and the rich Christians must be glad when God brings them down. For the rich will pass away like the flower of a wild plant.

My days pass by without hope, pass faster than a weaver's shuttle.

Remember, O God, my life is only a breath; my happiness has already ended.

My days race by, not one of them good.

My life passes like the swiftest boat, as fast as an eagle swooping down on a rabbit.

We are all born weak and helpless. All lead the same short, troubled life.

We grow and wither as quickly as flowers; we disappear like shadows.

How short you have made my life! In your sight my lifetime seems nothing. Indeed every living being is no more than a puff of wind,

Remember how short my life is; remember that you created all of us mortal!

You carry us away like a flood; we last no longer than a dream. We are like weeds that sprout in the morning,

We are destroyed by your anger; we are terrified by your fury.

My life is disappearing like smoke; my body is burning like fire.

My life was cut off and ended, Like a tent that is taken down, Like cloth that is cut from a loom. I thought that God was ending my life.

As the scripture says, "All human beings are like grass, and all their glory is like wild flowers. The grass withers, and the flowers fall,

The end of all things is near. You must be self-controlled and alert, to be able to pray.

The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but those who do the will of God live forever.