Wesley Corpus

5. Is not thy life as unstable as a cloud; fluctuating as a bubble on the water It fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay. "Many years!" Who is sure of one day And is it not an instance both of the wisdom and goodness of God, that he holds thy breath in his own hand, and deals it out from moment to moment; that thou mayest always remember, to "live each day as if it were the last" And after the few days thou shalt have spent under the sun, how soon will it be said, A heap of dust is all remains of thee; 'Tis all thou art, and all the proud shall be! 6. Consider, again, the exquisite folly of that saying, "Soul, thou hast much goods." Are, then, the products of the earth food for a heaven-born spirit Is there any composition of earth and water, yea, though air and fire be added thereto, which can feed those beings of a higher order What similitude is there between those ethereal spirits, and these base-born clods of earth Examine the rest of this wise soliloquy, and see how it will apply to yourself. "Soul, take thy ease!" O vain hope! Can ease to a spirit spring out of the ground Suppose the soil were ever so improved, can it yield such a harvest "Eat, drink, and be merry!" What! can thy soul eat and drink Yea, Manna such as angels eat, Pure delights for spirits fit. But these do not grow on earthly ground; they are only found in the Paradise of God. 7. But suppose the voice which commands life and death pronounce, "This night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose are all those things thou hast provided" Alas, they are not thine! Thou hast no longer any part or lot in any of the things that are under the sun. Thou hast then no more share in any of these things of earth, than if the earth and the works of it were burnt up. Naked thou camest out of thy mother's womb, and naked shalt thou return. Thou hast heaped up many things; but for what end To leave them all behind thee! Poor shade! Thou art now stripped of all: Not even hope is left.