Direction 3

Direction. III.

Let us discern our time, and make none but good bargains about the time. The Scripture once and again tells us, as in (Ephesians 5:16), that we are to buy up the time, or buy out the time. This is to discern the time! We must be at some cost, and at some charge for it, if we would not be ill-husbands of our time: we must pay down either money or money's-worth for it; we must forego and undergo many things for it. Many things must we give up, that our time so may be well-employed. The case is ordinarily so, that either we must resign many pleasures, many profits, many honors, or else we must part with our time. Now rather give up all delights, than suffer precious time to be pirated away. All the things of time, are sometimes expense little enough for time. Yes, many things must we give back, that so we may not misemploy our time. The Devil and our lusts have been trucking for our time. The Devil, that hellish huckster, would engross all our time for his own. He deals with us as the Europeans dealt at first with the silly Indians, who let go their gold, and silver, and diamonds for glass-beads and tinsel-toys. The answer that our lust makes to the Tempter is, Let me have the pleasures of sin for a season, and every season of my time shall be yours. O but we should be content to give back all that Satan has proffered us for our time; let it be never-so-much that we might have had for the misuse of time, begrudge it not. 'Twas the speech of Austin, Perde aliquid ut Deo vaces — if you would have time for God, or any good, you must part with something for it.

In a word, let us labor now to regain the time that we have been cheated of. The chief way to do that is, by a double diligence for the time to come. Make up the time we have made an ill market of, by an extraordinary industry and activity in the time yet before us. The Israelites in their journey to Canaan made more way the last year or two, than they had done in almost forty years before. All the many sermons in the book of Deuteronomy seem preached by Moses in the last month or two before he died. O sit down and think well, How shall I lay out my time for the best advantage? Let that be said of us when we die, Diu vixit, licet non diu fuit — he lived long in a little time.

To purchase our time, is to discern our time.