A30585:187
Gospel-worship, or, The right manner of sanctifying the name of God in general and…
Gospel-worship, or, The right manner of sanctifying the name of God in general and particularly in these three great ordinances, viz. [brace] 1. hearing of the Word, 2. receiving the Lords Supper, 3. prayer / by Jeremiah Burroughs ; being the second of the seven volumes lately published by Thomas Goodwin ... [et al.]Gospel-worship, or, The right manner of sanctifying the name of God in general and particularly in these three great ordinances, viz. [brace] 1. hearing of the Word, 2. receiving the Lords Supper, 3. prayer / by Jeremiah Burroughs ; being the second of the seven volumns lately published by Thomas Goodwin ... [et al.]
London: printed by Peter Cole, 1653
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
You will say, Why may not any time be said to be holy that I spend in holy duties? No, that is not enough to make time holy, for the time that God makes holy, it is not holy because of the duties that I perform in it, but the duties that I perform then are more acceptable because they are done in such a time, and so that makes a place holy, not because it is appointed for holy duties and uses, but because it is so appointed by God; and the performing a duty in that place is more acceptable to God than in another place: But now though we cannot make our time holy in that second sense, yet in the first, it is time set apart for a holy use, and in that regard it is holy, and so we should look upon it as not to have our outward business to devour that time that is holy in that regard, as Nehemiah, When Tobiah and Sanballat sent to him to come and confer with them; No, saith he, I cannot go, for the work is great that I have to do: So we must not entangle our selves to meddle with other things when we are to come to worship God, for our work is great.
You will say, Why may not any time be said to be holy that I spend in holy duties? No, that is not enough to make time holy, for the time that God makes holy, it is not holy because of the duties that I perform in it, but the duties that I perform then are more acceptable because they are done in such a time, and so that makes a place holy, not because it is appointed for holy duties and uses, but because it is so appointed by God; and the performing a duty in that place is more acceptable to God than in another place: But now though we cannot make our time holy in that second sense, yet in the first, it is time set apart for a holy use, and in that regard it is holy, and so we should look upon it as not to have our outward business to devour that time that is holy in that regard, as Nehemiah, When Tobiah and Sanballat sent to him to come and confer with them; No, saith he, I cannot go, for the work is great that I have to do: So we must not intangle our selves to meddle with other things when we are to come to worship God, for our work is great.
The Fourth thing for preparation is, To Watch and to Pray: We should watch over our hearts lest they be made unfit for duties. So we should prepare for Prayer all day long in this sense, that is, we should watch over our hearts that they be not let out so far as to hinder us in prayer when we come to do