A30585:626
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.
Secondly, What's to be done just when one comes to prayer. For the first, The course of ones life: labour to keep all things even and clear between God and your souls; that so you may not come with shackles about your legs; with guiltiness (I mean) upon your consciences; men that have given way to any base sinful way, when they come to prayer, the guilt of there hearts doth even sink them; but those that can keep their peace with God in the course of their lives, they have other manner of freedom in prayer, than you that walk loosely and contract guiltiness upon your spirits.
Secondly, What's to be done just when one comes to prayer. For the first, The course of ones life: labor to keep all things even and cleer between God and your souls; that so you may not come with shakles about your legs; with guiltiness (I mean) upon your consciences; men that have given way to any base sinful way, when thay come to prayer, the guilt of there hearts doth even sink them; but those that can keep their peace with God in the course of thier lives, they have other manner of freedom in prayer, than you that walk loosly and contract guiltiness upon your spirits.
And then the second thing is, To keep our hearts sensible of our continual dependence upon God; sensible how we depend upon God, for whatsoever we are, whatsoever we have, whatsoever we do; for the blessing of all is from God. The beams of the Sun do not so depend upon the Sun, as we upon God; that if he doth but withdraw Himself never so little from us, we all sink down to nothing and perish for ever; that soul that every day and hour is sensible of the infinite dependence it hath upon God for its present and eternal estate, ⟨p. 275⟩will be fit for prayer; and that should be our care for to carry our selves, as any hour in the day, or minute in the hour, we might be fit to go to prayer; and that's one meaning of that place in the Thessalonians Pray continually; not that every moment we should be praying, but that we should keep our hearts in a praying frame; some of you when you have let out your passions and are in a distemper, what will you go to prayer now? your conscience will tell you that you are not fit to go to prayer at that time, Certainly if you be not fit to pray, you are not fit to live; you are in an ill condition at any time if you be not fit to pray; and there can be no excuse whatsoever, that can be sufficient to plead for your selves why you should not be fit to pray at any time; there is that continual dependence upon God for all, and that need you have of the blessing of God for every thing, that there is reason you should be in a fit condition for praying at all times; but now when you come to prayer at the set time, then there should be a special preparation.