And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Ver. 17. And the world passeth away] As the stream of a swift river passeth by the side of a city. Animantis cuiusque vita in fuga est, Life itself wears out in the wearing, as a garment; all things below are mutable and momentary. Wilt thou set thy heart upon what is not? saith Solomon.
And the lust thereof] So that although thou wert sure to hold all these things of the world, yet they may be suddenly lost to thee, because thou canst not make thine heart delight in the same things still. Not the world only, but the lust thereof, passeth away; there is a curse of unsatisfiableness lies upon the creature, απαντων η πλησμονη, saith the orator; There is a satiety of all things. The world's comforts are sweeter in the ambition than in the fruition; for after a little while we loathe what we lusted after, as Amnon did Tamar. Men first itch, and then scratch, and then smart. Dolor est etiam ipsa voluptas. Even sorrow itself is enjoyable. Crueiger used often to say,
" Omnia praetereunt, praeter amare Deum. "
They pass by all things except to love God.