and from the temptation which you fear will drive you to make shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience. He will deliver you from the fears which harass you-from the doubts which perplex you— from the despondence which deepens the gloom of the evening of life-from the solicitude which torments you from the carnality and worldly-mindedness which impede you so much in duty, and fill you with so much shame and grief after it-and from the society which you feel such a restraint and burden upon you. "I sought the Lord," says the Psalmist, "and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."* saith Paul," We had the sentence of death in our selves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust that he will yet deliver."+

And

Ye aged saints, who are groaning under affliction, lift up your head from the staff where it leans, from the pillow where it rests, and view your redemption drawing nigh. Say not, "What is to become of me in old age? What though God do all that you have said to me, if he leaves me then, my grey hairs may be left without a shelter, and my failing heart without a hope." This God is your God for ever and ever. He will be your guide even unto death; and he who is with you to old age will be with you to eternity. The deliverances which you have already obtained

are pledges of that complete salvation which awaits you at death-a salvation that shall leave no stain on your robes, and no corruption in your heart-no tear in the eye, and no evil in the lot; nay, it is a salvation which shall render your robes all white, and your hearts all holy, your countenances all bright, and your lot all blissful. It is a salvation which

shall give you everlasting strength for decay, the perfection of beauty for wrinkles, perpetual service for inactivity, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

Human life is like a hill. Its sunny side we climb in childhood and youth; in middle life we loiter a while on its summit; in old age we descend its dark side, and at its foot lies the valley of the shadow of death. The staff which supported your decrepitude shall help you in your dying agony; the rod which drove enemies from your course shall terrify them from your pillow; yea, the Comforter of your age shall take you to himself, that in him you may find the bliss of eternity.

II. Let us now consider the grounds of confidence in these promises which the text presents, that God will do all this to his aged people.

1. God hath made. His creating goodness is frequently employed in Scripture as an encouragement to hope in his protecting care. "But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with

thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."* It is on this account that he, in wonderful patience, protects and supports the aged sinner who has lived for scores of years without God in the world. This he doth because he hath a respect to the work of his hands; and shall he neglect and abandon his aged saints, whom his hand not only formed, but the blood of his Son hath redeemed? In your failing flesh, and in your mind, though its faculties are decaying, he beholds the purchase of his Son, and that must produce a peculiar interest in you.

Besides, you are his workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works. To point out the total change effected in conversion, and that this is the sole result of Divine agency, we are told, that "if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away, and all things are become new." The principles of grace are not formed in perfection as were the works of nature; but they are not on that account to be viewed as less valued by him, and less the object of his care; nay, they are more so, from their moral nature and heavenly destiny. He cannot disregard the temple where his Spirit dwells, nor give up to unpitied sorrow the children of his special love. The withering plant, which in its opening blossom was the object of anxious nurture, and in its full beauty of the most vigilant care, is, in the season of decay, suffered to waste away un

*Isaiah xliii. 1, 2.

+ 2 Cor. v. 17.

heeded; but Jesus sees in the plant of grace beauties as interesting in the autumn as in the spring of life; yea, though it may want the gay blossoms which youth gave, it hath fruits in maturity which it could not then have, even the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. The parental relation is frequently employed in Scripture to hold forth the connexion which God hath with his people; and most beautifully does it represent that assimilation to him in love and purity by which they are characterized, that tender sympathy with which he regards their feeble and helpless state, and that unwearied care with which he ministers to them. Thus, in melting tenderness, he saith, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."*

2. The character of him who makes the promise confirms it. What is the reason why the word "I" is five times repeated in this verse? It is to point out the pleasure God takes in making promises of mercy to his aged people, and to fix their view on the Author of it, that they may confide more fully in its accomplishment. Who says this ?-I the Almighty; and he who upholds all things by the word of his power cannot want ability to strengthen the weak hands and to confirm the feeble knees. It is the God who delights in mercy; and the consolation and sup

* Isaiah xlix. 15, 16.

port of the aged in their sorrow must be an act in which he will take pleasure. It is the faithful God, who is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent. It is the omniscient God, who knows the many infirmities of age, tells all its wanderings, and puts its tears into his bottle. It is the omnipresent God, whose eyes run to and fro throughout the earth, to show himself strong in behalf of them that fear him. He can visit with his salvation the neglected corner where you sit, and while you move along with slowness and with difficulty, and the impatience of youth murmurs that it must wait for you, you can say, 66 Nevertheless, I am continually with thee; thou hast holden me by my right hand.” It is the unchangeable God, with whom, amidst all the changes you lament, and all the decays you feel, there is no variableness nor shadow of turning. How beautifully does Jeremiah sooth his grief by the remembrance of this immutable goodness in a scene of desolation which left all but piety without hope!" It is of the Lord's mercies. that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not."* It is the holy God who intends to advance your sanctification by the infirmities of age, and who will make the moment when death consigns you to corruption the period when your souls shall be satisfied with his likeness.

The greatest promises, if made by those destitute of power to fulfil them, excite contempt; or, if made by persons whose integrity is questionable, they are thought of with the torturing anxieties of suspicion,

* Lam. iii. 22.