Proposition 2

Prop. II.

It is no small part of wisdom for men to discern and improve the time which God affords to them. When the gales of opportunity blow in the sails of time, every man should see and watch his own opportunity. To discern the time is to mind the time, and to use the time, for the performance of our duty. Now it is a wise man that will so discern the time. Sapience or wisdom is a virtue of the understanding, whereby a man perceives the dependence of things; the connexion of things, and the consequence of things being understood, therein wisdom is discovered. To discern the time is an instance of this. It is wisdom for a man to lay his time and his work together. It is wisdom for a man to fore-see what will be the issue of such a work at such a time. But besides the nature of wisdom evidently appearing in this thing, we have a two-fold further witness to the wisdom of it.

First, the testimony of Scripture thereabout shows that it is wisdom for men to discern and improve their time. What the all-wise, the only-wise God calls wisdom, is unquestionably to be esteemed so. The redeeming of time is great wisdom in the language and the account of God. It was said in (Ephesians 5:16), Walk as wise, Redeeming the time — much of the same date and tenor was the Epistle to the Colossians. In that Epistle also we have the like passage, in (Colossians 4:5), Walk in Wisdom, Redeeming the time. It is probable the Apostle therein has a special reference to persecutions, which good men were then exposed to. To redeem the time was a proverbial phrase of old, signifying, to keep out of trouble as long as one can. Thus the Chaldean soothsayers were told in their distress (Daniel 2:8), I know that you would gain the time. This was the counsel of the Apostle: by a prudent, holy, careful, and inoffensive carriage towards them that would interrupt you in the worship of Jesus Christ, gain time what you can for the quiet practice of it. Well, if it be wisdom to gain time for the service of God, surely it is wisdom to spend time in the service of God. It was the singular character and commendation of the Issacharites, in (1 Chronicles 12:32), They had understanding in the times, to know what Israel ought to do. It is an understanding man who does so know his time as to do his work. Of a time-losing man, the Scripture says, he is a fool. It says in (Proverbs 18:16), Therefore is there a price in the hand of a fool?

Secondly, the prevention of sorrow thereby shows that it is wisdom for men to discern and improve their time. It is great wisdom to prevent great sorrow. Now nothing in the world fills the heart of man more with anguish and anger than the missing of time. When a man has missed his time for his work, it causes an unspeakable regret within him. We read of some professors who missed their [illegible] to entertain Christ Jesus and his mercy: with what a marvellous agony did they cry out, in (Matthew 25:11), Lord, Lord, open to us! Well might they be called foolish, who thus came too late. The horror of it being once only represented by some profane people, who acted the foolish virgins in a play, at a city in Germany, it even killed a prince that was a spectator of it. It is impossible to utter the confusion which the slipping of time does put the souls of men into. When Esau had missed his time to procure a blessing for himself, how did he resent it? We are told in (Genesis 27:34), He cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry. Alas, how should it be otherwise? The slipping of time is an ill, and an exceeding bitter thing. There are but two sorts of men; both of them find the loss of time to prove, at some time or other, a sad, an evil, a troublesome thing to them. It is thus especially when their time is come to die, when their time is to be no more. As for good men, the loss of time usually strews thorns on their beds when they come to die. It grieves the best man to think, My time, my time, I have not so laid it out for God as I should have done. He was a painful and a pious minister of the Gospel, who yet breathed out this among his last groans, O the loss of time! it [illegible] on my spirit now. As for bad men, the loss of time flashes hell fire into their spirits when they come to die. It causes terrible wounds and pains in the departing soul of a sinner to think, I had once a time to believe, a time to repent, a time to lay up for eternity, but now my time is gone for ever. The shriek of a poor man going out of the world sometimes has been, A world of wealth for an inch of time. Yes, it is wisdom to prevent such things as these.

The use of these things remains.