A DISCOURSE

ON

ZECHARIAH viii. 4, 5.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for every age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

THE whole of this chapter contains what I may call a prophetic promise to the captive Jews in Babylon, that they should return to their own land, rebuild the desolated walls of their city, and repair their temple, that the Lord God might dwell among them. To confirm their faith in the certainty of this great event, the words, THE LORD OF HOSTS is written no less than fifteen times in this chapter; a circumstance which does not occur in any other chapter in the Bible. When God should fulfil this promise, the city would exhibit a scene different to that in the time of its desolation, produced by their enemies; for then there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neigh

bour. But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts. One instance of this peaceable and happy change of state, is announced in the text, There shall yet, &c. &c. The fourth verse assures them of their LONGEVITY, that they shall live to a great age, and the fifth for an abundant increase of their POPULATION, by having so many children unmolested, playing in their streets; which is equally expressive of their safety, health, and happiness. From this remarkable passage I shall offer a few considerations, in the cheering hope of their affording a few lessons of instruction.

I. Preservation in life to good old age, whether to man or woman, is a blessing from the Lord of hosts, and which ought to be devoutly acknowledged and gratefully improved. At fifty or sixty men are called aged, but they do not arrive to old age until they reach the number seventy. (Psalm xc. 10.) The reasons why this advanced stage of life should be devoutly improved are:-life is naturally desirable and precious, whatever may be our situation in the world, whether rich or poor. Indeed it is ingendered in our very nature; all that a man hath will he give for his life; and there is nothing he dreads so much as meeting with death, the king of terrors. You who are aged have been indulged with this blessing, and therefore are under the highest obligation to improve it to the best advantage. Persons of such great age must be supposed to have seen very many changes in themselves, in

their families, and in the providence of God; and in proportion to a man's station and connexions in the world, whether elevated or obscure, he is able to record a variety of events which fill him with astonishment, and compel him to acknowledge the hand of God in them all! We can have no doubt but that such very aged people in the long journey through life, must have had many lessons of a religious kind, calculated to give them instruction, and awaken their attention to a necessary preparation for the world to come. Few but what had their instructors and ministers, and scarce any but what have possessed a Bible, and it will become each one to ask himself, "What improvement have I "made of all those privileges I have for so many years enjoyed? Am I wise unto salvation? Have "I more knowledge of my God and of a Saviour? "Am I more prepared to go the way from whence. "I shall not return?" These are necessary and important questions, for it is to be feared there are very many aged persons who have either neglected or misimproved their numerous privileges, and are no more prepared to go out of the world than when they came into it. Ask if this be your own case? Aged persons, whether men or women, who have experienced the abundant grace of our Lord Jesus in more early life, must have received a multitude of mercies and favours to lay them under everlasting obligation and praise! Perhaps the reader has often seen the Lord's goings forth in his sanctuary. Psalm lxviii. 24. You have been witness to the conversion of many sinners by the sovereign grace

of God. You have seen likewise some professors of religion turn aside from the good ways of the Lord, which pierced your heart with sorrow. You have had, in the course of your long life, numberless opportunities to do good to your fellow creatures, whether by your hand, your counsel, or your example; and of course you have had great length of days to bear fruit, and honour your God and Saviour for his name sake, and for the multiplied blessings which he has bestowed upon you; and it must be added, that you have witnessed many of the saints of God going home to heaven before you. When you take all these into consideration, and add them together, must you not confess that your days have been made a blessing by the hand of the Lord, and that such favours demand your warmest gratitude, and excite your devout improvement, the few days you may yet have to live? None but thoughtless old age would treat these sentiments with indifference!

II. When persons in great age enjoy any degree of health and activity, it is a cause of still more abundant thankfulness. Those old men and women mentioned in the text, were not confined to their chambers by the infirmities frequently incident to decaying nature, neither were they laid upon their beds by chronick diseases, or by palsy, which many old people have long endured before their death. But these men and women, notwithstanding their advanced age, had strength sufficient to walk in the streets of Jerusalem. By this little exercise they

enjoyed the salubrity of fresh air; their cool blood was warmed by circulation; their dormant senses were enlivened; the variety of scenes in the street were engaging; and the ties of friendship prompted them to visit a neighbour. And more so with the little strength which remained; like Zechariah, Elizabeth, and good old Anna the prophetess, they could go and visit the house of the Lord. Should the reader, notwithstanding the infirmities naturally attending his age, be so favoured as to enjoy such a share of health and activity as those persons, he cannot be too grateful; and I hope he will employ them to the most pious purposes, and to the best advantage to all around him.

III. Such are the natural infirmities which generally accompany the latter stage of human life. No wonder we should find it recorded in the text, that the old men who dwelt in the streets of Jerusalem had every man his staff in his hand for every age. Solomon, in his admirable description of old age, in the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes, says, The keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow themselves. The muscular fibres become relaxed, which produces debility, and causes the trembling of the system, and this renders a staff in the hand desirable and necessary for the purpose of walking. The patriarch Jacob had his favourite staff, with which he twice passed over Jordan, and on which, in his dying chamber, he leaned and worshipped; and it is possible you may have a favourite staff with which you may have taken many a long jour