The Happiness of a Quiet Mind, Part 1
Exhortations to thoſe that have patiently watied on God even in Old Age.
Reflect. 1. How gracious he has been to you, in giving you many years, wherein to get Oyl, and to trim your Lamps, and to prepare for another World. How many ſtorms have you out-lived that made others ſink? Many, many young People are gone to Judgment a great while ago, while that Hand that cruſht them, has been very gentle and merciful to you. You have ſurvived the dangers, and the ſins, and the giddineſs of Youth, and are now almoſt at our Journeys end.
2. Endeavour to do good to others, that have not had ſuch experience of God as you. Thus you bring forth fruit in old age, and are fat and flouriſhing, Pſ. 92.14. you do, as it were, grow young again, with a vaſt acceſſion to your Spiritual ſtature. When you are full of patience, and by your Example and your Words declare to others how faithful and how kind God has been to you: So, by teaching them knowledge, you will rekindle and inflame your own Light; whilſt others younger then you decay, you ſhall thrive and proſper. He that planted you makes the green Tree to wither, and the dry to grow. You'll not only go to Heaven fully ripe for Glory, like a ſhock of Corn gathered in due ſeaſon, but there will be ſomething for others to glean when you are gone: And in the mean time Summer and Winter. Youth and Old Age, doe as it were meet in you; the decays of one, and the fruitfulneſs of the other. In your Evening there is Light, Zech. 8.4, 5. Fortifie your ſelves with the Experiences of God, goodneſs whenever your patience is like to tire, as Polycarp ſaid, when he was urged by the Proconſul to deny Chriſt, or to do ſomething like it: Theſe fourſcore and ſix Tears, have I ſerved Christ, and he never did me any harm; and how can I then blaſpheme my Maſter and my Saviour. Exhort others to fear, and love, and truſt God, as you have done; by your Holy Awe and Reverence, ſeek upon all occaſions to Correct their Lightneſs and their Vanity. You have ſerved a good Maſter, and you have had the Honour to ſerve him very long; be not now weary of his work, be not now for going out of his Vineyard, when he that employed you, is juſt coming to reward your diligence. Be of good Courage, The Lord is at hand; O ye aged People bleſs the Lord your Preſerver, and daily ſing his praiſe; let your Winter, as well as the Spring of Youth, praiſe the Lord. How few have had that time for Heaven, that you have had? Oh the bleſſed Seaſons and Days of Grace, that you have had! It's a wonderful Honour to thoſe that are old, that they have ſo large a ſpace, wherein to do a World of Good, to enlarge the Kingdom of Chriſt, and to make their future Crown more weighty: And none ſhould grudge to labour for fourſcore or an hundred Years, when for ſo ſhort a Duration of painful Diligence, he ſhall have an Everlaſting Recompence. By living to old Age, you have more Wiſdom, and Experience, and Skill, than others; your Graver Years teach you to beware of ſeveral Rocks that they ſplit upon. And all theſe Mercies are heightned to ſuch as arrive to an Healthful old Age, not loaded with the uſual Pains and Griefs, and Languiſhing Motions of decaying Age, for then the longer the Life, the more the Miſery, Joſhua 14.10, 11. Thus Life does ſmoothly take its courſe, without meeting with great Obſtructions in the way, and is not only Long but Happy too. This was the peculiar Felicity of the Patriarchs before the Flood, their Lives were extended to almoſt a thouſand Years, and yet we read of none of thoſe Sad Symptoms attending them, that attend us now at fourſcore, Pſal. 90.10. It's a very comfortable thing, to have neither a poor nor ſickly Age, neither to want Neceſſaries, nor to be in Pain: 'Tis a Bleſſing to live to ſee your Poſterity, and a greater Joy to ſee them walking in the Truth, Pſal. 128.6. but yet none can expect to be freed from the evil days mentioned Eccleſ. 12.1. full of trembling Palſies, grievous Aches, lingering Pains, and innumerable Evils; but if you patiently wait on God, and improve well your declining Years, you'll at length be ſatisfied with living as 'tis ſaid of Job, Chap. 42.17. He died, being old and full of days. He roſe as from a Feaſt, not Surfeited, but well pleaſed with the Joys and Plenty of his latter Days. He was once indeed in another Frame, when his Spirits were overclouded with Melancholy, and his Soul was burnt with Anguiſh, when he had reſtleſs Pain by day, and no ſweet Sleep at night, Chap. 7.4. then he wiſh'd for any ſort of Death, tho' Shameful and Untimely, tho' Violent and Uncommon, Verſe 5, 16. But this was more Job's Diſeaſe than his Grace, 'twas a moſt raſh and haſty Wiſh; to die in Terror and Anguiſh, is a forlorn and doleful way of dying: He eagerly thirſted for the Grave, but at laſt he looked upon it with another Eye, and went to it as a weary Traveller goes to Bed: He looked for the finiſhing of his Courſe with ſubmiſſive regular Deſires, and Quiet Hopes: So refreſh'd and ſatisfied with living, are thoſe that are good in Age, but a Sinner an hundred year old is accurſed. Curſed in his neglect of the Buſineſs of Life, Curſed as condemned by a perpetual Deſire of Longer and Longer Time, he is pained with Trouble, and afraid to die. The Sins of his Youth have a Reſurrection in his Thoughts, and ſcare him with the ſight of Death, as knowing they will not only lye down with him in the Grave, but riſe with him thence. And yet amidſt ſuch hideous Views and Apprehenſions, he has an unquenchable and painful Thirſt after thoſe Pleaſures that are paſt away: His Luſt is freſh and lively when his Head is grey; every thing about him grows old but his Sin; and a long Life to ſuch an one, is but a continued Load of Guilt, a daily treaſuring up of Wrath againſt the Great Day: But nothing is more Decent or more Lovely, than to ſee a remaining Green under the Snow of Age: The Beauty of an old Man, is his Grace as well as his Years: To be full of Days, and to be full of Grace, full of Faith, and Hope, and Joy in God, is to be as beautiful as ever any was in the moſt blooming gayeſt Youth. Job 5.26. Thou ſhalt come to thy Grave in a full Age, like as a Shock of Corn cometh in his ſeaſon. It ſheds and ſpoils if it ſtay too long, if it be not gathered when 'tis fully Ripe, and the Seaſon of it is as well loſt, as when 'tis taken too green. Do you that are Old, take care of all the Evils proper to your advanced Age, of Peeviſhneſs, and Moroſeneſs, and Sourneſs, and Covetouſneſs; and let thoſe that are Young, be Temperate and Sober, and uſeful to the World, that they may either live to be old, or get to Heaven betimes. Do you that are Aged improve your leiſure Hours to prepare for your Change; and do you that are Young, liſten to the Speeches and Directions of thoſe that are near their latter end. In your old Age recreate your ſelves with looking forward to a better State; and when you do but very faintly draw your Breath, yet be breathing after Heaven; and your ſincere Sighs and Groans ſhall be as acceptable as all the Motions of your ſwifter Youth: And when your Tongues begin to faulter, let your Actions ſpeak your Patience and Submiſſion to the Will of God: And when you are even like to ſink with Pains and Miſeries, Oh remember you are almoſt at home; you have but a little while to run, and you ſhall obtain; a little while to fight, and you ſhall be Crowned: Watch a little longer, the Sun is juſt ſetting, and in a few Moments you may be allowed to go to ſleep; there is but a little Sand left in your Glaſs; your Life is like a Candle burnt quite to the bottom: And though the Religion of young People is very pleaſant in the Eye of God, their Graces ſend forth a ſweet Perfume; and when he walks in his Garden, 'tis agreeable to him to ſee the moiſt Flowers breath out their Morning Incenſe; yet he loves old Diſciples too, and he gives them his Word and his Promiſe for their tottering Age to rely upon. Be ſure to improve the leiſure of your declining Years to the beſt Purpoſes, and be thankful that you are now retiring from the Noiſe and Hurry of the diſagreeing buſie World. As Sir Henry Wotton ſaid after a kind of tempeſtuous Life, I have a great Advantage from my God, that makes the Out-goings of the Morning to Praiſe him; I daily magnifie him for his particular Mercy, of an Exemption from Buſineſs, a quiet Mind, and a liberal Maintenance, even in this part of my Life, when my Age and Infirmities ſeem to ſound a Retreat from the Pleaſures of this World, and invite me to Contemplation, in which I have ever taken the greateſt Felicity. You may make uſe of all the Remembrances of the places where you have lived, to help you in the beſt things. As Mr. Walton tells us of the aforeſaid Politician, that he ſaid upon his being in his old Age in Wincheſter School, My being in this School, and ſeeing the very place where I ſate when I was a Boy, occaſioned me to remember the Thoughts of my Youth that then poſſeſſed me, Sweet Thoughts indeed, that promiſed my growing Years numerous Pleaſures, without mixtures of Cares; and thoſe to be enjoyed, when time (which therefore I thought ſlow paced) had changed my Youth into Manhood: But Age and Experience have taught me, thoſe were but empty Hopes; for I have always found it true, as my Saviour did foretel, Sufficient to the day is the Evil thereof. I have, ſays he to Mr. Hales then of Eaton, in my paſſage to my Grave, met with moſt of thoſe Joys of which a diſcurſive Soul is capable, and have not wanted thoſe that were inferior. Nevertheleſs, I have not in this Voyage always floated on a Calm Sea, but have often met with croſs Winds and Storms, with many Troubles of Mind, and Temptations to Evil. And yet though I have been and am a Man compaſs'd about with Humane Frailties, Almighty God has, by his Grace, kept me from making Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conſcience, the thought of which is now the Joy of my Heart, and I moſt humbly praiſe him for it; and I humbly acknowledge, that it was not my ſelf, but he, that hath kept me to this great Age, and let him take the Glory of his Mercy. And now my dear Friend, continues he, I now ſee that I draw near my Harbour of Death; that Harbour that will ſecure me from all the future Storms and Waves of this reſtleſs World; and I praiſe God I am willing to leave it, and expect a better; that World, wherein dwelleth Righteouſneſs. And to him I add the Example of Mr. George Herbert, that bleſſed Man, that other David, that tuned his Soul with Heavenly Thoughts, and Muſically lived, and Muſically died. Mr. Walton in his Life tells us, that in the time of his laſt Decays, he did often thus expreſs himſelf to Mr. Woodnot and his other Friends, that attended him in his Languiſhing Condition.
I now look back upon the Pleaſures of my Life paſt, and ſee the Content I have taken in Beauty, in Wit, in Muſick, and pleaſant Converſation are now all paſt by me, like a Dream, or as a Shadow that returns not, and are all now become dead to me, or I to them: And I ſee, that as my Father and Generation has done before me, ſo I alſo ſhall now ſuddenly (with Job) make my Bed in the dark and I praiſe God I am prepared for it; and I praiſe him that I am not to learn Patience, now I ſtand in ſuch need of it, and that I have practiſed Mortification, and endeavoured to die daily, that I might not die Eternally: And my Hope is, that I ſhall ſhortly leave this Valley of Tears, and be free from all Fevers and Pain: And which will be a more Happy Condition, I ſhall be free from Sin, and all the Temptations and Anxieties that attend it; and this being paſt, I ſhall dwell in the New Jeruſalem, dwell there with Men made perfect; dwell where theſe Eyes ſhall ſee my Maſter and Saviour Jeſus, and with him ſee my Relations and my Friends: But I muſt die, or not come to that happy Place; and this is my Content, that I am going daily towards it; and that every day that I have lived, hath taken a part of my appointed time from me: And that I ſhall live the leſs time for having lived thus, and the day paſt — And to another he ſaid, My dear Friend, I am ſorry that I have nothing to preſent to my merciful God but Sin and Miſery; but the firſt is pardoned, and a few hours will now put a period to the latter.
Thirdly, Do not murmur, if ſome that began to wait upon God later than you, yet have more Joys. He is gracious to you ſtill, and he may do with his own what he will. Though it is your Privilege to have ſerved him long, yet remember you are at the beſt, and when you have done all, but unprofitable Servants; they that came in later to the Vineyard, may have as much Joy as you, but you have as much as you deſerve: He may give to his Returning Prodigals very noble Entertainment, but you that are elder are not excluded from the Feaſt, you may come and taſte of the Fatted Calf, and ſhare in all the Feſtival Solemnities and Joys of others. The Surlineſs of the elder Brother in the Parable, diſcovered a great deal of Spiritual Pride; made him undutiful to his Father, and unkind to his Brother, whom in Union to his Father's Carriage, he ſhould have welcom'd home. There was in all the Behaviour towards him, nothing of Injuſtice or Partiality, he took nothing from the Elder to give the Younger, he did not ſtrip him to cloath his Brother. Can you who are Aged murmur who muſt have Heaven at laſt? In the mean time God is yours, all that he hath is yours, his Son, his Word and Promiſes, and Innumerable Bleſſings. It ſhould rejoyce you, to think that theſe younger Servants of your Maſter may prove eminent Inſtruments of his Glory, when you are at reſt from your Labours.
Fourthly, With humble reliance on the Grace of God, endeavour to perſevere in his Service to the laſt moments of your Lives. You have done a great deal for Chriſt, which is matter of Joy, but you have done it all with his aſſiſtance, which is matter of Humility, 1 Cor. 15.9, 10. Alas, how little have you done for God, of what you might have done: It was a great Favour to you, that you did not grow old among his Enemies; but it is a Favour that obliges you to a particular Acknowledgment. Oh take heed leaſt having begun in the Spirit, you end in the Fleſh, and degenerate to Formality and Worldlineſs, and a vain Religion: Take heed leaſt your latter end be not worſe than your beginning; Paul the Aged, and a Priſoner, was ſtill doing good, Philem. 9. Some will ſay I have laboured ſo hard, and done ſo much, I hope I may now ſit ſtill and take mine eaſe. You muſt labour till your laſt Sand be run; you muſt labour from your firſt Morning to the concluſion of your day, from your Converſion to your Death; and you muſt ſtrive that your laſt days may be your beſt.
To all ſuch aged Servants of our Lord, ſo Steddy, ſo Religious, and ſo Fruitful, there is a great Reverence due from young People: We muſt not deſpiſe thoſe that are Old, for if we live we ſhall be ſo too, and then others may with juſtice treat us as we treated them; a good old Man or Woman are never to be ſpoke of, but with terms of Reſpect, and not with ſuch a ſlight Air, and jearing Contemptuous ſort of Expreſſion, that is uſual with many giddy People; with all imaginable deference does St. Paul ſpeak of Andronicus and Junia who were in Christ before him, Rom. 16.7. And as Solomon obſerves, Prov. 16.31. The heary head is a Crown of Glory, if it be found in the way of Righteouſneſs, that is, Old Age is very honourable, if it do not diſhonour it ſelf by a Courſe of wicked Actions. The wiſe King intimates, that a great reſpect is to be paid to one who has long travelled in the beſt way, ſomewhat reſembling that which is to be given to a Crowned Head. It's a moſt comely thing to ſee Grace ripening with the Maturity of Age; and the number of Services to God and Men, bearing proportion with the number of increaſing Years: Old Age, though decrepit, is honourable, like the Ruins of ſome noble Palace, there remains in the Fragments of the ſtately Structure, ſome Gracefulneſs and Beauty, ſomething uncommon and Magnificent. It may be ſaid of Goodneſs of a long ſtanding, as of old Gold, old painting, Sculpture, Statuary and Architecture; the Pieces that have moſt Antiquity, are generally moſt valuable, their Duration does not leſſen, but increaſe their Excellence: Good old Age is, to the true diſcerners of things, full of Wonder and Obſervation, as in a Winter or a Froſt Landskip may be expreſſed a curious deal of Art, though ſuch as are young Practitioners in Painting, may perhaps be more affected with thoſe Deſcriptions that repreſent the blooming Spring. 'Tis certain that Perſons advanced in years and Grace, have a more eſtabliſh'd Love to God than younger People; and we may, as to this, prefer their more grounded Knowledge, before that of ſuch as have been but a while tutored and diſciplin'd in the School of Chriſt.