The Right Reckoning of Years and Ages of the World, Part
A faithfull and godlie Admonition to al true Christians, gathered vponupon the words of the Apostle PAVLE
Ephes. 5. vers 16. Coloss …. vers 5.
To redeeme time, because the dayes are euill.
GOD The creator and author of time, as hee hath appoynted all things that are done in the World to be measured thereby; so hath he ordayned, certaine limites and bounds of time; some short, some longer, vntounto the life of every man in this earth, according as it is written in Io…, where he sayeth,… Are not the dayes of man, and the number of his Moneths appoynted with thee [O Lord] thou hast limited his bounds, which he cannot passe ouer. And a little before, to declare the shortnes of these bounds, he compareth the life of everie man that is borne of a woman, to a flowre that suddenly shoteth vp, and is cut down, and vanisheth away as a shaddow, and continueth not. Likewise, DAVID in the Psalme,Phalm▪ … compareth his dayes to an hand breadth, and sheweth, how every man walketh, as in a shaddowe; disquieteth him selfe in vaine, heapeth vp riches, and cannot tell who shall gather them. And Pindarus the Poet, to expres to the vttermost the brevitie and vncertaintie of mans life, compareth it not onelie to a shaddow, but to the dreame of a shaddowe: And yet so is the corrupt nature of the moste part of men that they imagine and dreame vntounto themselues, a certaine false opinion of immortalitie in this present most frayle and transitorie life. And (as the same Poet sayeth) a certaine presumpteous hope, so hath knit vp our mortall members, that wee imagine manie great matters in our mindes, and our fore sight hath farre endes. To refrayne this vaine curiositie, the Prophet Moyses, in the ninetie Psalme, after that hee hath distributed the frayle estate of mans life, declaring how they passe awaie, as a sleepe, and as the Grasse that groweth in the Morning, and at the euening is withered awaie.
And howe that commonlie, the longest tearme of mennes yeares, is about three score and ten yeares: And if some of greater strength, attaine to the age of foure-score yeares, yet are they the more subject to laboure and sorrowe: hee maketh his supplication vntounto GOD, that hee will teache vsus to number our dayes, that wee maie applie our heartes vntounto wisedome: Whereby hee sheweth, that none but they whome GOD of his especiall grace, doth illuminate by his Spirite, canne rightlie applie their heartes, to this true Wisedome, to considder the brevitie of the shorte number, of the dayes we hauehave here in this present life.
Therefore (deare brethren and Christians) wee hauehave great neede most earnestlieto call and crie vntounto GOD, that wee forget not this counte: Forthere bee manie that can make great reckonings of long times, and manie yeares that are paste before them: And yet cannot rightlie reckon the shorte time and continuance of their owne liues: yea, men wil reckon and counte by Arithmeticke all things, and even as the very distance, betweene the Heaven and the Earth, and the moste highest Starres: And yet onelie the faithfull, (and they that put their confidence in God) knowe the distance that is betweene this shorte and transitorie life, and that blessed and immortall life which hath no ende, vntounto the which wee are created, and to the which ende, this presente life ought to bee directed.
For, (deare brethren) let vsus bat considder the vanitie of the moste parte of menne in this poynte, how littele they esteeme of the shorte time they are to remayne in this presente and momentaneous life: Not-with-standing, moste of all their vayne pretences and imaginationes, is to compasse the whole Worlde, (if it were possible) and to doe greate wounders and actes therein.
For time being so precious, and so highlie to be regarded, in respecte of the shortnesse of this life, that GOD hath lente vsus in this wretched Worlde, and (as the Prophet DAVID sheweth vsus moste plainely and evidently, in the some score and tenth Psalme) wee knowe not how soone the Lord shall saye vntounto vsus, Returne yee sonnes of ADAM vntounto corruption.
And more-over, time once being lost, cannot be againe recovered, for no Gold not price, yet is there not any thing where-of men are more prodigall, in so much, that there is nothing whereof they regarde lesse the losse, yea, that which is worse, the greater parte of menne counte so little of time, that for a shorte and transitorie passing of time in this life, they lose the ioye and felicitie of that everlasting life, and perpetuall time, whereof, commeth this speec…e cōmonly vsed of this world (pas time) but by corruptiō of maners of men, who esteemlightly how time passeth awaie, so they may hauehave some vaine pleasure in the drist thereof, as a thing where with they be fasshed and wearied: So wee see, how the little time that men hauehave in this life, for the most part is spent, to witte, in vanitie, idlenesse, yea, over often in vice and wickednesse, and that little time which is bestowed in vertue or godlinesse, is commonly most wearisome: As when men are occupyed; be they Magistrats or judges, in hearing the plaintes of the poore, and execution of justice; be they inseriours or craftel-men, or labourers, in doing their handie worke, and appoynted labour, to the profit of themselues, and their families: But in spending of it, which by that meanes they winne, as in drinking, playing, or vaine games, there is no hoe, not falsherie to be occupyed night and day; and in matters of godlinesse, see we not what fassherie it is, even to many, not of the worst sort, to spend the space of an houre, or little more in hearing the word of God, wherein standeth our salvation, who will not like nor tire of sit at table thrise as long to feede the bodie? yea, oft-times, to over-burden it with meate and drinke, to whome it is so irksom, shorter time to hauehave their soules fedde with that word which is the more precious an delicat food of everlasting life. VVherfore, seing the most part of this world, regards so little of time, but pas it over so lightly, to their great damnage and perrill of their own soules: we, the faithful, ought to be the more earnest, to exhort & admonish one another, to occupy the short time we hauehave heare, not as the common sorte of carelesse men vses: but in such waies, as wee may bee able (at least in some measure) to giuegive account to him that …es placed vsus in this earth, as vppon a skaffold to play our parte: and if we hauehave neglected or mispent the time by-past, to take heede to recover the losse thereof in times comming. Nowe this is the cause and ende wherefore Paule in the words of our text, exhorted so diligently the faithfull of his daies, to redeeme time, by recovering the losse by-past, & making much of the time present, & of time to come, so long as they hauehave it, apprehēding greedely the occasiō offred vntounto them to do wel: And this the Apostle speaketh to the Gentiles of his time, being newly converted to the knowledge of the Gospell, having respect to their-by-past life and conversation, spent in vanitie, wickednesse and ignorance of God, according to the which, tendeth that saying of Peter in his first Epistle, 4. chap. verse 3. as he writeth also of the same matter, saying, It is sufficient for vsus, that we hauehave spent the time past of the life, after the lusts of the Gentiles, walking in wantonnesse, lustes, drankennesse, in gluttonie, and in abhominaeble idolatries: And this same our Apostle, to the like purpose, in another place sayeth,Rom. …. We know the time, that the houre is now to rise from sleep for our salvation, is nearer then when we beleued the night is past, & the day is at hand: Let vsus therefore caste awaie the workes of darkenesse, and put on the armor of light, that we may walke honestlie as in the da…e, not in gluttony & drunkennesse, nor in strife nor invying, not in chambring & wantonnes, but to put on the Lord Iesus Christ, & take no thoght for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts of it. So here the meaning of the Apostle is, where he speaketh of redeeming of time, that the faithfull take greate diligence in the recovering of that which is by-past and lost, by walking more circumspectlie and diligently, in the trad of godlines, in times comming, taking a similitude from worldly men, & worldly affairs: As if a Merchant hauing slipt & slept his businesse, in not comming in due time to his market, should be put in remembrance to be more vigilant in times comming, and vse more diligence in vttring his wares in time to come, or as if it were, to fore-warne vsus not to be like vnthriftie spenders wedde-setters of lande, who spend ryotously the money they take vponupon it, & hauehave taken no heed to pay the yearely duetie, or annuel-rent to the creditors, but let it slip over, the longer they so do, the Land is worse to redeeme, vnlesse they take better heede in times comming.
So they that driue time, to amende their liues from daye to daye, and suffer themselues to be carryed awaie in a custome and habite of evill doing, repent over-late, when they cannot amend the former losse. Therefore the Apostle in the words preceeding, desireth the Ephesians, to take heede to walk circum spectly. not as such vnwise men, but as the vvise, and vnderstand what the vvill of the Lorde is. And as wee are made light in the Lorde, so wee walke in the Light and sight of him and his Angelles, having them as witnesses of all our doings: Al-be-it, no mortall man should knowe the same, and so to become wiser then the common sorte of the Worlde, as being instructed in the Schoole of Christ, the fountaine of all true wisedome. This being the minde and meaning of the Apostle, concerning the redemption of time, wee hauehave to marke the cause of this his earneste admonition, which hee addeth immediatlie, saying, Because the dayes are evill, not that the dayes were evill of themselues; but this hee speaketh, in respecte of the time, and daungerous estate of Christians in his dayes, the worlde being also then full of corruption, and offences, and therefore more difficill to the faithful, to walke warilie therein, the Gospell then having so manie adversaries; and the Divell himselfe occupying a tyrannie in the Worlde, so that the time coulde not be dedicate and consecrate to the service of GOD, vnlesse the same were in a manner redeemed, & the lost time by-past, bought againe with the losse of worldlie pleasures, and forsaking of the vnfruitfull workes of darkenesse: Seeking after newe occasiones of Godlinesse, which the Worlde and worldlings, by euill example, would plucke awaie from vsus.Colloss. …. And therefore he admonisheth the Collossians likewise to walk warelie, towards them that are without, redeeming the time, meaning toward the infidels, that they being mingled amongst them, might not onelie beware, least they were defyled with their corrupt manner of living, and so by processe of time, become like to them, but also to beware to giuegive them occasion of slander by any apearand evil ensample of life, thereby to make them to speake evil of the Gospel, and also to bee more cruell, and bente to persecute them for the Gospelles sake; therefore hee willeth them, to redeeme the time, by taking occasion of well dooing Wheresoever he same was offered, and striue against all impedimentes, and that because of the evill dayes and greate corruptiones, that then reigneth in the World.
Now, if the Apostle had neede in his dayes, to vse this exhortation, howe much more is it needefull in this corrupted age wherein we are of the which, the same Apostle PAVLE, speaketh vntounto TIMOTHEE, in the second Epistle the third Chapter, in this manner, Knowe thou this, that in the laste dayes, there shall bee perrellous times: For menne shall bee lovers of themselues, boasters, proude, cursed speakers, dissobedient to Parentes, vn-thankfull, vn-holie, vvithout naturall affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, intemperat, fearce, despisers of them which are good, Traitours, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more then of GOD, hauing a shew of godlinesse, but denying the power thereof. Turne away therfore (sayth he) from such. Surely, if ever there was any time since the beginning of the world, or any age where-into such corruptions and maners of men abounded; this may bee holden the principall, wherevnto charitie is waxed could, and all kinde of iniquity waxed ho…e, and hath full libertie: And albeit the Apostle in this place, by the last times, meaneth in a manner the whole estate of Christs kingdome, that was to follow his dayes, yet the nearer the Sunne draweth to an ende,Math. 24 the more danger and greater troubles no doubt were to ensew: For as Christ himselfe doth forewarne vsus, In these latter dayes shall aryse warres and tumultes of warres, famine, pestilence, pers…cution for the Gospell, with other calamities and inconveniences, which fall out against mens bodies, but the corrupt and evill maners of men, also should infect the soules of those that bee not ware with them, and that which is worse, the Apostle here meaneth, not only that such vices shal reign in these latter times, amongst the vngodlie, and enemies that are without the Church, but even of domesticall professoures with the same, that would be reckoned amongst the members of his Church, for GOD will hauehave the same so exercised, that she shall be subject to beare, albeit not to foster such pestiferous corruptions, within her bosome: for which cause, we hauehave al great neede in these daies, of this fore-warning, that wee should learne in time to beare patientlie our estate, and to eschew the evil example of those men, who are now mingled amongst vsus, whose companie is declared to be the more dangerous, that he shewed, that such men polluted with so manie erroneous faults, should neverthelesse professe outwardlie, and hauehave a shew of godlinesse, for so is the nature of Hypocrites, to cloke their sinnes with extreame impudencie: Of such sorte were the Pharisees of old; and in our time, the filthie Papistical Clergie, and over-manie of those who pretend aye reformed Religion: For the Apostle here maketh a catalogue of such signes, as appeare not outwardlie incontinent, but lurk and are hid vnderunder a certaine feined holinesse. For where shall wee finde an hypocrite but he is proude, a lover of himselfe, and contemner of others: yea, fearce, cruell, and deceitfull: but fo hee will not appeare to mens eyes, vnlesse he be more narrow…ie espyed by them that hauehave the spirit of discretion, to know them by their fruits. Of these Hypocrites, the Apostle Paule, in his other Epistle to Timothee, giveth two examples,1. Tim. 4. which hee declared also, shall be in the latter dayes, wherein some shall departe from the faith, taking heed to deceivable spirites; yea, teaching devilish doctrine, to witte, forbidding mariage, and commanding to abstaine from meates, which God created and ordained, to bee received with thanks-giving. Noting in speciall (besides vther heretickes) the Papistes with their superstitious decrees, wherby they binde the consciences of men, with these two errovrs & many vthers, contrarie to the libertie of the Gospel, & persecute by fyre & sword true Christians, that wil not assent to their devilish decrees: therefore wee may well conclude, these are the dangerous dayes, whereof Paule meant, and that the faithfull hauehave great neede to take heede to them selues: And by all appearance this same present yeare of Christ, 1600. with certaine fewe yeares, immediatly following, are like to be yeares of great troubles to the Church of God and persecution, intended by the Papisticall tyrannie, against all true professoures of Gospell, wherein they may be able to invade, as may witnesse, that late League, made in Ferrar, at the mariage of the King of Spaine, and that mis-made Cardinal, Albertus, Arch-duke of Austria, celebrate by Pope Clement the eight, which hath bene interprysed to be begunne and to take execution in some parts of Almanie, and of the Low cuntries: and great vowes and preparationes made (as we heare) not onelyonly against those cuntries, but against this Ile of Brittaine, and inhabitantes thereof, the which, the Lorde in his merciemercy, turne to the confusion of the interprisoures thereof, as he did before: And giuegive vsus grace, that wee may with watching and prayer, depend vponupon his majestie, trustling, and waiting for his deliverance, occupying the time, and ocasion offered to vsus of peace and quietnesse, in such sorte, that suddane destruction apprehend vsus not before wee beware, according as wee hauehave bene forewarned of our maister Christ, and of his Apostle Peter, declaring that his latter comming to iudgement, shall be as in the dayes of Noah, when as they were eating and drinking, marying, and giuing in Mariage, vntounto the day that he was entred into the Arke, and then came the floude and destroyed them al. So shall the comming of the Sonne of man be (sayeth he.) We see now the worlde is in as great and greater securitie, then it was then, and al the sins that reigned thē in the world aboūd now more then they did. Therefore, the sinnes that we reade of them of that age were two in speciall, the one was the vnlawfull conjunction in mariage of the children of God, or the faithfull seede with the cursed posteritie of CAIN, and that there were then Gyants in the Earth, to witte, mightie oppressoures, vsurping …yrannicall dominion over men, such as was not seene in the worlde of before. And hauehave wee not these and manie moe greater sinnes and enormities, raignning at all libertie in our dayes, for who now seeketh allyance of mariage with the Godlie, for vertue or Godlinesse cause? But be they Godlie, be they vngodlie; the first question is, what may they spend, how much men may giuegive with their daughters; & as to tyrā ny & oppressiō was there ever greater since the world stood. But besides these specials, kindnes, fidelitie, and louelove, true feare of GOD (which is principal) where be they to be founde? But in place thereof, craft, doublenesse, deceite, insatiable greedines, and such other sinnes, as was recited before, and prophecied by PAVLE, beare the swinge in such sorte, that it is marvell howe a common societie can stande anie longer amongst men. And if this were onelie amongst the Romane sorte of prophane menne, it were more to be borne with, but even they who will be in account & hauehave place in the Church of God, are no better for the most part: And (to cease now to speake in particular, of other forrayne cuntries) comming to our selues in this Iland; what is there in England, and Scotland, but a naked profession of Religion, with out fruites following? In England, a proude ambition, both in Church, and amongst the whole multitude: Yea, proude profanitie, with contempt and disdayne of others. In Scotland, a sluggish securitie, and in both the Landes, a loath-some haiting of the worde of GOD, casting off the yoke of discipline, and licenceous liberty in all kinde of vngodlinesse, yea, meiting of the Lorde our God, with extreame vnthankfulnesse, in respect of his graces offered so long to both the Nationes: Falsehood, oppression, murthers, harlottries, and all other such kinde of mischieuous dealing, without hauing anie punishmente: Yea, filthie Swine,2. Pet. …. Iude. and Dogges, eating their owne vomite, as was prophecyed in PETER and IVDE, in their Epistles; and namely, such prophaine mockers of all religion, hauing once professed the trueth, aud now turning to Epicureisme, & develish Atheisme, tanting at the promise of the cōming of the Lord Iesus to judgement, & saying, that all worldlie things continue in the same estate they were frō the beginning, & so supposing the world never to hauehave ende, & that there shall neither be punishment for evill doing, nor reward for wel doing, after this life: To whom Peter answered accordingly, as in his second Epistle, we may read, howe they willinglie misknow howe the first worlde was destroyed by water, and it resteth, that the next, which we are in, be destroyed by fyre, and that the long suffering of the Lord is (if it were possible) to bring al men to repētance and howe a thousand years is with him as one day, and one daye, as a thousande yeares, as indeede what is the time, if wee shall reckon all the ages from the beginning of the worlde, vntounto this present, but as it was not sixe daies expleit, for giueing to everie age a thousand yeares, as some do, the six thousand; vet it wil lack foure hundreth forty fiue years, & if we count by hundreths, the ages of the worlde (which is now commonly the longest time of mans life) there will be but fiftie fiue ages paste, and we are now in the fiftie sixtage, wherein all tokens of the latter times, appeares for the most parte to be fulfilled (whereof we hauehave spoken in our Treatise before) and if we shall beleeue the Astrologues, Saturne being Lorde of the revolution of the great Circle this yeare, signifieth Sectes, changing of estates and Kingdomes. Seeing then all these things threatten vnvnto vsus the hastie cumming of the Lord to judgment, it becōmeth vsus now not to neglect the occasion offred vntounto vsus, so long as wee are in this present shorte life, to do well, for we know how occasion is paynted, as the verse sayeth:
Fronte capillata est, post hac occasio calva.
Occasion on the fore-head hath haire,
But ay behinde she is naked and baire.
Wishing al men therefore earnestlie, (as our Maister fore-warneth vsus) to lift vp their heades, and waite for their approching redemption, when the Lord shal appeare in the clowdes to the comfort of the faithfull. And seeing there is no perpetuall remayning for vsus in this world, but after a certaine shorte space of time, we all must needes change our dwelling place, and compeare before that celestiall Iudge; that wee learne to addresse our selues for that heavenly life, while we hauehave time, for it shall come to passe, that time shall bee no more, when as the seaventh Angel shal begin to blowe his trumpet. For then (as Iohn speaketh in his Revelation) the mysterie of God shall be finished. Let vsus not therefore be like the foolish virgines, but whē the bridgroome commeth,Math. …. let vsus hauehave our Lampes reddy prepared with oyle to meet him, and the more thornie and dangerous the way of the jorney of our life is in these euil dayes, let vsus be the more diligent, & warily taking heed to the steppes of our feet, that we may walke as in lighte and not in darknesse; & the Lord will come shortly and put an ende to our labors, receauing vsus in his everlasting kingdome, euen the Lord Iesus Christ. To whome with his heauenly Father, and the holy Ghost, be al honour and praise for euer, Amen.
End of the text · Robert Pont, The Right Reckoning of Years and Ages of the World (1599)