And while we " use" our good things with thankfulness to the Donor, we should be careful never to " abuse" them to the purposes of pride, intemperance, and carnal ease.]
This direction derives great force and importance from,
II. The reason with which it is enforced — Every thing here below is transient and of short duration —
[" Time is short :" if our days be extended to seventy or eighty years, the whole period of our existence will appear but, as it were, " a span long," when we come to the close of it : or, if we compare it with eternity, it is no more than the twinkling of an eye. Moreover, while our lives, like a sail that is in the act of being furled, are every moment contracting, every thing around us also is drawing to a close''. As actors on the stage perform the part assigned them, and each succeeding scene brings their fictitious joys or sorrows to a speedy termination, so we make our appearance on the stage of life ; and, having sustained the character allotted us by the Disposer of all events, we soon bid adieu to all these transient scenes, and enter on a state of everlasting bliss or woe'^. Or as men please them- selves with some empty show, that passes in procession before their eyes, but it is scarcely come fully into view before it begins to recede, and in a little time totally disappears ; so we scarcely behold the glare and glitter of this vain world, before the enchanting prospect vanishes, and the phantom passes on- ward, to astonish and delude succeeding generations.]
Can there be any stronger argument for sitting loose to the things of time and sense ? —
[Were either our j'oys or our sorrows permanent, there would be some reason for having our minds deeply affected with them : but when we know that a few months or years must put an end to every present sensation, does it become us to be much elated with what is pleasing, or much depressed with what is painful ? . Should not the infinitely greater importance of eternal things so engross our minds, as to render every temporal concern comparatively trivial ? Should not the pro- spect of appearing before the judgment-seat of Christ cause us to estimate our happiness by a far different standard, and to consider ourselves in a blessed or miserable state, not so much by what we enjoy or suffer in this present world, as by our
^ ^vviCfTuXfjiivoQ translatione e Veils sumpta — Beza. <= '^Xrinci is thought by some to convey this idea : others think it refers rather to a passing spectacle.