January 11

The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. — Prov 4:18

Christian old age should be beautiful. It should have the mellowness of autumn, after the heat and toil of summer. Youth has its beauty, and so has manhood, but there is a loveliness in good old age which is more winning than aught in any other period of life.

“There is a beauty Youth can never know,
With all the lusty radiance of his prime,
A beauty the sole heritage of time,
That gilds the fabric with a sunset glow,
That glorifies the work it soon lays low!
There is a charm in age, well–nigh sublime
That lends new lustre to the poet’s rhyme,
As mountain peaks are grander crowned with snow.
How gay the laugh of Youth! But, oh, how brave
The stately weakness of a reverend Age!”