Lord, teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. Psalms 90:12.
He that does not lay much and seriously to heart, the shortness of his life, and the uncertainty, as well as the infinitely important consequences of his death, is not a wise, but a foolish and very inconsiderate man, though he was never so great a philosopher and statesman. But the right and true consideration of death, must be earnestly prayed for, and this we must do directly, without the least delay; for the art of dying well, is not so soon and so easily learned.
Thee we adore, eternal name,
And humbly own to thee.
How feeble is our mortal frame,
What dying worms are we!
Dangers stand thick through all the ground
To push us to the tomb;
And fierce diseases wait around,
To hurry mortals home.
Good God! on what a slender thread
Hang everlasting things!
The eternal states of all the dead
Upon life’s feeble strings.
Infinite joy or endless woe
Attends on every breath;
And yet how unconcerned we go
Upon the brink of death.
Waken, O Lord, our drowsy sense,
To walk this dangerous road;
And if our souls are hurried hence,
May they be found with God.