Tuesday, June 13, 2006
From 'Gospel Worship' by Jeremiah Burroughs
There is not any action which comes from you that comes to be accepted to eternal life until your persons are accepted by God, and therefore there must be a sanctifying of the heart before there can be sanctifying of the name of God in the duties of His worship. Therefore, when you cometo perform any duties of God's worship, you should consider this: "Is my heart santicfied? I must sanctify God's name, and how can I do this unless my heart is santctified?"
Second our hearts must be sanctified because the Lord looks more to principle from whence a thing comes than to the thing itself. Were our hearts as right as they should be, then we would not so much regard what all the good things that come to us from God are as what the principle is from whence they came, that is, whether what we enjoy from God is from the love of God in Christ Jesus or not, whether it is from the general bounty and patience of God or from the special love of God in Jesus Christ. Our hearts would regard that most if we were spirtual.
Now then, as a godly man is not satisfied with enjoying any good thing from God unless he knows it comes from a principal of love to Him in Jesus Christ, so God is not pleased with anything that comes from us unless He knows that it comes from a principal of love, grace, and holiness in the heart.
Third, according as the heart is, so will the service be. Certainly if the heart is unclean, the duty will be unclean. Perhaps the words may be fine and brave, but if there is an unclean heart the duty will be unclean. Suppose a man with the plague makes a brave oration. His breath is still infectious. So it is in our services with God. If our hearts within us have the plague, then certainly the breath that comes from us, all of our duties, will be unclean. And, therefore, that is the first thing that we are to look for in sanctifying God's name in holy duties. Look to have your heart sanctified and consider from what principle it comes. It is for lack of this that thounsands of our duties are cast aside and God never regards them. But this is the first particular, there are many more to speak of.
p. 90-91
Burroughs was a great preacher. His words of worship are important. God looks on our hearts to see why we do what we do. Our heart is what leads us in how we live.
Related Tags: Jeremiah Burroughs, God, worship, Jesus Christ, grace, dutites, sanctified, holiness
Second our hearts must be sanctified because the Lord looks more to principle from whence a thing comes than to the thing itself. Were our hearts as right as they should be, then we would not so much regard what all the good things that come to us from God are as what the principle is from whence they came, that is, whether what we enjoy from God is from the love of God in Christ Jesus or not, whether it is from the general bounty and patience of God or from the special love of God in Jesus Christ. Our hearts would regard that most if we were spirtual.
Now then, as a godly man is not satisfied with enjoying any good thing from God unless he knows it comes from a principal of love to Him in Jesus Christ, so God is not pleased with anything that comes from us unless He knows that it comes from a principal of love, grace, and holiness in the heart.
Third, according as the heart is, so will the service be. Certainly if the heart is unclean, the duty will be unclean. Perhaps the words may be fine and brave, but if there is an unclean heart the duty will be unclean. Suppose a man with the plague makes a brave oration. His breath is still infectious. So it is in our services with God. If our hearts within us have the plague, then certainly the breath that comes from us, all of our duties, will be unclean. And, therefore, that is the first thing that we are to look for in sanctifying God's name in holy duties. Look to have your heart sanctified and consider from what principle it comes. It is for lack of this that thounsands of our duties are cast aside and God never regards them. But this is the first particular, there are many more to speak of.
p. 90-91
Burroughs was a great preacher. His words of worship are important. God looks on our hearts to see why we do what we do. Our heart is what leads us in how we live.
Related Tags: Jeremiah Burroughs, God, worship, Jesus Christ, grace, dutites, sanctified, holiness
