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A07208 Hearing and doing the ready way to blessednesse with an appendix containing rules of right hearing Gods word. By Henry Mason, parson of S. Andrews Vnder-shaft London. Mason, Henry, 1573?-1647. 1635 (1635) STC 17609; ESTC S102307 184,084 830

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ad proficiendum so as thou majest profit by it or as the vulgar readeth it more plainely though not so literally docens te utilia which teacheth thee profitable things or as Piscator paraphraseth it apta ad prodessendum such things as are apt or fit to profit them in goodnesse And this as a * Corn. à Lapides Learned Writer enlargeth the sense is as if he should say non curiosa non vana non pomposa plausum captantia I teach thee not curiosities not vanities not florishes and such things as may gain praises and applause but I teach thee saith the Lord Almighty such things as may bee for thy safety here and thy salvation hereafter Thus the wise Lord the great Pastor and shepheard of our soules hath left us an example that we who are Pastors in his Church should follow his steps And in these steps did the blessed Apostle tread who in discharge of his duty could say to his Scholars I have kept back nothing that was profitable unto you Act. 20.20 v. 27. I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsell of God In which sentences put together it is worth the noting that first he saith he kept back nothing that was profitable then saying the same thing over again that he declared unto them all the counsell of God And hence the collection is easie that therefore the whole counsell of God which is to be declared preached unto the people is onely of such things as are profitable to happinesse and a blessed life And now if any desire to know what these profitable things were which he used to preach to Gods people himselfe hath tould us elswhere that the summe of his Sermons was that men should repent and turne to God and do works meete for repentance Act. 26.20 And Tit. 2.12 That denying ungodlines and worldly lusts they should live soberly and righteously and godlily in this present world Soberly by moderation in the use of temporall comforts and righteously by just and faire dealing among men and godlily by serving God in the holy duties of religion These were the profitable things which God taught the people of Israel and the Apostle preached in the Christian Church And we that be the preachers of Gods word and dispensers of his mysteries ought both to imitate God as dear children Ephes 5.1 and to be followers of the Apostle as hee is of CHRIST 1 Cor. 11.1 And more particularly as God himselfe taught his people profitable things and as S. Paul taught his Auditors to repent and turne unto God and do works meet for repentance and that they should live soberly and righteously and godlily in this present world So our Sermons both for the matter and the maner of them should be such as that the Hearers may profit in piety and a godly life and by serving God in holinesse and righteousnesse may be brought to heaven eternall glory And therefore when wee are at our Studies framing our Sermons in privat and when we are about to utter them in publik wee should reflect our thoughts upon every part or passage of our meditations questioning with our hearts God and our owne consciences being the Judges of our thoughts whether such a point in the Sermon or such a sentence in our discourse be apt to minister grace to the hearts of the hearers and such as may further them in the duties of a good life and in one kinde or other help forward their salvation and happinesse And if we finde any thing more then this or otherwise then thus wee may and ought to blot out that and cast it away as being either pernicious or at the best but superfluous and idle This course if wee hold both in penning of our Sermons and in delivering of them we shall approve our selves as good Ministers of JESUS CHRIST and may in so doing both save our selves and them that heare us God direct both our hearts tongues so to preach CHRIST that we prove our selves to bee the servants of our people for JESUS sake 2. Rule The second rule is for the Hearers and that is that because a Sermon is no more worth then so farre as it furthereth men to an holy life therefore they should desire to heare such Sermons and ever judge them best by which themselves may be made better This rule is to be the more regarded because in all ages it hath beene so much neglected For first looke into the olde Testament and consider the times before our Lords Incarnation and there ye shall finde that the people of those times were rebellious lying children that would not heare the Law of the Lord. They said to the Seers See not and to the Prophets Prophecie not unto us right things Speake unto us smooth things Prophecie deceits Is 30.10 And if a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie saying I will prophecie unto thee of wine of strong drink hee shall even bee the Prophet of this people So saith the Prophet Mic. 2.11 and he meaneth that if a man should pretend to be sent of God and take upon him the office of a preacher and should withall preach libertie for their lusts and a freedome to follow their owne wills this would be the onely man in their esteeme and reckoning They would praise him and paie him and follow him from towne to towne and from one parish to an other Againe looke into the new Testament and there yee shall heare our Lord telling the men of his time I am come in my Fathers name and ye receive me not if an other shall come in his own name him ye will receive Ioh. 5.43 And S. Paul telleth us of after-times that men would not endure sound doctrine but after their own lusts would heap to themselves teachers having itching eares and would turn away their ears from the truth would be turned unto fables 2 Tim. 4.3 4. Where 1. when he saith Having itching eares he meaneth that they delight to have their eares tickled with such speeches as may please the fansie as on the contratie the Poet saith of unpleasing speeches Quid opus est teneras mordaci radere vero Auriculas that they bite and grate the eares of men 2. When hee saith that they desire Teachers after their owne lusts he meaneth they desire such as will preach what they please and will say that is truth which themselves fansie to be so or at least which they wish were so 3. When he saith of these men that they heape such Teachers he intimateth that they are not contented with one or two such as God and the Church hath appointed to bee their Pastors but they runne from place to place and single out such men for their masters as is agreable to their owne humors This the Apostle did fortell of the later times and into these times are we now fallen For first same there bee who delight in fine
and the third time he still went to Eli to know what he would have And all this while God said nothing to Samuel of the message that he intended for him But at last when God called as at other times Samuel Samuel then Samuel turned himselfe toward God and said Speak Lord for thy servant heareth And then God reveiled himselfe unto him by his word and instructed him in his will 1 Sam. 3.10 And so if our mindes wander abroad and talk with the vanities of the world while GOD speaketh unto us in his word preached or read it is no marvell if he take his word from us and give it to them that are better disposed for it Or if he suffer his word to remain with us yet hee may denie his grace that might make it profitable unto us Attention then is necessary in this respect also because it moveth God to teach and direct us in the right way 3. Attention is an act of the minde by which wee witnesse our due respect to GOD and his word Iob describing the account that men made of him in his prosperitie saith To mee men gave care and waited and kept silence at my counsell Iob 29.21 And on the contrary it is a great indignitie to a man if while he is talking with us wee turne our backs upon him and looke an other way A man of place or facion would take it in ill part to be so neglected by us But the indignity is much greater if when the Lord of heaven speaketh unto us about the weightie affaires of our salvation wee turne from him and talk with the vanities of the world Such behaviour is not fit for Gods presence nor can we think to please him when wee neglect him so much It is said of Lydia that the LORD opened her heart that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul Act. 16.14 Which sheweth that if wee attend not when God speaketh to us in his word it is because our hearts are shut against God and we denie him entrance and entertainment but if God by his grace have once opened our hearts then we with attention will hearken to his word Again we read that Gods delight is in such men as do heare his word with an awfull reverence dutifull respect Thus saith the LORD The heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstoole c. for all those things hath mine hand made and all those things have been saith the Lord. But to this man will I looke even to him that is poore and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word Is 66.1 2. Which is as if hee should say Heaven earth and all the world are mine and I may be where with whom I will but hee that trembleth or standeth in aw of my word is the man that I have made choise of and that I delight to dwell with But if any bee carelesse and unrespective of God when he speaketh unto him that man as hee neglecteth God so is he neglected of him The summe is Attention to the word spoken is therefore necessary that wee may shew a due and dutifull respect to God whose word it is II. This may serve to shew the use of this dutie the next enquiry is to seek for such helps as may further us in the performance of it And sure this is a point of great moment and worthy thy of our best care For how ever attention bee so necessary for right hearing nor will any of us deny the profitable use of it yet such is our frailty and folly that usually our thoughts wander all the world over while wee are in Gods presence and should heare his word which is able to save our soules For sometimes wee do willingly busie our selves with earthly thoughts about our Trades and our Lands and our houshold affaires and other things of like nature And sometimes as the devill stood at Ioshuahs right hand to resist him Zach. 3.1 so hee standeth at our elbow and casteth worldly thoughts into our mindes or heavinesse of sleepe into our heads or disesteeme of the word spoken into our hearts And at all times such is the frailty of the flesh and our daily acquaintance with the things of this world that though we strive to be attentive yet by-thoughts will creepe in and distract our mindes while wee are about that good work By reason whereof it will bee hard to drive away idle thoughts and impossible to be altogether without them And therefore it will bee a labour well bestowed if by enquiry wee can finde out some such helpes as may serve to heale our infirmities and to keepe us stedfast in this duty For which purpose I have thought on some rules they that are experienced in asceticall exercises may perhaps adde more and finde better and they shall do well to further us with their store The rules that at this present I have in readinesse are these 1. Rule It will bee good to accustome our selves to the dayly reading of Scriptures and frequent Meditations on heavenly things For if the minde bee throughly seasoned with such thoughts it will not be so ready to admit of imaginations and fansies that being the readiest for our thoughts with which wee are most familiarly acquainted For proofe of this let us ask our owne hearts and they will tell us that if a man have beene busied in scraping and heaping up riches his minde while hee is in the Church will runne upon his baggs and bonds and his accounts and other such meanes of thriving in the world and if a man bee given to dalliance and fleshly lusts his mind will runne upon his Minion and the works of fleshly delights and if a man be set on ambition and desire of high places his minde will runne on the meanes of rising and of great offices and places of preferment And in a word as our Saviour saith Where a mans treasure is there will his heart bee also Matt. 6.21 Whence it followeth that if a mans study and delight be in Gods Law Citum satis atque efficax remedium poterit oboriti si eandem diligentiam atque instantiā quam te in illis secularibus studiis habuisse dixisti ad spiritaliū Scripturarum volueris lectionem meditationemque transferre c. Cass Coll. 14. c. 13. p. 645 646. and about duties of Gods service those things will most readily come to his minde wherein hee is oftenest busied And when such things are mentioned and talked of he wil as constantly and as attentively both heare and observe them as a worldly minded man will heare and speak of his profits or an effeminate man of his pleasures or an ambitious man of his honours And as a worldly man when he is about his purchases and bargains goeth seriously to work and is not easily diverted from the businesse that hee is about so the religious minded man if hee bee as heartily religious as the other is covetous