but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord, and that sacrifice he had never regretted. There is increasing pleasure in the study of the things of God, in labouring to apprehend the height and the depth, the breadth and the length of the love of Christ. This is an object which will engage the attention of the wisest and the best of men throughout all the generations of time, and throughout all the ages of eternity. In this subject there is every thing to allure the contemplation and to charm the heart.

In old age the faculties decline, and the study of other subjects is felt irksome; but the great salvation can brighten the failing eye and raise the sinking heart. Mnason still waited at wisdom's gates,—still lifted up his voice to God for understanding,-still had his delight in the law of the Lord, and meditated in it day and night.

It is a very striking fact, that pride of understanding is the common fault of youth; but very rarely is it to be met with in age. The young, whose views are limited, imagine they know every thing; but the aged, "who have followed on to know the Lord," feel that their acquaintance with the character, works, and ways of God, is very superficial and very partial. Their daily prayers are for the spirit of wisdom, and they cannot walk through the vale of years but in the light of the Lord.

3. In Mnason we see one who has been long distinguished by the graces of the Christian character, and who still exercises them. The semblance of those graces is exhibited by many for a little, and there

are various circumstances which lead to this. It may arise from the impulse of strong conviction, from a wish to acquire reputation and influence with a certain class in society, or from some striking display of their beauty and power. It is soon laid aside where it does not originate in the renewing of the Holy Ghost; but where it does, the path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more to the perfect day. Thus it was in Mnason.

But what are the peculiar characters of a disciple? Attachment to all Christian ordinances, self-denial, humility, and charity. Attachment to Christian ordinances marks them; and this was peculiarly the badge of disciples in that early period, when there was so little to allure the hypocritical within the pale of the church; self-denial, for our Lord makes this his first requirement: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself;" humility, for this was his first beatitude, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ;"* and charity, for he saith, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."+ Among Jews, the prevailing temper was bigotry; and among the heathens, national antipathies were general and powerful; but among Christians, love was to be the cement of their union, the beauty of their character, and the glory of their creed. Long had Mnason worshipped God according to the simple rites of the New Testament, and still he encompassed his altars. Long had he denied himself, and he did not deem

• Matt. v. 3.

John xiii. 35.

the infirmities of age any excuse for self-indulgence. Long had he been clothed with humility, and he felt it the best attire for age; and long had he walked in love, and still he exercised its spirit, and obeyed its dictates.

4. In Mnason we behold an old man still actuated by public spirit, and still eager to show kindness and hospitality. The old are ready to imagine that they are entitled to be exempted from all public cares, and to consider the receiving and entertaining of strangers as a service which should not be required from them. They have given a surly repulse to a proposal of this kind; and when their answer is more soft, they will state the impossibility of their paying the attentions which may be necessary, and the uneasiness to which guests would be subjected by arrangements in their dwellings required by their frailties. How different was the case with Mnason! His kind and courteous temper and habits must have been well known to the members of the church, or they would not have brought Paul to his house; and, eager as they were that he should be properly accommodated, they could think of no place so suitable as his comfortable dwelling.

What a beautiful sight is it to mark the courtesies of the aged, and to find persons at that period mild, frank, and obliging, whom we dreaded to see cold, peevish, and austere ; to behold the heart flowing in compassion, not frozen in selfishness; the smile of cheerfulness on the faded countenance, and the offices of hospitality felt as a pleasure amidst their many infirmities! How beautiful is it to see the aged giv

ing commandment to their young descendants to minister to the comfort of visitors, and to perform for them services which they cannot accomplish! Often has a solicitude for the accommodation of a pastor been expressed by aged Christians on the bed of languishing, and they have shown amidst their many infirmities an affectionate interest in the comforts of his lot and the success of his ministry.

There was a circumstance which peculiarly indicates the excellent spirit of this old man. The Apostle Paul, from his known zeal and active exertions in behalf of the Gospel, was most obnoxious to his bigoted countrymen; and from the boldness of his temper, and the ardour of his mind, it was not to be supposed that he would remain in quietness and inactivity in Jerusalem. To have such a man for his guest, Mnason knew would bring upon him the dislike and the hatred of many; and if any violence was done to Paul, all that showed him countenance were likely to share in it: yet with such perils before him, which no prudent man could avoid foreseeing, or permit himself to despise, he welcomed the man of God to his house, and was willing to share with him in all that might befall him. conduct the Apostle would value as it deserved. We know how affectionately he remembered such generous hosts in his prayers, and the mercy he sought for Onesiphorus, who often refreshed him, and was not ashamed of his chain, we may believe was sought for Mnason and for all his house.

Such

II. Let us now, in the second place, point out 8

"

those objects of peculiar interest which are to be seen in an old disciple.

1. We see in him a striking proof of God's gracious care. When we think on the feebleness of gracious principles, the unfavourable circumstances in which they are placed, both in the heart and in the world, on the enemies who seek their destruction, on the various methods which they employ for this purpose, on their power, craft, and malice, which make them so formidable, a power for which human energy is no match, a craft which laughs human foresight and vigilance to scorn, and a malice which nought can satiate, we see that the preservation of such principles in such a condition must be the result of a supernatural care. How affecting is the memorial of age, and how much does it imply that is honourable to the divine patience and bounty!" Hitherto hath the Lord helped." The frail bark which has accomplished a long and perilous voyage, and which is stored with the most valuable commodities of the different ports at which it has touched, which has weathered many a storm, and which is now drawing near its harbour, we mark with deep interest. Such is the old disciple. And we trust that when the days are short and gloomy, and the noise of the breakers heard from afar, indicates that the ship is approaching a coast where landing is difficult through the swell of the ocean, or the rockiness of the bottom, the pilot who hath guided her so far will not abandon her now, but will secure to her an abundant entrance into Emmanuel's haven. “ Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you, will