for us all. But more than this, He has special grace for each according to his needs; wisdom, and strength, and holy purposes for the young; peace and comfort, support, fulness of love, and perfection of hope for the aged. He is like the sun, which is one in its glory and beauty-perfect light; and the Church is like the rainbow, beautiful in the blending of many colours; and yet receiving all its beauty from the one sun. Or again, as the sun gives light, and heat, and beauty, to leaf, and flower, and fruit, and brings out the brilliant whiteness of one flower, and the deep purple of another, and the bright scarlet of another, and the tender blue of another-so also is Christ in the Church. Various as the colour, and odour, and sweetness of flowers are, so are the characters of Christians. Some are remarkable for courage, and some for gentleness, and some for patience, and some for humility, and some for hope, and some for wisdom, and some for simplicity, and some for severity, and some for ardour of love, and some for quiet contentment; but all these receive their grace, and their loveliness, from Christ Jesus; and all blend harmoniously in the Church, and soften and tinge one another, as the melting hues of the rainbow. "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His Name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known

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Him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one."3 He who came down to give life unto the world has a portion of meat for each in due season; milk for the infants, strong meat for those who are of full age, and restoratives and cordials for the old and feeble.

....

Accordingly, in the text we have suitable promises for the aged Christian; "Even to your old age I am He, and even to hoar hairs I will carry you; I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you." Observe how exactly suitable the promise is for each. For the young the germ of life, and the principle of growth, "I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring. And they shall spring up. as willows by the water-courses;" but for the aged, support and deliverance. "I will bear, . . . . . I will carry, and will deliver." And this, I say, is suitable to their several conditions. The young have still their race to run, their battle to fight, their work to do, their fruit to bear. Therefore they need the vigour of life, and the power of growth, and increase of strength, for the contest. "I write unto you, young men, because ye are strong." But the aged Christian may say with St. Paul, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." Their trial is well nigh over. Their race is run. They are look

31 St. John, ii. 12–14.

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2 Tim. iv. 6, 7.

ing for rest. And they are granted rest, or at least a peace which is very like rest, even in this world. But still death is to be undergone before they can And death, we know, is

enter into perfect rest. awful at all times, and trying to the natural feelings. There is the last sickness to be borne, and perhaps great pain and a fearful struggle. All this must be passed through (unless Christ should first come), and the aged know and feel this. But does this disturb them? Are they excited and alarmed by it? If they are obedient children of God, seldom, very seldom. As they draw near the valley of the shadow of death, its shadows partly clear away, and in the midst of the shadows they see a calm and gentle light, pure and refreshing, which encourages them to step down into the deep valley, and walk steadfastly into the apparent gloom till they are lost to the sight of men. He who has guided them hitherto, guides them still. He who has upheld them in all trials, still upholds them—they find the promises fulfilled in them. "Even to your old age I am He; ...I will bear; ... I will carry, and will deliver you." They sing to themselves this holy song, not learnt now for the first time, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me.' 995

The heavenly gift accords with their circumstances and their wants. They do not feel as they once felt, even on spiritual subjects. Their disposition has undergone a great change. It is so with us all, in 5 Psalm xxiii. 4.

our measure, as we grow older. In the days of our youth we love to feel our strength. As we see boy's liking to exercise their bodily powers in trials of skill or force, so the young Christian takes pleasure in making use of the spiritual powers with which he is endued. He prays earnestly for strength against temptation: he strives for the mastery, and rejoices in the victory, when he has gained it. He would fain be up and working. He has no longing for rest, but rather for labour, which he eagerly seeks, and resolutely undertakes. So it was with St. Paul in the beginning of his course. "Ye remember, brethren," he says, writing to the Thessalonians, "our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the Gospel of God." At that early period of his career he speaks with eager interest of his labour and toils, throwing himself heartily into the work of his high calling. For he adds soon afterwards, "We, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.' 996

But as his days draw towards their close, his feelings change, and he speaks rather of repose and trust, and looks forward to relief from sufferings. "For I know," he writes in the last of his Epistles, "whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against 1 Thess. ii. 9, 17, 18; also 2 Thess. iii. 8.

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that day." And again, "The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom." Even so the aged Simeon, who had waited long and looked anxiously for the consolation of Israel, had no sooner taken the infant Saviour in his arms than he said, "Lord, now lettest Thou thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." Having obtained the fulfilment of this long-cherished desire, he required no more in this world, but prayed that he might peacefully enter into his rest.

But perhaps the calmest, holiest, and most peaceful picture of the close of a religious life, is that afforded by St. John, the beloved disciple. Ardent and eager in his youth, he and his brother were surnamed by our Lord Himself—Boanerges, the sons of thunder; and were afterwards remarkable among the apostles-first, for requesting that fire should come down from heaven and consume those Samaritans who refused to receive our Lord; and next, for desiring that they might sit one on His right hand and the other on His left in His kingdom. But the old age of St. John was spent in the peaceful retirement of the island of Patmos; and all his words are marked with a peculiar calmness, rest, and confidence. A spirit of steadfast love and unruffled joy pervades the Epistles which he wrote in his declining years to his little children. Finding his own happiness in holy meditations, he leads them to contemplate the Divine nature of Him who had entered into His rest, and exhorts them to love one

7 2 Tim. i. 12; and iv. 18.