Gospel-Worship

Quest. But it may be said, We read in Matt. 13. of the stony ground, the hearers that were not good and did not profit by the word so as to be saved, yet they received the word with joy. And Herod it is said of him, That he heard John Baptist gladly: It seems then that it is not enough to receive it with gladness?

Quest. But it may be said, We read in Matt. 13. of the stony ground, the hearers that were not good and did not profit by the word so as to be saved, yet they received the word with joy. And Herod it is said of him, That he heard John Baptist gladly: It seems then that it is not enough to receive it with gladnesse?

Answ. To that I Answer First, There must be that that Hypocrites may have, if there be want of that, we cannot Sanctify Gods Name. But you will say, We must go further or else Gods Name is not sanctified: That I confess; Therefore when I speak of gladness and joy, know that I mean another kind of ⟨p. 186⟩joy then the stony ground had; and so certainly the pleasantness that is spoken of in Prov. which I mentioned before; And the gladness that the three thousand did receive the Word withal is different from the gladness of the stony ground. If you ask me wherein it differs? I would Answer it differs thus, The gladness of an Hypocrite in receiving Gods Word, it ariseth either from the novelty of it, because it is a new thing, and he gets new notions that he had not before, or else he is joyful from some other carnal excellencies that he finds going together with the word, some esteem or honour that he shall get by it, some selvishnesse there is that makes his heart to be glad, for there is a great deal of natural and carnal excellency that goes along many times with the word. But now this gladness that is spoken of in the Acts and in the Proverbs, it is the gladness that ariseth from the apprehension of the spiritual excellencies that there are in the word, as that it is that word that reveals God and Christ to my soul; that word that comes nearest to my soul to the mortifying of my Lusts, and the sanctifying of my heart: This is that which makes me rejoice in the word, the holiness and the spiritual excellency that I see to be in the word: Thy word is pure (saith David) and therefore doth thy servant love it and rejoice in it. This no Hypocrite can say; I see the Image of God in his Word, I see the very glass of Gods holiness in his word, I feel that in the word that may bring my Soul to God, wherein my soul enjoys communion with God and Jesus Christ, and it is this that glads my soul. If we receive the word with joy thus, we shall come to Sanctify the Name of God in the hearing of it; And that is the Eight particular.