God. It is in the heart that men are near or far. The power of imagination must not be forgotten. In one sense God is no more near or distant at one time than another, nor to one person than another; that our reason assures us. Yet the evidence of feeling an1l of imagination is otherwise. They tell us that be may be" near" or" far." It is, then, in ourselves that the cause must be sought. The warm affection, the lively fancy, the open and lowly intclligence,-these bring him near. The obdurate heart-- which means the dull intelligence, the sluggish fancy, the state of coldne;;s in the affections-this may place him wide as the poles asunder from man. What is needed in religion, alike in its intellectual and its practical aspects, is simplicity, yielding child- likeness, impressionableness to great and obvious trutbs.-J. Ver. 4,-Gorl's care for the aged. "And even to your old age I am he," etc. What a contrast between God and man! Concerning how many may it be said that they are forgotten in old age! Sometimes even children are faithle.,;s to their parents, and age has died in a workhouse, when children have been well-to-do. But change comes, too, in other relationships. The world does not want us when we are worn out. Its sweet songs can charm no more. The cunning of the worker's hand fails. The preacher faints. A new generation of strength and health has won the palm. Then, mark- I. THE SURPRISE. Even. At the time when the world draws off, God comes nearer. Weakness is always welcome to him. He loves to comfort. His infinite strength is not weakened by all outgoings of help to others. Wherever, in age, sickness confines us, or solitude keeps us, there is our Father. Even then, when heart and flesh faint and fail He has not merely promised this, but the Jacobs of the world can attest the truth: "All my life long." And apart from promise and experience, it is God's nature so to do. II. THE RE.A.SONS. 1. "I have made." God will not, as Job says, forget us, because " thou hast a desire to the work of thy hands." 2. "I have rescued." Whn t else says the prophet? "I will carry and deliver yon." What we coul<l. not bear away, God, in the person of his Son, will do for us. "Behold the Lamb of GoJ, which taketh away the sin of the world!" Hoar hairs may have their perfect whiteness, but hoar hearts have not, and we need a Saviour to the end. Nor is this all. Old age bas it;; sorrows as well as its sins. The you~g have not always sympc1thy with the old. They do not understand what it is to feel so "alone," with buried generations behind, who once joined in the race of life with them, and who worshipped with them in the house of God. Those who admired and understood and loved them are gone, and a generation has risen up who know not Joseph. Beautifully does the next verse be~in, "To whom will ye liken me?" "Even to your old age I am he." Always a Father, always a Saviour, always a Friend.-W. M. S. Vers. 1-4.-Men bearing gods, and God bearing his people. The pitiable and even ludicrous insufficiency of idolatry is admirably drawn in this picture. We see the beasts bowed down with the images of the helpless deities of Chaldea. In what striking and glowing contrast does the relation of Jehovah to his people appear! From the very infancy of Israel God bad borne them in the arms of his faithlulness and power; and his tender kindness in the past would extend to the furthest future. Evrn t,) old age he would bear them; they might confidently lean on his streogth; they might count with absolute assurance on his protecting care, on his deli veriug grace. ·' I will carry, and will deliver you." We learn- I. THAT FALSE TRUSTS, SO FAR FROM LIGHTENING OUR BURDENS, ARE A BEA VY WEIOl11' TO CARBY. Mon make mistakes now which are as serious in their consequences as that made by the Babylonians. They put their trust in things which prove to be delusive and even burdensome. This is true of unwise friendships; of ill-gained or excessive wealth; of exalted positions, which we have not strength to fill, or high honours which we have not grace to carry; of learning iu one direction, unbalanced by knowledge in other direction~. You see men who thought to bless themselves with thcso "idols," who expected to be enriched aud sustained by them, staggering undor their weight, blinded and misled by them, betrayed and ruined by them. lnstead of their gods carrying them, they have to carry their gods, ll. 'l'HAT TRUST IN Goo WILL DE JUSTIFIED DY THE LONGEST LIFE. (V~r. 4.) 1. Gu,! 200 TIIE BOOK OF THE PROPHE'l' ISAIAH. [oH, XLVL 1-13.
continued bis mercies to us from..-our birth to our regeneration; thouah we knew him not, he girded us (eh. xiv. 6). He fed and clothed and sheltered us, 2. He undertook to befri_end _us when we gave olll':lelves to hi1?1, and he h~s do~e so, He bas made good t-0 us bis krndest words of promise. 3. A time of special tnal may confront us: the pillar and mainstay may have fallen; unfriendly seasons or adverse circumstances may ~ave stripped us; sickuess may have weakened us, or infirmity may bo visibly advanc- mg on us. Our human powers, our earthly prospects, may be failing and waning. 4. Dut we !11ay go on undaunted: u~troubled. "The Lord will P:ovide." We have a strong consolation-we whose hope 1s Ill the Lord our God. (1) His word of promise cannot he broken. (2) We, men, do not desert ou1· servants iu their age or their sickness: how much less will he (Ps. lxxi. 18; eh. lv. 9) I (3) Our very weakness and distress are a strong guarantee that the compassionate and considerate Father will befriend and sustain us. (4) The unchangeable One will not begin without concluding his work, he will "perfect that which concerns us;" he will " not forsake the work of his ow~ hands." To old age, to hoar hairs, he will carry us along the path of life, till we reach the home of unfailing health and unbroken joy.-C.