COUNSELS FOR THE YOUNG. "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them."-Ecclesiastes xii. 1. BESTOW thy youth so that thou mayest have comfort to remember it when it hath forsaken thee, and not sigh and grieve at the account thereof. Whilst thou art young, thou wilt think it will never have an end; but behold, the longest day hath his evening; and that thou shalt enjoy it but once, that it never turns again, use it, therefore, as the spring-time, which soon departeth, and wherein thou oughtest to plant and sow all provisions for a long and happy life. COME, while the blossoms of the years are brightest, And joy's pure sunbeams tremble in thy ways; While yet thy hand the ephemeral wreath is holding, Come, while the morning of thy life is glowing, Which lights the future with a fadeless ray; PREPARATION FOR EARLY DEATH. 117 PREPARATION FOR EARLY DEATH. ART thou threatened with death in the flower of thy youth? Be not afflicted at it, and let not the least word proceed out of thy mouth, but what is seasoned with the salt of true piety. Remember that it is God Himself who thus cuts short the thread of thy life, and puts a period to thy mortal race. Thou hast as much reason to grieve that thou wast born so late, as that thou diest so soon. Instead of wasting thyself in useless complaints, and dashing an earthen vessel, newly formed, against the rock of eternity, adore thy Creator, and return Him thy hearty thanks, that He is graciously pleased to crown thee in the midst of thy course, and so bountiful as to bestow upon thee the wages of the whole day, when thou hast laboured but a few hours. He is very merciful to thee to transplant thee before thou hast felt the heat of the day and the scorching of the sun. It is the gale of His Divine favour that drives thee thus swiftly into the haven of salvation. Think not, therefore, that God's calling thee away in the bloom of thy youth, is a testimony of His displeasure and hatred; for to hasten to make a person happy is no token of His ill-will. It may be that God calls thee because He hath found some good thing in thee, as in Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, King of Israel.* Because He loves thee tenderly, and thou art greatly in His favour, He will remove thee from the approaching evils, as He did Josiah, one of the holiest and most religious princes, that ever reigned.+ Because thou walkest before Him, and seekest to please Him, by conforming thyself to His holy will, He will take thee up into His heavenly paradise, as He did Enoch; for fear the temptations of the world should corrupt thy godly disposition, and thou shouldst be turned from the way of righteousness, by the wicked artifices and suggestions of the enemy of thy salvation. * 1 Kings xiv. 13. † 2 Kings xxvii. 20. Genesis v. 24. ACQUIESCENCE IN EARLY DEATH. OH! just when Thou shalt please would I depart, The bonds which bind my weak and worthless heart My soul's bright home a lovelier aspect hath- MATRIMONY. "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife and these twain shall be one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." Matthew xix. 5, 6. THERE is an awe in mortals' joy, A deep mysterious fear To Eden's portal, and those fires What cost us once so dear. We cower before th' heart-searching eye Even wedded Love, till Thou be nigh, Then in the air she fearless springs, Ill fare the lay, though soft as dew That, with thine altar full in view, Thy votaries would enthrall To a foul dream, of heathen night, Far other strains, far other fires, Our marriage offering grace; |