J . / ^ , c 
 
 {ss-t' 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. ^ 
 
 Presented by^ &^ (J\ A ;J^QQc\V \\A\ fr^:X 
 BV 4580 .B8 1860 
 Burnham, Samuel, 1833-1873. 
 Life's evening; or, thought 
 for the aged 
 
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 ' / / / ^ 
 
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 LIFE'S EVENING; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THOUGHTS FOR THE AGED. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OP "LIFE'S MORNING," ETC. 
 
 " The shadows of the evening are stretched out." 
 
 Jer. vi. 4. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 J. E. TILTON AND COMPANY, 
 
 161 Washington Street. 
 18 60. 
 
University Press, Cambridge : 
 Electiotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow, & Co. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 THE REVIEW OF LIFE 5 
 
 THE AGED CHRISTIAN 37 
 
 TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL 41 
 
 THE PROMISED STRENGTH 65 
 
 THE ENIGMA OP LIFE 89 
 
 SELF-JUSTIFICATION 92 
 
 THE LOSS OP MEMORY 115 
 
 "abide WITH us" 126 
 
 SYMPATHY AND SELFISHNESS 137 
 
 THE UNCHANGING FRIEND 149- 
 
 WORDS IN SEASON 172 
 
 LIGHT AT EVENTIDE 204 
 
 THE BANKS OF THE RIVER 206 
 
 WHEN WILT THOU DIE 1 235 
 
 THE HEAVENLY REST 238 
 
 OUR HOME 263 
 
%\t piefo flf Ixk 
 
 r^ busy day of life is over. Its pleasures, its 
 duties, and its anxieties have passed away. 
 The sunshine and the shade, which alternately 
 marked its path, have alike disappeared ; and 
 the soft tints of evening are gathered over 
 the sky. 
 
 The evening of life ! Yes : life has its sun- 
 set hour, its twilight season. The dim eye, 
 the silvered lock, and the feeble step, indicate 
 that the closing period of earthly existence has 
 arrived. How rapid has been the flight of 
 time ! how near must be the approach of 
 eternity ! 
 
6 life's evening. 
 
 The gradual decline of health and strength 
 is a kind and merciful preparative for the 
 solemn change which awaits us. It seems to 
 lessen the reluctance which our nature feels to 
 give up life ; to wean us from the varied attrac- 
 tions of earth ; to soften the abrupt transition 
 from the present to a future state of being. It 
 accustoms us to the consideration of death : it 
 assists us in the realization of immortality. 
 
 The evening of life ! Evening is the time 
 for rest. The little bird seeks its leafy roost ; 
 the rosy child throws aside its playthings and 
 falls asleep; the weary laborer comes home 
 from his work. The cares of the day are 
 forgotten ; and all is hushed and quiet. And 
 life's closing hours, Christian reader, should be 
 distinguished by serenity and repose. You 
 must not harass and perplex yourself now with 
 occupations which were once both appropriate 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 
 
 and necessary, nor repine because you are un- 
 able to exert yourself as in former days. Your 
 strength is to sit still. Old age is the resting- 
 place in the journey of life ; and the feverish 
 heat of noontide is exchanged for the refresh- 
 ing coolness of twilight. 
 
 An impatient, restless, grasping, or dissatis- 
 fied spirit is not consistent with the character 
 of an aged pilgrim. Habitual quietude and 
 self-possession should mark his demeanor. 
 Neither the excitements of the world, nor the 
 agitations of the professing Church, should 
 rufSe your equanimity ; for you are too expe- 
 rienced a traveller in this vale of tears to be 
 discomposed by the distractions around you, or 
 to doubt the wisdom and faithfulness of Him 
 who makes all things work together for good. 
 
 Your rest in Christ, your trust in him as 
 your Saviour, should be more perfect, more 
 
life's evening. 
 
 unwavering than in earlier years. "I know 
 whom I have believed, and am persuaded that 
 he is able to keep that which I have committed 
 unto him against that day,"* should be the 
 assured expression of your confidence in him. 
 Firmly placed on the Rock of ages, and fully 
 conscious of the security of your position, your 
 closing life should be a realization of that 
 promise in which God has engaged to keep in 
 '^ perfect peace " those whose minds are stayed 
 on him.f The cheerful, all-sustaining faith of 
 an aged Christian is one of the best testimo- 
 nies to the worth and reality of religion, and 
 furnishes a bright and encouraging example to 
 the lambs of the flock. Weary and distressed 
 by the arduous conflict in which he is engaged, 
 the youthful Christian is frequently too ready 
 to conclude with the desponding patriarch, 
 
 * 2 Tim. i. 12. t Isa. xxvi. 3. • 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 
 
 " All these things ar-e against me ; " * or to 
 exclaim with the sorrowful Psalmist, " I shall 
 perish one day." f At such seasons in his 
 experience, his faith is strengthened and his 
 hope is revived, as he beholds the tranquillity 
 and peace of some advanced believer, who has 
 safely passed through similar trials, and success- 
 fully surmounted similar temptations to his 
 own, and who is now enjoying a foretaste of 
 that rest which remaineth to the people of God. 
 Such repose is to him a pledge of his own 
 partial deliverance from toil and conflict ; and 
 the contemplation of it enables him to gird up 
 the loins of his mind, and to run with patience 
 the race set before him. 
 
 Then let those around you. Christian reader, 
 see that your hope is like an anchor sure and 
 steadfast ; that you are now confidently resting 
 
 * Gen. xlii. 36. t 1 Sara, xxvii. 1. 
 
10 life's evening. 
 
 upon those principles which have hitherto 
 sustained and guided you. Let no doubt 
 shadow your peace; no anxiety ruffle your 
 composure. You have struggled long with 
 trial and temptation ; you have tested in your 
 own experience the truth of God's promises ; 
 you have done his work among your fellow- 
 men ; and now you must calmly wait until 
 your Father's loving voice bids you welcome 
 home. 
 
 The evening of life ! Evening is the time 
 for reflection. Amidst the busy and exciting 
 occupations of the day there is seldom much 
 opportunity for serious consideration. Well- 
 disciplined minds, it is true, can control their 
 thoughts, and gather them around high and 
 holy subjects, even in those moments which 
 are necessarily devoted to worldly business ; but 
 most persons are so harassed and engrossed by 
 
THE REVIEW OP LIFE. 11 
 
 the constant claims upon their time and 
 attention, as scarcely to be able to cast a 
 hurried glance on things which are unseen and 
 remote ; and they feel how welcome and how 
 desirable is the evening hour for quiet medita- 
 tion, for self-examination, and for the formation 
 of wise and good lourposes. 
 
 Now, reader, your eventide of life should 
 be consecrated to calm and elevated thought. 
 Through the long period which is passed, you 
 have not perhaps redeemed much time for 
 hallowed consideration. Martha-like, you may 
 have been cumbered with much serving ; or, 
 Israel-like, you may have forgotten the Lord 
 your God. But whatever has been your 
 previous history, you are now, by the infirm- 
 ities of age, withdrawn from active duties, 
 that you may muse upon coming realities. 
 How thankful should you feel that there is yet 
 
12 
 
 a brief space allotted you for pious thought 
 and preparation, before you go hence and be 
 no more seen ! 
 
 In the peaceful twilight hour, when we sit 
 alone and commune with our own hearts, our 
 thoughts naturally turn to the occurrences of 
 the past day. Little mcidents, too trifling 
 perhaps to speak about, are reviewed and 
 dwelt upon ; virtuous actions which have been 
 performed win the approval of conscience, 
 and wanderings from duty call forth feelings 
 of regret ; pleasing events and painful trials 
 have each a share in our pensive musings : 
 varied indeed are the scenes which one day's 
 panorama brings before our view. And then 
 we generally glance at the future. We arrange 
 our plans for the coming day : we look for- 
 ward with glad expectance to the joys which 
 are in store for us ; or we shrink in fear and 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 13 
 
 despondency from the troubles which seem 
 associated with the morrow : and will not 
 your thoughts, aged reader, thus chiefly di- 
 vide themselves into retrospection and anti- 
 cipation ? 
 
 Retrospection. " Thou shalt remember all 
 the way which the Lord thy God led thee these 
 forty years in the wilderness." * Old age is 
 the most appropriate season for this consider- 
 ation of the past. The judgment is not so 
 likely to be warped by the heat of excitement, 
 nor the feelings to be swayed by the influence 
 of passion, as in youthful days. The veteran, 
 as he recalls the battle-field, can mark events, 
 and form opinions, far more advantageously 
 than the soldier who is engaged in the midst of 
 an action. Contemplate, then, your whole life, 
 from the dawn of infancy to its present de- 
 
 * Deut. viii. 2. 
 2 
 
14 life's evening. 
 
 cliiie ; trace out the many windings of your 
 pathway through the world; survey each 
 minute feature of your changeful history. 
 
 But is it pleasant to look back ? Are there 
 not many places in our pilgrimage where 
 memory dislikes to linger ? are there not many 
 facts in life's early records which we feel hap- 
 pier in forgetting? True, the remembrance 
 of our imperfections and our sins is painful 
 and self-condemning ; yet it is always best to 
 open one's eyes to the truth. Enter, then, 
 into a full and faithful examination of your 
 past history. Scrutinize your motives by the 
 tests with which God's word furnishes you ; 
 and try your conduct by his holy law. Let 
 neither pride nor prejudice hide the real state 
 of things from your view. How important is 
 it that, on the confines of eternity, you should 
 be kept from self-deception ! Ask God himself 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 15 
 
 to be your teacher. Make this your prayer, 
 " Search me, God, and know my heart : 
 try me, and know my thoughts : and see if 
 there be any wicked way in me, and lead me 
 in the way everlasting." * 
 
 What then is the result of your investiga- 
 tion ? What verdict does conscience, enlight- 
 ened from above, give concerning the past ? 
 It may be, nay, it must be, that you find 
 enough in your recollections to overwhelm 
 you with sorrow and confusion. So much 
 selfishness and worldliness have mingled with 
 your brightest deeds ; so much unfaithfulness 
 has been connected with your professed alle- 
 giance to Christ ; so much impurity of heart 
 and defilement of life are discovered by your 
 rigid self-inspection, — that you are ready to 
 exclaim with the Psalmist, " Enter not into 
 
 * Ps. cxxxix. 23. 
 
16 life's evening. 
 
 judgment with thy servant, Lord : for in thy 
 sight shall no man living be justified." * Or 
 perhaps your reflections on the past have con- 
 vinced you that you have hitherto been living 
 without God and without Christ in the world ; 
 that you have been so absorbed with the trifles 
 of earth as to have forgotten the attractions of 
 heaven ; that, although a responsible being, 
 and liable to be summoned at any moment to 
 your final account, you have gone carelessly 
 on in the ways of sin, and have disobeyed the 
 commands of the Most High. 
 
 The retrospect, in either case, is humbling. 
 Yet it leads to hope, and peace, and salvation. 
 Both to the troubled Christian and the penitent 
 sinner, the cheering annunciation of the Gos- 
 pel is, " The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us 
 from all sin." f " Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 
 * Ps. cxliii. 2. t 1 John i. 7. 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 17 
 
 Christ, and thou shalt be saved." * Then, 
 " Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall 
 be as white as snow ; though they be red like 
 crimson, they shall be as wool." f " Come 
 unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy 
 laden, and I will give you rest." J Full and 
 free forgiveness is offered to all who seek it at 
 his cross. Cast yourself, with all your sins, 
 however great their number, or aggravated 
 their guilt, at the Saviour's feet, saying, 
 " Lord, save me : I perish ! " and his gracious 
 response will be, " Thy sins are forgiven ; — 
 go in peace." § 
 
 Let the sorrowful and self-abasing remem- 
 brance of your iniquity make Christ in your 
 estimation increasingly precious. Your sin is 
 the dark background which throws his love 
 
 * Acts xvi. 31. t Matt. xi. 28. 
 
 t Isa. i. 18. § Matt. viii. 25 ; Luke vii. 48, 50. 
 
 2* B 
 
18 life's evening. 
 
 and his atonement into strong relief. 1 "Without 
 fhis sacrifice and intercession, how dark would 
 V be life's evening ! Not one star of hope would 
 illumine the sky ; not one ray of gladness 
 would beam on your spirit. But now the light 
 of the knowledge of the glory of God in the 
 face of Jesus Christ casts a lovely and softened 
 radiance on all around you and before you. 
 0, as you behold by faith the Lamb of God 
 which taketh away the sin of the world, as 
 you thankfully recognize in him your gracious 
 Mediator and ever-prevalent Intercessor, can 
 you not exclaim, with the aged and rejoicing 
 sinner, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant 
 depart in peace : for mine eyes have seen thy 
 salvation?"* 
 
 But the consideration of the past should not 
 only awaken penitence, it should excite grati- 
 
 * Luke ii. 29. 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 19 
 
 tude. You have been wonderfully preserved 
 from many dangers ; you have been safely 
 guided through many difficulties ; you have 
 been continually enriched with numberless 
 blessings. Surely goodness and mercy have 
 followed you all the days of your life. Recall 
 some of the multiplied proofs which you have 
 had of God's tender, parental care over you. 
 It would be impossible to recount every in- 
 stance of his goodness towards you, for mem- 
 ory, always imperfect, is now sadly impaired ; 
 but "forget not all his benefits." Each com- 
 fort which you have enjoyed through life came 
 from his beneficent hand ; each impulse to 
 good, and each resistance to evil which you 
 have felt, was through the impartation of his 
 grace. Can you not heartily acknowledge the 
 truthfulness of that charge which the dying 
 servant of the Lord pressed home upon the 
 
20 life's evening. 
 
 Israelites around him ? "Ye hiow that not 
 one thing hath failed of all the good things 
 which the Loi^d your God spake concerning 
 you ; all are come to pass, and not one thing 
 hath failed thereof."* yes ! every aged 
 believer will testify to the faithfulness of God 
 in the fulfilment of his promises. You can 
 look back to several points in your history, 
 where, but for the interposition of God's 
 providence, or the aid of his Spirit, you 
 must have been overwhelmed by temptation 
 and sorrow. Many have been the occasions 
 when you have had to set up your stone of 
 remembrance, and to confess that hitherto the 
 Lord hath helped you. Even as to your tri- 
 als, you can see now, with regard to some of 
 them at least, that they were " blessings in 
 disguise ; " and you are sure that they were 
 
 * Joshua xxiii. 14. 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 21 
 
 all sent for some wise and loving purpose. 
 With what grateful emotions, then, should 
 your recollections of bygone days be accom- 
 panied ! 
 
 And should not gratitude for past mercies 
 be combined with Iwpe for future favors and 
 deliverances ? "He thanked God and took 
 courage."* When you think of the increased 
 weakness, and perhaps suffering, which you 
 have yet to bear ; of the inevitable separation 
 between yourself and those whom you love, 
 which will soon take place ; of the valley of the 
 shadow of death through which you must pass, 
 and of the solemn moment when your spirit 
 shall depart from this world; — natural feeling 
 shrinks from the scene before you. " Cast me 
 not off in the time of old age," is the language 
 of your heart ; " forsake me not when my 
 
 * Acts xxviii. 15. 
 
22 life's evening. 
 
 strength faileth."* Hearken to the immediate 
 reply of the God of your salvation : "I will 
 never leave thee, nor forsake thee."t Fear 
 thou not ; for I am with thee : be not dis- 
 mayed ; for I am thy God : I will strengthen 
 thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold 
 thee with the right hand of my righteous- 
 ness."! 
 
 All ! you can read these assurances in 
 the page, not of inspiration only, but of 
 experience. You can infer with certainty, 
 from God's conduct in past days, what its 
 complexion will be in future moments. He 
 is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever ; 
 and therefore in the loving-kindness which he 
 has hitherto manifested towards you, you have 
 the surest pledge of the continual exercise of 
 his power and goodness. He hath delivered ; 
 
 * Ps. Ixxi. 9. t Heb. xiii. 5. J Isa. xli. 10. 
 
THE EEVIEW OF LIFE. 23 
 
 he dotli deliver ; in whom you trust that he 
 will yet dehver. " The God who hath fed 
 you all your life long," is your God for ever 
 and ever ; and he will be your guide even 
 unto death. 
 
 Anticipation. — Looking back should be com- 
 bined with looking forward. The weary pil- 
 grim who recalls with mingled sorrow and 
 gladness the events which have occurred dur-- 
 ing his journey will also think of the rest 
 and the welcome which wait for him in his 
 happy home. The Christian traveller, as 
 evening is closing in around him, and the 
 objects of earth are fading from his gaze, 
 loves to let his imagination dwell upon the 
 many mansions in his Father's house, where 
 a place is being prepared for him. 
 
 " A little while, and every fear 
 That o'er the perfect day 
 
24 
 
 Flings shadows dark and drear, 
 
 Shall fade like mist away ; 
 The secret tear, the anxious sigh. 
 
 Shall pass into a smile ; 
 Time changes to eternity, — 
 
 We only wait a little while." 
 
 The morning of joy is close at hand ; the 
 things which are not seen and eternal are 
 every moment drawing nearer to you ; the 
 promised inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, 
 and never fading, will soon be actually yours. 
 Meditate on the glory which shall presently be 
 revealed. Consider how perfect in its nature, 
 and how perpetual in its duration, is the hap- 
 piness which God has provided for you in his 
 everlasting kingdom. V^n eminent minister 
 who was spending an afternoon with some 
 Christian friends was observed to be unusu- 
 ally silent. On being roused from his reverie 
 by a question which was addressed to him, he 
 
THE REYTEW OF LIFE. 25 
 
 said that he had been absorbed in the con- 
 templation of eternal happiness. " 0, my 
 friends ! " he exclaimed, with an energy which 
 arrested the attention of all present, " think 
 what it is to be forever with the Lord; for- 
 ever, forever, forever ! " 
 
 But is the prospect of heaven thus attrac- 
 tive to you ? Have you any true sympathy 
 with its joys ; any congeniality of spirit with 
 its bright inhabitants? You of course hope, 
 when you die, to go to heaven ; the most 
 thoughtless and worldly-minded characters 
 hope that : not because they aspire after more 
 intimate communion with God and closer con- 
 formity to his image, but because they asso- 
 ciate the idea of happiness with heaven ; and 
 it is the instinctive desire of their nature to 
 wish to be happy. But unless we are made 
 meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, 
 
 3 
 
26 life's evening. 
 
 the enjoyments of heaven, were we allowed to 
 be there, would be positively distasteful to us. 
 The imjust and the unholy would be unjust 
 and unholy still, and in a world of perfect 
 truth and purity would find no source of 
 satisfaction. A clergyman was conversing 
 with an intelligent woman in his parish, who 
 was ill and dying. After he had ceased talk- 
 ing to her, she said with an expression of 
 much distaste, " If heaven be such a place as 
 you describe, I have no wish to go there." 
 Such an avowal may seem unnatural, but it 
 would be the confession of every unsanctified 
 heart, if men seriously considered the charac- 
 ter of celestial happiness. The songs of the 
 redeemed cannot change the heart, nor the 
 glory of the heavenly city transform the spirit. 
 What fellowship can light have ' with dark- 
 ness ? 
 
THE EEVIEW OF LIFE. 27 
 
 Aged reader, rest not satisfied with anything 
 short of a true preparation for everlasting bhss. 
 It is easy to bear the name of Christian. But, 
 without "hoHness," no man shall see the 
 Lord.* " Except a man be born again, he 
 cannot see the kingdom of God." f 
 
 How shall you attain this preparation ? By 
 simple faith in Christ, by the grace of the Holy 
 Spirit. External acts of devotion, alms-giving, 
 self-denial, or large charitable bequests, cannot 
 purchase your passport for heaven. The 
 righteousness of God, which is unto all and 
 upon all them that believe, and the sanctifica- 
 tion of the heart which is effected by the 
 power of the Holy Spirit, must be yours before 
 you can enter into everlasting glory. And 
 they may be yours, — yours now. Put your 
 trust in that Saviour who has declared he will 
 
 * Heb. xii. 14. t John iii. 3, 
 
28 life's evening. 
 
 in no wise cast out those who come to him ; 
 and seek for the gift of that Holy Spirit which 
 is promised to all who earnestly and persever- 
 ingly ask for it ; and you shall have everlasting 
 life. 
 
 But it is possible that some humble-minded 
 and timid Christian hesitates, from a fear of 
 being presumptous and self-deceived, to ap- 
 propriate those joys which are at God's right 
 hand. Gladly would you anticipate the mo- 
 ment of your departure hence, could you be 
 sure that an abundant entrance would be min- 
 istered unto you into Christ's kingdom. But 
 although you cling to the Saviour as your 
 only hope of salvation, and are anxiously 
 striving to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, 
 you cannot rise to that happy confidence 
 which many Christians feel in the prospect of 
 eternity. You cannot echo their peaceful and 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 29 
 
 unwayering declaration, " We know that if our 
 earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, 
 we have a building of God, an house not made 
 with hands, eternal in the heavens." * You 
 are like the pilgrims on the Delectable Moun- 
 tains, whose hands shook so that they could 
 not look steadily through the perspective glass 
 at the gate of the celestial city. 
 
 Yet, fear not ! it is your Father's good pleas- 
 ure to give you the kingdom ; the promised 
 possession is secured to you, although you are 
 unable to reahze your interest in it. It is both 
 your privilege and your duty to seek earnestly 
 the " assurance of hope ; " but remember, for 
 your consolation and encouragement, that the 
 weakest believer in Christ is as safe as the most 
 rejoicing Christian. Keep your eye fixed upon 
 your Saviour ; strive to follow in his steps : 
 
 * 2 Cor. V. 1. 
 3* 
 
30 life's evening. 
 
 use with constancy and diligence the means 
 of grace which he has provided ; and you 
 shall eventually attain to that perfect peace 
 which casteth out fear. "At evening time 
 it shall be light." * 
 
 For happy are those whose hope is clear, 
 whose faith is strong, and who, in the con- 
 sciousness that the time of their departure is 
 at hand, can look to the past and to the future, 
 and meekly but confidently affirm with " Paul 
 the aged," " I have fought a good fight, I have 
 finished my course, I have kept the faith: 
 henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of 
 righteousness." f Joyful assurance ! Bright 
 anticipation! Well may such aged believers 
 have an ardent desire to depart, and to be with 
 Christ; well may they long for that rapidly 
 approaching hour when he shall present them 
 
 * Zech. xiv. 7. t 2 Tim. iv. 6. 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 31 
 
 faultless before the presence of their God with 
 exceeding joy. 
 
 // The evening of life ! Evening is the time 
 for prayer. Then the lisping babe folds its 
 little hands and utters its simple words of sup- 
 plication and thanksgiving ; then the pious 
 family assemble round the domestic altar ; then 
 the thoughtful Christian retires into his closet, 
 shuts his door, and prays to his Father who 
 seeth in secret. The comparative quietude 
 which exists in the world around him, and the 
 repose which spreads itself over the face of 
 nature, seem to soothe the spirit of the wearied 
 believer, and to invite him to calm and hal- 
 lowed intercourse with his Maker. 
 
 And should not life's evening thus tranquil- 
 lize and elevate his feelings ? Private prayer, 
 the delight and duty of all who have been 
 taught of God, is an employment peculiarly 
 
32 life's evening. 
 
 appropriate to the aged Christian. Compelled 
 to relinquish the active occupations of former 
 days ; unable to read much even of the best of 
 books; and frequently deprived, perhaps, of 
 the long-valued ministrations of the sanctuary, 
 how thankfully does he retain the inestimable 
 privilege of pouring out his heart in secret 
 before God, and of holding sweet converse 
 with his Heavenly Father. " I can very sel- 
 dom talk or read now," said a venerable ser- 
 vant of God, whose days were almost num- 
 bered ; " but," he added, as a happy smile 
 lighted up his withered features, " I can pray. 
 In my weakest moments, without opening my 
 lips, I can make known my requests unto God, 
 and praise him for his never-changing good- 
 ness towards me." 
 
 Let the evening of your life be much devot- 
 ed to prayer ; for at the close, no less than at 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 33 
 
 the commencement of your Christian experi- 
 ence, you are entirely dependent upon Al- 
 mighty succor.- Go therefore with boldness 
 to the throne of grace, that you may still 
 obtain mercy, and find grace to help you in 
 every time of need.* Old age has its especial 
 wants and trials ; but, " Ask, and it shall be 
 given you," f is the inscription which is ever 
 written over the mercy-seat. Implore that 
 strength which you require in order that you 
 may cheerfully bear God's will now ; that sup- 
 port which you will need in the hour of death, 
 when heart and flesh shall fail ; that consola- 
 tion and guidance which you desire to have 
 imparted to those whom you must leave be- 
 hind in a world of grief and danger. He, who 
 is able to do exceeding abundantly above 
 all that you can ask or think, will hear 
 
 * Heb. iv. 16. t Matt. vii. 7. 
 
 c 
 
34 life's evening. 
 
 and answer your feeble but heart-felt peti- 
 tions. 
 
 The evening of life ! Have these words a 
 melancholy sound ? They tell, it is true, that 
 the bright sunshine of youth and manhood is 
 past; that the health and the energy which 
 impelled our steps in the path of usefulness 
 and renown have departed ; that the night of 
 death will soon gather round us, when we 
 must close our eyes upon all that is loved and 
 lovely here. 
 
 But are these facts unwelcome to the Chris- 
 tian ? Nay, are they not rather the incentives 
 of his hope, and his joy? Long a stranger 
 and a pilgrim upon earth, do they not assure 
 him that he is now on the borders of that 
 country which he has so earnestly been seek- 
 ing? The worldling may mourn over the 
 flowers which have withered in his grasp ; but 
 
THE REVIEW OF LIFE. 35 
 
 the Christian has a treasure laid up in heaven, 
 and his heart is there also. The orphan spirit 
 may shrink from the prospect of an unknown 
 eternity ; but the child of God cannot but re- 
 joice in the thought of soon going home. 
 
 The evening of life ! Aged Christian ; an 
 everlasting morning will soon dawn upon your 
 redeemed and perfected spirit. " Now is your 
 salvation nearer than when you believed." * 
 Mark with thankfulness the shadows of even- 
 ing as they deepen around you, for they are 
 the necessary precursors of the coming day. 
 Calmly and trustingly as an infant that slum- 
 bers on its mother's bosom, you will soon 
 " sleep in Jesus," to awake in that purer and 
 happier world, which has " no need of the sun, 
 neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the 
 glory of God doth Hghten it, and the Lamb 
 
 * Eom. xiii. 11. 
 
36 
 
 life's evening. 
 
 
 is the 
 
 light thereof."* "Absent 
 
 from the 
 
 body," 
 
 you will at once be " present with the 
 
 Lord ; 
 
 ' t you will " behold his face in right- 
 
 eousness ; " you will " be satisfied, 
 
 when you 
 
 awake. 
 
 with his likeness." $ 
 
 
 ^-^" : 
 
 
 
 / ^ Rev. 
 
 xxi. 23. t 2 Cor. v. 8. J 
 
 Ps. xvii. 15. 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 # 
 
 
i>\t %eJr Cljristm 
 
 Q jj^ spring and summer time of life have long since 
 
 passed away, 
 And golden autumn, with its leaves of sadness and 
 
 decay, 
 Has come and gone ; and winter shrouds each lovely 
 
 scene in gloom, 
 And bids me mark across my path the shadows of 
 
 the tomb. 
 
 Mine eye is growing dim with age, my step is feeble 
 
 now. 
 And deeper lines of thought and care are graven on 
 
 my brow; 
 4 
 
38 
 
 life's evening. 
 
 But 
 
 shall I murmur as I trace the rapid flight of 
 
 
 hours, 
 
 Or grasp with trembling eagerness earth's fair yet 
 
 
 fading flowers ? 
 
 no ! a bright and happy home awaiteth me 
 
 
 above, 
 
 And 
 
 my ardent spirit longs to dwell where all is joy 
 
 
 and love. 
 
 Does the wave-tossed mariner regret when he sees 
 
 
 the haven near 
 
 Where his shattered bark shall safely rest, nor storm 
 
 
 nor danger fear ? 
 
 Will 
 
 the toil-worn laborer sigh because his weary 
 
 
 task must close, 
 
 And 
 
 evening's peaceful shades afford him calm and 
 
 
 sweet repose ? 
 
THE AGED CHRISTIAN. 39 
 
 Or does the child with sorrow mark each swift re- 
 volving mile, 
 
 Which bears him to his cherished home and loving 
 father's smile ? 
 
 And shall the Christian grieve because some gentle 
 
 signs are given 
 That he is nearer to the bliss, the perfect bliss of 
 
 heaven ? 
 That every moment closer brings that mansion fair 
 
 and bright. 
 Prepared for him with tender love in realms of pure 
 
 delight ? 
 
 0, with such brilliant hopes as these, how can my 
 
 heart repine, 
 Although I feel my vigor fade, my wonted strength 
 
 decline ? 
 
40 life's evening. 
 
 Rather with gladness would I hail these messages of 
 
 love, 
 Which tell me I shall quickly join the white-robed 
 
 throng above. 
 
 My pilgrimage will soon be o'er, my arduous race be 
 
 run, 
 And the bright crown of victory triumphant faith 
 
 have won. 
 No sorrow clouds the land of rest, hushed is the 
 
 thought of pain : 
 0, if for me to Hve is Christ, to die indeed is gain ! 
 
C0O #Ib k k Isjful. 
 
 ^^ %%l^dl^ it is a pleasant sight to see young 
 ^^^^ people actively engaged in doing 
 good," said an old lady, as she watched from 
 her parlor window some of her grandchildren 
 setting forth on their weekly errands of mercy 
 to the poor and afflicted. 
 
 Yes; it was a pleasant sight to look upon 
 these youthful Christians, full of health and 
 energy, devoting their time and their talents 
 to the service of God, and the welfare of their 
 fellow-creatures; and yet the old lady sighed 
 as she finished her sentence, and did not seem 
 quite comfortable. "Why ? Listen to what 
 she is saying now. 
 
 4* 
 
42 life's evening. 
 
 " All, / was once as busy as any of them. 
 I could take a class in the Sunday school, and 
 visit the poor, and collect for the missionary 
 society ; but now I am forced to be idle and 
 useless. My strength and my senses are grad- 
 ually forsaking me ; and I am but a worn-out 
 and unprofitable servant. But come, I must 
 not complain ; I have had my share in these 
 good works in bygone days, and I must be 
 content to lie by now, and let others labor; 
 for I am too old to be of any use." 
 
 Was the old lady right ? She meant what 
 she said, and she meant well. She was trying 
 to bear with patience and resignation her 
 unavoidable exclusion from the charitable 
 engagements of her young relatives ; but old 
 people as well as young sometimes have mista- 
 ken ideas ; and it is possible that the old lady 
 was not quite so clear upon the ^ttl^ect of 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. 43 
 
 Christian usefulness as we should like our 
 readers to be. 
 
 It is true that the aged cannot work in 
 God's vineyard as they used to do before in- 
 firmity or ill-health disabled them for active 
 service, but still they are not too old to be 
 useful. 
 
 Too old to be useful! Such words are a 
 libel upon their character, — an insult to their 
 capabilities. It cannot be that any Christian 
 is continued upon earth, who has not some- 
 thing to do as well as to suffer for his Master. 
 Look at the closing days of the venerable Eliot, 
 the first missionary to the American Indians. 
 On the day of his death, when, in his eightieth 
 year, he was found teaching the alphabet to an 
 Indian child at his bedside, "Why not rest 
 from your labors now ? " said a friend. " Be- 
 cause,'jMpid the venerable man, "I have prayed 
 
44 
 
 to God to make me useful in my sphere, and 
 lie has heard my prayer ; for now that I can 
 no longer preach, he leaves me strength 
 enough to teach this poor child this alphabet." 
 
 Eighty years of age and bedridden! Who 
 after this can plead their inability to do good ? 
 Who will not rather gather up their remaining 
 time and talents, and devote them to God's 
 service ? Like the widow's mite, your offering 
 may seem poor and small ; you are almost 
 ashamed to cast it into the treasury ; but bring 
 it without hesitation, — nay, with gladness ; 
 what could you give more ? it is your all; and 
 your feeble efforts will meet with kind and gra- 
 cious acknowledgment from a loving Saviour, 
 who said, " She hath done what she could ! " * 
 
 0, it is so delightful to labor for Christ, 
 that the true-hearted Christian would fain 
 
 * Mark xiv. 8. "^^ 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. 45 
 
 keep on, as Eliot did, to the last. The late 
 Rev. John Campbell, of Kingsland, went one 
 morning to attend an early committee meeting 
 of a religious society. On his way up-stairs 
 he found an old friend, remarkable for his 
 devotedness to the cause of Christ, leaining on 
 the balustrade which led to the room, and un- 
 able to proceed from a difficulty of breathing. 
 
 " What ! are you here, Mr. T. ? How could 
 you venture in your state of health? You 
 have attended our meetings for a long time, 
 and you should now leave the work for 
 younger men." 
 
 His friend looked up with a cheerful smile, 
 and replied with characteristic energy, " 
 Johnny, Johnny, man, it is hard to give up 
 working in the service of such a Master ! " 
 
 How cheering then is the thought that 
 the aged have still opportunities of usefulness 
 
46 
 
 afforded them! Suppose we remind our 
 readers of a few ways in which they have it 
 in their power to benefit others. 
 
 Well, some of you, perhaps, who cannot 
 walk about and visit your neighbors, might 
 send them a little tract or book occasionally. 
 A* person dies in your street, — a child is born 
 in the next house, — a worldly family opposite 
 are in trouble, — a gentleman has met with an 
 accident, — a grocer's shop is open on the 
 Sunday; — all these, and many others, are. 
 occasions when " a little messenger of mercy " 
 might speak " a word in season." Listen to 
 jthe following fact, 
 "f A man who was keeper of one of the locks 
 on the Grand Junction Canal lived for many 
 years apparently without any religious feehngs. 
 He possessed much personal kindness, and had 
 been the means of saving at least twelve 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. 47 
 
 persons from a watery grave, some of whom 
 had plunged into the stream m seasons of 
 frantic sorrow. In the summer of 1841, poor 
 Matthew met with a severe accident, and was 
 removed to the London Hospital. After he 
 had been there a few days, he received a letter 
 by post — of which the following is a copy — 
 enclosing a tract entitled " To-day : " — 
 
 " You have suffered greatly, my friend ; 
 your poor body calls for help and sympathy, 
 and in the hospital you are mercifully attended 
 to, as you could not be at home. How is it 
 with your precious soul ? Are you fit to die ? 
 Had your sufferings caused instant death, 
 where would your soul have been? "Where, 
 my friend ? Where ? In heaven, or in hell ? 
 Do think of this inquiry, and read the tract I 
 enclose, or get some one to read it to you. 
 Do not neglect this friendly warning, but 
 
48 life's evening. 
 
 attend to it while it is yet with you called 
 ' To-day.' 0, what a mercy you were spared 
 yet a little longer ! may it be for the salvation 
 of your precious soul. The Lord Jesus is able 
 and willing to save all who feel their need of 
 his salvation. Pray, then, afflicted friend, for 
 the Holy Spirit to show you your need of 
 mercy, and of the precious blood of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ to cleanse you from your sins, 
 and to obtain your acceptance with God. The 
 tract was written by a gentleman seventy 
 years old. May the Lord make it a blessing 
 to your soul. He is able and willing to save 
 you from going to hell, and willing to pre- 
 pare you for the holiness and happiness of 
 heaven. — Farewell." 
 
 There was no signature to the letter ; it 
 bore the " Stroudwater " postmark, but Mat- 
 thew knew no one residing there. However, 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. 49 
 
 the perusal of the letter induced him to read 
 the tract ; the Holy Spirit blessed it to his 
 conversion ; and he became a consistent Chris- 
 tian. He wished very much that he could 
 find' out who had sent him the tract ; and a 
 kind friend, to whom this interesting fact was 
 mentioned, thought that he knew the person 
 from whom it came. He wrote accordingly, 
 and received the following note, which proved 
 that his conjecture was right : — 
 
 "My dear Sir, — It was in hours of weak- 
 ness, and during a long detention from the 
 house of the Lord, that I was directed one 
 Sabbath day to write the letter to which you 
 refer to poor Matthew. It used to be a saying 
 with myself, to myself, on doing any such 
 thing, ' Well, I have cast one grain more of 
 the good seed of the kingdom into the field 
 of the world ; that world which still lieth in 
 
 5 D 
 
50 life's evening. 
 
 wickedness.' I bless the Lord he permitted 
 me to cast in that grain, and I praise him still 
 more that he caused it to germinate, and bring 
 forth fruit. Glory be to his holy name that 
 he has seen fit to glorify the riches of his 
 grace in the salvation of a soul, by means in 
 themselves so weak and poor. When I re- 
 ceived the supply from London, of which that 
 tract formed one, I selected a number of that 
 description for the purpose of enclosing in 
 letters (now in these days of penny-postage 
 blessedness, in which in almost every letter 
 we write we can proclaim the glad tidings of 
 mercy by inserting an eight-paged tract), — 
 and among others, poor Matthew received one. 
 Surely it would have been a shorter journey 
 from Paternoster Eow to the London Hospital ; 
 but in this case it seemed needful that it 
 should go from London to the country, and 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. 51 
 
 back again to town, to reach the object for 
 which it was designed. Several other such 
 grains have been cast into the field of the 
 world. that it may please the Lord to cause 
 them to be fruitful also ! " 
 
 Now, reader, let the example of this pious 
 invalid win you, in some measure, to follow it. 
 It does not, you see, require much money, 
 much talent, much influence, or much strength 
 to be useful. A few kind words written, or a 
 good tract enclosed to an acquaintance, or 
 even to a stranger, may be the appointed 
 channel through which God's grace shall flow 
 into their souls. " Cast thy bread upon the 
 waters: for thou shalt find it after many 
 days." * 
 
 Then there is the influence which you may 
 exert over children and young persons. Not 
 
 * Eccles. xi. 1. 
 
52 life's evening. 
 
 by fault-finding, or selfish requirements, or 
 sarcastic observations ; but by kind words, 
 persuasive advice, and affectionate treatment. 
 Your little grandchildren, pr your elder neph- 
 ews and nieces, as they cluster round your 
 cheerful fireside, may drink in many a gentle 
 lesson which shall guide them in after years. 
 If you have not any youthful relatives, you 
 can cultivate the acquaintance of the children 
 of your friends and neighbors. It is a lovely 
 sight to see age and youth sweetly blending 
 together : age tempering the gayety of youth, 
 and youth brightening the gra^dty of age. 
 The ivy adorns the oak ; and the oak supports 
 the ivy. " But young people," you may say, 
 " are so self-willed and conceited ; they think 
 they are as wise as old folks." It is often too 
 true ; bnt bear with them ; we have all been 
 young in our time ; and it is astonishmg how 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. 53 
 
 grateful even the most independent among 
 them are, for a real and warm-hearted interest 
 in their welfare. You may influence them 
 strongly, if you are only kind in purpose, and 
 judicious in practice. 
 
 Sympathize with them in their joys and 
 their sorrows. Show them that increase of 
 years does not necessarily blunt the feelings 
 or narrow the affections ; that the pilgrim who 
 has almost reached his welcome and long- 
 expected resting-place does not forget or 
 despise those who have but lately set out on 
 their toilsome journey. Speak to them of 
 your own experience of actual life; of the 
 mental and moral discipline which you have 
 endured ; of the difficulties in the path of duty 
 which you have met and conquered; of the 
 comfort which has sustained you in the hour 
 of trial and bereavement. Simple facts are 
 
 5* 
 
54 life's evening. 
 
 more impressive than mere advice. Quietly 
 but deeply they sink into the memory, arous- 
 ing no opposition, exciting no argument; in 
 time of need they will be remembered and 
 turned to good account. You may thus be 
 the honored instrument of guiding some way- 
 ward and careless heart to true peace and 
 happiness ; of imparting right principles which 
 shall steer some perplexed spirit across the 
 rough sea of temptation ; of forming the char- 
 acter of those who are destined in coming 
 years to exercise great moral power over their 
 fellow-creatures. You may not — you will 
 not — live to behold those happy results of 
 your patient and prayerful efforts; but when 
 those who die in the Lord rest from their 
 labors, their works follow them. An aged 
 man carefully planted several fruit-trees in his 
 garden, that they might grow up for the use 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. b5 
 
 and benefit of posterity ; so may you cast into 
 human hearts that precious seed which will 
 germinate, and spring forth, and bless the 
 world, long after you have departed to your 
 rest. The destiny of future generations may 
 be linked with your Christian endeavor to 
 gather one youthful friend into the fold of the 
 Saviour. God grant that you may fully appre- 
 ciate and fulfil your pecuhar mission to the 
 young. 
 
 But perhaps the best way in which the aged 
 Christian — ay, and any Christian — can bene- 
 fit others, is by the purity and loveliness of 
 his example. You cannot now do much, or 
 say much, .for the good of your fellow-crea- 
 tures; but "nothing speaks so loudly as the 
 silent eloquence of a holy and consistent life ; " 
 nothing exercises such gentle and yet such 
 powerful influence over the mind as the exam- 
 
56 life's evening. 
 
 pie of one whom we love and respect. It is a 
 practical and perpetual sermon. 
 
 Look into that quiet and half-darkened 
 room. In the large easy-chair sits an aged 
 lady. She is confined by constant indisposi- 
 tion to her house, — to her apartment; nay, 
 even to her chair, for she cannot move herself 
 without assistance. Her friends are forbid- 
 den to see her, as the least excitement proves 
 injurious ; and therefore a skilful nurse and 
 a loving-hearted daughter are her only asso- 
 ciates. But she does not wish for society; 
 incessant pain renders her unable to converse 
 much, and the exertion of speaking but a 
 few words fatigues her sadly. Poor lady ! the 
 days have indeed come in which she has no 
 pleasure ; the grasshopper is become a burden ; 
 desire has failed ; and fears are in the way. 
 Her life has been a life full of good works ; 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. 57 
 
 and now, withdrawn forever from her loved 
 occupations, she must solace herself with the 
 beautiful thought, 
 
 " They also serve who only stand and wait." 
 
 It is a beautiful thought ; she knows its truth ; 
 she feels its preciousness ; her daily, constant 
 prayer is, " Thy will be done." Yet you must 
 not imagine that her career of usefulness has 
 ended ; that it found its termination in that 
 sick-room. No ; in that limited sphere, during 
 that lingering illness, she has, perhaps, done 
 more good than you or I have effected in our 
 lifetime. How ? That kind servant who waits 
 upon her has lately grown thoughtful and 
 pious ; and she traces the happy change in 
 her views and in her feelings to the sweet 
 example of her dear mistress ; not to her 
 counsels, not to her persuasions, but to her 
 example. She witnessed her patience, her 
 
58 life's evening. 
 
 fortitude, her serenity, her faith in Christ, 
 her readiness to depart; and she felt how 
 valuable that religion must be which could 
 give such peace in life, such hope in death. 
 She determined, with God's help, to make that 
 religion her own ; and now her mistress's last 
 hours are cheered by the delightful knowledge 
 that her grateful attendant has chosen that 
 good part which shall not be taken away from 
 her. 
 
 Glance now inside that lowly almshouse. 
 There dwells a venerable man, whose snow- 
 white locks, bended frame, and tottering steps 
 are plain indications that his physical energies 
 are rapidly declining. Is he too old, or too 
 infirm, to be useful ? Almost, so far as active 
 service is concerned, for he is both palsied and 
 half blind ; but the light of his example shines 
 brightly still, and sheds a holy radiance on all 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. 59 
 
 who come within its reach. His upright con- 
 duct, his cheerful demeanor, his kind feelings, 
 and his heaven-like spirit, are perpetual living 
 lessons to his neighbors and friends. More 
 than one thoughtless visitor has left his humble 
 abode with the impression, " "Well, there is 
 such a thing as real religion ; I wish I were as 
 good and as happy as that old man is." And 
 many wavering or weary Christians have been 
 strengthened for their earnest conflict through 
 the remembrance of the simple faith and de- 
 votedness of this aged servant of God. 
 
 Does your life, your example, thus influence 
 others for good? Are you an epistle known 
 and read of all men ? Does your character 
 and conduct commend the religion of Christ ? 
 Is it your daily endeavor to " adorn " as well 
 as profess the doctrine of God your Saviour ? 
 Every Christian should look well to his ex- 
 
60 
 
 amjDle ; it effects far more than liis words, 
 however well chosen and well expressed those 
 words may be. But especially should the aged 
 believer be careful to let his light shine brightly 
 and steadily before men: because, his sphere 
 of usefulness being limited, he should make 
 the most of those means which are still within 
 his reach ; and because soon, very soon, " the 
 night Cometh," and then his opportunities on 
 earth will be closed for ever. 
 
 There is one other way that we must not 
 overlook, in which the aged Christian may 
 advance Christ's kingdom in the world, and 
 that way is, intercessory prayer. Weak and 
 infirm, you may be unable to converse about 
 religion ; poor, perhaps, in this world's riches, 
 it is not in your power to relieve the wants 
 of the needy ; but amidst your feebleness 
 and your poverty you can shut your door, 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. 61 
 
 and pray to your Father who seeth in secret. 
 You can implore his succor for the distressed ; 
 his sympathy for the sorrowful ; his aid for 
 the helpless ; his instruction for the ignorant ; 
 his pardon for the sinful ; his grace for the 
 undeserving. You can plead AYitli him on 
 behalf of the heathen at home and the hea- 
 then abroad. You can supplicate his blessing 
 both for the queen upon her throne, and 
 the peasant in his cottage. You can beseech 
 him to guide into the way of truth those 
 who have erred and are deceived, and to 
 have mercy upon all men. Abraham inter- 
 ceded for Sodom ; Job, for his children ; Moses, 
 for the Israelites; Jacob, for his grandsons; 
 the disciples, for their persecuted brethren; 
 the Apostle, for his beloved converts. Catch 
 their spirit ; follow in their steps ; add to 
 their success. " The effectual fervent prayer 
 
 6 
 
62 life's evening. 
 
 of a righteous man availeth much." * It is 
 impossible to tell how richly the healthful 
 dew of God's grace may rest upon parched 
 and barren hearts ; or how appropriately the 
 gifts of his providence may be vouchsafed to 
 the abodes of penury and want, through the 
 instrumentality of those heart-felt petitions 
 which you offer at the throne of grace. Eter- 
 nity alone will fully disclose the blessings 
 which have been linked with intercessory 
 prayer. 
 
 Aged Christian! mourn not that your op- 
 portunities of usefulness are so few ; rather 
 rejoice that you are still permitted to have 
 a place among the laborers in Christ's vine- 
 yard. Your department is a retired one ; 
 your employment is easy ; but your path is 
 marked out for you by the Master whom you 
 
 * James v. 16. 
 
TOO OLD TO BE USEFUL. 63 
 
 serve. In wise considerateness he appoints 
 to each laborer his position and his duties ; 
 and to all who honestly perform the work 
 which he assigns — be it great or be it 
 small — he will address those gracious words 
 of commendation, " Well done, good and 
 faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of 
 thy Lord."* 
 
 Yet you cannot but sigh sometimes when 
 you reflect how little you are really able to 
 do for the honor of God, and the good of 
 your fellow-men ; your best services are so 
 imperfect, your holiest efforts are so defiled. 
 As life advances, you grow better acquainted 
 with your own motives, and more enlightened 
 respecting God's character and will; and the 
 inevitable result is, that you are humbled 
 under the increasing consciousness of your 
 
 * Matt. XXV. 23. 
 
64 life's evening. 
 
 sinfulness and your failures. if you could 
 but serve God as you desire to do ! How un- 
 wearied, bow unselfisb, bow unlimited would 
 be your joyful obedience ! 
 
 Wait awbile, and your longings sball be 
 satisfied. In beaven tbere will be no feeble- 
 ness to retard your efforts, no imperfection 
 to sully your actions. '^ His servants sball 
 serve liim." * "Witbout one difficulty or de- 
 fect, tbey sball fulfil bis varied bebests, and 
 do bis will. And as angels are now minister- 
 ing spirits for tbe beirs of salvation, it is not 
 improbable tbat glorified Cbristians will be 
 frequently engaged on some errand of love 
 to God's intelligent creatures. How welcome 
 is tbis idea to tbose wbo feel balf sorry wben 
 tbey consider tbat tbeir work on eartb is so 
 near its close ! 
 
 * Rev. xxii. 3. 
 
®Ije ^rombeir Stong% 
 
 ^/jt our progress through the wilderness to 
 ^ the land of promise, we meet with numer- 
 ous difficulties, and are subjected to various 
 trials. We are soldiers, and must fight the 
 good fight of faith; — we are pilgrims, and 
 must " go forward" in the midst of danger; — 
 we are servants, and must implicitly obey our 
 Master's will; — we are cliildren, and must 
 neither despise the chastening of our Father, 
 nor faint when we are rebuked of him ; — we 
 are candidates for a crown of glory, and must 
 run with patience the race which is set before 
 us. There are duties to perform ; temptations 
 
QQ life's evening. 
 
 to overcome ; propensities to subdue ; and 
 sorrows to bear: which press heavily upon 
 our sjDirits. Our conflict is long; our cross 
 is wearisome ; it is through much tribulation 
 that we are slowly passing to our rest. 
 
 We must " be strong," therefore, " and of 
 good courage," if we would manfully perse- 
 vere in our toilsome path. There must be 
 no hesitation, — no indolence, — no fear, — no 
 self-indulgence ; but a steady, earnest, patient 
 continuance in well-doing. 
 
 It is easy to say this, — to feel this ; the 
 difficulty is to act up to it. All ! we are so 
 soon daunted, so easily defeated. The con- 
 sciousness of our weakness, and the remem- 
 brance of our many failures, make us sigh 
 over the past, and shrink from the future. 
 And especially as old age creeps on, and 
 bodily and mental infirmities increase, do we 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 67 
 
 feel painfully sensible of the inadequacy of 
 our natural strength to sustain spiritual con- 
 flict, or to endure physical suffering. We 
 sometimes fear lest in coming seasons of trial 
 we should prove unequal to the contest. 
 
 It is well, in every period of the Christian 
 life, to have a right estimate of our own 
 strength. The advanced believer is as unable 
 by his own power to defend himself from sin 
 and sorrow, as the youthful Christian. But 
 to each — and with peculiar force to the 
 aged pilgrim whose lengthened experience and 
 deepened humility make him so distrustful 
 of self — the promise comes of Almighty help 
 and succor. "As thy days," says the God 
 of Israel, "so shall thy strength be."* In 
 every moment of need, " Fear thou not ; for 
 I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am 
 
 * Deut. xxxiii. 25. 
 
68 life's evening. 
 
 thy God."* When difficulties and dangers 
 arise in your path, let not the thought of 
 your own weakness and insufficiency dis- 
 courage you, for " I will strengthen thee ; yea, 
 I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with 
 the right hand of my righteousness." f " With- 
 out me you can do notMng;"$ but, "My 
 grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength 
 is made perfect in weakness." § 
 
 Take courage, aged Christian, as you listen 
 to these cheering assurances of the most high 
 God ; and rejoice that he is able to " supply all 
 your need according to his riches in glory by 
 Christ Jesus." || For remember, the strength 
 which his promises guarantee to you is ade- 
 quate strength. " As thy days, so shall thy 
 strength be ; " the one fully commensurate 
 
 * Isa. xli. 10. t Isa. xli. 10. | John xv. 5. 
 
 § 2 Cor. xii. 9. || Philip, iv. 19. 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 69 
 
 with the other. Your present necessities, and 
 your future wants, might well fill you with 
 distress and apprehension, did not God stand 
 engaged to prepare you for every emergency, 
 and to sustain you under every burden. 
 But since the omnipotent Creator has pledged 
 himself to furnish his people with whatever 
 spiritual energy they require in their per- 
 petual conflict, you may gratefully exclaim 
 with the Psalmist, " The Lord is my rock, 
 and my fortress, and my deliverer ; my God, 
 my strength, in whom I will trust." * Yes ; 
 " trust in him at all times," " for in the Lord 
 Jehovah is everlasting strength." Let no 
 misgivings disturb your mind as you think 
 of approaching and augmented trials ; for 
 with the increased demand for strength, you 
 may confidently calculate upon an increased 
 
 * Ps. xviii. 2. 
 
70 life's evening. 
 
 supply. Now you are looking, perhaps, at 
 some great trouble in the distance, and you 
 are feeling as if, when it arrives, you must 
 sink under it. Ah, you are estimating your 
 power of endurance then by what it is now ; 
 you are supposing that, with your present 
 weakness, you are summoned to a more ar- 
 duous encounter than you have hitherto met 
 with, and you are mournfully anticipating an 
 inevitable failure. But do you not perceive 
 that your conclusion is drawn from wrong 
 premises ? You will not have to grapple with 
 increased difficulties, before you are able to 
 surmount them. God will never call you to 
 the fulfilment of any duty, nor the endurance 
 of any trial, without having first provided 
 for you sufficient strength for the occasion. 
 
 But the promised strength is daily strength. 
 " As thy days^ so shall thy strength be." You 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 71 
 
 must not expect to have a large stock on hand 
 which will last yon for a long time ; nor 
 endeavor to make the strength of to-day suffice 
 for the wants of to-morrow ; but in every fresh 
 period of conflict and suffering you must seek 
 for fresh strength from above. You cannot 
 live upon past supplies, but you may safely 
 rely upon present and future succor. The 
 spiritual aid which you require will always be 
 vouchsafed at the right time. Each day, each 
 season of renewed solicitude, will bring with it 
 its own appointed strength. It may be that 
 you are advanced, not m years only, but also 
 in Christian experience ; still you must depend 
 as perpetually and as entirely now upon the 
 help of God, as you did at the commencement 
 of your religious life. Day by day, hour by 
 hour, moment by moment, you must trust in 
 him, and look to him. 
 
72 life's evening. 
 
 And the strength which he grants to his 
 children is appropriate strength. " As thy 
 days, so sliall thy strength be." The days of 
 the spiritual life are as varied as the days of 
 the natural life. Sometimes they are bright 
 with hope and prosperity ; sometimes they are 
 dark with disappointment and sorrow. Tliere 
 are days when our path lies through green and 
 flowery meadows ; and there are days when 
 our road is through a tangled forest, or along 
 the edge of a precipice. At one time we have 
 to toil up the Hill Difficulty ; at another, to 
 fight our way through the Valley of the 
 Shadow of Death. Now there is a beautiful 
 adaptation in God's grace to the diversified 
 circumstances of his people's history. Have 
 you not found it to be so, dear reader ? Have 
 you not felt in your times of need, that there 
 was an exact minuteness in God's gracious 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 73 
 
 dealings with you ; that there was a delicate 
 adjustment in the bestowal of his varied gifts ? 
 Expect the same considerateness in his con- 
 duct still. Believe that the strength which he 
 prepares for you is suitable, as well as suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 What day is it with you now ? The day of 
 physical infirmity ? Is your health declining, 
 your energy abating, your faculties one by one 
 becoming impaired? Is yours the day so 
 graphically described by the royal preacher, 
 " when the keepers of the house shall tremble, 
 and the strong men shall bow themselves, and 
 the grinders cease because they are few, and 
 those that look out of the windows be dark- 
 ened; — when they shall be afraid of that 
 which is high, and fears shall be in the way, 
 and the almond-tree shall flourish, and the 
 grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall 
 7 
 
7-i life's evening. 
 
 fail ? " * Then remember God's promise, 
 " Even to lioar hairs will I carry you." f 
 Carry you, — not leave you to bear up as you 
 best can tmder the burden which old age 
 brings with it, but uphold you with his own 
 everlasting arm. He will help you to endure 
 with cheerfulness and resignation the pain 
 which is occasioned by the decay of nature. 
 
 Is it the day of mental depression ? The 
 infirmities and sufferings of the body often 
 affect the mind. They cast a gloom over the 
 spirits, and throw a shadow over our prospects. 
 " Our mind is like a stained or clouded glass, 
 which mars the hue of what is bright, and 
 deepens what is sombrous." "We are discom- 
 posed and disheartened by trifles ; we are 
 frightened at shadows. All around us, and 
 before us, looks dark and gloomy. Well, 
 
 * Eccles. xii. 3-5. f Isa. xlvi. 4. 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 75 
 
 there is One who knoweth our frame, and 
 remembereth that we are dust; and he can 
 support and strengthen our disturbed and 
 fearful spirits. We need not be ashamed to 
 disclose to him our mental weakness ; he feels 
 for us all, nay, more than a father's tender- 
 ness ; for as one whom liis mother comforteth, 
 so will he comfort us. " He giveth power to 
 the faint ; and to them that have no might he 
 increaseth strength."* 
 
 Is it the day of spiritual conflict ? Are you 
 sore let and hindered in your endeavors to 
 press toward the mark for the prize of the 
 high calling of God in Christ Jesus ? Do your 
 unseen enemies seem to increase ? are their 
 assaults more malignant ? and is your own 
 heart inclined to yield to temptation ? The 
 great adversary of mankind is sometimes per- 
 
 * Isa. xl. 29. 
 
76 life's evening. 
 
 mitted to attack with unusual violence the 
 sovil of the aged Christian. Sins which the 
 believer imagined were long since subdued, 
 rise up as it were into new life ; thoughts and 
 feelings utterly at variance with his renewed 
 mind seem almost forced upon him ; and the 
 fiery darts of the wicked one are hurled at him 
 without intermission. Is this painful experi- 
 ence yours? Be not alarmed or discouraged 
 by it. God is faithful, and he will not suffer 
 you to be tempted above that which you are 
 able to bear ; but he will strengthen you for 
 your last struggle with a disappointed and 
 already vanquished foe. Clad in the panoply 
 which God provides for you, and furnished 
 with those weapons which through him are 
 mighty to repel and overcome your spiritual 
 enemies, you shall be enabled to stand in the 
 evil day, and having done all to stand. It is 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 77 
 
 true you are weak, but his strength is per- 
 fected in weakness ; it is true your infirmities 
 are many, but his power rests upon you. Fear 
 not; look to the Captain of your salvation; 
 follow his directions ; rely upon his assistance, 
 and you shall at last be " more than con- 
 queror through him that loved you." * 
 
 Is it the day of temporal distress ? Are you 
 poor ? in want of the necessaries or the com- 
 forts of life ? incapable of supporting yourself 
 by the labor of your hands, and obliged to 
 depend on the charity of others ? Or are 
 those dear to you in adversity? are you 
 obliged to witness sufferings that you cannot 
 alleviate, and to hear of troubles which you 
 can neither remove nor lighten ? Or have you 
 been bereaved of some beloved relative, some 
 cherished friend, with whom you were associ- 
 
 * Rom. viii. 37. 
 
 7* 
 
78 
 
 ated ill the closest union, and to whom you 
 looked for sympathy and affection ? Are these, 
 or similar afflictions, the crosses wliich you 
 have to take up and carry, and do you tremble 
 beneath their weight? Then cast your bur- 
 den upon the Lord, and he will sustain you. 
 He will strengthen your faith to believe that 
 these mysterious dispensations are necessary 
 for your real welfare ; he will strengthen your 
 love to receive with meekness and gratitude 
 the discipline of a kind and tender Father ; he 
 will strengthen your hope to anticipate those 
 glorious thmgs which are unseen and eternal, 
 and to reckon your present sufferings as un- 
 worthy of a moment's comparison with "the 
 glory which shall be revealed." * 
 
 But there is one day rapidly approaching 
 when you will pre-eminently require the 
 
 * Eom. viii. 18. 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 79 
 
 succor and support of an Almighty hand, — 
 the day of death. Ah ! that is a solemn day 
 even to the believer. A darkness, a mystery, 
 rests upon our last conflict, which excites 
 feehngs of seriousness and awe in all thought- 
 ful minds, and when there is great sensitive- 
 ness of temperament, and timidity of disposi- 
 tion, the Christian often shrinks painfully from 
 the contemplation of death, and through fear 
 of it is perhaps all his lifetime subject to bon- 
 dage. But why should you fear the approach 
 of the last enemy? If God promises that t,s 
 your day your strength shall be, surely he will 
 make that promise good in the day of your 
 mortal agony. When you pass through the 
 dark valley he will be with you ; his rod and 
 staff will guide and comfort you. When heart 
 and flesh shall faint and fail, he will be the 
 strength of your heart and your portion forever. 
 
80 life's evening. 
 
 A young Christian once said to a minister, 
 "Although I trust implicitly in the Saviour, 
 and rejoice in him as mine, yet I look upon 
 death as very terrible." At that time she was 
 in perfect health. The reply was, " Doubt not 
 that, according to his sure word, ' As thy days, 
 so shall thy strength be ; ' and that there shall 
 be dying grace for a dying day." Not long 
 after, mortal sickness seized her ; but her 
 peace flowed like a river ; and again and again, 
 as her fond mother and loving sisters watched 
 by her bed of suffering, did she exclaim, " 0, 
 how true do I find the assurance given me 
 that there would be dying grace for a dying 
 day!" 
 
 " Yes, in your latest moments, when with death 
 And Satan thou must struggle, and not yield ; 
 When with dim eye, and qiiickly-heaving breath, 
 Thou enterest on that solemn battle-field : 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 81 
 
 Thy Saviour who has succored thee through life, 
 Will nerve thy spirit for the closing strife ; 
 Will lead thee on to glorious victory ; 
 For, as thy days thy strength shall surely be." 
 
 And then there is the day of final judgment. 
 That last day, when all the dead shall be 
 gathered around the great white throne of the 
 Eternal, and hear from his lips the irreversible 
 sentence which shall fix their everlasting des- 
 tiny. 0, the unutterable momentousness of 
 that decision ! How will you have courage to 
 hsten to it? How will you stand with any 
 calmness before that awful judgment-seat, and 
 hear the records of the past, and the awards 
 of the future ? Ah, strength shall be given 
 you in that trying hour, — strength so unfail- 
 ing and so indomitable, that you shall meet 
 without fear the scrutiny of Him who is of 
 purer eyes than to behold iniquity. The sweet 
 
82 life's evening. 
 
 assurance will then be yours, that to those who 
 are in Christ Jesus there is, there can be, no 
 condemnation ; that, clothed in the robe of his 
 righteousness, and sanctified by the grace of 
 his Spirit, you are faultless in God's sight. 
 Who shall lay anything to your charge, when 
 God himself will be your justifier ? 
 
 Thus his blessed promise, "As thy days, 
 so shall thy strength be," will never fail. 
 Through life, in death, and before the judg- 
 ment-seat, it will be richly fulfilled in your 
 experience. 0, the comfort of feeling sure 
 that, however wearisome and difficult the path 
 of duty or of suffering may prove, God will . 
 impart to us adequate and appropriate strength, 
 and guide us in safety to the heavenly Canaan ! 
 
 Dr. Doddridge was walking out one day in 
 a very depressed state of mind. His trials 
 were at that time peculiarly heavy ; he saw no 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 83 
 
 way of deliverance from them, and he was 
 greatly discouraged. As he passed along, the 
 door of a little cottage was standing open, and 
 he heard a child's voice reading the words, 
 " As thy days, so shall thy strength be." The 
 effect produced upon his saddened feelings 
 was indescribable ; his despondency vanished, 
 and his heart was filled with peace and joy. 
 
 Yes, one simple promise from God is enough 
 to chase our fears and cheer our hearts. Our 
 wants and weaknesses are many, but he knows 
 them all, and is both able and willing to supply 
 our every need. Then let us " seek the Lord, 
 and his strength ; " * let our earnest and 
 constant petitions at the throne of grace 
 be, " Give thy strength unto thy servant ; " 
 " strengthen thou me according unto thy 
 word." f For it is they who wait upon the 
 
 *■ Ts. cv. 4. t Ps. Ixxxvi. 16; cxix. 28. 
 
84 
 
 Lord that shall renew their strength. " Wait," 
 then, " on the Lord : be of good courage, and 
 he shall strengthen thine heart." * The faith- 
 fulness of his character is your security for the 
 fulfilment of his promises ; for, " The Strength 
 of Israel will not lie nor repent ; " f " Hath 
 he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he 
 spoken, and shall he not make it good ? " J 
 And his conduct to his people in past days is a 
 pledge of his readiness to help them now ; for 
 he is " the same yesterday, and to-day, and 
 forever." § He has been a strength to the 
 poor, — a strength to the needy in his distress ; 
 and he is our refuge and strength, a very 
 present help in trouble. 
 
 " Let us therefore come boldly imto the 
 throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, 
 
 * Ps. xxvii. 14. X Num. xxiii. 19. 
 
 t 1 Sam. XV. 29. § Heb. xiii. 8. 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 85 
 
 and find grace to help in time of need."* 
 There should be no hesitation on our part to 
 apply for the strength which we require, for 
 there is no reluctance on God's part to com- 
 municate it. In his hand it is to give strength 
 to all. A sense of our weakness, and a cry for 
 his aid, is the only prerequisite for its bestowal. 
 But hoiv is this strength imparted? It is 
 the gift of God, and through grace is laid hold 
 of by faith. Faith is the hand which grasps 
 and appropriates the promises, and thus fills 
 the soul with an all-sustaining, all-conquering 
 energy. The Holy Spirit, by whom all spirit- 
 ual blessings are bestowed, brings to the 
 Christian just the strength which he needs, 
 and teaches him to embrace it by faith. That 
 faith may be weak: but its efficacy depends 
 upon the reality, not the degree of our faith ; 
 
 ♦ * Heb. iv. 16. 
 
 8 
 
88 life's evening. 
 
 and therefore, if we sincerely trust in God, 
 through Christ, we may assuredly expect that 
 the aid which we look for, and for which we 
 supplicate, will be granted us. Yet, while it 
 is true that the smallest amount of true faith 
 forms, so to speak, a channel through which 
 God's grace flows into our hearts, it is equally 
 true that a stronger degree of faith is more 
 honoring to God, while it would lead us to 
 anticipate, and prepare us to receive, a far 
 greater measure of heavenly assistance than 
 we now possess. "According to your faith," 
 says the Saviour, "be it unto you ; " * and 
 therefore, if we desire to run without weari- 
 ness, to walk without fainting, and to mount 
 up with wings as eagles towards our rest 
 above, we should make the request of his 
 disciples our own, " Lord, increase our faith." f 
 
 * Matt. ix. 29. t Luke xvii. 5. « 
 
THE PROMISED STRENGTH. 87 
 
 7^ 
 
 Your "wanderings in the wilderness," 
 reader, may be now drawing towards a close. 
 It will, then, not be long before you will be 
 called to pass over the river Jordan, that you 
 may enter the promised land. Yet, as we 
 have seen, new trials may have to be encoun- 
 tered in the last stages of your lengthened 
 and perhaps wearisome journey. There is no 
 immunity from sorrow until you reach that 
 blessed country, where God shall himself wipe 
 away all tears, and give you that fulness of 
 joy which is inseparable from his presence. 
 But remember, aged Christian, the promise, 
 "As thy days, so shall thy strength be," and 
 hold the beginning of your confidence stead- 
 fast unto the end. As you think of the even- 
 ing of life, the night of death, and the solem- 
 nities of the last judgment, resolve with the 
 Psalmist, " I will go in the strength of the 
 
life's evening. 
 
 Lord God : I will make mention of thy right- 
 eousness, even of thine only." * So shall you 
 go on from strength to strength, until you 
 appear in Zion before your God.f 
 
 * Ps. Ixxi. 16. t Ps. Ixxxiv. 7. 
 
%\t ^iiipa of fife. 
 
 foto full of mystery is life ! 
 A troublous and bewildering maze, 
 A night with but few guiding rays, 
 A volume with enigmas rife. 
 
 The wicked thrive, the virtuous meet 
 With poverty and cold neglect ; 
 Wealth and not worth insures respect, 
 And folly sits in wisdom's seat. 
 
 Like puzzHng hieroglyphics seem 
 The characters before our eye ; 
 And scenes are ever passing by. 
 Strange and disordered as a dream. 
 
 8* 
 
90 life's evening. 
 
 Sorrow, misfortune, pain, and care. 
 In quick succession throng our path ; 
 Loved ones, once gathered round our hearth, 
 Are seen, alas ! no longer there. 
 
 who shall solve for anxious minds 
 The problems which this life suggests ? 
 Where is the shrine where reason rests, 
 The pole-star which the spirit finds ? 
 
 Faith is the anchor of the soul, 
 It hnks us to the world above ; 
 It leads us to the God of love, 
 Whose hand doth all events control. 
 
 He will evolve — we know not how — 
 The purest good from every ill ; 
 Then, like wise children, to his will 
 In meek submission let us bow. 
 
THE ENIGMA OF LIFE. 91 
 
 The past is dark, the future dim ; 
 
 A tangled web the present seems : 
 
 But through each cloud God's promise gleams, 
 
 And we will calmly trust in him. 
 
 Now through a glass we darkly see, 
 And therefore fail his plans to trace ; 
 But when we meet him face to face, 
 Unclouded shall our vision be. 
 
 Then knowledge perfected will cast 
 Its radiance o'er this earthly sphere ; 
 And full of wisdom will appear 
 The intricacies of the past. 
 
 — N>@^<S£^^<K — 
 
^elf-lustifka&n. 
 
 Gfi C^ristiait physician, who was concerned 
 © for the spiritual welfare of an aged rela- 
 tive, addressed to her the following letter. He 
 was fearful lest she should imagine that her 
 amiable moral qualities, and her regular at- 
 tention to religious observances, would form 
 a passport for her into heaven ; and therefore 
 he wrote her a plain and concise exposition of 
 the way of salvation. Will you read his kind 
 and faithful epistle, as if it were addressed to 
 yourself? 
 
 " And now, my dear old friend, how 
 
 stand you disposed for the other world ? For 
 at the age of eighty-six your time necessarily 
 
SELF- JUSTIFICATION. 93 
 
 draws nigh. I hope jou are deeply convinced, 
 with the heart as with the head, that it will 
 avail you less than a straw to have been good 
 to your neighbors ; to have done no harm to 
 any one ; to have been regular and attentive 
 at church ; to have committed no great crimes ; 
 to have read your Bible and said your prayers 
 regularly. To depend on these things would 
 be to depend upon your own good works. 
 But what says God himself on this subject ? 
 ' There is none righteous, no, not one ; there 
 is none that doetli good, no, not one.'* So 
 much therefore for your own righteousness. 
 The explanation of this, you, I hope, know ; 
 namely, that it results from the original sin 
 of Adam, whence no person can come to 
 God of himself, ' because the carnal mind is 
 enmity against God.' What then is God's 
 
 * Eora. iii. 10, 12. 
 
94 
 
 scheme for saving lost mankind ? You know 
 that God said that sin should be punished: 
 ' The wages of sin is death.' * He could not 
 therefore refrain from punishing it without 
 falsehood. But God, you know, is truth itself. 
 God, however, is love also ; and he extended 
 that love to fallen man, notwithstanding liis 
 sin ; for he designed a wonderful plan of grace, 
 by which his justice should be satisfied, and 
 yet a full, free, and perfect salvation be secured 
 to all who would accept it ; namely, ' God so 
 loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 
 Son, that whosoever beheveth on him should 
 not perish, but have everlasting life.' f That 
 Son suffered agonies in the garden and death 
 on the cross, which were ' a full, perfect, and 
 sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction 
 for the sins of the whole world.' 
 
 * Rom. vi. 23. f John iii. 16. 
 
SELF-JUSTIFICATION. 95 
 
 " But how can you get at this salvation ? 
 for, as stated above, you cannot obtain it by 
 any works or merits of your own. He gives 
 it as a free gift to all who sincerely desire and 
 pray for it. ' Ho, every one that thirsteth, 
 come ye to the waters, and he that hath no 
 money ; come ye, buy, and eat ; yea, come, 
 buy wine and milk without money and without 
 price.' * You must, therefore, pray for the 
 Holy Spirit to enlighten your understanding, 
 and enable you to see that you have ' no 
 money ' and ' no price ; ' in other words, that 
 your own righteousness is but as * filthy rags,' 
 and that if you have nothing else to depend 
 upon, you are lost forever. This, by the grace 
 of God, will induce you to flee fiv^m the wrath 
 to come. You will then take refuge in the 
 Saviour; you will believe in him, not only 
 
 * Isa. Iv. 1. 
 
96 life's evening. 
 
 with your head, but cordially with your heart. 
 You will receive him fully, and acknowledge 
 him as ' your Lord and your God.' * This 
 constitutes what is called faith in Christ, 
 which when once you really possess, you are 
 from that moment justified before God by 
 Christ's righteousness being imj)uted to you ; 
 your sins are forgiven ; and you are already, 
 in this world, a child of God, and an inheritor 
 of the kingdom of heaven. The Apostle Paul, 
 speaking of believers, says : ' Ye are all the 
 children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.' f 
 ^The just shall live by faith.' $ 'We have 
 believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be 
 justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the 
 works of the law : for by the works of the law 
 shall no flesh be justified.' § 
 
 * John XX. 28. J Gal. iii. 11. 
 
 t Gal. iii. 26. § Gal. ii. 16. 
 
SELF-JUSTIFICATION. 97 
 
 " But you will say, Are good works of no 
 use, then ? Of none in justifying you before 
 God ; but after you are justified by faith, they 
 are indispensable : as Christ says, ' The tree is 
 known by his fruit.' * Unless, therefore, your 
 tree yield fruit, that is, good works, you may 
 rest assured that your tree is unsound ; that 
 is, that your faith is not genuine, and will not 
 save you. If you have true faith, good works 
 will be your enjoyment, and you will daily 
 grow in holiness, and in fitness for the enjoy- 
 ment of God's presence. 
 
 " What a blessed and easy salvation is this ! 
 I trust, my dear old friend, that, if you have 
 any dependence on yourself, you will cast it 
 off, and be constantly praying that the Holy 
 Spirit will enable you to have genuine saving 
 faith in Christ. Never cease or despair, for 
 
 * Matt. xii. 33. 
 9 G 
 
98 life's evening. 
 
 Christ says, ' Ask, and it shall be given you ; 
 seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be 
 opened unto you.' * 
 
 " Now I must say farewell, with a prayer 
 that this letter may be blessed to you. I write 
 in a state of great debility, and nay only reason 
 for writing to you is, that you may have all 
 the enjoyments which I experience from faith 
 in Christ, and the assurance that through 
 God's great mercy I am one of his adopted 
 children. May God bless you. 
 
 " Always your affectionate NeiDhew." 
 
 How desirable is it that, on the brink of 
 eternity, you should ascertain whether you 
 are prepared to meet your God ! If your 
 house is built upon the treacherous and shift- 
 ing sand, it is surely better to discover its 
 
 * Matt. vii. 7. 
 
SELF-JUSTIFICATION. 99 
 
 insecurity now, than to wait till the storm 
 arises which will sweep it away; if your 
 expectation of everlasting bliss be delusive 
 and temporary, it is surely better to let it go, 
 than to cling to it and perish. 
 
 You hope perhaps to reach heaven ; what 
 is the ground of your confidence ? Are you 
 resting on yourself or on Christ ? It is proba- 
 ble, nay, almost certain, that you will reply, 
 " On CMst," for, as a matter of course, people 
 in general profess to depend upon his merits ; 
 but all the time the real foundation of your 
 hope may be your own good desires, your 
 good works, and your good feelings. Ex- 
 amine yourself, whether you are indeed in 
 the faith. It is easy to be deceived upon 
 this point. It is easy to fancy that we are 
 right, and yet to be entirely wrong. Self- 
 righteousness is so natural to us, that it is 
 
100 life's evening. 
 
 not without the greatest difficulty we are led 
 to renounce it, and to trust simply in the 
 righteousness of another. For to do this 
 implies that we have nothing of our own 
 which we can urge as a plea for our accept- 
 ance in God's sight; nothing which can ex- 
 tenuate our past guilt, or give us the slightest 
 claim upon his favor ; and it is very humbling 
 to us to make such an acknowledgment. We 
 are willing to admit that we have done much 
 that was wrong; that we have not been so 
 good as we ought to have been ; that we are 
 imperfect and erring creatures, and need to 
 have our deficiencies supplied by the atone- 
 ment of Christ;— r but we are very unwilling 
 to own that our whole life has been in direct 
 opposition to the will of our Maker ; that our 
 best actions have been imperfect or mixed 
 with evil, and that we are justly exposed to 
 
SELF-JUSTIFICATION. 101 
 
 his condemnation and disregard. But unless 
 we feel our true characters as .sinners, — 
 sinners unable to make any satisfaction for 
 the past, — how can we appreciate and receive 
 the work and death of Christ ? How can we 
 throw ourselves as lost and undone upon the 
 merciful provision which he has made for 
 mankind, when we secretly do not believe 
 that we are in ourselves utterly undeserving 
 of our Maker's forbearance, and utterly unable 
 to bring forward, apart from the atonement, 
 one reason why we should be saved ? 
 
 Search, then, and see what is the ground 
 of your confidence before God. A mistake 
 here is ruinous, — is fatal. Look back upon 
 your life : how does it appear to you ? You 
 cannot deny, however vague may be your 
 idea of sin, that you have in innumerable 
 instances disobeyed the commands of God. 
 
 9* 
 
102 
 
 Now he has solemnly affirmed, " Cursed is 
 every one* that continueth not in all things 
 which are written in the book of the law 
 to do them." * How will you remove his 
 displeasure ? By your repentance ? But what 
 is that worth? You will be sorry for your 
 sins because you find that they are likely 
 to injure your eternal happiness ; you will 
 repent, because by so doing you hope you 
 shall be saved and reach heaven: are such 
 purely selfish motives any inducement for God 
 to forgive you? Besides, allowing that your 
 repentance is sincere and thorough, can re- 
 pentance atone for sin ? can it satisfy the 
 claims of justice? Does the sorrow of the 
 criminal withhold the execution of the sen- 
 tence of the law? And can your feeble 
 regrets over the past set aside the penalty 
 
 * Gal. iii. 10. 
 
SELF- JUSTIFICATION. 103 
 
 which God has attached to every transgres- 
 sion, — "The soul that sinneth, it shall die"?* 
 It is impossible ; do not delude yourself with 
 a false hope. God cannot overlook or suspend 
 the solemn sanctions which he has given to 
 his laws. 
 
 But you are perhaps disposed to turn from 
 yoiu' sins to your virtues, and to urge them 
 in your own behalf. You think there is much 
 that is commendable in your personal history. 
 You have been amiable and kind and char- 
 itable ; you have read your Bible, you. have 
 prayed, you have gone to church; and God 
 will surely not forget the fairer side of your 
 character ; surely he will set your good-doing 
 against your wrong-doing, and then draw the 
 balance in your favor ; or at all events release 
 you from any further claim. Ah, how igno- 
 
 * Ezek. xviii. 4. 
 
104 
 
 rant are you of the nature and extent of 
 the holmess which God requires of his crea- 
 tures ! 
 
 Your best and brightest deeds are defiled 
 in his sight. They were not done from love 
 to him, and are therefore devoid of all real 
 worth. With reference to your fellow-crea- 
 tures, your conduct may have been lovely 
 and praiseworthy ; but God seeth not as man 
 seeth; he looks at the heart: and if he per- 
 ceives that "self" has been the centre-point 
 of its motives and desires, or that liis glory, 
 instead of being the first and principal object 
 which influenced your daily life, has had no 
 place in your consideration and esteem, how 
 little of value, nay, rather how much to con- 
 demn, ijiust his unerring judgment find in 
 your fairest performances ! " The God in 
 whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all 
 
SELF-JUSTIFICATION. 105 
 
 thy ^ajs, hast thou not glorified." * You 
 have lived without him in the world ; you 
 have not submitted to his authority ; you have 
 not sought his honor: and yet you venture 
 to ask for his approval. You bring forward 
 certain actions which lack the one essential 
 qualification that he demands in them, and 
 you expect that he will accept and commend 
 them. Besides, supposing that you could 
 present it to God, of what avail would par- 
 tial goodness be before him ? He requires 
 from you the perfect holiness of a whole life ; 
 one deviation from the path of obedience 
 would stamp you a transgressor in his sight : 
 but your sins are more in number than the 
 hairs of your head; and therefore by the 
 deeds of the law it is impossible that you 
 should be justified. And if not justified, 
 
 * Dan. V. 23. 
 
106 life's evening. 
 
 you must be condemned ; there is no alter- 
 native. 
 
 How vain then is all self-righteousness ! 
 How delusive is the idea that we can, either 
 altogether or in part, shield ourselves from 
 the disapprobation and displeasure of our 
 Maker ! How false, how dangerous, is the 
 peace which results from an erroneous con- 
 ception of our true position! Give up all 
 hope, then, of ever reaching heaven by the 
 road of human merit. Listen to the voice 
 of your Saviour when he says, " I am the 
 way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh 
 unto the Father, but by me."* "Behold" 
 in him "the Lamb of God, which taketh 
 away the sin of the world." f Cease your 
 futile endeavors to establish your own right- 
 eousness, and at once submit yourself to 
 
 * John xiv. 6. t John i. 29. 
 
SELF-JUSTIFICATION. 107 
 
 the righteousness of God. Cast away your 
 self-confidence, and trust in the merits of your 
 Saviour, and you shall be pardoned, justified, 
 and accepted. " Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and thou shalt be saved." * But if 
 you rely upon your own obedience to the 
 law, you are undone. Why hesitate ? The 
 Saviour has made a full and free atonement 
 for sin, so that God can now be "just, and 
 the justifier of him which belie veth in Jesus." f 
 Faith in him will set you free from the accu- 
 sations of conscience, and the penalties of 
 the broken law, and introduce you into the 
 glorious liberty of the children of God. And 
 then will commence in your heart and life 
 that true holiness without which no man shall 
 see the Lord. A new principle of obedience 
 will spring up within you ; and the all-inspir- 
 
 * Acts xvi. 31. t Rom. iii. 26. 
 
108 life's evening. 
 
 ing motive of love will lead you to live unto 
 Him who died for you and rose again, and 
 to glorify God in your body and your spirit, 
 wliicli are his. 
 
 There is, further, neither peace nor safety 
 without faith in Christ; that faith which 
 thankfully and joyfully rests upon his all- 
 sufficient sacrifice, and which brings forth 
 its appropriate and appointed fruits. In the 
 dying hour, how worthless will be any other 
 hope but the hope which is linked with his 
 cross ! A Roman Catholic priest in Austria 
 went to visit a woman, distinguished by her 
 humility and piety, who was dangerously ill. 
 In endeavoring to prepare her for the solemn 
 change just at hand, he said to her, " I doubt 
 not but you will die calm and happy." " Why 
 do you think so ? " was the inquiry of the 
 sick woman. " Because your life has been 
 
SELF-JUSTIFICATION. 109 
 
 made up of a series of good works." She 
 sighed, and answered earnestly, " If I die 
 confiding in the good works which yon call 
 to my recollection, I know for certain that 
 I shall be condemned: but what renders me 
 calm at this solemn hour is that I trust solely 
 in Jesus Christ, my Saviour." These few 
 words from the lips of a dying woman re- 
 vealed through Grod's blessing the way of 
 salvation to her hitherto self-righteous min- 
 ister; and from that period he rejoiced to 
 proclaim to others the Saviour whom he had 
 himself found. " We have believed in Jesus 
 Christ, that we might be justified by the faith 
 of Christ." * 
 
 Would you have peace with God, when the 
 thin curtain which separates time from eter- 
 nity is about to be drawn aside, and your 
 
 * Gal. ii. 16. 
 10 
 
110 life's evening. 
 
 spirit is passing from the one to the other? 
 then seek it noio through the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Count all things but loss, that you 
 may win Christ, and be found in him, not 
 having your own righteousness, which is of 
 the law, but that which is through the faith of 
 Christ, the righteousness which is of God by 
 faith.* You have been striving, perhaps for 
 many years, to make yourself holy, and so to 
 fit yourself for heaven ; but you have not suc- 
 ceeded. You have not found that peace and 
 purity for which you longed. Why ? Because 
 you " sought it not by faith, but as it were by 
 the works of the law." f j An Indian and a 
 white man were both impressed under the 
 same sermon with the value of the soul and 
 the importance of salvation. It was a long 
 time before the white man found peace and 
 
 * Phil. iii. 8, 9. ' f Eom. ix. 32. 
 
SELF-JUSTIFICATION. Ill 
 
 joy ill believing ; but when he did, he called 
 upon his colored friend, and said to him, 
 " How was it that you found comfort so soon, 
 while I was brought to the very verge of de- 
 spair ? " "0 brother ! " replied the Indian, 
 " me tell you ; there came along a rich prince, 
 he offer to give you a new coat ; you look at 
 your coat, and say, ' I don't know, my coat 
 pretty good, I believe it will do a little longer.' 
 He then offer me a new coat ; I look on my 
 old blanket ; I say, ' This good for nothing.' 
 I fling it right away and take the new coat. 
 Just so, brother, you try to keep your own 
 righteousness for some time ; you loath to give 
 it up ; but I, poor Indian, had none, therefore 
 I glad at once to have the righteousness of the 
 Lord Jesus." 
 
 Have you been clinging to your own fancied 
 righteousness, instead of eagerly and grate- 
 
112 
 
 fully accepting that spotless robe, that wed- 
 ding garment, which God has himself pro- 
 vided? Do so no longer. Fall in now with 
 God's plan of salvation. Trust in Christ. 
 Plead his merits as the only ground of your 
 confidence. "When he hung upon the cross, 
 his last words were, " It is finished." All that 
 the justice of God required as an atonement 
 for sin, in order to the reconciliation of sinners 
 to himself, was then completed. Our prayers, 
 our tears, our penitence, our virtues, cannot 
 add to the value of Christ's finished work, nor 
 tend in the slightest degree to our justification. 
 By the resurrection of the Saviour from the 
 dead, and his ascension into heaven, God has 
 publicly testified his righteous displeasure 
 against sin, and his acceptance of Christ's 
 s-acrifice; and if he is* perfectly satisfied with 
 the atonement made by his well-beloved Son, 
 
SELF-JUSTIFICATION. 113 
 
 dare we deny its sufficiency, or doubt its 
 worth? And yet this is what we are really 
 doing if we are striving to find anything in 
 ourselves which will aid in the expiation of 
 our guilt, or recommend us to God's favor. 
 0, let us shrink from offering such a practi- 
 cal insult to the Saviour ; let us dread incur- 
 ring the condemnation of those who reject 
 God's method of salvation, and who obey not 
 the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Listen, reader, to the gracious, the heart- 
 cheering invitation which resounds in your 
 ears as you gaze upon the cross : " Come unto 
 me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 
 and I will give you rest." * Weary sinner ! 
 weary with the unceasing and unsatisfying 
 endeavor to work out your own righteousness, 
 arise now and go to your Saviour, and find in 
 
 * Matt. xi. 28. 
 
 10* H 
 
114 life's evening. 
 
 him your wisdom, your righteousness, your 
 sanctification, and your redemption. He who 
 knew no sin was made sin for you, that you 
 might be made the righteousness of God in 
 Him.* Believe this ; and the peace of God 
 which passeth all understanding will flow into 
 your soul. 
 
 Aged believer ! being justified by faith, this 
 peace is already yours. Cherish it by contin- 
 ued and simple reliance on Christ. Trust to 
 nothing in yourself, not even to the fruits of 
 grace which he has himself implanted within 
 you. Sanctification is not your title to heaven, 
 but your fitness for it. All your hope, all 
 your dependence, must still rest upon the fin- 
 ished work of your Saviour. " Ye are com- 
 plete in Him." f 
 
 * 2 Cor. V. 21. t Col. ii. 10. 
 
^t f 0SS of Ptmorg. 
 
 ^I^j^to impaired the memory becomes as we 
 ^^ advance in years ! We are constantly for- 
 getting the little occurrences of every-day life ; 
 and our past history sometimes appears to 
 us like an indistinct and troubled dream. 
 The friends and associates of our youth fade 
 from our recollection, and we are frequently 
 unable to recall even the names which they 
 bore. It is true that an aged person will 
 sometimes manifest as clear and as tena- 
 cious a memory as is possessed by any one 
 around him; but his case is a peculiar one, 
 and does not warrant others to expect that they 
 will be similarly favored. For loss of memory 
 
116 life's evening. 
 
 is a common and natural infirmity of old age ; 
 and we must not be surprised, and we ought 
 not to be impatient, at this indication, among 
 many others, of our mortality. 
 
 The present world is not our rest, although 
 we are too prone to live as if it were so, and 
 our failing strength, and weakened faculties, 
 are kmd and necessary remembrancers of our 
 actual position here. And not only do they 
 remind us that we have reached the evening of 
 life, and should prepare for the dawn ©f im- 
 mortality, but they tend to assist us in making 
 that preparation, by withdrawing us from the 
 arduous and engrossing occupations of the 
 world, and by gradually weaning us from our 
 natural attachment to this present state of 
 existence. Our feeble powers, both of body 
 and mind, unfit us for the busy engagements 
 into which we once entered so heartily, and in 
 
THE LOSS OF BIEMORY. 117 
 
 our retirement from the active duties of life 
 we have opportunity for meditation and reflec- 
 tion ; while the privations and trials to which 
 we are subjected incline us to say with the 
 afflicted patriarch, " I would not live alway ; " 
 and thus make us willing to depart. 
 
 The failure of memory is, however, very 
 trying and inconvenient ; and it is a loss 
 which cannot be repaired. " My memory fails 
 day by day," writes a Christian lady in her 
 seventieth year to her sister : " I cannot re- 
 member where I put anything, no, not for an 
 hour ; and though the inconvenience might be 
 prevented by having a place for everything, 
 and being careful to put everytliing in its 
 proper place, — a rule good in every time of 
 life, — it is frustrated by my forgetting that I 
 forget. No person can conceive the trial this 
 is but they who have experienced it. It is 
 
118 life's evening. 
 
 equally distressing with regard to circum- 
 stances and dates. I must make a memoran- 
 dum of everything ; and then I lose the memo- 
 randum, or mislay the book in which I note 
 down things of importance. However, I have 
 mercies great and numerous, to balance, and 
 infinitely more than balance this ; my life is 
 hid with Christ in God; my Jesus is my 
 surety that all will be well: he forgets not. 
 All my concerns are m his hands : he j^ill 
 manage all, — perfect all, — finish all." 
 
 0, amidst the changes and the imperfec- 
 tions which are incidental to the present life, 
 how full of comfort is the thought that Jesus 
 forgets not! He ever remembers his people, 
 and retains the liveliest interest in their mi- 
 nutest concerns. " Can a woman forget her 
 sucking child, that she should not have com- 
 passion on the son of her womb ? Yea, they 
 
THE LOSS OF BIEMORY. 119 
 
 may forget ; yet will I not forget thee." * No 
 lapse of time can enfeeble or destroy his per- 
 fect and perpetual cognizance of our affairs. 
 
 And although our memories are rapidly 
 failing, although they are unable now to fulfil 
 the trust which we once reposed inJ;hem, they 
 can still gratefully recall the Saviour's pre- 
 cious name, and ardently cherish the recollec- 
 tion of his unspeakable love. 
 
 The pious Bishop Beveridge, when on his 
 death-bed, was unable to recognize any of his 
 relatives or friends. A clergyman with whom 
 he had been intimately acquainted visited 
 him, and when introduced into his room, said, 
 " Bishop Beveridge, do you know me ? " 
 "Who are you?" said the aged prelate. 
 Being told who the minister was, he shook his 
 head, and said that he did not know him. 
 
 ^ Isa. xlix. 15. 
 
120 life's evening. 
 
 Another friend addressed him in a similar 
 manner, " Do you know me, Bishop Beve- 
 ridge ? " "■ Who are you ? " he again m- 
 quired. Being told that it was one of his old 
 friends, he replied that he did not recollect 
 him. His wife then came to his bedside, and 
 asked him if he knew hdr, but the good Bishop 
 had lost all remembrance even of his wife. 
 At last some one present said, " Well, Bishop 
 Beveridge, do you know the Lord Jesus 
 Christ ? " " Jesus Christ ! " repeated he, as 
 if the name had produced upon him the influ- 
 ence of a charm ; " yes, I have known him 
 these forty years : precious Saviour ! He is 
 my only hope." 
 
 " How sweet the name of Jesus sounds 
 In a believer's ear ! ' 
 
 Saviour ! if we forget all besides, may we 
 remember thee ! May we look to thee, — rest 
 
THE LOSS OF MEMORY. 121 
 
 on thee, — abide in thee, — and wait for that 
 happy period when we shall be forever with 
 thee. 
 
 And when we have reached heaven, we shall 
 no longer have to complain of the imperfection 
 of memory. For then we shall remember — 
 remember without any effort, any mistake, 
 any omission — the way in which the Lord 
 our God has led us so many years in the wil- 
 derness. What a retrospect will that be ! 
 The light of eternity will shine on the records 
 of the past, and each page of our life will be 
 clear and legible. And we shall read them 
 without pain or regret. In this world the 
 recollection of bygone days is often fraught 
 with much that is sorrowful. Scenes and 
 events come back to our thoughts, on which 
 we dare not dwell, and which we would fain 
 forget. But it will not be so above. Perfect 
 11 
 
122 life's evening. 
 
 and vi^-id as that mental glance which shall 
 survey our journey through life, from the 
 cradle to the grave, will unquestionably prove, 
 it will be accompanied by so deep and aug- 
 mented an acquaintance with the loving provi- 
 dence of our Heavenly Father, and by such 
 sweet and entire submission to his will, as will 
 render it impossible for the remembrances to 
 awaken the slightest emotion of grief in our 
 hearts. Or rather, it will furnish us with such 
 accumulated and varied proofs of God's ten- 
 derness and care, as will fill our spirits with 
 grateful adoration. O, as we recall with ac- 
 curate minuteness the circumstances of our 
 eartlily history, we shall see enough of God's 
 marvellous wisdom and loving-kindness to ex- 
 cite our praise throughout all eternity. 
 
 Instead, then, of lamenting over our present 
 infirmity, let us endeavor to realize that free- 
 
THE LOSS OF MEMORY. 123 
 
 dom from all imperfection, and those superior 
 mental faculties, which we shall enjoy in a 
 future state. We are now drawing near to 
 the land of perpetual youth and vigor. The 
 weakened intellect, the declining strength, the 
 failing memory, these are tokens that it will 
 not be very long before our weary spirits are 
 at rest. 
 
 " , A poor aged widow, — poor in this world's 
 wealth, but rich in faith, — in reply to the kind 
 inquiry of her minister after her health, re- 
 plied with cheerfulness, "• What cause I have 
 to be thankful ! how many at my age are con- 
 fined to their beds, while I am able to be about 
 and clean my own house. I hope I may have 
 my faculties to the last." 
 
 " You find, I dare say," he remarked, " that 
 this earthly house of your tabernacle is being 
 dissolved; now one pin is taken down, now 
 
124 
 
 ano^ier ; now this part melts away, now 
 that." "Yes, sir, I do indeed find that my 
 poor old body is very weak ; often, when I only 
 walk across the room, I am extremely giddy ; 
 and my memory almost fails me. Sometimes 
 I get up and go into the other room to fetch 
 something which I want, and when I come 
 there, I stand, and have quite forgotten for 
 what I came." 
 
 " You remember, perhaps, what took place 
 when you were a girl, far more distinctly than 
 what you heard or saw only last week ? " 
 
 " yes, sir ; it seems to me but a few days 
 since I was a girl ; my father lived at the mill, 
 and I remember how I used to go into the 
 fields, and have many a game there with my 
 little playfellows." 
 
 "Well, my dear friend, memory generally 
 seems to be the first faculty which is taken 
 
THE LOSS OF MEMORY. 125 
 
 from the aged; and God thus reminds them 
 to forget those things which are beliind, and to 
 reach forth to those things which are before. 
 He prevents their looking back, in order that 
 they may learn to look forward.^'* 
 
 Let us all " look forward ; " and as we muse 
 on the glorious reaUties of heaven, can we 
 murmur that we should forget the fading 
 things of earth? Is it not well, that the 
 nearer we are to the joys of eternity, the less 
 ^dvid and perceptible appear the vanities of 
 time ? A mist has gathered over the scenes 
 of earth, but everlasting sunshine is about to 
 break forth. 
 
 t-''-crNO>^^'^3i{^^"Xi>'^=>«-J 
 
 
Luke xxiv. 29. 
 
 Jjrljrnugl^ the brief, and sometimes sorrowful 
 walk of life, thou, Saviour, hast been 
 our companion and friend. Thy presence has 
 cheered us ; thy word has instructed us ; and 
 thy sympathy has consoled us. How delight- 
 ful has been our intercourse with thee ! the 
 remembrance of it is very precious to us. And 
 now that it is towards evening, and the day is 
 far spent, depart not from us. " Cast us not 
 off in the time of old age, forsake us not when 
 our strength faileth ; " for we cannot do with- 
 out thee. When thou art absent, our comfort 
 declines, our hopes are enfeebled, and we sadly 
 mistake th^ designs of thy providence. Con- 
 
12T 
 
 verse with thee is absolutely essential to our 
 peace of mind, and our growth in grace. 
 Then come and abide with us. " Thus saith 
 the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, 
 whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high 
 and holy place, with him also that is of a 
 contrite and humble spirit."* 0, fulfil in 
 our experience so gracious and so marvellous 
 a promise ! The door of our hearts is thrown 
 wide open, that thou mayest enter, and take 
 up thine abode there forever. 0, abide with 
 us ! If thou seemest as if thou wert going 
 further, it is only to increase the ardor of our 
 desires, and to strengthen the fervency of our 
 petition. Suffer us, then, gracious Saviour, 
 to plead with thee : to beseech thee, with an 
 importunity that admits of no denial, that 
 thou wilt stay with us and bless us. Like the 
 
 * Isa. Ivii. 15. 
 
128 life's evening. 
 
 patriarch of old, let us have power with thee, 
 and prevail. 
 
 V "Abide with us." We are ignorant and 
 erring creatures, and need that thou shouldest 
 remain with us as our Teacher. Long have 
 our names been enrolled as thy disciples ; and 
 varied and repeated have been thy gentle and 
 wise instructions ; but we want to know more 
 — much more — of thee and of thy Gospel. 
 There are difficulties which we desire to have 
 removed ; duties of which we are anxious to 
 be reminded ; promises which we long to have 
 unfolded to us. Alas ! how little do we yet 
 understand the mystery of godliness! how 
 feeble- and unworthy is our estimate of the 
 riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
 God! Thou mightest indeed justly reproach 
 us with our dulness of apprehension, and with 
 our slowness of heart to believe all that the 
 
"abide with us." 129 
 
 prophets have spoken ; for we have not made 
 half the progress which we might and ought 
 to have made in the study of thy truth. In- 
 stead of being now prepared to become the 
 teachers of others, we rather need to be taught 
 again "the first principles of the oracles of 
 God." * But, Lord, while we lament with 
 shame and sorrow our imperfect acquaintance 
 with thy word and will, we would at the same 
 time urge our ignorance as the very plea why 
 thou shouldest continue to impart thy gracious 
 and plain instructions. Abide with us ; for 
 the partial yet blessed acquaintance which we 
 have even now with thy doctrines and precepts 
 makes us intensely solicitous to come " in the 
 unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of 
 the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the 
 measure of the stature of the fulness of 
 
 * Heb. V. 12. 
 
130 life's evening. 
 
 Christ." * Open unto us the Scriptures ; ex- 
 pound unto us all that they contain concern- 
 ing thyself; enable us to know thy love which 
 passeth knowledge. Cause our hearts to burn 
 within us, as thou talkest to us by the way. 
 
 "Abide with us." The trials and disap- 
 pointments which we meet are heavy to bear. 
 As we walk through the pathway of the world, 
 we are often sad and cast down. Our cherished 
 hopes have been blasted, and we seem friendless 
 and forsaken. Wilt thou not draw near and 
 comfort us? Wilt thou not dispel our fears 
 and strengthen our faith? Wilt thou not so 
 fill our hearts with thy presence, that there 
 shall be no room left for corroding care and 
 anxiety ? Abide with us. Many dangers are 
 before us, nay, around us ; and who but thou 
 can deliver us from them ? Many troubles are 
 
 * Eph. iv. 13. 
 
"ABIDE WITH US." 131 
 
 gathering in the distance, and to whom besides 
 thee can we look for succor ? 0, go not from 
 us, for trouble is nigh at hand, and there is 
 none to help us. But our griefs will soon grow 
 lighter if thou art with us ; if thou wilt 
 disclose to us the necessity and the result of 
 the painful events which have befallen us ; if 
 thou wilt show us that the sources of our 
 sorrow are really the springs of our joy. 
 
 "Abide with us." A short and occasional 
 visit from thee, O Lord, although it is far more 
 than we deserve, cannot satisfy our desires. 
 We want thee to dwell with us, not as a guest, 
 but as a resident, to make our hearts thy home. 
 " the hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in 
 time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a 
 stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man 
 that turneth aside to tarry for the night ? " * 
 
 * Jer. xiv. 8. 
 
132 life's evening. 
 
 0, abide with us. Through the sunshine of 
 prosperity and the gloom of adversity ; in our 
 mental conflicts and our spiritual enjoyments ; 
 when the duties of life are pressing hard upon 
 us, or when the shadow of the tomb is flung 
 across our path, leave us not, neither forsake 
 us, thou God of our salvation. So ardent is 
 our affection for thee ; so deep is our conscious- 
 ness of our utter helplessness and misery 
 without thee, that we cannot bear that thou 
 shouldest ever depart from us. Take what 
 thou wilt away, only leave us thyself. 
 
 "Abide with us." There are seasons — 
 painful seasons — in our Christian experience, 
 when, through misapprehension and unbelief, 
 we lose the sweet realization of thy presence. 
 Thou art near us ; thou art with us : but our 
 eyes are holden, and we do not know thee. 
 The ignorance of our minds, and the mysteries 
 
"ABIDE WITH US." 133 
 
 of thy providence, cast a mist over our spiritual 
 apprehension, so that we fail to discern thee. 
 But our thoughts and our desires are still 
 intently fixed upon thee; we long to behold 
 again the light of thy countenance; and if 
 thou wilt abide with us, if thou wilt pity our 
 weakness and out dulness of perception, and 
 remain with us, our eyes will soon be opened, 
 and we shall joyfully recognize thee as our 
 Master, our Friend, our Saviour. 
 
 "Abide with us." It is with the confidence 
 of faith that we thus implore thy perpetual 
 presence and friendship, for thou hast promised 
 that, if we love thee and keep thy words, thou 
 wilt come unto us, and make thine abode with 
 us.* Thou hast declared that thou art with 
 us always, even unto the end of the world. 
 Thou hast assured us that thou wilt never 
 
 * John xiv. 23. 
 12 
 
134 
 
 leave us. "With holy boldness, therefore, we 
 come unto the throne of grace, and ask for the 
 simple fulfilment of thine own words. Abide 
 with us. Through life, in death, manifest 
 thyself unto us as thou dost not unto the 
 world. Let our fellowship be with the Father, 
 and with thee, his Son Jesus Christ. And 
 when the journey of life shall end, receive us 
 into one of the many mansions which thou art 
 now preparing for thy disciples; that where 
 thou art, there we may be also, and enjoy 
 eternal and uninterrupted communion with 
 thee. 
 
 Abide with me : fast falls the even-tide ; 
 The darkness thickens ; Lord, with me abide. 
 When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, 
 Help of the helpless, O, abide with me ! 
 
ABIDE WITH US." 135 
 
 Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day ; 
 Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away. 
 Change and decay in all around I see : 
 O thou, who changest not, abide with me ! 
 
 Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word, 
 But as thou dwell'st with thy disciples. Lord ; 
 Familiar, condescending, patient, free. 
 Come, not to sojourn, but abide with me. 
 
 Come not in terrors as the King of kings. 
 But kind and good with healing in thy wings ; 
 Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea : 
 Come, Friend of sinners ! thus abide with me. 
 
 Thou on my head in early youth didst smile ;^ 
 And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile, 
 Thou hast not left me, oft as I left thee : 
 On to the close, O Lord, abide with me. 
 
136 life's evening. 
 
 I need thy presence every passing hour ; 
 What but thy grace can foil the tempter's power ? 
 "Who like thyself my guide and stay can be ? 
 Through cloud and sunshine, O, abide with me ! 
 
 I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless, 
 Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness. 
 Where is Death's sting ? where, Grave, thy victory ? 
 I triumph still if thou abide with me. 
 
 Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes ; 
 Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies ; 
 Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows 
 
 flee: 
 In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. 
 
 Kev. H. F. Ltte. 
 
^Sppatljs aitir Selfishness* 
 
 fohj natural it is to be selfish ; to study 
 continually one's own comfort, and to 
 make the happiness of others a secondary 
 consideration, — if, indeed, we make it a con- 
 sideration at all ! How Christ-like it is to 
 love our neighbor as ourselves ; to bear one 
 another's burdens ; to be full of sympathy 
 with all around us ! 
 
 Which is the lovelier character ? Which 
 is your character? Is "self" the centre of 
 your wishes and your aims, — the idol that 
 is set up in your heart ? Or have you 
 learned from the example of our Saviour, to 
 
 12* 
 
138 life's evening. 
 
 rejoice with them that rejoice, and to weep 
 with them that weep? Have you put on 
 tliat charity which is the bond of perfect- 
 ness ? 
 
 Each season of Hfe has its own peculiar 
 tendencies and temptations. But selfishness 
 is at all times, and under all circumstances, 
 the common sin which doth so easily beset 
 us. In early youth we are 'prone to imag- 
 ine that everybody and everything about us 
 ought in some way to minister to our grat- 
 ification, and we therefore strive to employ 
 them in the furtherance of the plans which 
 we have arranged for our own happiness. In 
 old age, when the infirmities of life compel us 
 to withdraw from its activities and its pleas- 
 ures, we are in danger of supposing that, since 
 we can derive but little enjoyment now from 
 those sources which once yielded to us a rich 
 
SYMPATHY AND SELFISHNESS. 139 
 
 supply, it is a matter of little importance to 
 us whether others find any satisfaction in 
 them or not. It often happens that old age 
 narrows the channel of our benevolence and 
 our sympathy; we have less to receive, and 
 we think we cannot have so much to give. 
 Our thoughts, allowed to take their natural 
 course, become concentrated on "self;" all 
 that personally concerns us is so magnified 
 as very much to hide from our view the inter- 
 ests of our neighbors ; we look so steadily and 
 so exclusively on our own good, that we 
 almost lose sight of the good of others. 
 
 Now, will you guard against the influence 
 of these selfish feelings ? Will you bear in 
 mind how opposed, how thoroughly opposed, 
 are selfishness and Christianity ? Will you 
 reflect upon the injury which you may do to 
 religion, by allowing an undue regard for self 
 
140 
 
 to be maiiifested in the little occurrences of 
 your every-day life 1>^A young man, who 
 was urged by a pious friend to devote himself 
 to the service of God, made this reply: "It 
 is of no use to talk to me in this way ; I have 
 seen too much of religious people to desire to 
 be like them. They pretend to be a great 
 deal better than everybody else, but they are 
 just the same underneath. Why, there 's my 
 Uncle S , an old man with one foot al- 
 ready in the grave ; he calls himself a Chris- 
 tian, and yet he is as covetous and as selfish 
 as possible. See him at home ; his comfort, 
 his ease, his wishes, must be first consulted ; 
 everybody must give way to him; and he is 
 constantly taking offence because he thinks he 
 has not sufficient attention and respect paid to 
 him. What's the use of religion? it is all 
 show, — mere show.'' 
 
SYMPATHY AND SELFISHNESS. 141 
 
 It was not difficult to answer such an objec- 
 tion as this, but it was difficult to remove the 
 prejudice and the misconception which had 
 gathered around that young man's mind. 
 The selfish behavior of his aged relative, in 
 conjunction with that of others, had so set him 
 against religion, that he would not listen to 
 its claims ; and, although moral and amiable 
 in his conduct, he still remains estranged from 
 his God and his people. It is true, that the 
 faults and inconsistencies of professed Chris- 
 tians will furnish no valid excuse for his refu- 
 sal to love and serve liis God and Saviour; 
 but ought they not to excite the deepest grief 
 and shame in those who have thus thrown 
 additional stumbling-blocks in the way of a 
 sinner's return ? Ought we not earnestly to 
 watch and pray that we do not bring reproach 
 upon that holy name by which we are called, 
 
142 life's evening. 
 
 through our self-love and self-indulgence ? It 
 is not so much by flagrant departures from the 
 ways of godliness, that we exert a baneful 
 influence over the undecided and the uncon- 
 verted, as by our apparently careless disregard 
 of whatsoever things are lovely and of good 
 report. 
 
 The warm and generous-hearted spirit of 
 youth will shrink with distaste, if not with 
 disgust, from a religion which our actions 
 have led him to ally with meanness and 
 selfishness. Our prayers, our zeal, our alms- 
 giving, our profession, will have but little 
 weight with him, if they are associated day 
 after day with the unhallowed and unamiable 
 endeavor to secure our personal ease, in pref- 
 erence to the comfort of others ; — he will re- 
 gard them but as sounding brass, or a tinkling 
 cymbal. And will he not rightly regard them ? 
 
SYMPATHY AND SELFISHNESS. 143 
 
 " Though I have all faith and knowledge ; 
 though I bestow all my goods to feed the 
 poor; and though I give my body to be 
 burned, and have not love, — that love which 
 seeketh not her own, which vaunteth not 
 itself, but which suffereth long and is kind, — 
 it profiteth me nothing." * 
 
 Let not, then, the infirmities of age be a 
 plea for your lessened sympathy with others. 
 Should the graces of the Christian decline with 
 his fading strength ? should the shadow of the 
 tomb dim the light of his heaven-born love ? 
 Surely the nearer that he approaches to the 
 pure and peaceful fellowship of the saints 
 above, the more should his spirit be conformed 
 to theirs. And is theirs a spirit of selfishness ? 
 Are they absorbed in their own interests, their 
 own occupations, their own joys ? Are they 
 
 * 1 Cor. xiii. 
 
144 
 
 indifferent to the feelings and the pleasures of 
 their bright companions ? No ; they joyfully 
 and fully sympathize with each other ; self is 
 forgotten there ; and if we hope, through a 
 Saviour's merits, to reach the home where 
 they dwell, let us endeavor to cherish corre- 
 spondent emotions to theirs. Let us strive to 
 follow them as they, when on earth, followed 
 Christ. Ah, let us rather look at once at 
 Jesus, our perfect model, our brightest exam- 
 ple ; let us ask to have the mind that was in 
 him, and to be imbued with his spirit. For 
 then we cannot live day after day as some who 
 profess and call themselves Christians do live ; 
 cold and careless about the welfare of others, 
 and at the same time intensely solicitous to 
 promote our own. " Ye have not so learned 
 Christ ; if so be that ye have heard him, and 
 have been taught by him, as the truth is 
 
SYMPATHY AND SELFISHNESS. 145 
 
 in Jesus." * His doctrine which we have 
 received into our hearts, and his example 
 w^ich we have chosen as the guide of our 
 conduct, leads us to deny ourselves that we 
 may benefit others, and to take the liveliest 
 interest in all that relates to their happi- 
 ness. 
 
 And we are not to retrace our steps as 
 years increase. We are not to be peevish, 
 discontented, or unreasonable, because we are 
 old, or getting old. This is certainly not our 
 creed, and, God helping us, it shall never be 
 our practice. As we advance in life we 
 should be more considerate, more kind, more 
 like Christ, not less so ; and if we abide in 
 him, and his words abide in us, there can be 
 no doubt that we shall thus grow in grace. 
 The stream of Christian affection will become 
 
 * Eph. iv. 20, 21. 
 13 J 
 
146 life's evening. 
 
 deeper, not shallower ; the flame of unselfish 
 love will burn more brightly instead of almost 
 going out. 
 
 how delightful is the sight of an aged 
 believer, richly imbued with the loving and 
 unselfish spirit of his Master ! How refreshing 
 is it in this dreary world to rest awhile be- 
 neath some venerable palm-tree, which spreads 
 out its cooling branches as if the only object 
 of its existence were to bless the passer-by ! 
 How cheering is it, amidst the selfish and 
 dissatisfied throng around us, to meet with 
 those who can smile through their own tears 
 upon the happy and the gifted ! 
 
 An aged servant of the Lord had survived 
 all her near relatives ; the last beloved object 
 of her tender affections, of her constant recol- 
 lection, was laid in the grave. Her life had 
 been the scene of many sorrows, and there was 
 
SYMPATHY AND SELFISHNESS. 147 
 
 but little sunshine to cheer the evening of her 
 life. One day, as lonely and blind she sat by 
 the fireside in her little parlor, a friend who 
 called to see her, found her — doing what? 
 murmuring over her desolate situation, and 
 complaining that she was uncared for and for- 
 gotten ? no, but rejoicing in the happiness of 
 others. A family whom she had known and 
 loved in early life was to be gladdened on 
 that day by the return of a long-absent mem- 
 ber ; and, through its dull and silent hours, 
 her lips were often unclosed to express her 
 delight at the thoughts of their meeting ; her 
 prayers that they might be blessed. " Were 
 this my case," thought the listener, " I should 
 have been repining that others had the comfort 
 of tender relatives and loving friends, while I 
 was left alone in the world, looking for none 
 whose approach could console and gladden my 
 
148 life's evening. 
 
 solitary existence." The latter feeling is the 
 emotion of the natural heart, the former of the 
 Christian spirit. Reader, which would have 
 been yours? 
 
 <r-^S^yCr^:^^Q^j^X><^i'^ 
 
®Ije ititc|aitgm0 Jfmitk 
 
 ^fr^ evening was calm and pleasant, enli- 
 vened by a gentle breeze and the rays of 
 the declining sun. At the door of a low cot- 
 tage sat an old man. His hair was white, his 
 form was befit, and his dim eyes were fixed on 
 the richly tinted clouds. Was he admiring the 
 simple grandeur of an evening sky ? I think 
 not. His features wore a sad and troubled 
 expression, as if his mind were occupied by 
 thoughts which had but little connection with 
 the objects around him. And so indeed it 
 was. He was thinking of the uncertain and 
 unsatisfying nature of earthly friendship ; he 
 
 13* 
 
150 
 
 was musing over a painful proof which he had 
 that day received of the ingratitude and un- 
 kindness of one whom he had loved and cher- 
 ished in years gone by. 
 
 " It is trying, very trying," he said, " to be 
 thus deceived and injured by an early friend. 
 It is not an enemy that has done this, but it 
 was my companion, and familiar friend. He 
 was the last person from whom I should have 
 expected such treatment; I always reposed 
 the most perfect confidence in hiln. 0, what 
 is friendship ? It is like a slender reed, which 
 when leaned upon often pierces us through 
 with many sorrows." 
 
 The old man's feelings had been sadly 
 wounded, and his mind was much disturbed. 
 But perhaps just then the serene aspect of 
 nature soothed him, or perhaps bright mem- 
 ories of loved and faithful ones reproached 
 
THE UNCHANGING FRIEND. 151 
 
 him for his indiscriminate censure, for he 
 added in a more cheerful tone, " Not that 
 all friends prove false and changeable. 
 no ! I have known and shared too much 
 of the warm and unselfish and continued 
 affection of others, to believe that friendship 
 is nothing but a name. In prosperity and 
 in adversity, I have found that there are 
 true friends. I have loved, and I have been 
 loved; I have trusted, and I have been con- 
 fided in. Life would indeed have been dreary 
 without the sympathy and communion of 
 friends, — especially of Christian friends. 
 
 "And yet, at the best, earthly friendships 
 are very imperfect. Liable to little mistakes, 
 — to partial interruptions; or, if unvarying 
 in their character, incapable of entering into 
 all our feelings, or of responding to all our 
 emotions. And how slight is the tenure by 
 
152 
 
 which they are held! A few weeks, a few 
 days, nay, a few hours, and the most loved 
 of our circle may be removed from us. Death 
 severs the closest and the fondest ties. In 
 yonder church-yard lie the remains of those 
 who were once my dearest companions. Many 
 gathered round me in early life, and set out 
 with me on the pilgrimage to the celestial 
 city ; but now, I am left alone : the grave 
 has divided us, — at least for a little while." 
 
 Ah, in the last half of that sentence, there 
 was a cheering truth involved, and the old 
 man felt its sweet influence steal over him. 
 
 " For a little while ! — yes, we shall meet 
 again. They will not return to me, but I 
 shall go to them. I sorrow not as others 
 without hope, for I know that those who 
 sleep in Jesus God will bring with him, and 
 so shall we ever be with the Lord. In this 
 
THE UNCHANGING FRIEND. 153 
 
 world of partings, how delightful is the assur- 
 ance of a speedy and lasting reunion with 
 all those dear friends who have departed 
 in the true faith of Christ." 
 
 Like the sunshine bursting tlirough a dark 
 cloud, this bright anticipation almost dispelled 
 the old man's sadness ; and it was succeeded 
 by a thought so full of consolation and joy, 
 that he speedily forgot the unpleasant circum- 
 stance which had lately agitated his feelings. 
 
 " Yet it is still more delightful to remember 
 that I have an ever-living, an almighty Friend. 
 The best earthly friends may change or die, 
 but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, 
 and forever. He will never leave me, he 
 will never forsake me. 0, why shovild I 
 mourn over the loss or the inconstancy of 
 earthly friends, when my kind and sympa- 
 thizing Saviour is ever with me ? " 
 
154 life's evening. 
 
 Reader, you cannot have advanced thus 
 far in the experience of life, without having 
 learned, like this aged pilgrim, that instability 
 and uncertainty are associated with all human 
 affections. You have doubtless mourned over 
 those friends, whom time or circumstances, 
 or death, have parted from you; but have 
 you also rejoiced in the assurance of Christ's 
 perpetual and never-changing friendship ? Ah, 
 there are many who have been deceived and 
 disappointed in the trust which they have 
 reposed in their fellow-creatures, and who 
 have also never sought that heavenly Friend, 
 with whom there is no variableness nor 
 shadow of turning ; there are many who have 
 hewn out to themselves broken cisterns which 
 could hold no water, who have yet refused 
 to turn, when weary and dissatisfied, to the 
 Fountain of living waters. 
 
THE UNCHANGING FRIEND. 155 
 
 " Thou who dry'st the mourner's tear, 
 How dark this world would be, 
 If, when deceived and wounded here. 
 We could not fly to thee." 
 
 And it is dark to those who, in their hours 
 of sorrow and desertion, have no confidence 
 in the Saviour, no rehance on his love and 
 sympathy. Tlie heart that has none on earth 
 or in heaven, around whom to twine, must 
 indeed be a desolate and drooping heart. 
 ^J^od grant that it may never be ours ! Nor 
 can it, if we are united by a simple and 
 living faitli to Christ, for we are then linked 
 with those whom he graciously calls his 
 " friends ; " and are assured that we possess 
 at all times, and under every circumstance, 
 his tender and unwavering regard. How 
 cheering and all-sustaining, amidst the sep- 
 arations, the imperfections, and the declen- 
 
156 life's evening. 
 
 sions, whicli mark the fairest of earthly 
 friendships, is the consciousness that we have 
 an unchanging and unfailing Friend who is 
 always ready to impart to us his sympathy 
 and his succor. 
 
 "We would not undervalue the preciousness 
 of earthly love. It is one of the choicest 
 gifts which God bestows upon a fallen world. 
 It is a relic of paradise, and a type of heaven. 
 Yet still we are taught by experience how 
 precarious is the tie which binds us to th^ 
 dearest and most loved friend. It is impos- 
 sible to help feeling — without the least 
 inclination towards misanthropy — that our 
 affections are sometimes misplaced, that our 
 dependence is often productive of disappoint- 
 ment. Imperfection and uncertainty are 
 stamped on all the objects and relationships 
 of earth ; for " this is not our rest ; " we 
 
THE UNCHANGING FRIEND. 157 
 
 are destined for a better country, the bright 
 inhabitants of which are linked in pure and 
 immortal friendship. And while we antici- 
 pate with gladness the period which shall 
 unite us with that holy and happy brother- 
 hood, we will remember our best Friend, — 
 the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, 
 — and fearlessly anchor our troubled and un- 
 satisfied hearts in his deep and changeless 
 love. That resting-place for the affections 
 never has failed, — never can fail. The cir- 
 cumstances which enfeeble, suspend, and ter- 
 minate many of the friendships which are 
 formed between man and man, possess no 
 influence over the emotions which the Saviour 
 feels towards his chosen friends ; and are 
 incapable of altering the position in which, 
 if Christians, we stand with regard to Christ. 
 For instance, it frequently happens that 
 
 14 
 
158 life's evening. 
 
 the distance which intervenes between some 
 friend and ourselves diminishes, and at length, 
 perhaps, closes our friendship. He does not 
 intend, when separated, to forget us, but 
 absence gradually lessens the strength of his 
 attachment ; his correspondence almost imper- 
 ceptibly declines, or, through unavoidable 
 circumstances, is hastily ended; and as time 
 rolls on, he grows more and more indifferent 
 towards us. Had he always remained near 
 us, and continued the personal intercourse 
 which once subsisted between us, he might 
 not have changed; but in his removal he 
 verifies the truth of the old adage J " Out of 
 sight, out of mind." Our aged readers can, 
 doubtless, confirm by their own experience 
 the truth of this statement. They can recall 
 to mind some, it may be several, of their 
 early acquaintances, thus geographically di- 
 
^ 
 
 THE UNCHANGING FRIEND. 159 
 
 vided from them, who have for many years 
 been as strangers to them. 
 
 But the Saviour, although personally absent 
 from his people, never for one moment forgets 
 them. From the time when he departed from 
 his disciples at Bethany, where a cloud re- 
 ceived him out of their sight, he gave them 
 the most indisputable and uninterrupted proofs 
 of his unchanged affection. He ascended then 
 as a triumphant conqueror to heaven, and was 
 enthroned at the right hand of God ; but the 
 glory which, as the Mediator, was bestowed 
 upon him, could not intercept from his view 
 the few poor fishermen of Galilee ; nor could 
 the songs of angelic adoration which he re- 
 ceived hush the earnest supplications that 
 rose from that little band who were asseW 
 bled in an upper chamber at Jerusalem. No ; 
 his love was the same in heaven as it had 
 
160 life's evening. 
 
 been on earth ; and tlie rich and abundant 
 gifts which were poured forth upon his faith- 
 ful disciples were the immediate results of 
 his exaltation and intercession. He consoled 
 and guided them by his Spirit, and strength- 
 ened them for the avowal and defence of 
 his truth. In his remonstrance with the 
 persecuting Saul, he distinctly identified him- 
 self with his people, estimating the injuries 
 done to them as if inflicted upon himself, — 
 " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? " * 
 and he manifested the same deep interest in 
 their welfare by his gracious appearance to 
 the Apostle of the Gentiles, when He bade 
 him, " Be of good cheer," and prepared him 
 to advocate the cause of his Saviour in Rome. 
 But it is unnecessary to multiply proofs, 
 either from the early or subsequent history 
 
 * Acts ix. 4. 
 
THE UNCHANGING FRIEND, 161 
 
 of the Church, of the unvaiying character 
 of that regard which the ascended Redeemer 
 cherishes for all those who through grace 
 have accepted his gracious overtures of friend- 
 ship. We need only appeal to yourselves, 
 dear readers, as witnesses to the cheering 
 fact, that the love of Christ — that love which 
 passeth knowledge — is unaffected by the with- 
 drawal of his personal presence from amongst 
 us. His continued intercessions on our behalf, 
 his rich impartation to us of all needful grace, 
 and his preparation of a place for us in his 
 Father's house, are sure evidences of his 
 perpetual and affectionate remembrance. 
 
 Again, one of the causes which renders 
 human friendship so variable is alteration in 
 worldly circumstances. When competency 
 is exchanged for poverty ; when, in the ex- 
 pressive language of Scripture, we are " made 
 
 14* K 
 
162 life's evening. 
 
 low," — what a change passes over the little 
 world in which we dwell ! That friendship 
 is indeed true and valuable which will stand 
 such a testing-time ; for while many gather 
 round us in prosperity, few cleave to us in 
 adversity. 
 
 " The friends who in our sunshine live, 
 When winter comes are flown." 
 
 It is a bitter trial to find ourselves neglected 
 and forsaken, when we are most in need of 
 support and comfort; but it is a sanctified 
 trial if it teaches us that it is better to trust 
 in the Lord than to put confidence in man; 
 if it endears to us that heavenly Friend, 
 who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes 
 became poor, that we through his poverty 
 might be made rich. Lowly indeed was his 
 lot on earth: he had not where to lay his 
 head ; and his chosen friends and associates 
 
THE UNCHANGING FRIEND. 163 
 
 were from the Immblest ranks of society. 
 It was to "the poor" that he especially pro- 
 clairaed the blessings of his Gospel ; and the 
 sarcastic designation of his opponents, which 
 styled him " a friend of publicans and sin- 
 ners," was, in reality, beautifully expressive 
 of his true character. 
 
 By his own position in the world, by his 
 mingling chiefly with those who were poor 
 and despised of men, and by the low and 
 obscure situations in which the majority of 
 his disciples have served him, poverty has 
 been elevated and dignified. Not many noble, 
 not many mighty, does the Saviour call ; but 
 he chooses the poor in this world, and makes 
 them heirs of that glorious kingdom which 
 he has promised to them that love him. 
 
 The wealthy and the fashionable may grow 
 cold and distant, when penury and distress 
 
164 
 
 enter our home ; but Christ makes our season 
 of affliction only the means of drawing us 
 more closely to himself. Our loss of property 
 or income, instead of raising a barrier between 
 him and us, links us more firmly together. He 
 soothes our spirit ; sympathizes with our grief ; 
 and promises that he will never forsake us. 
 
 Or, it is possible that the natural infirmities 
 of age, and a long-declining state of health, 
 may gradually narrow the circle of our friends. 
 Deafness, or blindness, or sickness, makes our 
 society less attractive than formerly. It is 
 wearisome, perhaps, to sit beside us, day after 
 day, and strive to interest us ; and therefore 
 some who were once warm and even sincere 
 in their professions of attachment to us, grow 
 tired of the society of an aged invafid, and 
 their visits become few and far between. 
 We feel sometimes, when contrasting the 
 
THE UNCHANGING FRIEND. 165 
 
 present with the past, that we are forsaken 
 and alone in the world, that we are a burden 
 to ourselves and to others. Old age brings^g. 
 with it a sensitiveness on this point, which 
 occasions much mental disquietude, and fre- 
 quently produces a fretful and repining spirit. 
 ft 
 Let us endeavor, in moments of loneliness 
 
 and depression, to tranquillize and divert 
 our thoughts by dwelling upon the steadfast- 
 ness of Christ towards us. He does not cast 
 us off in the time of old age, nor forsake us 
 when our strength fails ; he is not weary of 
 listening to the oft-repeated narrative of our 
 wants and ailments, nor reluctant to cheer 
 the solitude of life's evening ; but he beauti- 
 fully fulfils to us his own promise, " Even 
 to hoar hairs will I carry you." As we walk 
 with trembling steps through the valley of 
 the shadow of death; as we miss from our 
 
166 life's evening. 
 
 side the friend on whose arm we might have 
 leaned for support and protection ; the Saviour 
 bids us fear no evil, because he is with us; 
 his rod and his staff will comfort us; and 
 his presence shall perpetually abide with us. 
 Our weakness and our infirmity may tend 
 to loosen some of our earthly ties, but cannot 
 diminish his kind sympathy with us. Friends 
 may fail us, but he will never leave us. 
 
 And even should our friends prove faithful ; 
 should they retain in old age the affection 
 which they manifested towards us in youth, 
 yet how suddenly and irrevocably may they 
 be parted from us by death. "Our days 
 on the earth are as a shadow, and there is 
 none abiding.'* The dearest ones, around 
 whom our affections are so firmly entwined, 
 may soon be summoned into the presence 
 of their Maker, and leave us to tread alone 
 
THE UNCHANGING FRIEND. 16 T 
 
 the remainder of our lengthened journey. We 
 may have to see the grave opened for those 
 whose hands we imagined would tenderly close 
 our eyes at the last. Stay! have we not 
 already seen this ? have not the separations of 
 the tomb been painfully realized in our past 
 history? The green hillock, — the marble 
 tablet, — are they not cherished memorials of 
 the departed, who still live in our hearts, and 
 are enshrined in our recollections ? More 
 eloquent than the preacher's words, more pow- 
 erful than the written admonition, are the 
 vacant seats in our households, — yes, and at 
 our firesides. Ah ! the stern precept, " Cease 
 ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils ; 
 for wherein is he to be accounted of?"* has 
 received frequent and practical illustration in 
 the events of bygone days. The tolling bell 
 
 * Isa. ii. 22. 
 
168 life's evening. 
 
 has mournfully reminded us that change and 
 decay are stamped upon all the things of earth ; 
 the cypress-tree has darkly shadowed forth the 
 solemn truth, that, " Li the midst of life we 
 are in death." * Well, be it so ; we will not 
 murmur that God gathers the ripest fruit and 
 the choicest flowers from our gardens, since he 
 gives us himself as our portion. We will not 
 forget, as we sorrow over the dead, that " the 
 Lord liveth ! " While thinking of the friends 
 whom the last enemy has snatched from our 
 grasp, we will gratefully remember that Sav- 
 iour from whom neither death nor the grave 
 can part us. Around our desolated hearths, 
 and in our solitary eventide, his voice is heard 
 sweetly saying unto us, " Fear not ; for I am 
 with thee ! " f 
 
 Yes, Lord, thou art with us, our firm, our 
 
 * Prayer-Book. f Isa. xliii. 5. 
 
THE UNCHANGING FRIEND. 169 
 
 changeless, our undying Friend ! " Thou art 
 the same, and thy years shall have no end." * 
 Death cannot divide thee from thy people, for 
 that vanquished foe hath no power over its 
 almighty Conqueror; and it cannot separate 
 them from their Saviour, for its touch will only 
 usher them into his immediate and visible 
 presence. 
 
 " There is no death; what seems so, is transition." ^/ 
 
 0, we are " 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 Clirist Jesus our Lord." f 
 
 Then let us comfort one another with this 
 thought. Let the recollection of our indissolu- 
 ble union with Christ, and of his eternal and 
 
 * Ps. cii. 27. t Rom. viii. 38, 39. 
 
 15 
 
170 life's evening. 
 
 unchanging affection for us, solace and refresh 
 our spirits. " Having loved his own which 
 were in the world, he loved them unto the 
 end." * Yes, neither external circumstances, 
 nor the decay of nature, nor even continual 
 infirmity and sinfulness, can alienate the heart 
 of the Saviour from those whom he has chosen, 
 and called, and blessed. Heaven and earth 
 may pass away, but his word — that word 
 which assures us of the freeness and perpetuity 
 of his love — abideth forever. 
 
 Aged Christian ! dwell much on the charac- 
 ter and conduct of this mighty and faithful 
 Friend: "casting all your care upon him; 
 for he careth for you." f As life declines, let 
 his preciousness increase ; as the associations 
 of earth gradually lessen, cling more closely 
 and confidingly to him. Think of him, as 
 
 * John xiii. 1. f 1 Peter v. 7. 
 
THE UNCHANGING FRIEND. 171 
 
 preparing a place for you iii the heavenly 
 mansions ; and as coming to receive you unto 
 himself, that where he is, there you may be 
 also. And if, while now you see him not, you 
 can rejoice in him with joy that is unspeakable 
 and full of glory ; what will be the rapture of 
 your emancipated spirit, when you are admit- 
 ted to full and uninterrupted communion with 
 him ! If now, while you only behold him as 
 through a glass darkly, he is, in your appre- 
 hension, the fairest among ten thousand and 
 the altogether lovely ; how will your admira- 
 tion be increased, when you behold him face 
 to face ! If now, while you know him but in 
 part, your acquaintance with him is the source 
 of purest and inexpressible pleasure, who shall 
 estimate the happiness and the delight which 
 shall result from your knowing even as you 
 are known? 
 
mk k 3mm. 
 
 J 
 
 U /^^Bi 'ine not off in the time of old age; 
 forsake me not when my strength fail- 
 e//i." — Ps. Ixxi. 9. 
 
 Aged believer! you feel your dependence 
 upon God for support and succor. If he 
 should forsake you, if he should cast you off, 
 you would indeed be helpless and hopeless. 
 But you rejoice in the assurance that this can 
 never be realized. You know that he will 
 never leave you to bear up alone the pressure 
 of your trials and infirmities ; that he will 
 never relax the grasp which enfolds you in his 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 173 
 
 love. And therefore your prayer is rather the 
 expression of confidence, than the apprehension 
 of fear. You ask for that which he has prom- 
 ised, which you are certain he will grant, — 
 the continuance of his gracious aid. In youth- 
 ful days, it may be, in healthful hours, you 
 found that without him you were weak and 
 unprotected ; and now in the time of old age, 
 when your strength faileth, you are more 
 deeply conscious of your need of his help. 
 Well, ask, and you shall receive ; cast your 
 burden, cast yourself upon him, and he will 
 sustain you. Fear not, for he is with you ; be 
 not dismayed, for he is your God ; he will 
 strengthen you; yea, he will help you; yea, 
 he will uphold you with the right hand of his 
 righteousness.* These things will he do unto 
 you, and will never forsake you. 
 
 * Isa. xli. 10. 
 15* 
 
174 life's evening. 
 
 " Why should I doubt His love at last, 
 
 With anxious thoughts perplexed ? 
 Who saved me in the troubles past 
 
 Will save me in the next. 
 Will save, — till at my latest hour, 
 
 With more than conquest blest, 
 I soar beyond temptation's power, 
 
 And enter into rest." 
 
 " TJlou hast taught me from my youth : and 
 hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 
 Now also when I am old and gray-headed^ O 
 God, forsake me not.^^ — Ps. Ixxi. 17, 18. 
 
 " Thou hast taught me from my youth." 
 How encouraging it is to look back to our 
 early life, and recognize the goodness of God 
 in its varied events ! He was our Guide, our 
 Instructor, our Father. He restrained us from 
 evil ; counselled us in difficulty ; directed us 
 in uncertainty ; i3reserved us through danger. 
 All the knowledge which we have gained of 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 175 
 
 his character, of his will, of ourselves, of futu- 
 rity, he has communicated to us. And how 
 gradual, how wise, how gentle are his teach- 
 ings ! How patiently has he borne with our 
 ignorance and forgetfulness ! how tenderly has 
 he imparted his most difficult lessons ! And 
 though we have been dull and wayward schol- 
 ars ; though we have not profited as we might 
 have done by his Divine instructions ; yet we 
 know, if we are disciples of Christ, that we 
 have so learned of him as to find rest unto 
 our souls. We have learned to rely upon his 
 strength, to depend upon his faithfulness, to 
 trust in his righteousness. 
 
 "And hitherto have I declared thy won- 
 drous works." Grateful for his favors towards 
 us, we have striven to live to his praise, and 
 show forth his glory. It has been our aim to 
 communicate to others the knowledge which 
 
176 life's evening. 
 
 we have received. We have spoken of his 
 goodness to those around us. We have not 
 been ashamed of his Gospel, nor indifferent to 
 his honor. 
 
 " Now also when I am old and gray-headed, 
 God, forsake me not." " Those who have 
 been taught of God from their youth, and 
 have made it the business of their lives to 
 serve and honor him, may be sure that he will 
 not leave them when they are old and gray- 
 headed : he is not a Master that is wont to 
 cast off old servants." 
 
 " In early years Thou wast my Guide, 
 
 And of my youth the Friend ; 
 
 And as my days began with thee, 
 
 With thee my days shall end." 
 
 " And even to your old age I am lie ; and 
 even to hoar hairs ivill I carry you^ — Isa. 
 xlvi. 4. 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 177 
 
 Ah, Christian, here is ground for your 
 confidence in God. You have his promise 
 that he will be with you in your old age, to 
 support you under its infirmities, and there- 
 fore you are cheerful and tranquil. Listen to 
 the testimony of an aged pilgriro/S," What a 
 comfort it is, as we get old and feeble, and 
 friends drop off one after another, to remem- 
 ber that our God does not change ! He says 
 to us, ' I am he ; ' the same that I ever was : 
 ' I am he ; ' the Lord who preserved and 
 guided you from your infancy ; ' I am he : ' 
 all that I have promised to be to you ; all that 
 you can possibly need. 'And even to hoar 
 hairs will I carry you.' What tender and 
 expressive language ! How can we help trust- 
 ing in such a mighty and loving Friend ? 
 Whether we look at the present or the future, 
 there is no room for fear. Those who can 
 
178 life's evening. 
 
 walk, have his rod and staff to help and com- 
 fort them ; and those who cannot walk, find 
 that his everlasting arms are beneath them, 
 and that they are borne safely onwards. We 
 are like children, who, when they are weak 
 and tired, are carried in a father's arms, and 
 lifted over difficulty and danger.'' 
 
 " Fear not, I am with thee ; 0, be not dismayed ! 
 I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid ; 
 I '11 strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, 
 Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. 
 
 " E'en down to old age all my people shall prove 
 My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love ; 
 And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn. 
 In the arms of my mercy they still shall be borne." 
 
 " The hoary head is a croivn of glory ^ if it 
 be found in the ivay of righteousness.^^ — Prov. 
 xvi. 31. 
 
 Old age is honorable, and commands respect. 
 
WOKDS IN SEASON. 179 
 
 " Thou slialt rise up before the hoary head, 
 and honor the face of the old man." * But 
 we cannot expect to receive true and lasting 
 deference from others, unless our character is 
 calculated to win their esteem. Superiority in 
 age should be combined with superiority in 
 excellence. Multitude of years should teach 
 wisdom. " The hoary head is a crown of 
 glory, if" — mark that — "if it be found in 
 the way of righteousness." If it be found in 
 the way of wickedness, its honor is forfeited, 
 its crown profaned and laid in the dust. How 
 is it with you, reader? Are you sanctified 
 through faith in Christ ? are you " walking in 
 all the commandments and ordinances of the 
 Lord, blameless"?! 0, how lovely and dig- 
 nified is old age when marked by piety and 
 consistency ! 
 
 * Lev. xix. 32. t Luke i. 6. 
 
180 
 
 " When piety adorns declining years, 
 The hoary head a glorious crown appears ; 
 A dignity no earthly rank bestows 
 Marks the believer then; and sweet repose 
 Is stamped upon his features ; all who gaze, 
 Revere his person, and his vu*tues praise." 
 
 " Which hope ive have as an anchor of the 
 soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enter- 
 eth into that within the veil.^^ — Heb. vi. 19. 
 ' A vessel was driving ashore. Her anchors 
 were gone, and she refused to obey the hehn. 
 A few moments more, and she would strike. 
 If any should be saved, they must be tossed by 
 the waves on the beach. In the midst of the 
 general consternation, there was one person 
 quite calm. He had done all that a man 
 could do to prepare for the worst, when the 
 wreck was inevitable ; and now that death was 
 apparently near, he was quietly waiting the 
 event. A friend of his asked the reason of his 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 181 
 
 calmness in the midst of dangers so immi- 
 nent : — 
 
 " Do you not know that the anchor is gone, 
 and we are drifting upon the coast ? " 
 
 " Certainly I do ; but I have an anchor to 
 the soul." On this was his trust. It entered 
 into that within the veil. It was the ground 
 of his confidence in the storm, and enabled 
 him to ride securely in the view of instant and 
 awful death. 
 
 Have you this anchor, reader ? Is the hope 
 of the Gospel yours ? Amidst the storms and 
 trials of life, and in the prospect of danger and 
 death, are you calm and trustful, assured that 
 you will soon be admitted into the haven of 
 everlasting peace ? 
 
 Or are you destitute of this hope ? With- 
 out it, how can you be happy? Without it, 
 what will you do in the swellings of Jor- 
 
 16 
 
182 , life's evening. 
 
 dan ? It may be yours ; yours even now, if 
 you will seek it, if you will accept it. The 
 gift of God is eternal life. Confidence in him, 
 — faith m Christ, — will link your tempest- 
 tost, troubled, and perishing spirit with per- 
 petual repose and security, — with the unseen 
 glories of heaven. 
 
 " How still, amidst commotion, 
 
 The bark at anchor cast ; 
 Around her heaves the ocean, 
 
 The anqhor holds her fast. 
 So hope, an anchor of the soul, 
 
 How steadfast, to the saint is given: 
 Though waves of trouble round him roU, 
 
 His hope is fixed in heaven." 
 
 " They shall still bring forth fruit in old 
 age.^^ — Ps. xcii. 14. 
 
 The palm-tree — to which God's people are 
 in this psalm compared — is remarkable for its 
 lengthened and increasing fruitfulness. The 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 183 
 
 best dates are said to be gathered when it has 
 reached a hundred years. How beautiful an 
 emblem of the aged believer, growing in grace 
 and maturing in holiness to the close of his 
 earthly existence ! Each day, each year, added 
 to his life, adds to the loveliness and perfection 
 of his Christian virtues. His character has a 
 mellowness and sweetness which it lacked in 
 earlier seasons. He is ripening for heaven. 
 In knowledge, in wisdom, in love, in humility, 
 in gentleness, in forbearance, in peace, in use- 
 fulness, in happiness, he is steadily and con- 
 stantly advancing. He is filled with the 
 Spirit, and therefore brings forth the fruits of 
 the Spirit. 
 
 Is this portraiture of an aged Christian 
 yours, reader ? Alas ! it does not belong to all 
 who profess and call themselves by the Sav- 
 iour's name. Nay, it may be feared that 
 
184 
 
 there are some, really and manifestly his, to 
 Tvhom it bears but little resemblance. They 
 have long been " planted " in the house of the 
 Lord, but they do not appear to " flourish " in 
 the courts of our God ; and as years augment, 
 they seem to imagine that the infirmities of 
 age are excuses for their little fruitfulness. 
 But they certainly never gathered such an 
 idea from God's word ; nor rightly studied 
 and pleaded his promises to themselves. Fol- 
 low not their example. Rest not satisfied with 
 past attainments. Strive to glorify God more 
 than you have ever yet done. Let your last 
 days be your best days ; your latest fruit, the 
 richest. " And this I pray, that your love 
 may abound yet more and more in knowledge 
 and in all judgment ; that ye may approve 
 things that are excellent ; that ye may be sin- 
 cere and without offence till the day of Christ ; 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 185 
 
 being filled with the fruits of righteousness, 
 which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and 
 praise of God." * 
 
 " How beautiful to see 
 The clustered fruit upon the bending tree ! 
 Yet lovelier still the graces which adorn 
 
 The soul that's heaven-bom. 
 And age does not diminish, but increase 
 The precious fruits of love, and joy, and peace. 
 And gentleness, and patience ; at life's close, 
 Each Christian virtue more luxuriant grows." 
 
 ''My times are in thy hand.^^ — Ps. xxxi. 15. 
 
 Then I am sure that they will be wisely 
 ordered. Thou hast all power in heaven and 
 in earth; thou art acquainted with the end 
 from the beginning; everything is subject to 
 thy control, and the future, to thee, is as the 
 present ; therefore there can be no mistake in 
 thy purposes ; no imperfection in thy plans. 
 
 * Phil. i. 9-11. 
 16* 
 
186 life's evening. 
 
 ''Mrj times are in thy hand.'' Then I will 
 not be anxious nor distressed about the future. 
 Yaried may be the times which I have yet to 
 experience, — times of sorrow or joy ; of pov- 
 erty or plenty ; of sickness or health ; of life 
 or death : but I can calmly leave them to thy 
 disposal. I cannot foresee the events which 
 thy providence appoints, but I can wait and 
 trust. The period and the manner of my de- 
 parture hence are unknown to me, but I am 
 free from all solicitude on these points, because 
 thou hast arranged them for the best. 
 
 " My times are in thy hand ; the night, the day, 
 The moon's pale glimmering, and the sunny ray 
 Are thine ; and thine the midnight of the grave : 
 O, be thou there to strengthen and to save, 
 To light death's valley with thy beam of love, 
 And smile a Avelcome to thy throne above." 
 
 ''Bless the Lord^ O my soul; and all that is 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 18T 
 
 ivithin me, bless his holy name. Bless the 
 Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his bene- 
 fits:' -^V^. ciii. 1, 2. 
 
 How animating is the sight of an aged Chris- 
 tian, who is rejoicing in hope of the glory of 
 God; and furnishing, by daily conduct, a 
 bright example to others of cheerfulness and 
 gratitude ! His life is a psalm of thanks- 
 giving ; his happy look and thankful spirit fill 
 his home with sunshine. It is impossible to be 
 long in his society, without feeling gladdened 
 and invigorated by it. You can scarcely tell 
 why, but you feel less disposed to complain, 
 and more inclined to rejoice, than you did 
 before. Your own path seems to grow more 
 hopeful and promising ; you are reminded of 
 mercies which you had hitherto forgotten ; and 
 the troubles which you thought so heavy in- 
 sensibly grow lighter. The fact is, that, for a 
 
188 ' life's evening. 
 
 time at least, you have caught his spirit, and 
 imbibed his tone of mind. 
 
 A lovely instance of real and sustained 
 cheerfulness was the late justly celebrated 
 William Wilberforce. " A stranger might 
 have noticed that he was more uniformly 
 cheerful* than most men of his time of life. 
 Closer observation showed a vein of Christian 
 feeling, mingling with, and purifying, the nat- 
 ural flow of a most happy temper ; whilst 
 those who lived most continually with him 
 could trace distinctly in his tempered sorrows, 
 and sustained and almost childlike gladness of 
 heart, the continual presence of that peace 
 which the world can neither give nor take 
 away. The pages of his later journal are full 
 of bursts of joy and thankfulness ; and with 
 his children and his chosen friends, his full 
 heart swelled out ever in the same blessed 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 189 
 
 strains ; he seemed too happy not to express 
 his happiness ; his song was ever of the loving- 
 kindness of the Lord." Everything became 
 with him a cause for thanksgiving. When 
 some of the infirmities of years began to press 
 upon him, " What thanks do I owe to God," 
 was his reflection, " that my decHning 
 strength appears likely not to be attended with 
 painful diseases, but rather to lessen gradu- 
 ally, and by moderate degrees ! How good a 
 friend God is to me ! When I have any com- 
 plaint, it is always so mitigated and softened, 
 as to give me scarcely any pain. ' Bless the 
 Lord, my soul.' What thanks do I owe to 
 my gracious and kind Heavenly Father!" 
 And so, when one of his friends had passed 
 through a painful operation, " Seldom," he 
 says, "have I felt anything so deeply. How 
 thankful should I be to be spared such trials, 
 
190 
 
 my strength not being equal to them ! I hum- 
 bly commit myself unto Him, who surely has 
 given me reagbn to say, ' Goodness and mercy 
 have followed me all my days.' " 
 
 Aged Christian, do you sympathize with 
 these feehngs? do you share this thankful- 
 ness? do you manifest this gladness? "The 
 fruit of the Spirit is love, jot/, peace." * Ev- 
 ery allowance must be made for natural tem- 
 perament. Some persons are naturally san- 
 guine and cheerful ; others are naturally 
 gloomy and desponding. But, in either case, 
 the promises of the Gospel, if simply believed 
 and heartily appropriated, cannot fail to glad- 
 den the heart, and influence the conduct. 
 And it is no less our duty than our privilege, 
 to " rejoice in the Lord alway ; " to " show 
 forth his loving-kindness in the morning, and 
 
 * Gal. V. 22. 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 191 
 
 his faithfulness every night ; " to " be thankful 
 unto him, and bless his name."* We must 
 cultivate this joyous and grateful frame of 
 mind ; we must strive, by meditation, practice, 
 and prayer, to acquire or to strengthen it ; for 
 we ought no more to dishonor God by our un- 
 happiness and unthankfulness, than by our 
 unholiness. 
 
 The weakness and the infirmities of old age 
 sometimes tend to depress our spirits and dim 
 our hopes. Therefore let us be upon our 
 guard ; and instead of giving way to discon- 
 tent and despondency, let us count up our 
 mercies, and look more steadfastly on the 
 bright side of things ; and as often as we do 
 this, sadness will be chased from our brow, 
 and the self-exhortation to praise will burst 
 from our lips, "Bless the Lord, my soul; 
 
 * Ps. xcii. 2; c. 4. 
 
192 
 
 life's evening. 
 
 and all that is witliin me, bless his holy name. 
 
 Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all 
 
 his benefits." 
 
 
 " Farewell to sadness, 
 
 Let every tear depart ; 
 Wake all to gladness, 
 
 '^ 
 
 Wake, my heart! 
 
 t- 
 
 Shall worldly triflers raise the song 
 
 
 O'er pleasures they must lose erelong? 
 
 And shall not those rejoice and sing 
 
 Who love the Heavenly King ? 
 
 ■) 
 
 Let saints on earth unite then- voice 
 
 t 
 
 With saints that round the throne rejoice ; 
 
 ^ 
 
 -^K^ 
 
 And here begin the song that through 
 
 ^ 
 
 Eternal years is new." 
 
 " Though our outward man perish, yet the 
 
 inward ' 
 
 man is renewed day by day'' — 2 Cor. 
 
 iv. 16. 
 
 
 ^^We 
 
 must of necessity," says a celebrated 
 
 writer, * 
 
 ' become better or worse as we advance 
 
 in years 
 
 . Unless we endeavor to spiritualize 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 193 
 
 ourselves, and supplicate in this endeavor for ' 
 that grace which is never withheld when it is 
 sincerely and earnestly sought, age bodylizes 
 us more and more, and the older we grow the 
 more are we imbruted and debased ; — so 
 manifestly is the text verified which warns us 
 that * Unto every one which hath shall be 
 given ; and from him that hath not, even that 
 he hath shall be taken away.' * In some, the 
 soul seems gradually to be absorbed and extin- 
 guished in its crust of clay ; in others, as if it 
 purified and sublimed the vehicle to which it 
 was united. Nothing therefore is more beau- 
 tiful than a wise and religious old age ; noth- 
 ing so pitiable as the latter stages of mortal 
 existence, when the world, and the flesh, and 
 that false philosophy which is of the Devil, 
 have secured the victory for the grave." 
 
 * Luke xix. 26. 
 
 17 M 
 
194 life's evening. 
 
 Aged Christian, thank God for the strength- 
 ening and invigorating grace which he imparts 
 to you. Your earthly frame is weak and en- 
 feebled ; it has lost its vigor and elasticity ; it 
 is harassed with pain and infirmity; it must 
 soon die. But while your body decays, your 
 soul thrives. If the one is preparing for the 
 grave, the other is ripening for glory. Your 
 faith grows firmer ; your hope stronger ; your 
 love deeper; your views clearer. 
 
 " The soul's poor cottage, battered and decayed, 
 Lets in new light through chinks which time hath made." 
 
 " For our light affliction^ which is but for a 
 moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding' 
 and eternal weight of glory. ^^ — 2 Cor. iv. 17. 
 
 " In visiting," writes a clergyman, " a poor 
 man who has been bedridden these twenty- 
 five years, I was preparing to pity him, but 
 he called on me to rejoice. " Are you not 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 195 
 
 wearied out with the length of your afflic- 
 tions ? " " Wearied, sir ! " said he ; " no, 
 nature will soon faint ; but God sustains me. 
 I could lie here for another twenty-five years, 
 if it pleased God. I have found this bed to 
 be the very gate of heaven. Length of my 
 affliction, sir! 0, let ^le not call it long: it 
 is short, very short, and will soon be over. 
 These light afflictions, which are biit for a 
 moment, work for me a far more exceeding 
 and eternal weight of glory. Is not God all 
 love ? He cannot then be unkind. Is he not 
 all-wise? He cannot then do wrong. Are 
 not his promises yea and amen in Christ 
 Jesus? He cannot then break his word. 
 None who have trusted him have repented of 
 it. sir, I dare not complain. My affliction 
 is a mercy." 
 
 Troubled and afflicted Christian, remember, 
 
196 life's evening. 
 
 the troubles of earth will enhance the joys of 
 heaven. And, compared with that weight of 
 glory which is prepared for you above, are not 
 your sorrows light ? Measured by the eter- 
 nity of the happiness you anticipate, is not 
 their duration that of a moment? Murmur 
 not at the present ; think of the future. How 
 striking the contrast! How glorious the 
 change ! 
 
 " The gloom of the night adds a charm to the morn ; 
 
 Stem winter the spring-time endears ; 
 And the darker the cloud on which it is drawn, 
 
 The brighter the rainbow appears; 
 So trials and sorrows the Christian prepare 
 
 For the rest that remaineth above ; 
 On earth tribulation awaits him, but there 
 
 The smile of unchangeable love." 
 
 " Him that cometh to me I will in no wise 
 cast oiit.^^ — John vi. 37. 
 
 During his last hours, a higlily distinguished 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 197 
 
 writer called for his chaplain, and said, 
 " Though I have endeavored to avoid sin, 
 and please God to the utmost of my power, 
 yet I am still afraid to die." 
 
 " My lord," said the chaplain, " you have 
 forgotten that Jesus Christ is a Saviour." 
 
 " True," was the answer, " but how shall I 
 know that he is a Saviour for we .^ " 
 
 " It is written, my lord, ' Him that cometh 
 to me I will in no wise cast out.' " 
 
 " Yet it is ! " was the quick reply, " and I am 
 surprised that, though I have read that scrip- 
 ture a thousand times over, I never felt 
 its virtue till this moment ; and now I die 
 happy." 
 
 Reader, are you coming to the Saviour? 
 Then this promise is yours. 
 
 " Jesus, the sinner's friend, to thee, 
 Lost and undone, for aid I flee ; 
 17* 
 
198 life's evening. 
 
 All, wherefore did I ever doubt ? 
 Thou wilt in no wise cast me out." 
 
 " W7ien a feio years are come, then I shall 
 go the way whence I shall not return.''^ — Job 
 xvi. 22. 
 
 An approaching journey lies before me. I 
 have to pass from time to eternity ; from this 
 world to the next. And the time of my de- 
 parture, although to me uncertain, cannot be 
 very far distant. A few years — perhaps a 
 few days — will close my stay on earth. 
 
 It is an unavoidable journey. I must go. 
 There is no choice. Willing or unwilling, 
 when the summons for me arrives, I shall 
 have to set off. 
 
 It is an unknoiun '^owcuQj , I have never 
 taken it before. I have no practical acquaint- 
 ance with the road, the mode of transit, the 
 dangers or the discomforts which await me. 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 199 
 
 And there is no one who can clearly explain 
 them to me. Those of my friends who have 
 travelled that way have never come back to 
 relate their experience. 
 
 It is a solitary journey. I must accomplish 
 it alone. The most loved of my present com- 
 panions cannot accompany me. They may 
 think of me, feel for me, pray for me, but they 
 cannot be with me. We must separate ; they 
 to remain behind, I to go forward. 
 
 It is a momentous journey. For at its ter- 
 mination I enter upon my everlasting destiny. 
 It will convey me either to the mansions of 
 happiness or to the abodes of misery. The 
 narrow boundary between the present and the 
 future state once crossed, there will be .no 
 possibility of change. " He that is unjust, let 
 him be unjust still ; and he that is righteous, 
 let him be righteous still." Rev. xxii. 11. 
 
200 life's evening. 
 
 It is a final journey. I shall go the way 
 whence I shall not return. My pilgrimage 
 will be forever ended. No more parting, no 
 more change, no more toil, no more fatigue. 
 It will be my last journey. 
 
 And if I am a Christian, how welcome is 
 this fact ! I shall have done forever with sin 
 and sorrow. Eternal felicity will be mine. 
 Perfect holiness, perfect happiness. This jour- 
 ney leads me to my home, to my father's 
 house, to my everlasting rest. 
 
 Then I^s\^ill not shrink from its approach, 
 nor complain of its accompaniments. It may 
 be linked with much that is painful and un- 
 pleasant, but it is the only way home ; and 
 therefore, although life has many ties and 
 many joys, I feel an earnest desire to depart 
 and be with Christ, which is far better than 
 being here. 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 201 
 
 Death is a solemn journey, but it is a safe 
 one to Christ's people ; for he will not only re- 
 ceive and welcome them at its close, but he 
 will be with them as they are passing through 
 it. O, it will not be lonely with him ! And 
 he is a Guide who is well acquainted with the 
 way, for he has trodden it himself, and the 
 marks of his footsteps are visible there still. 
 He went for the purpose of smoothing its diffi- 
 culties, clearing its dangers, dispersing its ter- 
 rors ; and he fully accomplished his purpose : 
 "That through death he might destroy him 
 that had the power of death, that is, the 
 Devil ; and dehver them who through fear 
 of death were all their lifetime subject 
 to bondage." * Therefore when I walk 
 through the dark valley, I will fear no 
 evil; for thou, Jesus, wilt be with me, 
 
 * Heb. ii. 14, 15. 
 
202 life's evening. 
 
 and thy rod and thy staff shall comfort 
 me. 
 
 " The spirit shall return unto God ivho gave 
 it'"' — Eccles. xii. 7. 
 
 " Not to a stranger ; not to an unknown, 
 untried master ; but to Him who has pre- 
 served and watched over it from year to year ; 
 to Him who knows its struggles, its anxieties, 
 its throbbings of hope and fear; to its own 
 God, even the ' God who gave it ; ' nay, more, 
 who gave for it his only and well-beloved 
 Son." Therefore, Christian reader, you need 
 not fear to depart. Does the child dread to 
 return home, to go back to its loving par- 
 ents ? happy moment ! when you shall 
 be admitted into your Heavenly Father's 
 presence, and shall share in those pleas- 
 ures which are at his rio^ht hand for ever- 
 
 more: 
 
 ^^'' 
 
WORDS IN SEASON. 203 
 
 " Away, thou dying saint, away ; 
 Fly to the mansions of the blest ; 
 Thy God no more requires thy stay, 
 He calls thee to eternal rest. 
 
 " Thy toils, at length, have reached a close, 
 No more remains for thee to do ; 
 Away, away, to thy repose, 
 Beyond the reach of sin and woe. 
 
 " Away to yonder realms of light. 
 Where multitudes redeemed with blood 
 Enjoy the beatific sight. 
 And dwell forever with their God." 
 
 .<r><S*<5^<SAS>''c>«5>ON-3 
 
»t at dEWik 
 
 fTTr'h^ checkered day of life is past, 
 ^^ Its varied joys, its varied cares ; 
 The clear blue sky is overcast, 
 
 And night a solemn aspect wears ; 
 Thou, whose smile mak'st all things bright, 
 At evening time let there be light. 
 
 Darkness has often marked our way, 
 And sorrow on our souls has pressed ; 
 
 But thou canst all our fears allay, 
 And cheer the closing hours of rest ; 
 
 Thy love is boundless as thy might : 
 
 At evening time let there be light. 
 
LIGHT AT EVENTIDE. 205 
 
 O, shine within our hearts ; reveal 
 Thyself in Christ, the God of love ; 
 
 Nor let one earthly cloud conceal 
 The glory of the land above ; 
 
 Our faith increase, — our hope excite : 
 
 At evening time let there be light. 
 
 Like radiant stars that chase the gloom, 
 And guide the traveller to repose. 
 
 So let thy promises iUume 
 
 The shadow which death's coming throws. 
 
 And ere our spirit takes her flight, 
 
 At evening time let there be light. 
 
 " Let there be light." One word from thee 
 
 Will every passing shade dispel ; 
 Until thy face unveiled we see, 
 
 And in thy cloudless presence dwell. 
 Soon shall our faith be changed to sight : 
 In heaven there will be perfect light ! 
 
 18 
 
CJe ianks d % Per. 
 
 ^^^J0to I further saw that betwixt the pil- 
 ^ grims and the gate of the city was a 
 river ; but there was no bridge to go over, and 
 the river was very deep. At the sight of this 
 river the pilgrims were much stunned ; but 
 the men that went with them said, ' You must 
 go through, or you cannot come at the gate.' 
 The pilgrims then began to inquire if there 
 was no other way to the gate ? to which they 
 answered, ' Yes ; but there hath not any, save 
 two, Enoch and Elijah, been permitted to tread 
 that path since the foundation of the world, 
 
THE BANKS OP THE RIVER. 207 
 
 nor shall until the last trumpet shall sound.' 
 The pilgrims then began to despond in their 
 minds, and looked this way and that, but no 
 way could be found by them, by which they 
 might escape the river." * 
 
 Ah, how true and how touching is this de- 
 scription of the emotions which are often 
 excited in the Christian pilgrim's breast, as he 
 stands on the banks of the river ! He fears to 
 cross its deep, dark waters; he shrinks from 
 the strange, and it may be the stormy passage 
 to eternity. 0, if he could but reach the 
 celestial city without having to cross the 
 stream of death ! 
 
 It cannot be. When the summons for his 
 departure arrives, he must enter that cold 
 flood, and meet its terrors. None can disre- 
 gard the call, nor choose any other mode of 
 
 * PUgrim's Progress. 
 
208 
 
 transit. " It is appointed unto men once to 
 die."* 
 
 Yet why should the Christian be afraid ? 
 Solemn and mysterious as the last change un- 
 doubtedly is, even to the child of God, he may 
 rest assured that a wise and loving Saviour 
 will shield him from every danger, and guide 
 him in safety through it. And if Christ him- 
 self is with him then, if his rod and staff sup- 
 port and comfort him, what evil can he fear ? 
 
 Aged reader, as you gaze upon the river 
 which rolls between you and the promised 
 land, is your mind filled with gloom and ap- 
 prehension ? Is it not because you look only 
 at death ? you do not at the same time fix the 
 eye of faith upon your Saviour. You seem to 
 think that, unaided and alone, you will have 
 to struggle through its waves, instead of joy- 
 
 * Heb. ix. 27. 
 
THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. 209 
 
 fully remembering his promise, "When thou 
 passest through the waters, * I will be with 
 thee; and through the rivers, they shall not 
 overflow thee." * 0, he who lays hold upon 
 this sweet assurance may safely shut his eyes, 
 and leave himself to the entire disposal of infi- 
 nite love, and faithfulness, and wisdom ! 
 
 Does nature recoil from the physical suffer- 
 ing of the last mortal conflict? It is true, 
 that the pains of death are sometimes so severe 
 as to occasion the deepest distress and anguish ; 
 but in the greater number of instances, how 
 easy and tranquil are the closing moments of 
 life ! How many pass from time to eternity as 
 calmly as an infant falling asleep on its moth- 
 er's bosom! But should it be otherwise; 
 should your dying hour be one of extreme suf- 
 fering, is not the manner as well as the time of 
 
 * Isa. xliii. 2. 
 
210 life's evening. 
 
 your departure hence appointed by your Heav- 
 enly Father ? and will he suffer you to be tried 
 above that which you are able to bear? He 
 knows your frame ; he remembers that you are 
 dust, and feels the tenderest parental compas- 
 sion for those who fear him ; and therefore you 
 may be assured that the trials which his love 
 ordains, whether in life or in death, are neces- 
 sary trials, and that he will give you support 
 under them. And if your strength is propor- 
 tioned to your burden, is it not the same in 
 effect as if that burden were removed ? Listen 
 to the testimony of an eminent minister of 
 Christ, whose sufferings were intense, but 
 whose spirit was filled with rejoicing in the 
 midst of them. " I have suffered twenty 
 times, yes, — to speak within bounds, — twenty 
 times as much as I could in being burnt at the 
 stake ; but my joy in God so abounded as to 
 
THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. 211 
 
 render my sufferings not only tolerable, but 
 welcome. The sufferings of the present time 
 are not worthy to be compared with the glory 
 that shall be revealed. God is my all. While 
 he is present with me, no event can in the least 
 diminish my happiness; and were the whole 
 world at my feet trying to minister to my com- 
 fort, they could not add one drop to the cup. 
 Death comes every night, and stands at my 
 bedside, in the form of terrible convulsions, 
 until every bone is almost dislocated with pain ; 
 yet while the body is thus tortured, the soul is 
 perfectly happy and peaceful, more happy than 
 I can possibly express to you.'' 
 
 How easily might we multiply proofs like 
 these, — proofs of God so sustaining and ele- 
 vating the soul of the behever above the pres- 
 sure of physical suffering, as that it was com- 
 paratively unheeded and unfelt. And can he 
 
212 
 
 not do the same, reader, for you ? Is not his 
 grace sufficient for you as well as for others ? 
 0, trust yourself to him; repose with confi- 
 dence upon his promises ; and believe that in 
 a dying hour your succor shall be equal to 
 your need. Do not test your preparedness for 
 that hour by the strength and comfort which 
 you now possess, but by the solemn engage- 
 ment wliich Christ has made never to leave nor 
 forsake you. He is with you now, to help you 
 to glorify him by your life ; when death comes, 
 he will be with you then, and help you to glo- 
 rify him by your death. Dying grace will not 
 be vouchsafed until a dying hour ; you do not 
 want it now, but it will "be abundantly vouch- 
 safed then. Wait for it in faith. " Death is 
 somewhat dreary," said Bishop Cowper to his 
 weeping friends, " and the streams of that Jor- 
 dan which is between us and our Canaan run 
 
THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. 213 
 
 furiously ; but they stand still when the ark 
 comes." 
 
 But perhaps your anxiety respecting death 
 is occasioned by the thought of the separation 
 which must take place between the soul and 
 the body. You dread the entrance upon an 
 unknown and untried state of existence. It is 
 not what you know, but what you do not know 
 of the future, which causes your distress. If 
 any one could return from the unseen world, 
 and tell you exactly what he experienced in 
 the moment of his departure from earth, and 
 clearly describe to you the sensations which 
 he felt when he found himself absent from the 
 body, your mind, you think, would be relieved 
 of much of its disquietude. But it is the 
 uncertainty, the blank, the mystery lying be- 
 fore, in the awful distance, at which you 
 tremble. Like a child in the dark, because 
 
214 life's evening. 
 
 you cannot see, you are afraid. / The imagi- 
 nary objects whicli fill you with awe and trepi- 
 dation would disappear if there were light 
 enough to reveal to you the true state of 
 things. Why, then, you ask, is that light 
 withheld? Could not God have unfolded to 
 us in his word the nature of our future exist- 
 ence, and the mode of our introduction to it ? 
 He must have foreseen the suspense and the 
 agitation which would arise through our igno- 
 rance, and yet he has not sought to allay our 
 fears by a clearer and fuller revelation of 
 things to come. Why is it? The fact of 
 God's silence upon this point is a sufficient 
 reply. We may be sure, since he is Love, that 
 the knowledge which he has reserved is neither 
 requisite nor desirable for us. It is probable 
 that, in our present state of existence, we 
 could not comprehend more than he has al- 
 
THE BANKS OF THE EIYER. 215 
 
 ready told us about another world ; or the full 
 blaze of light which we desire, had it been 
 granted, might have proved injurious to us. 
 We are as yet only in the infancy of our being, 
 and do not know what is best for us ; but our 
 Maker knows, and he has acted accordingly. 
 " He has said enough to awaken curiosity, — 
 to enkindle desire, — to inspire hope, — to 
 encourage confidence and expectation; and 
 we must wait for the rest. God calls us to 
 honor him by our faith, by our belief, at all 
 times and under all circumstances, in his 
 wisdom and goodness. It is as though we 
 were allowed to give to the universe a proof of 
 the firmness of our dependence upon him, 
 such as no heavenly spirits can give, to show 
 that we are not afraid to trust him, even when 
 he bids us die.^^ 0, shall we not willingly 
 prove how unshaken is our reliance on his 
 
216 
 
 love, by resigning ourselves in the hour of 
 death, without one fear, to his care? The 
 way before us is dark and mysterious, but we 
 will cheerfully follow where he leads us. And 
 how gently, how tenderly will he lead us! 
 The act of dying which we so greatly fear 
 may be a gentle and painless slumber, — a 
 quiet falling asleep in Christ ; and the light of 
 eternity will dawn upon us like the tranquil 
 beams of the morning, which now gladden our 
 waking eyes. 
 
 " Hast thou ne'er looked on a little child 
 
 When he first awakes from rest, 
 And smiles to think how his dream beguiled 
 
 While he slept on a parent's breast ? 
 So calm and so sweet shall the waking be 
 In the radiant dawn of eternity." 
 
 There is, it is true, something strange and 
 inexplicable in the idea of our existence with- 
 out a body; we are apt to fancy that a dis- 
 
THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. 217 
 
 embodied spirit must at first feel as it were 
 unclothed, and unprotected. But it is a mis- 
 take to suppose that the soul owes its defence 
 from external harms and hardships to the 
 body, in the same manner as the body does to 
 the clothes it wears. The very contrary is 
 true. It is here exposed to many more harms 
 and hardships by means of its union with the 
 mortal body ; and, consequently, its disunion 
 from that will be its freedom from them. The 
 operations and conceptions of the liberated 
 soul will be inconceivably more perfect, free, 
 and unbiassed than they now are while subject 
 to so many impediments and interruptions 
 from its connection with animal nature. This 
 is evident from the fact, that even now we find 
 our soul in the best frame for thinking when it 
 is least affected by the body. How rapid, how 
 strong, how clear then will be the flow of its 
 
 19 
 
218 life's evening. 
 
 thoughts, when they meet with nothing from 
 without to obstruct them ! 
 
 The dread of death, however, may arise from 
 other causes. It may result from apprehen- 
 sions as to our eternal happiness. We fear, 
 sometimes, whether our names are written in 
 the Lamb's book of life ; whether we have any 
 warrant to look forward to a participation in 
 everlasting joys ; and therefore we cannot bear 
 the thought of meeting our Judge face to face, 
 and would fain retard the moment when our 
 everlasting destiny must be fixed. Were we 
 sure that there was a mansion prepared for us, 
 and a crown of glory laid up for us in heaven ; 
 0, we should not mind passing through the 
 river of death, even though its waters were 
 deep and tempest-tost. But how can we be 
 sure ? 
 
 What saith the Scripture ? " There is now 
 
THE BANKS OF THE RIYER. 219 
 
 no condemnation to them which are in Christ 
 Jesus." " Hq that believeth on the Son hath 
 everlasting life." "I am the living bread 
 wliich came down from heaven ; if any man 
 eat of this bread, he shall live forever." " My 
 sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and 
 they follow me : and I give unto them eternal 
 life; and they shall never perish." "I will 
 come again, and receive you unto myself; that 
 where I am, there ye may be also." * 
 
 But precious as these assertions are, they do 
 not exactly relieve our distress. Our fear is 
 not whether true believers are everlastingly 
 saved, but whether we are among their num- 
 ber. We hope we are, but it is so easy to 
 deceive ourselves ; we may be mistaken ; and 
 how terrible to wake in eternity, and find 
 ourselves excluded from the bhss of the re- 
 
 * Rom. viii. 7; John iii. 36; vi. 51; x. 27; xiv. 3. ' 
 
220 
 
 deemed, beyond the possibility of change ; for, 
 ■what we are then, we must be forever. 
 
 Our dread, then, of death, or rather of the 
 consequences of death, may be traced to the 
 weakness of our faith, or to imperfect views 
 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It cannot, 
 therefore, be removed until our faith becomes 
 stronger, and our views clearer. We must 
 study the word which God has given us, and 
 ask for the teaching of his Spirit, that we may 
 be enabled to understand and to apply to our- 
 selves the heart-cheering truth, " Christ is aJJ, 
 and in all ; " " Ye are complete in him." We 
 must strive to lay aside the reasonings, the 
 prejudices, and the unbelief of our own hearts, 
 and receive with simplicity and thankfulness 
 the full and free promises of our Saviour. As 
 we become better acquainted with that loving 
 Saviour, and understand more perfectly the 
 
THE BANKS OP THE RIVER. 221 
 
 design of his all-sufficient atonement, our 
 anxious forebodings about the future will grad- 
 ually pass away, as the gloom of midnight 
 fades before the rising sun, and the God of 
 hope will fill us with all joy and peace in 
 believing. 
 
 It will tend to mitigate the alarm with which 
 we regard the solemn change of death, if we 
 look at it in its true character, as a continua- 
 tion of the present, rather than as the com- 
 mencement of a new state of existence. Heav- 
 en and hell are not so much the reward — 
 using the word in its scriptural sense — of our 
 past life, as the necessary sequence of it. It 
 will be what we are, not where we are, which 
 will constitute our felicity or our woe ; and 
 therefore if we are conscious now that we love 
 the Saviour and trust in him, and follow after 
 holiness ; or even that we heartily desire and 
 
 19* 
 
222 life's evening. 
 
 strive to do this ; is it not plain that we have 
 within us the germ of true happiness, — a 
 heart that is touched with the love of Christ, 
 and longs for conformity to his likeness ? With 
 this principle implanted in our hearts, how 
 could we be forever miserable ? It is impossi- 
 ble ! not only because God will never falsify 
 his own word, nor condemn those who put 
 their trust in his Son; but because the ele- 
 ments of lasting peace and joy are already 
 ours. " He that believeth on the Son hath — 
 not shall have — everlasting life." Meditate 
 on this declaration, dear reader, and take the 
 consolation which it is calculated to impart to 
 all who are placing their reliance upon the 
 atonement of Christ. 
 
 But in the contemplation of a dying hour, 
 a tender and affectionate spirit is sometimes 
 deeply affected at the prospect of parting 
 
THE BANKS OF THE EIVER. 223 
 
 with beloved relatives and friends. There 
 are some, perhaps, to whom we are a solace 
 and a support, who have always been accus- 
 tomed to lean upon us in their weary march 
 of life, and to look to us for counsel and 
 sympathy ; how will they do without us ? 
 how can we leave them to struggle on alone 
 and sorrowful? Or there are others, for 
 whose salvation we are deeply concerned, and 
 over whose wanderings we often shed bitter 
 tears ; how shall we bear to take our farewell 
 — it may be our last farewell — of . them ? 
 How keen will be the anguish of our dying 
 hour, as we reflect that they are still un- 
 changed,, unsaved, and that we dare not 
 cherish the hope of meeting them again ! 
 
 0, how painful are the separations of the 
 grave ! How hard it is to sever, if only for 
 a few years, the ties which bind us so closely 
 
224 life's evening. 
 
 to the dear ones around us ! Many Chris- 
 tians, aged Christians too — for old age does 
 not quench the ardency of the affections — 
 can respond to the touching desire of a youth- 
 ful disciple of the Saviour, " mamma ! 
 I wish we could all die and go to^ heaven 
 together." 
 
 Yet why should you dwell only on the dark 
 side of the picture ? it may never be presented 
 to you. Your Heavenly Father, in his com- 
 passion for your weakness, may spare you the 
 sorrow which you anticipate. You may pass 
 away fron> this life as in a quiet slumber ; — 
 
 "Nor bear a single pang at parting; 
 Nor see the tear of sorrow starting ; 
 Nor hear the quivering lips that bless you; 
 Nor feel the hands of love that press you." 
 
 Or if not, if fully conscious in your last 
 moments that you are parting from those 
 
THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. 225 
 
 whom you love, God will so strengthen and 
 animate your dying spirit as that you shall 
 be enabled with calnmess, nay, with cheerful- 
 ness, to resign the objects of your affection 
 to his merciful guidance and protection. You 
 will feel that He who has watched over you 
 so many years in the wilderness, and brought 
 you safely through every danger, can surely 
 do as much for those whom you are leaving 
 behind ; that He who has taught you to pray 
 so earnestly and so perseveringly for their 
 spiritual welfare, will not suffer your prayers 
 to remain unanswered, although he calls you 
 home before you have witnessed their fulfil- 
 ment. And you will also realize your happy 
 and speedy reunion with your dear friends 
 in another world. Death will not long divide 
 you; the remainder of their appointed time 
 on earth will pass rapidly away as a tale 
 
226 life's evening. 
 
 that is told, and then you will meet them 
 ♦ again, — meet to part no more! 
 
 " With the prospect of meetmg forever, 
 With the bright gates of heaven in view, 
 From the dearest on earth we may sever, 
 And smile a delightful adieu." 
 
 Aged behever, you are standing now on the 
 banks of the river; fear not, only believe. 
 Remember that one of the reasons why Jesus 
 Christ manifested himself in hunian nature 
 was for the express purpose of dispelhng that 
 gloom which naturally overspreads the mind 
 as we look upon the dark waters of death. 
 "Forasmuch as the children are partakers 
 of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise 
 took part of the same ; that through death 
 he might destroy him that had the power 
 of death, that is, the Devil ; and deliver them 
 who through fear of death were all their 
 
THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. 227 
 
 lifetime subject to bondage." * Then seek 
 deliverance from that fear, and expect deliver- 
 ance. Christ suffered not in vain; all the 
 purposes of his death have been fully ac- 
 complished; and he would have his people 
 even now to participate in his triumph; and 
 without waiting for the actual encounter to 
 join in the ascription of the Apostle, " Thanks 
 be to God, which giveth us the victory through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." Then 
 
 " Shudder not to pass the stream, 
 Venture all thy care on him, — 
 Him whose dying love and power 
 Stilled its tossing, hushed its roar. 
 Not one object of his care 
 Ever suffered shipwreck there; 
 See the haven full in view; 
 Love Divine shall bear thee through." 
 
 Is it granted to you to possess that strong 
 
 * Heb. ii. 14, 15. 
 
228 
 
 faith, that calm assurance, which elevates 
 the mind above the fear of death ? Can you 
 say with- gladness, " The time of my departure 
 is at hand: I have fought a good fight, I 
 have finished my course, I have kept the 
 faith: henceforth there is laid up for me 
 a crown of righteousness, wliich the Lord, 
 the righteous Judge, shall give me at that 
 day " ? * Thank your Saviour for this glorious 
 hope, — this hope which is as an anchor of the 
 soul, sure and steadfast, — for he is its author 
 and its bestower. It is because he has abol- 
 ished death, and brought life and immortality 
 to light through the Gospel, that you are 
 now enabled to look forward with composure 
 to your conflict with the last foe, and tri- 
 umphantly to ask, " death, where is thy 
 sting? grave, where is thy victory?"! 
 
 * 2 Tim. iv. 6, 8. f 1 Cor. xv. 55. 
 
THE BANKS OF THE RIYER. 229 
 
 Well may you rejoice, for your life is hid 
 with Christ in God, and you are safe for- 
 ever. Safe amidst the infirmities and perils of 
 old age ; safe in the swelling waters of Jor- 
 dan; safe when you stand before the solemn 
 judgment-seat; yes, safe throughout eternity. 
 Nothing in earth or hell can separate you 
 from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus ; 
 or pluck you from the grasp of your ever- 
 living Saviour. He upholds and comforts 
 you now in the evening of life ; and " by and 
 by, leaning upon his arm, you shall come 
 down to the river. Not a ripple shall be on 
 its bosom ; its clear waters shining in heaven's 
 own light shall allure to the crossing. His 
 feet shall but touch the stream, and, lo, a way 
 for the ransomed to pass over." " Blessed are 
 the dead which die in the Lord;"* "Pre- 
 
 * Rev. xiv. 13. 
 20 
 
230 life's evening. 
 
 cious ill the sight of the Lord is the death 
 *of his saints." * 
 
 But our remarks about the river of death 
 have been addressed to true Christians ; are 
 you, reader, one of their number? If not, 
 you have no right to appropriate to yourself 
 the consolations which are designed only for 
 them. There is no sight more painful than 
 that of an aged individual on the borders 
 of the grave, on the threshold of eternity, 
 unrenewed, unsanctified, and yet undismayed 
 by the terrors of the future, and confident 
 of the joys of heaven. May God preserve 
 us from so fearful a delusion ! "Be not 
 deceived ; God is not mocked : for whatsoever 
 a man soweth, that shall he also reap." f 
 A life of carelessness — of worldliness — of 
 self-righteousness, cannot prepare us for a 
 
 * Psa. cxvi. 15. t Gal. vi. 7. 
 
THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. 231 
 
 life of glory. " Except a man be born again, 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God." '*He 
 that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; 
 but the wrath of God abideth on him." * 
 " Without hoHness no man shall see the 
 Lord." t A change of heart, faith in Christ, 
 the fruits of holiness, are the precursors of 
 the believer's assurance of eternal felicity; 
 what do you know of them in your own 
 experience ? Examine yourself, whether you 
 are in the faith ; or whether you have only 
 a name to live while you are dead. The 
 absence of alarm, or even the possession of 
 joy, as you draw near to death and eternity, 
 is not, of itself, an indication of safety. It 
 may be but the deadly calm before an awful 
 tempest; a fatal slumber on the edge of a 
 frightful precipice. Ignorance trembled not 
 
 * John iii. 3, 36. t Heb. xii. 14. 
 
232 life's evening. 
 
 when he came to the river-side, and prepared 
 to cross it ; he got over it with less difficulty 
 than Christian, for one Yain Hope helped 
 him with his boat ; but when he reached the 
 other side, the King commanded his servants 
 to bind him hand and foot, and to cast him 
 into outer darkness. 
 
 Yet while this should warn the presump- 
 tuous and the self-confident, it should not dis- 
 courage the awakened sinner, who feels that 
 life is receding beneath his tread, and that his 
 feet have as yet found no sure resting-place. 
 The language of the Gospel is language of 
 peace to all who really desire salvation from 
 the peril and the dominion of sin. " Come 
 unto me," says the Saviour, whom it pro- 
 claims, " all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 
 and I will give you rest." * It is never too 
 
 * Matt. xi. 28. 
 
THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. 233 
 
 late to turn to him ; to seek forgiveness at his 
 cross. God's promises of salvation are made 
 without exception of time ; for whenever a sin- 
 ner repents of his sins, he has promised to put 
 away his wickedness out of remembrance. 
 They are made without exception of sins ; 
 for, " The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us 
 from all sin ;" * and, " All manner of sin and 
 blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men." f 
 They are made without exception of persons ; 
 for, " Whosoever shall call on the name of the 
 Lord shall be saved ; " J " Whosoever will, 
 let him take the water of life freely ; " § 
 " Him that cometh to me I will in no wise 
 cast out." II 
 Aged reader ! " behold the Lamb of God, 
 
 * 1 John i. 7. § Rev. xxii. 17. 
 
 t Matt. xii. 31. ll John vi. 37. 
 
 t Acts ii. 21. 
 20* 
 
234 life's evening. 
 
 which taketh away the sin of the world." 
 Look unto him and be saved. How else will 
 you pass through the swellings of Jordan ? 
 how else will you stand at the judgment-seat 
 of Christ ? 
 
 
m\p mWi Cljfltt lie? 
 
 '^i'nt in the solemn night, 
 (Z) "When dim and shadowy all things appear ; 
 When thoughts are tinged with mournfulness and fear, 
 And nature's fairest scenes are veiled from sight ; 
 For darkness only throws a deeper gloom 
 Around the opening tomb. 
 
 But let the gladsome day 
 Smile upon my departure ; let the bright 
 And glorious sunshine image forth that light 
 "Which soon shall beam with pure and fadeless ray 
 Upon my ransomed spirit ; let no cloud 
 
 Life's closing scene enshroud. 
 
236 life's evening. 
 
 Not m the hour of health, 
 Without one kind adieu or parting token, 
 When suddenly the chain of life is broken, 
 And our last messenger comes as by stealth ; — 
 From quick transition to eternity. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver me. 
 
 Calm be my last farewell 
 To all the joys, and cares, and griefs of earth ; 
 On themes of precious and immortal worth 
 In peaceful contemplation let me dwell ; 
 As gradually fades the light of day, 
 
 So let me pass away. 
 
 Not in a distant land, 
 Or on the bosom of the lonely sea, 
 Where stranger forms would coldly bend o'er me, - 
 Far, far from the loved and home-linked band, — 
 Without one friend my dying hours to bless. 
 
 And soothe my weariness. 
 
WHEN WILT THOU DIE? 237 
 
 But gather round my bed 
 The loved ones who have gladdened life's past hours ; 
 Let cherished objects, fondly-tended flowers, 
 And well-known faces, comfort round me spread ; 
 And gentle words of counsel and of love 
 
 Point me to hopes above. 
 
 Saviour ! thou wilt not chide 
 These simple wishes twined around the grave ; 
 And yet 't is better that on death's cold wave 
 My trembling vessel thou shouldst launch and guide, 
 How, when, and where thou wilt : what should I fear 
 
 With thee, my pilot, near ? 
 
 Through all life's troublous way 
 Thou hast sustained me. Thou wilt keep me still. 
 Veiled is the future ; yet I fear no ill, 
 But ready stand thy summons to obey. 
 It matters little what the path may be. 
 
 So that it leads to thee. 
 
i^\t ^tatoilg ^tst 
 
 ^001t will " the day break, and the shadows 
 flee away." Soon will the darkness of 
 earth be exchanged for the radiance of 
 heaven. There is no night there. " Thy 
 sun shall no more go down ; neither shall 
 thy moon withdraw itself ; for the Lord shall 
 be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy 
 monrning shall be ended." * 
 
 How welcome to the aged Christian is the 
 thought of heaven ! As the toil-worn laborer 
 hails with gladness the hour of rest ; as the 
 wave-tossed mariner discerns with thankful- 
 
 * Isa. Ix. 20. 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 239 
 
 ness the haven of safety ; as the weary exile 
 approaches with feehngs of rapture his native 
 country ; so does the believer rejoice in the 
 immediate prospect of eternal glory. He loves 
 to think of that moment when he shall be 
 absent from the body and present with the 
 Lord ; when the cares, the conflicts, and the 
 corruptions which surround him here will be 
 exchanged for the peace and purity which per- 
 vade the everlasting abode of the redeemed. 
 Yaried are the attractions which draw his 
 thoughts and affections thither. Deliverance 
 from trouble ; freedom from sin ; increase of 
 knowledge ; separation from the ungodly ; in- 
 tercourse with the holy ; communion with his 
 Saviour ; — these and other delineations of the 
 heavenly state make him ready, willing, eager 
 to depart from the present life, and to enter 
 upon that new and noble existence. 
 
240 life's evening. 
 
 " My chief conception of heaven," said Rob- 
 ert Hall, who was an almost constant sufferer 
 from acute bodily pain, " is rest.^'* And many 
 sons and daughters of affliction can respond to 
 his remark. They have so much to do and to 
 suffer; they see so much misery and discord 
 around them ; their spiritual foes are so pow- 
 erful and persevering, that the sigh of the 
 Psalmist is often heard from their lips, " 
 that I had wings like a dove ! for then would 
 I fly away, and be at rest." * Rest ! Where ? 
 In heaven : there the weary. are at rest. 
 
 They rest from toil. From physical exer- 
 tion, and from mental labor. The hand no 
 longer has to procure bread for the sustenance 
 of life, and to provide things honest in the 
 sight of all men ; the head no longer has to 
 plan for avoiding difficulties and distress, and 
 
 * Psalm Iv. 6. 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 241 
 
 to strive after a temporary relief from some of 
 tlie cares of daily life. " They shall hunger 
 no more, neither thirst anymore."* "They 
 rest from their labors ; and their works do fol- 
 low them." t ^1 fatigue and anxiety are for- 
 ever ended. 
 
 They rest from pain. The inhabitant of that 
 heavenly city shall not say, I am sick; and 
 " there shall be no more pain : for the former 
 things are passed away." J"!^' I shall soon be 
 at home now," said an aged Christian woman, 
 who had been for many years afflicted with a 
 painful disease, " and then all suffering will be 
 over. I hope I am not impatient ; I am will- 
 ing to bear whatever God sends, and as long 
 as he sends it ; I know he is love. But it is 
 very sweet sometimes, when my poor body is 
 racked with pain and I cannot get a minute's 
 
 * Rev. vii. 16. f Rev. xiv. 13. ' % Rev. xxi. 4. 
 
 21 P 
 
242 life's evening. 
 
 relief, to think that I am every day nearer 
 heaven, and to feel that the sufferings of this 
 present time are not worthy to be compared 
 with the glory that shall be revealed. What a 
 change it will be ! " 
 
 They rest from sorroiu. "God shall wipe 
 away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall 
 be no more death, neither sorrow, nor cry- 
 ing." * Yes ; God himself shall wipe away 
 their tears. The days of their mourning will 
 be forever ended, and sorrow and sigliing shall 
 flee away. Want, disappointment, care, un- 
 kindness, injustice, bereavement, and every 
 other source of earthly distress, are unknown 
 in heaven. The waves of grief cannot pass 
 the confines of eternity. The clouds of sad- 
 ness cannot float in the clear atmosphere of 
 heaven. The voice of lamentation and weep- 
 
 * Rev. xxi. 4. 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 243 
 
 ing can never mingle with the songs of the 
 redeemed. 
 
 They rest from spiritual conflict. Life is a 
 period of warfare and trial. The foes of the 
 Christian are many, and they are mighty. His 
 own unsubdued passions ; the world with its 
 temptations on the one hand and its reproaches 
 on the other ; and the great adversary of man- 
 kind going about as a roaring lion, seeking 
 whom he may devour, are continually arrayed 
 against him ; and he must be always upon his 
 guard, always ready for the encounter. Nor 
 does he, except in occasional moments of dis- 
 comfiture and depression, shrink from the 
 battle-field. It is his earnest desire to fight the 
 good fight of faith, and to endure hardness as 
 a good soldier of Jesus Christ. To ask for 
 victory and rest from a mere love of selfish 
 ease, is inconsistent with his principles and 
 
244 life's evening. 
 
 feelings. God has called him to the contest, 
 and when he sees fit will call him to his re- 
 ward ; till then he is willing to wait and toil 
 and struggle on. His prayer is that when his 
 Lord comes he may find him watching. This 
 is a right spirit. We ought not to grow weary 
 in well-doing. We ought not to wish for our 
 crown before our conflict is ended. But at the 
 same time we may look forward to our rest 
 with hope and gladness. In the midst of our 
 conflict with evil, we may soothe and refresh 
 our spirits with the thought of final victory. 
 As we press forward in our heavenward journey, 
 encompassed by difficulties and beset with dan- 
 gers, we may rejoice in the consideration that 
 
 " We niglitly fix our moviug tent 
 A day's march nearer home ! " 
 
 Yes ; our warfare will soon be over, — our 
 rest attained. 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 245 
 
 And how cheering is the reflection that holi- 
 ness as well as rest is linked with our anticipa- 
 tions of heaven ! Nothing that defileth can 
 enter there. The church above is " a glorious 
 church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any 
 such thing; but holy and without blemish."* 
 The Christian, it is true, is already sanctified 
 by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. Sin has 
 no longer dominion over him; for the grace 
 of God, which bringeth salvation, teaches him 
 to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to 
 live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this 
 present world. His heart is purified by faith. 
 He has put on the new man, which after God 
 is created in righteousness and true holiness. 
 He has been adopted into God's family; re- 
 newed in his image ; and made a partaker of 
 his holiness. But as yet how imperfect is the 
 
 * Eph. V. 27. 
 21* 
 
246 life's evening. 
 
 resemblance which he bears! how feeble are 
 the attainments which he has made ! While 
 he delights in the law of God after the inward 
 man, he sees another law in his members war- 
 ring against the law of his mind, and bringing 
 him into captivity to the law of sin, so that in 
 the anguish of his spirit he exclaims with the 
 Apostle, "0 wretched man that I am! who 
 shall deliver me from the body of this death ? " * 
 Day by day he presses toward the mark for 
 the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
 Jesus, but he is often sore let and hindered in 
 running the race that is set before him ; some- 
 times he stumbles and falls ; and sometimes he 
 wanders into some by-path which leads him 
 into distress and danger ; and although he 
 never gives up ; although each revival of the 
 sin which so easily besets him, — each temp- 
 
 * Rom. vii. 24. 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 247 
 
 tation to which, through unwatchfulness and 
 self-dependence, he yields, only prompts him 
 to more prayerful and vigorous effort for the 
 future ; can we wonder if he anticipates with 
 eagerness and delight the moment when he 
 shall be freed from the defilement and imper- 
 fection of his present condition, and be per- 
 fectly conformed to the image of his Savioiir ? 
 0, to have his will entirely absorbed in God's 
 will ; to have every thought in unison with his 
 mind ; to have self forever lost sight of in the 
 radiance of his glory ; to be holy, and unblam- 
 able, and unreprovable in his presence ! How 
 delightful is this prospect! how all-sustaining 
 is this hope ! And as years increase, as life 
 declines, his desire after perfected holiness 
 grows stronger and stronger, until it over- 
 comes his fear of death, and weakens the 
 fondest ties which link him to earth. He is 
 
248 life's evening. 
 
 ready to leave all around him, and to press 
 through all before him, in order that he may 
 be separated from sin, and be completely assim- 
 ilated to the likeness of Christ. "We shall 
 be like him!" is the thought — the glorious 
 thought — which makes heaven so precious in 
 his estimation. He longs more for purity than 
 he does for rest. He wants to be holy, sinless, 
 perfected. 
 
 His desire will soon be granted, his hope 
 realized. " Blessed are they which do hunger 
 and thirst after righteousness ; for they shall 
 be filled." Filled? Satisfied? Yes. When? 
 In part now, in completeness hereafter. In 
 heaven they hunger no more, neither thirst 
 any more : they are restored to the image of 
 their God, and are faultless before his throne. 
 
 And then how delightful to the thoughtful 
 and inquiring Christian — and every Christian 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 249 
 
 ought to sustain this character — is the assur- 
 ance that in a future state our knowledge will 
 be greatly increased. In this world how lim- 
 ited are our highest acquirements! We are 
 like children playing on the sea-shore, and 
 diverting ourselves, now and then finding a 
 smoother pebble, or a prettier shell than ordi- 
 nary, whilst the great ocean of truth lies all 
 undiscovered before us. But what we know 
 not now, we shall know hereafter. Now we 
 see through a glass darkly ; now we know but 
 in part : but then we shall see face to face, and 
 know even as we are known. Many deeply 
 interesting and important questions which are 
 unanswered now, will be solved then. Many 
 difficulties which perplex us now, will be ex- 
 plained then. How numerous are the myste- 
 ries in Providence, both in connection with our 
 own history, and with the history of others. 
 
250 life's evening. 
 
 which will then be unravelied 1 How varied 
 are the mysteries in rehgion which will then 
 be clear to us as the light of noonday ! And 
 our knowledge will be ever increasing. The 
 first glance into eternity will not reveal to us 
 all that it has to unfold. We shall be always 
 learning something new ; continually making 
 fresh discoveries of the wisdom and power and 
 goodness of God. And this without weari- 
 ness, without effort, without disappointment. 
 
 Associated with the perfected development 
 and probable augmentation of our intellectual 
 powers, is the noble and uninterrupted service 
 in which we shall be engaged above. Alas ! 
 how feeble and how poor are our best attempts 
 now for the fulfilment of God's will, and the 
 promotion of his glory ! How little, compara- 
 tively, have we done, how little can we do to 
 make him known and loved among our fellow- 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 251 
 
 men! Frequently do we mourn over our 
 weakness and apparent uselessness, and feel 
 that we are indeed unprofitable servants. But 
 in heaven our service will be vigorous, per- 
 petual, untiring. There the weary will be at 
 rest, not because they cease to labor, but 
 because labor brings no fatigue ; and they that 
 "have entered into rest" will find this to be 
 their rest, that " they rest not day and night."* 
 Each glorified servant will doubtless be 
 occupied in the manner which is most accord- 
 ant with his individual bias and qualification. 
 As the cherubim and seraphim are supposed 
 to have their separate and appropriate offices,^ 
 though all stand round the throne, so we may 
 expect that holy engagements will be dis- 
 tributed in amazing diversity among the white- 
 robed saints. But this will be the delight, 
 
 * Rev. iv. 8. 
 
252 life's evening. 
 
 that each one occupies his own, his proper, 
 his favorite employment, — that for which his 
 being is made ; no nerve strained ; no part 
 burdened ; no power taxed ; but all easy, 
 enjoyable, delicious, the very part he would 
 have chosen ; the part he loves ; the part he 
 can do best, assigned to him for ever and ever. 
 And in this, his own proper province, each 
 one will exercise his whole perfected being. 
 Whatever he loves, he will understand, and 
 whatever he understands, he will love ; and 
 both his mind and his will will take effect 
 through the instrumentality of a body which 
 is in complete unison with his spirit; never 
 cumbering it, never darkening it, but instant 
 and capable to do everything which the 
 thought desires or the heart suggests ; so 
 that it will be a perfectly intelligent affection, 
 performing without diminution, and without 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 253 
 
 delay, all it thinks and all it feels. Then 
 shall we understand, in that entire concur- 
 rence of all the properties which -make the 
 creature, what is the meaning of that service 
 of which Christ spoke, when he said, " God 
 is a Spirit; and they that worship him must 
 worship him in spirit and in truth." * 
 
 And as we think of all the high functions 
 and happy services of those in glory, shall 
 we not remember those loved ones among 
 their number who were once co-workers with 
 us here; and rejoice in the thought that we 
 shall, erelong, share in their holy occupa- 
 tions, and participate in their fadeless joys? 
 The communion of saints on earth is sweet, 
 but what will it be in heaven? Here there 
 is much to mar and interrupt it; there it 
 will be perfect and perpetual. We shall be 
 
 * John iv. 24. 
 22 
 
254 life's evening. 
 
 associated with "the glorious company -of 
 the apostles, the goodly fellowship of the 
 prophets, and the noble army of martyrs;" 
 we shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Jacob, in the kingdom of God. We shall 
 share in the high and holy converse of those 
 esteemed by ns on earth for the beautiful 
 graces and gifts which adorned their char- 
 acter, and become intimately acquainted with 
 others, long endeared to us by their labors 
 and their worth, but who, through time, or 
 varied circumstances, were personally un- 
 known to us. And there will be no discord, 
 no prejudices, no rivalry, to disturb the har- 
 mony of our intercourse. We shall dwell 
 together as the children of one Father; as 
 the brethren of one family ; as the loved and 
 loving inhabitants of one eternal home. 
 But dearer, far dearer, than the thought 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 255 
 
 of this complete and tender sympathy with 
 all the redeemed in glory, is the prospect of 
 that perfect and constant communion with 
 our Saviour which his promises now unfold 
 to our view. " I will come again, and receive 
 you unto myself; that where I am, there 
 ye may be also." " Further, I will that they 
 also whom thou hast given me be with me 
 where I am ; that they may behold my glory, 
 which thou hast given me."* 
 
 Well might one of Christ's tried and hon- 
 ored servants, in the simple meditations which 
 she penned as she waited for her summons to 
 pass over the river, write, " To be where thou 
 art, to see thee as thou art, and to be made 
 like unto thee ; the last sinful motion forever 
 past ; no more opposition ; no more weariness, 
 listlessness, dryness, or deadness ; but con- 
 
 * John xiv. 3 ; xvii. 24. 
 
256 life's evening. 
 
 formed to my blessed Saviour, every way 
 capacitated to serve him, to enjoy him, — this 
 is heaven." And well might her glowing 
 words animate the faith and hope of that 
 devoted missionary of the cross, who was 
 called, when at the foot of Mount Lebanon, 
 to encounter the last enemy. His friends 
 having proposed to pray with him, he replied, 
 " Yes ; but first I wish you to read some 
 passages from 'Mrs. Graham's Provision for 
 Passing over Jordan ; '" and on hearing the 
 words, "To be where thou art, to see thee 
 as thou art, to be made hke unto thee ; " — 
 he anticipated the conclusion, and said, with 
 an expressive emphasis, " That is heaven ! " 
 
 Yes ; to be with Christ, to see him as he is, 
 that indeed is heaven. In our converse with 
 him now by faith, we rejoice with joy that 
 is unspeakable and full of glory; what then 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 257 
 
 will be our emotions when that glory is 
 realized, and his presence is attained ? 
 
 " Not all things else are half so dear 
 As converse with the Saviour here ; 
 
 What must it be in heaven? 
 'Tis heaven on earth to hear him say, 
 As now I journey day by day, 
 Poor sinner, cast thy fears away: 
 Thy sins are all forgiven. 
 
 "But how will his celestial voice 
 Make my enraptured heart rejoice 
 
 When I in glory hear him! 
 While I before the heavenly gate 
 For everlasting entrance wait, 
 And Jesus on his throne of state 
 Invites me to come near him." 
 
 Reader, is this happy, this heart-cheering 
 anticipation yours ? What proof can you give 
 of your title to mansions in the skies ? Is 
 " Christ in you, the hope of glory ? " * Have 
 
 * Col. i. 27. 
 22 =»^ Q 
 
258 life's evening. 
 
 you "tlie earnest of the Spirit " ? * Are you 
 " made meet to be partaker of the inheritance 
 of the saints in hght " ? f 
 
 Then, " rejoice in hope of the glory of 
 God." X Your warfare will soon be accom- 
 plished, your labors ended, your rest begun. 
 Now is your salvation nearer than when you 
 believed. A little while, and you shall tread 
 the golden streets of the holy city ; you shall 
 eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of 
 the paradise of God, and drink of the pure 
 crystal river which proceeds out of the throne 
 of God and of the Lamb. A crown of glory 
 shall be yours, and the waving palm of vic- 
 tory ; you shall hear the voice of harpers harp- 
 ing with their harps, and you shall join in 
 their ever new and triumphant song, " Wor- 
 thy is the liamb that was slain to receive 
 
 * 2 Cor. V. 5. t Col. i. 12. % Rom. v. 2. 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 259 
 
 power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
 and honor, and glory, and blessing." * "In 
 thy presence is fulness of joy ; at thy right 
 hand there are pleasures for evermore." f 
 
 " Wlierefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for 
 such things, be diligent that ye may be found 
 of him in peace." $ " Walk worthy of God, 
 who hath called you unto his kingdom and 
 glory." § Remember, that " without holiness 
 no man shall see the Lord." || And the well- 
 grounded hope of future blessedness necessa- 
 rily leads to present sanctification. " Every 
 man that hath tliis hope in him, purifieth him- 
 self, even as He is pure." ^ The " exceeding 
 great and precious promises " are given to us, 
 not only that we may be gladdened and com- 
 
 * Rev. V. 12. § 1 Thess. ii. 12. 
 
 t Psalm xvi. 11. II Heb. xii. 14. 
 
 t 2 Peter iii. 14. IT 1 Joh^i i"- 3- 
 
260 life's evening. 
 
 forted by them, but also that we may be made 
 partakers of the Divine nature, and escape 
 " the corruption that is in the world through 
 lust." * " When Christ, who is our life, shall 
 appear, then shall ye also appear with him 
 in glory. Mortify, therefore^ your members 
 which are upon the earth." f 
 
 Weary and sorrowful pilgrim, the sufferings 
 of the present time are not worthy to be com- 
 pared with the glory that shall be revealed. 
 Let the radiance of coming joys illumine the 
 clouds of present grief; let the melody of 
 heaven-breathed songs soothe the agitation of 
 your troubled spirit. 0, your " light affliction 
 is but for a moment," and it " worketh for you 
 a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
 glory ; while you look not at the things which 
 are seen, but at the things which are not seen : 
 
 * 2 Peter i. 4. f Col. iii. 4, 5. 
 
THE HEAVENLY REST. 261 
 
 for the tilings which are seen are temporal ; but 
 the things which are not seen are eternal." * 
 
 Aged Christian, the time of your departure 
 is at hand. The sunset of life and the night 
 of death usher in the dawn of immortality. 
 The earthly house of your tabernacle is about 
 to be dissolved; but you have a building of 
 God, a house not made with hands, eternal in 
 the heavens.* "Blessed be the God and Father 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to 
 his abundant mercy hath begotten us again 
 unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incor- 
 ruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not 
 away, reserved in heaven for you, who are 
 kept by the power of God through faith unto 
 salvation ready to be revealed in the last time : 
 wherein ye greatly rejoice." f 
 
 * 2 Cor. iv. ir, 18. t 1 Peter i. 3 - 6. 
 
262 life's evening. 
 
 Listen to the words of your ascended and 
 glorified Saviour: " Surely I come quickly!" 
 What is your earnest and heart-felt response ? 
 " Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus ! " * 
 
 * Eev. xxii. 20, 21. 
 
 ^*^ 
 
@iir W)mt. 
 
 fxitB sun a longer shadow throws, 
 And all things whisper of repose ; 
 Our toilsome journey soon will close, 
 And we shall reach our home ! 
 
 Here we no resting-place have found ; 
 Unnumbered dangers lurk around. 
 Temptations, snares, and griefs abound. 
 Earth cannot be our home. 
 
 On let us press with cheerful haste, 
 Nor precious moments idly waste ; 
 For, oh ! we long those joys to taste, 
 Which are reserved at home. 
 
264 life's evening. 
 
 Only a narrow stream doth flow 
 Between this dreary waste of woe 
 And that fair land where richly grow 
 The lovely flowers of home. 
 
 Its peaceful waters softly ghde, 
 And Christ through them our steps will guide, 
 And land us on the other side, 
 Where wq shall be at home. 
 
 Some cherished friends have gone before. 
 Their conflicts and their toils are o'er ; 
 And we shall meet to part no more. 
 When we have gained our home. 
 
 Their songs of welcome, sweet and clear, 
 Will soon be falling on our ear ; 
 For we are drawing very near 
 Unto our happy home. 
 
OUR HOME. 265 
 
 No clouds of sorrow gather there ; 
 Hushed is the latest thought of care ; 
 Perpetual joys those loved ones share 
 Within our Father's home. 
 
 Life's sun a longer shadow throws, 
 And all things whisper of repose ; 
 Our toilsome journey soon will close, 
 And we shall reach our home ! 
 
 THE END. 
 
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