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2012An Emblem Of The Aged Believer
One of the websites that has helped me very much is gracegems.org. They send out a free daily email with a quote, usually of a Puritan. Each quote is an excellent little gem of truth and well worth signing up for. I have collected a large number of these emails and thought I would promote them by posting one each week. Again sign up today at gracegems.org.
“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green!” Psalm 92:12-14
The palm tree, to which God’s people are compared in this Psalm, is remarkable for its lengthened and increasing fruitfulness. The best dates are said to be gathered when it has reached a hundred years of age. How beautiful an emblem of the aged believer, growing in grace and maturing in holiness to the close of his earthly existence! Each day, each year, added to his life–adds to the loveliness and perfection of his Christian virtues. His character has a mellowness and sweetness, which it lacked in earlier seasons.
He is ripening for Heaven! In knowledge, in wisdom, in love, in humility, in gentleness, in patience, in peace, in usefulness, in happiness–he is steadily and constantly advancing. He is filled with the Spirit, and therefore brings forth the fruits of the Spirit.
Is this portraiture of an aged Christian yours, reader? Alas, it does not belong to all who profess and call themselves by the Saviour’s name.
(William Schenck, “Nearing Home; Comforts and Counsels for the Aged” 1868)
Sinner saved by grace, proclaiming Him
