jewels, or fine clothes: and he is incomparably more foolish that throws away his time, than he that throws away his gold, or trampleth his clothes or ornaments in the dirt. This, this is the foolish, pernicious prodigality.

Quest. 3. Have you deeply considered, that everlasting condition which all your time is given you to prepare for? Doth it not awaken and amaze thy soul, to think what it is to be for ever; I say, for ever, in joy or misery? in heaven or hell? One of these will certainly and shortly be thy portion, whatever unbelief may say against it? O what a heart hath that stupified sinner, that can idle away that little time, which is allotted him to prepare for his everlasting state! That knoweth he shall have but this hasty life to win or lose eternal glory in, and can play it away as if he had nothing to do with it; and heaven or hell were indifferent to him, or were but insignificant words!

Quest. 4. What maketh you so loath to die, if time be no more worth than to cast away unprofitably? The worth of time is for the work that is to be done in time. To a man in a palsy, an apoplexy, a madness, that cannot make use of it, it is little worth; if you were sick and like to die this night, would you not pray that you might live a little longer? I beseech you cheat not your souls by wilful selfdeceit. Tell me, or tell your consciences, How would you form such a prayer to God for your recovery if you were now sick? Would you say, Lord, give me a little more time to play at cards and dice in? Let me see a few more masks and plays? Let me have a little time more to please my flesh, in idleness, feastings, and the pleasures of worldliness and pride? Did you ever find such a prayer in any prayerbook? Would you not rather say, Lord, vouchsafe me a little more time to repent of all my loss of time, and to, redeem it in preparation for eternal life, and to make my calling and election sure? And will you yet live so, contrary to your prayers, to your conscience, and to reason itself?

Quest. 5. Is the work that you were made for, hitherto well done? Are you regenerated and renewed to the heavenly nature? Are you strong and established in grace? Have you made sure of pardon and salvation? Are your hearts in heaven? and is your daily conversation there? And are you ready with well-grounded hope and peace, to welcome death, and appear in judgment? If all this were

done, you had yet no excuse for idling away one day or hour, because there is still more work to do, as long as you have time to do it. (And if this were done, you would have that within you, which would not suffer you to cast away your time.) But for these men or women to be passing away time in sloth or vanity, who are utterly behindhand, and have lost the most of their lives already, and are yet unregenerated, and strangers to a new and heavenly life, and are unpardoned, and in the power and guilt of sin, and unready to die, and shall certainly be for ever lost, if they die before that grace renew them. I say again, for such as these to be sporting away their time, is a practice which fully justifieth the holy Scriptures, when they call such persons fools, and such as have no understanding, unless it be to do evil, and successfully destroy themselves.

Quest. 6. Do you think if you neglect and lose your time, that ever you shall come again into this world, to spend it better? If you idle away this life, will God ever give you another here? If you do not your work well, shall you ever come again to mend it? O no, sirs, there is no hope of this. Act this part well, for as you do it, you must speed for ever; there is no coming back to correct your errors. 1 have elsewhere told you, that it must be now And yet have you time to spare on vanity?

or never.

Quest. 7. Do you mark what dying men say of time, and how they value it? (unless they be blocks that are past feeling.) How ordinarily, do good and bad then wish, that they had spent time better, and cry out, O that it were to spend again! Then they are promising, O if it were to do again, we would spend that time in heavenly lives, and fruitful obedience, which we spent in curiosity, idleness, and superfluous sensual delights! Then they cry, O that God would renew our time, and once more try us how we will spend it! Alas! sirs, why should wise men so much differ in health and sickness? Why should that time be vilified now, which will seem so precious then?

Quest. 8. How think you the miserable souls in hell would value time, if they were again sent hither, and tried with it again on the terms as we are? Would they feast it away, and play it away, as you do now; and then say, Are not plays, and cards, and feastings lawful? Every fool will be wise too late. (Matt. xxv. 3. 8. 11.) Bethink you what

their experience teacheth them, and let warning make you wise more seasonably, and at a cheaper rate.

'Quest. 9. Do you believe that you must give an account of your time? and that you must look back from eternity on the time which you now spend? If you do, what account will then be most comfortable to you? Had you not rather then find upon your accounts that all your hours have been spent to the best advantage of your souls, than that abundance of them have been cast away on fruitless toys? Will you have more comfort than in the hours which you spent in heart-searching, and heart-reforming, and learning and practising the word of God, or in those which you spent upon needless sports, curiosity, or idleness? Do now as you would desire you had done.

Quest. 10. How do you now wish that you had spent the time which is already past? Had you not rather that it had been spent in fruitful holiness, and good works, than in idleness, and fleshly pleasures? If not, you have not so much as a shadow of repentance; and therefore can have no just conceit that you are forgiven? If yea, then why will you do that for the time to come, which you wish for the time past that you had never done? And hereby shew that your repentance is hypocritical, and will not prove the pardon of your sin? For so far as any man truly repenteth, he is resolved not to do the like, if it were to do again, under the like temptations.

Quest. 11. Do you know who attendeth you while you are loitering away your time? I have elsewhere told you, that the patience and mercy of God is waiting on you; that Christ is offering you his grace, and the Holy Spirit moving you to a wiser and a better course: that sun and moon, and all the creatures here on earth, are offering you their service; besides ministers and all other helpers of your salvation; and must all these wait upon you while you serve the flesh, and vilify your time, and live as for nothing?

'Quest. 12. Do you consider what you lose in the loss of time? That time which you are gaming or idling away, you might have spent in entertaining grace, in heavenly converse, in holy pleasures, in making your salvation sure. And all this you lose in your loss of time; which all your sports will never compensate.

"Quest. 13. Is the devil idle while you are idle? Night

and day he is seeking to devour you; and will you, like the silly bird, sit chirping and singing in your wanton pleasures, when the devil's gun is ready to give fire at you? If you saw but how busy he is about you, and for what, you would be busier yourselves for your own preservation, and less busy in doing nothing than you are.

'Quest. 14. Do you really take Christ, and his apostles and saints, to be the fittest pattern for the spending of your time? If you do not, why do you usurp the name of Christians? Is he a Christian who would not live like a Christian? or that taketh not Christ for his master and example? But if you say, Yea; I pray you then tell us how much time Christ or any of his apostles did spend at cards, or dice, or stage plays? how much in curiosity about dressing and superfluous ornaments; about unnecessary pomp and courtship? how much in sluggishness, idleness, and vain discourse? or how much in furnishing their bodies, their attendants, their habitations with matter of splendour and vainglory? Did they waste so much of the day in nothings and need-nots, as our slothful, sensual gentry do? or did they not rather spend their time in holy living, and fervent praying, and in doing all the good they could to the souls and bodies of all about them? and in the labours of a lawful bodily employment? Write after this copy, rather than after that which is set by the sensual fools of the world, if you make any account of God's acceptance! Do as the saints did, if you will speed as they: or else for shame never honour their names and memorials to your own condemnation! If you will spend your time as the flesh and the world teach you, rather than as Christ hath taught you, you must look for your payment from the flesh and the world. And why then in baptism did you renounce them and vow to follow Christ? "Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap; for he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." (Gal. vi. 7, 8.) Bethink you what the reason was that the ancient fathers and churches, so much condemned the going to the spectacles of theatres; and why the canons made it such a crime for a minister to play at dice. (Read Dr. Jo. Reignolds, his Cloud of Witnesses of all sorts against Stage-plays.)

Reader, if thou think this counsel or reprehension too precise or strict, grant me but this reasonable request, and I have my end. Live in the world but with a soul that is awake, that soberly considereth what haste time maketh; and how quickly thy glass will be run out; how fast death is coming, and how soon it will be with thee! What a work is it to get a carnal, unprepared soul to be renewed and made holy, and fitted for another world! What a terrible thing it will be to lie on a deathbed with a guilty conscience, unready to die, and utterly uncertain whither thou must next go, and where thou must abide for ever! Foresee but what use of thy present time will be most pleasing or displeasing to thy thoughts at last, and spend it now but as thou wilt wish thou hadst spent it; and value it, but as it is valued by all when it is gone; use it but as true reason telleth thee will make most to thy endless happiness, and as is most agreeable to the ends of thy creation and redemption; and as beseemeth that man who soberly and often thinketh what it is to be either in heaven or hell for ever, and to have no more but this present short, uncertain life, to decide that question, 'which must be thy lot?' and to make all the preparation that ever must be made for an endless life. I say, do but thus lay out thy time as reason should command a reasonable creature, and I desire no more. I have warned thee in the words of truth and faithfulness; the Lord give thee a heart to take this warning!

Thy compassionate Monitor,

September 23, 1667.

R. BAXTER.

THE END OF REDEMPTION OF TIME.