Addresses to Old Men Young Men and Little Children, Improvement 2

Addresses to Old Men Young Men and Little Children · Improvement 2

p. 19IMPROVEMENT II.

It remains, that Old men be now call…d upon, to do several good things wh…ch the Lord their God requireth of them. As the Prophet Joel, chap. 1.2. began a Sermon so; H…ar this ye old men; this is the preface that I am to give unto the rest of my Discourse, Hear this ye old men; O hear that your Souls may live. I have not forgotten, that I am to Entreat old men as Fathers, and therefore, my Fathers, I do with a most filial Affection entreat you, to attend unto a few Directions; which have this to challenge your earnest heed, that they are not Mine, but Gods.

The first Counsel.

I entreat you Fathers, that you be not content with a common measure in the more common knowledge of him that is from the Beginning. He is called, the Antient of Days; O that all ancient men would study to know much of a Subject so agreeable! You best know, what you have all this while been contriving and labouring for the getting of; p. 20but an old man once under the inspirations of the Almighty, gave that advice to Solomon, in Prov. 4.7. Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get Wisdom. And surely, an old man himself is not unconcerned in that Advice! A common knowledge o… the Lord Jesus Christ, indeed is not enough to make you happy; but I am sure the want of such knowledge will render you both wretched here and undone for ever. He was a wise man that said, in Prov. 19.2. That the Soul be without knowledge, it is not good; but it is not so bad being without any Knowledge, as being without the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. This ignorance will prove the woful mother of two things. It will render your Ʋnbelief incurable. As it was said, in 1 cor. 2.8. Had they known, they would not have Crucify'd the Lord of glory; so may it be said, those that remain in their Distance from the Lord Jesus Christ They refuse the Lord of glory, because they have not the Knowledge of Him. And it will also render your Destruction unavoidable. It was of old complained, in Hos, 4.6. my people are destroy'd for the lack of knowledge; but the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus is that, the lack whereof is most of all destructive; the world will one day with hot Thunderbolts be set on a light Fire for it. Well then, look to it, Fathers, that you been't unacquainted with the Great Mystery of Godliness. If you have never yet studied that Mystery, I pray begin, and count not your selves too old to learn; that man is too old to live, that is too old to learn. p. 21The Ancient Heathen had an higher opinion than so, of their meaner Learning. Socrates would go to School when an old man, pleading that it was better to be Opsimathes than Amathes, better to be Late-learned, than to be Ʋnlearned. How much ought old men, to think thus of that Learning without which All men must find, That He that made them, will not have mercy on them, and He that formed them will shew them no Favour? 'Tis to be feared, that there is a lamentable ignorance about the Lord Jesus Christ, in many that have lived unto old Age under the Gospel of that blessed Lord. A famous Divine tells us, of an old man, who had enjoyed the constant Preaching of the Word, and yet when he lay on his Death-bed, he still thought, Jesus Christ was an amiable Youth, and other things too ridiculous to be recited. And it has been a scandal to me to see, how little many old men among our selves do understand about, The Covenant of Redemption, and some other important Articles. But, O get a little more knowledge of Jesus Christ, before you go; lest that most forlorn and fearful case be yours, in Job 36.12. They shall dy without Knowledge. To be corporally blind with Age, is not unusual; but for men to be Spiritually blind in Age is very dreadful. The Gray Hairs on the outside of your Heads, are not more Honourable, than the wrong Thoughts in the inside of them are pernicious, while you have not a good knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Old Luther did not reckon it a shame to profess himself, Discipulum Catechismi, one that still was every day learning his Catechism. Whether it be a shame or no, for you that are old men, to be Students in your Catechisms, I am certain, 'tis a more burning shame for you to be ignorant of the points which your Catechisms are to teach you. You have not so much as the beginning of true knowledge, till you know Him that is from the Beginning. The Apostle rebuked it, as a shameful Deficiency in those, Heb. 5.12. For the time, ye ought to be Teachers, yet ye need that one Teach you, which be the fi…st principles of the Oracles of God. They say, old men are twice Children; but O for shame, do not want the instruction which when you were first Children, you ought to have had about the Lord Jesus Christ. Nay, albeit, you knew never so much about the Lord Jesus Christ, …et there is a vast deal more behind still to learn. Old men, study a blessed Jesus, till you fathom yet more of his matchless Excellencies! If one of the Roman Emperours, had such a value for Knowledge, as in his old Age to be a sort of pupil still, and say, 'Tis good for old men to be learning still; surely, it becomes you to have as much value for the peerless Knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In a word, since you are so near to your Eternal Sabbath, you should gather a double portion of this Manna for your Souls; and follow these Directions in it.

First, Pray much for the knowledge of the p. 23Lord Jesus Christ. Would we have this Knowledge? we are counselled in Prov. 2.5. cry after it; he that writ that Counsel did himself obtain knowledge by asking for it. It is said, in Jam. 1.5. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask it. A sincere Prayer will do more, towards the Ʋnve…ling of Christs FACE, and the Ʋnsealing ou… EYe, than the prayerless Enquiries of many years. Now that the Eyes of your Bodies are almost out, O follow the Lord Jesus with such a cry for your Souls, as once that poor Son of sorrow made, Lord, that we may receive our sight! Those Ministers that study much on their Knees, will Preach best, and those christians that wrestle much on their Knees, will know most, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be continually praying like Moses, Lord, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory; and let not your Declining Sun set with you, till by ardent prayer, you have got the Day-star to arise in your Hearts.

Secondly, Think much for the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The custome of Isaac will very much befriend the Knowledge of Jesus; that young man has left a pattern for old men to follow. Old men, you have now time to think; O spend as much as you can of that little time in Meditations upon the Lord Jesus Christ. 'Tis said of Moses in Exod. 19.3. That he went up to God, and then the Lord called unto him, come up? The Jewish Expositors have this gloss upon it; That Moses first made a spiritual Ascent by Meditation, & then he was favoured with a bodily Ascent unto very p. 24heavenly Communions. Meditation, 'twill carry you up into the Mount of God, when you are so old, that you cannot Ascend a Chamber in your Houses without help or pain; yea, 'twill carry you within the Vail of God, and bring you to the view of, Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant. Every day then discourse unto your selves on some Divine Subject, until you feel some lively Impression of it, on your Souls; and have special Eye to the Lord Jesus Christ in your Assiduous Meditations: said the Psalmist, Psal. 119.100. I have more understanding than all my Teachers, for thy Testimonies are my meditation; I understand more than the Ancients. Behold the way, for you that are Ancients, to get much Ʋnderstanding of the Lord Jesus Christ; let your daily meditation be on those Oracles of God, whereof he says, They testifie of me.

Thirdly and lastly, Frequent the Ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the Knowledge of him; these are the glasses, of which we are told, 2 cor. 3.18. Therein we behold the glory of the Lord; and so, we attain the knowledge of the Lord. Old men, as long as ever your legs can carry you, O be getting into those Galleries where you may find the Lord Jesus Christ. Yea, attend upon His Worship, tho you do it as good old Jacob, leaning on the top of a staff. Be glad of every Appointment, wherein you have that Invitation, behold, the Lamb of God; be glad of every Opportunity wherein you may have that priviledge, to see the goings of the great King in the Sanctuary. Repair to all the p. 25Ordinances, of the Lord, saying like those honest Greeks of old, we would see Jesus! we would see Jesus! But for this end, especially repair to the Supper of the Lord. It is an horrible thing to see an old man turn his back on the Holy Table, and it is a sorrowful thing for such an one to dy out of Church-fellowship. The Psalmist could say, in Psal. 92.13, 14. they that are planted in the House of the Lord, shall bring forth fruit in old Age; 'tis a barren old man that is not found in the house of the Lord. I beseech you, that before you go out of the world, you get into the Church; and when you are at the Sacrament in the Temple, you may like old Simeon, take up the Lord Jesus in your Arms, and sing, Lord, now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace; for mine Eyes have seen thy Jesus here.

I remember an Apparition of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, wherein he seems to have something of an old man upon him; 'tis said in Rev. 1.14. His Head and his hairs were white like Wool, as white as the Snow. O that old men, that all of you, whose heads are white with Age, would be restless till you have a sight of Him.

The second Counsel.

With a common Knowledge of, I entreat you, Fathers, endeavour to get a saving Interest in, him, that is from the Beginning. O make sure of that, before the end of your days come upon you.

p. 26Consider, first, You cannot be far from the end of your days in this evil world. You may sadly look backward on the few days that have already passed, and as it were, stolen, from you; and you may then look forward, assuring of your selves, I have not near so many years to Live, as those that have already gone from me like a tale that is told; it was but yesterday that I came into the world, and now before to morrow, I shall be gone out again. It was the Emphatical Expession of the Apostle, in 1 Cor. 7.29. this I say, Brethren, the time is short, or as the Greek word carries it, the time is Furling; q. d. you are like Mariners, just ready to put a shore. Even so, this I say, Fathers, the Sail of time is just furling with you; you are just putting into the harbour, where you shall step a shore on the Banks of a long E…ernity. An old Grecian walking once very slowly, said unto a Stander-by, After this fashion I am stepping into the Grave; and another old Grecian that felt his Ancles failing him, complain'd, that death had bitten him by the Legs. You cannot stir many steps, without many such admonitions of the Mortality, which you are near unto. It can't be long, before you pass into your Eternal State; the vital Ty between your Spirits and your Bodies, will not much longer hold together; there are but a few Sands now left in the bottom of your Glass, and your Light is within one Inch of going out. You may say like Father Isaac, in Gen. 27.1. Behold, now I am old, and I know not the day of my death; but you may also p. 27say, since I am old, I do know that my Death cannot be many days off. It was the Speech of as good an old man, as ever lived, in Josh. 23 2, 4. I am old and stricken in Age; behold this day I am going the way of all the Earth. If you are old, I am sure you are going. Young men may Dy, but old men must; and I am to tell you about the day of your Death, as the Prophet speaks about the Day of the Lord, It is near, it is near, and it hasteneth greatly.

Consider Secondly, The End of your Days, will be but the beginning of your never-ending Miseries, if you dy without a saving Interest in Him that is from the Beginning. 'Tis none but he that is from the Beginning, who can deliver you from the woes and plagues that will never have an end. We are told in 1 Thes. 1.10 it is Jesus who delivers from the wrath to come; without an Ʋnion to Him, that wrath will come upon you, and after it is already come, it will be still to come, there will be more of it still to come throughout Eternal Ages. You that are near to your Death, are as near unto the Worm that never dyes, and unto the Fire that never shall be quenched, if a speedy Conversion prevent it not. It is a dreadful word in Joh. 8.24. Ye shall dy in your sins. Be not so thick of Hearing in this your old Age, as to be deaf unto this Warning of God; If you do not quickly get out of your sins by a closure with the Lord Jesus Christ, you'l dy in them; but so to Dy is to dy under the formidable Curse of the Omnipotent p. 28God, and it is to Dy exposed unto the Vengeance of Eternal Fire. Poor old man, Thou hast already seen many bitter dismal doleful days, and had thy Heart often broken with those Evil Days; but be assured, all the past black Hours of thy life are but the beginning of sorrows, if thou dost not immediately get an Interest in Him that is from the Beginning. If an old man don't get out of old Adam before he die, he will find an o…d Hell prepared for him; and this also circumstanced with very dreadful Aggravations. How many sins does a man commit in one Fifty or Threescore Years! But old men, if you are still out of Christ, the God of Heaven remembers all your old sins, as fresh as if they had been done but this very morning. Our Lord said of some that were Dead and Damn'd many years before, in Joh. 10 8. they ARE Theives. Even so, the old man out of Christ IS in the account of God, the same sinner that once he was; it may be said of him, as once it was of some, He is not purged from his old sins. But what a prodigious load of sins then lies upon such an old man, to sink him into the Sulphureous Abyss of Hell! Hence 'twas said in Isa. 65.20. the Sinner an hundred years old, shall be Accursed. It is promised as a great blessing, to live near an hundred years; but if a man be a Sinner at that Age, his Age will be but a Curse unto him, he shall have cause to wish that he had never seen such an Age as that. Such a wretched old man must not only perish, but also go down to the Pit with p. 29heavier Loads of Confusion and Vexation than those that had not lived so long; that as 'twas said of one, It had been good for that man, he had never been born; so it may be said of this man, It had been good for him, he had never lived half so many years in the world. When he is Roaring in the Fiery Vaults below, I am tormen…ed in this Flame! he will add this Lamentation & Execration thereunto, Why dyed I not from the Womb? why did I not give up the Ghost when I came out of the Belly? It was of old given, as a Resolve to the problem, Quis miserrimus Senex egenus. What is the most miserable sight in the world? Answer, an old man in want; an old man without bread. But I'le tell you a far more miserable sight; and that is, An Old man in sin; an Old man without Christ, an Old man without Grace; an Old man tumbling down into the pits of Eternal Desolation.

Consider, Thirdly; It is not as yet altogether too late for you to Begin the work of getting a saving Interest in Him that is from the Beginning. 'Tis indeed a thousand pitties that you have thus long delay'd this work; which is, the One thing Needful. If you should now be brought home unto Lord Jesus Christ, you must bewayl your selves, like Paul, in 1 Cor. 15.8. Alas, I am as one born out of due time. But it is not altogether too late! 'Tis true, that the Regeneration of an old man, is a thing very improbable; as it was said in Joh. 34. How can a man be born, when he is old? So may we fear, How can a man be New-born, when he is p. 30old? When the Devil has had an old poss…ssion of, and prescription for an Immortal Soul, it is not easy to cast him out; Sin and Lust has a st…onger Hold of an Old man, than of another. But yet it is not altogether impossible; it may be said unto the Christless old men in the Congregation, There is yet Hope in Israel concerning you. There is a Door of Hope yet kept open for you; and after all your multiply'd Iniquities and Abominations, Yet return unto me, saith the Lord, and I will not cause my Anger to fall upon you. As 'tis said, in Heb. ….7 To day, after so long a time, harden not your Hearts. Even so, altho' you have slighted the Lord Jesus Christ, so long a time; altho' you have been Disobedient unto the Calls of God, and unfruitful under all the means of good, so long a time; yet if now, after so long a time, you will come in unto the Saviour of your Souls, he will have mercy on you. The blessed Lord Jesus Christ is this Day making an Offer of Righteousness and Strength and Life unto us all, and the old men among us, as well as the rest are concerned in it. Our Lord once came unto one that seems to have been a pretty old man, and said unto him, as in Joh. 5.6. Jesus knew he had been a long time ill, and said unto him, wilt thou be made whole? Thus does our gracious Lord come unto those old men among us, that have been a long time in the Calamities of their Natural Estate, and he says unto them, Old man, shall I have thee, and heal thee and help thee? Old man, shall I be the Lord and Saviour of thy Soul? p. 31I am willing to make thee happy, if thou wilt yet consent, before I shut the Door of mercy on thee. O by no means Despair, but Accept, of this Glorious Grace. Once the Devil told you, 'tis too soon! perhaps he now tells you, 'tis too late! but believe not that old Lyar, whether he speak fair or hard unto you. In the Primitive Times, there was one Victorius, a very old man, converted unto Christianity; and the Church would not receive him for some time, for thought they, old sinners do not use thus to retu…n unto God. But he made his Conversion so apparent, that they sang Hymns about it in the Christian Assemblies, & it was every where proclaimed, Old Victorius is become a Christian! old Victorius …s become a Christian! Even so, that shout may yet come to be made over the oldest Unbeliever here, That old Sinner is brought home to the Lord Jesus after all. We had in this Country, an Instance of one, that was made a New-creature, after he had spent an hundred years in the Tents of wickedness. But methinks, the Tender of a full Pardon to an old Rebel, should break the very hear of him; O how can you now forbear making th… Reply unto that merciful King, the Lord Jes… Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord o… God.

Well then, let every old man immediately R… tire to think upon the rueful Necessities of a r… ver dying Soul, just ready to fly away into the R… gions of Eternity. Think on them, till you your selves horribly perishing, in an incura… p. 32guilt, and blindness, and slavery, unless the Lord Jesus Christ become your Surety for good. Hereupon, with much Humility and Sincerity, and with a most unutterable Agony, resign your Souls into his blessed Hands, begging of him, and hoping in him, to do for you, all that which He does for any of his Chosen Ones for evermore; yea, for the more safety and sureness, renew this work, & keep doing so, till at your last Breath, you receive the end of your Faith, even the Salvation of your Souls.

If you had been converted unto the Lord Jesus many years ago, yet would you now see cause to complain with old Austin, Lord, it was too late, when I first began to love thee! O what haste ought you then to make, in returning now to the Bishop of your Souls, from whom you have been miserably wandring for so long a time?

It is a great over-sight in an old man, if he have not made his Will, and so disposed his Affairs that when he comes to Dy, he may have nothing to do but Dy.

But O see to it in the first place, that the first Article of your Will be well dispatched, & assured, by your giving of your Souls unto the Lord Jesus Christ.

The third Counsel.

Govern the little that remains of your Lives, p. 33by the Rules of Him that is from the Beginning. The Apostle tells Old men, in 1 Joh. 2.7. I write unto you an old Commandment, which ye had from the Beginning. It becomes you to follow the wholesome Rules, which He that is from the Beginning has given you; inasmuch as they are Old Commandments, which you have had from the Beginning. Let me a little insist upon one of those old Commandments which you find in Tit. 2.2. That the Aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound, in Faith, in Charity, in patience.

Behold six vertues, which all Old men should be studious of.

The first Vertue that well becomes an old man, is that of Sobriety. The Greek word for this may bear an Allusion to those Ancient Sacrifices, which had no Wine used in them. An Old man should be no lover of Wine; or any Strong, inebriating, intoxicating Liquors. If old Noah will he Drunk, he shamefully exposes his Nakedness to all Spectators. 'Tis very deplorable, to see how many Old men, degenerate into the worse-than-beastly Vice of Drunkenness, and this oftentimes after a long and a strict Profession of Religion. They often imagine (and often 'tis but an Imagination) that their Stomachs call for Cordials; and hereupon, first they sip now and then at a Cup, which quickly so far bewitches them, that they can swallow down very scandalous quantities. They come to be never well, but when Rhum or Sack or some such poison is upon their palates, and they soon p. 34lose all that savour of Religion which would be their Glory. But what is the Word of the great God? It is, Wo to the Drunkard! It is, The Drunkard shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. O shun this destroying vice, knowing the Terrour of the Lord. For them that Stagger with Age, at the same time to stagger with Drink; to see an old man Reeling, Spewing, Stinking with the excesses of the Ta…ern; 'tis too loathsom a thing to be mentioned without a very zealous Detestation. What Heart would not have bled at the sight of old Lot overtaken with Drink, and that after so many mercies as had been bestowed upon him? Be sober. But the word may also be rendred, Be watchful. Old men are prone to he sl…epy; whatever your Eyes may be, yet let not your Minds be so. Be watchful against all the Assaults that a busy Tempter may make upon you. Be watchful unto all the Duties that the Most High God obligeth you unto. And be so watchful, that the Last Enemy may not surprize you at unawares.

The second Vertue, that much adorns an Old man, is that of Gravity. The Greek word implies both Majesty and Modesty. An old man should keep up some Authority among his Juniors; and be able to say with him of old, Men have hearkened and waited, and kept silence at my Counsel, if I laughed on them, they believed it not. A trifling & childish, & frolicksome sort of carriage, all Buffoonry in an old man, is very disagreeable; p. 35it was old Chrysostoms Expression, That an old man of a Juvenile Conversation is extreamly ridiculous. We cannot Reverence you, unless your grave Looks, as well as your gray Hairs, demand it of us. But nothing is more Nauseous and Odious in an old man, than the Levity of Lasciviousness. For old men to talk bawdily and filthily, and for old men to discover that the cursed Fires of their Youth are not yet extinguish'd in them, Out upon it! For those Eyes that are sunk into their Sockets, to be yet full of Adal…e…y for those Mouths that are going to be fin'd with earth, to be yet full of Rotten Communication; 'tis, how incongruous! An old man should (as one says) be glad that Age has delivered him from a Mad-man that once had power over him. Ʋnchastity in any man renders him the Abhorred of the Lord; but in an old man it is more peculiarly fulsome, nasty, and that which also renders him the Abhorred of the Neighbourhood. As the old Eleazar chose rather to Dy, than to eat forbidden Swines Flesh, a bruitish Lust should be more abominable unto every old Professor.

The third Vertue that should set off an old man, is that of Temperance. The Greek word also signifies Discretion. An old man should be a wise man; for, no fool so bad as the old fool. An old man should as the phrase imports, Keep his mind under Government; and restrain and repel inordinate Affections. Mortification is but proper for them that are just ready to Dy. Be prudent, be p. 36wary in your whole Behaviour, and be moderate in all your inclinations towards the pleasures, or the profits, or the honours of this deceitful world. You know who said, Among the Ancient is Wisdom, and in the length of days is Ʋnderstanding.

A fourth Vertue, necessary to an old man is O… thodoxy. You must be found in Faith. You are to be our Teachers, our Tutors; our Eyes are upon you for a Tradition of the Faith once delivered unto the Saints. If you be wavering in any point of our Faith, it will cause us much more to stumble and stagger at it. You that have had the Word of God so long, should now at least be well fixed, and well settled in the principles of Christianity; and not be tainted with any Scepticism or Heresy. When we see an old man that leans upon a Reed, we should not see, A Reed shaken with the Wind. May you that are just upon Dying, not only be careful to Dy in the Truth, but be as ready to Dy for it, as that blessed old Babylas, who at Ninety Years of Age, going to his Martyrdome cry'd out, Return to thy Rest, O my Soul, for the Lord has now dealt bountifully with thee.

A fifth Vertue r…quisite in an old man is Charity. You must be sound in Chari…y; that is, you must labour to do all the go…d you can. An old man should like old Bradford, …e always doing of some Good, with Tongue, or Pur…e, or some other way. Perhaps you have a long while been Serving your Generation; yet you are to do a little more Service; and be Serviceable until you are by your Great p. 37Master called away. Husband well every minute of the Little Time that is left, by being alwayes employed for the good of them that shall come after you. Albeit your age may excuse you from Serving in civil or military Offices among your Neighbours, yet should you be charitably pursuing of their Good, as far as ever you can. There are especially two ways of Doing good, in which you may be very Serviceable. One is, by charging of us. Call us often before you, and lay the Charge of God upon us, That we know and serve the God of our Fathers. Another is, by praying for us. Be much in prayer for the Rising Generation; and since you are past the doing of any thing in the Field, get into the Mount, that you may there procure for us the Salvations of the Lord. It was the Expression of our Venerable old Eliot, when he grew towards Ninety Years of Age; Every thing now fails me, I have nothing left; but I thank God, my Charity holds out still, that rather grows than fails. That every old man were of such a Spirit!

A sixth Vertue required of an old man is Patience. Old men, are often froward, & peevish, hard to please; you should lay aside that Morosity. One that calls his Book, The old mans Physician, has largely, luculently, pathetically represented the mischiefs which old men endure, by perturbations in their Minds. Bear patiently the Infirmities of that Old Age which you are now arriv'd unto. Tully mentions an old man, who being Aged seven p. 38years above an Hundred, used still to say, Nihil habeo quod Accusem Senectutem; I see nothing in old age to be complained of. Be not then full of complaints; and grow not weary of Living. Do not impatiently long for Death, nor say with old Elijah, It is enough, now, O Lord, take away my life. Grow continually in your submission to the will of God, and under all your Trials call upon your selves as once the Martyr did, Hold out, faith and patience, a little more, Heaven will quickly make amends for all. These things does the Apostle speak to Old Men: But, I hope, the old women will take the pains to Read what follows: Likewise that the aged women be of a Behaviour that becometh Holiness, not false Accusers, not given to much Wine, teaching that which is good; that they may teach the young women. The good God make you all such Mothers in Israel.

The Fourth Counsel.

Endeavour now to live as those that are just now going to Him that is from the Beginning.

Wherefore,

First, Be sensible of, be affected with, the change that will immediately be made upon you. What is a Senex, but a Seminex: An old man, is half a dead man. It was the petition in Psal. 90.12. Teach us to Number our Dayes. Let that Sacred Arithmetic be your Exercise; compute, How few days of your Appointed Number can be still behind. p. 39Be willing to hear of Dying; and not like that English Queen, who cast a Minister out of her Favour, for telling her in a Sermon, That old time had sprinkled his Meal upon her Aged Head. Promise not your selves always, to rub out still one Lustre of years more in the world; altho', one of the Ancients has told us, Nemo tam Decrepitae Senectutis est, ut non se putet unum adhuc Annum esse victurum. Ever mark it, when you hear an Old Man brag how strong and hale he still is, and how likely to live at least one dozen more of years, 'tis a thousand to one but that Old Man is within a few months of his unsuspected end. I pray, look often into your Coffins; and if you have no other Monitors of your Mortality, let your own Children, and your own Bodies, perform that Office for you. Perhaps you see your own Children becoming Parents, and the third and fourth Generation is arising from you. The sight of them gives no little pleasure unto the yet living Ancestor, who commonly proves, the Older the Fonder; but methinks it should give you a solemn Warning too, and cause you to Remember, That you are now marching off apace. You must needs also feel your crazy Bodies under daily and speedy Approches to a Dissolution.

Non habitus, non ipse color, non gressus euntis,

Non species eadem que fuit ante manet.

Will you take a short view of your picture, as p. 40'tis drawn by a Pencil of the Sanctuary, in the …ast lines of an aged and an able Preacher.

The Sun, the Light, the Moon & the Stars begin to be Darkned with you; that is, your parts are under a Decay, your Fancy, your Judgment, your Memory are now failing of you. Again, The Clouds come one upon another after the Rain; that is, you are troubled not only with concontinual Defluxions, but also with a vicisitude of returning and various Infirmities. Once more, The Keepers of the House tremble; that is, your Hands now shake and shrink, and must lean upon a staff. Wherewithal, The strong men bow themselves; that is, your Thighs and Legs now buckle under you. And then, The grinders cease, because they are diminished; that is, your Teeth grow weak and few, and are almost all rotted out. Furthermore, Those that look out of the Windows be Darkned; that is, your eyes become Dim, and Clouds disturb the visive powers in them; but give then your thanks to God, that has of late years bestow'd the Invention of Glasses upon the world. Furthermore, The two Leaves of the Door shall be shut towards the Street, with a falling of the sound of the Milstone; that is, your mouths now have but little to do, and your Meals become tender seldom. Besides, there is Rising at the sound of the Bird; that is, you can't lie long asleep; nor sleep late in a Morning. Moreover, The little musical Instruments are brought low; that is, you become Deaf, and thick of Hearing. Likewise, there is p. 41a tearing of that which is High, and a trembling in walking; that is, you can't without some Difficulty go up a pair of Stairs, and are in danger of stumbling at every stone in the street. Herewith the Almond-tree flourisheth; that is, you have your Heads as full of gray hairs, as the Almond-tree is of white Flowers. Also, the Grashopper is a burden; or, as the word may be rendred, the backbone; that is, your Backs are so feeble that instead of carrying any thing else, they can scarce bear themselves. In fine, Desire fails; that is, to Meats or Drinks, or the other Delights of humane Life; all this is, because you are going to the House where you are to dwell for ever. All these things intimate that it can't be long before the Silver Cord of your spinal marrow will be snap't, or before the Golden Bowl of the Membrane that covers your Brain, will be broken; that it can't be long before the pitcher of your Arterious Vein be crackt at the right ventricle of your heart, which is the Fountain from whence it fetches your blood into your Lungs; that it can't be long before the Wheel of your great Artery, be split at the left ventricle of your Heart, which is the Cistern whereby 'tis carried into and thorough that noble Bowel; in a word, that it can't be long, before the circulation of your Blood be fatally and forever stop'd, and that Liquor of Life corrupt in a total stagnation of it. Old men, behold what symptoms are upon you, and seriously perswade your selves, that your Dust will quickly return to p. 42the Earth, as it has been there, and your Spirit shall Return unto God that gave it.

Secondly, Believe that till your Change comes, you shall be sufficiently provided for, by Him that is from the Beginning. 'Tis a meer paradox of Original Sin, 'tis a Mystery of Iniquity, that the Older men grow, they often grow the more Earthly, & the more careful. As 'tis hard to say whether the Greek Name for an old man, intimates one Looking to, or one Loving of the Earth; So, Old Men too much lay their Hearts where their Heads are going to be laid; Solum unum hoc vitium adfert senectus hominibus; Attentiores sumus ad rem omnes, quam sat est; the fear of want comes upon them; and they are then most anxious about living in the world, when they are just going out of the world. Hence they become infinitely sparing and sordid, and they scrape to lay up, without any Bounds. It is needless to bring Augustin for a Voucher, That cum cuncta vitia in sene senescat sola Avaeritia Juvenescit. But, Fathers, your dishonour your selves. You are at this pains to hoard up Legacies and Portions, for those that perhaps will nor thank you for them; and you fearfully disoblige the kind Providence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Said the Psalmist in Psal. 71.17, 18. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth; now also, when I am Old and Gray-headed, O God forsake me not. Why, good Sir, you need not fear it. Who is it that has fed you from your Youth? & cloath'd you, from your Youth? and kept you, from your p. 43Youth? Why, the same Lord will still provide for you. He that is from the Beginning, has look't after you hither to from the Beginning; and will he leave you now! No, He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. The Philosopher said, Before Old Age, my care was to live well; but now under Old Age, all my care is to Dy well. And indeed you have nothing else to take any care about; let the promise encourage you to confine your Cares unto Dying in the Lord. 'Tis horrible to see with what a possession the Devil holds the Soul of many a poor Old man, when he has made them lay aside their dependance upon that unsailing promise of God. The very design of the Apostle in our Context here, is to correct the sin of worldiness, particularly in Aged Men. Let them that may have done with Hopes, have also done with Cares about the world.

Thirdly, Rejoice that when your Change comes, you shall go to the Enjoyments and Embraces of Him that is from the Beginning. Say with Aged Paul, in Phil. 1.23. I desire to Dislodge, and be with Christ, which is by far the best of all. Death is a sort of a Cloud now before your Eyes; but there is a Bright as well as a Dark side of that Cloud. Look on it, not as a Destroyer of your life, but as a Messenger of your Lord; it is but a Waggon that our Joseph, our Jesus, will shortly send for you, to fetch you thither, where you shall behold his Glory: O be Ravished at the Thought of this, and Rejoice in the Hope of the glory of God. If it in any p. 44measure afflict you to think, what you are going from; then think joyfully, what you are going to. Think, that you are going from a World wherein your Dayes have been few and ill, and wherein you never can expect them to be otherwise; but think that you are going to a world of undisturbed Happiness, where there is Fulness of Joy in the presence of your Lord, and there are Pleasures at his Right-hand for evermore. Methinks life should become a matter of patience, while death should be rather a matter of Desire with you, under the apprehension of the Joy that you are now so near unto. Methinks the Terrors of Death should be no more to you than they were to old Mr. Dod, who under a threatning Sickness being told, there was hope of his Life, reply'd, Alass, this is just as if a weather-beaten Marriner arriv'd unto his Haven, should be told he must put out to Sea again. My Fathers, how can you forbear longing to be in the Fruition of Him that has loved you, and washed you from your Sins, in his own Blood!

Fourthly, Let all the little spot of time between this and your Change, be wholly spent in a Communion with Him that is from the Beginning. An impartial Reflection will give you to see that you have lost a world of time, since you first came into the world; and how much ought this to fill you with an unalterable Resolution that you will well Husband the little inch of time which yet remains. As 'twas said in Eph. 5.16. Redeem the time because the days are evil; to you I say, Redeem p. 45the time because your days are ending. O spend it all in a most close and sweet Communion with your blessed Saviour; and as Israel made more way toward Canaan in a year or two at last than they did in forty years before; so do you towards Heaven in this reduced Age; and procure that Commendation, Thy last works are more than the first. It is required of an old woman, in 1 Tim. 5.5. she continues in Supplications and Prayers night and day. So should an old man abound in Supplications to God night and day, in Meditations on Christ night and day, in preparations for Death night and day. 'Tis convenient that you should now Retreat and Retire from the business of the world, and that the best part of your time should be taken up in serious Devotions. You should now more than ever engage in such a walk, as you may expect like Elias to be snatched up into eternal Glory from Let not a day now pass you without many salleys of your Souls towards a sublime Acting of many Graces in it; and let not a night come upon you, without renewing your peace with God, and your close with Christ. Get near to him, keep near to him, dwell always in him. You have one foot in the Grave; where should the other be, but in Heaven? Let your whole talk, and your whole walk be full of Heaven, and Initiate your selves as much as you can, at the Employments of that Heaven, where I now commit you into the Blessed Arms of Him that is from the Beginning.