Fourthly, Furthermore, it will exceedingly torment them, to remember the fair opportunity that once they had, but now have lost. To look back upon an age spent in vanity, when his salvation lay at the stake. To think, How many weeks▪ and months, and years did I lose, which if I had improved, I might now have been happy? Wretch that I was! Could I find no time to study the work for which I had all my time?1 Had I no time among all my labours, to labour for eternity? Had I time to eat, and drink, and sleep, and work; and none to seek the saving of my soul? Had I time for sports, and mirth, and vain discourse, and none for prayer, or meditation on the life to come? Could I take time to look to my estate in the world? And none to try my title to Heaven, and to make sure of my spiritual and everlasting state? O precious time, whither art thou fled? I had once time enough, and now I must have no more! I had so much that I knew not what to do with it; I was fain to devise pastimes; and to talk it away, and trifle it away, and now it is gone, and cannot be recalled! ⟨p. 287⟩O the golden hours that I did enjoy! Had I spent but one year of all those years, or but one month of all those months, in through examination, and unfeigned conversion, and earnest seeking God with my whole heart, it had been happy for me that ever I was born; But now its past, my days are cut off, my glass it run, my Sun is set, and will rise no more; God himself did hold me the candle, that I might do his work, and I loitered till it was burnt out; And now how fain would I have more, but cannot? O that I had but one of those years to live over again! O that it were possible to recall one day, one hour of that time! Oh that God would turn me into the world, and try me once again, with another lives time! How speedily would I repent! How earnestly would I pray! And lye on my knees day and night! How diligently would I hear! How carefully would I examine my spiritual state! How watchfully would I walk! How strictly would I live! But its now too late; alas, too late. I abused my time to vanity whilst I had it, and now I must suffer justly for that abuse.
FOurthly, Furthermore, it will exceedingly torment them, to remember the fair opportunity that once they had, but now have lost. To look back upon an age spent in vanity, when his salvation lay at the stake. To think, How many weeks▪ and months, and yeers did I lose, which if I had improved, I might now have been happy? Wretch that I was! Could I finde no time to study the work for which I had all my time?1 Had I no time among all my labours, to labour for eternity? Had I time to eat, and drink, and sleep, and work; and none to seek the saving of my soul? Had I time for sports, and mirth, and vain discourse, and none for prayer, or meditation on the life to come? Could I take time to look to my estate in the world? And none to try my title to Heaven, and to make sure of my spirituall and everlasting state? O pretious time, whither art thou fled? I had once time enough, and now I must have no more! I had so much that I knew not what to do with it; I was fain to devise pastimes; and to talk it away, and trifle it away, and now it is gone, and cannot be recalled! ⟨p. 287⟩O the golden hours that I did enjoy! Had I spent but one yeer of all those yeers, or but one month of all those months, in through examination, and unfeigned conversion, and earnest seeking God with my whole heart, it had been happy for me that ever I was born; But now its past, my dayes are cut off, my glass it run, my Sun is set, and will rise no more; God himself did hold me the candle, that I might do his work, and I loitered till it was burnt out; And now how fain would I have more, but cannot? O that I had but one of those yeers to live over again! O that it were possible to recall one day, one hour of that time! Oh that God would turn me into the world, and try me once again, with another lives time! How speedily would I repent! How earnestly would I pray! And lye on my knees day and night! How diligently would I hear! How carefully would I examine my spirituall state! How watchfully would I walk! How strictly would I live! But its now too late; alas, too late. I abused my time to vanity whilest I had it, and now I must suffer justly for that abuse.
- 1Stu'tae valetudin•s fructus est peccatum. Nazianz.
