Gospel Worship, or, The Right Manner of Sanctifying the name of God in General, in Hearing the Word, Receiving the Lord’s Supper, and Prayer

Book excerpt: Worship is not a trite act. It is the life of the Christian. When the Christian hears God in his word, or from the mouth of the biblical minister, and is pressed to obey him in all things as exemplified in his word, such obedience is for his very life. “For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life,” (Deut. 32:47). In this obedience, God has not left his ordinances of worship to the inventions of men. God has set down certain specific requirements which are to be followed. It was a hallmark of the Reformation that God alone determines the manner in which sinners approach him. God’s will, in this way, has reference to the regulative principle of life as well as to the Laws which God has made known and prescribed to man in order that his walk might be regulated accordingly. So, God regulates his worship with the intention of allowing fallen, sinful people to come before him and sanctify his name in a manner that God requires: in holiness. This is the substance of Burroughs’ treatise Gospel Worship. Worship is for God, not for us. Sadly, that simple statement is foreign to our day. Yet God is as clear today as He was to Nadab and Abihu in the Old Testament: He will be treated as holy by those who come into His presence (Lev. 10:1-3). In this treasured work, Jeremiah Burroughs masterfully provides guidelines to facilitate the reader to move closer to God in worship. Through 14 sermons, Burroughs carefully explains the right manner of worshipping God in general, and the three great ordinances of hearing the Word, receiving the Lord’s Supper, and prayer. Burroughs demonstrates that true worship is reverent, focused on the holiness of God. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.