Welsh Journals

No. 15. MAECH, 1865. Price 2d. |^0ttg % tit. JPoIONG life was the special blessing of the old Covenant.— *Mte>" Honour thy father and thy mother ; that thy days may ©j^gebe long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee—My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation." And why ? Is it not because it was the best type that could be found of the unspeakable blessing of the New Covenant, namely, life eternal ? And like all other types, appointed to foreshadow good things to come, it is full of interest and most instructive. For it must be distinctly understood, that long life was not typical of the glorious inheritance reserved in heaven for them who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, except under the conditions referred to in the passages above quoted. Length of days became so typical when enjoyed in obedience, in the first instance to parental law, and subsequently through life to Divine law, and that in a land given by the Lord and amid the bles-sings of His salvation. A. long life of iniquity and disobedience could not typify the christian's inheritance. Indeed, may we not ask,—was such a life regarded by inspired writers as a ' long life' at all, however numerous its days ? We think not. And we believe that the passages already referred to, together with many others that may be mentioned, prove to us in the clearest possible manner, that life is long only when, and according as, it is consecrated to the service of God, abounds in good works, is usefully spent, and fully occupied, and happily enjoyed in harmony with the statutes of Divine law.