tunities of doing and getting good as formerly, Eccl. xi. 2. Thou knoweft not what evil fhall be upon the earth. The days of Noah and Lot were evil days; and they redeemed time, the one by preparing an ark timely, the other by a timely escape out of Sodom: and had they not done fo, the one had been carried away with the deluge, and the other had perished in the flames of Sodom. They that will not do when they may, may come to fee the time when they fhall not have opportunity when they would. When men have no ufe for God's candle fet up among them to let them fee to work, he will readily take it away, or at least it shall burn very dim. Redeem time; for God is plainly faying to you, Who among you will give ear to this? who will bearken, and bear for the time to come? If. xlii. 23.

3. Because fuch days are dangerous and enfnaring days, and therefore people have the more need to be on their guard; And if they do not fet themselves to row against the ftream of the day, they will be fair to be carried down the ftream with others. Therefore our Lord fays, Becaufe iniquity shall abound, the love of many fhall wax cold, Matth. xxiv. 12. When a land or country is infected with the plague, every one fees himself obliged to take more than ordinary care about himself, left the fpreading contagion catch hold of him: now, fpiritual infection in principles and practices are visibly spreading at this, day; and we are like men in a throng, if we do not forcibly prefs forward, we cannot mifs to be carried off our feet, and carried backward by the croud. The cause of truth and holinefs is fo fully on the field against a declining generation, that no man can ftand neutral, but he muft lofe ground to the enemy.

4. Becaufe God is much difhonoured in fuch days; and that fhould touch our hearts very nearly. This was David's practice, Pfal. cxix. 136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes; because they keep not the Law. It is very natural for the children of God,

when

when they fee their Father remarkably difhonoured, that their hearts ftir within them, as was the case of Paul, when he was at Athens, and faw the city wholly given to idolatry, Acts xvii. 16. Remarkable is the ftory of the dumb fon of Crofus king of Lydia, who, feeing a foldier, when his father's capital city, Sardis, was taken by Cyrus the Perfian, ready to give the king, whom he did not know, a stroke upon the head with his fcimitar, made fuch a violent effort and ftruggle, out of fear and tenderness for the life of his father, that he broke the ftrings of his tongue, and cried out, Soldier, fpare the life of Crefus. The further others go from him, they will endeavour to draw the nearer to him. At fuch a time there is a fpecial call from Heaven, faying, Who is on my fide? And when the honour of God fo lies at ftake, in the confpiracy of a generation against it, it is fad for men to be afleep; nay, it is high time to awake.

5. Because as redeeming of time is always seasonable, so it is in a special manner seasonable when the days are evil. There is a peculiar beauty in it to be beft when others are worst, to be awake when the virgins round about are flumbering and fleeping. God takes special notice of fuch; as in the cafe of Noah, of whom it is faid, Gen. vi. 9. Noah was a juft man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God; and also in the cafe of Lot, of whom the apoftle Peter fays, 2 epift. ii. 7. 8. God delivered juft Lot, vexed with the filthy converfation of the wicked: far that righteous man dwelling among them, in feeing and bearing, vexed his righteous foul from day to day, with their unlawful deeds. Redeem time in these evil days, fo fhall ye outfhoot Satan in his own bow, and turn the cannon upon him, who endeavours to carry you away with the ftream. To take occafion from good to do evil is devilish, but to take occafion from evil to do good is divine.

They

6. Because mens own intereft lies in it. that are awake in a way of duty while others fleep,

fhall

fhall reft in a way of privilege when the peace of œthers fhall be broken, Hab. iii. 16.—I trembled in myfelf, that I might reft in the day of trouble. To stand at a diftance from finful courfes, in a finning time, is the way to fafety and comfort in a fuffering time. Hence is that commiffion from the Lord in favour of his people, Ezek. ix. 4. Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerufalem, and fet a mark upon the foreheads of the men that figh, and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midft thereof. It is pleafing to the flesh to go with the multitude, in a time of God's patience with a finful generation: but when the Lord comes to plead his controverfy with the generation, there will be a dreadful reckoning, and they will then come off with lofs. But thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments; and they fhall walk with me in white for they are worthy, Rev. iii. 4.

7. Laftly, This is a rational way of acting, and fo do wife men in their temporal affairs. If a harvestday be cloudy or windy, do not men the more vigorously handle their fickles? If a dearth be feared, are not men the more careful to provide for themselves? Even the very ants are bufy in harveft, while the winter is approaching. But, alas! the children of this world are wifer in their generation than the children of light; and the fluggard needs to be set to school to learn of the ants.

I come now to the application of this doctrine, which is the principal thing I had in view. And USE I. fhall be of exhortation. O let us be stirred up to redeem time, because our days are evil. Alas! our days are evil days with a witnefs, and they are ftill growing worfe and worfe; and the progrefs in the way of evil is fo fwift, that we feem to be very near arrived at that pitch, at which the Lord's anger may be expected to break forth into a flame. Our days are evil days in feveral refpects; in refpect of corruption of doctrine and principles of religion ;-in refpec

respect of abounding fin ;-in respect of the hiding of the Lord's face ;-in refpect of threatened wrath and impending judgments ;-and in respect of the guilt of former times yet unpurged away.

First, Our days are evil days in refpect of corruption of doctrine and principles of religion. The tares are sown and grow apace in the Lord's field. Papifts are spreading their poifon, and Prelatifts theirs, without due check or control. A fpirit of apoftafy from the faith once delivered to the faints, appears eminently in these our unhappy days, wherein the very foundations of religion are ftruck at, and the myfteries of it called to an account before the bar of corrupted reason, and measured with the crooked reed of man's natural light. And at this day is that fulfilled amongst us in this church, which the apostle addreffed to the elders of the church of Ephefus, Alfo of your own felves fball men arije, speaking perverse things, to draw away difciples after them, Acts xx. 30. The fpring of gofpel-doctrine, which fometime ran clear, is now dif turbed, truth is fallen in our ftreets, and equity cannot enter, and Zion's wounds are multiplied in the house of her friends. The days are evil on this account: for,

1. It is very dishonourable to our Lord Jefus Chrift, the purchase of whofe blood gofpel-truths are; for of them we should never have heard, had not he given himfelf to the death for loft finners. And the more they are obfcured and vailed, the more is the Media tor's glory eclipfed; which may be matter of mourning to those who love his name.

2. It is an evidence that the favour of the glorious gospel is much loft, and that the glorious truths thereof, on which exercised fouls have fter. fweetly fed, are much difrelifhed. And so it fpears foul-exercise to be very rare, and the experience of the power of truth on mens fpirits to be fallen very low.

3. It is a fore-token of the work of converfion, which has long been very rare, its being yet more rare. The gofpel is the great mean of converfion of

finners

finners unto God, Gal. iii. 2. and therefore Satan ftrives with all his might to pervert it, and so to make it the more unfit for reaching of its end.

4. It is a fad prognostic of the further woful decay of practical godlinefs. The doctrine which is of God is according to godliness, Tit. i. 1.; and that which hath not a tendency to promote real godlinefs, is not a doctrine from God. The law in its due place leading finners to Chrift, and leading them as a rule of life in Christ, tends to this end: but when it is put out of its due place, it is perverted, and will never produce more like holinefs, but a carcafe of formal performances unacceptable to God, in fome; and more licentioufnefs and untenderness in others, as may be observed in the lives of thofe who fo handle the law as to confound it with the gospel, John vii: 19. Did not Mofes give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?

5. There is a bias in the corrupt nature of man in a very eminent measure, whereby people are ready to entertain corrupt principles; and fo they are ready to be fubverted by them. For there is not an error vented in the world, but it has some one luft or other akin to it in the hearts of men. And there is a peculiar bias to legalism, which is the temptation and fnare of our day.

6. Human learning is highly advanced in our days, and the power of godlinefs is under a great decay. And none are fo capable to do a mischief to religion as those learned men, who are ftrangers to the power of godlinefs. This is it by which religion comes to be moulded in a fuitableness to carnal reason, and fe is perverted.

7. It is a great fign of the Lord's anger against a finful generation, for their not receiving the truth in love. Hence fays the apostle, 2 Theff. ii. 10. 11.-With all deceivableness of unrighteousness, in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be faved. And for this caufe God fball fend

them