5. Our time hath been a very sinful time. Ah my brethren, think over your Ignorance, unbelief, worldliness, covetousness, pride, malice, lusts, lukewarmness, impatience, discontentedness, vain-glory, self love, wandering and wicked imaginations: in a word, all your pollutions, distempers, estrangedness from God in the time of your unregeneracy; oh were not those sinful, abominable, and rebellious times: or be it so that your gracious God hath since those times wrought in you effectually his saving grace, have you not since, then lost your first love, or at least grown remiss, and cold, and lukewarm in it? Say then, speak out your hearts and tell me, is it not time now to remember from whence you are fallen, and to repent, and to do your first works? Blessed Mr. Bolton hath a saying, that if it were possible that any uncomfortable passion were incident to a glorified Saint in Heaven, he would be sorry, and transported with extreme anger and indignation against himself that he was not a mere greedy engrosser (as it were) and improver of time for doing excellently upon Earth, and that every hour, especially after his Conversion, was not Crowned with some rare and more remarkable exploit, with some more special and noble service for the glorifying of that most bountiful and ever-blessed God, who hath now honoured him with such unspeakable glory in the Kingdom of Heaven. But if no such passion is in glorified Saints, I am sure we have all cause enough to loath our selves in our own fight for our iniquities, and for our abominations. O come, let this be a motive to spur us on, and to quicken us in this duty of Redeeming the time, because our days were evil.
5. Our time hath been a very sinful time. Ah my brethren, think over your Ignorance, unbelief, worldliness, covetousness, pride, malice, lusts, lukewarmness, impatience, discontentedness, vain-glory, self love, wandring and wicked imaginations: in a word, all your pollutions, distempers, estrangedness from God in the time of your unregeneracy; oh were not those sinful, abominable, and rebellious times: or be it so that your gracious God hath since those times wrought in you effectually his saving grace, have you not since, then lost your first love, or at least grown remiss, and cold, and lukewarm in it? Say then, speak out your hearts and tell me, is it not time now to remember from whence you are fallen, and to repent, and to do your first works? Blessed Mr. Bolton hath a saying, that if it were possible that any uncomfortable passion were incident to a glorified Saint in Heaven, he would be sorry, and transported with extream anger and indignation against himself that he was not a meer greedy ingrosser (as it were) and improver of time for doing excellently upon Earth, and that every hour, especially after his Conversion, was not Crowned with some rare and more remarkable exploit, with some more special and noble service for the glorifying of that most bountiful and ever-blessed God, who hath now honored him with such unspeakable glory in the Kingdom of Heaven. But if no such passion is in glorified Saints, I am sure we have all cause enough to loath our selves in our own fight for our iniquities, and for our abominations. O come, let this be a motive to spur us on, and to quicken us in this duty of Redeeming the time, because our dayes were evil.
