nssurnncc of his faith, 1tre facts worthy of the study of e.ery one of us. Consider a few fen( nres of this farewell, n,nd obser'l'e- I. H1"; . GRACES ENDUR•, T? THE END, Bodily vigour lee.'\'es e'l'en his stalwrirt frame. l\ enous energy begms to flag even with him. The mind loses elasticity an_d keenness. But_ his_graces thriYe. He_ chose God in his youth; he clings to Him m Ills age. His faith expected much m his manhood; it still enthrones God as the fo'.mtnin of all that blesses ~ man or a pe~ple. His hope we.s bright, e.nd still contmues bnght. His lorn of hJS God and of his country we.rm his whole being ~t an age when the chill of wintry e.ge seems as if it must lower all warmth of mt~rest. The ?nhrnrd ll:lan perishes; the inward man has been renewed day by day. 'What a sight to ammate us I No regrets lament the early choice. No de, ?lension stA.ins the early purpose. The bitter words of the elder D'Israeli, "Youth 18 a mistake. manhood a struggle, old age a regret," are all of them contradicted here. They are too often true. They are so when the ee.rly choice is made by passion rather than by principle. But when we choose God, we go "from strenath to strength until we appee.r before the Lord in Zion.'' The perseverance of the saints is beautifully ilhJStrated in such a case as this. Let the faint-hearted be of good cheer. Grace, however feeble, is a " living and incor111ptible seed; a living and deathless seed ; " and whateyer its Yarying fortunes, it will persist until it reaches its great rewru:d. Connected with this, yet worthy of separate mention, obsene- II. THE LONGER THE GOOD MAN'S EXPERIENCE, THE LARGER IS HIS SATISFACTION WITH HIS CHOICE. A short experience sometimes leaves good people in doubt whether their goodness will be worth its cost. Moses, when he had to flee to Midian, was 'l'ery much tempted to repent of the zeal with which he had taken up the cause of his oppressed people in Egypt. In the Slough of Despond Christian was tempted to regret his setting out on pilgrime.ge. Joshua was tempted, when they refused the adnce of Caleb and himself and talked of stoning them, to wish he had not unsettled the minds of the people by avowing his dissent from the con- clusions of the majority of those sent out to spy the land. And often we drift into a mood the reYerse of that of Agrippa, and are "almost persuaded" to cease to b!) Christians. But a longer experience always means a stronger sense of the wisdom of our choice. The earlier doubts of a Moses or a Joshua all fade away, and the aged saint is only thankful for his early choice. This should hearten us, and keep us from attaching too much weight to temporary depression, or even failures, "\TIJ.en we choose God we choose "the good part" which shall not be taken away from us. Observe- III. THE GOOD Mill's LA.ST SERVICE 1s ms BEST SERVICE. He had done illustrious sernce throughout : as the faithful spy; as the faithful helper of Moses; as the heroic warrior ; as the wise and upright divider of the land. BU:t here he conquers not the arms of enemies, but the hearts of friends : infuses the energy to win not an earthly, but a heaYenly kingdom: leads them into covenant with God: secures that deepening of conscience and strengthening of faith which w:ill give them, in the degree in which it endures, the power to keep all that they had conquered. There is something characteristic of grace here. The last service may always be- and perhaps almost always is-the best. Ail it was said of Samson so, in a different sense, :it may be said of the Saviour Himself and of all God's saints, "The dead he slew :in his death were more than all they that he slew in his life." The progressive usefulness of the saintly life is a very marvellous feature of it. Rejoice and hope in it. Lastly obseTYe- IV. How FIT FOR lllMORTA.LITY THE OLD MAN STANDS. There may be a physical theory of another life which convinces some of the truth of the .Christian doctrine ?f immortality ; but the great argument for immortality lies in men's meetness for 1t. The Enochs and the Joshuas were in early ages-a.pd such spirits are to-day-t~e great arguments of immortality. Such ripeness of spirit cannot be wasted by Him who gathers up the fragments even that nothing may be lost. For such power to serve and fucnlty for enjoyment men could not help feeling there must be some prnvJ.Sion and some scope beyond the grave. The other world is hidden, but occa• Olt, XlUV. 1-28,l TltE BOOK OF .JOSHUA. 847
sio1111lly the ontrnnce of a gre11t son! hrighlens it. They, lifted up, draw onr heart• o.ml thoughts up after them. And when, like the men of Galilee, we standgazmg upwards after those who leave us, like them we see the angels, e.ntl r_ece1ve _the promise of a l,lessecl herit11ge with those who he.ve gone. The belief m 1m• mort11Iity has existed ever since good men died; and while there are good men to love, the belief in a bright glory will survive. Joshua stood ready for heaven, proving the existence of a heaven by the.t ree.cliness. Let us, like him, be fit for the other world as well as this, that, to the last, hope, purpose, ancl usefulness m11y be rioh and bright.-G.