TENTH SERMON.
ON THE REMORSE OF THE DYING ON ACCOUNT OF TIME LOST THROUGH IDLENESS.
Subject.
The time lost in idleness or useless occupations will be a sore thorn in the side of the dying.—Preached on the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
Text.
Illi autem neglexerunt, et abierunt alius in villam suam, alius vero ad negotiationem suam.—Matt. xxii. 5.
“But they neglected, and went their ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise.”
Introduction.
Such is the way of the world. The heavenly Father has prepared in His kingdom for His only-begotten Son a marriage-feast, to which He has invited all men, that they may share with Him in all imaginable joys; for as far as He is concerned the Almighty God sincerely wishes all men to be saved. But what occurs? “He sent his servants to call them that were invited to the marriage: and they would not come.” That is, there are some who do not desire to go to heaven; for of their own accord they hasten to hell, by spending their time in sin and vice. Others are careless about heaven: “But they neglected, and went their ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise.” These are the idle; and we have seen last Sunday that they deserve to be taken out of the world by a premature death. These people would indeed willingly appear at the heavenly marriage-feast; but they do not wish to put themselves to any trouble about it, since they spend the precious time given them by God for the sole purpose of serving Him and gaining heaven, in idleness or in useless occupations, or in mere temporal cares, without directing their intention to God or to the salvation of their souls. And they think so little of it all! But their thoughts about the matter will be very different when they come to the end of their lives. Alas! what remorse, fear, and despair will then be theirs, as I now proceed to show.
