A Saint Indeed, Part 3
The III. Vse for Direction.
THE next use shall be for direction to some special means for the keepi…g of the heart: and here besides what hath been hin…ed in the explication of the duty, page 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. to which I refer the reader and all those directions throughout the whole, appropriated to particular cases and seasons, I shall farther adde several other general means of excellent use to this end, and the first is this.
1. Means. Would you thus keep your hearts as hath been perswaded, then furnish your hearts richly with the word of God, which is their best preservative against sin.
Keep the word, and the word will keep you: as the first receiving of the word regenerated your hearts, so the keeping of the word within you; will preserve your hearts. Col. 3. 16. Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you, let it dwell, not tarry with you for a night, and let it dwel richly, or plentifully; in all that is of it, in its commands, promises, threats, in all that is in you, in your understandings, memories consciences, affections, and then twil preserve your hearts, Psal. 119. 11. Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee: Tis the s…pperiness of our hearts in reference to the word, that causes so many slips in our lives, Conscience cannot be urged▪ or awed, with forgotten truths: but keep it in the heart, and it will keep both heart and life upright, Psal. 37. 31. The law of his God is in his heart, none of his steps shall slide, or if he doe, the word will recover the straying heart again, Ma…th. 26. 57. Then Peter remembred [the words of Iesus] and wept bitterly: we never lose our hearts till they have first lost the efficacious and powerful impressions of the word.
2. Mea. Call your hearts frequently to an account, if ever you mean to keep them with God.
Those that put a stock into the hands of unfaithful or suspicious servants, will be sure to make short reckonings with them: the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, Ier. 17. 9. O tis as necessary, as sweet, that we and our reins; that is, we and our secret thoughts confer together every night, Psal. 16. 7. we should call our hearts to account every evening, and say, O my heart! where hast thou been to day? where have thy thoughts wandred to day? what account canst thou give of them? O naughty heart, vain heart, couldst thou not abide by the fountain of delights? is there better entertainment with the creature than with God? the oftner the heart meets with rebukes and checks for wandring, the less twill wander; if every vain thought were retracted with a sigh, every excursion of the heart from God with a severe check; it would not dare so boldly and frequently to digress and step aside: those actions which are committed with reluctancy are not committed with frequency.
3. Mea. He that will keep his heart, must take heed of plunging himself into such a multiplicity of earthly business, as he cannot mannage without neglecting his main business.
It cannot be imagined he should keep his heart with God, that hath lost himself in a wood of earthly business: take heed you doe not pinch your Souls by grati…ying the immoderate desires of your flesh. I wish many Christians could truly say what a Heathen once did, I doe not give, but only lend my self to my business. Tis said Germanicus reigned in the Romans hearts: Seneca.Tyberius only in their Provinces: though the world be in your hands, let it not justle Christ out of your hearts.
Take heed Christian, least thy shop steal away thy heart from thy closet. God never intended earthly imployments for a stop, but rather for a step to heavenly ones. O let not Aristippus the Heathen arise in judgement against thee, who said, he would rather neglect his means then his mind, his farm then his Soul. … thy ship be overladen thou must cast some overbord: more business then thou canst well mannage, is like more meat then thou canst well digest, which will quickly make a sickly Soul.
4. Mea. He that means to keep his heart must carefully observe its first declinings from God, and stop it there.
He that will keep his house in good repair, must stop every chinke assoone as discovered, and he that will keep his heart must not let a vain thought be long neglected: the serpent of heart Apostas…e is best killed in the egge of a small remission. O if many poor decayed Christians had lookt to their hearts in time, they had never come to that sad pass they now are: we may say of heart neglects, as the Apostle doth of vain bablings, that they increase to more and more ungodliness: nemo repentè fit turpissimus, little sins neglected will quickly become great and masterless: the greatest Crocodile once lay in an egge, the greatest oake was once but an acorn: the firing of a small train of powder may blow up all by leading to a greater quantity: men little think what a proud, vain, wanton, or worldly thought may grow to: behold how great a matter a little fire kindles!
5. Mea. Take heed of loseing the liveliness and sweetness of your communion with God, least thereby your hearts be loosed off from God.
The heart is an hungry and restless thing, it will have something to feed upon; if it enjoy nothing from God, it will hunt for something among the creatures, and there it often loses it self, as well as its end: there is nothing more engages the heart to a constancy and evenness in walking with God, then the sweetness which it tasts therein: as the Gauls when once they tasted the sweet wine of Italy could never be satisfied till they conquered the countrey where it grew.
Tis true, Conscience of duty may keep the heart from neglecting it, but when there is no higher motive, it drives on deadly, and is filled with distractions, that which we del…ght in, we are never weary of, as is evident in the motions of the hea…t to earthly things, where the wheels being oyled with delight, run nimbly, and have often need of trigging; the motions of the heart upward would be as free, if its delight in heavenly things were as great.
6. Mea. Habituate thy heart to spiritual meditations, if thou wouldst have it freed from thos… burdensome diversions.
By this means you will get a facillity, and dexterity in heart work: tis pity those smaller portions of our time betwixt solemn duties should lye upon our hands and be rendred useless to us. O learn to save, and be good husbands upon your thoughts; to this purpose, a neat Authour speaks,Boyles occasional reflect. pag. 9. 10. these Parentheses which happen to come between the more solemn passages (whether business or recreations) of humane life, are wont to be lost by most men; for want of a due value for them, and even by good men, for want of skill to preserve them: for though they doe not properly despise them; yet they neglect, or lose them, for want of knowing how to rescue them; or what to doe with them, but although grains of sand, and ashes be a part, but of a …e…picable smalness, and lyable to be scat…red and blown away, yet the skilful artificer by a vehement fire brings numbers of these to afford him …hat noble substance glass, by whose help we may both see ourselves, and our blemishes lively represented, (as in looking glasses) and discern caelestial objects (as with Tellescopes) and with the sun beams kindle disposed materials (as with burning glasses) so when these little fragments, or parcels of time, which if not carefully lookt to would be dissipated and lost, come to be managed by a skilful Contemplator, and to be improved by the caelestial fire of devotion they may be so ordered as to afford us both looking glasses to dress our Souls by, and prospectives to discover heavenly wonders, and incentives to inflame our hearts with zeal, thus far he.
Something of that nature I have under hand, for a publick benefit; if God give life to finish; and opportunity to produce it: certainly this is a great advantage for the keeping of the heart with God.