Life's Eventide

Loving Words to Aged Pilgrims

William Frith, 1883

 

"The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness." Proverbs 16:31
 

Prefatory Note by Thomas Curme:
To my fellow-pilgrims who have reached "Life's Eventide."
The writer of this little book became known to me some time ago and I thank God for knowing one whose life's aim is to guide and comfort God's children in God's own way. This is done in these pages. They show us how we may surely be happy when hoary hairs are upon us. True, we must then be expecting to meet "the last enemy," but why should we fear? Death is life to those who are in Christ!

Would you make sure of this? Learn here that what you have to do is to make sure of Christ, and believe the things that are "freely given to us by God" in Him. If Christ be yours, all things are yours, and among the all things, Death. If Christ is yours, you may boldly stand on Jordan's brink, and sing,

"If sin be pardoned, I'm secure,
 Death has no sting beside."

That these pages may be instrumental in strengthening your faith in this truth, is the prayer of an aged disciple, who hopes his name is written in Heaven.
 

PREFACE
As the years of life advance, the mind of the Christian looks more steadily forward to "the things that are not seen." And before the shadows of life's eventide begin to fall, they are often anticipated, if the heart is set "upon those things which are above."

I have just attained my fiftieth year. And how brief the period in the retrospect! The years have glided in fleet and rapid succession; the meridian of life is more than reached, and I sees in the outlook of the future, old age before me, Life's Eventide! Beautiful thought! for to the believer it is the antecedent of a "morning without clouds." A bright day, whose sun shall rise to set no more!

My desire in writing this little volume is to lay before the aged pilgrims of the Lord, with whom shortly, I myself will be classed—some sweet and precious thoughts, which have for some months past engaged my attention, through my pastoral visits to many of the Lord's aged ones. May the blessed Spirit be pleased to use and bless the words to the hearts of the Lord's aged children, and to the glory of Jesus' name.
William Frith, May 22, 1883

 

INTRODUCTION

We do not know how old Job was when he said, "Only a few years will pass before I go the way of no return!" (Job 16:22); but this we can say, the words are ever seasonable and appropriate for those who are approaching the eventide of life. For, "Is there not an appointed time for man upon earth?" And as he approaches the decline of life, or is actually in the Autumn of his earthly existence, how well does it befit him to utter the solemn and suitable prayer of David, "Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath. Selah." Psalm 39:4-5

The patriarch Job said, "Those who are older should speak, for wisdom comes with age." (Job 32:7). The world and the Church, God and man, agree in this: it is both reasonable and right to look for sober reflection, and wise judgment, and Christian maturity in the eventide of life. Half a century and more of active, busy life involves a considerable measure of valuable experience, if we have been wise and judicious to "redeem the time," and learn both from "men and things" lessons for eternity.

What is God's purpose concerning us, if we are His people? Is it not fitness for earthly service, as well as fitness for Heaven? The Church ever needs (and never more than today) the rich and mellow experience of God's aged ones. It is the safe counsel and judicious advice which years of experience alone can give, which is so much needed in the Church of Christ in these fast and feverish times. It will be a sad and sorrowful day for the Church when she fails to appreciate the value and necessity of her aged members, for "the hoary head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness." May our ever-gracious Lord give all His "fathers and mothers in Israel" wisdom and grace to serve their own generation by the will of God, before they fall asleep" (Acts 13:36).

 

Chapter 1. The Believer's Standing in Christ

At no time in the whole period of human life is it more needful to be well assured of our standing before God, than in life's eventide. At all times the question is vital and important, On what is my faith resting? On what am I building my hope for eternity? But when the locks are silvered with age, and the years have passed, and are approaching "the threescore and ten," the question is one of the deepest consequence.

Even if we do "know in whom we have believed," and are "persuaded that He is able to keep us against that day," yet the exercise of personal scrutiny and rigid self-examination can not only do no harm, but are sure to effect much good; because such questions and reflections lead the soul to rest the eye and foot of faith even more firmly on the "Rock of ages," where alone divine repose can be realized, and the heart's true rest be found.

Yes, dear aged ones, here, on the gloriously finished work of our once suffering, but now enthroned Lord—our faith, however weak and trembling in its conscious feebleness, can abide, because Jesus, having "finished the work which His Father gave Him to do," "has made an end of sin, and has brought in everlasting righteousness," "which is to all and upon all those who believe!" "The work of this righteousness is peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever." (Isaiah 32:17).

So that while the poor hopeless worldling is "like the troubled sea which cannot rest," he, the believer, can look up calmly through all the storm-clouds of life, and exclaim, "O God, my heart is fixed, my heart is fixed, trusting in You!" He can utter, in the ecstasy of a heaven-born hope,

"On Christ, the solid Rock I stand,
 All other ground is sinking sand.'"

At no period in our earthly life is it so necessary for the heart of the believer to be fully persuaded of the true resting-place, where it can repose with "the full assurance of hope," "the full assurance of faith," and "the full assurance of understanding." Because in life's eventide "the heat and burden of the day" is over, and life's weary toils are almost done, and the way-worn spirit longs for that "quietness and assurance" which make the last days of the human pilgrimage a season of sweet and profitable repose.

Of course, where the heart has been long resting on the sure foundation, and has had the blessed experience of many years of fellowship and communion with God, it may appear to be the less necessary to speak of the believer's standing, because he has been realizing it as a blessed experience, as well as perceiving and holding it as one of the "first principles of the doctrine of Christ." But it must not be forgotten that, though this is so, yet there is, after all, nothing which gives so much divine strength and courage to those who have nearly finished their course as a review and re-consideration of the blessed ground of peace and pardon, of hope and Heaven.

The foundation principle of all real assurance is our federal union to Christ, as members of His mystical body. For our standing in eternity depends on this. And the best and most unequivocal evidence of our federal union to Jesus is the fact of our vital union to Him in regeneration; as, "Children born from above," or as branches in "the living and true Vine." If this be a fact, in actual experience—in which case the Holy Spirit will bear His testimony, "Bearing witness with our spirits that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17)—then there can be no doubt about the federal union and our standing in Him, who is the Head of the body, the Church," for then we are truly "in Him that is true, even in Jesus Christ our Lord." The HEAD "is the same yesterday, today, and forever," and "the Prince of the kings of the earth," in whom there is no "variableness, neither shadow of turning;" and, therefore, "resting in His love," and "rejoicing over His people with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17). "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17), and so having an inseparable union with Him in grace, which neither time nor eternity, earth nor Hell, can sever, we are all justified in uttering that blessed, and most consolatory, and assuring declaration, which Paul uses in Romans 8:38, "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!"

And note that this all hinges upon our union to, and standing in Christ; because Paul had previously said in verse 29,

"For whom he foreknew, He also predestined;
 whom He predestined, them He also called;
 whom He called, them He also justified; and
 whom He justified, them He also glorified."

Here is a chain of golden links, all of which are welded by the hand of infinite wisdom and power, and fastened to the throne of the eternal Jehovah. Paul's purpose, or rather, to speak with more correctness, the purpose of the Holy Spirit, is to show the infallible standing of the whole family of faith throughout all probationary time, "until He comes to be glorified in His saints, to be admired in all those who believe, in that day" (2 Thessalonians 1:10).

And from this we learn that, whatever chequered vicissitudes, and bewildering circumstances the Church of Christ, or any of its individual members, may have to pass through in the way to "the rest which remains for the people of God," no possible event or contingency can affect the standing of the people of God. And the reason is, because the covenant of grace, which He has made with us, and for us, in Christ, "is ordered in all things, and sure (2 Samuel 23:5); wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that, by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge in the hope set before us; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast!" (Hebrews 6:17-19).

What a grand and marvelous evidence and proof of the security and infallibility of the believer's standing in Christ! Almost all the strongest terms of human language are exhausted to express this cardinal doctrine of the Christian's faith and hope! A covenant! An oath! An anchor!—all sure and steadfast!

In connection with this sublime and all-assuring line of thought, let the aged pilgrim call to remembrance those strong and expressive words which the Holy Spirit uses by the Psalmist in Psalm 89:33-37, where, after speaking of the necessary administration of discipline upon personal unfaithfulness, He says, "I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness— and I will not lie to David—that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky. Selah."

"There is a home eternal! beautiful and bright,
Where sweet joys supernal are never dimmed by night."

And how blessed does this testimony in the Psalms correspond to the testimony in the Epistle to the Hebrews! And let us not forget that both testimonies are from the Holy Spirit; and that the lapse of about, perhaps, eleven hundred years can in no way invalidate the worth or value of either. Both are " the voice of God," who "is the same yesterday, today, and forever," and "Who sees the end from the beginning, and works all things after the counsel of His own will!"

Now here is the standing of each and every member of the body of Christ. And what is true of "the whole body," is also true of each and all who are "members in particular" (1 Corinthians 12:27); because each and all have a personal union to Jesus, and a personal relation to Him as the responsible head of the new and everlasting covenant, and the great Shepherd and Overseer of our souls; and "when this Chief Shepherd shall appear," in His glorious Epiphany, each "shall receive a crown of glory that never fades away" (1 Peter 5:4).

The author saw a beautiful illustration of this in a recent visit to the Isle of Skye. Up on a lofty hill, in the Southern part of the island, a shepherd was feeding his sheep. The sun shone brightly on the mountain side, while the sheep were all feeding in the fine green pastures which grew there. Among the sheep was the guardian shepherd, watching his flock, with a little lamb folded in his bosom; while every now and then the sheep would look around and respond to the voice of the shepherd; while a poor old sheep, which had fallen over a mountain crag, was resting at his feet, and ever and always looking up in his face!

What a picture! And how full of teaching to the poor aged pilgrim who has got into life's eventide! The mountain was a rock, which spoke of the "Rock of Ages." The green pastures were on the Rock; the shepherd and the sheep were both there, in the sunshine! And the poor old sheep rested on the rock at the feet of the good shepherd. Here is Jesus in figure!

Aged pilgrim! such is your position! "for he who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1).

Aged pilgrim! Are you in life's eventide? Are the dark shadows of the coming night falling thick and fast about you? Are you saying, in a cheerful and grateful soliloquy, "I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High!" Be it so; for the retrospect must be "to the praise of the glory of His grace;" and every review of the past of our life must confirm our trust in "His very faithfulness."

In some way or other the Lord will provide;
It may not be my way, it may not be your way,
And yet in His own way, "the Lord will provide.'

Nor should he forget as years advance, and "the grasshopper becomes a burden, and desire fails," and the "whole outward man perishes," that the divine Father guarantees that the "inward man shall be renewed day by day!" And as He, "the Good Shepherd, has put our feet upon the rock, and established our goings," so we can never lose sight of our standing if we "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the "exceeding great and precious promises, which are all yes and Amen in Christ Jesus," and "never were forfeited yet."

"When all Your mercies, O, my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I'm lost,
In wonder, love, and praise."

Blessed position! Aged pilgrim! "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might!" (Ephesians 6:10). Remember the strength is in the shepherd; not in the sheep! Hear the shepherd's voice: "Because I live, you shall live also!" You may fear and tremble on the Rock of Ages, but you cannot die there. For hear again the words of the Holy Spirit by Paul, "He has raised us up together, and has made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6).

"In Christ Jesus!" If this is our position, dear aged brethren, why should we not realize it as a fact, and make the remainder of our life full of rest and peace, "through the power of the Holy Spirit?" Blessed Jesus! give your aged ones "grace, mercy, and peace" in the fullest rneasure, that "the hoary head may be a crown of glory," and life's eventide have a bright golden sunset!

"Eternal God, enthroned on high,
Whom angel-hosts adore,
Who yet to suppliant dust are nigh,
Your presence I implore."

"O guide me down the steep of age,
And keep my passions cool;
Teach me to scan the sacred page,
And practice every rule."

"My flying years time urges on;
What's human must decay;
My friends, my young companions gone,
Can I expect to stay?"

"Can I exemption plead when death
Projects his awful dart?
Can medicines then prolong my breath,
Or virtue shield my heart?"

"Ah! no; then smooth the mortal hour,
On You my hope depends;
Support me with Almighty power,
While dust to dust descends."

"Then shall my soul, O gracious God,
While angels join the lay,
Admitted to the blessed abode,
Its endless anthems pay!"

"Through Heaven, However remote the bound,
Your matchless love proclaim,
And join the choir of saints that sound
Their great Redeemer's name!"

 

Chapter 2. The Aged Christian's Decline

Job 7:16, "I would not live always!" was the exclamation of the patriarch of Uz when he was in trial; yet this was a resolution resulting from a reflection upon the painful vicissitudes of life; some of the roughest he had himself been called personally to pass through.

Yet this is not by any means the natural desire of the human heart, even when old age has made its furrows deep in our cheeks, and we stoop under the weight of accumulated years. There is, somehow, a strange and clinging tenacity in poor human nature to continue living, even where grace has done its blessed work, and "is conformed to the image of God's dear Son."

It is not every Christian who has come into life's eventide who is ready to exclaim with the aged Simeon, "Lord, now let You Your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation!" (Luke 2:30) Or with Paul when writing to the Philippians, "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!" (Philippians 1:23).

But since man fell, and his transgression has brought death into this world, and all our woe—there is an appointed time for man upon earth. (Job 7:1). Job recognized this as a fact when he wrote, "All the days of my appointed time I will wait, until my change comes" (Job 14:14) "for the number of my months are with Him."

"Almighty Maker of my frame,
Teach me the measure of my days;
Teach me to know how frail I am,
And spend the remnant to Your praise."

"My days are shorter than a span;
A little point my life appears;
How frail at best is dying man!
How vain are all his hopes and fears!"

"Vain his ambition, noise, and show!
Vain are the cares which rack his mind!
He heaps up treasures mixed with woe,
And dies, and leaves them all behind."

"O be a nobler portion mine!
My God, I bow before Your throne;
Earth's fleeting treasures I resign,
And fix my hope on You alone!"

Now all these solemn testimonies are confirmed by our daily observation, and the whole history of the ages.

God of eternity, from Thee
Did infant Time his being draw,
Moments, and days, and months, and years,
Revolve by Your unvaried law.

Silent and slow they glide away;
Steady and strong the current flows;
Lost in eternity's wide sea,
The boundless gulf from whence it rose.

With it the thoughtless sons of men
Before the rapid streams are borne
On to that everlasting home,
Whence not one soul can e'er return.

Yet while the shore on either side
Presents a gaudy flattering show,
We gaze, in fond amazement lost,
Nor think to what a world we go!

Great source of wisdom, teach my heart
To know the price of every hour;
That time may bear me on to joys,
Beyond its measure and its power!

No sooner do we begin to live, than we begin to die. Fading leaves are often found on the youngest plant; but the same plant which, in the lovely sunny spring-tide had hardly a fading leaf, will present a saddening picture when the autumnal season comes, and the vigor of the tree is fast passing away.

Just so, how short is human life! Its years are few and fleeting. The wisest and best have made these observations. Those who have long slept in their fathers' sepulchers, whose voices come echoing along the hoary centuries, have recorded their estimate of life's remarkable brevity! Let their voices be heard:

"Few and evil have the days of my life been!" were the words of old Jacob in the presence of Pharaoh.

Those of Job are much like them, "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle!" (Job 7:6)

"My days on earth are as a shadow!" (Job 8:9)

"My days are swifter than a runner!" (Job 9:25)

"Man is of few days and full of trouble!" (Job 14:1).

The testimony of David corresponds: "You have made my days as a hand-breadth!" (Psalm 39:4)

"My days are consumed like smoke!" (Psalm 102:3)

"My days are like a shadow!" (Psalm 102:11);

"My days are shortened!" (Psalm 102:23).

And the testimony of Jeremiah is to the same purpose, "Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?" (Jeremiah 20:18)

Such have been the reflections of all the wise and reflecting who have lived in bygone time.

A pious physician was so impressed with the fact, and the importance of having it ever in vivid remembrance, that he had inscribed over his gate the words, "While we speak, time flies!"

But at no period of our life does this fact impress us so much as in old age—in life's eventide. When the days are fast passing away, and the sands in the hour-glass of life are few, the mind is led to think over the shortening, the brevity, the "narrow span." Then, when former years, with their bright and joyous hopes, and their enchanting visions of prospective pleasure have already passed and gone, and the body is no longer blithe and mirthful, elastic and buoyant, but rather stiff and rigid in its movements, and slow and tardy in its operations—oh! how needful to have a bright and joyous hope to inspire our souls, and a clear vision of that which inspired the heart of "Paul the aged" when he said, "For we know that if the earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!" (2 Corinthians 5:1, 2).

Here is the difference between life's eventide to the cheerful and faithful believer who has hope as an anchor of his soul both sure and steadfast;" and the poor, thoughtless, faithless worldling who has nothing before him, after life's eventide shall close, but an eternal night! "The blackness of darkness forever!" (Jude 13).

But we are addressing those only who are aged Christian pilgrims, and therefore we need not speak thus, because we "hope better things of you," dear brethren, and "things which accompany salvation" (Hebrews 6:9), though we thus speak.

To you the aches and pains, the weariness and watching of advancing years, have their solace and relief in the cheering thought that, all these are so many antecedents and indications that you must shortly put off "the earthly house of this tabernacle," in order that you may be "clothed upon with that house which is from Heaven." Instead, therefore, of discouraging you, and being a source of discomfort and unrest, it is rather a source of animating stimulus to be "setting your affections on things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God!"

Sadness and sorrow, mourning and melancholy, ought not to be companions of the eventide of the Christian life. Because his old age is just like the beautiful eventide of a Summer's day, whose sun only sets in golden splendor over the Western hills in calm and quiet glory, to rise again, if possible, in still greater brilliancy in a cloudless morning, when the birds peal forth their matin song, and earth's woody uplands echo with the thrilling notes of a new born joy.

No, the Christian's old age should be the most sacred and solemn part of his life; but not the most melancholy; because at that period he is just about "to finish his course," the end and outcome of which is grand, victorious, and certain! Therefore, as he advances towards it, he advances towards that which should inspire his soul with all that is calculated to sustain, and cheer, and bear up the heart amid the increasing infirmities of his declining years.

Old age need not be petulant and fretful, and peevish, and hang its harp on some weeping willow. For if Jesus is the source of his heart's confidence, and the daily companion of his declining life, the Christian will ever find that the eventide of a life spent in such fellowship, will be full of all that can make the heart bright with the sunlight of His presence!

Of course we would not overlook the fact that old age has its peculiar infirmities and failings which do not exist at any other period of life; when the poor feeble body becomes the subject of many aches and pains, which do not assail it at the earlier stages of life. Still, this state of life comes under the same all-reaching and comprehensive promise and provision, "As your days, so your strength shall be! My grace is sufficient for you! My strength shall be made perfect in your weakness!"

Here are promises and provisions which must surely cover the whole range of our pilgrim-life on earth; for there is no conceivable state or condition of earthly existence which is not included in these most heart-cheering promises of our precious Lord Jesus to His afflicted servant Paul, when he felt so keenly "the thorn in the flesh," he besought the Lord thrice—that is, many times—that it might be removed. And if he found it his solace and consolation during the rest of his laborious and itinerant life, when he was in labors more abundant, and had the "care of all the churches" (2 Corinthians 11:28) "coming upon him daily," oh! surely then, those of us, dear aged ones, whose life is far more calm and rustful, and retired, may be satisfied with these most blessed promises and provisions of our ascended Lord, because they cannot fail. They were made to Paul in his great trial and affliction, and when also he was such a one as Paul the aged."

But these precious promises were not revealed for Paul alone; they were special to him at the time, but they are promises and provisions for the whole family of God; because we are all one in Christ Jesus" (1 Corinthians 10:17).

The only conditions which we ever find in relation to the promises and provisions of the covenant is this: "According to your faith, be it unto you." The strength and vigor of this depends upon (in a large measure) the closeness of our walk and communion with Jesus.

'Tis but for You to beam, O glorious Sun,
On my heart's desert! Then each bitter weed
Of sin shall wither up. Then all the fruits
Of righteousness, and peace, and joy shall grow
And spring forth to Your praise.
O Fire of Love! 'tis but for you to fall
On my heart's altar, kindling there the pile
That smoldering burns, and waits but for Your love
To burst into a flame! Ascending up
To You, its glorious source.
O Savior, speak and smile! Oh, beam and burn!
That e'en while here a foretaste may be mine
Of that blessed time when, sin forever gone,
My soul shall bathe in love's unfathomed sea,
And God be All in All!   M. J. Monck.

Thus we see that there is every ground for encouragement in regard to those who are walking in life's eventide. His grace meets the whole of our needs. As the angel of the covenant, He never fails to be with us, whether we are sitting under the oaks in the plains of Mamre, or walking the unknown pathway from Haran to Canaan. Whether we are just entering the pilgrim-life, like young Apollos; or whether we are like the aged Paul, sitting in the cold, dark, Mamertine prison at Rome, expecting every hour to be brought out for execution—the words are still true: "As your days, so shall your strength be!" What a precious promise! How full of pathos and power when we are walking under the weight of threescore years and ten, or fourscore years! It is still the living voice of the living Savior. "The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life!"

Just let us, dear aged ones, take these words as if they fell fresh and warm from His sacred lips, in all the living power of His love and grace; full of the deepest tenderness and the most expressive and exuberant sympathy.

Besides, let us also call to your remembrance those very remarkable words of divine solace which Jehovah-Jesus spoke in old time to His Hebrew people, and the truth and the application of which are as true today to His new covenant people: "I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you!" (Isaiah 46:4)

These words are surely expressive and beautiful! Who will say they are not for "the whole Israel of God"? Whatever was written aforetime was written for our learning, that we, through patience and the comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope" (Romans 15:4). We should never forget that all the apostles quoted Old Testament promises for the needs and necessities of the New Testament Church; therefore we also can and should do so now. For it was to these he referred, and of these Paul spoke when he said, "All the promises are yes and amen in Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Dear aged Christians! look well over all these "exceeding great and precious promises," and consider, amid all your increasing infirmities, "all are yours, because you are Christ's, and Christ is God's" (1 Corinthians 3:22). So doing you will find rest to your souls. While the poor, faithless, restless worldling is fretted, and wearied, and chafed, and annoyed each passing day of his old age, and finds no true and abiding rest in anything here below—you will be able to say, with the Church of former days, and with the saints of former ages, "I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and found His fruit sweet to my taste!" (Song 2:3).

Here Jesus, the true Tree of Life, will cast the broad shadows over all your life and circumstances, and will cause you to realize the blessedness of His real presence; not in a Ritualistic and Popish sense, but in the sweet and blessed sense in which the true and faithful disciple will understand. Thus, while the poor feeble tabernacle is gradually being taken down pin by pin, and "the heart and the flesh fail," the Lord Jesus will cause you to understand and realize that "He Himself is the strength of your heart, and your portion forever" (Psalm 73:26).

Blessed Lord Jesus! let Your light shine in our life's eventide, and fulfill the ancient promise in the daily experience of all Your aged pilgrims: "The path of the just is as the shining light, which shines more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18). Thus, while the poor body is crumbling to its native dust, the spirit shall shine as a light, and sing as a bird, until life's last hour: "For me to live is Christ; for me to die is gain!" (Philippians 1:21).

 

Chapter 3.

The Aged Pilgrim—His Grateful Retrospect

It is worthy of note that in the earlier period of human life the normal condition is prospective and hopeful—peering into the unknown future with joyous and optimistic anticipations; while in the later years of our existence, especially when the shadows of life's evening begin to fall around us—the bent of the mind is increasingly reflective. Memory recalls the past with a more or less vivid picture, and where piety has sanctified the old age, such reflections have many pleasing and profitable associations, because such a one sees God's hand all along the years of bygone time, and exclaims in a grateful soliloquy: "I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High."

Thus the retrospect of life, which the aged pilgrim is prone to make, while it is often mingled, perhaps, with some dark shadows, and it may be some painful and unwelcome reminiscences, yet it has also a bright and cheering side; the retrospect recalls far more of sunshine than of cloud and storm. Because the most chequered life, with the most painful vicissitudes, will ever be found in a faithful review, to have had far more of the bright and cheering, of the helpful and consolatory, than of the sad and sorrowful.

"In the world you shall have tribulation," of course is stamped, more or less, on each step of the pilgrim's pathway; because this is the order of the divine appointment, and this was the explicit and predictive declaration of our blessed Lord to His true disciples; and it will ever be found to be true along the whole line of this probationary period; all the heirs of grace must "through much tribulation enter the kingdom."

But gratitude is, or should be, a conspicuous feature in the character of those who have come into life's eventide. This is an element of Christian character which we look for in all who are "members of His Body;" but if in any period of life it should be conspicuous and vigorous, and fully developed, surely it should be when life's long and weary journey is nearing its close, and the soul redeemed to God by His

blood can take a wide survey of the Lord's goodness and mercy, and exclaim, "I will remember all the way the Lord my God has led me in the wilderness," and with a heart jubilant with grateful ecstasy sing forth His praise:

"When all Your mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys;
Transported with the view, I'm lost
In wonder, love, and praise.

O how shall words, with equal warmth,
The gratitude declare,
That glows within my thankful heart?
But You can read it there.

To all my weak complaints and cries
Your mercy lent an ear,
Before yet my feeble thoughts had learned
To form themselves in prayer.

When in the slippery paths of youth
With heedless steps I ran,
Your arm, unseen, conveyed me safe,
And led me up to man.

Through hidden dangers, toils, and deaths,
It cleared my dubious way;
And through the pleasing snares of vice,
More to be feared than they.

When worn with sickness, oft have You
With health renewed my face;
And when in sins and sorrows sunk,
Revived my soul with grace!

Through every period of my life
Your goodness I'll pursue;
And after death, in distant worlds,
The glorious theme renew.

When nature fails, and day and night
Divide Your works no more,
My ever grateful heart, O Lord!
Your mercy shall adore.

Through all eternity to You
A joyful song I'll raise;
But, O! eternity's too short
To utter all Your praise."   Joseph Addison, 1712

The grateful retrospect of the aged pilgrim can never fail to note the mercy and mystery of his past life; for "all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies" (Psalm 25:10). "His mercies have been new every morning, and His compassions fail not" (Lamentations 3:22). And as he stands on the mount of faith, and looks back over long years of life's history, he sees how "Mercy has compassed him about" (Psalm 32:10).

Your ways, O Lord! with wise design,
Are framed upon Your throne above,
And every dark and bending line
Meets in the center of Your love.

With feeble light and half obscure,
Poor mortals Your arrangements view;
Not knowing that the least are sure,
And the mysterious just and true.

Your flock, Your own peculiar care,
Though now they seem to roam uneyed,
Are led and driven only where
They best and safest may abide.

They neither know nor trace the way;
But, trusting to Your piercing eye,
None of their feet to ruin stray,
Nor shall the weakest fail or die.

My favored soul shall meekly learn
To lay her reason at Your throne;
Too weak Your secrets to discern,
I'll trust You for my guide alone."

But history repeats itself, and "The thing which has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

For as in the pages of national history we see a repetition of what has happened before, so the experiences of those who have finished their course are repeated in our life, though, perhaps, with varied circumstantial diversity, yet with substantial sameness.

Nor is this strange, considering that the same God rules, and that His purposes of grace and providence are the same, "working all things after the counsel of His own will" "making darkness light before us, and crooked things straight, and rough places plain"! Indeed, it would be strange were it otherwise. Because we are "all one in Christ Jesus," and the acts both of providence and grace would be alike, inasmuch as we all stand in the same blessed relation as children of the blood-bought family "members of the same Body," fellow-heirs in the grace of life," "fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the household of God."

Each can well appropriate the following poetic prayer:

"O Lord, my God, whose sovereign love
Is still the same, nor e'er can move,
Look to the covenant and see,
Has not Your love been shown to me?
Remember me, my dearest Friend.
And love me always to the end.

Be with me still, as heretofore,
And help me forward more and more;
My strong, my stubborn will, incline
To be obedient still to Thine:
O lead me by Your gracious hand,
And guide me safe to Canaan's land."

The lapse of ages, the change of dispensations, make no difference here, because "all who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham". (Galatians 3:9), and all who "are the children of promise" are partakers of the same grace with "the father of the faithful;" "for the promise is to you and your children, and to all that are afar off, even to as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:39). So that whether we have lived back in the Hebrew Church, with David, and those who "through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Hebrews 6:12), or whether we have been called to live in the post-Christian time, and under New Testament blessings, we are part of "the same Body," and related to the same "Head," of whom the "whole family in Heaven and in earth is named" (Ephesians 3:15); and therefore it would be a wonder indeed, if "the ways of the Lord" in relation to us were much different from those He made use of in the regulation and rule of His people in bygone ages.

And much of the mystery, dear aged saints, which we discover in our grateful retrospect arises from our ignorance of what is considered needful in the estimate of divine wisdom in regard to healthful discipline! How many mistakes we make in our calculations of what our Heavenly Father should, or ought to do, in the matter of discipline! How often in this case we nourish "hard thoughts of God," and entertain views of our Father's character quite at variance with what are just and right, and "thus charge God foolishly!" This, we fear, is a common and prevalent mistake, even among those who are "old disciples," like Mnason (Acts 21:16).

Thus the fact and the necessity for divine discipline (which is but paternal chastisement, "whereof all are partakers") being overlooked, the retrospect often begets astonishment and surprise; if not a restive, fretful, and rebellious spirit, which"grieves the Holy Spirit of God, whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption;" and thus makes us walk in "the valley of Baca," and drink of "the waters of Marah," or "dwell in a dry land."

Oh! for grace, hour by hour, to see Jesus in all the discipline of life, just using His Shepherd's crook, only when and where there is a "needs-be" for it! For we may be quite sure that His tender and benevolent heart will never administer a discipline too severe, or a trial too many. The past of our life, dear aged ones, may indeed be studded with hard and heavy crosses, as the road is studded with milestones, at frequent intervals; yet there will be found not one too many—all had a purpose, and a wise purpose too, in the benevolent economy of His special providence. For no arrow flies from the bow of God which has not a purpose; and one, too, of benevolence and love. The arrow is never intended to kill, though it may wound and arrest—that is its purpose. And surely it is better to be wounded by the arrow from the bow of God, than to be allowed to pass on in guilty wanderings, where we might make "shipwreck of faith, and of a good conscience," and "crucify the Lord afresh, and put Him to open shame" (Hebrews 6:6), though we should be saved, "Yet so as by fire" (1 Corinthians 5:5).

If, therefore, we form a true estimate of the right ways of the Lord," we shall see that Jesus, our precious Shepherd-Savior, "whose ways are not as our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts," yet is so full of goodness, and mercy, and love, and loving-kindness, that Gratitude, as she casts her thankful eyes along all the years that are past, will have nothing but songs and sacrifices of praise to offer on the altar of her heart, singing with the seraphic Doddridge that grand old doxology of the last century:

"My God, the covenant of Your love
Abides forever sure;
And in its matchless grace I feel
My happiness secure.

What though my house be not with You
As nature could desire!
To nobler joys than nature gives
Your servants all aspire.

Since You, the everlasting God,
My Father has become;
Jesus, my Guardian and my Friend,
And Heaven my final home.

I welcome all Your sovereign will,
For all that will is love;
And when I know not what You do,
I'll wait the light above.

Your covenant the last accent claims
Of this poor faltering tongue;
And that shall the first notes employ
Of my celestial song!"

Dear aged saints! whose years of grace and pilgrimage are nearly over; though you should have to say with David, in one of the intervals of your life, "Woe is me that I dwell in Mesech, and sojourn in the tents of Kedar" (Psalm 120:5). Yet be assured, as you look back over the long day of your busy life, and see the hills and dales, the crosses and burdens through which you have passed, catch the spirit of dear old Samuel, and act with his trustful faith, "looking unto Jesus!"

The tribute of gratitude cannot be better expressed than the consecration of life's eventide to "the praise of the glory of His grace" (Ephesians 1:6, 12). Oh! what a precious theme for spiritual conversation and fellowship! Here our souls can revel in spiritual joy! Only think of the countless mercies, and supports, and deliverances which we have had during 40 or 50 long years! Who shall enumerate them? Well may we exclaim with David, in Psalm 139:17: "How precious are Your thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them they are more in number than the sand; when I awake I am still with You!"

This is indeed a grateful retrospect! But it is ours too! Not one of us can fail, or should fail, to utter this to the honor and glory of our precious Lord Jesus! Consider how He has kept and guided, and guarded each of us just moment by moment through all the years, as a shepherd keeps his sheep. We have been bleating, and wandering, peevish and discontented, a thousand times; yet He has borne with it all; for "He counts our wanderings (Psalm 66:8), and restores our souls, and leads in the paths of righteousness for His name sake!" (Psalm 23:3).

We have wandered to "Gerar and Egypt," and have gone into "bye-path meadow," and chose the well-watered plains of Sodom (Genesis 13:10); or we have tarried in Padan-Aram to get gain; yet the Great Shepherd has "led us about by the way of the wilderness," and hard by "Horeb and Rephidim;" yet "He has not cast off His people whom He fore-knew and fore-loved" (Romans 11:2). No, blessed be His name, He has not. "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endures forever" (Psalm 107:1). "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy!" (verse 2).

Such words may well be appropriated by each of us who have been kept these many years in the wilderness. Such reflections and retrospections will brighten and cheer life's eventide with all the light and sweetness of a Summer's evening; and make the last days of our life like a golden sunset, radiant "with a joy unspeakable, and full of glory!" Dear aged ones! bless His name in life's last hours, and sing:

"Lord, when our raptured thought surveys
Creation's beauties o'er,
All nature joins to teach Your praise,
And bid our souls adore.

Wherever we turn our gazing eyes,
Your radiant footsteps shine;
Ten thousand pleasing wonders rise
And speak their source divine.

The living tribes of countless forms,
In earth, and sea, and air,
The meanest flies, the smallest worms,
Almighty power declare.

Your wisdom, power, and goodness, Lord,
In all Your works appear;
And O! let man Your praise record,
Man, your distinguished care!"

 

Chapter 4. The Aged Pilgrim, His Doubts and Fears

Yes, dear aged ones, doubts and fears! for these are as natural in our spiritual experience as the clouds and storms are in the horizon of the natural world. They form part of the economy of divine discipline through which we are called to pass to "the rest which remains for the people of God."

But in saying this we do not say that we should nourish them! No, by no means; we should rather seek grace to check them, so that they mar not our peace and dishonor not our loving Lord; for if nourished, and not checked, they certainly do this.

Now the "fear nots" of Scripture are a blessed legacy to the Church, and are often very helpful to those who are yet in the world, but "pressing toward the mark for the prize of their high calling of God in Christ Jesus"! (Philippians 3:14).

First. Because they show most clearly that all along and through all ages, there has been a tendency in those who have feared God to doubt and fear in the journey of life. From the first "FEAR NOT" which Jehovah spoke to Abram in the plain of Mamre, "FEAR NOT, Abram, I am your shield and your exceeding great reward (Genesis 15:1)—to the last FEAR NOT, which Jehovah-Jesus spoke to His exiled servant John in the wild scenes of the rocky and sea-girt Patmos, when He appeared in His glory and laid His right hand upon him and said, FEAR NOT, I am the first and the last; I am He who lives and was dead; and behold, I am alive forever! Amen! And I have the keys of Hades and of death!" We learn that it has been the experience of the best and most privileged to have been exercised in this way. And it is both a significant and suggestive fact, that there is no injunction in Holy Scripture which has a more frequent recurrence, and a more direct and imperative prohibition than these two little monosyllables. And the most reasonable, and indeed the only, conclusion to which we can come, explanatory of their existence and their number, is to regard this as a fact that, account for it however we may, there is a frequent tendency in the heart, even when renewed and consecrated to God, to doubt the divine testimony, and fear a multitude of things over which the Lord has a supreme control, and to which Peter referred when he said, "Who is he who will harm you, if you are followers of that which is good?" (1 Peter 3:18).

Now, no doubt, the greater number of our fears are altogether groundless, and never ought to cause the slightest degree of solicitude and unrest in our hearts; more than the clouds which cover the heavens, and just hide the bright sun from us for a season, but do not, and cannot, blot out the orb of day or change his relation to, or influence upon, us. And it would be well, if we would just seek help at the throne of grace to dissipate these clouds of doubt, and sing with our Christian poet,

"Unclean! unclean! and full of sin,
From first to last, O Lord, I've been;
Deceitful is my heart:
Guilt presses down my burdened soul;
But Jesus can the waves control,
And bid my fears depart.

When first I heard His word of grace,
Ungratefully I hid my face,
Ungratefully delayed;
At length His voice more powerful came,
'Tis I,' He cried, 'I, still the same;
You need'st not be afraid.'

My heart was changed; in that same hour
My soul confessed His mighty power;
Out flowed the briny tear;
I listened still to hear His voice;
Again He said, 'In Me rejoice;
"Tis I, you need'st not fear.'

Unworthy of Your love!' I cried;
'Freely I love,' He soon replied,
On Me your faith be stayed;
On Me for everything depend;
I'm Jesus, still the sinner's Friend,
You need'st not be afraid."

Now, dear aged ones, these words of our Christian poet are precious and sweet, and they just suggest what is the best course when we are the sensible subjects of these doubts and fears. Let us realize the fact that Jesus, our All Almighty Jesus, "who saves to the uttermost, He can all the waves control! No doubt of it. Let us prove both His love and His character.

But let us look at the cause, or the of some of these doubts and fears, which so distress and agitate the hearts of many of the Lord's Mnasons.

There are many sources.

Sometimes they proceed from looking too much at second causes. Alas! their name is legion, who are fretted and worried with doubts and fears, as they look to, and depend upon, second causes; and so too often rest on "an arm of flesh."

This has been the failing of God's people all through the world's long history. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the line of the patriarchs and fathers of the past ages, "staggered at the promises of God through unbelief" at various times in their lives; because they looked too much to second causes, instead of looking through and above them all to the Almighty Jehovah, who rules and regulates all the causes which operate in the perplexing environment of our life.

Yes, Jesus, who "compasses our path and our lying down," illustrated and confirmed this fact in all His benevolent miracles, showing therein His supreme control over all physical energies; making the deaf to hear, the blind to receive their sight, the hungry to be fed with a few barley loaves and a few fishes, and the winds and the waves of the Galilean storm to yield to His word of command! In all these, and many other instances, Jesus taught His people to look above and beyond all second causes, which seem sometimes to be in the way of our peace, or comfort, or well-being.

Nor is there now a second cause—one single thing, event, or circumstance in our life which the finger of His omnipotent goodness and love cannot touch, and make subservient to the interests of His children! YES, NOW AND HERE. He still "rides upon the wings of the storm," "makes the clouds His chariot," and " walks on the wings of the wind." If He does not still smite the rock at Rephidim, make Marah's bitter waters sweet, cause the widow's barrel and cruse to waste not, or refresh Elijah with angels' food; yet He does still work through second causes in such a way as to show His sovereign power and control over all the energies of nature and all the wills of man.

Now, if our blessed Lord has this same power over all the energies and works of nature, and over all the wills and plans and purposes of men—good or bad—why should we allow, dear aged friends, the spirit of doubt and unbelief, of fear of failure, to rule our hearts, or create that state of distressing unrest and irritation, which is but too common among those who are "aged disciples"? Surely, if He were here, we should often hear His tender and gentle rebuke, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:31). "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written" (Luke 24:25).

"All things," said Jesus,"must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning Me" (Luke 24:44). If, therefore, "all power in Heaven and in earth is given unto Him" for executive purposes, as the Mediator of the New Covenant, surely He has this power now, and can use and exercise it in the welfare and interests of His dear family! Of course He can; "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Let us see to it, then, that our doubts and fears do not arise from looking with anxious solicitude to second causes, all of which are at His disposal, and in answer to our prayers, "He is able to do exceedingly abundant above all we ask or think." And nothing, if it be for our good and for His glory, will be withheld. The prayer of faith will be answered, and doubts and fears will pass away "like a morning cloud," and leave the soul in full communion with our ascended and glorified Jesus.

Relying too much on frames and feelings is another fruitful source of doubt and fear. Nor do the aged pilgrims always rise superior to this habit. Too often those who are well-stricken in years seem to indulge this habit to the unrest and distress of their soul, looking within at the darkness, instead of upward and heavenward to the light. Yet there is hardly any habit more unhealthy to the spiritual life, and more unwarranted by the Word of God. The injunctions and commands of Scripture, whether of Jesus or of His apostles, are all to look away from self always "to the hills, from whence comes your help." "To Me," said Jehovah. "They looked to Him, and were lightened," said David (Psalm 34. 5). In Psalm 5:3 he says, "In the morning will I direct my prayer and will look up." Micah says, "I will look unto the Lord" (7:7). And Jesus, in all His special exhortations to His disciples, ever taught them to look up. "Ask the Father! Ask the Father!" And how well does this accord with the words of the Holy Spirit by Solomon: "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:6).

Thus all holy Scripture warns us against this evil propensity, and directs us to look outward, away from self altogether, to the "Rock," the "Hills," "the Lord," "the Shepherd," "the covenant," "the loving-kindness of the Lord," "the immutability of His counsel," "to the Father, in My name,"

Dear aged pilgrims, take these "true sayings of God," and look no longer within. The"frames and feelings" are a strange barometer, and go up and down, like the atmosphere, in the ever shifting environments of life. A thousand things affect the " frames and feelings:" the state of the blood, the condition of the atmosphere, the quality of the food we eat, the derangement of our digestive organs, the state of our mental powers, and all the diversified vicissitudes of an ever-changeful life. These all affect, more or less, our "frames and feelings," and therefore are an uncertain resting place for our souls' repose. Let it ever be JESUS—the living, ascended, glorified Jesus! He will ever be "the antidote of fear," and "the strength of our heart, and our Portion forever." Blessed be His name.

To look within is to look at the scene of imperfection; for so long as "we are in this tabernacle" the state of our inner life, as well as our outer, will be that of imperfection. Paul was at least sixty years of age when he wrote his epistle to the Romans, in which he says, "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) there dwells no good thing" (Romans 7:18), "for the good that I would do, I do not; but the evil which I would not do, that I do" (verse 19). Now, if this is the state of the inner life, what a restless and unsafe place of repose must be "the frames and feelings!" They are a surging sea, instead of the "Rock of Ages!" the "plain of Shinar," instead of the "heights of Carmel."

O beloved, look up! the soul's true resting place is "ABOVE, where Christ sits at the right hand of God." Such was David's assurance and experience, "When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I; for You have been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the covert of Your wings." How blessed just to rest here, far above the ever shifting state of "the frames and feelings, on His gentle bosom," like the beloved John.

Of course, we do not say that doubts and fears will never assail the heart that seeks and finds its rest and repose in the ascended Jesus; but we feel sure it is the best, the sure antidote against their attacks arid invasions, and the best preventive against what we are all so much exposed to.

Ignorance and the non-remembrance of God's promises is also another fruitful source of the doubts and fears. Perhaps this is one of the most common, for we feel sure that where the heart is much engaged in the devout reading of holy Scripture, and, as a consequence, "the words of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom," the heart and memory are made a rich treasury of "the true sayings of God"; the promises will live in the heart and memory, like so many living witnesses, to attest the truth and fidelity of our Father, and furnish us, in all hours of spiritual heaviness and anxious solicitude, when the heart may be overwhelmed with "the cares of this life," with the true and effectual antidote against these doubts and fears; because they lead the heart to rest upon what a well-stored memory supplies—"the exceeding great and precious promises," to which Jesus referred when He said, "The words which I have spoken unto you they are spirit and they are life" (John 6:63).

But do you reply, dear aged pilgrims, "Oh, but there is just my difficulty; my poor memory fails, and I forget the sweetest words of promise just when I feel to need them most!" Is it so? Well, the remedy is not far off; the "blessed Word which lives and abides forever is near at hand—ever accessible; and this is equal to the living voice of the living personal Savior! Does this declaration astonish you?

Let me then call to your memory the very words, so full of consolatory assurance, of our Lord Jesus, speaking of the personality and office of the Holy Spirit, He says, "When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13), "He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatever I have said unto you" (John 14:26). Here are "aids to memory" indeed!

And this blessed Spirit, who is the Holy Spirit, will never fail to direct the heart to Jesus; and refresh the memory in all that is needful to "establish the heart with grace," for it is His office to exalt the Savior and help the saved; for Jesus said, "He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you" (John 16:14).

Thus the failure of memory, and that mental obliviousness which is such a prevalent concomitant of old age, is provided against in the presence and office of the blessed Spirit of Christ; who is the viceregent of Jesus in the heart, ruling the heart with His presence and power, while Jesus is ruling in Heaven as our regal High Priest in the presence of God for us, "where He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet!" (1 Corinthians 15. 25).

What loving-kindness does this evince in our precious Lord Jesus! How thoughtfully kind to have made such a provision! Had it been left just to our unaided faculties "to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest" these "statutes of the Lord," how often should we fail, through a treacherous memory, to recall to our recollection just those most sweet and suitable portions which we need when "we are in great heaviness through manifold trials, and our heart is cast down within us like David's? (see Psalm 62:5, 6). Here was His precious remedy, "Your testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever; they are the rejoicing of my heart" (Psalm 119:111); "Your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against You" (Psalm, 119:11).

Dear aged pilgrim! here is the best evidence that our Lord Jesus is "the God of all comfort,". "who comforts us in all our tribulations," and causes us to sing instead of sigh; and sit under the palms of Elim, rather than "under the willows of Babylon;" and to learn in our daily fellowship and communion at the throne of grace to "trust and not be afraid." Oh! let us each hear His sweet and blessed voice amidst the busy scenes of life, and especially in the calmer quietude of old age. And if in some hours of spiritual depression we should be led to say with David, in Psalm 71:9, "Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength fails"! yet we shall ever find the grand assurance of His Word more than enough for all such seasons.

Just take this one, and ponder it well—Psalm 54:7-10:

"Dear Lord, why should I doubt Your love,
Or disbelieve Your grace?
Sure Your compassions never remove,
Although You hide Your face.

Your smiles have freed my heart from pain,
My drooping spirits cheered;
And will You not appear again
Where You have once appeared?

Have You not formed my soul anew,
And told me I am Thine?
And will You now Your work undo,
Or break Your word divine?

Do You repent? will You deny
The gifts You have bestowed?
Or are those streams of mercy dry,
Which once so freely flowed?

Lord! let no groundless fears destroy
The mercies now Possessed;
I'll praise for blessings I enjoy,
And trust for all the rest."

 

Chapter 5. The Aged Pilgrim: His Ground of Assurance

ASSURANCE! Yes, why not?

"He has spoken, and shall He not make it good?" Has not He, our exalted Lord Jesus, declared, in words which are not equivocal in their import and cannot be mistaken, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you!" Has He, the good Shepherd, not declared, "I give unto My sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone pluck them out of My hands!" Has not the same unchangeable Redeemer and Bridegroom of His Church declared, "Father, I will that those who You have given Me be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory!" (John 17:24) And sixty years later, when He had ascended to "the right hand of God the Father Almighty," do we not see the Church in the glory with Him? See Revelation 5:7, 8, a picture, surely, of the future, when there "shall be one fold and one Shepherd" (Isaiah 24:23, and John 10:16), and "the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them into living fountains of water, and shall wipe away all tears from their eyes!" (Revelation 7:17).

Now, if this be so, what a blessed ground of assurance: the full assurance of faith for all who are children of God! There is no possibility of failure! The salvation and the glory are so secured and assured that no child of sin and sorrow, who "has fled for refuge to lay hold on the life set before him," can fail to enter into His presence, where there is fullness of joy, and arrive at His right hand, where there are pleasures forevermore!" And the reason is, because of "the immutability of the divine counsel; therefore, assurance rests on these four firm foundations, namely:

1. The Divine Unchangeableness of the Purpose of Salvation.

Ah! what a sure foundation! The immutability of God! What can equal it? "He knows no change by changing time." "He is the Father of lights, in whom there is no shadow of turning (James 1:17). All things outside of Himself may change, because they are creatures, and they may change according to His will. But here are some things which He has declared shall never be reversed: the eternal salvation of the "heirs of promise," "the Church of the Firstborn, whose names are written in Heaven," "the Bride, the Lamb's wife!" She shall never fail to be presented, for the great purpose of God in Christ is to present it to Himself a glorious Church, "not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:27). Now Paul declares this to be the eternal purpose of God, in and through Christ's redemptive sacrifice. And we are sure that "His purpose shall stand, and that He will do all His pleasure." For the Old Hebrew prophecy, which is the voice of the Holy Spirit, declares, when speaking of Jesus in Isaiah 53:10, "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied!" Now here is a prediction which involves in its final execution and fulfillment the actual stability of the covenant of redemption; and the final execution of all which is involved in the eternal purpose of God relative to the salvation of His people, "the Church."

And what a firm and immoveable foundation for the poor trembling foot of faith is this! The foot may tremble, and faith be weak, but that on which it rests shall never be moved, for it is "the word of the oath!" "O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! for who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been His counselor?-For of Him, and to Him, and through Him are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen" (Romans 11:33-36).

Dear aged friends! what a blessed ground for our assurance is here! It was on this ground that Paul so frequently uses the expression, "For we know." "For we know, being persuaded of this very thing," that He would bring all His people into eternal glory, "world without end."

And, of course, if Paul had this warrant for his faith and assurance, so have we; because we all stand in the same relation to the eternal purpose of grace.

"How happy are we
Our election who see,
And venture, O Lord,
for salvation on Thee!

In Jesus approved,
Eternally loved,
Upheld by Your power
We cannot be moved.

'Tis sweet to recline
On the bosom divine,
And experience the
Comforts peculiar to Thine!

While, born from above,
And upheld by Your love,
With singing and triumph
To Zion we move.

Our seeking Your face
Was all of Your grace,
Your mercy demands,
And shall have all praise.

No sinner can be
Beforehand with Thee,
Your grace is preventing,
Almighty, and free.

Our Savior and Friend
His love shall extend,
It knew no beginning,
And never shall end.

Whom once He receives
His Spirit never leaves,
Nor ever repents
Of the grace that He gives.

This proof we would give
That You we receive;
You are precious alone
To those who believe.

Be precious to us!
All beside is as dross,
Compared with Your love
And the blood of Your cross.

Yet one thing we want:
More holiness grant!
For more of Your mind
And Your image we pant.

Your image impress
On Your favorite race:
O fashion and polish,
Your vessels of grace.

Your workmanship we
More fully would be:
Lord, stretch out Your hand,
And conform us to Thee.

While onward we move
To Canaan above,
O fill us with holiness,
Fill us with love.

Grant us to know
More of You below;
Thus fit us for Heaven,
And glory bestow.

Our harps shall be tuned,
The Lamb shall be crowned,
Salvation to Jesus
through Heaven shall resound!"

 

2. The Infallibility of the Great Shepherd's Care is another ground for our assurance.

"That great Shepherd of the sheep" (Hebrews 13:20) is responsible—being our Surety, as well as Substitute—for our welfare. Hence He says, in reference to Himself as the great responsible Shepherd of the sheep, "None shall pluck them out of My hand;" and He repeats this in another form, "None shall pluck them out of My Father's hand!" (John 10:28, 29). Therefore, whoever may have the feeding of His sheep, and however dark and devious may be some of their paths out here "in this world's wide wilderness," they shall not, and cannot stray beyond the limits of His Crook. True, they do wander, oftentimes far and wide. Poor Peter followed Him afar off." And David said, "You count my wanderings" (Psalm 56:8).

But the Shepherd's hand and the Shepherd's eye are never far off. Self-will and self-assertiveness will often dispose the sheep of His pasture to act very foolishly, and to pass over into "Bye-path meadow;" but His eye is there, because they are His sheep. "The hireling may flee, because he is a hireling;" but Jesus is the good Shepherd, "who cares for His sheep." "He leads them into green pastures, and beside the still waters," and keeps them often from the paths of the destroyer, and from the paw of Satan, who is "a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

And as Jesus is the Shepherd-Jehovah, who "neither slumbers nor sleeps," there can no evil befall them of which He is not cognizant. He sees from the high altitude of His glory the whole range of the fold, down through all the ages and generations, to the remotest end of time, and to the last poor bleating lamb that shall be gathered in from the wild prairies of this fallen world; not a lamb shall perish—not a sheep shall ever wander beyond the hand and care of the Shepherd, nor shall the Shepherd fail to rejoice at last, over the one fold" sheltered in the eternal Paradise!

Though dark be my way, since He is my Guide,
'Tis mine to obey, 'tis His to provide;
Though cisterns are broken, and creatures all fail,
The word He bas spoken, shall surely prevail.

His love in time past, forbids me to think
He'll leave me at last, in trouble to sink;
Each sweet Ebenezer, I have in review
Confirms His good pleasure, to help me quite through.

Determined to save, He watched o'er my path
When Satan's blind slave, I sported with death;
And can He have taught me, to trust in His name,
And thus far have brought me, to put me to shame?

3. The Progressive Work of the Holy Spirit is another solid ground for assurance, dear aged friends! There is no firmer ground on which to rest, because this work is inseparably connected with the work of Jesus. He has His blessed work in the soul, and this is part of the great purpose and provision of "the everlasting covenant." For while Jesus is gone up into glory, to prepare a place for us in "the many mansions of His Father's house," before He comes again to receive us unto Himself; so the Holy Spirit is in the hearts of all the saved ones, preparing them for the prepared place, as "vessels afore prepared unto glory" (Romans 9:23). This blessed work is begun in the regeneration of the human heart, and the impartation of "the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), and consummated in the eternal glory; when those who have borne the image of the earthly shall in the first resurrection bear the image of the heavenly, when He shall change our vile body and fashion it after His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able also to "subdue all things unto Himself" (Philippians 3:21).

This is the work of the Holy Spirit. And this work is progressive to completion. Not progressive, with possible failure. Were it so, where would be the ground for our assurance? and "a good hope through grace"? and where the "anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast"? There would be no such thing. But, blessed be God, the work is sure, for Jesus describes it Himself under a beautiful figure: "This water shall be in Him a well of water, springing up to everlasting life!"

Compare John 4:14 with John 7:38 : "Out of His belly (inner life) shall flow rivers of living water. This spoke He of the Spirit, which those who believe on Him would receive."

Now, the blessed personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as an abiding and eternal presence and power through all the long pilgrimage of human life, is in itself enough to beget the most infallible assurance in any thoughtful and reflecting mind. Because the figure here used by our blessed Lord, to describe the work and influence of the Holy Spirit is such as to lead to the conclusion that whatever may be the nature, character, and extent of His sanctifying work; it is at least certain that it is not complete until we are "without fault before the throne," and form part of the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn, whose names are written in Heaven" (Hebrews 12:23). Therefore, as this blessed work of the Holy Spirit is so abiding, and permanent, and complete in its final character, there is the strongest possible grounds for the full assurance both of faith and hope; and no heart need despair or fear, but rather cherish the most unbounded confidence relative to "the world to come," and the life everlasting.

Moreover, there is also that most remarkable and expressive word of the Holy Spirit by Paul in Romans 8:16, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God;" and Paul deduces from this promise this infallible conclusion: "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together!" (verse 17). Here the apostle shows most conclusively that if we are the subjects of this blessed witnessing, we shall not, and cannot fail to be glorified together with Christ, as Head and members in one mystical Body.

Oh, blessed ground of assurance! What a sure resting-place for faith! Before these grand and unequivocal declarations both doubt and unbelief must slink away to the shades from whence they come. Here, if anywhere, we can exclaim with the prophet Isaiah, "I will trust and not be afraid" (Isaiah 12:2), having "the full assurance of hope."

"We are children of a King,
Heavenly King, heavenly King;
We are children of a King,
Singing as we journey.

Jesus Christ, our Guard and Guide,
Bids us, nothing terrified,
Follow closely at His side,
Singing as we journey."

4. The heavenly reservation of the inheritance is another solid ground for the heart's abiding assurance; because it is so distinctly declared in Holy Scripture that this inheritance is both in Heaven and provided for us, who are traveling here for a few years as pilgrims to a brighter and a better land, "where the inhabitants never say, I am sick."

It is said to be reserved in Heaven for those who are kept by the power of God through faith. And, therefore, if it be true that there is a heritage above, a crown, a throne, a robe, a golden harp—well, of course, if they are reserved there for me; I must, as unworthy as I am, be kept, and guarded, and preserved to enter on its possession when "I have finished my course," and kept the faith, and passed through the dark caverns of the dismal sepulcher into the sunlight of eternal day! Otherwise the reservation can be no inspiration to my hope, nor any assurance to my faith!

But, dear aged pilgrims, here is a divine assurance! The Lord, the righteous Judge, will make no mistake. He is infallible! He cannot have made us heirs here on earth, if there were not any absolute certainty of the attainment of the assurance. Why, if there was the slightest possible doubt about this vital and all-important matter, then faith could never rise to the measure of assurance, nor establish the heart with "a hope which makes not ashamed." The fact is, Jesus is the Heir-at-law, and we are joint heirs with Him. And He has already received it in actual possession; and it is ours in infallible reversion, when He comes to take us up into glory to be forever with the Lord." Until that great auspicious day we are all "fellow-heirs in the grace of life," being fully persuaded that what He has so graciously promised, He will in due time faithfully perform. There can be no doubt of that.

The God of all grace, and the Father of all mercies, must, for His great name's sake, honor His own most blessed word to its very minutest prediction and promise. And His loving heart, so full of the tenderest love, will ever prompt our precious Lord Jesus to the accomplishment of His own sweet words relative to the place He is preparing for us: "I will come again and receive you unto Myself," shall be verified!

Ah! what sweet consolation to those who are walking amid the lengthening shadows of life's eventide, and are "looking for that blessed hope!" No picture of the painter, no verses of the poet, no words of Holy Scripture, can surpass the great reality which is before those who are walking the last quiet stages of life's long pilgrimage! The reality of the inheritance and the glory of "Emmanuel's land" will far surpass all that the most fervid imagination can have ever pictured to itself!

Let this fact, dear aged ones, fill your hearts with eternal sunshine. And as you pass through the valley of the last Jordan, and catch a glimpse of the bright land beyond the river, where the surges cease to roll, let your heart enter into its rest under the shadow of the Almighty!

 

Chapter 6. The Aged Pilgrim—His Sources of Joy

THESE are great indeed, for it is his privilege to have "joy unspeakable and full of glory, while he receives the end of his faith, even the salvation of his soul." Because, while he has had the joy of the saved ones, and has often "with joy drawn living water out of the wells of salvation"; and realized, at intervals at least, a large revenue of joy from the communion which he has had in fellowship with Jesus, and in the study of those testimonies of the Lord which yield so much of joy to the devout mind, yet the last days of our life have the promise of a fuller measure of joy in the experience of the heart.

In various forms of language this appears in the Holy Scriptures, where the blessed Spirit of God reveals to those who live near to Him, their privilege. Examine the following texts:

1. Proverbs 4:18, "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day." Here we are reminded of that other beautiful text, Psalm 97:11, "Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart." And if we take the approach to the perfect day to be the time of old age; (which I think we are bound to do) then the more and more of the brightness of the divine and heaven-born light speaks a reviving of joy peculiar to the last years of life. And we often see this verified in the case of those who are living in fellowship with Jesus, and whose whole desire is to be conformed to His blessed will and character and life. Such appear to have a bright, sunny, and joyous old age, and the nearer they approach to the end of the pilgrimage, the more do they realize the "joy of the Lord to be their strength," and their heart to be the subject of pleasures and felicities, to which in earlier periods of their Christian life they were comparative strangers.

Nor is this at all to be wondered at! For if we can then say, "Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed;" surely this nearer approximation to the realization of the full and complete salvation should bring with it a deeper and fuller source of joy, and the valedictory promise of our precious Lord Jesus is verified in our actual experience, "Your joy may be full" (John 16:24).

2. "My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto You; and my soul which You have redeemed" (Psalm 71:23). These words, so joyful and jubilant in their strain and phraseology, were written when David was "in old age, old and grey-headed" (verse 9 and 18); and they show how fully he realized, amidst the increasing infirmities of advanced years, and all the anxieties of his agitated kingdom, the joy of communion with God, for his soul seems to rise above all the solicitudes and cares which we are sure he must have endured at that time.

And, dear aged pilgrims, if this was the joyful state of David's heart in the time of old age, it may well be the privilege of those who live in this dispensation of the Spirit, when "the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel of Christ" is our portion. Oh! realize the blessed presence of Jesus, and it must be so.

This was the case with dear Samuel Rutherford when he wrote to Lady Kenmare in 1637, "I urge upon you, madam, a nearer communion with Christ, and a growing communion; I know not what to do with Christ, His love surrounds me." And note, he was in prison when he wrote this letter! What a joyous pilgrim!

3. Then there is the experience of the beloved apostle John, who, though he was spared a martyr's death, yet, doubtless, had to suffer so much for his dear Master's sake, and passed, we may be sure, through many painful vicissitudes before he entered into his rest.

The pen of reliable history has left unwritten what we are all so curious to know for certain—namely, what were his engagements, and where he spent those long thirty and more years after the last of the apostles had sealed his testimony with his blood. But though we shall never, perhaps, see the veil of secrecy lifted from this interesting, though trying, period of the Church's history—yet we can see the joyous experience of this aged disciple. He was a very aged man, in all probability, when he wrote the three epistles which bear his name. And in these epistles we have a good proof of the light, cheerful, and joyous spirit of this dear aged disciple of our Lord. Love, life, cheerfulness and joy pervade all the epistles, even where there is need for referring to conditions and states of disorder, as in verse 19 of chapter 2 of 1st Epistle, and in the 3rd Epistle. Such a state of mind in this aged disciple, and amid such long and trying vicissitudes, is most exemplary; and should stimulate all those who are "old and grey-headed" in the Christian life to the cultivation of a similar spirit; because the same grace from the same inexhaustible Fountain is available for all the Lord's dear aged ones today; for Jesus is no respecter of persons. Only let it be ascertained that we are really and truly the "redeemed of the Lord," and "the sheep of His pasture," and we can plead His promise, "Your joy shall be full."

Oh, if we come to Jesus with a heart full of desire, this holy joy shall be our blessed experience. He will not fail to give, according to the ancient predictive promise, "the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;" and our soul shall be, as a consequence, "made full of joy with His countenance," and the heart, like birds of the morning, shall sing, "My voice shall You hear in the morning, O God; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto You, and will look up" (Psalm 5:3).

But there are special reasons, dear aged friends, why those who are "well stricken in years, and are "old and grey-headed," should be joyful in spirit and happy in the fellowship of Jesus, in the few remaining days of the earthly life. Some of these we will now enumerate, praying that the blessed and eternal Spirit of truth and grace, may so bless the written Word that it may be in some measure helpful in your communion with Jesus.

1. Consider That the Journey of Life Is Nearly Ended.

This fact of itself, considered in relation to this other fact, that in the case of the Christian its termination is the end of "all the cares of this life," with their fretting influence upon the heart, and their wearing influence on the whole of the physical nature. Such a fact, if well considered, ought to yield a revenue of joy to the minds of all who are the pilgrims of the Lord.

Yet a little while, and all that has, or can, yield discomfort to the mind, or make the life that now is a valley of tears will be a thing of the past! The daily worries, the domestic solicitudes, the commercial or professional anxieties, all of which have so much to do with the comforts and joys of life, will be left behind.

A few more miles, and life's race will have been run!

A few more battles or skirmishes, and life's long, weary warfare will have been fought, and terminate in the final victory!

A few more days, and all life's long toil of labor will be followed by the saints' everlasting rest!

This fact alone should fill the soul with a jubilant song and make the few remaining years, years of sweetest happiness.

Look at the poor weary traveler who has been walking his weary way over desert-sands to his far distant home. He is so weary with the heat and burden of the day; nature is faint, yet pursuing its course, because he knows he has but a few more miles to go. What is it which cheers his heart, and animates him with exhilarating joy, as he passes, faint and footsore, over the burning sands? Is it not the fact that he knows there is but a short journey now to travel? He sees the long and weary way back in the distance; and he catches now and then, it may be, a faint glimpse of his not far distant home, and sees the turrets of his native city glittering in the horizon before him!

And, oh! with what delightful and heart-cheering anticipations he looks forward to the end, when he shall rest, and look back also over all the way he has traveled with weak and weary feet!

So should it be with Zion's pilgrim, who is passing along to the heavenly Jerusalem! He, too, can see that he has not many more rough stages to travel in this world's wild wilderness!

And this fact may well fill his weary spirit with such divine joy that his happy soul shall sing all the way to the glory-land. Thousands have done this, and we can do so too. So wrote dear Samuel Rutherford to Lord Lindsay, "The glory, joy and peace, and fire of love, which I thought had been kept until supper time, when we shall get leisure to feast and fill upon Christ." Lord, give all Your dear aged ones thus to rejoice with this dear aged servant of Christ, and sing:

"Of all the joys we mortals know,
Jesus, Your love exceeds the rest!
Love, the best blessing here below,
The nearest image of the blessed.

While we are held in Your embrace,
There's not a thought attempts to rove;
Each smile upon Your beauteous face
Fixes, and charms, and fires our love."

2. Consider that the Lord Has Been So Gracious.

This is another reason why we should "in the time of old age," cherish a joyous spirit. No aged disciple can fail to see and appreciate how loving and gracious the dear Shepherd-Savior has been all along the way, through "the waste howling wilderness!" Oh! what marvelous forbearance with our willful waywardness, and our too perverse self-indulgence! How we have tried His patience and taxed His wonderful long-suffering to the utmost extent of its endurance! We have so often allowed self to take the place of the Master, and some creature interest to usurp the place which He has every right to claim at our hands; while He, who should have been "the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega," in our heart's desire, purpose, and plans, has been allowed to be second, perhaps third, in our selfish considerations!

All this, and much more; and yet what wonderful forbearance He has exhibited! How He has "borne with our manners in the wilderness!" How He has pardoned in His all-graciousness, and "passed by the transgressions of the remnant of His heritage!" How He has appeared in the darkest hours in the midst of the storm, in the fourth watch of the night, in the very Gilboa of our life, and made us feel assured of His real presence, sympathy, and love, with an utterance which has risen above the roar of the storm and tempest, "It is I, be not afraid!" (Matthew 14:27).

Oh! there is a wonderful display of His graciousness, if we only consider the contrast between His loving-kindness and our thoughtless inconsideration! His conduct toward us has not been merely an act of grace, lovingly manifested, and repeated times without number; but there has been so much of graciousness and merciful kindness in His ways and dealings with us, that we can hardly consider it without its awakening in our hearts, dear aged pilgrims, a feeling akin to the Psalmist's, when he said, with four repetitions, "Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:8-15, 21, 31).

And who could not adopt this language! Who has not much reason to make the ascription of praise his own! Surely there is not a single Christian who reads these words, whose life will not discover as much of reason for such a doxology of praise as that of the Psalmist, whoever he may have been; for it is not certain that this is one of the Davidic Psalms. What marvelous tenderness—more than motherly—has been that of our precious Lord Jesus! What paternal—more than fatherly—pardon and compassion has He exhibited all along the history of our life! Never can we read those touching and truthful words in Psalm 103 without feeling how truly they represent His action in the personal experience of our own life, "Like as a father pities His children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust!" (verse 13, 14). Well might the devout and seraphic David, in this most poetic and expressive Psalm, in which the experience of his own heart and life are so conspicuous, revel in spiritual soliloquies and apostrophes, in which both the devoutness and fervor of his piety seem so conspicuous and expressive, even to exhaustion, with a plentitude of terms. "Bless the Lord, O my soul!"

Here is the joy of an old Hebrew disciple! And what joy! How rich and exuberant! What an overflowing cup David seems to have had! And all from a view of the Lord's graciousness to him! Oh! beloved fellow-pilgrims! let us catch the spirit of David's seraphic song, and take up the lofty strain of holy minstrelsy in these last days, when the dark clouds of these last times are gathering so thickly around us, and sing:

"Jesus, I love Your charming name,
'Tis music to my ear;
Gladly would I sound it out so loud
That earth and Heaven might hear.

Yes, You are precious to my soul,
My transport and my trust;
Jewels to You are gaudy toys,
And gold is sordid dust!"

3. The Present Tokens of the Lord's Graciousness Are So Many!

It is impossible to note them without seeing what a source of hallowed joy they must be, if properly considered. Nowhere do we discover this more than in the sacred life of David. He lived very much as if in the very presence of Jehovah. He seems to have been living and walking, and acting in the secret place of the Most High, and abiding under the shadow of the Almighty! Take Psalm 16:8, "I have set the Lord always before me; He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved; therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices." Now, though this is regarded as one of the Messianic Psalms, and no doubt it is, yet we consider that the words had also a real spiritual experience in the personal life of David, whose Psalm it is. And if so, how sweetly and beautifully does it teach us how David's joy arose, and was fed, and sustained by a discovery of the then present experience of the Lord's presence.

For, notice how he uses the present tense: "He is at my right hand; therefore my heart rejoices!" Oh, blessed presence! It is this which fills the heart with so much of true and hallowed joy, and makes the latter years of our life full of sunshine and divine gladness; and makes the heart which is transformed into the divine likeness, a little sanctuary of communion, where the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ erects His golden altar, and accepts the grateful incense of consecrated praise.

Oh, dear aged brothers and sisters, let us realize this very present blessing. Jesus can, and will, give it to us here and now, if our heart is poured out before Him in earnest prayer.

Open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise" (Psalm 51:15). Ah! yes, He must open the lips before we can show forth His praise! But He is ever willing to do this; for "the preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord." (Proverbs 16:1)

"Your grace shall dwell upon my heart,
And shed its fragrance there;
The noblest balm of all its wounds,
The cordial of its care."

In the remarkable and trying life of dear Samuel Rutherford, who lived in the dark and trying time of Charles I., when so many of the Lord's faithful servants had to suffer and "endure hardness" for Christ's sake, at the hands of those sycophants who were the fawning and unprincipled minions of that vile and unprincipled sovereign, who so dishonored both the crown and throne of England, and swayed the scepter in unrighteousness; there are some beautiful illustrations of how, in the midst of some of the darkest shadows of adversity, the Christian heart can sing with joy, and say with David, in Psalm 63:3, when he himself was in the deepest and darkest adversity—an exile and fugitive in the wilderness of Judah, " Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You!"

Thus did good Samuel Rutherford, in those painful and trying scenes through which he had to pass, both in the prison at Aberdeen, in which he wrote many of his sweetest and most precious letters, and where he was called to "suffer persecution for the cross of Christ." To Lady Cardonness he wrote, Feb. 20, 1637, "Counsel your husband to fulfill my joy, and to seek the Lord's grace. Show him from me that my joy and desire is to hear he is in the Lord." What joyous words from the "walls of a prison! Again, he says in a letter to Lady Busbie, about the same time, "In my sad days He (Jesus) has become the flower of my joys, and I do but lie here living upon His love." How full of joy must his spirit be who wrote like this in the prison!

Thus, my aged friends, Jesus can fill us with the joy of His presence. Oh! may He fill you with the fullness of His grace until you are "rejoicing (in present experience) with a joy unspeakable and full of glory!" Oh, precious Lord Jesus! help Your aged ones to sing:

"I've found a joy in sorrow, a secret balm for pain,
A beautiful tomorrow, of sunshine after rain;
I've found a branch of healing, near every bitter spring,
A whispered promise stealing, o'er every broken string.

I've found a glad Hosanna, for every woe and wail,
A handful of sweet manna, when grapes of Eshcol fail;
I've found a Rock of Ages, when desert wells are dry;
And after weary stages, I've found an Elim nigh.

An Elim with its coolness, its fountains and its shade;
A blessing in its fullness, when bud of promise fade.
O'er tears of soft contrition, I've seen a rainbow light;
A glory and fruition, so near—yet out of sight.

My Savior, You possessing, I have the joy, the balm,
The healing and the blessing, the sunshine and the psalm;
The promise for the fearful, the Elim for the faint;
The rainbow for the tearful, the glory for the saint!"

 

Chapter 7. The Aged Pilgrim—His Departure.

In writing to the Church at Philippi, Paul says "Having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better" (Philippians 1:23). Here the apostle is referring to his own death, and he uses a very remarkable term—a term which he uses three times only, and which is never once used of death in the whole Bible, except by the "aged Simeon," who, when taking up the Savior in his arms, exclaims, "Now, Lord, let You Your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation" (Luke 2:29)

But there is no more suitable and appropriate term for a Christian's death, especially for the death of an aged Christian, which Paul was at this time—for this was written in A.D. 64. And if he was a young man" (Acts 7:58) when Stephen was stoned, A.D. 33, he must have been "such an one as Paul the aged" (Philippians 1:9) at this time, A.D. 64; for the epistle to the Philippians was written in the same year, and both in the Mamertine prison at Rome, where Paul was then just awaiting the will of that vile autocrat and despot, Nero, whom he describes as a "lion"—an appropriate name for such a very monster of rapacious wickedness and villainy.

The term departure, as a synonym for death, is appropriate, we think, because it suggests, as used by Paul, "the time of my departure has come" (2 Timothy 4:6), a voluntary going out of "this present evil world" into some other state of existence, in perfect and calm subjection to the will of the Supreme God. For Paul was evidently a firm believer in a particular Providence, and he believed, with the old patriarch of Uz, that "the number of his months was with God" (Job 14:5). This was truly the case with Job, for he says, with the greatest possible composure of spirit, "All the days of my appointed time, I will wait until my change comes."

What a perfect surrender of the will! What a true filial spirit! What a beautiful recognition of the sovereignty and right of the Lord Jehovah to act in regard to the continuance or the removal of His people! How different to the spirit and carriage which is abroad in this self-willed and self-asserting age-an age in which the term of divine sovereignty is often a hard term, even to some professing Christians. But the great fact remains—God is a Sovereign, and He reigns still. Jesus proved His sovereignty over death at the graves of Lazarus and Jairus, and at Nain. And still more, if possible, in His own personal resurrection. "The Crucified One is not only here with His people, to give them right views of Himself; but, by virtue of His Godhead and resurrection life, He is in glory too, 'ever living to make intercession for us.'

Even now He looks at His wounds, and then at us, and says:

"Forget you! I will not, I cannot. Your name
Engraved on My heart, does forever remain!
The palms of My hands, while I look on, I see
The wounds I received, when suffering for thee.

Then trust Me, and fear not, your life is secure;
My wisdom is perfect; supreme is My power;
In love I correct you, your soul to refine,
To make you at length, in My likeness to shine."

But it was before this He declared Himself to be "the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11:25); and sixty years later, in His appearance to John in Patmos, He declares His identity with the Jesus who died and rose again, and declares I "have the keys of Hades and of Death!"

"O death, where is your sting?" Here, then, we have death described as a departure, and we think it suggests the following thoughts:

1. Actual Personal Consciousness. This seems to underlie the word departure, at least, as we use the word in common parlance. And there can be no doubt that this thought was in the apostle's mind when he wrote these words to the Church at Philippi; and if it be said this is not always so; our answer is, the adverse is the exception, and not the rule. The rule is that the believer has an intelligent consciousness at the moment of departure—at least, to himself or herself. This may not always be apparent to others; but how often is it true that we have signs of departure at the last dread moment!—the look of the eyes, the pressure of the hand, the motion of the features—all leading to the conclusion that there is an intelligent consciousness at the hour and article of death, and proving that it is a departure.

Nor does the fact that the physical nature is so exhausted, either by disease, or the decay of old age, so as to prevent the mind expressing itself in all the ease and freedom and fullness which we could desire, at all prove that the mental powers, or the immortal spirit, had really lost any of its native energy, or had in any measure become deteriorated with the lapse of time, as the body has. Quite the reverse is the case; for there can be no doubt, as a matter of fact, that the mind, or the immortal principle, has become expanded, developed, and strengthened; and has undergone a process of mental evolution during the time of its existence in the body, which it has merely used as its vehicle during the years of their union on earth. And therefore, whatever absence of consciousness there may appear to be, is attributable to the clogging or fettering influence of the body—an idea which was vaguely held by the ancient philosophers of Greece, among whom were Plato and Socrates. So far they were not wrong; but Jesus gives us all the light we have in the pages of the New Testament. Here we see "Heaven opened," like the proto-martyr Stephen, and "Jesus standing at the right hand of God." Thus, in the case of the believer, "mortality is swallowed up in life;" and instead of looking on death as a brazen sleep, the child of faith, standing in resurrection life with Jesus, can say, with more of intelligence, if not with more of assurance, than Job, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that I shall stand in the latter day upon the earth!"

Yes, beloved, death to us is but a departure! Let us bless the God of all grace that it has pleased Him to "bring life and immortality to light through the Gospel." Praised be His name!

"I'll speak the honors of Your name
With my last laboring breath;
And, dying, clasp You in my arms,
The antidote of death."

2. The Separate Existence of Spirits is also implied in the word departure. There are few really true Christians who would, perhaps, doubt the fact of the separate existence of the human spirit, or suppose that it either has no existence, or that it is a material thing, like to, or incorporated with, the body. Yet there are some sincere, and, no doubt, intelligent, and well-meaning persons, who doubt, or disbelieve, this existence. Their convictions we respect, so far as they may be honest, which we do not doubt. But we cannot fail to see that, though the psychology of Holy Scripture leaves us in doubt in reference to many things which our too prurient curiosity often urges us to inquire into, yet in the matter of the separate and independent existence of the human spirit in the body, as a priest in a temple, or an inhabitant in a house—here we have no question—to us the fact is plain.

The writer of the book of Job, led by the Holy Spirit, declares, "There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding" (Job 32:8). Here the same word is used as in Ecclesiastes 12:7, and John 4:24, where, if anywhere, a distinct, separate, and independent spiritual existence, residing in the body, is taught. And one would think there could hardly be a question about it. Any way, we will take God at His word, and rest in this, which to us is a fact, "most surely believed among us"—namely, that there is a real, spiritual, and immortal soul in man. (See Ecclesiastes 3:21, 8:8, 11:5).

But the plainest and most direct inference would teach this, we think, from the word "depart," for we know that the body does not depart; but if not, what is that which does "depart"? We see the poor frail body laid in the sepulcher; there it is until it is dissolved in dust.

Besides, we have what we can all understand, because it is so simple and direct-namely, the testimony of our personal consciousness; for we all feel quite certain, by this infallible monitor, that we have a spirit, a soul, a thinking, conscious, intelligent, voluntary something—call it what we will—which is ever with us, in all our waking hours, and bears a witness to its regal power and regulative authority, by ruling and directing all the organs of the body according to its pleasure and its volition.

3. There Is Also the Transition of the Spirit to the Paradise of God. This is declared in the most definite and explicit terms in one text of inspired Scriptures'; and by fair inference it is taught in many others, and we think placed beyond dispute; so that it has been generally accepted as a fact without contradiction, except in the case of a few sincere and well-meaning students of Scripture, who consider that their soul, or spirit, slumbers in the sepulcher until the morning of the resurrection; but in this we think they are quite mistaken.

Let us consult 2 Corinthians 5:6-9. Here Paul is speaking of his own and our departure, or death; and he speaks of it in such a way that the most natural interpretation seems to be to suppose that he means that, at whatever moment the spirit, the self, the I, or personal, conscious, spiritual existence, as distinguished from the unconscious body, leaves this clay-built tabernacle, it passes into that state, or region, where the Lord is in manifested glory, and where He receives "the spirits of the just made perfect" in the interval between the present hour and the time of the resurrection; when "the mortal shall put on immortality," and that "which was sown a natural body shall be raised a spiritual body, for there is a natural body and there is a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:44).

And the same conclusion must be arrived at, if we consider also the words which he uses in Philippians 1:23. Here he leads the reader, who just takes the natural meaning, order, and sequence of the words, to suppose that it was his conviction that there was a direct and immediate transition of the "spirit" to the place where Jesus is, "to be with Christ;" and which, considering the whole scope of the connection, would lead one to conclude that this was an instantaneous exit in the full possession of personal, intelligent consciousness; into a place which our Lord, in His gracious blessing to the dying thief, declared to be Paradise, "Today shall you be with Me in Paradise!"

Now the whole force and value of these sweet words, we think, consisted in the fact that the poor malefactor would be with Jesus at once, without any interval of time, and we think this is the way the "dying thief" really understood and valued them.

Now, dear aged pilgrims! this thought creates very sweet and blessed anticipations. There is something like a charm in the thought and prospect of such a transition. Sweet indeed to be absent from this poor, frail tabernacle, so full of infirmities in the last years of life, and to be present with Jesus in the glory, "forever with the Lord!"

You have seen the sun setting over the Western hills in a Summer's eventide—so calm, so full of golden glory, so full of quiet, silent splendor! The hills are all gilded with the flood of light; and the orb of day just sinks beneath the Western horizon to rise with unfading luster in a still more Western climate, and there to shine on with undimmed brightness in another sphere.

Beautiful illustration of the last departure of the human spirit, which is in grace united to Jesus, and made one in the union which can never be dissolved, and "made fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light." For as the last hours draw near, there is generally a calm settled placidness, experienced by those who are passing away, well illustrated by the fading glory of the setting sun. The heart is at rest; peace reigns supreme in the soul; and all the storms of life are hushed, for the little barque is just entering "the desired haven," and all within is filled with the anticipations of the glory-land. The soul itself is bathed in the glory of the brighter world, and while the poor, frail vessel falls to dust, and the eyes and ears close to all the things of earth, the ransomed spirit, full of eternal vigor and hilarity, "enters into the joy of its Lord!"

But, ah! there is "the valley of the shadow of death!" Yes, dear brother, dear sister, there is. As the rose-tree is composed of the sweetest flowers, and the sharpest thorns; as the heavens are sometimes fair and sometimes overcast, alternately tempestuous and serene—so is the life of man intermingled with hopes and fears, with joys and sorrows, with pleasures and with pains, not the least of which is the shadow of death." But then, you know, it is but a shadow, and a shadow has no power to hurt or injure, though it may affright! But who would be terrified by a shadow? Unless Jesus comes it must sooner or later fall across our path. Indeed, its outer edge is visible long before we fall under its darker shade.

But there is this great comfort and consolation: Jesus, the light of life, is sure to be there; for He is never absent when death's dark shadows fall across the path of His dear people! He could not be absent then; for it is then they most need His blessed presence. It is this which lights His people through the dark valley. Ah! were it not for His presence, it would be dark indeed. It would be "the blackness of darkness," and the prelude to "the outer darkness," which is forever!

"Death! 'tis an awful word,
And fills the mind with fear;
But joyful is a dying bed,
If You, O God, are near!

Let but my numerous sins
Behind Your back be cast,
The poisonous sting of death is gone,
The bitterness is past."

Of course it is light if our sins are all buried in the dear Savior's sepulcher, at the foot of His cross; they shall have no resurrection, for the declaration of divine mercy is, "Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." Oh, precious words! If, therefore, the sting of death is sin, and this shall be remembered no more, where is the ground for fear? it is gone, and gone forever.

The "strength of sin is the law;" but we are not under law, but under grace; for grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life, through Jesus, our Lord" (Romans 5:21). Blessed be God, then, the power and dominion of death is gone. We (all who are in Christ) stand in resurrection life. "We are crucified with Christ, nevertheless we live; yet not we, but Christ lives in us"—all that is left, therefore, is a "valley" and a "shadow." No very terrible things, after all, dearly beloved!

The ancients dreamed of a dark, dark river, which they called Lethe, over which Charon, the ferry-man, steered poor, affrighted spirits. Yet that was but a day-dream!

There is no river. Jordan was dry when the chosen people passed over to the Promised Land. God's hand rolled back the waves, right and left, "Jordan was driven back." "What ailed thee—you Jordan, that you were driven back?" (Psalm114:3,5). And do not forget, too, that the sacred ark—the symbol of the divine presence, and the expressive type of Jesus—stood in the midst, until all the ransomed were all passed over!

Oh, what beautiful and instructive teaching there is here, dear aged saints, for us all! Do we not see here the finger of God—the very foreshadowing of this most blessed truth now under consideration! Of course we do. We see Jesus in the Book of Joshua. And no wonder, for Stephen said, by the Holy Spirit, "it was He (that is, Jesus) who was with the Church in the wilderness" (Acts 7:38). And, if in the wilderness, then also at Jordan! And it is "this same Jesus who is with us, dear aged saints!

Nor would we overlook those sweet and most expressive words of the dear Psalmist-after speaking of the valley of the shadow of death, he exclaims, as if with animated confidence and courage, "I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

Here, beloved, is the sure ground of his confidence and courage! The real and realized presence of the divine Jehovah-shepherd, seen and felt in the experience of the life of faith and trust which the dear Psalmist doubtless led. Oh, sweet and most precious words! How fully they speak the language of a heart, thus actually realizing the blessedness and consolation of that Presence! And remember, too, that this was uttered in some dark and distressing passage of his chequered life, when the storm-cloud hung pendant over his life with menacing blackness and terrible shadows. Yes, then he says, "You are with me!"

And we may be sure that such a realized Presence—when he felt, perhaps, that there was but a step between him and death—would enable him to declare, in that most beautiful resolution, which only great grace can make and keep, would make him strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. And we think this must have been the case: David saw dangers so threatening that there was the probability of death, and the article and circumstances of death was almost realized.

Now, if David could thus cherish this confidence, and realize the very presence of the Jehovah-shepherd, and rise to the utterance of such confident language, "I will fear no evil"; then surely all who are fellow-citizens of the saints and of the household of God, can do so too! Why not? The Jehovah-Shepherd is our precious Lord Jesus, who, when here in our flesh, declared Himself to be the Good Shepherd, and said, "I know My sheep," and "none shall pluck them out of My hand," and "they shall never perish." Oh! surely He will be with us, and all His dear people, "who are the sheep of His pasture, until all are gathered in to the one fold.

When dear Samuel Rutherford was about to depart, he said to Mr. Robert Blair, who was then with him: "You shall show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy. There is nothing now between me and the resurrection; but 'today you shall be with Me in Paradise!'" Thus he departed, in sure and certain hope of an immediate realization, in spirit, of the fullness of joy! May we all, dear readers, realize this same sweet calm and quiet joy in life's last hour; and may the light of eternal day dawn upon us as we sink behind the dark clouds of earth's sad scenes—and bid adieu to all the shadows of this mundane state, exclaiming, with the dying Rutherford, "O for a well-tuned harp!"

 

Chapter 8.

Let the author suppose that you are not realizing, dear aged ones, this assurance, which is so needful in life's eventide; and if so, to ask your kind and thoughtful consideration of these concluding words.

And let me first ask you to consider:

1. That you have a hope.

Now a "good hope through grace," which is yours, if you are in Christ, is the bud, of which assurance is the full blossom. For each comes from the blessed source—namely, the power of the Holy Spirit; because there can be no good hope of which He is not the author. And if He, in His grace, for Christ's sake, has "begotten you again to a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3), then you may be quite sure that He is willing to afford you, also, the blessed grace of assurance.

And He will do so if you meditate constantly on His Word, looking up for more of His light, and especially dwelling upon the character of the Great Promiser, that it is impossible for Him to be less than His word, and therefore we may trust Him in each and every promise, to the utmost bounds of trustful confidence. He cannot fail, either for lack of will, or purpose, or power. Therefore, if we have any just or good hope that we are His children, we may be quite sure that we have the warrant for the most assured trustfulness.

A child may mistrust its parent, because the poor parent may have the will, but lack the power to fulfill his promise. But our blessed Promiser "has all power in Heaven and in earth," and can never fail from any cause to honor every promise of His blessed Word.

The character of Him in whom we trust is, or should be, altogether beyond question in our regard. Not merely because it is so well attested in the Word of God, but also because it is so well attested in our experience, if we are His people. "We know in Whom we have believed," as Paul says, and we are sure from what, and all, we know of His heart that He cannot deny Himself, or "alter the thing that has gone out of His mouth;" for, unlike all His dear people who pass away like the morning cloud, He is "the same, and His years do not fail." And this divine immutability of Nature has a corresponding immutability of character, which is most assuring to the weak faith of many of His dear children.

How assuring are those words of the Hebrew Psalmist, "Those who know Your name will put their trust in You" (Psalm 9). Here the word name is put for the character, by a well-known figure of speech. And what Christian does not know His name? Has it not often been, dear aged ones," as ointment poured forth" in our experience? It has been the Rock of Refuge in trouble; in sorrow it has been as "the oil of joy;" in sickness it has been as the balm of Gilead; and in the time of great heaviness it has been the pillow of comfort; and in the hours of darkness it has been both "our light and our salvation." "Blessed be His glorious Name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen!"

Besides, if you have a good hope you are in Christ, as a member of His body—a "partaker of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), and therefore His life is your life, His fullness is your fullness, and His interest is your interest. You are already "heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ," and all He has is at your command, because it "has pleased the Father, that in Him all fullness should dwell;" but this fullness is in Him, not for Himself, but for us—yes, for the feeblest and weakest—that "out of His fullness we might daily receive fresh supplies of grace and strength.'

These words of Mr. Spurgeon's are most encouraging: 'Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept Your Word.' I, the preacher of this hour, beg to bear my little witness that the worst days I have ever had have turned out to be my best days, and when God has seemed most cruel to me, He has then been most kind. If there is anything in this world for which I would bless Him more than for anything else—it is for pain and affliction. I am that in these things the richest, tenderest love has been manifested towards me. I pray you, dear friends, if you are at this time very low, and greatly distressed, encourage yourselves in the abundant faithfulness of the God who hides Himself. Our Father's wagons rumble most heavily when they are bringing us the richest freight of the bullion of His grace. Love-letters from Heaven are often sent in black-edged envelopes. The cloud that is black with horror is surely big with mercy. Fear not the storm; it brings healing in its wings, and when Jesus is with you in the vessel the tempest only hastens the ship to its desired haven. May some such thoughts as these help you to encourage yourself in God as David did."

And this fact should be well thought over by all who are in life's eventide; because so much of the sweetness of daily communion, and of abiding and unbroken peace, depend on this.

The following lines of this departing pilgrim were dictated by a dying saint after a day of intense suffering, and have been found to speak a word of consolation to others about to enter into rest:

"Oh, Savior! I have nothing to plead
In earth beneath, or Heaven above,
But just my own exceeding need,
And Your exceeding love.

The need will soon be past and gone,
Exceeding great, but quickly o'er;
The love unbought is all Your own,
And lasts for evermore!"

In Solomon's Song 2:16 the believer says, "He is mine, and I am His!" What words of blessed assurance! And yet these are true, quite true, and consistent; because the Church, and each member, too, is united to Christ; and, therefore, if I am His, and He is mine, why may I not cherish and enjoy "the full assurance of faith"? Oh! do remember those precious words of our dear Lord Jesus, "I in them, and you in Me, that they may be made perfect in one" (John 17:23). What words are these! and if this is true of all His people, even of those who are "of little faith," oh, why should we not say with the trusting and confident Paul, "I know in whom I have believed!" If it is not yet so, let our prayer be, "Lord increase our faith!"

2. Note further, that nothing can sever the union which grace has created. This is utterly impossible. There is no union on earth which may not be severed; the longest is lifelong, and then death severs that. But there is a union between Jesus and your soul, dear aged pilgrim, which Paul says, "Neither life nor death can sever!" (see Romans 8). What a blessed ground for assurance! Here nothing can fail, because Jesus has created the union in His sovereign grace, and says to each poor trembling, timid, fearful pilgrim of earth, "Fear not; because "I live, you shall live also." What a divine ground for assurance is here! Who would doubt the words of one who could speak thus? Oh, dear aged ones! let these words so fill your soul with this hallowed influence, that you shall say, "I will trust and not be afraid!"

He is the vine, and we are the branches;" and the tiniest twig belongs to the vine, and draws all its life and beauty and fruit-bearing power from the vine itself. See, then, if you are a poor little "weak faith," yet you are in living union with Jesus, and therefore, you can assure your hearts before Him.

Let these last years of your life realize this blessed privilege, and enter into the rich blessing of assurance, because Jesus would have all His poor weary pilgrims realize what is their right and privilege-namely, the full assurance of faith, hope, and understanding; and sing, as the day of departure draws near

"Ah! I shall soon be dying,
Time swiftly glides away;
But, on my Lord relying,
I hail the happy day.

The day when I must enter
Upon a world unknown.
My helpless soul I venture
On Jesus Christ alone!"

If you are, dear aged ones, still doubting and fearing, and yet hoping; desiring to realize this blessed assurance in your life's eventide, and yet not able to speak with that heartfelt assurance which would dissipate all your fears, as the day-dawn dissipates all the dark shadows of night; just consider for a moment the fact that the best and holiest of His people who have ever lived, have had, at times, these exercises of mind, and doubtful solicitudes, to the end of their course; so that your experience is not strange, abnormal, and exceptional, but rather the experience of all the household of faith, more or less.

Mark the case of that most faithful and devoted missionary, of Jamaica, William Knibb, who, when dying, and after a life of the most consecrated and faithful service, exclaimed:

"A guilty, weak, and helpless worm,
In Your kind arms I fall,
O be my Lord, my righteousness,
My Jesus and my all!"

Thus he died, feeling and acknowledging that he was a sinner to the last hour; but at the same time realizing that Jesus, the ever-present, and ever precious Jesus, was his rest, his trust, and his reliance.

Faith's language is:

"When I fall, God will raise me up;
when I want, God will provide;
when I am in perplexity, God will deliver.
He cares for me!"

Now, if William Knibb could thus realize the assurance of hope and faith, along with a consciousness of sinnership, why may not we? We are resting, I trust, on the same blessed Rock for our hope. And if so, let us take the place this dear dying missionary did, and "breathe our life out sweetly there."

But, dear reader, perhaps you are a poor unconverted one, "old and gray-headed," yet without God and without hope in the world! Oh, is it so? Let me ask you to hear a few words of counsel and comfort. Consider first what God says by David, "Deliver me, O God, from men of the world, who have their portion in this life" (Psalm 17:14). Oh, ponder these solemn words! these are terrible words. The author never reads them without a thrill of horror, "their portion in this life!" If, then, "the righteous are scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"

And Paul says (1 Corinthians 15:19), "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable!" What words are these! How terrible their import!

At Ayrshire, a man whose life had not been consistent with that of a genuine Christian was nevertheless a great speculator in divinity. He came to die, and even then he was accustomed to perplex and puzzle himself and his visitors with knotty questions about the doctrines of the Bible, and especially the decrees of God. Thomas Orr, a person of a very different character, was sitting at his bedside, endeavoring to turn his attention to what more immediately concerned him. "Ah, William," he said, "this is the decree you have at present to do with—He who believes shall be saved, and he who believes not shall be damned.'"

Now, if, my aged reader, you are already in life's eventide, and there may be but a step "between you and death," oh! where is your hope? where is your refuge? Consider these questions, and answer them before God!

Nor should you be satisfied with being a mere professor. That will never save you; it must be Holy Spirit power! Ponder these precious words of good Bishop Ryle: "The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit is the common mark of all believers in Christ. It is the Shepherd's mark of the flock of the Lord Jesus, distinguishing them from the rest of the world. It is the goldsmith's stamp on the genuine sons of God which separates them from the dross and mass of false professors. It is the King's own seal on those who are His peculiar people, proving them to be His own property. It is the pledge which the Redeemer gives to His believing disciples while they are in the body, as a pledge of the full redemption yet to come on the resurrection morning. This is the case of all believers. They all have the Spirit."

There is but one refuge, but one Savior, but one salvation! Jesus is the Ark of Mercy which shelters from the coming storm, whose dark and menacing clouds are already impending, with their lengthening shadows, and creating terror in the hearts of those who are not in this blessed refuge of divine mercy.

These searching words of the late William Arnott are worthy of special notice: "The rich inquirer's sincerity, the Pharisee's piety, the widow's gift—all come under the unerring judgment of the Lord."

There is a machine in the Bank of England which receives sovereigns as a mill receives grain, for the purpose of determining wholesale whether all are of full weight. As they pass through, the machinery, by unerring laws, throws all that are light to one side, and all that are full weight to another. That process is a silent but solemn parable to me.

Founded as it is upon the laws of nature, it affords the most vivid similitude of the certainty which characterizes the judgment of the great day. There are no mistakes or partialities to which the light may trust. The only hope lies in being of standard weight when they go in."

Oh, blessed and Eternal Spirit! whose sacred office it is to convince of sin, and "turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just," enlighten the eyes of their understandings who read these pages, by leading them to rest in Jesus now, and in Jesus forever!