367. LUK 8:18. ON HEARING

Luk_8:18. On Hearing

PART II

"Take heed, therefore, how ye hear."’97Luk_8:18.

This text refers to the manner of hearing, "How ye hear."

I. Hear with Reverence.

Remember it is the Word of God; word from heaven; word of life; respecting the soul, death, salvation, eternity. With what feelings of awe we should listen to it.

II. With sincere Attention.

The opposite of listlessness, indifference and lethargy. Both bodily and mental attention, Heb_2:1. "If any man hath ears," &c. Let him be all ear, all attention to what is said.

III. With Ingenuousness and Candor.

I do not suppose that you can be indifferent to the manner of the speaker. No doubt you will have your attachment both as to mode and composition, to style and delivery, &c. But candor will ever have chief respect to what is said, not to how it is said. Candor will not listen to find defects; will not reject a sermon for an awkward word or mispronunciation; or the action violent, or the voice disagreeable. I say, you cannot be indifferent to these things, but if you are ingenuous and candid, all these will be treated as things utterly unimportant. Take heed, and hear.

IV. In the Exercise of Faith.

It is this which will render the word preached, either "the savor of life unto life," &c., Heb_4:2. "Without faith it is impossible," &c. If I believe what the gospel reveals of my state, I shall be alarmed, anxious, &c. If I believe the love of God, as displayed in the gift of Christ, I am overcome, and exclaim. "I yield, I yield, I can hold out no more." If I believe in Christ’s merits and power, I shall venture my all upon him, &c. Belief hails the word with gladness; unbelief rejects it, and keeps the soul in a state of exposedness to perdition. "Go ye, and preach," &c.; "he that believeth," &c.

V. In the Spirit of Self-application, &c.

Not to take heed how others hear, not yet hear for them. All religion is personal; the word of God is for our personal reception. We must come to the waters ourselves; eat the bread of life for ourselves; behold the Lamb of God for ourselves. We must hear,

VI. With fervent Prayer for the Divine Blessing.

God must prepare the heart, which is the soil; he too must fix it within the mind; he must water it, and by his heavenly rays, make it to vegetate, &c. If we prayed over it, we should not so soon forget it; it would not make so little impression, &c.

VII. We must hear so as to retain the Word of God, and obey it.

The good-ground bearers yielded fruit’97thirty, sixty, &c. The Word must be kept, so as to dwell in us richly in all wisdom. Let me refer you to two passages of holy writ, expressly on this subject, Mat_7:24; Jam_1:22, &c. If we hear rightly, our knowledge will be in proportion to it; and our practice in proportion to our knowledge. "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

Application

1. Take heed and embrace all opportunities of hearing. These at most are few, and they are rapidly passing away. We shall soon visit the sanctuary for the last time; soon hear and speak for the last time; oh, let us be wise, to improve our opportunities.

2. Let us invite all around us to come and hear the word of the Lord. Those who have tasted of the water of life, are to say, "Come, and go up with us to the house of the Lord."

3. Let us often examine the effects which hearing has produced upon us. Are we wiser, more humble, more delighted with the word? is Christ more precious, sin more loathsome, and heaven more desirable?

Autor: JABEZ BURNS