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SERMON XIV.

THE FEAR OF THE LORD MAKETH DEATH EASY.

ECCLESIASTICUS, i. 13.

Whoso feareth the Lord it shall go well with him at the last; and he shall find favour in the day of his death.

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AMONG many other motives for fearing the Lord, this is always urged by the Son of Sirack as a very powerful one-that it gives comfort and peace of mind at the close of life; that it communicates satisfaction to a period of existence which wants it the most ;-"Whoso feareth the Lord, it shall go well with him at the last, and he shall find favour in the day of his death;" at that period when mankind have deserted you, when become old and insignificant, when the strength of body is gone, when you are no longer gay and lively, when you find that younger people have got possession of the earth, and taken to themselves all the power and all the authority, and that you are no longer regarded; then will you find the advantage of having feared God: then will you find yourselves wonderfully supported, comfortably refreshed; then will you find that there is somewhere an invisible guide who upholds you, who cherishes you, who refreshes who refreshes you, and who leads you gently and imperceptibly to another and a better world.

It sometimes appears astonishing to young people, how the old can do with such little pleasure. They cannot understand what enjoyment they have of life; but they forget the pleasure which arises from the re

membrance of good deeds, the numberless delightful thoughts and recollections which spring up in the mind of a man who has feared God in the days of his youth: he remembers the guilty pleasures from which he has had the courage to abstain, because his Saviour has forbidden them; he thinks of the injuries he has forgiven, because the Gospel enjoins it; he thinks of the sick whom he has raised up, the weak whom he has protected, the poor to whose wants he has contributed. All these remembrances fill him with the most heartfelt pleasure, and for all these he humbly hopes that it will go well with him at the last, and that he shall find favour at the day of his death.

Now consider the peculiar advantages which the text holds out as an encouragement to the fear of God. It holds out comfort to you at two particular periods of existence-old age and death. It does not say that these are the only advantages which result from the fear of God, but that they are the principal ones: the wise man confines himself, in the present instance, to this particular species of comfort; if he had meant to make mention of every kind of blessing which results from fearing God, he would have said that it renders good fortune safe-that it makes bad fortune less bitter— that it gives a spirit of gentleness and kindness-that it makes a man feel always safe—that it fills him full of pleasant hope, and keeps continually before his eyes a fair and a pleasant prospect. This, and infinitely more than this, he would have urged, if it had been his intention to mention all the advantages resulting from the fear of God; but passing these over for the present, he rests only upon the two greatest-the comfort to be derived from it in old age, and on the imminent approach of death. "Whoso feareth the Lord, it shall go well with him at the last, and he shall find favour in the day of his death."

Now, first, I beg you to consider how very much old

age wants some support of this kind. The mind of man always depends in a considerable degree upon the state and condition of its earthly covering. Health always contributes materially to happiness, and a thousand gloomy ideas rise up on the bed of sickness, which proceed only from the sufferings of an infirm body. There are some men, to be sure, of characters so firm, and of resolutions and opinions so fixed, that the soul in them seems almost always to impart its character to the body. or at least completely to have exempted itself from all influence of its earthly companion; but these cases are very rare; and in general we are sensible to every variation of the earthly frame- we are glad or sorry, happy or unhappy, in proportion as we are excited or depressed by the state of the body. Now, then, there comes this consideration across the mind. It is all very well now, when I feel myself capable of every exertion, when my sleep is sweet, when my limbs are supple, when I hardly know what is meant by fatigue, and am superior to every labour and every danger. With all this state of feelings I can do for myself; I want nothing to support me; but what am I to do when my body is rent with old age, when the red blood of youth and strength is fled away,- when I am a weariness to myself and to others, and when death seems to linger? "Remember, then, (say the Scriptures) your Creator in the days of your youth; while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves down,- and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the window be darkened when they shall be afraid of that which is nigh, and fears shall be in the way,- and desire shall fail, because man goeth to his long home, and mourners go about the streets; when the silver chord is loosened, and the golden bowl is broken; - when the

pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel at the cistern: then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit unto God who gave it."

This is the beautiful description which the Scriptures make of old age; — and for this state and condition it is our business to make a due preparation, by accustoming ourselves to the fear of God.-Accustom yourselves while you are young to call upon God in prayer. As the day rises, and as it passes away, pour out your heart and soul before your Creator; -confess to him your sins, and ask of him strength against temptation, and constancy in doing well; - ask of him, that your life may be honest, sober, and quiet; - that you may give no offence to any man, that you may abstain from unlawful gain, that you may prosper in lawful industry, that you may never forget the wretched, but though you have little, give to him that hath less; - this is the proper foundation to lay for the decline of life; - this is the way to meet the evils of old age, and to spend comfortably the last scene upon the stage of life! — And recollect always, that it is the remembrance of good actions, and that alone, which puts old age upon an equal footing with all other situations in life; without that, it is the most miserable of all human conditions; with it, it is equal, if not superior, to any other; - for the remembrance of rational happiness we have derived from doing good, is of itself an high pleasure; — but in this instance it is necessarily connected with the expectation of pleasure to come;-for no man can remember the good he has done in this life without entertaining an humble hope, that Almighty God will be pleased to vouchsafe to him some portion of his mercy, through Christ, for what he hath done of good in this world;so that old age cannot look back to past goodness without at the same time looking forward to future reward. And it must not be forgotten, that to secure this consolation to old age, we must fear God in the early parts

of our lives; it will not do to begin from fear, just as you feel old age coming upon you, and the warning of death loud and importunate good actions done then will bring no consolation to old age; for when a man comes near the grave, and death stares him in the face, he never deceives himself, he knows what his Saviour will accept, and what he will not - he examines the actions of his early life; he endeavours to remember when in early life he has been charitable when he has been honest, though strongly tempted to the contrary; he says to himself, What good have I done when I was young? -was I a good father? was I a kind.

husband? was I a dutiful son? and then if he can find any white speck in his life if any good action rushes up to his recollection, then he cherishes it to his bosom, and keeps it as a lamb to offer before God in the day of judgment, and as a sin-offering for his soul; and he receives from it inexpressible joy, and derives from it joyful hope; and he would not quit it for the gold of Ophir and all the gems of the East. Therefore, my dear brethren, what I earnestly exhort you to do is, to lay up these precious treasures for old age. Every wise man looks to the bodily wants of old age, and thinks himself extremely fortunate if he can lay up a little money for that season when he will certainly want it. the most; but why not lay up also the remembrance of good actions? - which will confer quite as much happiness as any other treasure. "I feel myself tempted, but I will give up this pleasure, that I may remember when I am old, I have done my duty, and derive from it a real and solid satisfaction." And then consider what old age is without these recollections! Death is near, but comfort is not near, the last hour approaches, but there is no favour! - there is a sick body, but there is also a sick mind. Before, there is infinite danger, but behind, there is no comfortable help!-I earnestly entreat you to think of this, and to lay up some com