in God, he has patience given him to bear his sufferings, and grace to profit from them; yea, the peace of God rules in his heart always, and by all means.

An old man with this peace, which surpasseth all understanding, ruling in his heart, will be so far from complaining, that he has every thing to be thankful for, which can render him blessed of the Lord. He is provided with an infallible antidote against all that old age can try him with :-It is true, I have an infirm body, but, thank God, I have a sound mind: age has brought upon me great weakness, but this makes more room for the power of God, that it may be perfected in my weakness. I have many pains, but not so many as he has comforts to give me in the worst of them he keeps me patient. Father, thy will be done I have an afflicted body, but I have a happy heart: although the outward man be perishing, yet I faint not; because the inward man is renewed day by day. My supports are great; the consolations of God not a few. I feel the symptoms of old age warning me daily of my approaching dissolution: through grace I take the warning they find me living, and I hope they will find me dying, in the faith of the Son of God. The earthly tabernacle is taking down, but he does it with much tenderness and love, and assures me, that he has prepared for me a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. May he who keeps it for me, and me for it, never leave me nor forsake me, till I be with him, where he is, and be like him, and enjoy him for ever and ever! Yet a very, very little while-hold on faith and patience—and I shall see Jesus in his glory, which is the heaven of heavens.

O thou merciful and faithful High Priest, Jesus Christ, I bless thee for thy kind promises to the aged. Thou hast suited them in great mercy to all their infirmities, and thou art always with them to help in time of need. I begin to feel the sad effects of sin in my body, weakening it, and tending to bring it down to its appointed end. To thee I look, almighty Jesus, for thy promised grace. O grant me constant supplies of thy Spirit, that I may profit by my infirmities, may exercise and improve my faith in thee, that they may keep me humble, and I may pray more in faith, and keep me thankful, that I may be more in praise. Thine arm is not shortened, nor can thy compassions fail. Stand by me, then, and hold me up according to thy word. Make me strong in thy strength, that I may daily put more honour upon thy love and thy power.

In the decline of life, let me not doubt of thy faithfulness to support, and, when thou seest it best, to comfort me. Vouchsafe me the consolations of God: when my heart and my flesh fail me, then be thou the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. When I am weakest in myself, then make me strongest in the Lord: and if it be thy holy will that I should become quite helpless, an infant again, make me to lie quiet in thy hand, without murmuring or repining, but believing that thou art all my salvation, and enjoying in thee all my desire. Grant me this, Lord Jesus: for thy mercies' sake, let me die in faith. Amen aud amen.

CHAPTER IX.

The Believer's Triumph over Death.

MAN consists of two parts-a body and a soul. The bodily life is dependent on the light and air of this world, and on the circulation which they maintain and carry on. When this connexion is broken, the body expires, it loses all sense and motion, and is dead. So the life of the soul is dependent on the light and air of the spiritual world. Jehovah in Trinity is the Creator, the only fountain of being, and there can be nothing independent of him: Christ is the light, and the Holy Spirit is the breath or air of all spiritual life, and when this connexion is broken, although the soul may exist, yet its happiness in God is broken, and at an end. Sin, that great murderer sin, brought death upon body and soul: "For as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." And we read, "The soul that sinneth it shall die:" sin separating it from its union, and thereby cutting it off from its communion, with the Father of spirits. In the moment that Adam sinned, the spiritual death took place; for he had lost the Spirit of life, and was dead in trespasses and sins: and that same moment his body became mortal, although he lived nine hundred years after. Thus we have sin, and death, and misery, entailed upon all his descendants from the first Adam, who is of the earth, earthy. O how precious to a

sinner, in these circumstances, should be the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, who stands at the head of the spiritual world, that he may give his righteousness, and his life, and his happiness to all that believe in him! He comes Jehovah of hosts in our nature, as our champion to fight our battles, and to conquer all our foes. Emmanuel was made sin for us, and he died for our sins according to the Scriptures, when the Lord laid upon him the iniquity of us all, and was buried and rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures. We read therein of his noble challenge to death and the grave: "I will ransom my people from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plague; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes." It was the Captain of our salvation, the Lord of hosts is his name, who purposed this in the everlasting councils, and in due time fulfilled it by his almighty power. "Because the children were partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." O what infinite condescension is this! what love, surpassing all knowledge! The most high God is manifest in the flesh, that, as God in our nature, he might be our surety to act and suffer for men, and for our salvation. Accordingly, he takes our sins upon himself, bears the guilt and punishment of them in his own body and soul upon the tree, gives his own life a ransom for ours, that by his death we might live. He was

buried, but he rose again the third day, having loosed the bonds of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. In this conflict with death and the grave, repentance was hid from He knew what he was to go through,

his eyes. more than any of us can conceive of pain and agony,

yet he would not change his grace, alpurpose of though he was to become obedient unto death, the most tormenting, the most shameful, even the death of the cross. His enemies having brought him to the grave, and sealed the sepulchre, seemed then to have him in their power. So they thought: but here Jesus made his complete and eternal triumph. By his resurrection he swallowed up death in victory: for he did not rise as a private person, but as the first fruits of the dead, drawing the joyful harvest after him. The Lord is risen indeed, the Head of the body the church; and has the power of an endless life to quicken all his members. In which most glorious prospect, the apostle, quoting the passage above mentioned, breaks out into these raptures of joy, seeing all his enemies vanquished, and nothing but bliss and glory before him" O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law." The law armed death with its sting, as the just wages of the transgression of the law; but Jesus our surety magnified the law by his holy life in all its precepts, and by his death in all its penalties. He died for our sins, and, by his rising from the dead, he demonstrated that he had taken out its sting, and had disarmed it of its power to hurt: nay, bad done much more he had changed death into life. I