commaund as thou imaginest watch and sleepe not be euer warie well aduised If otherwise hee will come vnto thee as accustometh the thiefe to come to rob and spoile will on a suddaine at vnawares catch apprehend thee before thou canst know or perceiue on what houre he is to come The thiefe comes to steale and to carie away the treasure which he shall finde heedlesly layed vp and which is not kept with that due regard and carefulnesse as behoued and such is Time in the house of the sinner And therefore with good and iust reasons will the Lord cut it off because it was not regarded and imployed to that end whereby good gaine and profitable exchange yea great riches blessings and eternall happinesse might haue bin had and obtained Conformable to this sayeth our Sauiour by his Euangelist S. Matthew Mat. 25.29 He that hath shall haue more and from him that hath not shall be taken away that which hee hath or seems to haue The iust man apprehends Time as his owne and is Lord thereof for that hee well knoweth how to vse it and to him that hath time at the end of his life more time and space shall be giuen him to examine himselfe to purifie his conscience and shall haue aboundance because hee shal obtaine full remission and compleat pardon of all his sinnes plentifull grace and glory infinite And hee possesseth no Time who while hee liueth doth not well imploy the same but being seduced and deceiued by the Diuell with prolonging of amendment thinkes that he shall enioy sufficient by the iust Iudgement of God shall be bereaued of his vaine expectation and shal want space to repent either by some sodain death or by some other disgracefull and vnfortunate accident Thus farre Bernardin Senensis And for that cause doth our Lord and Sauiour admonish vs so often Mat. 25.13 that wee watch because we knowe not the day nor the houre wherein Time will make an end of vs. And the holy Church semblably like a louing and cōpassionate Mother doth aduise vs the very same saying Let vs reforme and amend that which hitherto we haue most ignorantlie or wilfully transgressed considering that no Time of repentance will be hereafter left vs which though we seeke for yet shall not we obtaine the same And to this purpose as God cuts the thrid of life before the time from him who profited not with Time in his seruice Bern. de Sena Bernardinus de Sena reporteth a most terrible and fearefull accident which in his time happened in a certain village of Catalunna neare to the kingdome of Valencia A young man of the age of eighteene yeares hauing beene most rebellious disobedient towards his Parents did many times loose and forget the regard and respect due vnto them In punishment whereof God leauing him to himselfe came to be a most notorious Thiefe for robberies being apprehended and condemned to die was brought to be hanged to the market place of his owne Towne And the young man being dead hanging vpō the gallowes and all the whole Towne present they saw and perceiued his beard to sprout out much haire to grow to remaine with a wrinkled brow a writhen face full of gray haires with the aspect and semblance of a man of ninety yeares a thing whereat all were astonied and wonderfully amazed which accident being brought to the knowledge of the Bishop who then resided in that Village commanded that all should prepare themselues to prayer himselfe performing the same most humbly beseeched Almightie God that he would bee pleased to reueale vnto them the mysterie of so rare an accident and after a pretie while intreated silence and speaking with a loud voyce sayd thus You see my Sonnes that this young man died of the age of eighteene yeares who afterwards appeared and seemed with the visage and countenance of a man of ninetie yeares whereupon you are to note what God would haue vs to be instructed of namely that after the course of nature he was vndoubtedly to liue ninety yeares and so would haue done had he beene obedient to his Parents but in regard of his sins and disobedience the Lord hath permitted him to die a violent death cutting off from his life so many yeares as are from eighteen to ninetie And because this might be manifest and apparant to al men he hath wrought this miracle S. Ierome saith Hieron Epist 21. that the shortnesse of life is a punishment and iudgement against sinners and therefore because of sinne the Lord from the beginning of the world hath shortened and cut off the life and yeares of men Once God withdrew from Hezehiah fifteene yeares of his life Isaiae 38.1 which according to the course of nature he was to liue but afterwardes by meanes of his Teares and hartie repentance Ver. 3. they were restored and granted vnto him againe And so Haymo vpon those words of the Prophet Isaiah Haymo in Isaian 38.5 The Lord hard thy Prayer and hath seene thy teares and will adde vnto thy dayes fifteene yeares saith thus euen as he spake to Adam that he should be immortall conditionally so as he continued obedient to the diuine precept so by God his eternall Decree those years were granted to King Hezechias conditionally if he liued faultlesse and blamelesse and would not suffer himselfe to be puft vp with pride For those yeares which for his pride should haue bene taken from him nowe because of his humility and lowlinesse were restored againe Psa 55.23 Viri sanguinum dolosi non dimidiabunt dies suos saith Dauid The bloudy and deceitfull men shall not liue halfe their daies That is as if more plainely he had sayd They shall not liue the one halfe of the dayes they should haue liued in case they had beene godly Sinners are not the men whom they think and imagine they are For as our Sauiour sayd to the Iewes Auferetur a vobis regnum Dei c. Mat. 21.43 The kingdome of God shall be taken from you and shall be giuen to a Nation which shall bring foorth good fruit and shall better know how to acknowledge and estimate thereof So will God bereaue sinners of Time because they yeelde no fruit of good workes in the same and will bestow it on such as will yeeld good fruite and likewise knowe how to imploy the same well Those words of Dauid in his 102. Psalme Nereuoces me in dimidio dierum meorum Psal 102.24 wherein he beseeched the Lord that he would not take him away out of this life in the middest of his dayes albeit according to some interpreters are as much to say as Oh my God I hartily beseech thee not to take me away in the middest of my dayes because that time and age is the very gulfe wracke of life the nest of cares and pretensions and more dangerous to die in then
small holes in the ground and had hid them all in safety And afterwards the wylie and cunning dam soared aloft and quite flew her wayes leauing the Fowler deceiued ashamed considering he could lay hold neither of her self nor vpon any of her young ones In the same maner goeth the Diuell about to delude and entrappe thee thou blinde and foolish Sinner and so detayneth entertaineth and draweth thee on with vaine pleasures and deceiueable delights frō one day to another and from one yeare to another yea many yeares together with one false hope that hereafter thou shalt haue Time sufficient to repent thee that if thou neglect it this day thou mayest performe it to morrow or some other day as though the dayes and times were in thine owne hands Act. 10. which the eternall Father hath reserued for himselfe whereby thus alwaies loosing Time and the occasion present thou mightest hereafter come to want lacke all good opportunitie or seasons then shalt thou haue cause to bewaile and mone for euer If it be good to conuert our selues to God almightie saith S. Augustine let vs do it quickly let it be done instantly Aug. ad fraet in Eremo wilt thou say I will conuert and turne me to morrow yea too morrowe And wherefore not this day Considering the morrowe is neither sure nor certaine Happens there not oftentimes many suddaine deaths Die there not an innumerable multitude without acknowledging their sins and repentance Thē sayest thou God help me what harme haue I spoken by saying that to morrow I will conuert mee and begin a new reckoning when of necessitie it should be done this day Then God helpe mee likewise Brother mine answered S. Augustine what hurt haue I spoken by saying it should be done this day That being much more safe and better and so I speak better then thou doest considering thou hast not for thine owne but onely this day and yet not all this day saue onely the present moments or minutes How much better were it if it might be that all thy life were good for thou wishest and desirest that it were amended and reformed then that some part therof be good though as little as may be Thou wilt haue or at least indeuorest to obtaine thy meate thy wife thy house thy apparell thy hose and shoes all throughly neate and of the best Esteeme and respect therefore thy Soule in much more account then thy shoes Thus farre Saint Augustine The life saith Seneca is diuided into three seasons or times namely Seneca in that that is past present and to come and of them the Time present is the shortest and that to come is most doubtfull but Time past is most sure and certaine and thereof now Nature it selfe hath lost the dominion and Ruledome neither is it possible that it can be recalled by anie humane facultie Then if we suffer the Time present to ouerpasse we indanger our selues to be bereft for euermore without it but to cōtinue in eternall condemnation How much more thou sottish Sinner Open thine eares listen to mee I say how much more better were it that in all the Time of this life yea from the very first moment that thou hast the vse of Reason thou yeeld forth good fruite and prepare thy selfe and be in a readinesse against such Time as when the Maister Lord thereof doth come to demaund it for there is neither momēt nor houre wherein hee cannot come and call vs to particular Iudgement wherein he rewardeth the labourers and workemen of his vineyard according to euery ones labour and industrie All which out of S. Ierome In confirmation whereof that Parable of the Fig-tree commeth neere this purpose Mat. 21.19 which our Sauiour Christ had planted as our Lord drew neare the same being hungry and desirous to eate some figs and finding no figges theron did curse the same Mar. 13.28 And the holy Euangelist well noteth that as then it was no time of fruite bearing And therefore did not inflict that punishment properly vpon the Figge tree but vpon fruitlesse barren men voyde of good workes signified by the same tree Because that man at all times is bound to yeeld and render fruite for which cause our Lord when hee comes to seeke and findes none he will inflict vpon him the paine of his eternall malediction euerlasting curse All things saith Salomon haue their determined and precise times Eccles. 3.1 and after that sort and maner That all Time is neither opportune nor seasonable for all thinges for that which is peculiar and naturall for one thing is not fit for other businesse but verie preiudiciall and hurtfull As if one should sowe whē hee should reape fall and grub vp trees when time were to plant To speake when one should keepe silence To laugh when hee ought to weepe Furthermore for man to doe good works and to labour in the vineyard of our Lord there is no precise nor limitted Time it is alwayes fitte Time It will be euer seasonable in what houre so euer in what age so euer admitting that at no time it be lawfull to sinne and offend and that no Time was giuen bestowed on man to doe euill or to execute wickednesse According to those words of Ecclesiasticus Ecclus 15.20 God commaunded no man to doe vngodly neither hath hee giuen any man licence to sinne but rather aduiseth and admonisheth all men to preserue and keepe Time Ecclus 4.20 and that they depart from euill because it was lent and giuen them for no other end but to do good to imploy the same wel The being of a man idle and carelesse Matth. 20 7 as well the workeman as the hireling is reproued by the goodman of the family yet such an idle standing and carelesse liuing of him that is most in yeares and most aged deserueth and is worthy of most blame And so compareth that royall Prophet Dauid in the beginning of his Psalmes the Iust man Psal 1.3 with the Tree that was planted neer the running waters which yeelded fruite in due time By which he meant not to say that as the tree rendreth no fruite saue onely in one moneth or at one speciall time of the yeare not in others so the iust man is to yeeld his fruit vpon certain dayes or moneths or in some precise and determined yeares and not in others But rather saith thus euen as the tree yeelds his fruite in his due time season if it did not thē would the owner cut it downe to the very ground So man ought to render fruite according to his estate and profession in his time And his time is all the time of his life And he aduiseth and warneth him on Gods behalfe that it behoueth him alwayes to pray Luc. 18.1 and neuer to cease and to be alwayes watching as it were with a candle in his hand because he knoweth not at
Present and the Time to be Could a man tell or were there mortall wight So farre aboue earth raised to that hight That heauens dimensions he could clearly see Better that man were to report from thee The Benefites mortallity might raise From thy iust labours then th' vncertaine praise Attending books which not their worth can free From the Taxation which foule Enuie laies On Vertues faire-selfe and with hellish spight Is euer blasting the deserued Bayes That should adorne her But receiue this right From TIME it selfe that must thy fortresse be Whose perfect vse is onely taught by thee M. Drayton The Authors besides sacred Scriptures who are cited in this present Treatise A Alphonsus de Castro S. Ambrose Andreas Bishop of Caesarea Aristotle S. Augustine B S. Basil Bede the venerable Bernardinus de Sena S. Bernard Bonauenture C Cassianus Cesarius Helisterbacchensis S. Chrysostome D Dion Cassius Dionysius Carthusianus E Elianus Euthymius G Gregory Nissen Gregory the Pope H Haymo Horace I S. Ierome Iohn Chrysostome Iohn Damascen Iohn Orozeus Iohn Stobeus L Laertius Laurence Iustinian Ludouicus Blosius M Maldonatus N Nicholas Diukespu O Origen Ouid. P Plutarch S Salmeron Seneca Simon de Cassia Suarez T Thaulerus Theodoret. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Kempis V Viegas Virgil. Z Zedrenus CHAP. I. What a precious Iewel TIME is IT is the maner and stile of the sacred Scripture that whē any notable cause of importancie is shewed and noted vnto vs some wonderfull vision or miraculous type euer goeth before which doth awake stirre vp our spirits and senses for attention leauing them in suspense and admiration as very ordinarily may bee seene in the booke of the Prophets and specially in the Reuelation of the blessed Euangelist Saint Iohn where amongst many other admirable visions strange figures chiefely that is to bee noted which hee hath vvritten in the tenth Chapter which together with those wordes of the Apostle in his Epistle to them of Ephesus Ephes 5 16. Redeeme the Time because the dayes are euill shall bee the very Theame or ground of this our Treatise and exhortation saying Reue. 10.1 that then hee sawe a mightie Angell come downe from heauen cloathed with a cloude and that hee wore vpon his heade in steede of a Dyademe the rainebow and his face shined as the Sunne in midday His feet were as pillers of fire And he had in his hande a little Booke open Ver. 2. and hee put his right foote vpon the Sea and his left vpon the earth 3. And cried with a loud voice after the maner of a Lyon when he roareth 5. and lifting vp his finger towards heauen 6. sware by him that liueth for euermore which created heauen and the earth and the Sea all things in them conteined That from the daies of the seauenth Angell there should neuer be any more TIME And briefly to manifest the mysteries which here are comprised Refert illos Viegas in Apoc. cap. 10 Andreas Episc Cesareae in c. 5. Apoc. Act. 1.2 This Angell according to the exposition of many Authors is Christ our Lord the Angell of the great Councell or els is one of the blessed Angels which representeth his person and executeth the office of Legat-ship as his Imbassadour He came downe from Heauen because visibly he is to discend from thence in a cloude shining with great power and maiestie to iudge the whole world Howbeit his comming clothed with a cloud doth signifie the confusion and turmoile which shall happen as well in those last dayes as also in that space and time in which the persecution of Antichrist shall indure when specially they shall behold those hideous signes and terrible tokens which are to happen before the day of the vniuersall Iudgement are euery moment to expect that fearfull presence of the Iudge The Raine-bow signifies peace and the Fire wrath furiousnesse and punishment and in those two extremities of mans body which are the feet and the head both the end and beginning thereof viz. both top toe are pourtrayed both the commings of our Sauiour CHRIST into the world The first was of meere mercie to make peace and attonement betweene God and men and because of that for his Escutchion and speciall difference hee bare vpon his head the Raine-bow of heauen in token that the Deluge of his former anger displeasure and passed punishment were now ceased And in the latter comming hee shall come as Iudge and therefore hee shall carrie feete of fire which betokens inflexible rigour and terrible wrath Ignis ante ipsum praecedet Psal 50.3 saith Dauid There shall goe before him a consuming fire The Forme and shape of the Pillars signifies the mighty strength and force he shall haue for the execution of his final sentence and last Iudgement The Booke open in his hand in respect of his God-head representeth the eternal wisdom he hath for the which he appropriateth to himselfe the office of Iudge in respect of his Manhood it signifieth the absolute knowledge he apprehendeth to vnderstād the worth worthines of the causes processe and actions of all the sonnes of Adam and the scroll or proclamation of the diuine lawe wherevpō they are to be iudged The putting of one foote vpon the Sea the other vpon the Land is as much to say as that he imbraceth cōpasseth comprehendeth all things sea and land earth and water that nothing can escape his hands free it selfe frō his power Psal 139. ver 3. 8. nor be hid from his presence The roaring as of a Lyon signifieth the wrath and vengeance wherewith hee shall pronoūce sentence against the condemned ones And the solemne oath signifieth the infallible certaintie assurednesse he shall haue in the accomplishment and execution of those things before prophecied preached to the people which in the dayes of the seuenth Angell when they shall heare that fearefull Trumpet sounding and summoning all the sonnes of Adam to Iudgement shall ende and finish the Time for euer afterwardes and they who made no profit thereof when they had it but haue deferred their good works vntill the vttermost day last houre of their liues shall eternally remaine without it And that publike sounding and proclamation of the Angell with such and so many circumstances That on some day Time should ende and cease when that should be is to giue vs intelligence that wee may vnderstand of what price value and estimation and what a great benefite of God bestowed vpon vs it is that hee hath made vs Lords of the same all the dayes of our liues And on the contrary what a great crosse and punishment is it for othersome to bee absolutely bereaued therof and to haue it quite taken away from thē as a thing by them mispent and ill imployed To manifest what a pretious thing Time shall be it sufficeth onely to know that in one instance of time one may gaine infinite eternitie
of glorie And therefore the Holy Ghost counsaileth vs Eccli 4.20 to preserue and keepe Time as we doe gold so shall we depart from euill which is as if he had told vs that we should vse imploy it in good works not loose the least moment thereof Againe he willeth vs to be aduised by the same Ecclesiasticus Eccli 14.14 saying Defraud not thy selfe of the good day and let not the portion of the good desires ouerpas thee One trāslation hath Particula bonae diei others as likewise in the vulgar editiō Boni doni One while he saith let no part of the good day ouerpas thee for nought another while he saith of the good gift or desires The meaning is to admonish vs that we spend wel the Time and the Day yea all days for he that can wel order redres one day may by the same amēd and reforme al his life in the same man ought to do all the good he can for him selfe for his neighbors exercising himself in works of Pietie and mercie King Dauid so much feared to loose the least particle of Time so farre indeuored wholy to imploy the same wel that he striued contēded with the sun for early vprising to praise God which at lēgth the king preuented according to those words Psal 11◠ver 147.148 Praeuenerūt oculi mei ad te diluculo Early in the morning do I cry vnto thee Mine eies preuēt the morning watch that I might meditate in thy words for before the Sun was vp I was occupied in the same Which according to the exposition of S. Ambrose is as much as if more clearely hee had spoken Rise earlier thou Christiā before the Sun be vp for I hold it great negligēce carelesnesse most culpable in thee that the beames of the Sunne when it riseth should find thee idle and sleeping in thy bed Thou art ignorant perhaps that thou oughtest euery day to render vnto God almighty the first fruits of thy toung and heart See thou haue a daily haruest and daily fruite in like maner And in another Psalme the Prophet saith Psal 77.4 Anticipauerunt vigilias oculi mei My eyes preuented and awaked before the watch-men and gard of the citie that is to say as S. Ierome declareth before that any body went to watch or did awake I awaked and watched at midnight and in the morning at mid-day in the euening and finally seuen times a day doe I laud my Lorde yea alwayes and at all houres haue I his prayses in my mouth Hee well knew how to obserue Time hee duely acknowledged what it was and what stood him auaileable as of a thing so pretious hee knew how to make profite thereof without loosing one iot either of the Good day or of the good gift Time saith Theophrastus is a most costly Theophrast expense Seneca Epist 1. And Seneca in his first Epistle which hee wrote to his friend Lucilius saith thus What man is he that will suffer me to set price on his Time How much thinkes hee is the day worth admitting that euery day hee were to die wherfore we do much deceiue our selues herein because we fix not our eies vpon death a great part whereof is already past all that of our age life which yet remaineth behinde death holdes in possession Wherfore my deere friend Lucilius persist still in doing of that which thou thy selfe in thy Letters didst write vnto me thou doest being a person that so well knowest the due estimation of Time imbrace al the houres so shalt thou depend lesse vppon the morrowe pointing as it were this day with thy finger not permitting the same to ouerpasse thee idlely for the life putting it selfe off with prolonging flies away passeth at random And all things els beeing estrainged alienated frō vs onely Time is ours and very naturall reason hath infourmed vs that we obtaine the possession of a very swift thing which runneth away so fast and slideth amaine yea flyes apace from betweene our hands The knowledge and discretion of mortall men is so litle and weake that they impute it a great losse incase they leaue vndone the least vilest thing or smallest trifle being indeed reuocable and amendable though pretermitted none thinkes that hee oweth or is indebted any thing for hauing receiued Time cōsidering that Time is but one sole thing which yet the gratefull mā can make no due satisfaction for that which he receiued as hee ought in regard of the high price and for that the debt is great in vndertaking the day vpon himself And in his booke of the shortnesse of life Idem lib. de breuit vitae he saith There is no man that will forgoe or part with his patrimonie or substance nor disinherite himselfe but rather will keepe it and augment it as for Time and his course of life hee will with great facility impart and bestow them many times on diuerse vaine things They are very niggard of their wealth but for Time they are most prodigall and lauish when as indeed their honest and laudable couetousnesse should be onely of Time because most truely as in the same Booke then presently after hee saith Time is the most precious thing that is and yet for al that they dispraise it and hold it of no esteeme for nought and of no worth as though it were right nought indeed bearing no price at all Not one makes reckoning of it when they haue it but if any be sicke then shall you see bowing of knees crouching before the Physitian and if hee feare the sentence of death that man will waigh him with gold for to ransome his life That blessed holy man Laurentius Iustinianus Laur. Iust de vitae solit 6.10 treating of Time and the value thereof sayeth thus Who hath that power to cōprehend or conceiue in his heart what a precious thing Time is O what grace eloquence or sweet flowing speach of man is able to declare it None knowes it but such as now want and misse the same Then all the goods of the world honours dignities and prelacies the pompe of this age corporall delights and bodily pleasures yea and all maner recreations sports and pastimes ioyes and intertainements whatsoeuer they be which are vnder the cope of heauen would bee giuen in boote and exchanged for one houre of Time if it were possible to bee obtained because in this most short space they would appease the diuine Iustice they would make glad and reioyce the Angels they would eschewe from that fearefull sentence of eternall damnation and gaine yea without al doubt they would procure life euerlasting And they are most vnhappie vpon whom the Sunne of mercie is already set who most irreuocably shall descend into that lake of miserie where there is neither order nor good course Iob. 10.15 22 but fright and horror perpetuall and with good reason shall
set termes and prefixed times for their triall whether they would stand or fall very short spaces and moments as som say they were but two or three momēts othersome extendes them more largely to foure which in truth to them sufficed because of their quick apprehensions and perfection of their natural inclinations but to slowe vnconstant and changeable man God hath granted many yeares and ages Howbeit not to liue idle and secure nor to waste and consume it in play delights iestes pleasures meriments pastimes and carnall sports much lesse in sinne and the hurt of himselfe but that it be imployed in good workes in lawfull exercises honest recreations should labour in the vineyard Math. 20.2.4.6 c. and painefully in the sweat of his browes gaine his daily food and stipend which is the workemans wages and the reward of his good aduenture Whereupon the Apostle saith Gal. 6.9.10 Doing of good works and vsing the Time in such things for which it is lent vs. Let vs therefore neither deceiue our selues nor be dismayed nor be wearie to reape and mowe Time and we shall gather our haruest and fruit in due season For which in all that time we enioy let vs performe what good wee may And Seneca Seneca though an heathen man saith that Time was not so liberally so bountifully bestowed vpon vs that wee should loose anie part of the same which by the Apostle is called the acceptable time 2. Cor. 6.2 and the day of saluation Wherfore my good bretheren imploy the same for your soules health to doe workes acceptable and grateful vnto God And therefore also the time of this life is called the Fayre time or Market time For as in the same wares are solde and bought most cheape and at a small rate So in this life great marchandizes iewels of infinite value may be bought at a small rate 2. Cor. 4.17 and for one momentanie and light tribulation or affliction may be caused an eternall weight of glorie as the same Apostle S. Paul saith which in Heauen is to bee possessed and enioyed And by the way let vs heere note how by that holy and blessed Apostle it is tearmed a waight because that with the weight and greatnesse thereof it maketh light and easie all the difficulties and troubles of this life and that which we suffer and abide here in the same makes vs to waigh all which in cōparison is as easie and as light to beare as one straw or chaffe Euen as a great heauie waight in one end of a paire of scales doth highly lift vp out-waigh the other end wherein there is but one single strawe or chaffe So the waight of our reward being put in the one end of the ballance doth lift vp the other end wherein our labours and worldly businesses are weyed Wherevnto agreeth that which the same Apostle in another place hath written namely That the passions and tribulations of this life Rom. 8.18 are neither comparable nor equall to the glorie to come which heereafter shall be reuealed and manifested in vs till such time by all cōparison they are very smal light and of no waight And vpon that similitude of the Fayors for application sake to our present purpose it seems our Sauiour CHRIST hath meant and vsed it Luc. 19.13 when he compared the kingdome of Heauen to a man trafficking merchandizing in this worlde Math. 13.45 considering when he spake to all the faithfull as to men full encombered with many businesses Occupie till I come for heereafter there will be no place Furthermore the time of this life is called Time of vacation from all other businesses whereby man may solly wholy addict and imploy himselfe in the seruice of our Lord. It is called Time of imployment according to those wordes of our Redeemer spoken by the mouth of his Euangelist S. Iohn Now is the time to worke Io. 9.4 while it is day the night commeth when no man can worke It is likewise called the time of sowing and the time of mowing and gathering of the Haruest because it is the time of grace and faith wherby the reward of heauen is to be wonne obtained And therefore by the example of the heedefull diligent and carefull Emmet the Holy Ghost sendeth to reproue confound the idle and sloathfull person Prou. 6.6 Goe and behold the Emmet saith hee in the Prouerbs of Salomon Shee prepareth her meate in the Sommer Verse 8. and gathereth her foode in haruest which shee layeth vp and keepeth in her storehouse or granarie for her prouision against Winter which season is counted no time to get but to eate and spend that which before was gathered and layd vp Time was bestowed on vs by the Lord saith Laurence Iustinian for to lament bewaile vs of our sins Lau. Iustin to be very penitent to purchase vertues to increase in grace to atchiue faith to discharge vs from hellish torments and to obtaine heauenly glorie And it is so true that Time was giuen vs to be imployed in good works as onely that which we spend about the same and in vertuous and necessarie exercises is most properly OVRS and onely entereth within the reckoning of our lyues and account of our dayes For all the rest there is neither respect nor memorie therof in Heauen nor in the booke of life albeit the world makes reckoning of them records and inrolls them for long continuance but our Lord knoweth no such at least hee saith that hee acknowledgeth no such as a thing which neither pleaseth delighteth nor yet contenteth him but rather much vexe and sore offend him So Origen Orig. in Psal 37.18 expounding the words of Dauid The Lord knoweth the dayes of the vndefiled which are the Iust saith thus In the sacred Scripture it is saide That God knoweth but onelie good things and that he is ignorant of the euill and them hee forgets not in that his knowledge cannot comprehend all things both good and bad but in regarde the euill are vnworthie of his sight notice I knowe you not Math. 25.12 saide he to the foolish Virgines and as much againe to the workers of iniquitie The Lord knoweth the wayes of the iust sayed that kinglie Prophet Dauid Prou. 4.18 And Salomon saith that the Lord knoweth the way of the right hand And so saith Dauid that the Lord knoweth the houres and the dayes and the Time of them that liue without spot of sinne but is ignorant of the dayes of Sinners The holy Scripture makes no reckoning of the time of Sauls raigne saue onely of two yeares 1. Sam. 13.1 though hee raigned 40. yeares because onely two yeares hee liued well and without blemish of sinne and the residue were dayes stayned and tainted therewith So of S. Paul Act. 20. verse 31. Dion Cassius writeth Dion Cassius that in a Citie of Italie was sound an auncient
Sepulchre wherein vpon the Tomb or vpper stone therof were written or ingraued these words Here lieth Simil the Romaine Capitaine whose life though it were long yet for all that is reputed to liue but onely seauen yeares because in them hee retired himselfe from the Court and being freed of the cares and charge in Office which formerly was imposed vpon him he addicted himself to the studie of vertue to his owne meditations and godly exercises Damascen in his historie of Barlaam and Iosaphat reporteth Damasc histor Barla cap. 18. that when Iosaphat demanded of Barlaam of what age hee was of he made him this aunswere if I be not deceaued I am fourty and fiue yeares of age and so many yeares there are since I was borne What doest thou answere mee replied Iosaphat for thou seemest to mee that thou art past seauentie I mary sayed Barlaam if thou reckonest my yeares euer since I was borne into this world thou sayest right and art not deceaued for that I am past seauentie But those yeares doe by no meanes seeme vnto me yeares of life nor can such be reckoned in the Account which were spent and consumed in the vanities of this world because then as seruant to my sinnes I liued after the taste of my sensuality and appetite of my flesh and outward man being then without all doubt dead according to the inward mā and so I may not call them yeares of life which rather were yeares of death But after that by the grace of God I was crucified and dead to the world and the world to me and haue put off the olde man then liued I no more after my sensuality nor after the flesh being enemie to the Spirit but onely to Iesus Christ and those yeares I call yeares of life and saluation And I beleeue that all those who remaine in sinne and obey the diuell and consume their lyues in delights and vaine concupiscences are departed this life and dead because that Sin is the death of the soule Rom. 6.19.21 as affirmeth the blessed Apostle S. Paul Rom. 6.21 Godly S. Ierome expounding the first Chapter of the Prophet Haggai sayth Hieron in Agg. cap. 1. All that Time wherein we giue place to Sinne and serue our owne vices perisheth and will be lost and as though it had neuer beene shall be reputed for nought It is reported of Titus Vespasian that being one day at supper and calling to minde that in that day hee had shewed no curtesie nor rewarded any body nor had performed any good turne or done any good deede to any person hee spake with great feeling sorrow of heart to all them that were then present Oh my friends how grieuously sorie am I to haue lost this day Then let a Christian man holde for lost that day which by him is ill imployed and make that reckoning that hee shall haue nothing for it For manifestatiō of this truth that the yeares spent and consumed in vices and wickednesse are not properly OVRS Seneca saith Seneca That there are many who first must leaue to liue before they cā begin to liue Time sayeth that famous Doctor Thomas de Kempis was bestowed vpon vs Tho. de Kemp. 1. pag. Serm. ad Nouit cap. 7. to performe good works not for idlenesse nor to heare or rehearse olde tales fables vanities nor things of no value Wherefore my good Sonnes speaking to the Nouices in Religion let neither houre nor anie time ouerpasse you without some fruit and profit And when you are freely licensed to speake you are not permitted to talke or conferre about any other thing but what shall be commodious necessarie and profitable For as you are to giue reckoning to God almighty for euery idle word Mat. 12.36 so are you bound to yeeld a straite account for all the Time which you haue lost and ill imployed Ludouicus Blosius amongst other his exhortations which he giues to such as Lud. Blos purpose to leade a spirituall life aduiseth and sayth That he should regard and weigh the estimation and value of Time and esteem the least part thereof if ill spent how litle soeuer it be for a very great losse And that mysticall Thaulerus Io. Thauler amongst other documents admonitions hee giues to religious persons sayth Take heede and beware as from the most pestiferous poyson that is of the least losse of Time And so one of the Offences whereof the Remembrancers or Chequer-officers and our Accusers at the day of Iudgement shall accuse and taxe vs withall will be losse of Time according to that which the Prophet Ieremie in his Lamentations doth giue vs to vnderstand Lame 1.21 Vocauit aduersum me Tempus The Lord called Time to be witnesse against mee The which place Thomas of Aquine expoundeth of the day of iudgement Tho. de Aquin Sap. 5. because amongst other things wherof we are there to be charged burthened one will be Time Where all the whole orbe of the earth in defence of Gods honour will commence hard suite against all sottish senselesse sinners accusing thē requiring Iustice against them for the wrong and hurt they did against both their Creator the creatures by abusing and misimploying them and halling them by the haire against their wills to serue their owne lusts wicked appetites CHAP. 3. How GOD in his iust Iudgement cutteth off sinners frō enioying the benefit of Time who before made no reckoning thereof to profit themselues thereby as they ought and might haue done NOTwithstanding that solemne Oath of the Angell whereof wee spake in the first chapter that on some day Time should finish make an end of all in generall at the day of vniuersall Iudgement after which there should be no more Time to deserue either wel or ill or to make any sauing repentance And that euery man in particular in the last day of his life is to expect his owne peculiar Iudgement yet for all that it is greatly to be feared considered That God accustometh for the punishment of the heedlesse and negligent sinner to cut off Time from him to shorten his life least he should profit himselfe thereby as he ought and might haue done considering that hee hath ill imployed and mis-spent the same So teacheth that famous Bernardine de Sena S. Bern. art 3. cap. 4. and for proofe thereof citeth that place of the Apocalipse Apoc. 3.3 Si non vigilaueris veniam ad te tanquam fur If thou watch not I wil come on thee as a thiefe and thou shalt not know what houre I wil come vpon thee Whereupō God threatneth the carelesse sinner who frō day to day deferreth prolongeth his conuersion and amendment dreaming imagining that he shall haue Time enough yea to spare sayeth thus Be not negligent and carelesse neither iest nor dally thou with Time neither esteem the same so certaine so sure so long nor so at thy
in olde and decrepit age and is not so secure nor of such confidence and assurance Yet others expound them to the purpose we now treate of that is to say in other tearmes O Lord I feare and tremble that for my demerits and sinnes and for hauing so ill imployed my Time my life be cut off or shortened which is a punishment thou art wont to inflict vpon some who runne on in their wickednesse not regarding the exceeding infinite finite worth of Time And therefore do I earnestly entreate thee that I be not vnseasonably cut off taken away in the middest of my dayes but that thou suffer and permit me to inioy fully to accomplish the residue of my yeares which thou in thy determination hast appointed I should liue if I persisted obedient in thy seruice as I ought That holy and blessed man Iob the mirrour and patterne of all patience also saith speaking of the sinfull man Iob. 15.32 Antequam dies eius impleantur peribit c. Before that hee accomplish his dayes hee shall die and his hand shall be cut off as the vine in the bud that is to say God will take him away and shall cut him off in the blade being young and tender and shall fade and wither away before his time and in the middest of his dayes shal be bereaued of his life as being an vnworthie and vniust possessour thereof Ouer besides THIS being a great punishment in this life in the other the remembrance of Time which they enioyed suffered to passe away without any profit shall be a great paine and grieuous torment to the condemned ones and therfore shall then though all to late beholde and bewaile the lack and want of so precious a iewell Holy S. Bernard Bern. ser de fallâ—â— praesentis vitae Sap. 2. in a Sermon intituled of the fallacie and deceipt of this present life very elegantly declareth how it bewitcheth and deceiueth Sinners sometimes protracting and making their lyues long large whereby they might so defer and prolong their conuersion and amendement in such sort as they neuer afterwards amend indeede or are reclaimed and othertimes abridging it and making it short whereby they may truly say That life is short is but a blast and therefore let vs make hast to glut our selues with all maner of delights pleasures of the worlde Wherupon he saith that God amongst other things cutteth off such persons in the middest of their greedie appetites and licentiousnes for their impudencie in offending and bereaueth theÌ„ both of Time and of their lyues because such who of their owne accord haue no regard to leaue their wicked wayes GOD cutteth off before their time and chargeth them with death and by force constraineth them to forbeare to sinne any further And for that respect many sinners die verie improuidently vnwillinglie which the worlde iudgeth to happen vnto them by some accident or hidden indisposition or for some manifest casuastie pretending besides that those daies wherein they liued not in sinne were not true daies nor the life that they leade true life but painted and appearing Whereupon they are called in the holy Scripture Dead sinners 1. Tim. 5.6 Apoc. 3.1 The Widdowe saith the Apostle who liueth in pleasure is dead while she liueth And our Sauiour saith in the Reuelation vnto a certain Bishop who liued not as he ought Thou hast a name that thou liuest and the world thinkes no lesse but thou art not liuing but dead and for such I repute thee to be coÌ„sidering that thy soule remaineth dead within that liuing body of thine So as the sinner hath no life in deed but onely a name that he liueth To conclude therefore if that Time which the wicked vainely misspend and abuse cannot properly be termed a Time of life and that God oftentimes shorteneth the life and dayes of the wicked then doe they not nor shall LIVE as the worlde imagineth but shall be very poore sparing of dayes that is They shall die very timeously and speedily Contrariwise vpright and iust men shall be full of dayes and shall liue farre longer then the world supposeth for the Lord will not gather them into his barne vntill it be due season CHAP. 4. He that now inioyeth the benefit of TIME must with great feruencie and zeale labour to imploy it altogether well IF Time bee such a precious iewel bestowed vpon vs to do good workes and to labour in the vineyard of our Sauiour all the day long vntill Sunne set And if we profit not our selues therewith we may feare and tremble that it will be taken away from vs and that we shall want the same when we most desire and haue neede thereof It is good reason therefore that we imploy it well and that in the meane time with great earnestnes and zeale we labour in our vocation So Ecclesiastes aduiseth vs saying Eccles 9.10 Let thy hand labour ALL that it may and that with earnestnesse diligence feruencie and hast he sayth All as if he had sayd Let no good thought or imagination ouerslippe thee which thou mayst obtaine nor any good word which thou mayest heare Omit not any thing thou oughtest to vtter nor any good worke thou mayest performe forgoing neither occasion opportunitie nor time to do good And further he saith That which THY hand and not that which a stranger or another mans hand doth because thou must not rely or repose thy saluation vpon the hands power or streÌ„gth of any other neither oughtest thou imagine that thy seruant or thy friend or any other worldly person ought to gaine Heauen for thee thy selfe playing the Trewant and continuing lazie Thy hand and thy arme are to performe it and are to labor with greedinesse earnestnesse carefulnesse and zeale because life flits away and when thou least suspectest Thy Sun will set Reioyce that thou hast laboured much because thy rest and reward shall be so much the greater And the reason which the Preacher yeeldeth for al aboue sayd is because that after this life no worke either of reason or of vnderstanding or any act of will or of any other power shal be of worth nor of profit to gaine thereby grace or glory The seuen fertile yeares prefigured by the seuen fat kine Gen. 41.2 which king Pharao saw in his dreame do signifie the time of this life which by weekes whereof euery weeke comprehendeth seuen dayes goeth on with an alternatiue continuation succession wheeling about prosequuting his path but afterwards will come other seuen yeares which wil be al that which shall remaine in the other life which is without end prefigured by the seauen leane and hunger-starued kine Vers 3. barren and without fruit of desert For which cause in imitation of that discreet and wise man Ioseph Exod. 16.16 Now Brother fill thy granarie and storehouse make prouision against the time of want and famine because if thou
waite to gather Manna for the Sabbaoth day of the other life it will profit thee no whit but rather will be conuerted into wormes For therby wil remain in thy Soule whereof we now speake a perpetuall worme and sting of conscience Rachel was most faire Gen. 30.1 and beautiful aboue measure but barren withall and though Leah was not so well fauored yet was she fruitfull The other life is most beautifull and excellent but is sayd to be barren because there is no place for repentance good works proper vnto this present life the which though in comparison it be browne duskish foule laborious yet notwithstāding is fruitfull and fertile and apprehendeth that soueraigntie which causeth and produceth works both good and acceptable vnto God with the encrease of grace and assured hope of glorie and he who at first doth not respect these things and with alacritie and patience vnder go his labour and suffer griefe and tribulation and daily busie himselfe about good exercises cannot hope hereafter to enioy the exceeding and excellent beautie of Rachel the other life Matt. 20.7 Then be carefull thou Christian to labour and worke heere All that thou canst because hereafter thou canst not possibly doe it We are mercenarie workemen and hirelings and therefore there is no reason we should passe away our liues idlely nor in delights pleasures and dainties as though wee were great Magnificoes or Gentlemen of high reputation Before Adam had sinned GOD placed him in the Paradise of pleasure Gen. 2.15 the which he ordained for him that he should labour in that gardeine that in that lodge or pallace of pleasure he should be intertained spend his time and solace himselfe But after he had sinned he was banished out of Paradise and was made a labourer and a workeman of the terrestriall vineyard Considering therefore the case standeth thus labour and make speed my friend if thou beest desirous to liue without staine or spot of sinne and to end thy dayes in all ioy and spiritual happinesse Because this is not rightlie vnderstoode or rather because few indeauour or care to vnderstande and consider the same as they ought men now a dayes conuert this vineyard into gardens places of mirth and pleasure and passe away their lyues in all kind of sensuality and delight Who are rightly compared vnto king Ahaz of whō it is written 2. Reg. 16. that as hee beheld the Altar of Damascus he sent from that Citie the true patterne and platforme therof vnto Vriah the priest that thereby hee might frame and make an Altar according to the kings order and direction but the Altar of brasse and of mettall Ver. 8. which stoode till that day before the Lord hee took away out of the Temple and from before his presence That I say manie Christians now adayes doe practise who embrace Religion worship God but vpon the Altar of the Gentiles liuing as though they were Gentiles or heathen men enioying so much so many dainties pleasant tastes and delicates they can procure and attaine vnto they fall straightwayes to all such things as their appetites can wish and demaund without making of anie maner resistance they labour to fulfill and perform what their sensualities shal long and lust after Correct and chastice thou Christian man that body of thine tame subdue it busie thy selfe in the workes of a Christian labourer worke in thy vineyard dresse and prune it digge and delue it plough it tyll and manure the inheritance of thy soule and thou shalt see how thy sensuality will forgoe and forget her heady wilfulnesse her gallant brauerie and wantonnesse there shall not be found in the same such store of bryer-bushes nor so many thornie brambles and sharpe pricking thistles of Sinnes as otherwise there should So because the children of Israel should not be multiplied Exod. 1 1◠nor recouer any head or strength but that they should be kept vnder and solde Pharao made them worke and labour and appointed them ordinarie tasks which were not smal Knowe and acknowledge thou Christian the good time and the good day hourd them vp in store reserue them in thy store-house whereby that may not be said of thee which was spokē of the Hebrues The Kite the Storke Isaix 10. and the Swallow do know their times and seasons and well vnderstand the due value thereof and profit thereby But Israel neither knoweth nor regardeth the time of his visitation nor vnderstandeth how to profit by the occasion thereof and therfore shall some day weepe and lament most bitterly and shall much long for wish euen that which now hee neither esteemeth nor regardeth The people of Israel perceiuing the riuer of Iordan to be dry were therefore secure in the passage and least they should loose so good an opportunitie they made hast to passe ouer Iosuae 4.10 and indeede passed ouer most safely But if they had deferred their iourney till another day peraduenture they should haue come short found the passage shut vp We cannot secure to our selues the morrow and if this day thou mayest deferre it not let it not ouerpasse thee but conuert thy selfe to God for it may bee that to morrow thou shalt not be able or canst not Psal 95 7. To day saith Dauid if you will heare the voyce of the Lord who inuiteth and calleth you to repentance and to amendment of life poast it not ouer so hardening your harts Verse 8. and defer not till another day Consider thou miserable wretch thou blinde and ignorant Sinner that the Diuell to deceiue and delude thee saith Bestow vpon mee this day and the morrow thou shalt giue to God and to morrow hee will reiterate and say vnto thee the very same and so hee will cosen and vndoe thee S. Basil saith Basil hom 13 exhort ad Bapt. That he noted a most meruailous subtle shift of a certaine litle Bird which according to Elianus is the Partridge which perceiuing the Fowler to draw neere towards her nest where her young lay fearing that if hee had come any nearer he would haue made a pray of them all wherefore in respect they could not well flie she skipt out of her neast and lighted hard by him putting him in hope that hee might speedily catch her hauing her yong ones as he now imagined sure in his hands of purpose to make him to follow her into by-pathes and whereby he might forget to finde againe her litle young ones When the Fowler drew neare towardes the Partridge and thought himselfe sure of her shee suddainly flurted vp and alighted som short distance before him and after that maner alwayes flying and staying or rather limping and hopping still neare abouts him shee deceaued the Fowler by intertaining and withdrawing him aloofe so farre till at length her young ones by litle litle with short leapes and easie flight had prouided for themselues and digged
detraction in writing reading of lasciuious letters and profane books which vsually make chast mindes dishonest And those times likewise which are spent in registring sentencing and iudging of other mens lyues and actions without deliuering to the partie grieued any Copie of his owne cause and without any mature or full hearing thereof nor yet well knowing it and before the Iudges haue throughly vnderstoode the truth thereof nor as yet haue receiued the Informations they ought and yet proceede to Iudgement or acquite by proclamation Who can leaue such persons vncondemned for idle ones who wickedly imploy and imprison all good Time And all those houres which either thy selfe or bad vaine and naughty women haue wasted which are not a few in number in decking trimming and adorning themselues for to ensnare and intangle mens hearts to captiuate Soules and bring them in subiection to make free and set at liberty them that are bound May such tell me be ouer-past without the same censure and sentence And the time and houres which the ambitious sort wherein they are puffed vp as another Ephraim doe spend and consume in erecting and building of their lofty Towers windie Turrets and in purtraying in the ayre the dreames and inuentions of their fickle fantasies speaking to thēselues like vnto that proud King Cyrus the type and figure of that proud Lucifer saying I will sitte in the mountaine of my testamēt northward I will place my seate and my throne so high that my feete may be aboue the starres What wise or discreete man will say That such Time is not lost misspent and bound as it were in fetters and imprisoned The time and houres which the couetous person spendeth in plodding of his Accounts and Reckonings imagining and compassing how and by what meanes and with what intelligence he may hourd and receiue stil greater gaine vse and interest by way of trucke or barterie by changing and exchanging by vsurie or without vsurie adding and extracting with himselfe watching wallowing and cumbring himselfe therein and wholy reposing all his care indeauour and industrie in his owne resolute appetite to procure and get all that hee may come to by lawfull or vnlawfull wayes and meanes either by hook or by crook requiring good and sufficient Securitie to be answerable for sure vndoubted payment and satisfaction as well of the principall Summe as of the interest thereof and vse of Time at the day limitted and prefixed But what man is hee that can secure himselfe that that day wherein hee shall demaund or expect an Account with consideration for Time shal passe for currant and good I neede not discourse anie further hereof nor manifestly expresse any more estates or cōditions of people for by so doing my memorie might faile mee and I should put my selfe to excessiue paine trouble Wherefore Is the world so ignorant or so sottish being so wide and so spacious but that hence anie vnderstanding Christian may collect and gather all the rest which here may be specified and condemned if he please as well by the Sermons which hee hath heard the books that hee hath read and by the holy inspirations and inward enlightening which the Lord hath giuen him as by that which his owne cōscience being his owne loyall witnes faithfullest friend except hee be an Atheist hath many times admonished and inwardly accused himselfe of And that more credite may be giuen to that I say it will not bee amisse for confirmation thereof to auouch the authority of the sacred Scripture Dauid in one of his Psalmes saith of the good and iust Psal 73. Dies pleni inuenientur in eis That in them will be found full dayes and not empty It is a very vsuall speech in the old Testament that they died full of daies as it is said of Abraham Isaak and of other Saints and friends of God Gen. 25.8 35.29 Iob. vlt. ver 17. Thou shalt go to thy graue in a full age as a ricke of corne commeth in due season into the barne Iob. 5.26 Wherupon if that be spoken of the iust then contrariwise may we say that neither the dayes nor years of Sinners are full but emptie and voyde yea for number few lessened diminished and vain their howers diminished howers and by consequence will not dye full but empty of dayes Dion Carth. in Iob 5. And Dionysius Carthusianus expounding those wordes of Iob. Menses vacuos enumeraui mihi Emptie moneths dayes haue I reckoned to my selfe saith That the penitent sinner may wel say so namely that he hath wasted spent and consumed without fruit or profit his time and dayes and so for good workes they were voyd and empty idle and full of vanity and all vice which is as good as right naught And thereupon S. Ambrose saith S. Ambr. that the life of the iust is full and the dayes of the wicked are voyd vaine and naught they apprehend saue only an appearance and shewe much like vnto a greene Reede without either marrow substance or pith Of the same opinion is Gregorie in his Moralls Greg in moral sup c. vlt. Iob. treating vpon the last Chapter of Iob. Now that all persons who haue so liued and presently do so liue are most worthie of reprehension doth already appeare most manifestly out of the former chapters Then considering Time to be a most precious Iewel as may well be vnderstood out of the first Chapter and that it was bestowed vppon vs whereby we might win and gaine heauen by a liuely faith working by loue as is proued in the second and that God suddenly accustometh to abridge and cut it off from such who do not well and worthily imploy the same as they ought as may bee seene written in the third Chapter and notwithstanding regard not to accept the aduise counsell which by the illumination of the holy Spirit we haue shewed and directed them in the fourth Chapter but beeing altogether forgetfull and all feare and care being set aside do by their vnsauorie morsels and bitter tastes though outwardly guilt and canded wickedly imploy Time the which they dispraise and commit outrage against in steed of good dealing or well handling thereof or profiting themselues thereby they grieue and vexe it and do withhold the same in prison and captiuity without any maner of consideration of what they loose or might thereby obtaine nor of what they owe to God who at his owne cost so redeemed them and whom for such and so many innumerable respects obligations and rewards they ought to serue both day and night and to loue and reuerence withall their hart and withall their soule Such may be compared to Merchantmen who on Markets and Fayor dayes not respecting the present gaine they might there obtaine doe occupie themselues about childish toies and imbrace fopperies of ieasts and deceite and by hearing of Ballad singers or blind folkes rehearsing of old tales and fables or by seeing
that hee gaue to the Cittizens of Ephesus and to all Christian people after hee had admonished them that they should beware from ryotousnes and couetousnes and from all other workes of darkenes and that they should not communicate with Heretikes being enemies of the light saith thus Ephes 5.15 Videte quomodo cautè ambuletis c. Now you see how many daingers there be occasions impediments lets ambushments in the way to heauen and how many theeues and robbers pyrats rouers and other enemies hinder the passage therefore Looke about you and bee aduised how you walke and how you trauel that way make your iourney warily with speciall care and heedfulnes with much vigilancie and feare least you fall into their snares Walke not as fooles but as wise discreet prudent circumspect and warie least by following and prosecuting the enemies plots and practises you be quite ouerthrowne Remēber that it is sayd Ephe. 5.16 Redimentus tempus c. Redeeme the time because the dayes are euill The first exposition or explanation of which wordes because the second part thereof is treated in the Chapter subsequent is of Saint Ierome where he saith Viegas in Apoc. cap. 10. citat Hieronym that God bestowed Time vpon men wherby he might be serued in it and they occupied in good workes the which more at large may bee vnderstood in the second chapter precedent which notwithstanding they detaine as captiuated and imprisoned imploying the same in bad workes wiced affaires which is a captiuitie most culpable and blameable and most worthie to be lamented But Time is to be redeemed and rāsomed by doing of good works for then doth man redeeme and buy it and make that properly his owne which malice had detained as ouercome and alienated The second Exposition is this God cutteth short diminisheth many times from Sinners their dayes and time the which by the course of nature had they beene good should haue liued lōger as in the third chapter before wee are instructed Wherefore the good iust and vertuous man and hee that imployeth his time well doth redeeme ransome it Then hee that rescueth and ransometh that part of time and space of life wherein he liued sinfully for which God by his iust Iudgement would haue cut him off shal now enioy all the time that Nature had assigned and appointed him to liue in and shall die a good vsurer or great gayner of time full of dayes The third Exposition is That hee redeemeth Time who taketh part thereof from the affaires and traffique of the worlde to bestowe it in the seruice of God for the enioying of the inward peace and quietnes of his Soule for the idlenesse of Marie Magdalen is not to be accounted Idlenes Luk. 10.39 but holie and religious imployment Furthermore he that vseth Time with such circūspect limitation and heedfull respect in his transitorie commodities and temporall businesses as that he doth not imploy the whole day therein but now and then borrowes a litle from his worldly imployments and saues reserues it for the Soule for her best aduantage and greater benefit hee is truly sayed to redeeme and purchase Time and to bestow for the same euen that which he saued and spared from his worldly affaires for his Soules health And albeit this redemption ransome because of the delight and good liking otherwise of the which hee is depriued aggrieueth him in such fort as it should grieue one to be beguiled of his dinner who had a good appetite thereunto yet notwithstanding man ought very earnestly and eagerly to striue and procure by all meanes to redeeme and recouer againe the pawne or pledge of a thing so pretious as Time is considering that pastimes sports vnlawfull and excessiue entertainments and recreations were the money and price by the which it was solde to the Diuell who beguiled vs most notably in the sale thereof with his great subtilty and forcible enticements as well of the Time it selfe as of the pretious woorth and value thereof Agreeable to which that most famous Doctor of the Church S. Augustine saith August ser 24. de verb. Apostol To redeeme Time is as when any body impleadeth or sueth thee for thy goods to loose somewhat thereof for the gayning of Time to serue and please God and to abstract thereout so much as by suits of law thou shouldest spend that which thou seemest to loose thou gainest which is the price wherewith thou hast bought Time and something must be lost to get and to purchase for if thou goest to the market place to buy bread wine or oyle or other merchandice thou giuest receiuest thou leauest receiuest thou leauest behind one thing and bringest home another thou leauest money behind thee which thou loosest cariest home thy ware or merchandise and that is to buy for if thou haddest not giuen something thou shouldest not haue now wanted what thou hadst but thou shouldest haue possessed much more then before if haply thou haddest found it or diddest inherite it or else that others in curtesie had bestowed the same vpon thee but when thou giuest and loosest or takest out of thy house one thing to bring home another then dost thou buy purchase and that which thou inioyest is that which thou boughtest that which thou bestowest and hast not is the price wherewith thou hast bought The Diuine Chrysostome expoundeth it after this maner Chrys in Epist ad Ephes Ser. 17. Redeeme the time Bretheren that is Redeeme the opportunity the occasion to doe good Time is not yours to be despised and wherein without sinning you may play spend it away wickedly or consume it vnthriftily as is said of one who affirmed that hee could play away his money throwe it into the riuer if he listed because hee was Maister thereof for though it be yours by being in your hands power to imploy it well or ill Yet are you but Pilgrimes and Passingers and therefore ought to desire no worldly honour nor vaine glory nor riches dignities puissance or authoritie reuenge nor any point or particle of renowne or worship Suffer beare meekly all things which offer themselues vnto you against the haire as it were and disagreeable to your good liking haue patience therein so you shall redeeme and ransom Time and doe good to your enemies and giue them of that you haue if they aske it and be in necessitie Imagine that a mā had a house most rich and most sumptuous very costly furnished and well orderly prouided and prepared and that by the fame report therof certaine theeues or burglarors did enter into the same who sought and endeauoured to kill the owner that afterwards they might spoile and rob him whereupon hee should say vnto them Oh my good friends for the loue of God doe not murther me and I will yeeld and render you all that I haue in my house and thereupon
deliuereth thē all things they aske and demaund of such a one wee may truly say that himselfe ransomed his owne life So after the same maner thou my Brother enioyest a large faire house greate store of wealth iewels pearles and precious stones thou possessest a Soule which is the liuely Temple of the liuing God yea his owne house and dwelling place thou art endued with faith hope and charitie besides other vertues and gifts from his hands and bountifull liberality Giue and bestowe all that shall be demaunded of thee and loose the remainder when it shall be expedient and needfull in exchange least thou loose the life of thy Soule and so thou mayest ransome redeeme Time which in case thou dost not thy enemies will leade thee away captiue Againe Sinners may redeeme and ransome the time they with-held captiuated if they will embrace and follow the Counsell of the Prophet Baruch where he sayeth Baruch 4 28. Sicut fuit sensus vester c. Conuert and turne you to God and after your conuersion to him by repentance you shall serue and obey him tenne times more carefull with more ardent heate feruour and diligence then before when you departed from him and misimployed your time They will likewise rescue and repurchase the same againe if they wil performe the admonition which the Apostle S. Paul giueth declaring vpon the consequence of these words Sicut exhibuistis membra vestra Rom. 6.19 c. Euen as hitherto you haue imployed yeelded your bodies senses and members in the seruice of vncleannesse and iniquity to sin now wheele about and looke back turne ouer the leafe and imploy all things to serue equity vertue and holinesse of life The Apostle hauing spoken before Rom. 6.19 Humanum dico propter infirmitatē vestram c. I speake as a man for your infirmities sake and because you are weake hartily beseeching you that you wholy imploy and busie your selues in the seruice of God by keeping his cōmaundements and redeeming the Time of which holy exercise the fruite is your sanctification for by such workes man doth sanctifie and dedicate himselfe wholy to God that you perform this with as great affection and alacritie as euer hereto fore you deuoted your selues to impiety yeelding your members as bondslaues to sinne whose fruite is nothing else but iniquity and wherof a Sinner can make no other profit but that hee remaine a Sinner a miserable wretched man and be so accounted And notwithstanding it be true that Sanctification doth far exceed iniquitie yet rest I well satisfied with such vnfained endeuor and resolution of doing good workes which some haue performed after their conuersion with such earnestnesse as before they were set and bent to sin by displeasing and offending of God We see how violent and couragious many are to sinne and after they haue glutted their appetites how slothful and luke-warme howe slacke and faint they are to repent to exercise themselues in actions of vertue The sinner rusheth through thick and thin to accomplish his desire and to satisfie his lustfull appetite and as it were to run away with that he longed for nothing seemeth difficult or hard vnto him and if thou aske him how canst thou suffer this or that though he be neuer so graue and ancient to all things he will frame an answer and say yes Time seemeth most short to sinners for inioying of their lusts and pleasures but to occupie themselues in good workes it seemes most large and wearisome The Seruice long the Sermon large his prayers meditations paines and fasting laborious and tedious Cold weather makes them heartlesse and cowards heate slacketh and releaseth them and all things seemes painefull and heauie So as to conclude that is a most singular remedie and helpe for to redeeme Time to imploy it well and to vse it with such alacritie heedfulnesse earnestnesse and liuelinesse to deuotion as he hath done when he was altogether bent and resolued to loose and captiuate to same CHAP. 10. How it is to be vnderstood that the dayes are euill and howe that therefore TIME is to be redeemed AL things that God hath created are good being considered in themselues and according to their owne nature and kind because that from his most blessed hands there could proceed no worke or thing which were not good And so himselfe after the worke of Creation sayd that all were good and perfect Gen. 1.31 that he had made and created And to speake to our purpose the dayes and yeares considered in themselues cannot be euill neither can there be any morall malice found in them which iustly may be tearmed a fault because they are not capable thereof nor yet any feeling of punishment for they cannot apprehend it nor any other miserie which men suffer for their sinnes But the dayes are sayd to be euill in respect of men who liue in them by occasion of their transgressions and sins they commit or by reason of those punishments they suffer caused by the former according to S. Chrysostome and S. Ieromes exposition Chrys Hier. sup Psal 27. And so are persons that be weake sicke sad sorowfull or afflicted wont to say O what an euill day this hath beene vnto me oh how terrible and how bitter Two things there are saith that excellent S. Augustine that make the daies to be euill Aug. ser 24. de verbis Apost are the cause wherefore they are termed euill being indeed in thēselues good namely the Malice and the Miserie of men The miserie or wretchednesse is common but the malice ought not so to be From the time that Adam sinned and was banished out of Paradise the dayes haue euer continued euill and the crying of infants at the time of their birth is a presage of their miserie and troubles and a sure signe and infallible token that vpon that day they enter into this vale of teares and that at the least though they be so happie as to become good they shall not faile but bee encombred with sundry dangerous temptations and tryals albeit the cause thereof cannot be expresly declared Euthymius expounding Euthym. in Psal 34. those wordes of the Psalmist Who is that man that wisheth life and desireth to see good dayes saith that those good dayes are they of the other life for that those of this are euill according to that which Iacob spake to Pharao Gen. 47.8.9 and the Apostle S. Paul also when he wrote to them of Ephesus Redeeme the time Ephes 5.15 because the dayes are euill And S. Basil faith the same The whole time of my Pisgrimage saith Iacob answering Pharao Basil ibid. who had asked him Gen. 47.9 how old he was is an hundred and thirty yeares fewe and euill haue the dayes of my life beene The king demanded him how many are the yeares of thy life and he answered The dayes of my pilgrimage c. and though it seemes that