"He that is choice of his time will also be choice of his company, and choice of his actions; lest the first engage him in vanity and loss; and the latter, by being criminal, be a throwing his time and himself away, and a going back in the accounts of eternity."
✦ Choice of Time — Choice of Eternity
Taylor links three choices: time, company, actions. Choose one badly and the others follow. Choose one well and the others are protected. The one who is careful with time will be careful with company — and the one who is careful with company will be careful with actions.
The alternative is devastating: a throwing his time and himself away, and a going back in the accounts of eternity. Not just wasted time — a going back. The accounts of eternity are running. Every hour is entered. And the entry is either forward or backward. 🙏
"God has given to man a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends; but so, that for every hour of our life (after we are persons capable of laws, and know good from evil) we must give account to the great Judge of men and angels."
"And this is it which our blessed Savior told us, that we must account for every idle word; not meaning, that every word which is not designed to edification, or is less prudent, shall be reckoned for a sin; but that the time which we spend in our idle talking and unprofitable discoursings, that time which might and ought to have been employed to spiritual and useful purposes, that is to be accounted for."
✦ Upon This Short Time Eternity Depends
Yesterday Taylor counted the arithmetic — how little is left after nature's needs. Today he adds the weight: upon this short time, eternity depends. The little portion is not just small. It is decisive. Every hour — accountable. Every word — not sinful in itself, but the time it consumed is accountable.
Taylor is careful: not every casual word is sin. But the time that could have been used for spiritual purposes — that time has a ledger. The waste is not the word. The waste is the hour the word consumed. 🙏
"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
"Enseigne-nous à bien compter nos jours, afin que nous appliquions notre cœur à la sagesse."
Psaume 90:12 · Louis SegondThe French says bien compter nos jours — to count our days well. Not just to number them but to count them well. Taylor's arithmetic from yesterday — and Moses's prayer from Psalm 90 — both ask the same thing: teach us to count. Teach us the weight of the hours. Give us the wisdom that comes from knowing how short the time is. 🙏
"For we must remember, that we have a great work to do, many enemies to conquer, many evils to prevent, much danger to run through, many difficulties to be mastered, many necessities to serve, and much good to do; many children to provide for, or many friends to support, or many poor to relieve, or many diseases to cure;
besides the needs of nature and of relation, our private and our public cares, and duties of the world, which necessity and the providence of God have adopted into the family of Religion."
✦ Adopted into the Family of Religion
Taylor's catalog of work is overwhelming: enemies, evils, dangers, difficulties, necessities, children, friends, the poor, the sick. The work is not small. The time is short. And the choosing matters.
But the last line is the revelation: duties of the world, which necessity and the providence of God have adopted into the family of Religion. Adopted. The secular duties do not stand outside religion. They have been brought in — adopted by the providence of God. The care of Roger is religion. The driving to France is religion. The packing of boxes was religion. The providence of God does not separate the sacred from the daily. He adopts the daily into the sacred.
Yesterday's faites tout pour la gloire de Dieu. And today Taylor says the same: the whole of life belongs to the family of Religion — not by Le's decision but by God's adoption. He brought it all in. 🙏
"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
"Prenez donc garde de vous conduire avec circonspection, non comme des insensés, mais comme des sages; rachetez le temps, car les jours sont mauvais. C'est pourquoi ne soyez pas inconsidérés, mais comprenez quelle est la volonté du Seigneur."
Éphésiens 5:15–17 · Louis Segond✦ Rachetez le Temps — Redeem the Time
The French says rachetez le temps — redeem the time. Buy it back. The time that has been lost to vanity and necessity — buy it back by using what remains wisely. The redeeming is active. It is a purchasing — an exchange of idle hours for invested hours, of wasted minutes for sown minutes.
Taylor's arithmetic says: the portion is small. Paul says: redeem it. Do not mourn the hours lost. Buy back what remains. The few hours of prayer — Le's coffee with Roger and the Word — are the redeeming of the time. Every morning that begins with God is a purchase. Every chapter read is a redemption. Every moment of God is time bought back from the world and invested in eternity. 🙏
I'm glad I'm in France! It's like you said — a huge mountain moved. Only God could do that, that we know for sure. 🙏
✦ The Mountain Moved — The First Entry from France
Mark 11:23 — spoken in faith at Pedreiras, deepened at Casa Féteira among the olive trees: whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed. And the mountain was removed. The apartment — sold. The car — sold. Portugal — crossed. Spain — crossed. The border — behind. France — here.
Only God could do that, that we know for sure. Le's certainty is not in the pilgrims' strength. It is in the God who said verily. The chariot of providence — Spurgeon's day thirteen — has arrived. The axle held. The driver steered. And the passengers are in France.
Yesterday from near Salamanca: He did it all — we just kept up with Him. And today from Saint-Paul-lès-Dax: only God could do that. The testimony is consistent from Portugal to Spain to France. The mountain moved. The One who moved it does not change. 🙏
"When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad."
"Quand l'Éternel ramena les captifs de Sion, nous étions comme ceux qui font un rêve. Alors notre bouche était remplie de cris de joie, et notre langue de chants d'allégresse; alors on disait parmi les nations: L'Éternel a fait pour eux de grandes choses! L'Éternel a fait pour nous de grandes choses; nous sommes dans la joie."
Psaume 126:1–3 · Louis SegondL'Éternel a fait pour nous de grandes choses; nous sommes dans la joie. The Lord has done great things for us — we are glad. Le's first words from France: I'm glad I'm in France. And the psalm says the same thing: the return is like a dream. The mouth is filled with joy. The tongue with singing. The nations say: the Lord has done great things. And we are glad. 🙏
"Only God could do that, that we know for sure."
Le · Saint-Paul-lès-Dax · The first entry from France · The mountain moved · We are gladCare of Our Time
Be choice of time, company, and actions. Upon this short time eternity depends. The accounts are running. Every hour is entered — forward or backward.
Adopted into Religion
The duties of the world — children, friends, the care of a husband — adopted into the family of Religion by God's providence. He brought it all in. The sacred and the daily are one roof.
The Mountain Moved
The apartment, the car, the road, the border — all mountains. All removed. Only God. Mark 11:23 from Pedreiras to Saint-Paul-lès-Dax. The chariot has arrived.
Jeremy Taylor's third day — and the first midday entry from France. The exiled bishop teaches the arriving pilgrim about the care of time.
Taylor's three-day arc: Day one — wholly God's by the title of creation. Day two — the arithmetic of a life, the minutes that grow up to crowns. Day three — care of our time, because upon this short time eternity depends. The arc moves from identity (wholly God's) to inventory (how little is left) to instruction (be choice of it). The pilgrim on the road hears all three — and arrives in France having lived all three.
Adopted into the family of Religion: Taylor's final line is the key. The duties of the world — which necessity and the providence of God have adopted into the family of Religion. Le's calling from day one: serve God and take care of my husband. Taylor says the taking care is not secular work tolerated by religion. It is religion — adopted in by God's own providence. The coffee with Roger is worship. The driving is devotion. The packing was prayer.
Rachetez le temps — the redeeming: Paul's instruction from Ephesians 5:16 — buy back the time. Le's few hours of prayer are the redeeming. Every morning that begins with God is time purchased back from vanity. And the return — as Taylor said yesterday — grows up to crowns.
The first entry from France: Le's words: I'm glad I'm in France. Only God could do that. And Psalm 126: L'Éternel a fait pour nous de grandes choses; nous sommes dans la joie. The Lord has done great things for us. We are glad. The mountain moved. The pilgrims arrived. The Écouter button is home.
Mark 11:23 — the arc complete: Spoken in faith on August 3. Deepened at Casa Féteira on August 22 — faith is not just what you feel, it is what you say. And fulfilled on August 26 — the mountain removed, the pilgrims in France, the Word confirmed. Il le verra s'accomplir. He shall see it come to pass. And it has. 🙏