The value of life.
I. MORE VALUABLE THAN MATERIAL POSSESSIONS.
1. In origin; being the breath of God's Spirit, while they are only the work of God's hand.
2. In nature; being conscious of its own existence, while they are only dead, insensate things.
3. In capacities; being possessed of intellect, reason, conscience, will, while they have only properties and qualities peculiar to matter.
4. In design; being intended for the conscious enjoyment of God, while they can never consciously enjoy, but only obediently and passively glorify, their Maker.
II. LESS VALUABLE THAN SPIRITUAL POSSESSIONS.
1. In character; being a natural endowment, while these are essentially gifts of grace.
2. In usefulness; without these being a failure so far as realizing its appropriate end is concerned, whereas these enhance the dignity and capabilities of life.
3. In happiness; life with grace being immensely more enjoyable than mere existence without Job 2:4. In duration; life being doomed to decay and dissolution, while the riches of the soul endure for ever.
LESSONS.
1. Prize life as a gift of God.
2. Adorn life with the grace of God.
3. Use life for the glory of God.
4. Return life (when it is called for) into the hands of God.