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A30285 Rules for hearing the Word of God with certain and saving benefit The second edition. By Daniel Burgess, minister of the gospel. Published by an hearer of them, at the request of many others. Burgess, Daniel, 1645-1713. 1693 (1693) Wing B5714; ESTC R215210 7,490 26

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RULES FOR HEARING THE Word of God With certain and saving Benefit The Second Edition By DANIEL BVRGESS Minister of the Gospel Published by an Hearer of them at the Request of many others London Printed for Andrew Bell and Jonas Luntley at the Pestle and Mortar over against the Horse-shoe-Tavern in Chancery-Lane MDCXCIII Price Three Pence Rules for hearing the Word of God with certain saving Benefit BEFORE you Hear DIrection I. Pray for a Blessing Ask and you shall receive it Sincere hearty Prayer is still a Prevailer and then most when it is for Gifts that be best But by not asking a Blessing you deserve a Curse because you do virtually tell God either that you need not his Spirit or that you desire not the saving Efficacy of his Word Neglect of Prayer will ruine the best Hearer holy Use of it will save the worst Hearer Direct II. Vse Forecast against Distractions in Hearing Wrath and Lust and sinful Passions will take away your Heart at Sermons but a constant cordial Watch and Fight against them will destroy those Destroyers God will let no Soul be devoured by them that is diligent to keep from them Though on the other hand Souls that do little to prevent them shall be plagued with them Divine Grace will not encourage your sinful Negligence No but the Temptations which overtake you wilfully shall overcome you wofully Believe sad Experience others and your own Direct III. Value the Word and the Preaching of it and thank God for them both Honour them for God's sake and God will honour and bless you for his Son's sake and for his Promise sake God is so free of his Blessing on both that he lets no Man who highly prizeth it go without it You may highly prize Gold and Silver and go without them but the richer Treasure of the Gospel is certainly your own if you can but supremely value it If you do despise it blame your selves that you are not enriched by it God will not throw his inestimable Pearl unto ungrateful Swine Swine that will not give so much as Thanks for the Pearl of greatest Price Direct IV. Acquaint your selves well with the Ends and Vses of the Word Read Books and ask Ministers and know as well as they to what Purposes God sendeth his Oracles The four comprehensive Ends are to convince of Sin to convert unto Jesus Christ to confirm in Grace to direct and comfort in Obedience Understand these and muse much on them Come to Sermons for these and you shall not go from Sermons without them But God hath not Pleasure in Fools and if you come to hear for you know not what it 's no marvel if you come away Fools as you went Direct V. Never forget God's Promise of Blessing on dutiful Hearing He cannot lie and he has told you Hear and your Souls shall live Keep you that Promise of his as the Apple of your Eye It will do your Heart good to think God hath not left himself at Liberty to bless or not bless your Hearing No but that his FREE Grace is also bound Grace bound by Word and Oath This will give you holy Boldness to which God always giveth happy VVelcome But the want of this in your Mind will keep it full of cursed and malignant Doubts and Fears Without a Miracle of Grace it will hold you fearful and hold you unbelieving that is perishing Direct VI. Honourably use your Advocates All the Week long honour the Son of God as he in whom alone you can ever have Acceptance with God and honour the holy Spirit of God by whom alone you can ever have effectual Assistance to any Good No Man ever thus honoured the Son and Spirit and went without the full Blessing of the VVord Without our Intercessor in Heaven and our Intercessor in our Hearts we can profitably do nothing but with them we may do every thing prosperously Therefore be Sermons every-where so lost because this Dependance on Christ and on his Spirit are scarce any where found O that this Word might be well weighed Direct VII Conclude upon it the Word will be the Savour of Life or Death unto you It will cure you or further kill you and give Life to Life or Death to Death Give your selves this preparatory Sermon before you come to hear mine Ministers Sermons soften or harden Hearers Souls they never leave you in degrees of Good or Evil as they find you Such Fore-thoughts are ordinary Antecedents and direct Causes of no small Good IN Hearing the Word DIrection I. Approve Plainness and Power Not only excuse and endure but approve and prefer them You like best the Physician that heals best and the Counsellor at Law that best brings you to Peace and quiet Possession of your Inheritance tho neither of them do complement you at all but reprove you much and chastise your mischievous Folly with needful Severity Be as wise for your Souls as for your Bodies and Estates God heals the sick Souls that prefer and use his own prescribed plain Medicines But nice and peevish Ones that loath his Manna and must have Quails that disgust his sharp Word and must be treated with Mens smooth Words such must die in their Pride and Folly Where Preachers be but Musicians Churches be but Golgotha's Direct II. Receive the faithful Minister's VVords as God's own for so they are they are God's Words originally his Sermon as well as his Text is all of it so They are God's Words materially as to the Matter and Sense of them They are God's Words to you institutively by God's Command they be spoken unto you They are God's Words given advantagiously Words of God by the Kindness of God delivered with more Advantage for your Minds and Hearts than in the Holy Scripture barely read Words of God with a Comment of his Appointment Words of God to which he hath made a special Promise of highest Blessing for Faith eminently comes by hearing these Words He that heareth you heareth me said Christ to the Preachers that he sent Receive every Gospel-Sermon as by Christ preached and doubt not but it shall be by Christ bless'd But if you take the Words as well as the Breath of a Sermon for ours the Mistake will be a deadly Loss of yours Direct III. Mix abundance of Prayer with your Hearing Souls are Spirits their Motions are swifter than the Sun 's they can and they ought to do two things at once Ejaculation helps Attention and not hinders it Bread and Salt must be in every Meal and short warm Prayer in every Duty Let your Hearts cry out at every Truth delivered O Lord fix this Truth on my Soul At every Precept and Promise Good God help me to obey this Command and to rely on this Promise At every Reproof Glorious Spirit convince and humble me for this Sin and lead me to Christ for Pardon c. Such praying Hearers never lose their Labours But wo to them who tho