the abundance of his mercy. It also admirably describes that cheerfulness with which the animal spirits shall be assisted to bear the infirmities of age, as well as to render the temper and conversation agreeable to those who kindly afford him attention while closing the last stages of his pilgrimage on earth. For whenever an aged person indulges a sourness of disposition, it seldom fails to deprive him of consolation from his friends, and makes him a vexation and a burden to his family. Besides, as friction in a wheel soon wears out the machinery, so an irritable disposition in an aged person has a baneful effect both upon the mind and the constitution. It is therefore of the greatest consequence that he should enjoy a noon-day light under the infirmities of decaying nature, that he may possess an amiable disposition and submission, while the bounties of Divine Providence be received with thankfulness.

II. This address was admirably calculated to enliven the depressed mind of Job, under the severity of his complicated afflictions, prompting him to look forward for a happy change, which should be as welcome and cheering to him as the brightness of the morning after a tempestuous season. It frequently happens that the best of men have their greatest afflictions reserved for them until heart and flesh begin to fail beneath the weight of years; like Job, they lose their children, their worldly property is removed, friends are unkind, diseases attack them, and a disponding spirit presses them

down to the very dust! It was so with David in his latter days, and this, possibly, in some degree, may be the case with you who read this discourse; and it is very natural for you to wish a little revival in your bondage, or, as Zophar expresses it, that your age may be clearer than the noon-day, and that you may shine forth as the morning, in health and prosperity. The Lord granted such a favour to good old Jacob, who, after more journeyings and afflictions than fell to the common lot of other patriarchs, was permitted to spend his last seventeen years in peace and comfort with his once lost beloved son Joseph, in the fertile land of Goshen, so that his age was indeed clearer than the noonday. And certainly Zophar's wish for Job was eventually verified, for the Lord turned his captivity, and made his latter end twice better than its beginning. Let this encourage your hope, and at the same time be assured, that if such earthly comforts shall comport with your best interest, the Lord is able to do so to you, and more also. There was one other circumstance in the changes of Job, which deserves to be remembered, and to which Zophar's assurance happily applies. Reading the twentyninth chapter, I indulge the impression that he had been a public character, whether a teacher, magistrate, or judge, of very high respectability; and he exercised equal benevolence to the poor and to the afflicted widow. But now he was so reduced in circumstances, and so absorbed in affliction, as to be incapable of performing his public duties, and his hand of charity was empty. This sometimes

occurs in the life of good men, of magistrates, and of the ministers of the Gospel, and which seldom fails to produce a more painful feeling than many other afflictions. Their work seems to be ended, their harp is hung upon the willows, and they drop the tear in solitude! Thus heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad. Proverbs xii. 25. And what word more suitable under such a painful suspension from public duties, than those of Zophar! Thine age shall be clearer than the noon-day: thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. Christ, the great Head of his church, can revive the heart by the Spirit of his grace, and so unfold the doors of usefulness in his providence, as to produce a bright morning, and another day of successful labour, before the days of human life be filled. And although such labour be what the husbandman calls, "Ga"thering the latter harvest," still it is generally a delightful work, and the harvest abundant in mercy. Should this be read by any minister of the Gospel, or other public officer, suspended by affliction from the performance of his duties, and under serious depression of mind, I sincerely wish that these observations may prove a refreshing cordial to his heart, and excite his faith and hope in the Lord of the harvest!

III. We will apply this encouraging address of Zophar to the revival of the mind and heart of an aged Christian in his near advance to the scenes of mortality. It is indeed too often the case, that

while infirmities bear down the animal system, the mind and heart fail through the influence of temptation, and doubts arise whether the soul is prepared to meet its God. Former experience of divine grace is sensibly reduced; the body of sin and death becomes more corrupted and more weighty to bear; faith is feeble, and unbelief is strong; very little sense of the love of God is enjoyed; and communion with him, whether in meditation, reading, or prayer, is much interrupted; so that with Job, this aged Christian exclaims, O that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! In a state like this, how necessary and desirable is a renewal of spiritual light, peace, and joy! and how charming the rays of the Sun of Righteousness breaking into the soul, scattering the clouds of uncertainty, and producing an assured hope of immortality and glory! This enjoyment may be said to be the ultimate wish of Zophar in favour of afflicted Job. The good man's age, however advanced, will be clearer than the noon-day; the work of God's grace upon his soul, his evidence of interest in the person, blood, and righteousness of Jesus his Lord and Saviour; all the conduct of God to him through the various scenes of his long life; the rich truths and promises of the Gospel; his view of death as disarmed of his sting, and the hope of eternal life; all these become clearer to him than the surrounding objects of nature at noon-day, through the light of the Spirit of Christ shining upon his heart. Happy revival this! This is not all; he shall shine forth, he shall be as the morning. Like the days of his

spiritual youth, lively and joyful in the salvation of the Lord, the amiableness of his temper, the holiness of his conduct, the warmth of his devotion, the ardour of his love to the Lord his Saviour, the testimony which he bears to the truth and lovingkindness he has so often received, with his patient waiting for the coming of the Lord to receive him to the mansions of glory; in all these he shines forth to the honour of his God, and the encouragement of all around him. Thus the Lord proves the truth of the perpetuity of the work of his grace in the soul of man; and also that whom he loveth, he loveth unto the end; and likewise that he is faithful to his promise, that they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Psalm xcii. 14, 15.

I will close these observations by encouraging the reader, notwithstanding his fears and depression, to place his full confidence in his great Redeemer, remembering his faithfulness to Job, and verifying the truth of Zophar's wish in his favour. The address was not in the form of a probability, but as a certainty. Thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning, and it was so. And the history of the event now shines forth in the Bible, to give you the most gratifying encouragement. Job shines forth as a subject of God's grace, tried in the furnace of affliction, to show you the conflicts of a good man's heart in the day of suffering and