Alas even Sabbath-time, the purest the most refined part of time, a Creation out of a Creation, time consecrated by divine sanction, how cheap & common is it in most mens ⟨p. 103⟩eyes, while many do sin away, and the most, do idle away, those hallowed hours? Seneca was wont to jeer the Jews for their ill husbandry, in that they lost one day in seven, meaning their Sabbath: truly it is too true of the most of Christians, they lose one day in seven, what ever else; the Sabbath for the most part is but a lost day; while some spend it totally upon their lust, and the most, I had almost said, the best, do fill up the void spaces and intervals of the Sabbath from public worship, with idleness and vanity! But oh when trouble comes, and danger comes, and death comes; when the Sword is at the Bowels the Pistol at the breast, the knife at the throat, Death at the door, how precious would one of those despised hours be? evil days cry with a loud voice in our ears. Redeem the time: That caution was written from the Tower in Rome. 1Redeem the time because the days are evil. In life threatening dangers, 2when God threatens as it were, that time shall be ⟨p. 104⟩no more, then we can think of redeeming time for prayer, for reading, for meditation, for studying and clearing out our evidences for Heaven, for doing & receiving good, according to opportunities presented; yea then we can gather up the very broken fragments of time, that nothing may be lost. Then God teacheth the soul what a choice piece of wisdom it is, for Christians, (if it were possible) to be before hand with time; for usually it comes to pass through our unskilfulness and improvidence, 3that we are surprised by Death; and we that reckoned upon years, many years yet to come, have not, possibly, so many hours, to make ready our accounts: It may be, this night is the Summons, and then if our time be done, and our work to be begun, in what a case are we! The soul must needs be in perplexity at the hour of death, that seeth the day spent, and its work yet to do. A Traveller that seeth the Sun setting, when he is but entering on his journey, cannot but be aghast: the evening ⟨p. 105⟩of our day, and the morning of our task, do not well agree together, that time which remaineth is too short for lamenting the loss of by-past time.
Alas even Sabbath-time, the purest the most refined part of time, a Creation out of a Creation, time consecrated by divine sanction, how cheap & common is it in most mens ⟨p. 103⟩eyes, while many do sin away, and the most, do idle away, those hallowed houres? Seneca was wont to jeer the Jews for their ill husbandry, in that they lost one day in seven, meaning their Sabbath: truly it is too true of the most of Christians, they lose one day in seven, what ever else; the Sabbath for the most part is but a lost day; while some spend it totally upon their lust, and the most, I had almost said, the best, do fill up the voyd spaces and intervales of the Sabbath from publick worship, with idleness and vanity! But oh when trouble comes, and danger comes, and death comes; when the Sword is at the Bowels the Pistol at the brest, the knife at the throat, Death at the door, how precious would one of those despised houres be? evil days cry with a loud voice in our eares. Redeem the time: That caution was written from the Tower in Rome. 1Redeem the time because the dayes are evil. In life threatning dangers, 2when God threatens as it were, that time shall be ⟨p. 104⟩no more, then we can think of redeeming time for prayer, for reading, for meditation, for studying and clearing out our evidences for Heaven, for doing & receiving good, according to opportunities presented; yea then we can gather up the very broken fragments of time, that nothing may be lost. Then God teacheth the soul what a choice peece of wisdom it is, for Christians, (if it were possible) to be before hand with time; for usually it comes to passe through our unskilfulness and improvidence, 3that we are surprized by Death; and we that reckoned upon yeers, many yeers yet to come, have not, possibly, so many hours, to make ready our accompts: It may be, this night is the Summons, and then if our time be done, and our work to be begun, in what a case are we! The soul must needs be in perplexity at the hour of death, that seeth the day spent, and its work yet to do. A Traveller that seeth the Sun setting, when he is but entring on his journey, cannot but be agast: the evening ⟨p. 105⟩of our day, and the morning of our task, do not well agree together, that time which remaineth is too short for lamenting the losse of by-past time.
- 1Eph. 5.16
- 2Rev. 10.6
- 3In hoc n. fallimur quod mortem prospitimus. Sen. in ep.
