Some important truths about conversion, delivered in sundry sermons, / by Increase Mather, D.D.…

Consid. 5. Your time in this World is but short; therefore improve it, it's pity to lose any part of a short time. Christ lived ⟨p. 173⟩not much above two and thirty years, therefore did he go up and down doing good, and was wonderfully careful to improve his time to the best advantage. Who knoweth how soon thy Soul may launch forth into the Ocean of Eternity? Thy time will quickly be gone; hence Job saith, Chap. 9. vers. 25, 26. My days are swifter than a Post, they flee away, they are passed away as the swift Ships, as the Eagle that hasteth to the prey. When men ride Post you know they go swiftly, but a Ship in the Sea hath a swifter motion, & flying is swifter than that, and an Eagle is amongst the swiftest of Birds, and the motion of an Eagle when hastening to the prey, is more swift than ordinary: All this is said, to show how fast a mans time doth spend away. If a man hath much work to do, and but little time to do it in, he had need to bestir himself. Suppose the Sun to be almost set, yet much work must of necessity be done ere the Sun be down; How needful is it to improve that little time? So 'tis here, every man hath much work of absolute necessity to be done, many duties to perform, many corruptions to subdue, many sins to repent of, and if all this be not done before Sun set, a ⟨p. 174⟩man's undone for ever, and therefore improve his time he must.

Consid. 5. Your time in this World is but short; therefore improve it, it's pity to lose any part of a short time. Christ lived ⟨p. 173⟩not much above two and thirty years, therefore did he go up and down doing good, and was wonderfully careful to improve his time to the best advantage. Who knoweth how soon thy Soul may launch forth into the Ocean of Eternity? Thy time will quickly be gone; hence Job saith, Chap. 9. vers. 25, 26. My days are swifter than a Post, they flee away, they are passed away as the swift Ships, as the Eagle that hasteth to the prey. When men ride Post you know they go swiftly, but a Ship in the Sea hath a swifter motion, & flying is swifter than that, and an Eagle is amongst the swiftest of Birds, and the motion of an Eagle when hastening to the prey, is more swift than ordinary: All this is said, to shew how fast a mans time doth spend away. If a man hath much work to do, and but little time to do it in, he had need to bestir himself. Suppose the Sun to be almost set, yet much work must of necessity be done e're the Sun be down; How needful is it to improve that little time? So 'tis here, every man hath much work of absolute necessity to be done, many duties to perform, many corruptions to subdue, many sins to repent of, and if all this be not done before Sun set, a