easily dissipated and scattered with every puff of wind. So is our dusty tabernacle with every blast of God's displeasure.
[2.] In regard of sustentation and support. He bringeth food for them out of the earth, Ps. civ. 14. Things bred there and nourished there feed us. As the body is framed out of the earth, so the means whereby it is supported is the earth. Meat and drink, and such like accommodations, continue and repair this house from day to day.
[3.] In its dissolution it is resolved to earth again : Gen. iii. 19, ' Dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return ; ' and Eccles. xii. 7, ' Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was ; ' that is, be resolved into the matter out of which it was made, dust in its composition, and •dust in its dissolution. So it is said of a prince, Ps. cxlvi. 4, ' His breath perisheth, and he returneth to his earth.' The greatest poten- tate in the world can challenge kin and alliance of nothing so much as of the earth. Oh ! then, let us long after that estate wherein these corruptible, earthly bodies shall be made heavenly and spiritual. The soul is now ill lodged ; it dwelleth in an earthly house. Surely such a spiritual being was made for a nobler place ; and, therefore, let us still be looking out for a more glorious mansion.
4. The event supposed ; or, what will become of this earthly tabernacle-house. That is implied in the word KaToKvdfj, it will be dissolved, plucked asunder. And then ' the dust will be turned to the earth as it was, and the spirit to God that gave it :' PhiL i. 23, ' I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ,' saith Paul. There is uvaXvaai, to be resolved into his principles. Death is not a destruc- tion of the party that dieth, but a separating of the soul from the body, a flitting from one place to another, a releasing of the soul from the captivity of the body wherein it was enclosed, or a setting it at liberty : it will come to this at length ; the band of conjunction between these two parts is very weak. It is but our breath : Isa. ii. 22, ' Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils ; for wherein is he
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to be accounted of ? ' His breath is but like a puff of wind passing to and fro, and turned in and out by the nostrils. Well then, let this move us in the whole course of our lives to pass the time of our dwell- ing here in fear.
[1.] Let us always be ready to remove hence whensoever God shall call us. Stand with your loins girt, and your lamps burning, Luke xii. 35. But alas ! how little is this regarded in the world. Men live as if they should never die, and then die as if they should never live ; they live carelessly, and die uncomfortably. Surely thoughts of death should be more familiar with us, who have so many reasons to consider our own frailty, and so many instances to put us in remem- brance ; but we have eyes to see, but not a heart to see, Deut. xxix. 2, 4. Most men are loth to quit their earthly house ; the most com- mon lessons need special grace to enforce them : Ps. xc. 12, ' So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.' Why should you be mindless, when so many are surprised and snatched to hell, who as little thought of dying as you do? God is ready to judge, are you ready to be judged ? 1 Pet. iv. 5, ' They shall give an account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.' God's delay is not because he is not ready for the work, but you are not ready. Have you made up all your accounts between God and your soul, sued out your pardon ?