Puritan pastors (like many today) were anxious to assist their flocks with spiritual aids to help them live genuine Christian lives. Below are 8 (online) from the pen of the wonderfully holy Samuel Rutherford. As a pastor, I will copy such as these for distribution at our church, particularly to the several classes I teach. I do this for at least two reasons: 1) the material reveals basic and often more heart-exposing wisdom than that of our present-day fare, and 2) it connects contemporary believers with those from history who have traveled the pilgrim road before us. Thus, they constitute another cross-section of that "great cloud of witnesses" whose faithful endurance encourages us to continue fighting the fight of faith. Exposure to the classics can only provide our fellow-believers with a wider and hopefully, more profound explication of the Christian life.
1. That hours of the day, less or more time, for the Word and prayer, be given to God; not sparing the twelfth hour, or mid-day, howbeit it should then be the shorter time.
2. In the midst of worldly employments, there should be some thoughts of sin, death, judgment, and eternity, with at least a word or two of [short] prayer[s] to God. These help us foster the presence of an eternal perspective.
3. To beware of wandering of heart in private prayer. Easy to do, but it can be controlled.
4. Not to grudge if ye come from prayer without sense of joy. Downcasting, sense of guiltiness, and hunger, are often best for us. We neither deny nor exalt our feelings, but see all things as useful which drive us to God.
5. That the Lord's Day, from morning to night, be spent always either in private or public worship.
6. That words be observed, wandering and idle thoughts be avoided, sudden anger and desire of revenge, even of such as persecute the truth, be guarded against; for we often mix our zeal with our wild-fire.
7. That known, discovered, and revealed sins, that are against the conscience, be avoided, as most dangerous preparatives to hardness of heart. Why? Because these insinuate themselves into our lives undetected, and often are only discovered after they have left a scar.
8. That in dealing with men, faith and truth in covenants and trafficking be regarded, that we deal with all men in sincerity; that conscience be made of idle and lying words; and that our carriage be such, as that they who see it may speak honourably of our sweet Master and profession.
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