Christs Love and Affection Towards Jerusalem, Chapter 17
CHAP. 17.
It is every mans duty to redeeme the day of grace out of the hands of all ſuch uſurping tyrants, as eate up all the good houres of it.
Chap. 17 3 AND in the next place, if the time allotted unto thee for the getting of grace and ſalvation be in ſpeciall manner thy day, why doſt thou ſuffer it to be held captive in the hands of uſurping tyrants? why doſt thou not rather redeeme it, and get it into thine owne hands? it had been thy wiſeſt part to have kept this day in thy hands, when thou hadſt it, and to have been more ſaving and thrifty in the husbanding of it; but ſeeing that which is paſt, cannot be recalled, it will now be thy wiſedome to contract with time preſent, for ſome allowance towards it, and to give ſomething thy ſelfe, nay any thing that lyes in thy power for the redemption of it; that is, to win all the time that poſſibly thou canſt, for the duties of piety and religion. This uſe the Apoſtle makes of it,aEph. 5.16. Redeeme the time, becauſe the dayes are evill. In hard times, when trading is dead, and there is little to be got, the wiſe Merchant will be ſparing and provident; ſparing in his expences, and provident to lay out for all occaſions and opportunities of gaining ſomething: ſo it behoves Chriſtians to be good husbands & merchants of their time, becauſe the dayes are evill: that is, hard times, full of miſery, full of trouble, full of danger, full of temptations; they are dead times, wherein there is little ſpirituall good to be got; or as the FatherbAnſelm. Quae occaſionē bene agendi vel adimunt, vel minuunt, vel periculo exponunt. expounds it, daies and times that either diminiſh and take away the occaſions of well-doing, or expoſe them to much trouble and danger, becauſe they dayes are ſuch: therefore muſt Chriſtians play the good husbands in the merchandiſe of their time, that is, as provident Merchants they caſt a curious eye upon all commodities, and conſider which are like to be moſt gainfull, and buy up them, and get them into their hands, becauſe that is the end why they take up commodities, namely, to make gaine of them: ſo ſhould every one wiſely conſider what time and ſeaſon is likeſt to bring in greateſt gaine and advantage, if it be well husbanded and improved, and be ſure to get that into his hands, and make his beſt penyworths of it; this is to redeeme the time: as for time paſt, that cannot be otherwiſe redeemed, than by true and unfained repentance for the ill penyworths that have been made of it, and the ill husbandry that hath been uſed in the laying out of the ſame: time to come, that cannot be redeemed any other way, but by laying in for it afore-hand, that it may come to thy hands; and that is, by walking carefully in the duties of obedience, and ſo bringing thy ſelfe within the compaſſe of that promiſe, which prolongs thy dayes in the land which the Lord thy God ſhall give thee cExod 20.12.. For as God cuts ſhort the dayes of wicked men for their ſinnes, ſo that they doe not live out halfe their dayes dPſal. 55.23.; ſo he prolongs the dayes of the righteous, and addes unto their dayes, as hee dealt with Hezekiah, to whoſe dayes he added fifteene yeares e2 Kings 20.6.; but the time preſent, that is the time that muſt eſpecially be redeemed: and the redeeming of it conſiſts in two things:
1. In ſetting it at liberty out of the hands of thoſe uſurping tyrants, which eate up all the good houres of moſt men, and keepe them priſoners, and ſo hinder them from being taken up with better imployments; ſo that a man redeemes his time, when he gets it into his owne hands.
2. In applying of it to his right end, and laying it out upon thoſe imployments for which it was given: the former of theſe is laid downe by Saint Auguſtine fAug. Serm. 24. de verbis Apoſt. Quando aliquis tibi infert litē, perde aliquid, ut Deo vaces, non litibus: id enim quod perdis, pretiū eſt temporis; ſicut enim das nummos, et panem emis, ita que aliquid amittis et aliquid acquiris; ſic perde nummos ut emas tibi quietē, id eſt, tempus vacandi Deo, hoc enim eſt tēpus redimere., who tells thee, that earthly and ſecular imployments are thoſe uſurping tyrants, that impriſon moſt mens time, and keepe it in hold; and therefore hee that would redeeme it, muſt be content to loſe ſomething in the things of this world, that hee may more freely enjoy himſelfe, and be at leiſure for God; even as a man that is unjuſtly moleſted with ſuites of Law, he is content to loſe ſomething for the redeeming of his peace, rather than to be robbed of ſo many good houres, as he muſt of neceſſity loſe, by following and attending upon thoſe troubleſome ſuites. The ſecond is laid down by Saint Hierome gHier. com. in lo. Quando tempꝰ in bono conſumimus, emimꝰ illud et propriū facimus, quod malitia hominum venditum fuerat, ſic que dies malos in bonos vertimꝰ, et facimus illos non praeſētis ſaeculi ſed futuri., who gives thee to underſtand, that time was given to men, that it might be ſerviceable unto them in doing of good; and is then ſold away, and held captive in priſon, when it is laid out upon thoſe ſinfull deſignes, and taken up in thoſe ſinfull actions, which have no time by God allowed for them; and therefore is then redeemed, when it is ſet at liberty from that which is evill, and applyed unto that which is good; as a thing is redeemed, when it is bought againe out of thoſe mens hands, into which it was unjuſtly ſold by thieves, and ſuch as had no right in it: this is to turne evill dayes into good, and to make them to be dayes, not of this preſent evill world, but dayes of eternity, and parts of another world: and there is great reaſon why every one ſhould redeeme and buy out all the time of this day, that poſſibly he can, becauſe every part of it is exceeding precious, and of infinite worth and value, beyond all price that can be ſet upon it: and therefore he ſhall be no loſer by it, but an infinite gainer, what ever it coſt him; for it can but coſt him the loſſe of temporall things, which in compariſon are vile, and of no worth; but it brings with it the gaine of eternall things, which are more precious thā gold, yea than the fineſt gold: for if gold be precious, becauſe a little quantity of gold is worth a great quantity of other things; then time much more, becauſe a little time is worth eternity; for a little time well ſpent, procures an eternall waight of glory. Or if gold be precious, becauſe it is rare, and not to be found in many mens hands, then time much more; becauſe there are ſundry men that have many pieces of gold, all together and at the ſame time; but there is no man living that hath more than one minute of time at once; he cannot poſsibly get another into his poſſeſsion till that be gone: Chap. 18.and therefore great reaſon there is why every one ſhould be carefull to redeeme the time, becauſe this is nothing elſe, as Saint Auguſtine hAug. hom. 1. inter. 50. Quid eſt redimere tē pus, niſi cum opus eſt etiā detrimento temporalium commodorū ad aeterna quaerēda & capeſcenda; ſpatia temporis comparare.ſaith well, but to lay out temporall things for the purchaſing of eternall; and with the loſſe of earthly commodities, to buy in that day, wherein everlaſting happineſſe is ſet at ſale, and offered to every one that will lay out himſelfe for the compaſſing of it.