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whom a spiritual physician that goeth to cure them, or a holy person that is full and resolute to bear down vain discourse I confess may well employ his time, when he is cast upon it, or called to it. But to dwell with such, or choose them as our familiars, or causelessly, or for complacency keep among them, will unavoidably lose abundance of your time. If you would do good, they will hinder you: if you will speak of good, they will divert you, or reproach you, or wrangle and cavil with you, or some way or other stop your mouths. They will by a stream of vain discourse, either bear down, and carry you on with them, or fill your ears, and interrupt and hinder the very thoughts of your minds, by which you desire to profit yourselves, when they will not let you be profitable to others.

Thief VIII. Another notorious time-wasting thief, is needless, inordinate sports and games, which are commonly stigmatised by the offenders themselves, with the infamous name of pastimes; and masked with the deceitful title of recreations; such as are cards and dice, and stage-plays, and dancings, and revellings, and excesses in the most lawful sports, especially in hunting, and hawking, and bowling, &c. Whether all these are lawful or unlawful of themselves, is nothing to the present question: but I am sure that the precious hours which they take up, might have been improved to the saving of many a thousand souls, that by the loss of time are now undone and past recovery. Except malicious enemies of godliness, I scarce know a wretcheder sort of people on the earth, and more to be lamented, than those fleshly persons, who, through the love of sensual pleasure, do waste many hours day after day, in plays and gaming, and voluptuous courses; while their miserable souls are dead in sin, enslaved to their fleshly lusts, unreconciled to God, and find no delight in him, or in his service, and cannot make a recreation of any heavenly work. How will it torment these unhappy souls, to think how they played away those hours, in which they might have been pleasing God, and preventing misery, and laying up a treasure in heaven? And to think that they sold that precious time, for a little fleshly sport, in which they

d Laertius saith of Solon, that Thespim tragoedias agere, ac docere prohibuit, inutilem eas falsiloquentiam vocans. Lib. I. sect. 59. p. 37.

should have been working out their salvation, and making their calling and election sure. But I have more to say to these anon.

Thief Ix. Another time-wasting thief, is excess of worldly cares and business. These do not only as some more disgraced sins, pollute the soul with deep stains in a little time, and then recede; but they dwell upon the mind, and keep possession, and keep out good: they take up the greatest part of the lives of those that are guilty of them. The world is first in the morning in their thoughts, and last at night, and almost all the day; the world will not give them leave to entertain any sober, fixed thoughts of the world to come; nor to do the work which all works should give place to. The world devoureth all the time almost that God and their souls should have; it will not give them leave to pray, or read, or meditate, or discourse of holy things: even when they seem to be praying, or hearing the word of God, the world is in their thoughts; and as it is said, "They come unto thee as the people cometh; and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love; but their heart goeth after their covetousness":" In most families there is almost no talk nor doings but all for the world; these also will know, that they had greater works for their precious time, which should have always had the precedency of the world.

Thief x. Another time-waster is vain ungoverned and sinful thoughts. When men are wearied with vain works and sports, they continue unwearied in vain thoughts; when they want company for vain discourse and games, they can waste the time in idle, or lustful, or ambitious, or covetous thoughts alone without any company. In the very night time while they wake and as they travel by the way, yea while they seem to be serving God, they will be wasting the time in useless thoughts: so that this devoureth a greater proportion of precious time, than any of the former when time must be reckoned for, what abundance will be found upon men's accounts, as spent in idle, sinful thoughts! O watch this thief; and remember, though you may think that a vain thought is but a little sin, yet time is

Ezek. xxxiii. 31.

not a little or contemptible commodity, nor to be cast away on so little a thing as idle thoughts: and to vilify thus so choice a treasure is not a little sin: and that it is not a little work that you have to do in the time which you thu's waste. And a daily course of idle thoughts doth waste so great a measure of time, that this aggravation maketh it more heinous, than many sins of greater infamy. But of this more in the next part.

Thief x1. Another dangerous time-wasting sin, is the reading of vain books, playbooks, romances, and feigned histories; and also unprofitable studies, undertaken but for vainglory, or the pleasing of a carnal and curious mind. Of this I have spoken in my book of Self-denial. I speak not here how pernicious this vice is by corrupting the fancy and affections, and breeding a diseased appetite, and putting you out of relish with necessary things: but bethink you before you spend another hour in any such books, whether you can comfortably give an account of it to God: and how precious the time is, which you are wasting on such childish toys. You think the reading of such things is lawful but is it lawful to lose your precious time? You say that your petty studies are desirable and laudable; but the neglect of far greater things, is not laudable: I discourage no man from labouring to know all that God hath any way revealed to be known. But I say, as Seneca, 'We are ignorant of things necessary, because we learn things superfluous and unnecessary.' Art is long and life is short: and he that hath not time for all, should make sure of the greatest matters; and if he be ignorant for any thing, let it be of that which the love of God and our own and other men's salvation, and the public good, do least require, and can best spare. It is a pitiful thing to see a man waste his time in criticising, or in growing wise in the less necessary sciences and arts, while he is yet a slave of pride or worldliness, and hath an unrenewed soul, and hath not learned the mysteries necessary to his own salvation, But yet these studies are laudable in their season. But the fanatic studies of those that would pry into unrevealed things, and the lascivious employment of those that read love-books, play-books, and vain stories, will one day appear, to have been but an unwise expense of time, for

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those that had so much better and more needful work to do with it. I think there are few of those that plead for it, that would be found with such books in their hands at death, or will then find any pleasure in the remembrance of them.

Thief XII. But the master-thief that robs men of their time, is an unsanctified, ungodly heart; for this loseth time whatever men are doing: because they never truly intend the glory of God: and having not a right principle or a right end, their whole course is hell-wards; and whatever they do, they are not working out their salvation: and therefore they are still losing their time, as to themselves, however God may use the time and gifts of some of them, as a mercy to others. Therefore a new and holy heart, with a heavenly intention and design of life, is the great thing necessary to all that will savingly redeem their time.

Tit. 5. On whom this Duty of Redeeming Time is principally incumbent.

Though the redeeming of time be a duty of grand importance and necessity to all, yet all these sorts following have special obligations to it.

Sort 1. Those that are in the youth and vigour of their time: nature is not so much corrupted in you, as in old accustomed sinners: your hearts are not so much hardened: sin is not so deeply rooted and confirmed: satan hath not triumphed in so many victories: you are not yet plunged so deep as others, into worldly incumbrances and cares: your understanding, memory and strength are in their vigour and do not yet fail you. And who should go fastest, or work hardest but he that hath the greatest strength? You may now get more by diligence in a day, than hereafter you may get in many. How few prove good scholars, or wise men that begin not to learn till they are old?" Fly youthful lusts," therefore, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth." "If you be now trained up in the way you should go, you will not depart from it when you are old." O that you could but know what an unspeakable advantage, and benefit, and comfort it is, to come to a ripe age with the provisions and furniture of that wisdom, and holiness, f 2 Tim. ii. 22. Eccl. xii. 1. Prov. xxii. 6.

and acquaintance with God, which should be attained in your youth! and what a misery it is to be then to learn that which you should have been many years before in practising, and to be then to begin to live when you must make an end? much more to be cast to hell, if death should find unready in your youth? or to be forsaken of God to a hardened age! Happy they that with Timothy and Obadiah, do learn the Scripture and fear God in their childhood, and from their youth.

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Sort 11. Necessity maketh it incumbent on the weak, and sick, and aged, in a special manner to redeem their time. If they will not make much of it that are sure to have but a little; and if they will trifle and loiter it away, that know they are near their journey's end, and ready to give up their accounts, they are unexcusable above all others. A thief or murderer will pray and speak good words when he is going out of the world. Well may it be said to you, as Paul doth, Rom. xiii. 11, 12. "Now is it high time to awake out of sleep ;" when your salvation or damnation is so near! It is high time for that man to look about him, and prepare his soul, and lose no time, that is so speedily to appear before the most holy God, and be used for ever as he has lived here.

Sort 111. It is specially incumbent on them to redeem the time,' who have loitered and mispent much time already. If conscience tell you that you have lost your youth in ignorance and vanity, and much of your age in negligence and worldliness, it is a double crime in you, if you redeem not diligently the time that is left. The just care of your salvation requireth it, unless you are willing to be damned. Ingenuity and duty to God requireth it; unless you will defy him, and resolve to abuse and despise him to the utmost, and spend all the time against him which he shall give you. The nature of true repentance requireth it; unless you will know none but the repentance of the damned; and begin to repent the mispending of your time, when it is gone, and all is too late.

Sort IV. It is specially their duty to redeem the time, who are scanted of time through poverty, service or restraint. If poor people that must labour all the day, will not redeem the Lord's day, and those few hours which they have, they will then have no time at all for things spiritual :

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