Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n
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A40356
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Time and the end of time, or, Two discourses, the first about redemption of time, the second about consideration of our latter end by John Fox.
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Fox, John, fl. 1676.
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1670
(1670)
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Wing F2024; ESTC R10455
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99,064
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254
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TIME AND THE End of Time OR Two Discourses The first about Redemption of Time the second about Consideration of our latter end By John Fox Psal 90. 12. So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom â—am 1. 9. Her filthiness is in her skirts she â—â—membreth not her last end therefore she 〈◊〉 down wonderfully â—…pudet te reliquias vitae tibi reservare id solum tempus bonae menti destinare 〈◊〉 in nullam rem conferri possit Quam serum est tunc vivere incipere cum desinendum est Sen. de brev vit London Printed for George Calvert and Sam. Sprint at the Sign of the Ball in Duck-lane 1670. Ephes 5. 16. Redeeming the time because the days are evil IN the beginning of this Chapter the Apostle exhorts Christians to holiness in general by setting before them a perfect pattern Be ye followers of God as dear Children and walk in love The favourites of Heaven must imitate their Father and like Gideons brethren resemble the Children of a King The precept is Be ye holy be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect Then he goes on to press this great duty more particularly upon all their several relations which he urgeth by many Arguments And in the Text he seemeth to point out the opportunity to put those and other Christian duties into practise See that you walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time Explication of the Words Time is taken under a double notion there is the space of time and there is the opportunity of time Tempus longum and tempus commodum time and opportunity differ time is the duration or succession of so many minutes hours days or years one after the other from the beginning of a mans life to the end thereof Job 7. 1. 14 14. Is there not an appointed time for man upon Earth Opportunity is the time apted and fitted in order to this or that work or business viz. a meeting of time and means together to effect the end This is called the season or tempestivity of time when time tide and wind meet and clasp together Eccle. 3. 1. To every thing there is a season or opportunity of doing time may be continued when the season of time is ended the sails of time may be a lost when the gale of opportunity is lost Every time is not a spring-time a seed-time a gaining time Manna was not to be had but in the morning The beauty of time is the opportunity of time Eccles 3. 11. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time this part of time we are to redeem Redeeming denotes the excellent worth and preciousness of time a commodity to be valued above the Gold of Ophir Solomon bids us buy the truth Prov. 23. 23. Our dear Lord counselled a miserable Church to buy Gold and white rayment Rev. 3. 18. And Paul exhorts us to buy the time a Jewel of that price which must be redeemed at any rate Base or vile things are not wont to be redeemed but things of worth namely mens Liberties Estates Lives c. So our precious time Redeeming the time because the days are evil The words contain two general parts 1. An Exhortation to a duty Redeemeth time 2. The reason of it because the days are evil From the words we may observe this Doctrine which shall be the subject of my ensuing discourse Doct. The best of Saints or the redeemed of God have need to redeem the time This Epistle was written to a very famous flourishing Church in the purest times of the Gospel amongst whom they were called Saints and faithful in Christ Jesus Chap. 1. 1. and chosen of God in Christ before the foundation of the world Vers 4. and really converted and brought into a state of life Moreover they had learned the duty of Mortification one of the hardest lessons in Christianity Chap. 4. 22. And were also sealed unto the day of Redemption Chap. 1. 13. 4 30. and had the earnest of their Heavenly Inheritance And yet they whose attainments were so high must redeem the time The same thing is prest in different terms Eccles 9. 10 It 's called a working while it is day Jo. 9. 4 In the handling of this position I shall shew you 1. First When time may be said to be redeemed 2. What time must be redeemed 3. How time must be redeemed 4. Why time must be redeemed 5. Motives and Directions to help you First When is time redeemed Answ When time and duty like those two twins Jacob and Esau take hold one of another or as two loving yoak-fellows go hand in hand when duty attends time as the shadow the body or as the Maiden her Mistress This is to fill up time with duty and to take opportunity by the fore-lock or in Scripture phrase to do the work of the day in the day And to this end opportunities or seasons are to be desired as they offer an occasion of service and of doing our duty This we may see in holy David Psal 122. 1. I was glad when they said unto me come let us go up to the house of the Lord. When there was a way open to Worship God in the beauty of Holiness David rejoyced to see the true Worshippers improve their opportunity to go to that City the name of which was Jehovah Shammah the Lord is there Eze. 48. 38. And the Prophet Zechariah brings in the Saints of God rejoycing in the same things Zech. 8. 20 21 22. Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem I will go also The Saints of old were wont to rejoyce when the Sabbath came because of the holy and heavenly duties of that day Opportunities and duty are always to be joyned Gal. 6. 10. This is to live according to the wil of God 1 Pet. 4. 2. and to walk cirspectly redeeming the time Eph. 5. 15 17. 2. When we are truly careful to make up former negligence with double diligence redeeming the time we recover our loss Time according to this phrase seemeth to be taken captive and we must redeem it Redemptions are made by purchase to redeem a thing is to buy it for a price the price we redeemed it with is labour travel faithful and serious diligence and greater activity and vigour in the prosecution of our duty When what of time or seriousness hath been wanting in one day or duty is made up and supplied in the next this is the way to repair our sad soul-damages For the time past of our lives may suffice us to have wrought the will of the will of the Gentils 1 Pet. 4. 3. Christians our sins have been many and mighty but our services few and mean therefore put the best leg before Be not as the sluggard like the door upon the hinges but as the Sun in the heavens that rejoyceth to run his race The hand
dying men and passing to receive the recompence of endless Joy or Wo. Christians if you would work while it is day If you would glorifie God on Earth If you would secure and eternally save your immortal souls If you would not be a prey to the Prince of Darkness If you would stand with comfort before the Lord Jesus at his dreadful Bar If you would not spend your days without hope Arise therefore and be doing and the Lord be with you Deut. 32. 29. O that they were Wise that they understood this that they would consider their latter end IT is always seasonable to insist on such subjects as direct us to speak of another world especially in time of great Sickness and Mortality in which thousands of souls night and day have been crowding into Eternity witness the late dreadful Plague in sixty five I therefore made choice of this serious and heart-wakening subject that drowsie secure souls might be awakened to a deep consideration of the world to come The whole Chapter is stiled the Song of Moses his Swan-like Song or Song before his death the dying words of that eminent faithful servant of God and if the words of a dying man are to be regarded how much the words of a dying Moses This Moses being ready to go into the other world composeth this song of which the Text is apart and dying words are weighty and make the deepest impression This song is partly Narratory Minatory Promissory In the Narrative you have 1. A Narration of the infinite greatness and most glorious attributes of the God of Israel introduced with a pathetical and awakening acclamation Give ear O ye Heavens and I will speak and hear O Earth the words of my mouth 2. We have a Narration of their corruption ingratitude and rebellion verse 5. 6. They have corrupted themselves they are a perverse and crooked generation do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise Notwithstanding the remarkable favours and rare indulgence of God toward them yet they forsook him provoked him to jealousie with strange Gods and sacrificed to Devils and not unto God Vers 16. 17. Because of which he threatens 1. To hide his face from them then which nothing more bitter to the soul Ver. 20. 2. To inflict variety of sore temporal judgements upon them then which nothing more burthensome to the body I will heap mischief upon them I will spend mine Arrows upon them they shall be burnt with hunger and devoured with burning heat and with bitter destruction the sword without and terrour within shall destroy both the young man and the Virgin with a man of gray hairs for a fire is kindled in mine anger and shall burn to he lowest Hell And Vers 27. God gives the reason why he would not utterly destroy them and make a full end of them Were it not that I feared the wrath of the envying c. And now the words of the Text seem to be the Application of the whole O that they would consider their latter end You may look upon these words as it were a Mount cast up by which the people of Israel might take a view of things to come and have a prospect of what should befal them in their latter end O that they were wise to be wise is opposit to that brutishness ver 28. They were a Nation â—oid of counsel for they wanted the right exercise of reason and that wisdom which is from above to observe and improve the gracious providences and dispensations of God That they would consider Consideration is a fixed act of the understanding or mind in order to practice for doing and considering are frequently joyned together Judg. 18. 14. Now therefore consider what ye have to do Heb. 10. 27. Let us consider one an other to provoke unto love and good works The same thing is variously expressed in Scripture viz. to look narrowly upon a thing to call to mind to know and consider in ones heart to call things to remembrance to commune with a mans heart Psal 77. 5 6. Their latter end By which we are not only to understand those tremendous and desolating judgements that should surprize them in this world but to remember the great things of the other as also old age death the grave erernity death with its antecedents concomitants and consequences The words contain a pathetical Option or wish O that they were wise In which observe 1. The person wishing viz. the most great and gracious God 2. The thing desired and that is Divine Wisdom a Jawel indeed a price far above Rubies 3. The person for whom God thus desireth viz. for Israel a people nigh unto the Lord and yet a bruitish inconsiderate and unwise people O that they were wise c. 4. What this wisdom is or wherein it doth consist viz. in the consideration of their latter end The Doctrines observable from the words are these Doct. 1. That God doth earnestly desire and long for the good of a people Doct. 2. That an inconsiderate people are a foolish and unwise people Doct. 3. That want of serious consideration is incident not only to the prophane but to men professing God and Godliness The Israelites were the onely Church of God then in the World and yet they were not wise to understand and consider their latter end I shall not handle these apart but speak to the chief scope and intent of the words in this one proposition Doct. That it is a duty and matter of high concernment to consider our latter end O that they were wise that they would consider viz. practically consider and live always in the belief of the other world so as to do up all their work while it is day This seems to be the great import of the spirit of God in this Text. Eternal souls whatever escapeth your thoughts this must not this should be your vade mecum It should rise up with you lye down with you walk with you where-ever you go are This Moses himself that precious and renowned servant of God desir'd seeing such a dreadful mortality in the Wilderness and so many sad spectacles of Divnie wrath Psal 90. 10. So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom And as Moses desir'd it so also holy David Psal 39. 4. Lord make me to know my end and the measure of my days what it is that I may know how frail I am And Solomon sets a better upon it Eccles 7. 2. It is better to go to the House of mourning then to the House of Feasting for that is the end of all men and the living will lay it to his heart And it is an Argument that men are dead when at a House of mourning they are not moved with compassion to a due and deep consideration of their doleful and dying condition I shall come now to show you what we are to consider concerning our latter end and O that it may