Injlruftions for t/,e :Xged. - ---- began ~nd- carryed on the work of grace upon your hearts > I hope you have recorded the wonders of rnercy ever upon your hearts, with which God hath filled u_p all your lives?. And ts 1t not a pleaf~nt work in old age to ruminate upon them ? If a Traveller delight to talk of h1s travels, and a Souldier or Seam~n upon his adventures, how fweet (hould it be to a Chrifiian to perufc: all the con.duct of mercy through his life, and all the operations Of the fpirit upon his heart. Thankfulnefs taught men heretofore to make their mercies as it were attributes of their God : As the God th:zt brought them out oftbe Land of E~;·pt, was .'he name of the God of Ifrae! : And Gw. 48. I 5· Jacob deli~hrcth himfelf in his old age, in fud1 rcvtews of mercy: [The God winch fed me aU my lift ~oJtg unto thu_da)', 1ht 1Jt.. gel which Redeemed me from all evil, kle{s the la~s l. Yea. fuch. t~anktul ~ev1ews of ancient mercies, will force an ingenuous foul, to a (;_lUleter ~1bmdllon, to mfirmltl~s, fuffcrmgs an~ death : and make us fay as J ob, Shall we recdve good at the bands 9[ God and not CVJ~; and as old Stmeon, Lordnow.lettejl: thou thy fervant depart in peace. It is a powerful rebuke of all dJfcontenr:, and makcth death tt [elf more welcome, to think how lnge afharc of mcrc:y, we have had alrca.dy m rhe world. 9· 5· Direct. 5· Draw fortb the treOJ{ureof wifdom and experience, whtcb J lU have bun {along in lay- Di.reQ. ')• ing up, to in{lrull the ignora1tt, aJtd w.trn the unexperienced aJtd ungodly tbut are about you. Job 32. 7· D,jyes jhould JPettk._, and multitude ofyears fhou~d teac(J wifdon:: 7be agedwomen mujl teach the young women to be {ober, to [ovc tbeir hu1bands aJtd llnldren, to be difcreet, chajle, ~epers at hume, good, obe, diem to tbrir owu husbands, that the word of God be not blaffiheamed, Tit. 2· 3, 4, 5· It is fi1ppofed that Timeand experience hath taught you more than is known to raw and ignoram youth. Tell them what you have futfered by the deceits of fin : Tell them the method and danger of temptations : Tell them what you loft by delaying your Repentance: and how God recovered you ? and how the fpirit wrought upon your fouls: Tell them what comforts you have found in God? what fafery and fweetnefs in a holy life? how fweet the holy Scriptures have been to you!' how prayers have prevail– ed ? how the promifes of God have been fultilled? and what ~nercies and great deliverances you have had. Tell them how Good you have found God; and how bad you have found fin, and how vain you have found the world. Warn them ro refifi their fle!hly lufis, and to take heed of the enfnaring Joci r.;. flatterics of fin: Acquaint them truly with the Hitlory of publick fins and judgemeJtts and mercia in Deut. 1 t. 19, the times which you have lived in. God hath made this the duty of the aged, rhar the Fathers Jhould D ' 0 • teU the wonder J of ba work.! and mercies to their children, that the age1 to come may praife ~be Lord, em. 19 ' 2.2. Deur. 4· >O. Pfal. 78. 4• 5, 6. §. 6. Dirccl:. 6. The Aged m•~l be examplts of wifdom, gravity and holinefs unto theyounger. Where Direll. 6. O,ould they tind any virtues in eminence, if not in you, that have fo much time and belp1 and txpe, riences l It may well be expected that nothing but favoury, wife and holy,come from your mouths: and 'nothing unbefeerning wifdom and godlinefs, be feen iq y9ur lives. Such as you would have your Children after you robe, fuch thew your felves to them in all your Converfation. 9· 7· Direct. 7· Ef}eci,jlly it belongeth to you, to repre{t ~h~ heatJ, and dividing, conttnti9UJ, and Dirtl1• 7• crnfori<JuJ difPb[llion, of the younger fort ofprof<ffuur~ of Godlinefs. They are in the hear of their blood, and want the knowledge and cxperieoce of rhe aged, to guide their zeal : They have not rheir fenfes yet exercifed in difcerning good and «vil, Heb. 5· I 2. They are aqle to try the JPiritJ: They are yet but as childrm.J.pt ro be tojfed to and fro, and carryed up attd down witb cvtry wind of dol1rine, after the craft and fubtill) of deceiver~, Eph. 4• I4· The Novices are apt to be puffed up with pride, and f aD inlO thi: condem1pltion of the Devil, 1 Tim. 3• 6. They never f11.w the iffue of errours and feCb and parties, and what divifions and comentions tend to, as you have done. And therefore it belongeth to your gravity and exper-ience, to call them untoVnity, Charity and Peace, and to keep them from proving fire-brands in the Church, and rafhly over-running their underfiandings and the truth. 9· 8. DireCT. 8. Of uJJ men, you muft live in the greatejt C9Jttempt of earthlythingJ, and leaft entangle Dire{]. 8. your [elves in the Love or need!tfs troubltsof the world: Yoi.! are like ro need it and ufe it but a little while: Alittle may ferve one that is fo neer his journeys end : You have had the greatefi experience of its vani1y : You arc fo near the great things of another JVorld, that rnethinks you .lbould have no lelfnre to JCmember this, or room for any unnecdfa.ry thoughts or fpeeches of it. As your bodies are lefs able for worldly employment than others, fo accordingly you are-allowed to retire from it more than others, for your more feriaus thoughts of the life to come. It is a fign of che bewitching power of the world, and of the folly and unreafonablenefs of fin, to fee the Aged ufually as Covetous as the young:, and men that are going out of the world, to love it as fondly, and fcrape for it as eagerly, as if they never lookt to leave it. You fhould xather give warning to the younger fort, to take heed of Coveroufnefs, and of being enfnmd by the world, and while they labour in ir faithfully with their hands, to ketp their hearts entirely for God, 9· 9• D~rect. 9· Tort jhould higb'7 efteem e~ery mi1tlttt of your time,.and lofe non: i1t idlenefs or tm· Dirtfr. 9 • 1teccffary thm~s ; but be &[w!lyes domg or gcttmg {ome good; and do wbat you do wztiP aU y Jur migbt. For you are (ilre ):'IOW that your time will not be long: How little have you left, to make all the reil of your preparation in tOr eternity? The young may die quickly, bu·t the old ~now that their time will be but fhort. Though Nature decay, yet grace can grow in life and fhengrh : and when yoHr o~tward man pe;i.fhtth, tbe imter man ~ay be rwewtd day by d"y, 2 Cor: 4· x6. Time is a moll: prettous commod1ty to all ; but efpectally to them, that have but a little more, to determine the queO.ion in, Whtther tbey mujt live in He_avm or HeU for ev~r. Thot~gh you cannot do your worldly bufindfes as heretofore, yet you have vanety of holy exerctfes to be 1mployed in: .Budily cafe may befeem you, bur Idlemfs is worfi: in you than in any.
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