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The Pathway of Safety; or, Counsel to the Awakened By the Right Rev. Ashton Oxenden, D.D. CHAPTER III: HELPS BY THE WAY THE LORD’S DAY.—GOD’S HOUSE.—PUBLIC PRAYER.—SERMONS.—THE HOLY COMMUNION. D. HEARING GOD’S WORD Great things are stated in the Bible with regard to Preaching. It is said to save us; ‘in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.’ (James 1.21) ‘It pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save then that believe.’ (1 Cor. 1.21) We can hardly value too highly the preaching of the Gospel as a Christian ordinance. Three thousand souls were converted by it on the Day of Pentecost. It is by this instrument that God is often pleased to arouse the sinner, and to strengthen and build up His own people. Have you never gone to church cold and dull, and something from the preacher’s lips has fallen like a beam of light upon your heart, and has sent you home rejoicing? We may liken it to the effect we have sometimes seen on a summer’s morning, when the sun mounts above the horizon; but the whole landscape beneath is bathed in mist. Suddenly a gleam bursts through it; the gloom is dispersed, and all is clear and bright. And has it not at times been so with you? Some word spoken in God’s house has come as a message of light to your soul, and you have gone home relieved and gladdened: every mist has been cleared away. Listen with deep attention to every sermon you hear; for it concerns the very life of your soul. Do not hear for others: hear for yourself. Listen with faith, believing that the Lord Himself speaks to you by His ambassador. Listen with prayerfulness, continually lifting up your heart to God; for what you need is His blessing on the seed sown; and remember, there is one by your side ready to snatch it away. Listen with humility and teachableness; for while here you will never be able to say, I have nothing more to learn. I feel that one of the faults of the present day is a lack of humility. The direction of the Apostle is forgotten, ‘in humility receive the word implanted.’ And it is on this account that the word preached does not profit us so much as it might. Cultivate a spirit of humility, and seek to have the mind of Mary, who was content to sit at the feet of Jesus, and hear His word. Endeavor to carry away as much as you can of every sermon. Think it over when you get home, and lay it up in the storehouse of your heart. The seed, unless it is worked in below the surface of the soil, will never spring up and bear fruit. It is ‘the entrance’ of God’s word that ‘gives light.’ (Psa. 119:130) Are we careful and watchful enough over ourselves on leaving the house of God? When the sermon is ended, and the service is over, let us not think that the work is done. We must then be cautious lest we lose the store which we have gathered, lest the fire which has been lighted within us be quenched, lest the seed which has been sown should rot upon the surface. Avoid, as much as possible, worldly and trifling conversation on your way home. And, as soon as you are able, it may be well to retire to your chamber for a few minutes of secret prayer to God, asking Him to bless what you have heard, and fix it in your heart. And during the week you should be constantly calling to mind, and carrying out in your daily life, the truths and precepts which have been set before you. Our Lord once said to His disciples, ‘Take heed how you hear.’ And we have great reason to take heed, lest the Tempter rob us of the offered blessing. Pray before you hear—while you are hearing—and after you have heard. Before, that God would prepare your heart; while hearing, that God would bring home His word to your very soul; and after, that the precious seed may take root, and bear fruit a hundredfold. Sometimes it happens that we are tempted to find fault with the Preacher. His voice is too low or too loud; his manner does not please us; or his language is not tour taste. We are on the look out for defects, and are far too apt to fasten on any little fault in the minister, and make it an excuse for our inattention. Resist this by every means; and rather be disposed to find fault with yourself. Again, it seems to gratify our natural pride and vanity to be able to pull a sermon to pieces, and show how this difficulty might have been better explained, and that doctrine more clearly stated. We find others around us perhaps doing this, and we think that they must needs have spiritual grace and discernment. But I hardly know of a more dangerous practice to indulge in, and I would earnestly guard you against it. I believe it to be one of Satan’s great devices for robbing us of that which would otherwise nourish our souls. He likes thus to busy us with the outside shell, while he carefully draws away the precious kernel. The ministry of the Gospel has been committed to ‘earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God,’ and not of man. The vessel may be plain; but God’s blessing may be with it. The hand that sows the seed may be feeble; but He can ‘give the increase.” The words of the minister may be poor in themselves, or his matter dry, or his manner of delivering his message unwelcome; but there is something to be gleaned from every sermon—there is something in it that may do you good. Listen, then, not to find fault, but to be fed; and thus you will get many a refreshing meal, while others are sent away empty. Look not so much to the hand that brings the food to you, or at the manner in which it is dealt out to you; but look to the food itself, and try to gather from it all the nourishment you can. Look above the messenger, to Him who sends you the message. Let the humble, teachable spirit of Cornelius be yours, ‘Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.’ (Acts 10.33) Again, take it as a bad sign, when you begin to get restless and discontented, and when you are constantly desiring to hear strange preachers. This is often the case with newly awakened persons. They are inclined to think that they cannot hear too much. Thus their minds get into a ferverish state; they are ‘tossed about with every wind of doctrine,’ and they are for ever hungering after some change of spiritual food. I would affectionately warn you against this. It is a bad and unhealthy state to get into. There are some spoken of in Scripture, who are ‘ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.’ (2 Tim 3.7) They go here and there with open ears, but lay up no food and nourishment in their souls. We are told, too, of others, who ‘spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing,’ (Acts 17.21) Beware of this unstable and unsettled state of mind. Value the preaching of God’s word highly—as highly as you please. But let it be for the truth’s sake, and not to satisfy an itching ear, or a restless fancy. God has placed you under a settled ministry: remain faithful to it. If you once get into a wandering and restless spirit, you will be nearly sure to suffer loss. Stay where you are; and earnestly entreat God Himself to feed and fill your soul. And here let me put in a further word of advice. Besides receiving thankfully the truths which your Minister proclaims to you in public, you should look upon him as your Counsellor in all spiritual matters. It is written, ‘For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. (Mal. 2.7) Then go to him in all your difficulties. Fly to him for advice. Open your heart to him. Tell him of all that perplexes you. Many things, which he has set before you from the pulpit, he may be able to unfold to you more fully in private. And if there should be anything either in God’s word, or in God’s dealings with you, which cause you some little anxiety, he may be able to throw such further light upon it, as may greatly relieve your mind. Regard him, in short, as the messenger of God to you, and as the spiritual physician who can administer healing medicines to your soul. The Pathway of Safety; or, Counsel to the Awakened, Ashton Oxenden **************************************************** PREVIOUS CHAPTER -- NEXT CHAPTER ©God’sGWG
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