; ·perfonal/afling~· 1 . . 347 thing of worldly bufinefs, which you' could not fore~ fee nor prevent, do faH out in the time of your fa!l', and cannot be deferred or put off without fome nota-: ble inconveniency; you may, without fcruple, dif– patch it: for the time is not holy. But in that cafe~ labour that, if poffible, your wor_!{ be not thereby ' marr'd; and carefully keep up your frame of.fpirit for the duty you are ·engaged in. But chrifl:iari pru– dence to weigh (.!ircumfiances, for which you. ate to look up unto the Lord, is nece£fary to determine here- , -in, according to the general rufes of the word, Mat.. xii. 3,--7. As for fuch as are not mafiers of their time, which– is the cafe of fe~:vants, they cannot lawfully difpofe of their, time at their own hand, even for this duty : for QUr God· ' hates robbery for burnt-offerings,~ lfa. lxi. 8. But then they may endeavour to procure the neceffary time, at the hand oftheir mafiers; to whom if they be godly and ferious~ they may mode.fily hint their defign ; pitching on a time with fo much dif– cretion, as that their good may not be evil fpoken of. And ifany be.fo unmindful of their Mafier whiGh is in heaven, as to refufe fitch a difcreet defire; yet let not the party by any means think that the facred na– ture of the thing .he has in view, gives him a power to rob his mafier of fo much of his time: for men can offer no~hing to God, with a goo~ ~onfcience, what is their own; and exercifes ofdevotion are fo far from flacking the· tie of moral duty to our neighbour, that they are nothing but an outward form of devoti– on, unacceptable to God fo far as they do not influ– ence the party to a c~reful and religious obfervance of the duties of morality, fuch as judgment or jufiice, mercy, and faithfulnefs, Mat. xxiii. 23. Neither let him imagine, on the other hand, that he is then no far~her concer,ned to look after th~t extraordinary du– ty : fot no reafon ca·n be affign'd, why one oughtnot to be willing to be at as much pains or expen,e,' for ' · procu·
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