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over ourselves, to look to our Senfes, to look to our Tongues, to look to our Ap-.

petites, and to watch over all our Actions. Eph.6.14. We muft (as the Apoftle exhorts) frand with our Loyns girt about, having on the

43.

whe Armour of God. Our Saviour tells Mat. 24. us, bat if the good Man of the House had known at what Hour the Thief would have come, he would have watched, and not fuffered his Houfe to be broken thro'. The Application he makes of that Parable concerns us as much as those to whom he spoke Mark 13. it, viz. What I fay unto you I say unto all, Watch.

37.

Thus I have given an Account of all the Particulars of that Circumfpection that is required of us in the Text, in the Senfe in which I am now treating of it; so far, I mean, as I could collect them from the general Words. But there is one Particular of this circumfpect Walking yet behind, which I think I ought not only to take notice of, but infift a little more upon than I have done upon the reft, both because the Apostle hath in the Text particularly mentioned it, and likewise because it is of fuch Importance, that if it be not taken care of, all that has been faid about circumfpect Walking will fignify nothing.

The Thing that I mean, is redeeming our Time: See that ye walk circumspectly, &c. redeeming the Time. Whether you will take this as an Inftance of our walking circum

Spectly,

spectly, or as a Means to fecure our fo walking, is to me an indifferent Matter. But I am fure it is not indifferent, but abfolutely neceffary, that Men fhould be ferioufly called upon to put it in practice. This therefore fhall make the fecond Part of my Difcourfe.

Redeeming the Time in the Senfe that we are now fpeaking of it, (for as to the other Senfe of the Phrafe, as it imports the gaining of Time, it doth not yet come under Confideration) I fay, redeeming of Time may be understood two Ways, either with refpect to the Time paft, or the Time prefent. To redeem Time paft, is to make amends for our former Carelefsnefs and Negligence in any Work we were engag'd in, by using double Diligence in that Work afterwards. Thus a Traveller may be faid to redeem his Time, who, having loiter'd a whole Day in an Inn without making any Progress in his Journey, doth the next Day go a double Stage, performing the Journey both of that Day and of the Day before.

Now in this Senfe of the Phrafe, redeeming the Time is a Duty that doth highly concern us; all thofe of us I mean, who have lived loosely or viciously the former Part of their Lives. If ever fuch Perfons come to be ferious, and to take wife Counfels, they must endeavour to recover all that Time they have mif-fpent by a more

than

than ordinary Diligence for the Time to The farther they are gone in any

come.

evil Course, the more feverely must they exact of themselves the Practice of the contrary Virtues. They muft not fit down content with the ordinary Degrees of Virtue and Goodness, which would be indeed commendable in a young Beginner; but they must labour to be fo good, and fo abundant in the Work of the Lord, as, if they had not gone aftray, they might have been prefumed at this Time to have been according to the ordinary Rates of Mens Progrefs This is to redeem the Time

in Virtue.

paft.

But tho' this be a very useful Senfe, and indeed that which our English Phrafe of redeeming the Time doth most properly import; yet, as I take it, this was not the Senfe St. Paul muft be fuppofed principally to have defigned, when he ufed this Expreffion; and therefore I fhall pursue this Notion of it no further.

Redeeming the Time in the Apostle's Sense must have respect chiefly to the Time prefent. The Words which he ufes are ἐξαγοραζόμθμοι καίρεν, which, if we would render ftrictly and properly, are as much as if we fhould fay, buying or purchafing the Time or the Seafon. So that his Meaning is, we are to value Time extremely, and to purchafe it at any rate, tho' it be with the Lofs of our Pleafures, or Conveniencies,

veniencies, or any other Thing that the fleshly Principle within us is moft delighted with. We Chriftians must act in our fpiritual Concerns, as Merchants and Tradefmen do in their temporal, who let flip no Time, no Season, no Opportunity of improving their Eftates, and making a good Bargain for themselves; but prefer the Gain of their Trade above all the little Defigns of Eafe or good Company, or the like. Now taking this to be the Meaning of redeeming of Time, there are three Things which the Duty will oblige us to.

1. To take Care that we employ our Time, and that we employ it innocently. And this indeed is the lowest Degree of redeeming our Time.

2. A Step higher than this, to increase and improve our Time, by cutting off, as much as in us lies, all unneceffary Confumptions of it.

3. And which is yet a further Degree of redeeming Time, to improve all that Time which we have gained to ourselves by the retrenching our fuperfluous Expences of it, to the best and nobleft Purposes we can put it to.

I fhall confider thefe Particulars a little more diftinctly and carefully.

1. The first and lowest Inftance of Care that this Duty of redeeming our Time will put us upon, is, that we employ our Time, and that we employ it innocently. We are at no hand to pafs away our Time in Idlenefs, but conftantly to find some Work for ourselves. For any Man at any time to be able to say of himself, I have nothing to do; if he means thereby that he knows not how to employ his next Hour, is a certain Argument that the Man is either a very filly or a very diffolute Perfon. If it comes to that Pafs with us that our Time lies upon our hands, and we know not what to do with it, but are longing and wishing that this or the other good Hour would come when we shall meet with fomething whereby we hope to gratify ourselves, Things are in a marvellous bad Pofture with us. We ought to flee Idlenefs, as we would the worst Disease, not only because it renders a Man's Life burthenfome and uneafy, nay, I may say, a very Torment to himfelf, but because it is very mifchievous and very criminal. It is that which makes a Man perfectly useless in the World, and he lives to no other Purpose than, Cormorant like, to devour the Fruits of the Earth. It is the infallible Way to fpoil all that Briskness of Temper, that Vigour of Conftitution, and Quicknefs of Parts, that God hath given him, and to make him sottish

and

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