ht it will afford. You
may find new beauties in it, and "still increasing light," as long as
you live; and after death, the unfolding of its glorious mysteries will
furnish employment for a never-ending eternity.

Your affectionate Brother.

LETTER XII.

_Improvement of Time. Present Obligation._

"Remember how short my time is."--Ps. 89:47.

"To everything there is _a_, season, and a time to every purpose
under the heaven."--Eccl. 3:1.

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."--Eph. 6:16.

"Behold NOW is the _accepted_ time."--2 Cor. 6:2.

MY DEAR SISTER,

When you entered into solemn covenant with the Lord, you consecrated
your whole life to his service. Your _time_, then, is not your own, but
the Lord's. If you waste it, or spend it unprofitably, you _rob_ God.
You are not at liberty even to employ it exclusively to yourself. You
are bound to glorify God with your time. And how can this be done? By so
employing it that it will be most beneficial both to yourself and
others. The Christian, who properly considers the great work he has to
perform in his own soul, as well as the wide field of benevolent
exertion which opens everywhere around him, and reflects how exceedingly
short his time is, will not be disposed to trifle away any of the
precious moments God has given him. Hence we are exhorted to _redeem_ or
_rescue_ the time, as it flies. A very common fault lies in not
estimating the value of a moment. This leads to the waste of immense
portions of precious time. It is with time as with an estate. The old
adage is, "Take care of the _pennies_, and the _pounds_ will take care
of themselves." So, if we take care of the _moments_, the _hours_ will
take care of themselves. Indeed, our whole lives are made up of moments.
A little calculation may startle those who carelessly and foolishly
trifle away small portions of time. Suppose you waste _only ten
minutes_ at a time, six times in a day; this will make an hour. This
hour is subtracted from that portion of your time which might have been
devoted to active employments. Sleeping, refreshment, and personal
duties, generally occupy at least one half of the twenty-four hours. You
have then lost one twelfth part of the available portion of the day.
Suppose, then, you live to the age of seventy years. Take from this the
first ten years of your life. From the sixty remaining, you will have
thrown a