all his days ;-such an old man, with his grey hairs, wears a crown of dishonour rather than of glory, Dut while we may feel that he is to be condemned, we feel far more inclined to pity than to blame, For what is age not found in the way of righteousneB11 -age without excellency, age without virtue, age uncrowned with faith and hope? Surely one of the most pitiable spectacles the world presents to our eyes. It is pleasant, indeed, to be able to regard- 11. 'fBE CROWN OF HONOUR, When old age is found in the way of righteousness, it is a crown of honour, in that: 1. It has upon it the 1·ejlection of an honourable past, It speaks of past virtues that have helped to make it the "green old age" it is; of past successes that have been gained in the battle of life; of past services that have been diligently and faithfully rendered; of past sorrows that have been meekly borne; of past struggles that have been bravely met and passed; for it was in the rendering and in the bearing and in the meeting of these that the hair bas been growing grey from year to year. 2. It bas the special excellency of the present. "A crown of beauty" (marginal reading). In the "hoary head" and in the benignant countenance of old age there is a beauty which is all its own; it is a beauty which may not be observable to every eye, but which is there nevertheless; it is the beauty of spiritual worth, of trustfulness and repose, of calmness and quietness; it is a beauty if not the beauty of holiness. He who does not recognize in the aged that have grown old in the service of God and in the practice of righteousness something more than the marks of time, fails to see a crown of beauty that is visible to a more discerning eye. 3. It has the blessed anticipation of the future. It looks homeward and heavenward. A selfish and a worldly old age is grovelling enough ; it " hugs its gold to the very verge of the churchyard mould;" but the age that is found in the ways of righteousness has the light of a. glorious hope in its eyes; it wears upon its brows the crown of a peaceful and blessed anticipation of a rest that remains for it, of a reunion with the beloved that have gone on before, of a beatific vision of the Saviour in his glory, of a larger life in a nobler sphere, only a. few paces further on.-C. Ver. 32 (with eh. xiv. 17, 29).-The command of ourselves. Our attention is called to the two sides of the subject. I. 'l'BE EVIL OF IMPATIENCE. How bad a thing it is to lose command of ourselves and to speak or act with a ruffled and disquieted spirit appears when we consider that: I. It is wrong. God gave us our understanding, our various spiritual faculties, on purpose that we might have ourselves under control; and when we permit ourselves to be irritated and vexed, to be provoked to anger, we do that which crosses his Divine purpose concerning us and his expectation of us; we do that which di~appoints and grieves our Father. 2. It is a defeat. We have failed to do that which was set us to do. 'l'he hour when our will is crossed is the hour of trial; then it is seen whether we succeed or fa.ii; and when we lose control of our spirit we are defeated. 3. It is a.n exhibition of folly. He that is hasty of spirit "exalteth folly" (eh. xiv. 29). He gives another painful illustration of folly; he shows that he is not the wise man we could wish that he were. He shows once more how soon and how easily a good man may be overcome, and may be led from the path of wisdom. 4. It conducts to e~il. "He that is soon angry will deal foolishly" (eh. xiv. 17). A man who loses the balance of a good tewper will certainly "deal foolishly." We are never at our best when we are angry. Our judgment is disturbed; our mental faculties are disordered; they lose their true proportion. We do not speak as wisely, we do not act as judiciously, as we otherwise should. In all probability, we speak aod act with positive fully, in a. way which brings regret on our own part and reproach from our neighbour. Very possibly we say and do that which cannot easily, if ever, bo undone. We take the bloom off a fair friendship; we plant a. root of bitterness which we a.re not able to pluck up; we start a. train of consequences which will run we know not whither. 11. 'l'HE TRUE CONQUEST. To be master of ourselves is to be "of great understand- ing," to be "hotter than the mighty," or than "he that taketh a city." It is so, inas- much as : 1. It is an essentially spiritual victory. To take a city is, in part, to triumph over ph_\·,.ica.l obstacles, over walls and moats and bullets; but he that ruleth his spirit is doing battle with evil tempers and unholy inclinations and unworthy impulses. He is striving "not against flesh and blood," but against the mightier enemies that couch 330 'l'HE PJ.OVERilS. [on. XVII. 1-28.
and spring on the human soul; he is fighting with far nobler wrapons than sword or bayonet or cannon-with thought, with spiritual energy, with deep resolve, with strenuous will, with conscience, with prayer. 'l'he victory is fought and won on tho highest ground, the arena of a human spirit. 2. It is a victory ove,· ourself. And this is worthier and better than one gained over another. (1) There is no humiliation in it; on the contrary, there is self-respect and a sense of true manfulness. (2) Our first duty is that we owe to ourselves. God has committed to each human spirit the solemn charge of bis own character. We have other high and sacred functions to dis- charge, but the first and greatest of them all is to honour, to train, to rule, to cultivate, to ennoble, our own spirit. We are therefore carrying out the express will of God when we ,ictoriously command ourselves. 3. It is bloodless and beneficent. The warrior may well forget the honours he has received when he is obliged to remember the cries of the wounded on the battle-field, and the tears of the widows and the orphans who are the ,ictims of war. But he who rules his own spirit has no sad memories to recall, no benrt-rending scenes to picture to his mind. His victories are unstained with blood; by the conquest of himself he has saved many a heart from being wounded by a. hasty word, and be has preserved or restored that atmosphere in which alone happiness can live and prosperity abound.-C.
EXPOSITION.