again And especially if they have had plenty and prosperity in the course of their lives their straits losses and troubles now aggravate their affliction Now to Mitigate these Pressures we must know 1. That these Crosses are common to all As they do not infallibly attend all Aged persons for many have fair weather all their journey long so they befall all mankind indifferently in every part of life If these be Miseries there 's no mortal man without his Misery We are in this World as Israel was in the Wilderness who had no day without a Cloud but then they had no night without a glympse of light Where dwells the man or of what Cloth is his coat made who hath not met with straits and with vexations that hath not buried many of his Relations and Friends so that we must quarrel with every age as well as Old-age yea with the Providence of God by this argument 2. These Crosses and Losses are absolutely Hurtful to none They are not properly and intirely Evils Criminal evils are real Evils poenal Evils are not so These fluunt a summo bono are inflicted by Him that is eminently Good ducunt ad summum bonum they guide and help us towards the greatest Good erant in summo Bono they were upon him who was intirely Good. Prosperity hath but Adversity hath never hurt a good man. Yea some of the Heathens have been bold to judge those men miserable that have never met with any troubles They are our Physick which may disturb us but Sin is our Poyson which will destroy us The bitterest Physick is better than the sweetest Poyson 3. They are Useful to those that are good Though they be briars thorns and thistles in themselves yet by the blessing of God they prove sweet-bryars and holy-thistles to holy men How many things do we count Evil that are most wholsom for us They Exercise our Faith our Wisdom our Patience and the tryal of these is more precious than of fine gold They teach us as was said of Diseases many lessons more effectually than the Word it self without them can do The Chyrurgeon and the Executioner do both bind men but to different Ends the one doth it to bereave of life the other to preserve it When the good man is bound in fetters and holden in cords of affliction Then the Lord sheweth them their work and their transgressions that they have exceeded He openeth also their ears to discipline Job 36. 8 9. 4. These Crosses and Afflictions are most fit for Old men They are or should be â—…ost strong to bear them they have 〈◊〉 a long Summer to lay up for a sharp Winter If they have not stored up a great deal of Faith and Patience they have slept in harvest They also have been trained and inur'd to them before this time of day by long experience They have received much good at the hands of the Lord and therefore may the better receive evil As Cato in Tully answers Caecilius who objected this against Old-age that living long a man sees many displeasing and uncomfortable events Yea said he and perhaps many comfortable things also But the true and only Remedy against this Inconvenience is Faith and Patience which the wise God hath largely prescribed in the 11th and 12th Chapters of the Hebrews By these a sound Christian shall not only bear these Onsets but overcome them and adorn the hoary head with trophies We cannot saith a Foreigner to Christianity change the course of things but we can take a good heart a masculine spirit to bear sad accidents with substantial courage and to be reconciled to Providence And presently again It is our best way to abide what we cannot amend and to attend God without murmuring from whom all ailments come for it is an ill Soldier that follows his Commander grumbling But we have a more sure word of prophecy Rom. 8. 28. All things mark it all things work together for good to them that love God that are called according to his purpose Which blessed word if it be understood believed and considered and our love to God and effectual calling evinced is alone able Gods spirit accompanying it to settle quiet and comfort our hearts under all troubles whatsoever Let it therefore be the chief care of all Aged Persons to make their calling and election sure to strengthen their Faith in God and by their hope to travel into the other World for then only will our afflictions feel light while we look not at things seen but at things unseen The thoughts of the grave will mortifie us to things seen and the thoughts of the Countrey beyond the grave will realize the unseen World and then our troubles will be easie and our crosses blessings The sight of the approaching shore will make an Aged Person bear the present storms with chearfulness knowing that he shall shortly be well either under Heaven or in Heaven None of these things move me neither count I my life dear unto my self so that I may finish my course with joy Act. 20. 24. SECT VII THE Seventh Inconvenience that is charged on Old-age is That it is attended with Contempt Old People commonly are despis'd especially when they are not supported with good Estates Most People avoid them and treat them as superfluous Creatures For the generality of men do value others not for their Wisdom or real Vertue but either for some likeness of disposition or some usefulness Now the Ancient are not by the disparity of their years so complaisant nor by their disability so helpful as heretofore and thereupon they are contemned by younger people Especially also when they are grown decrepit and confin'd to their chairs or chambers then are they an eye-sore to their successors who secretly wish them well in Heaven or any where out of their way upon Earth It is too evident how unpleasing their groans their coughing and their other weaknesses are They that can brook the peevishness and the uncleanliness of their Children cannot bear with it in their Parents All their former parts and pains are forgotten and they are beheld as last years Almanacks wholly out of date Now this is a sore Affliction and touches man or woman to the quick For such as have been regarded and reverenced to be neglected and despised grates even the most ingenuous spirits Iob 29. 30. Unto me men gave ear and waited and kept silence at my counsel but now they that are younger than I have me in derision they abhor me they flee from me c. Miserrimum est fuisse felicem The respects and honour that one hath formerly had makes his present contempt more intolerable Not but that a good man is satisfied with himself but he is aware that hereby he is rendred unuseful to others For when the Person is despised his Example nor his Counsel let them be never so profitable will be regardable or useful He passes for
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
That 's the happy man either young or old who is like Athanasius Magnes Adamas of a temper and converse to attract Love and Respect and yet of Principles and Resolutions to withstand in a good cause all opposition The weakness of your Limbs and Senses should be compensated with stability and strength in your Spirit The Aged mind alone grows young We faint not saith the Apostle but as the outward man perisheth so should your inward man be renewed day by day 2 Cor. 4. 16. For this purpose you should weigh and examine your Principles well Those of Religion by the Rule of the Scriptures those of humane Life in the scales of Reason and having once well fixt them alter them not upon every Suggestion The manifest cause of most mens Unstedfastness both in Iudgment and Practice is their rash embracing of those Points that should have been well weighed at the first for what they have swallowed down by Wholesale they will Vomit up again by Retail in time of tryal My Lord Verulam's observation is very true He that begins in doubts will end in certainties and he that begins in certainties will end in doubts Add to this a conscionable Practice of your sound and honest Principles This will acquaint you with that comfort and sweetness which will stablish your mind in them more and more A rotten Heart is apt to produce a giddy Head whereas righteousness both directs and keeps him that is upright in the way Prov. 11. 5. with chap. 13. 6. All the parts and learning in the World will not fix the Head and Heart like Sincerity It is good that the Heart be established with Grace Heb. 13. 9. Experience in Religion will make you stedfast in Religion And lastly Pray earnestly unto God to make you stedfast See how emphatically the Apostle Paul mentions this 2 Thes. 2. 17. Now our Lord Iesus Christ himself and God even our Father stablish you For we are weak Creatures yea Knowledge and Grace are but Creatures but earnest Prayer will ingage the help and support of Almighty God who can and will stablish strengthen settle you 1 Pet. 5. 10. SECT VI. THE Sixth Grace wherein Old-age doth or snould excell is Temperance and Sobriety That 's the Injunction of the Apostle Tit. 2. 2. That the Aged men be sober grave temperate By this Temperance I understand that Fruit of the Spirit which bridleth our inordinate affections in all outward mercies or more strictly which observes a right mean in desiring and using the Pleasures of the Senses and so in respect of Meat it is Abstinence in respect of Drinking Sobriety in respect of other carnal pleasures Chastity All these the Temperate man curbs by holy Reason and by holy Force Hereby he stiâ—…es the inordinate Desire and restrains the Use within its due bounds he mortifies the unlawful and moderates the lawful pleasures and recreations of the Body He neither absolutely refuseth them nor inordinately desireth or useth them Now this Grace is very proper tho not peculiar to Old-age They especially do or ought to excell herein There is indeed a Proverbial saying that Wine is the Milk of Old-men some intemperate men there may be of every age but God forbid that this Proverb should be adaequate to Old-age True it is that where there be the decays of Nature there is more need of reparation and that the most reviving means are expedient for that end Whereupon Plato permits ancient persons to drink more liberally to alleviate their troubles and to soften their Spirits as Iron is softned by the Fire But commonly the Aged are by Gods Grace weaned from the excesses of Youth The Lusts of the Flesh the Lust of the Eyes and the Pride of Life have too usually their distinct Seasons of rule or at least molestation in the Soul of man. And the First having had its course in the time of Youth its reign is expired and the Aged must now combate thâ—… other Two as well as he can The Decays of natural strength are great helps to the Old-mans Temperance he cannot if he would Eat and Drink and act his Lust as heretofore and altho this Inability doth not make him a Temperate man yet hereby the Discontinuance of the Acts weaken the Habit and his contentedness therewith and his hearty thankfulness for this reformation may be accounted real Temperance especially when he can reflect upon his former disorders with Grief Hatred and Shame Now they find by experience that a man may live more comfortably and healthfully with less Meat less Drink and less Sleep than young people indulge themselves withal and other carnal pleasures are indifferent to them because desire doth fail and it is much better and easier to want desires than to fulfill them as it is far better not to Itch than to have the pleasure of scratching where it itcheth But now the pious Old person hath really crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts His Sins did not leave him but he hath left them They have not heard and read the Scripture so long in vain which every where disgraceth and condemneth all excess and riot all Chambering and Wantonness and obligeth all Christians to deny themselves and to pluck out the right Eye that doth offend them They have found by experience that as true Vertue so true Satisfaction is only found in a Mediocrity and that all extremes and inordinacies are offensive both to the Mind and Body I said of Laughter it is mad and of Mirth what doth it Eccles. 2. 2. This was the Verdict which wise Solomon brought in his Old-age when he had not withheld his Heart from any joy c. yet then he concludes all was vanity and vexation of Spirit and there was no profit under the Sun Eccles. 2. 10. Besides they who have lived long have seen the woful Effects of Drunkenness Uncleanness and Luxury how many Bodies they have destroyed how many Estates and Families they have ruined and what small pity the miserable Spend-thrift meets with in those persons and places where he hath consumed his substance These and such like observations have contributed to the Aged mans Sobriety they have been Pillars of Salt to him So that any Licenciousness in a person of Years as it is most pernicious to him so it is intolerable to him It makes them the objects both of laughter scorn and detestation Every excess in them debilitates their Nature sullies their Reputation and shakes their Grace exceedingly When Old people fall they fall with a great weight and are crush'd more than younger people and perhaps they have more difficulty to rise again Far more excuses are found for the Lapses of young people than can be pretended by the Aged their faults are crimes and their crimes are prodigies As their Diseases so their Exorbitances are far more dangerous Let it therefore be your constant care to keep your selves within the bounds
will the keepers of the house tremble that is the arms and hands which defend the Body will by reason of their cold and dry temper shake and quiver And the strong men will bow themselves that is the thighs and leggs which have strongly born up the structure of the Body will be weak and need the support of a staff to assist them And the grinders will cease because they are few that is the Teeth which chew and grind our meat will break rot and fall out so that being reduced to a few they will be unable to do their office And those that look out of the windows will be darkened that is the Eye-sight will fail the Organs of the Eye through which as through a window the Soul looks out being dried up and weakned And the doors shall be shut in the streets that is the Lips and Mouth will be disabled from speaking or eating When the sound of the grinding is low that is Digestion which is furthered by chewing and perfected in Chylification Sanguification c. will be obstructed And he shall rise up at the voyce of the bird that is our Sleep will be so shallow that the least noise will awake us and so short that it will prevent the Cock-crowing And all the daughters of musick shall be brought low that is our Ears will grow dull so that as we cannot so we care not for the sweetest musick Also they shall be afraid of that which is high that is we shall by reason of weariness dizziness or short-windedness be afraid of mounting up to high places and attempting such high things as in youth we adventured upon And fears shall be in the way that is we shall be afraid of and in our Iourneying lest we dash our weak and weary foot against a stone And the almond-tree shall flourish that is our Head will grow hoary like the almond tree which soon ripens And the grashopper shall be a burden that is the least weight shall load our infirm Body yea we being then like enough to grashoppers will grow burdens to our selves and others And desire shall fail that is our Appetite to meat and our desire to Marriage-imbraces will be cooled and cease by degrees At length the silver cord will be loosed that is the Chine-bone with its marrow and the Nerves and Fibres thereunto belonging will be resolved and weakned And the golden bowl will be broken that is the vessel and membrane that contains the Brain which is aptly called golden both for its colour and value will at last be shattered And the pitcher will be broken at the fountain that is the Veins will cease from doing their office at the right Ventricle of the Heart which is the fountain of life and so our blood stagnating we are soon extinguished And the wheel will be broken at the cistern that is the great Artery which is knit to the left side of the Heart by which the Blood is derived into the parts ceases its action and the Pulse with it which are the immediate forerunners of Death And then the Dust returns to the Earth as it was and the spirit returns unto God who gave it Thus you see Mans Body like some curious Edifice first battered by various Storms at length the Roof and Walls decay and at last falls to the ground but our Blessed Redeemer hath provided for the Inhabitant an house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens SECT I. AND now let us more distinctly survey the Inconveniences of Old-age the chief whereof are these following First The Aged are Deprived of many Pleasures They cannot divert themselves by Hunting Hawking Fishing They can neither well ride abroad nor walk about home They have done with Visits and Feasts and Musick All the recreations of sense are generally tastless to them Yea they have scarce any pleasure in their meat and drink and sleep So that their Condition seems to be sad and lamentable And we have the substance of all this confessed by an Old man himself namely Barzillai 2 Sam. 19. 35. I am this day fourscore years old and can thy servant tast what I eat or what I drink can I hear any more the voyce of singing men and singing women q. d. These things will signifie nothing to me they have forsaken me and I value them as little Here you have the Verdict which Barzillai brings in the Case Yea instead of Pleasure a constant Sadness takes place in their Countenance without and as may be judged in their Hearts within Sobs and sighs are the accent of their language and their complaints are frequently mixt with tears Their Condition then must needs be miserable when they have such constant heaviness within and no recreation without to alleviate it Company burdens them and Solitariness saddens them Yea they are loth that any body should be merry about them So that they seem to lead a dolorous life and to be estranged from all manner of Pleasure Now Pleasure is the life of Life What is Life without Delight why do men toyl to get Estates but for the pleasure they take in them why do others hunt for Applause and climb for Honour but to please their fancy and their humour even the Schollar would take leave of his Books if he had not Delight in them So that Pleasure acts all mankind and rules the world Now those years are lamentable wherein a man shall say I have no pleasure in them And this makes some Old People weary of their lives they reckon that a Life stript of joy and comfort is not worth the keeping Nevertheless Old-age may support it self very well under this Inconvenience Inasmuch as the Pleasures they are deprived of are in themselves and to their experience dangerous Injoyments For nothing is more apt to disorder and fully the Soul than carnal Pleasure Those very Recreations which may be harmless in themselves yet too commonly lead to Intemperance to Lasciviousness to Quarrels and other mischiefs Now if a Dish be never so palatable yet if there be but danger of Poyson in it no wise man will meddle with it Therefore Tully brings in Cato congratulating with himself that he was delivered from the slavery of Pleasure and concludes that it is a singular Priviledge of Old-age that it frees us from that which is most pernicious in youth And whatever regard weak men may have to these Vanities the wisest among the very Heathens have concluded that there is no plague so deadly to man as the pleasures of the body And that comes to pass through the depravation of our Natures whereby we can hardly enjoy them but we run mad upon them we exceed the limits and miss the ends which should be observed in the using of them Wherefore Cicero tells of Sophocles who being askâ—…d whether he did still converse with Womankind answered The Gods have done better for me I have willingly left that furious Master Indeed the greatest
felicity in Heaven that no Sin lodgeth there and the Aged person is hastning thither and consequently strives to break this Yoke and fit himself for that Estate As the pleasures he hath had in these is gone so his desires after them are gone also He now finds that there is more Satisfaction in not desiring them than there is in enjoying of them and so is far from being grieved at his releasement from those Shackles He would not live over again his sinful life for all the world and he is concern'd not because they are past but because at any time they had dominion Yea he finds more real content in his Poenitential Tears than ever he had in his Youthful Frolicks with what contempt doth he behold the Debaucheries the Duels and the frothy Follies of the roaring Sparks which they triumph in as in an Heaven upon Earth But he hath fathom'd them and found them empty as vanity and filthy as the Mire He now believes what he had often heard that the pleasures of Sin are but like a golden dream which leave nothing but Pensiveness behind them till God upon his repentance restore unto him the joys of his Salvation Now the Varnish of his Sin is worn off he sees the filthy and ugly nature of it and wonders that any rational person should ever love it He is now frighted at the remembrance of those Pranks that he formerly committed without remorse and in short he is well pleased that he hath a weak body instead of his strong corruption and is ready with that excellent Philosopher to count his Old-age his flourishing age because he only finds his Vices and the fewel of them withered and that his mind began now to be freed from the Snares wherein it was held by the Body c. Let every Aged person labour to find these blessed Effects and so be content with the fall of that House which was continually haunted with such Furies But take heed of being only Passive in this parting these Fires should not only go out of themselves but should be quenched by true Mortification It is not sufficient that Sin be dead in you but you must be dead to it you must be Active in the Crucifixion of it or else the Corruption of one vice will be the Generation of another If ye through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the Body ye shall live Rom. 8. 13. SECT IV. THE Fourth Priviledge of Old-age is That it is Proner to Piety True and solid Piety is the Dominion of Gods Fear and Love in the Heart of Man and exerts its self in the constant Practice of all the Duties of Religion in a conscientious manner For in Religion there is a Body and a Soul. The Body of it consists in the Form of Godliness the Soul of it is that which animates all the outward Acts and is fitly called the Power of Godliness for that the Activity and force of any thing proceeds from the Soul or inward Principle Now the separating this form and power of Godliness like as that of the Soul and Body is the death of Godliness And therefore though we prefer the Soul or inside of Religion yet we divorce it not from the Body but do take Piety in it's just Latitude comprehending the Acts of Devotion from a right principle in a right manner and to a right end and expressing it self in a sober righteous and godly life And however the prophane Atheist may wickedly deride it on the one hand or the rotten Hypocrite falsly pretend it on the other yet there is a wonderful excellency in it and an absolute necessity of it even the Consciences of it's greatest Enemies first or last being Iudges To this serious Piety Old-age is more propense than any other age of man. Insomuch as we find divers in Scripture and other Stories bent for Heaven in their declining years who in the former parts of their lives minded nothing but the World and the Flesh. They whom no Perswasions no Ordinances no Afflictions could fully reduce to the obedience of Christ yet the lively sense and feeling of their own decay and of their approach to the eternal Judgment obligeth them to true repentance and to make their calling and election sure So that it hath pass'd for an Observation that they who are not fair at twenty strong at thirty wise at forty rich at fifty pious at sixty are never like to be fair or strong or wise or rich or religious When any man is warn'd out of the House he lives in laying aside all other unnecessary business he sets himself to provide another Habitation Now every decay of strength of sense every gray Hair or Wrinkle is a sensible warning out of the earthly House of his Tabernacle and he must be strangely stupid that buckles not in good earnest to provide for his Soul when not only it may suddenly but must shortly go either to Heaven or Hell. These kind of Sentiments caused that learned Grotius to profess when he approached Death that he would gladly exchange all his Learning and Honour for the plain integrity of one Iean Urick who was a devout poor man that spent eight hours of his time in Devotion eight in Labour and but eight in Sleep and all other Refreshments So also that great States-man S t Tho. Smith Secretary of State to Q. Elizabeth some time before he fell sick sent for Directions to two Bishops how he might live most piously and make his peace with God Besides all the unruly Passions being now cooled by time and years Reason obtains a fair hearing and the Spirit of God gets a compleat victory over the Heart that had resisted so long Even as a City which hath been long besieg'd and often summoned to surrender yet stands it out till provisions begin to fail and that the defender of it sees the Walls terribly shaken and then he finds it high time to capitulate and deliver it so Almighty God calls and cryes and knocks time after time at the sinners Heart but it is heedless of these calls it 's feasted and filled with the Vanities of this present life but when it finds all the Fabrick ready to fall upon it's Head and no provision made for a future and eternal State it is high time to be getting Oyl and laying up a good foundation for the time to come And for those who have been well disposed before yet Old-age is a great Incentive to greater holiness As a Man in sailing saith Mr. Bradford the nearer he comes to the Shore the nearer he would be so the nearer I am to God the nearer still I would be A person of years must needs have a more clear and comprehensive knowledge of the Doctrine and Duties of Christianity of the life of Faith of Mortification of the extent of the Divine Law of the Nature and Power of Godliness and having more leisure and being somewhat retired out of
what is your pillow or rather your heart made of that you can sleep so long in a state of Condemnation To be born in sin is sad but to live and dye in sin will prove a thousand times worse Remember that the destroying Angels began at the Ancient men before the house Ezek. 9. 6. It s true late Repentance is seldom true but yet true Repentance is never too late O then lay all business aside and set your selves about the New creature Now or never now and ever If you turn the deaf ear unto God now beware lest he deny you either the space or the grace to repent hereafter lest he answer you Ubi consumpsisti farinam c. where thou hast spent the flour of thy life there bestow the bran of it Take warning by that Penitent in story who had often determined to begin his Amendment from somâ—… eminent time as the First day of the year or his Birth day that so his Repentance might have some Remarkable date but when that Time came he was ready to adjourn it till another time Who thereupon concluded that he would make that present Day though it were obscure in the Calender yet memorable to his Soul by his turning through divine assistance unto God. Do you not perceive how you are in danger to be trapann'd by Satan who suggested to you in the time of youth that Repentance was then too early and who will now perswade it is grown too late ye have deâ—…err'd this work long enough already now you must use double diligence about it It is said of the Mulberry tree that it casts out its buds latest but then thrusts them all out in a night You are late in the Vineyard you must work the harder The whole business of your life hitherto stands for nothing if you be not new born you will cease to be in this world before you begin to live if your last change get the start of this first change you will curse the day of your birth to all eternity Now for your Direction in this great Work your present business is to get a Competence of Knowledge in the Doctrine of Religion and then searching your own Hearts to compare them with the holy Law of God. For example look your face in the glass of that hundred and nineteenth Psalm or of the Fifth Sixth and Seventh of Matthew and then through Gods help you will presently find the dissimilitude yea the contrariety between them And then fix your mind upon the Wrath of God hanging over all persons in your Condition and upon the sufficient satisfaction made by Iesus Christ for all that believe and repent and apply all this to your selves Frequent the serious Preaching of Gods word and begin to pray in good earnest Turn thou me and I shall be turned and be assured that Spirit which inclines you to the use of these means will breath life into your dead and dry bones and make you new Creatures And in case you find your selves at a loss in this affair repair to some Able and faithful Minister of Christ and be not afraid or asham'd to lay open your Condition and follow his guidance therein For if men are not content in case of an Infirmity of body to hear the Physick Lectures or to read books of Receits but will state their own case to the Physician himself and will do the like to the Lawyer in weighty cases concerning their Estates how much more need have you of a Godly Divine to direct and assist you in an affair wherein body and Soul are at stake and that for Eternity And so much for that First and fundamental Repentance so absolutely necessary for such Ancient people as have spent their lives in the service of the world and the flesh and were never truly converted unto God. But besides these Repentance in the renewed Acts thereof is a proper and necessary work for All Old people whatsoever You have lived a long time and through Omissions and Commissions have contracted abundance of guilt Trace your selves therefore from place to place from one period of your life to another and strictly reckon with your selves Study the Ten Commandments in their true extent they are called Ten words but they command ten thousand Duties and forbid ten thousand Sins many whereof you have ten thousand times failed in and in divers of them with great aggravations and then sit down and cry out O that my head were a fountain and mine Eyes rivers of tears to bewail these offences against a gracious God Upon this account did holy Augustine in his Old-age write his Confessions wherein he makes no difficulty to shame himself that he might give glory to God. And the Book of Ecclesiastes is judged to be the Poenitenials of King Solomon in his Old-age wherein he plainly confesseth his Vanity in seeking for Happiness in a vain and vexatious World and warns all young men to beware of such like folly Alas if you had fallen but seven times a day yet in seventy years those Sins would have amounted unto almost Two hundred thousand offences and can you reflect upon this without amazement nay it is a wonder that we do not as Nectarius his Accuser of old weep out our Eyes for very grief When the leaves are fallen from the trees as is aptly observed by One the birds nests are easily seen which were invisible before so when through Age our frothy vanities are wither'd we may palpably discover the sallies of Pride Wantonneâ—…s and Folly yea those nest of vermine and vipers which replenished our youthful dayes It was the sober Advice of that Statesman Sir Thomas Randolph in his Old-age after he had been eighteen times Embassador in forreign parts to Sir Thomas Walsingham Secretary of State It is now time sayes he for us to leave the tricks of State and to imploy our time before Death in Repentance for the Sins of our Lives And Blessed be God that hath appointed this Remedy and the Blood of Christ without which all our tears could not wash out one Sin that poor Sinners have this after-game of Recovery when they have been undone by Sin when we have eaten so much of the forbidden fruit in our youth we have need of this worm-wood in our Old-age Renew therefore daily the Acts of unfaigned Repentance and take account duly of your selves as some of the very Heathens have done sith you must give account to God very shortly and he that daily reckons with himself will have but one day to reckon for when he comes to dye But be sure you mistake not the Nature of Repentanee For it is not only a Trouble an Anger a Sorrow but it is made up of Grief and Hatred Grief for the Offence to God and Hatred of the Sins we grieve for So that Repentance is a turning to God from all sin with grief for it and hatred of it And the best Proof you can
have so often seen these Properties of his exemplified to others and to your selves so many wonders of Providence done in your remembrance that ye your selves must be the greatest wonder in case you do not believe and trust him When your Soul is cast down you may do as David did remember God from the Land of Iordan and of the Hermonites from the Hill Mizar that is you may review the help and comfort which you have had in this and the other place of your Pilgrimage and so hope still in God that the Help of his Countenance will be the Health of yours Psal. 42. 5 6 11. Learn therefore this life of Faith and endeavour as you grow weaker in body to grow stronger in Faith. 1. For Temporal mercies You may be tempted to fear want in your Old-age here 's now occasion for Faith whereby you are firmly to believe either that you shall want nothing or else no good thing Psal. 34. 9 10. That the Lord will either supply your wants or inrich you by your wants It was a memorable saying of an Ancient pious Woman I have made many a meal upon the Promises when I have wanted bread And Christ hath said it that Man lives not by bread only but by every word that cometh out of the mouth of God Matth. 4. 4. So that a child of God shall never want a livelihood so long as there is a Promise in the Book of God. But then he had need of Faith and the stronger the faith the chearfuller life he lives For as by it he injoyes God in all things in case of plenty so by it he injoyes all things in God in case of want 2. For Spiritual blessings it concerns you to live by Faith to wit for Pardon Grace and Comfort You have bin long conversant with the Promises of God for these mercies and have had often Experiences of the Grace and Mercy of God unto you and so may conclude with the Psalmist The Lord hath bin mindful of us be will bless us Psal. 115. 12. He that forgave you ten thousand talents upon your first Repentance will readily forgive an hundred pence upon your second And he that gave you good Desires when you were not worth a good thought will surely give you your Desires of more grace when your hearts are now fully set upon it And he that spoke Peace to your Consciences when you were younger will restore unto you the joy of his Salvation as soon and as far as is good for you now you are older though at present you walk in darkness and see no light For an old servant he never utterly casts off Cast not you away therefore your confidence which hath great recompence of reward the dimmer the eye of your sense grows the clearer let the eye of your Faith become by which you may see as Moses did on mount Pisgah into the promised Land and may Comfort your hearts with the foretasts of Glory By this Faith it was that Isaac when he was blind through Age blessed Iacob and Esau concerning things to come By this Faith Iacob when he was dying for Age blessed both the Sons of Ioseph and worshipped leaning upon the top of his Staff Heb. 11. 20 21. In short nothing is more needful for the Old person whose limbs are weak eye-sight weak memory all weak than a strong and lively Faith. And this you must labour for by earnest and frequent Prayer for every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh sindeth Cry out therefore with the Apostles Luk. 17. 5. Lord increase our faith and when you find it waver then cry again with the man Mark 9. 24. Lord I believe help mine unbelief Wee 'l relieve a poor Old man when we pass by the younger and he that hath planted that Compassion in us hath much more in himself And then consider often of the Truth and Faithfulness of God whose Word is as sure as Deed. For all his promises are Yea and Amen in Christ. Which Promises you ought to store up and study instead of counting over your Coyn or surveying your Bonds review the rich and precious promises of God and clear your Interest in them and they will beget new blood and spirits in your Souls so that your youth will be renewed as the Eagles And as long as ye are able attend upon the Preaching of Gods Word for as Faith comes so it comes on by hearing The same Texts the same Truths the same Promises which you have often read and heard will still afford new strength to your Faith and Hope as long as you live SECT III. THE Third Grace proper for Old-age is Wisdom which we take here in the largest and yet truest sence not once regarding that meer worldly wisdom which is not only earthly and selfish but wicked and devilish that is only skill'd in getting an Estate by hook or crook and in keeping it without respect to God or our Neighbour No this cannot in any tolerable sence be called Wisdom It 's absolute folly to lose yea to venture a Soul for what may be utterly lost to morrow But I speak here of true Wisdom in its latitude teaching men to live safely and comfortably here and happily hereafter as it fixes upon a right End and chuses and uses the proper Means to attain it This Grace directs a man to make choice of God for his Happiness and then diligently to apply himself to know love serve and enjoy him This also guides him in all his imployments in this world to attempt nothing but what is possible honest and useful to chuse the fittest means for the attainment of his just ends to place his words and actions in their proper circumstances not alwayes to take the next but the safest way to his desires and in short to order his affairs with discretion And this is the crown of Old-age Every Aged person is or should be truely wise multitude of years should teach wisdom Iob 32. 7. The crown of youth is their strength but the glory of Old-age is their wisdom And wisdom is better than strength Eccl. 9. 16. VVisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men in a city Eccl. 7. 19. By this the Aged are better inabled to discharge their duties to Husbands Wives Children Servants and Neighbours than ordinarily younger people are to dispose Spiritual and Secular duties in their right places to temper and guide that zeal and affection which without it is foolish and dangerous The Rashness of young Counsels is evident in the case of Rehoboam 1 King. 12. who following the heady and fierce advice of his Young Courtiers lost ten Tribes in one day which the sage Counsel of his Old Counsellours had certainly preserved And it is known how often the Common-wealths of Athens and Rome were indangered by the folly and rashness of young heads had they not bin ballasted by the Sober and wary Interposition of graver persons Younger people