many and great Mercies of God towards you and yours and all Mankind are you bound to recount and to be affected with on this Day Ought you not still on this Day to remember and consider and solemnly and heartily to bless God and Christ for the capital Mercies of Creation and Redemption and for the gracious seasonable Sending of the Holy Ghost and to spend some Time in speaking highly and honourably of these Benefits to the Praise of your Maker and Glory of your Redeemer Are not you ignorant of many Things in which you ought to be informed and have not you need then to spend some Part of the Lord's-day in reading the Bible and some select Books of sound Divinity in hearing the Word preach'd and in Conference with godly understanding and well-experienced Christians Are you not too great Strangers to God and your selves and have not you need then to improve some Portion of this Seasonn in Meditation and Self-examination that you may get more Acquaintance with God and your own Hearts Have not you the Sins of the whole Week past to confess to God in secret and to beg the Pardon of every Lord's-day when you have leisure from your bodily Labour is it not fit you should take some pains in conquering the Corruptions and mortisying the Lusts of your own Hearts and in wrestling with God in Praier for his Strength and Grace Can you idle away your Time and take your Pleasure on the Lord's-day when you have Families to inform and Children and Servants to catechize and instruct Let your Consciences tell me whether it be better on the Lord's-day to spend your Time in unnecessary Divertisements in fruitless Visitations in vain and frothy Discourses to talk freely together of worldly Businesses to judg the Preacher to censure your Christian Neighbour Or to commune with your selves and to labour to edify your own Families To teach your Children the Doctrine of Adam's Fall and of the Redemption wrought by Christ To acquaint them what Sin and Corruption they brought with them into the World and how they have encreased it since they came into the World That the Wages of Sin is Death To tell them what Christ has done and suffered to free and deliver them from Sin and Death and what they must do to be capable of partaking of Christ's saving Benefits To ground your Servants in the Principles of Religion To take account what they remember of the Sermons they heard that Day and to examine how they have profited by the publick Ordinances You see what a great deal of Work you have to do and what a little Time you have to do it in You have but one whole Day in seven It concerns you then to be very saving of this whole Day [c] Quicunque hisee sacris ita seriò se excicent ut ipsorum familiae necessitas plani postulat locum nullum relictum esse quaestioni ists carn â—liter de larantium invenient An licitum sit die Dominâ—co aut oftari aut ludere aut epu is aut inanabus aut mundanis non planè necessariis tempus sacrum conterere Et qui serpsum alaos werè novit ut diei negotia commoda oblata verbo divino de rebus sparitio libus aeternis verè credit ipsius altorum ex vera necessitate ut â—â—â—tate interesse percepiet diem totum quantùm fieri potest in sacris colocare neque frustra sine fruge horae moment um essluere sinet Neque niâ—â—ges quaestionem movebit An liceat ludis vel aliis manibus ad perdere quà m An laceat sanguinent sâ—um inaniter fundere aurum oblasum respâ—ere in canum projicere Carnalis quippe pe animus sui rerum spiritualium ignarus disputationum talium author est plerumque promus-condus Baxter Method Theol. part 3 c. 14. P. 172. To be as far from disputing whether it be not lawful to use Recreations and Sports on some Part of it or to employ some Hours of it in any unnecessary worldly Businesses as from putting the Question Whether it be not lawful vainly to spill your own Blood or to make a refusal of Gold that is offer'd you and to cast it contemtuously into the Dirt. 'T will but little avail you to make the utmost worldly Advantage of all the other six Daies if you make not a sufficient spiritual Improvement of this which is more considerable than all the rest What would it profit you if as God made the World in six Daies so you could gain the whole World by working hard the six Daies if by gross neglect of the Lord's-day you at last lost your own Souls The Church of England in her pious and useful Homily of the Time and Place of Praier declares that in the fourth Commandment God has given express Charge that his obedient People should use our [d] And truly it is strange that some who have a dearness yea fondness for some VVords of Jewish Extraction Altar Temple and the like should have such an Antipa by against the Sabbath Fuller's Church-Hiâ—â— B. 11. p. 144. Sabbath-day which is now our Sunday holily and rest from their common and daily Businesses and also give themselves wholly to heavenly Exercises of God's true Religion and Service And in his Majestie 's Royal Proclamation for the Observation of the Lord's-day all his Majestie 's Subjects are bid to take notice that by the Law the resorting to divine Service enjoined on that Day does comprehend the entire Day and entire Service both Morning and Evening Yea every Lord's-day Morning you your selves make this open Confession and publick Praier in the Congregation after the Reading of the fourth Commandment Lord have Mercy upon us and encline our Hearts to keep this Law As much as to say Lord we acknowledg we have neglected this thy Day We pray thee pardon all our unchristian Sabbath-breaking for the Time past and give us Grace to observe the Christian Sabbath better for the future Now will you confess in the Fore-noon and transgress in the After-noon Will you beg pardon in the Morning and sin again the very same Sin before Night Will you open your Mouths to ask God's Grace to sanctify and keep holy the Sabbath-day and it may be profane it in a graceless manner as soon as you are out of the Congregation If the Lord's-day ought to be observed at all it is to be kept both Parts of the Day And for those that commonly stay away in the After-noon I would ask them what their Employment is at home in the mean Time Do not some of them spend the After-noon in sleeping or walking or talking or drinking or gaming while others are jointly confessing and praying and praising and hearing If God requires a Day is this to sanctify a Day to the Lord to worship God in the Morning and to dishonour God and serve the Devil and divers Lusts in the Afternoon
by their Affections encouraged by their Examples recovered by their Reproofs directed by their Counsels assisted by their Praiers instructed strengthned and comforted by their Experiences When you come in company with able godly Ministers or knowing experienced Christians you may put Cases and have them resolved propound Doubts and have them satisfied you may light your Candle by their's you may kindle your Coal at their Fire and stay and warm your self well before you go away Godly Company is an Opportunity to be prized and improved Whenever you enjoy good Company make the best of it Let not carnal Bashtulness nor a vain and worldly Heart which is apt to seek idle and unprofitable Discourse hinder and deprive you of the Profit and Benefit which may be reaped by godly Society The last Particular Opportunities to be redeemed 5. And lastly The particular Seasons of practising and performing particular Duties of getting and encreasing acting and exercising particular Graces these have a special commodious Fitness for the doing or receiving some particular Good and ought accordingly to be embraced and improved by us When we know a Person a good Man especially to be in real Necessity and great Extremity then is an Opportunity of exercising Charity in giving liberally according to our Ability When another has wronged and injured us then we have gotten a good Occasion of exercising Charity and shewing Mercy in free and full Forgiveness When a Brother is fallen into Sin at any Time then it is a Season to * Gal. 6.1 restore such an one in the Spirit of Meckness When any Person is flexible and tractable yielding and pliable being melted and mollified by an afflictive Providence or moved and enclined to hearken to us by Dependance on us Expectation from us or any Relation and Obligation to us we have a fair Opportunity to deal with such an one at such a Time for the furthering of his spiritual and eternal Good When any are cast upon Sick-beds and are somewhat awakened and softned by God's Hand then they are prepared for your Hand you may the more easily work upon them When any have newly received a Benefit from us or hope to be shortly beholden to us and so are ready to think well of us and to take all well from us then we may reprove admonish exhort them with a comfortable Hope of happy Success and good Effect The Conscience of a Man is a nice and sullen Thing and if it be not taken at fit Times there is no meddling with it And so likewise in respect of our selves when we have received any fresh Mercy from God or are actually enjoying the Blessings of God and tasting how good and gracious the Lord is then is an Occasion of stirring up our selves to Praise and Thanksgiving When we lie under an heavy Affliction then it is a Season of acting and exercising Faith Repentance Patience a convenient Season for Self-Examination sound Humiliation earnest Supplication and thorough Reformation When we find a secret Chearfulness of Spirit then it is a Season to spiritualize our Joy and Gladness to think upon God's Mercies to recount his Benefits to set forth the Praises of our Creator Preserver and Redeemer * Jam. 5 13. Is any merry let him sing Psalms When we find any Sadness growing upon our Spirits then it is a Season to spiritualize our Sorrow and Sadness to mourn and grieve for our Sins especially to weep in secret for them to confess and acknowledg them and pray against them Once more When at any Time [p] We must not measure our Time by the length but by the weight not by its greatness but by its worth Let us not in asure our Daie◠as we do by the motion of the Sun which we see but by the shining of the Sun of Righteousness upon our Souls not by the celestial Bodies but by the celestial Inspirations As to the purposes of Holiness and getting nearer to Heaven one moment when the Spirit of God is upon us and strongly possesses our Mind with good Things and breaths into us holy Affections is worth many Hours yea Daies and Years when that is not with us or doth not so powerfully incite us D. Patrick's Div. Arithm. p. 37 38. the holy Spirit of God joining with the good Word of God or concurring with the Providences and remarkable Works of God does strongly work upon our Minds and sweetly and powerfully move and stir our Hearts and Affections When the Spirit instills any good Motions into our Souls and kindles any good Desires in our Hearts and kindly draws us on to holy Purposes and good Resolutions This is a special Opportunity indeed This is Temporis Articulus the very Nick of Time which must be taken on a suddain or it 's presently lost to our great Disadvantage Do not fail to strike while the Iron is hot Step into the Pool whenever the Angel stirs the Water Lanch out immediately whiles Wind and Tide serve When you feel any gentle Gale spread open your Sail This Wind blows when and where it listeth You know not how soon this Wind may turn Whenever the Spirit knocks open the Door [q] Rara hora brevis mora O si durâsset Bernard you know not how soon he may have done how quickly he may be gone Delicata res est Spiritus Sanctus saies Tertullian The Spirit of God is a nice and delicate Thing it is soon offended and quickly grieved And therefore subject your selves to the Working of the Spirit and work with the Spirit while the Spirit is at work Gladly receive every Impression of this immediate gracious free Operator Welcome every Suggestion of this blessed Monitor Let every Inspiration find thee as the Seal does the Wax or the Spark the Tinder Kindly entertain all its Visits and readily obey all its Motions follow them home don't check and quench them stifle and smother them Never suffer them to die and decay to languish and perish and come to nothing Do the Particular Duties the Spirit calls you to Get and grow in the special Graces which the Spirit is ready to beget and encrease in you Run freely and willingly so soon as ever you feel and perceive that the Spirit draws you If you don't stir when the Spirit moves and act when it works you may drive and chase away the Spirit and so lie dull and dead graceless and helpless and hopeless for ever And thus I have open'd and explain'd the Duty and shewn you particularly both what it is to redeem the Time and what the Time is that is to be redeemed The Sum of all is briefly this that our whole Life-time and every particular Occasion afforded us in it must whatever it cost us by all means be laid hold on and improved by us for the Glory of God and our own and others spiritual Advantage CHAP. III. The Grounds and Reasons why we ought to redeem the Time The Special Reason laid down in the
the Knowledg of those Things which God hath been pleased most clearly to discover and plainly to reveal in his Word to thee as any way necessary to thy own and others Edisication and Salvation Thou being assured and well perswaded that practice and doing is the ready way to further Knowing as * Ps 111.10 Joh. 7.17 to increase thy Knowledg here so to augment thy Knowledg hereafter 'T will cause thee to charge thy self to walk as a Child of the Light and of the Day to follow the Light of God's Word and Spirit that thou maiest be meet to be made Partaker of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light The foremention'd Meditation will moreover make thee wise unto Sobriety repress the itching Curiosity of thy Nature keep thee from spending thy Time in boldly prying into God's [m] Homo sum non intelligo secreta Dei investigare non audeo ideo etiam attentare sormido qâ—â—â— hoc ipsum genus quasi sacrilegae temerâ—tatis est siplus sone qupias quà m siâ—â—â—is Salv. de gub Del l. 3. Secrets and from immoderatly thirsting and reaching after the Knowledg of Things too high for thee Remembring and considering that in this Life thou canst not attain to clear and full and perfect Knowledg which is a Reward reserved for another Life And that thou maiest enjoy it in due Time 't will make thee willing to wait and stay God's Time to be humbly and modestly and contentedly ignorant of all those Things wherein God has been pleased to be silent and has though most fit in this lower imperfect State for Man to be ignorant The Consideration that thy Knowledg shall be perfected hereafter will bring thee at present to be quietly ignorant of those Things which God sees meet and most convenient for a Time to hide and conceal from thee and will help thee to wait very patiently for the Season of the fuller Manifestation of himself to thee this being the Way to have thy Knowledg encreased and perfected another Day Further This Meditation will also mind thee to fit thy self for the sure receiving the full Satisfaction of all thy Desires in Heaven hereafter 'T will cause thee now to curb and restrain thy sensual Appetite to moderate thy Desires to submit thy Will to the Will of God and to do his Pleasure here that so thou maiest have thy widest Capacities and largest Desires every way satisfied and fulfilled hereafter 4. Meditate how happy thou shalt be hereafter by dwelling in a most glorious beauteous blessed Place in thy heavenly Father's House in thy * Joh. 14.2 Saviour's Father's House in which there are many Mansions a stately Palace a spatious House indeed fit to receive and entertain an innumerable Company of glorious Inhabitants That thou shalt be placed and setled in the Seat of the Blessed an House not made with Hands a Building of God Paradise Heaven the third Heaven which is seated not only above the Region of the Air but above the Moon and highest Stars from whence thou shalt with Advantage take a pleasant Prospect of the admirable Beauty and comely Order of the Universe and of the Usefulness of all its Parts That thou shalt inhabit a Place which is so incomparably glorious that it is called in Scripture the Throne of God That thou shalt dwell hereafter in the better and heavenly Countrey of the Saints That thou shalt actually and personally enter into the promised Land and not only have a Pisgah-sight of it afar off That thou shalt be translated into the heavenly Canaan transported into the holy Land conducted and received into the holy City in which there is no Night and which has no need of the Sun or Moon to shine in it the Glory of God inlightning it and the Lamb being the Light thereof Think how the beautiful glorious precious Things of which there is mention in the 21th and 22th of the Revelation in the large Description of the new Jerusalem if meant of the Glory of the highest Heaven are but Umbrages and Shadows of the good Things to come which are contain'd and treasur'd up in the heavenly Kingdom Though Heaven be indeed more a State than a Place yet think how the Majesty and Amenity of the Place of Glory will add to thy Joy and increase thy Felicity And this Meditation will provoke thee to labour to become apt and fit to live in so holy and blessed a Place as Heaven To be alwaies travelling towards this heavenly Country though thy Way lie through a Wilderness To make the mention of Heaven and the Way thereto to be thy frequent Discourse thy most serious and most refreshing Conference To be careful to have thy constant Conversation in Heaven To give all Diligence to be prepared and disposed by an heavenly State for an heavenly Place To let the Kingdom of God enter into thy Soul that thou maiest be meet to enter into the Kingdom of God To become the Temple of God here an Habitation of God through the Spirit that thou maiest be worthy to be received hereafter into an heavenly Habitation To cleanse thy self because no unelean Thing can ever enter into that holy City To labour to get such a vertuous Disposition and generous Spirit such holy Habits heavenly Customs and divine Manners as may fit and qualify thee to be admitted Citizen of the new Jerusalem And to beg of thy Father which is in Heaven that as he hath prepared an Heaven for holy Souls so he would more and more prepare thy too too unprepared Soul for Heaven 5. Spend thy Thoughts in the Consideration of thy future Enjoyment of the most blessed Company in the most blessed Place Consider seriously that as thou shalt have Communion with the blessed Trinity in the heavenly Glory fully enjoy God and have Fellowship with Jesus Christ thy Head So thou shalt associate and be conversant with Angels and have sweet Familiarity with those blessed Spirits and shalt there enjoy the Communion of Saints shalt there meet with the holy Patriarchs be received into the goodly Fellowship of the Prophets be taken into the glorious Company of the Apostles and be joyned to the noble Army of Martyrs and with all the Faithful of all Ages recount the Mercies and chaunt the Praises of thy bountiful Creator and gracious Redeemer Think with thy self how that good Company is a great part of the Pleasure and Comfort of a good Man's Life and a kind of Heaven here upon Earth But that hereafter thou shalt have the best Company that Earth and Heaven can afford That there thou shalt converse with and delight in the most eminent Children and faithful Servants of God and famous Worthies of the Church of Christ [m] Esseror studio patres vestros quos colui dilexi videndi Neque eos verò solùm convenire aveo quos ipse cognovi sed illos etiam de quibus audivi legi ipfe conscripsi Cic. in Cat. Maj.