little refreshments and comforts which, in more active days, were not so necessary. Under such privations, how happy must be the good old man, who, by faith and love, can live upon his God and Saviour. Well may such an one say, I have meat to eat which the world knows not of; my meat is to do the will of my Father who is in heaven. Paul said, I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be consent. And however difficult this lesson may be to learn in the frost and snow of poverty, the same divine Teacher can so instruct the mind, and enrich the poor old man's heart, as to produce a serenity which few even of the pious rich may be said to enjoy, while, at the same time, he can look forward to the bliss of eternity, where he shall hunger and thirst no more.

X. After all that can be said of the uncomfortable and stormy state of winter, as descriptive of the last stage of this mortal life, we may certainly add, that it is a time of expectation. Were we not to anticipate a returning spring, which keeps alive the depressed mind and feelings, winter would be little better than one continued scene of sorrow. O how pitiable is that old man's case, that endures the inconvenience, the pains, and the miseries attendant on this wintry period, without hope in a Saviour, or a sincere concern for a future state of happiness beyond the grave! Not so the pious old Christian. Though himself a sinner, deserving an exclusion from the bliss of heaven, and meriting only the shades of misery, yet by the faith which the Lord

hath given him, he rests alone upon the blood and righteousness of Jesus the Son of God, as the only foundation of his salvation, from whom he draws the consolations of peace and hope, smiling upon death as his friend to open the consecrated passage to immortality and glory. Therefore this aged servant of the Lord can say with David, My soul, wait thou only upon God: for my expectation is from him. Psalm lxii. 5. On the truth and promises of God, we may rest our future blessedness with certainty, as the winter shall be succeeded by the beauties of the spring. Most assuredly the compassionate Saviour will bear his aged servants through their wintry storms. When their body shall go down to the grave, it shall rest in hope, and the soul shall wing its way to the bosom of its God. On the morning of the resurrection, their vile bodies shall be raised like unto the glorious body of their Saviour. Soul and body will then be re-united, and both be received into inconceivable bliss! The mysteries of Providence will then be unfolded, while the riches of grace will appear in their fullest lustre. These dwell in the society of the just, made perfect in peace, holiness, and love, all uniting in harmonious praises to God and the Lamb for ever. Delightful prospects! charming excitements these to an aged Christian to enable him to endure his last conflicts, and, as he journeys, to hail the time when he shall exchange his winter for an eternal spring.

END OF THE ESSAYS.

SIX

SHORT SERMONS

ADAPTED

TO THE AGED.

SERMON 1.

Christ the Bearer of his People

ISAIAH xlvi. 4.

Το your 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.

It is an indisputable fact, that mankind are so absorbed in sin and in affliction, that unless some one competent to the task bear them up, in this life, and deliver them from the wrath to come, they must inevitably perish. Such an interposing, all-sufficient friend, nature nor reason could possibly produce. But the Bible points us to Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, as the BEARER of the PERSONS, the NAMES, the GUILT, and the INFIRMITIES of his people. By so doing, he takes them up, carries them through life, and lands them safely in everlasting bliss. I will, therefore, in this discourse assist you to contemplate Jesus as the BEARER of our souls, with all their important concerns. And I sincerely wish it may be a mean to establish your faith, and raise your hope of immortality.