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by and by, is to become the residence of worms of the earth-that very body which will, by and by, be decomposed and see corruption. Look at the wonderful construction of its senses; look at the organization of the whole frame : what a wonderful piece of mechanism! -how complex-how diversified-how slender some of its parts, and yet how particularly and wisely adapted to its several uses!-But what shall we say of the soul of that immortal spirit that can never die—of that spirit which is capable of thinking, of enjoying everlasting happiness, or enduring everlasting misery-that soul which will survive the dissolution of its kindred tenement of clay? If, then, the Almighty has thus made us, the conclusion is very natural, that he must have a regard to the work of his own hands. Hence we come to the inference, that this is one reason why, on our being brought to faith and repentance, he stands like the parent of the prodigal son, ready to fall upon our neck, to take us by the hand, and bid us welcome. If we plant a vineyard, or a garden, or a tree, we feel a property in it and surely the blessed God must not be indifferent to the work of his own hands.

But more especially may we fix your attention on another fact connected with the assertion before us: he has renewed us. He has not only made us creatures; but many present have the witness in themselves that he has made them Christians-new creatures in Christ Jesus. "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works; which God hath ordained that we should walk in them." Ah, he has given you a new heart, new eyes, new ears, and new perceptions-not physically new, because literally they are the same as before; but they are morally, they are spiritually new. There is a transformation in them; they are appropriated to new enjoy ments; they are regulated by a new impulse; they act under a new bias. That impulse, that bias, are both traceable to the operation of the Holy Ghost within us-to that good work which he engages shall be carried on until the day of Jesus Christ.

Now, when he forms us the creatures of his power, he introduces us into the world of nature but when he regene

rates us, when he converts us from the error of our way, he introduces us into the world of grace. Then we have relations and enjoyments we did not know before; we are entitled to all the privileges and immunities of the adopted children of God. Then we cry, "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." Love, indeed: look at its height, its depth, its length, its breadth; and then tell me what manner of love it is-so undeserved, so unparalleled, so unmerited, and so lasting.

But our principal object is to show you, my aged friends, in the third place, WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED STILL TO DO." "Even to old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry and will deliver you." This assertion proves that God is not weary in well-doing. How soon is our benevolence exhausted; how soon does our zeal tire and faint: but the Lord is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. He has not only determined to regenerate, but he has engaged to bear us all through our journey, to protect us by his power, to guide us by his counsel, and afterward to receive us to glory.

The period to which this promise refers is one point to be attended to in this part of the subject: it is old ageit is hoar hairs. My esteemed hearers, to whom the subject is more particularly addressed, are well aware that old age is a season of weakness, of exposure, of infirmity, and dependance. Then the senses fail; one gives way after the other-the sight-the hearing

the speech. Then the capacity yields; your comprehension is less quick, less acute than when you were young. Then the memory fails. You find it, no doubt, more difficult to retain the different sermons you hear now, than twenty or thirty years ago: they soon escape your recollection: you wish to treasure them, you wish to embalm them in your heart, you wish the Holy Spirit would engrave them on your mind; but it is so difficult to realize this. David seems to have foreboded some of this weakness when he said, "Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth." And by and by we see him well stricken in years; and then this

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Nor is it less a period of infirmity and dependance. We appeal to good old Barzillai, who was well stricken in age, for a proof of the assertion to which we have drawn your attention. It seems that this individual, during the time of David's depression, had conferred on him certain favors. The King on returning to his throne, was anxious to requite this kindness, and he said to Barzillai," Come thou with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. And Barzillai said unto the King, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the King unto Jerusalem? I am this day fourscore years old"-perhaps this is about the age of some of you-" and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat, or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden to my Lord the King?" We have another testimony, which is indeed a striking and an affecting picture of the period of nature's decrepitude, drawn by Solomon. Speaking of the young he says, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain; in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble" -perhaps alluding to the hands " and the strong men shall bow themselves"-perhaps alluding to the legs" and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened"-perhaps alluding to the organ of sight-" and the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; and 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 fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return to God who gave it."

But old age, while it is thus a season of weakness and infirmity, is equally a period of comparative bereavement. Many an aged person is reduced to a state of widowhood. Where are his early friends, the companions of his youth? They are gone, and he is left alone; he is now living amidst quite a new connection. And what renders the fact very painful is, that oftentimes old people are sadly treated by the young, by their own children. You allow them to want, or you allow them to exist on the scantiest pittance, when perhaps it is in your power to assist them, and make their grey hairs comfortable and peaceful. You allow them to be neglected, and to be oppressed. But fear not, my aged friends; if you are the people of God, travelling in the high road to glory, fear not: though your earthly friends, your brothers and sisters, your children or acquaintance, may forsake you, God is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. The promise in the text is to you :-" To your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you."

The promise specifying the term, "I will carry," as an eloquent writer has very prettily observed, conveys to the mind the representation of a journey. A family is travelling: in that family there is a babe; but it cannot go alone; it must be carried; and by whom? The father is described in the text, as being the stronger parent of the two. Or, perhaps, the mother is dead-she is left behinddied, perhaps, in giving birth to her child. The father, therefore, is to superintend; the father is to be the nurse: he takes the lamb, and clasps it to his bosom, for it is now rendered doubly dear because of the loss he has sustained. In this manner God is pleased to condescend to the weakness of our understanding: he familiarizes himself

God shall be the strength of your heart and your portion for ever. For thus saith the Lord, "Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season." You have seen with what joy the husbandman has brought home his successive shocks: he has smiled when he has looked upon them, and seen them all rich, and good, and well studded with large and abundant ears. Thus it is when the Christian is brought to his grave. There he is housed, as sheaves are placed in the granary, until the glorious morn of the resurrectionsown, indeed, a natural body, but to be raised a spiritual body-sown, indeed, in weakness, but to be raised in strength.

by the adoption of those terms we can best conceive. When old age comes down into the decrepitude we have spoken of, it is then, in fact second childhood; and as children you want to be carried, and particularly if you look upon the ruggedness of your path, when you remember what a journey that is which leads from time to eternity. But fear not; the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath you are the everlasting arms. You are weak, but his strength shall be made perfect in your weakness: "for as an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so the Lord will lead you." What said Jesus to the people of Jerusalem? "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, This promise extends one point furthou that killest the prophets, and ther-he will deliver from hell. You stonest them which are sent unto thee, sometimes have your fears, your mishow often would I have gathered thy givings, as to the reality of your relichildren together, even as a hen ga-gion-lest, after all the profession you thereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"

The promise, however, has another point in view-deliverance. The Lord will not only hear us, but " I will de- | liver" is his own language. The season of sickness is coming: you will not be left there. He conducts through fire and through water; but it is in order to lead you at last into a wealthy place; you are not to be consumed in the furnace. The season of trouble is coming; but his promise is, "I will bring a third part through the fire, and I will purify them even as silver is purified, and I will try them as gold is tried." Now, mark the complexion of that passage. He will not only bring you into the fire, into the trouble which he has allowed to assail you, (for he has a great end to accomplish by it-your present and future welfare) but he will bring you through, and will at last bring you out of it: and then he will put a new song into your mouth, even praise to his holy name; and will deliver you out of the temptation. How many errors there are to which we are exposed in passing through the stages of our pilgrimage below; but he is able to keep the feet of his saints, to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. And when the ravages of death shall come, he will deliver you; he will not leave you to die alone. When heart and flesh fail,

have made, you should fall a prey to the adversary in the wilderness. No, says Jehovah, My sheep shall never perish." He has too much regard for his old servants to turn them out of doors, as many an unfeeling master does; but when you can no longer serve him actively, by going about doing good, he will still bless you with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This is the reason why God has given that positive admonition to the young-Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God." "Hearken to thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old." "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." You will generally find that a curse rests on those families, and on those children, that have been disobedient to their aged relatives-that have left them neglected, forsaken, and forlorn. God will punish such.

You learn, then, from what we have now advanced, the happiness of being an aged disciple, of being a member of the Lord's family, a partaker of the divine nature. This prevents the difficulty of conversion in after life. We say difficulty: we admit that nothing is too hard for the Lord to perform: we occasionally see him renewing at mind at the eleventh hour, calling an individual to the knowledge of the

truth, when he has reached almost the | close of his pilgrimage. But yet, morally speaking, there is a great difficulty in the case-not with Him, but with us. How common is it then for the mind, through long familiarity with the truth, to become hardened, and neglectful of the word of God. Then old corruptions, old propensities, are like old trees-they have struck their roots so deeply, have expanded their fibres so widely, that nothing less than the hand of Omnipotence can possibly remove them. How desirable, then, my young friends, that you should be early devoted to the Lord.

you look back on the wilderness, on all the ruggedness of the way, upon its windings and turnings: and 'tis very pleasing to remember, from that height, all the way by which the Lord your God has led you: and it will ensure a peaceful dissolution; for they that live in the Lord will be sure to die in the Lord, and be for ever with him.

This subject teaches, finally, how very different are the character and the condition of the aged sinner. Look at that person-think of his past vices, unrepented of, unforgiven, unsubdued -his soul untaught his heart unsanctified. An aged sinner-hitherto a monument of wrath-hitherto an enemy to God by wicked works. How painful is the scene. Look into his heart, and there you see his lurking propensities still struggling, as when he was young, for gratification, but struggling comparatively in vain he cannot gratify them as he was wont to do; but yet the inclinations and the motives are just the same. And look at his appearance; see the furrows upon his countenance-they are the marks of old age, but blended with them you behold the aspect of sin. Here is an old servant of the world, an old servant of Satan: he has served divers lusts and pleasures: for three score years and ten he has been led captive by Satan at his will. And during that period how much that man has spent in profligacy and vice. How soothed his old age might have been, if he had treasured up that which he has squandered. "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?" Here is an example for the young, for the very little ones, whom he has taught, by his bad pattern and the language they have heard from his faultering lips, to take the

Old age, too, when found in the way of righteousness, commands respect. Young people, if rightly taught, look up to an aged father and mother in the gospel with affection. They know your position: you stand on the confines of glory. They know your experience how long it has been forming-how well your judgment must have been matured from what you have seen, and felt, and heard. It makes you useful. Have we not read of thebenefit which young Timothy derived from his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice? There is many a pious grandsire, and many a pious grandmother, who will be an eternal blessing to their rising offspring, by the holy example they have left behind them, by the in- | struction they were in the habit of imparting. This will enable us to explain that scripture which says, "They shall bring forth fruit in old age." My aged friends, you may yet be fruitful in the Lord's vineyard; you may be useful in the conversion of your grandchildren, when you are dead and gone; they may look into your bibles, and see the different memorandums you have left on its hallowed margins. Now, perhaps, they meet with a paper on which you have inserted the lead-name of God in vain, and to lisp their ing features of your Christian experience, or the emotions of your mind under this particular sermon, and that particular sermon. And though these may fail to impress those branches of your family that come immediately after you, they may be handed down We lament to say, this is but too to the next generation, and your grand-true a picture of thousands and tens of children may see, and fear, and be led to the Lord.

How much comfort and satisfaction will piety afford in old age. Now you stand on the top of the hill of life, and

blasphemies before they could hardly connect their sentences.-Look at his prospects. He must die as well as others: but where is his hope? He is unconscious of his danger, and of his doom.

thousands of aged individuals in the present day. My dear hearers, is this your case? Oh that we could alarm you to flee from the wrath to come. Oh that we could prevail upon you to strive

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DELIVERED BY THE REV. B. NOEL,

AT ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL, BEDFORD row, on SUNDAY EVENING, SEPT. 5, 1830.

Mark, ix. 23, 24.-" Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth: And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

THE Jewish parent brought to our Saviour his child who was possessed of a devil, desiring to have him relieved of that great unhappiness. It was not mere insanity to which this child was subject, but the real possession of a devil; because though what is said of his infirmity, namely, that he was sometimes falling on the ground, and wallowing foaming, might be the result of mere insanity; yet the language that is here used, both by our Saviour and the Evangelist, concerning this child, forbids us to believe that it was mere insanity. Our Savour, in effecting this cure, used these words, "Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee come out of him, and enter no more into him." And the Evangelist in recording the disease itself, says in the twenty-sixth verse, And the Spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him; and be was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.” And again in the twentieth verse, when he describes the unhappiness of the child, he says-" And when he saw Jesus, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming." So that this was a case of real possession, in which Satan was permitted thus to influence the unhappy child.

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In reading the cases of this kind mentioned in the Evangelists, the most cursory reader cannot fail to notice, that, frequently, there is a distinction drawn between cases of lunacy, and cases of possession-between those instances in which Satan was thus permitted to rule over the body and the mind, and those cases which might be

produced by natural disorders. These are instances which may show us how vast is the power of that evil spirit, who still roams untired through the world to do mischief-who is still besetting each one of us, and unquestionably has the power to prevail to the destruction of each one of us, were there not the restraining power of God. That he does not influence men so palpably as he did, ruling over body as well as mind, afflicting them with disease as well as sin, can only be ascribed to God's sovereign goodness; a blessing obtained, as many others which the ungrateful world has received, by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This child, however, the parent earnestly desired to have cured; and the disciples, not being able to relieve him, brought the child to Jesus; and it was on that occasion that our Saviour used the words in the first of the verses I have just read; "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." If the father could believe that Jesus Christ was able and willing to cure his child, the cure would be at once put into his power; his child would, in fact, be relieved. Upon this the father answered with tears, "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." He believed in the power of Jesus generally. There was no question as to other miracles of the same kind, which he had either seen or heard; but whether the Lord had power to cure his own child (for anxiety makes men sometimes doubt when otherwise they would believe) he had some misgivings at the moment; he felt a strong conviction that the cure

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