as you are in your bufinefs and pleasures, it is a fign that you want wifdom, and you are laying a foundation for forrow and remorfe. For the words of the text may be applied to an old finner : "When thou waft young, thou girdedft thyfelf, and walkedft whither thou wouldeft; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt ftretch forth thy hands, and another fhall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldeft not." You will be bound in the fetters of iniquity, and carried into captivity. The powers of your fouls will be enfeebled, and you will have loft that degree of ftrength which you now have to break your bonds afunder. You may attempt it again and again, but in vain. Confider, therefore, now, that age will quickly come, and weaken. your ftrength in the way, the ftrength both of body and mind, if ficknefs doth not do it before. Therefore Solomon exhorts, "Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt fay, I have no pleasure in them."

But

But this leads me to confider,

II. The view given us in the text of the weakness and infirmities of age.

When men grow old, they fretch forth their hands for help; want others to guide and affist them; and they have, in general, an unwillingness to die. Inftead of walking where they would, as they did when they were young, they are confined to a narrow sphere; move flowly and with difficulty, through the weakness of their fight, the shortness of their breath, or the decay of their strength. Fear is in the way, and they are foon tired. The keepers of the house, the hands and arms, tremble; and the Strong men, the legs and thighs, bow themJelves. Their feet, that carried them many pleafant walks and vifits, now move with difficulty and pain. Their hands, that used to work, grow fo weak that they can scarce drefs or feed themselves; and the back, that used to fupport the building, bends and stoops under the burden of years. They are not able to help others, or defend themselves. They are glad of a

ftaff

ftaff to reft upon, or fome friendly hand to fupport their tottering fteps. ftrength is labour and forrow.

Even their
The grass-

hopper is a burden, and appetite fails; and, through various infirmities, the clouds return after the rain. And yet it is often found, that they are unwilling to die, though they have not, like Peter, the profpect of a violent death before them. To be carried to the grave, is to be carried whither they would not; and fome of them, through fear of death, are all their life-time subject to bon dage. But this is fo plain, that it needs no further illuftration. The great thing is, to attend to the proper improvement to be made of it, which will be in the following

REFLECTIONS.

1. Let us adore the wisdom of God, in this difference between the young and the aged.

In the prefent ftate of the world, this difference may be called natural; though the infirmities of age may rather be confidered as unnatural, being the confequence

of

of man's apoftacy from God. Neverthe lefs, the wifdom of Providence is apparent in this difference. One is fometimes ready to wish that the aged, who have most wifdom and experience, had moft ftrength: but, while we have old heads to contrive and advise, and young hands to work, it comes much to the fame. Besides, had the aged the strength of youth, they would be more ready to defpife the young than they now are. The young have opportunities of improving by the experience of the aged; of cultivating and showing compaffion and benevolence to them, and requiting the tender care they manifested to them in their helplefs infancy. The fight of the aged and their various infirmities tends to engage young people to make a prudent preparation for age, by diligence, frugality, a friendly, obliging temper, and especially by a close application to ferious religion. God hath, in this refpect, diftributed his gifts varioufly. As in the natural body, "the eye cannot fay to the hand, nor the head to the feet, I have no need of you;" fo neither can the aged fay to the

young,

young, nor the young to the aged, We have no need of you. Their infirmities are likewife a standing token of the evil of fin, and hint to themselves, and all about them, what a bitter thing it is to revolt from God. They are also wifely appointed to wean their affections from the world. If God did not take them off from it by pains and weakness, they would fcarce know when to leave it. But he lays them by from bufinefs and amusements, that they may have more time for reading, meditation and prayer, and to fet their fouls in order for their speedy remove to eternity. the infirmities of the aged, we

From

2. Learn the wifdom of making a prudent provifion for old age.

When our Lord commands us to take no thought for the morrow, he means only to restrain anxiety, and inordinate, exceffive It is the care; not a prudent forecast. duty of young perfons to apply themselves to fome business and calling; to be diligent in it; to be frugal and faving; that they may make provifion for a family, be