Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n
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A61390
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A discourse concerning old-age tending to the instruction, caution and comfort of aged persons / by Richard Steele ...
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Steele, Richard, 1629-1692.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing S5386; ESTC R34600
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148,176
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338
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God how can he imbrace Iesus Christ aright except he know him or build for Heaven without a Foundation Now the Aged person hath lived long hath conversed both with Men and Books hath the Rust of natural Ignorance well scour'd off and if he have not more Riches than others yet surely he hath more Knowledge especially if he hath put on the New Man which is renewed in knowledge after the Image of him that created him Colos. 3. 10. And therefore tho it be a Brutish thing in any body to be ignorant in those things that concern their Happiness yet it is intolerably absurd for one that is Old in Years to be a Child in understanding to be like the Old man which Mr. Pemble tells of who tho by a probable computation he had heard two or three thousand Sermons being above sixty years old yet being examined by a Minister on his Death-bed concerning his Knowledge of God he thought he was a good Old man concerning Christ that he was a towardly young Youth concerning his Soul that it was a great Bone in his Body and concerning his future Estate he said if he had done well he should be put into a pleasant green Meadow what a woful thing is this that a constant Hearer and seeming Lover of the Word of God as this man was should live and dye in such gross Ignorance No Trade how difficult soever but seven or eight years will teach it what a shameful thing then is it to be sent into the world purposely to learn to be a true Christian and after fifty or sixty years to remain ignorant in the mysteries of it To be ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth 2 Tim. 3. 7. On the other side Iosephus tells us speaking of the Iews Every one of our Nation being demanded of our Laws can answer as readily as tell his own Name learning it as soon as we come to the use of Reason it is imprinted in our minds Certainly an ignorant Old person is the shame of Christianity yea of Humanity it self Let it therefore be your Study that are ripe in years to be ripe in Iudgment to be well-grounded in the Knowledge of God and Godliness whilest others are heaping up Riches do you treasure up Knowledge The Knowledge of Natural things as also of Civil affairs will adorn you the least dram of this is more excellent than many Talents of Gold but the least grain of Spiritual and divine Knowledge is more valuable than all the Natural and Civil knowledge under Heaven Hence it is reported of Albertus Magnus that before his Death he prayed that he might obtain the oblivion of all former vain knowledge which might hinder his happiness in the knowledge of Christ. Hear also the Apostle Yea doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the Knowledge of Christ Iesus my Lord Philip. 3. 8. Be not discouraged with the seeming impossibility of attaining a sufficient measure hereof He that taught Old Nicodemus will teach you Industry and Resolution will facilitate your atchievement You must be convinced that Ignorance will never excuse those that have the means of Knowledge that tho God doth nor require the same degree of knowledge from all Christians but doth allow for mens Education Parts and Imployments yet he doth indispensably require so much as is necessary to the forming of the new Creature to the necessary Doctrines and Duties of Christian Religion that neither the spiritually dumb nor the blind can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Awake therefore ye that sleep out of your stupid negligence and Christ will give you light Redeem some time daily for Reading Meditation and Prayer If thou cryest after Knowledge and liftest up thy Voice for understanding If thou seekest her as Silver and searchest for her as for hidden treasure Then thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God Prov. 2. 3 4 5. Especially improve the Lords-day to this end There are variety of Books which handle the Grounds of Religion some more briefly some more largely Take not upon trust the Doctrines of your Salvation but endeavour to be able to give a reason of the hope that is in you You should be able to instruct others for shame be not you Children in Knowledge your selves And ye that are competently knowing should thirst for more and grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ 2 Pet. 3. 18. This is the fittest Covetousness for an Old Man or Woman this will make you like unto God honoured of wise men and useful to all men SECT II. THE Second Grace proper for Old-age is Faith whereby the Soul doth embrace Iesus Christ as Mediator and also rely upon the Promises of God for all good things needful Now altho this Grace be needful for every Christian insomuch as he is said to live by Faith a life unknown to all unregenerate men yet it is or should be the particular Jewel of Old-age For as Gods Word and Ordinances are the usual means to work Faith and herein young and old stand upon the same level they have equal capacity for the attaining of it so still further Grounds and longer experience are proper helps for the strengthning and encreasing thereof So that as Reason is much improved by Learning so is Faith by use and experience hereby Recumbence is advanced into Plerophory Thus Abraham is represented Rom. 4. 19 20. Not weak in Faith when he was an hundred years old and so staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief Tho his years rendred the Promise very unlikely yet those years had taught him that the performance would be certain and so being strong in Faith he gave Glory to God. As they have heard so have they seen it in the City of God and what they have often seen they may well believe They have seen the wicked in great power flourishing like a green Bay-tree and yet suddenly they have passed away and therefore they are not so startled at the prosperity of ungodly men as younger people may be They have also seen the righteousness of the upright brought forth as the light and so are hir'd to believe that it shall be well with the righteous and it shall go ill with the wicked at length They themselves have been in outward straits and dangers and then wonderfully preserved and provided for and doth not this strengthen their Faith And then in case of spiritual wants and troubles when their Spirit is overwhelmed the Old-man can say with Asaph Psal. 77. 5. I have considered the days of old the years of ancient times and so prop up their Spirits in their greatest dejections If you that are Old want Faith it is an arrant shame for you For you have been so often told and assured of the Veracity the Power and the Goodness of God and then you
VVeeds Being conversant most at home in their own Souls they have in their long experience discovered so much Vanity and Iniquity there that they are are very charitable Iudges of all other persons They grow like the famous Pliny who so past by others offences as if himself had been the greatest offender and yet was so severe to himself as if he would pardon no body their Charity covers a multitude of Sins In short their Age and Afflictions have so happily humbled them that they are ready to esteem every one better than themselves and so they are far from that uncharitable Censoriousness which tears mens Names in pieces and keeps up a continual civil War among mankind And then for other Acts of Charity who should be more ready to Give a part than they that know they must shortly leave the whole who should be good in his Stewardship but he that is sure he must shortly be out of it But the noblest Charity is that which respects the Soul which consists in Counselling Perswading Reproving and Praying for Others And Old-age is evidently qualified for these above the young Their Wisdom and Authority gives them a great advantage herein and they have found by experience that sometimes a word of good Counsel and charitable Reproof fitly spoken hath been like Apples of Gold. And then for Prayer it is observed that the Charity of young persons therein doth begin and end at themselves whereas the Prayers of the Aged are much imployed for the good of others Few Children pray for their Parents as the Parents pray for their Children Yea they have learned to love and pray for their Enemies as well as for their Friends and for the ungodly as well as for the godly And the poorest Old Man or Woman may be rich in these acts of Charity Therefore as ye abound in every thing in faith in utterance and knowledge see that ye abound in this Grace of Charity also It is the Apostles Exhortation 2 Cor. 8. 7. We use to say that in Winter the natural heat retreats inward and there resides about the vital parts ye that are in the winter quarter of your life let this warm Grace dwell richly in your Hearts and then it will influence all your words and actions It is the Image of God for God is Love it is the fulfilling of the Law and it is the great command of the Gospel and tho you have Knowledge Faith Wisdom Riches c. yet if you have not Charity you are nothing You are going out of the World now is your time to exercise this Grace In the World where you are going there will be no infirmities to cover no poor to relieve no injuries to forgive no ignorant persons to instruct no miserable Creature to pray for and you have but a short time for these imployments Yea perhaps you are reprieved all this while for these Services and to be useful in these and such like ways is the greatest happiness on Earth it is the next step to eternal Glory Yea nothing should hire an Old person or make him content to live out of Heaven with such a Body of Sin about him but only that they may do God and Man that service which cannot be done in Heaven And for the obtaining this sweet Grace the Scripture tells us that it is a Fruit of the Spirit Gal. 5. 22. and there it is ranked in the first place It must be sought then in the Word of God which is the vehicle of the Spirit where it being carefully read and heard we shall find an account of the infinite love of God to us and of the stupendous love of Christ. There we shall discern how nearly we are related to all men especially to all Christians and how unnatural it is for one hand to be unkind to the other And in short we shall there find that Love and Charity is still the Character of good men and hatred and uncharitableness of the bad And you must beg this Grace of God that the Spirit of Love would plant this Grace of Love in your Hearts You will feel your hearts warming as you are praying and the Lord will fill you with this Charity which is the bond of perfectness And so I have done with the Vertues and Excellencies of Old-age Whereby you may perceive that all Old things are not to be cast away But as Old Wood is best to burn Old Wine best to drink Old Authors best to read and Old Friends best to trust so Old People if they have improved their Time aright are good for something yea are eminently good for their Knowledge for their Faith for their Wisdom for their Patience for their Stedfastness for their Temperance and for their Charity And so much for the Fourth Point concerning Old-age viz. The Graces most proper for it CHAP. V. The Inconveniences of Old-age I Am come now in the Fifth place to examine the Inconveniences and Disadvantages of Old-age adding withall somewhat towards the Mitigation thereof as I pass along Some here set themselves with immoderate vehemence to cry down Old-age and to load it with such intolerable Miseries as might affright one And to this purpose they muster all the Evils which are either the effect of mens Vices or other separable Accidents of their Age and put all these upon its score to inflame the reckoning Insomuch that some of the Old Philosophers took upon them to quarrel with Providence for giving man Life and thereby involving him in a continual state of misery And all this partly out of their Ignorance of mans Primitive happiness and woful fall and partly out of their dim-sightedness about his endless felicity about all which material points they lived in great uncertainty Others on the Contrary have been ready so to mince the matter as if there were nothing in Old-age but what is desirable guilding its hairs and smoothing all its wrinkles as if the Spiritual advantage did annihilate the corporal burdens The truth dwells as I conceive between these extremes And it must be granted that as the dreggs of the purest Wines are left in the bottom so Old-age hath many Inconveniences peculiar to it for which cause those dayes are called Evil dayes wherein the man hath no pleasure or with which he is greatly displeased Eccles. 12. 1. But yet the same Old-age hath divers Priviledges to ballance them and their pressures are not properly Miseries because there is abundance of Comfort and Benefit which mitigate them We have an Elegant Description of many of them in that Twelfth Chapter of Ecclesiastes vers 2 3 c. Then the Sun and the Light and the Moon and the Stars will be darkned that is all Outward Comfort or Prosperity whether by Day or by Night will be eclypsed and withdrawn from us And the clouds will return after the rain that is one bodily Distemper and outward Trouble will successively follow another Then