George Lawson

The glory of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is the grey head (Proverbs 20:29).

Equality of age and dispositions naturally produces affection and friendship, but difference of age and talents tends too much to produce mutual alienation. To remedy this, the wise man puts the old and the young in mind that each of them have their different endowments, which should endear them to one another.

Old men should not despise the young for their want of experience and gravity, for God has honoured them with vigour of body, which qualifies them for active service to God and their generation. How could old men defend their lives and properties, or how could they subsist, if they were not assisted by the strength of the young?

Far less should the young despise the old for their infirmities, or for that fretfulness of temper which old age too often produces. For God hath favoured them with length of days, and crowned them with grey hairs, the badge of their experience, and, it is to be hoped, of their wisdom. If the hoary head is the beauty of old men, it should draw respect from the young, who are commanded by God to rise up before the hoary head, and to honour the face of the old man.

It was a saying of Lewis XI. of France, when he was old, that if he had possessed in his youth that wisdom he had now acquired, or if he were still in possession of the vigour of youth, he could conquer all the world. It was better, it seems, for mankind that he did not possess both these qualities at once. God is wise and good in distributing his gifts amongst men of all ranks and ages, that none, by having every good quality, might become an idol to himself and others, and none, by wanting every thing valuable, might become an object of contempt.

Let young men beware of debasing their glory, by abusing their strength to the service of sin. Let old men endeavour to make their grey hairs venerable by wisdom and piety, by cheerfulness, and the command of their temper. Finally, let old men remember that they were once young, and young men remember that they would be glad to be one day old.