Surely every man walketh in a vain show; surely they
are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall
gather them" (Psal. xxxix. 5, 6).
Happy would it be for the rich, if they more frequently meditated on the
uncertainty of all their possessions, and the frail nature of every
earthly tenure. "Their inward thought is, that their houses shall
continue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all generations: they
call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless, man being in
honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. This their way is
their folly; yet their posterity approve their sayings. Like sheep they
are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and their beauty shall
consume in the grave from their dwelling" (Psal. xlix. 11-14).
As I advanced to the mansion, a pleasing kind of gloom overspread the
front: it was occasioned by the shade of trees, and gave a characteristic
effect to the ancient fabric. I instantly recollected that death had
very recently visited the house, and that one of its present inhabitants
was an affectionate mourner for a departed sister.
There is a solemnity in the thought of a recent death which will
associate itself with the very walls, from whence we are conscious that a
soul has just taken its flight to eternity.
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