Secondly, It is high time to seek the Lord

Secondly, It is high time to seek the Lord.

For first, God has been long time patient towards you. He has been long suffering, there is a time that the Lord says, He will be weary with forbearing, and therefore the Lord having suffered so long, it is high time for you to seek him, for you to look about you, lest the Lord should say, That he would be weary in forbearing, and forbear no more. It is fit you should seek the Lord at all times, but now it is high time when God has been so long suffering towards you; how do you know but that the time for the end of patience is at an end? And that is the second consideration, God has been long patient.

And 2. Mercy it is even going, for judgments are now threatened by the Prophet: as if the Prophet should say, if ever you will seek him, seek him now, God is going, and judgments are at hand, and therefore it is high time for you to seek the Lord. As a prisoner when he is at the bar, he is pleading a great while when the judge is at the bench, but if he sees the judges ready to rise off the bench, and if they be gone, then he is gone and undone for ever, then he lifts up his voice, and cries out, Mercy, mercy. So it is high time to seek the Lord, high time, Mercy is going, Judgment is at hand; God as the judge is going off the bench, now cry, cry out for your lives or you are undone for ever.

Oh! this may well be applied to us both in the general, and in the particular, it is high time, God has shown himself to be going and departing from us, only there has a company of his saints been crying, and as the Lord has been going from us yet they have lifted up their voice and cried to the Lord, so yet he grants us time.

And then thirdly, It is an acceptable time, because now God calls upon you, and he holds forth the scepter of his grace towards you, therefore it is now acceptable to seek God, seek him now and he will be found (2 Corinthians 6). Now is the accepted time, the day of salvation, while you do enjoy the means of grace, while God is offering mercy in the Gospel it is the accepted time, therefore now is the time to seek the Lord. The misery of man is great upon him for not knowing his time, in Ecclesiastes 8:6. There the wise man says, There is a time for all things, but therefore is the misery of man great, because he knows not his time. Oh! 'tis true in this regard, we know not our time and therefore is our misery great upon us. O that you had known at least in this your day those things that concern your peace; missing of time is a dangerous thing. That may be done at one time with ease, that cannot be done at another time with all the labor that possibly may be. You can not tell what may depend upon one day, upon one minute, perhaps even eternity may depend upon this moment, upon this day. A man goes abroad from his family and gets into company, perhaps into an ale-house, or tavern to drink, and there spends the day in wickedness; you do not know but upon that time the day of your eternity may depend, it may be cast upon that day. As Saul was cast upon that act of his, says Samuel to him, The Lord had thought to have established your kingdom, but now he will not. So God may say, Well, notwithstanding all your former sins I would have been content to have past by them, if you had sought me upon this day. The consideration of this would make us take heed how we spend our time, how one spends any day in one's life. A mariner may do that at one time that he cannot possibly do at another. He has a gale of wind and now he may quickly get over sea, but if he stays till another time, if he would give his heart blood to get over he cannot. And so sometimes you have such gales of the Spirit of God as may do good to your soul for ever, take heed you do not lose them, if you lose them you may be undone for ever. Oh! 'tis fit to wait upon God for our time, and if God gives us time take heed we do not trifle and say, we shall have time hereafter. Therefore in Philippians 2:12 the Apostle says, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: (and it follows) for it is God that works in you, both to will and to do. What a connection is there? If God work the will and the deed, what need I work at all? No, the connection is thus, Do you work out your salvation with fear and trembling, take all opportunities you can, let the fear of God be upon you, so as to omit no opportunity, for you do absolutely depend upon God, that if he does withdraw himself from you, you are undone for ever, for you can do nothing of your selves, for it is God that works the will and the deed. As if we should say to a mariner, Be careful, take your wind and sail, for all your voyage depends upon God, if you neglect your opportunity you are gone. It is time for the youngest of all to seek the Lord, as soon as ever you begin to have the dawning of reason it is time for you then to seek the Lord. Oh! that you did but know your time. Oh! but what time is it for old ones, for those that have neglected seeking the Lord the most part of their lives; is it not high time for you to seek the Lord, who have spent so much of the time of your lives in vanity and folly as you have done? The remainder of the time you have is uncertain, and yet suppose you should have so long a time as in the course of nature you are like to live, yet many of you cannot have so much time to seek the Lord as you have had in departing from God, you cannot have so much time to honor God as you have had to dishonor him: and therefore is it not time for you to seek the Lord? I remember it is said of Themistocles, that he died about an hundred and seven years of age, and when he was to die, he was grieved upon this ground, Now I am to die (says he) when I begin to be wise. And certainly it cannot but be a grief to a man or woman, though they should be godly, to think, Why through God's mercy, the Lord has begun to work grace (I hope) in my heart, yes, but as soon as I begin to know God, and have any heart to serve him in this world, I must be taken out of this world. It was a proverbial speech once, Weighty things to morrow: you shall find it in Plutarch's lives. Oh! take heed this proverb be not fulfilled concerning you, Weighty things to morrow, take weighty things, things of infinite consequence while you have time, let weighty things be regarded then.