Works Part 1, Part 5
THE SAINTS DUTY To keep their HEARTS In a GOOD FRAME. Opened in a Sermon at Olaves Silverstreet, November, 9. 1654.
PROVERBS, 4.23.
Keep thy Heart with all Dilligence, (or as it is chiefly read, Keep thy Heart with all keepings) for out of it are the Issues of Life.
IN most of the Chapters of this Book of the Proverbs, there is no connection of one verse with another, that one should give light or help to clear the other, but they are as a multitude of excellent Pearls put into a large Box, whereof every one singly is of a very great price, and it is thought by many that they were but so many sentences, that King Solomon did utter usually when he sate in judicature, according as the cause or condition was that was heard before him, so there was a divine sentence in the Lips of the King, and the Lord in his good providence and love to his Church hath recorded them, to be for instruction for his People to the end of the world, and amongst them al if you go from one end of the book to the other, if it be lawful to make comparisons, I may freely say, there is not one Pearl of greater price, one sentence of more divine use than this that I have read to you, and shal endeavor (God willing) to open as far as I can within the compass of an hour and in it there are these two things plainly laid down. Here is first,
1. A Duty enjoyned to all the Lords Children, in these words, Keep thy heart above al keeings. Secondly,
2. Here is an Argument to enforce to this Duty, in these words, for out of it are the issues of life.
1. And in the Duty there are likewise two things. First,
1. Here is the subject matter, the thing that is to be done, and that is, Keep thy heart. Secondly,
2. Here is the manner how it must be done, and that is, (as we translate it) with al diligence; Keep thy heart with all diligence, or, above all keepings keep thy heart.
Now give me leave briefly to interpret the meaning of the words, and then I will put it all into one instruction, which I will endeavor to handle in this hour. First,
1. What is meant by the heart, And,
2. Keeping the heart, And,
3. Keeping it above all Keepings. And so,
4. Of the issues of life that flow from it. Let me give you a brief interpretation of each of them.
1. What doth Solomon mean by the heart here that must be kept?
No doubt it is not meant of the heart made of flesh, that is in the midst of our bodies, it is spiritually meant that no man doubts of: Now take the heart spiritually, and somtimes in the holy Scripture the heart is put for the whol soul; somtimes it is put for the understanding faculty; somtimes it is put for the memory; somtimes it is put for the Conscience; sometimes it is put for the Wil; sometimes for one or two Affections; it were endless to give you the instances of all these; but here is a Key in the Text which will tel you what is meant here; for without question that is meant by the Heart here, that is the spring of life, from whence the issues of life do flow. Keep thy heart for out of it are the issues of life, (now as I shal shew you by and by) the issues of life are nothing but our whol conversation, so that what's within is the Fountain of our conversation without, that is meant by the Heart here; and so consequently it must be meant chiefly of the Wil and Affections. not excluding the understanding: by the Heart then is meant the understanding faculty, especially the Wil and the Affections. Then,
2. Keep thy heart, Keep it, What is that? The word that is here translated Keep, I find it in other Texts of Scripture variously applied, somtimes it is applied unto those that are the Keepers of a Prison, where dangerous Fellons or Malefactors are to be looked to, that they do not break away; Joseph was made the Keeper of the Prison. The same word that is here; somtimes it is applied to keeping the Sanctuary of God, and all the holy things that belonged to Gods Temple, so it is several times used in Ezekiel. Somtimes it is used to signifie the keeping of Treasures, Jewels, &c. so that it is such a keeping as doth argue a great deal of care and watchfulness and diligence &c. All this is meant by Keep thy heart, keep it as thou wouldst keep a dangerous Fellon, a Traytor; keep it as thou wouldst keep a holy Sanctuary and Temple of the Holy Ghost, keep it as you would keep the richest Treasures, keep thy heart. And then,
3 Keep it above al keepings, with al diligence or above all keepings, that plainly needs the least interpretation of all, because that it is clear that there are abundance of things that God gives men in charge to keep, that if God commit to any man a Flock he must take heed to his Flock, if he bestow any Talent upon him of outward goods, he must keep it and occupy it for Gods Glory, every thing that is received from God must be kept according to the rules he hath given, but above all thy keepings, when you have put them all together, all the keepings that must be kept for Wife, Children, Estate, Name or whatsoever is dear,, let thy heart be kept above all keepings, beyond them al, above al keepings keep thy heart. And then,
4. Here is added thy Heart, keep thy heart, that signifies these two things. The one is,
1. That Solomon who was a Son of wisdom, for it is judged by many that these were not Solomons own words, but they were a part of the Catechism that his Father taught him, for so in the beginning of the Chapter he tels you that he was his Fathers dearly beloved Son, and he taught him & instructed him & said so and so to him, and so they think that all these were Davids words to Solomon, but if it be not, if you take them for Solomons words it is all one, for a little before he saith, My Son, that is, when he saith my Son he means one that is a Son of wisdom, a Child of God, Keep thy heart, that is a good heart, that is a reformed heart that hath Grace planted in it, yet he that hath it so, must be careful to keep it so. And then it signifies further,
2. Thy heart, that is, above al other mens hearts look to the hearts of thy Children, if thou beest a Pastor look to the frame of thy People, so far as thy relation and duty reacheth look to them all, and get what good may be, but let thy heart be looked to above them all. That is the meaning of the first branch, Keep thy heart above all keepings.
2. Now a word of the other, For out of it are the Issues of life. Here are two things to be interpreted. First,
1. The Issues of life, What is that? The word that is translated Issue, it sometimes signifies a Bud that grows out from a Tree, somtimes a Child that is born of a Father, sometimes and very often the waters that spring or issue out of a Fountain, and so by the issues of life he plainly means all that comes out in our Conversation, that is the fruit of the heart, Words, Actions, Relations, Duties, Sufferings, whatsoever you wil, they are all the issues of life, Al these are issues of life. And then,
2. All these are out of it, What is that? out of it, may signifie two things, and both come to the same purpose, Out of it, that is,
1. Out of the heart, it is out of our heart that cometh all the issues of life, or (I think life must be added) out of it, that is,
2. Out of keeping of thy heart though it be a good one, though it be reformed, yet when I exhort thee to keep it diligently, I would have thee to know that according as thou keepest thy heart, so wil the issues of thy life be; Now out of these words thus opened, I observe this Instruction.
Doct. 1. That the greatest Duty that lies upon all the Sons of God, the Sons of wisdom in this world is, to keep their hearts.
To explain it a little more before I come to a further proof of it, be pleased to know that there are two great works about our hearts in this spiritual sense. The one is,
1. To get it into a good spiritual Frame, which no mans heart in the world is, til the Lord break it in pieces and make it new.
The other work is,
2. When God hath put this Instrument into tune, that we keep it so, that when God hath put it into a good frame, our work must be to keep it in a good frame. The second of these is the Duty of this Text, for this is here applied unto the Sons of wisdom in whom Grace is planted, and so my Doctrine then is this.
Doct. 2. That all the Servants of God must make it their busiest, their diligentest, their watchfullest work in the world to keep their hearts in a good frame when once the Lord in mercy hath put them into a good frame.
Now to make this good to you, I wil not (because an hour wil quickly be gone, and I have many things that I would fain give you) turn you to many Texts that should particularly prove it, I think any of you that do but read the Scriptures, where the Lord Christ enjoyneth us to look to our hearts, because out of the heart and out of the treasury of the heart comes every thing out, but to convince you of it I would open six grounds to you, and all of them out of the Scripture which may satisfie you, that the greatest work that all the servants of God have to do in this world as to themselves is, To keep their hearts in a good frame; and I hope I shal shew it you cleerly that the things are so, and then I wil make some Application of it, as the Lord shall enable me within the compass of the time. I say, there are six Conclusions that I would set you down, any one of them may be sufficient to convince, but al of them together may and (I hope) wil abundantly satisfie you, that we have no such Duty lies upon us as to our selves in this world, as the looking to our hearts. The first is,
1. Because the heart, that heart which I have interpreted, it is beyond all comparisons the best part of man, it is the head quarter. You know in an Army they have their Sentinel in every corner, they would be loth to have the out quarters beat up, but the head quarter where the General or chief Officers lie, there is the strongest and watchfullest guard of all: Now the heart of man, the wil and the affections, and the intellectual faculty, that is beyond all degrees of comparison better than every thing else that is in man, so much better than all the rest that our Lord saith, that the man makes a very ill bargain of it, that gaines all the world if he lose his soul, Loose thy Heart and thy Soul is lost; Now then if our Souls, if the heart be ten times more worth than all things else that we have, surely it should be kept more diligently than any things else we have: This I think no man can question the strength of the reason of it, it is the best; Remember our Saviors word in a lower case, when he did chide men that did take care of meat and drink and clothing and the like, saith he, Is not your life more than your food? Is not your body more worth than your raiment? I do but allude to that comparison, Now I may say then, Is not thy Heart better than thy Head? Is not thy heart thy inward man better than thy outward man? What is the body but meerly the shel? It is the Heart that is the Jewel. That is one. I hope to have a little more time afterwards to shew what this includes in it, this keeping (at least to point at it) but that is one ground. Because the heart it is the best part of man, it is the Queen, it is the Prince, it is the head quarter, and al others are nothing when compared with it. Secondly, A second ground that is for the demonstration of it, is this,
2. Because the heart it is not only the best part of the man, but it is the treasury wherein better things are laid up than it self. The heart is a very rich Cabinet, yea, but it is a Treasury or Cabinet of the rarest, the invaluablest wealth that is in Heaven or Earth. Understand me aright, I speak not of the heart of a wicked man, of an unconverted man, for Solomon tels us expresly, the heart of a wicked man is nothing worth, it self is a base thing, and there is nothing in it but that that is worse than it self, nothing in the world but the rubhish and the filth of the Devil and the World and Hell lies in the heart of a wicked man, but a man that is a Child of wisdom, that is Gods Child, Oh! there is a rich treasury laid up in his heart. You shal read our Savior speaks of a good man, who out of the good treasury of his heart bringeth forth good things, he hath a good treasury: Now would you know what are the treasures that are laid up by God, not of our own getting but of the Lords depositing.
Quest. What are the treasures that are in the heart of a Gratious man?
Answ. I Answer, the Tongues of men and Angels cannot tel you what; I wil name you a few. The one is,
1. The great God himself hath chosen to make the heart of every Godly man, his own privy and Presence-Chamber; himself saith it, that though the Heaven be his Throne, and the Earth his foot-stool, yet he dwels in in an humble broken heart, in the heart of one that trembleth at his word, and fears his name, there doth he himself dwel. And then,
2. Christ Jesus dwels there: Emmanuel, the Son of God, the Savior of poor sinners; the Scripture is plain, That Christ may dwel in your hearts by Faith, Christ dwels in our hearts, Is not there a Jewel? I tel you the Apostle saith of Christ, In him there are hid all the treasures of God; The God of Heaven is worth no more than is laid up in Christ, and Christ & al he is worth comes to dwel in the heart, and in him (saith the Apostle) they are both of them in Collos. 2. the one in verse 13. and the other in verse 9. where he tels you, that the fulness of the Godhead dwels in Jesus Christ essentially or bodily: Now Jesus Christ dwels in the hearts of Gods people. And then,
3. The Holy Ghost dwels there too, For the Heart of every Godly man is a Temple of the Holy Ghost; and if you wil I might go on to Multiply more.
4. That all the graces of Gods spirit are laid up in our Heart, It is Faith in the Heart, and love unfained in the Heart, and all those excellent things. And,
5. The word that is the Rule of Life, saith David, I have laid up thy word in my Heart, I have hid thy word in my Heart; Now (Brethren) where there is such a treasury that God is laid up in it, and Jesus Christ is laid up in it, and the Holy Spirit (pardon the expression) is pleased to dwell in it, and all Gods Graces, all they that are Gods ordinances are there laid up, his word and the like, do not you think this should be wel watched, and well barred, and wel kept, and wel looked to? There is a second ground, that thy Heart it is not only the best piece that is, but it is the treasury of that that is a great deal better than it self, the richest treasury, and therefore Heaven hath not a richer treasury in it than the Heart of every Saint hath, and therefore it should be kept above al keepings; Thirdly, A third ground of demonstration is
3. Because that the Lord whom we serve, or pretend to serve, and profess to serve, and do serve if we be his, The Lord looks only at the Heart in all the services that we perform to him, All things that we are to do to the Lord as an homage, and tribute and honor to him, he regardeth nothing but the heart in them all, nothing else is of any esteem with the Lord but the Heart. My meaning is this plainly, that in any services God liketh a thing never a whit the better, for the brave accomplishment or adornment of it with any of our parts or faculties, Wits, Fancies, Memory, expression, Decorum, fair carriage and deportment of the Body, the Lord values not this one button in any service whatsoever, but so much as the heart is in it, so much as the wil & affections are in it, so much doth the Lord value it, insomuch that this one thing wil satisfie you about the truth of it: read all the Scriptures over that speak of the servants of God, & you shal find this, That when all their infirmities (as many of them had many gross ones and grievous ones, when they) were all reckoned up, if this were but added, but his heart was with God, his heart was upright with God, that was a Salvo for all the other, he never broke with any of them or cast them off, if so be their hearts were but with him in the midst of al other weaknesses and infirmities, if they could but say as Hezekiah, Lord, remember that amongst all my weaknesses my heart hath been with thee, there was Gods content. And on the other side, Let the performances be never so glorious, or in things never so much commended, or never so much delighted by the Lord, the duties of his Worship and Ordinances, if God did but say of them, This they did but their hearts were not with God, Nevertheless his heart was not upright with God, that signified the Lord threw it all away as rubbish stuf that he took no pleasure in the wnrld in: So then because that it is the Lord that looks at the heart, and if he have that, he hath all, he hath so much as contents him, and never breaks for the want of any thing else, (as you shal see further anon) because where the heart is, the best they have wil be brought out, therefore above all we should keep that. That is a third ground. The Lord looks at that above all others, therefore we should keep it above all others. Then Fourthly, (which I need but name).
4. The Devil who is our Adversary, and the Lords Adversary, and goes about like a roaring Lyon seeking how he may devour, all his assaults and batteries are at the heart, and he counts all his labor lost if he do not get into the heart, if he gets that he gets the Cittadel that wil command all the rest, and if he be kept out or cast out there, he himself counts he hath nothing, therfore he saith he wil enter into Judas's heart, he wil fil Annanias's heart, he labors to set up his Throne and his Dominion in the heart of the Children of disobedience, that is his great endeavor. Now then when we are called home to the Lord, we give our selves up to him to fight his battels, and where we know the Enemy wil most assault, certainly our care should be most to watch. If the good man of the house knew at what hour the thief would come he would watch, if he knew what part of the house he would assault, he would watch that most of all; Now Satans whol endeavor though I confess that by his good wil, he would not let the Lord have a good word out of the mouth of any of his People, nor of any People in the world, nor the bending of a knee if it lay in his power; but he wil afford that, so he may have but the heart, and if he can but any waies batter the heart, or discompose the heart, or bring it out of frame, he wil not greatly be troubled at all other formalities they give to God: Now because Satan doth so extreamly lay his battery there, surely the servants of God should above all keepings with all diligence keep that. That is a Fourth ground. Fiftly, Another that is of equal force is this,
5. The Heart even the heart of a Godly man it must be kept above Keepings with all diligence, because in truth it is not to be trusted, No, not the heart of the best man living in the world, it is deceitful, it is false, it is cozenig, it is treacherous, not that the new heart is so, but our heart is renewed but in part, and though it be made a Garison for Jesus Christ where our Treasures are kept, yet that Garison hath a great many false enemies that lodg within it; It were endless for me to explain this sufficiently, in so short a time as is fit for me now to speak, you know where the Scripture saith, that the heart of man, of an unconverted man, in Jerem. 17.9. It is deceitful above all things, it is desperately wicked, so desperately wicked and deceitful that none but the God of Heaven can search into the bottome of it, the deceitfulness of a mans heart goes as deep as Hel, that no plum-line wil go to the bottom of it; Now when the Lord plants Grace in any of his Children, and brings in some integrity, some sincerity, yet there remains a woful tang of their former falshood and treachery, that was in it before any Grace was brought in; and if it be not wel kept and wel looked too, the old deceits wil quickly so get up again, that all wil be put most wofully out of temper upon a sudden. Should I but give you the instances that the Scripture hath left upon record, of some of the choycest Servants of God, how they have been lamentably befoyled, when they have but a little trusted their own hearts, and not had a s…ickt watch and ward going along with it, you would hardly beleeve it; That holy Apostle Peter, how did he trust his heart when our Lord and Savior asked him, whether he would stick to him when he was in danger? Lord (saith he) I wil die with thee, and hang with thee, if thou beest in danger, and he beleeved it, and little knew what danger lay in the bottom: and David he would not countenance any one that was wicked, but when he trusted his heart it led him to Murther, and Adultery, and Dissembling. And abundance of others that when they have but a little beleeved their own hearts, the best of Gods Children have found so much, that I may say of all the Saints living what Solomon saith in Prov. 28. He is a Fool that trusteth his heart, he that trusteth his heart, that wil beleeve it, No, if it be not throughly searched and throughly looked too: as Solomon saith of an enemy, Beleeve him not though he give the fair words, there are seven abominations in his heart: So I may say to a Child of God, that hath set Christ and Grace and Gods Glory the highest in his heart, Beleeve not thy heart, there are seven abominations lie in it, that if it be not very wel looked to it wil lay thee in the ditch, it will bring thee into woful inconveniences: Now then as you know in a Garison, if so be that we would keep a Garison, if there be impetuous enemies without, if the Rampires and Wals be strong the Guard may be a little secure, but when they know there are a hundred false enemies within their wals, that watch for any opportunity to open some postern Gate or other, to set fire upon the City, to make way for the enemy to come in, they are mad that think that it wil be kept without al diligence; So that because of the deceitfulness and treachery of our hearts, we must therefore keep them with all diligence in the world. Lastly, to give one more and that is that which my Text holdeth out, and therefore I wil speak a little to it. Keep thy heart with all diligence, Why?
6. Because out of it are the issues of life, That is plainly, because Thy whol Conversation wil be as thy Heart is kept, that is the plain meaning of it, Thy heart is the fountain, and if thy heart be wel kept, clean, sweet, and pure, thy Conversation wil be such: Now you know that the Conversation of the Lords People it must be pure, it must be holy, Oh! there is a wonderful deal lies upon it, that the Servants of the Lord should glorifie him in a holy & unblameable Conversation: Jesus Christ redeemed them that they should in their Conversation shew forth the graces of him that hath called them out of darkness into his marvelous light, & made them Inheritors of better things, that they should be to the praise and glory of his Grace, and to have the servants of God walk unworthily, walk in a deformed disordered conversation, this makes the Lords name stink amongst his enemies, this is the greatest reproach of God that can be in the world, to see those that are his redeemed people walk otherwise than as becometh Saints: Now our Conversation wil be as we look to our hearts, look wel to thy heart, keep that above all keeping, and then thy Conversation is secure, then thy words and thy actions may all be trusted, then the Lord will be secure of his Glory (if I may speak it with reverence) in thy words and Conversation, if thy heart be but looked to; but if thy heart be disorderly, and defiled, and polluted, then unclean issues of life wil appear: A proud Heart will bring a proud Conversation; a wanton Heart wil bubble out a wanton Conversation; a worldly Heart that drinks in the love of the Creature, wil dishonor God in a worldly Conversation, be sure of that; I thought to have named you the Text, but I confess I had not time to look it, but you well know it an excellent speech of Solomons to my purpose, let me tell you before hand, that it is usual in the Proverbs of Solomon, that one part of the sentence concerns the wicked, and the other part concerns the godly, and commonly they are one of them ever set contrary one to another, Now he hath this speech towards the latter end of the Proverbs, The Tongue of the Just it is like refined Silver, (mark that expression, the Tongue of the just it is like refined Silver) what is that? the language, the savory discourse of Godly men, of gracious men, it is pure, and it is gain to a whol City where they dwel, they even scatter refined Silver where they come; Oh! it is delightful to sit and partake of the language of gracious men, the Tongue of the just is so; now you will expect the other sentence should be, now the Tongue of the wicked is rotten, their speech is rotten, No, but he saith, The Tongue of the wicked is nothing worth; as if he should have said, never look for any good in the Tongue of a wicked man, Why? For his Heart is worth nothing, and therefore never expect his language should be worth any thing, and though it is true some wicked men have so much Hypocrisie, that they can express otherwise to men, yet God that looks at the Heart he looks upon it as rotten and unsavory, but let thy Heart be Silver, and thy Tongue will be like refined silver, let thy Heart be rotten and nothing worth, and thy discourse will be as nothing; Now lay these six things together, let me endeavor to make some use of it, but this is the sum, therefore should all the Servants of God, all Gods Children look to their Hearts above all things in the world, because First, It is the best part of them, Secondly, It is a treasury of that that is better than it self, Heaven hath not a better treasury than is laid up in the Heart of a godly man, and the Lord looks at it above all other things, and Satan assaults it above all other things, and even the best men have abundance of corruption and deceit in their Hearts, and according as their Hearts are kept so will their life be, therefore above all keepings look to thy Heart; Now the Application of it, I fear I shal not speak so much as I would have done, but I would willingly (if God help me) a little warm your Hearts about it, three Uses I would wilingly make of this Doctrine, that the greatest, the busiest work that the Servants of God have to do in this world, is to keep their inward Heart in a good frame to God-ward.
USE, 1.
Is this so? How lamentably and bitterly doth this speak to the reproof of thousands, who yet fain would go for the children of God, I might say of it as Ezekiel saith in another case, it is a Lamentation and shal be for a Lamentation to a world of People, truly almost the whol world, many bitter reproofs may be gathered out of this Doctrine two three or four sorts of people, (I will give you a touch of it) and they are found in every place where you come. First,
1. How many are there that are wonderfully exact in keeping the outward things that belong to them; come into the House which is your Housewives care, those that are neatly, civilly brought up, that would go for Housewives, how delilcatly are their things kept? How are their Roomes rubbed? How is every utensil kept tite and clean? Come into the Shops of your Trades men, How do they keep al their wares? and if any thing lie out of its place and pile, How impatient are they with their Servants? if they have received any mony, how wonderfully careful are they to have a Treasury where it may be barred and kept safe for them? and come into our Country, How do People keep their Cattel? their very Swine they will keep them as they ought to be, that they may thrive and be for their gain, and credit, and the like, this you shall find common, but go amongst these People, and how are their hearts kept al this while? As if I should come into one of your houses, and find it very neat, and clean, Truly I con you thanks, surely this cost somebody hot water to keep all this so neatly; but how do you keep your heart? Pray how do you keep your heart? Friends, I fear your Houses, your Shops, your Chests, your Garments, I fear they wil all rise up in judgment against you, every one of you: Have you a Jewel, have you a heart wherein you think such a treasury is laid up? Do you let it lie open to let every Rogue and Raskal come in, and every thing to defile it, and can you find time to keep these outward things so? methinks I hear a Mother say to her Child that she gives a row of Pins to, See you keep them carefully I wil call you to an account for them: But saith God to a Soul, I have given thee a Soul, and (if thou beest mine) Graces that one of them are more worth than all the Kingdomes of the world, and what paines dost thou bestow upon the keeping them? The Lord help you to ask your Souls the question, whether this will not rise up sadly against you one day.
2. Go to others and rise higher, because the Body is higher than all these things, Oh! what curiosity shal you find in many about keeping their bodies? Alas, I must keep my body (saith one) I am subject to colds and distempers, and if once they be but bitten a little you shal hardly make them drink a Cup, it wil hurt their Bodies; yea, they wil have their Cordials by them that shal cheer up their hearts, O! how shal I live if I look not to it, and this care I condemn not simply, because it is an Utensil we should use for Gods Glory, but I fear the bodies of most of you wil be a sad condemnation to the souls of most of you: You shal never meet any of you in a Congregation, but the body of you shal be tricked up as fine as you can, which it ought to be, But what have you done for your hearts? Have you not left them at home? Nay, to go a little higher.
3. How many are there that keep their very lives, not only their bodies but their moral Conversations, that look that they may be Sine crimine, that nothing may turn as a reproach to them, God forbid that my language should be otherwise than becomes a Servant of God, God forbid that my Recreations should be such but what may be honorable to God; and come to them and ask them seriously, Are you the Servants of God? Pray tel me, Why, can any body detect me? No, there is your care, the issues of it shal be kept as far as thou canst keep it: but what doth thy heart do? Thy Tongue talketh righteouly, thy Ears hear good discourse, thy Eyes are in a comly deportment, and so thy actions with men, Justice, Honesty, Sobriety, and other things shal not be found against thee, and perhaps in the mean time, thy very heart left to be a Cage for unclean Beasts and Birds: The good Lord pitty us, these things are very sad, where did you ever read that the Lord said, Keep your Shops above all keepings, or your Bodies aabove all keepings, or your Conversations above all keepings, though I told you how far it is comely, but for you to keep all these things and never look to your hearts is sad: Nay, there is one more that goes beyond all these.
4. It is true, you say true, We were Wretches if we should look to our Goods and Bodies, and not look to our Hearts: I look to that every day, I but Friend, Do you look to it above all keepings? And bestow more pains about it than about all things in the World besides? pray deal faithfully in it, for you must give an account to one that knows all things in the world, but have you more studies desires and endeavors about that than about all things in the world? No, no, Alas most of the people I converse with, they do as some poor Tradesmen do, wretched men that think that they have got a servant that they leave all to, and now and then because they wil not let all run at randome, look into the Shop and ask him, Come, What? Do you keep your Cash right? and is all right? and so rest in him, when all this while he is a Wretch, and runs out of all, and so is my heart wel? is all wel there? I, I, saith the heart, and we beleeve it, and put our trust in it, and it is the arrantest Lyar in all the world. I remember Solomon hath a notable Speech in the latter end of the Prov. Chap. 30. where he saith, There are three things that are wonderful, that I could never find out the way of them, yea, there are four of them, the one is, The way of the Ship in the Sea, and that is hard to find for it leaves nothing that you may say here a Ship hath gone, And another is, The way of an Eagle in the Air, and that hath many windings and turnings, And another is, The way of a Serpent upon a Stone, and that leaves neither slime nor excrement, that you cannot find which way it goes, And the fourth is, The way of a man with a maid, which he interprets afterwards to be a lascivious maid, who hath a wanton heart within that would deceive a hundred People, you may add the heart of a man too, for that wil tel you, I have been at Prayer, when it never prayed a word, and I heard the word very wel, and his heart was dead and asleep all the while, Oh! (Brethren) it is hard for you to think with a few words thus to charm this deceitful wild Beast, and you to have no care about it, but God knows and man knows that you are real in your other keepings, and slight in this, I fear there is little in your heart that your self judg worth the keeping, that you are so extream slight and loose about it. Wel that is one, (I dare not stay longer upon it) let it be a matter of rebuke, and to help you to try and judg how things stand between God and you, for if your hearts be as they ought to be, you wil bestow more pains about them than about any thing in this world. Secondly, Another Use that I wil make of it, which is a Use that Gods Children wil rejoyce in, and that is.
USE, 2.
It is a Doctrine that affords abundance of Comfort, I, this very Doctrine though it may seem and doth carry just rebuke (I beleeve) to the best of all Gods Children, in some degree to be humbled, but withall it is a Doctrine of wonderful Consolation to all those, whom God witnesseth with that their greatest care and study is to purge their hearts, to have their hearts mended, to have their hearts guarded, and are most humbled and afflicted when it is not wel with the inward man, though all other things go smooth with them, yet it is not comfortable with them except they find the heart set right Godward, this Doctrine speaks a world of Consolation to such poor Souls, I am confident it is the Lot of the generation of Gods People that hear me at this time, though it may be under a temptation they may lay all aside, yet otherwise God knows their dayly work, their greatest work, their work of prayer and mourning is most about their hearts; If you ask them, How doth your Body? better than my heart, How do you perform your Duties? wel outwardly, but my heart is wretched, I have a vile heart, and there they make their study, there they make their search, there they make the matter of their mourning: Now I would say to such Souls, and dare affirm it with much boldness, none but the Schollars that are of the Lords own teaching ever study that Lesson, for as for others they love and like their hearts wel, that when they are convinced of every thing else in the world, they will boast of their heart that that is right, but when a man can say, as Hezekiah said to God, Oh Lord! remember I pray thee that I have with an upright heart sought thee; as if he should have said, If I could have done thee more service I would, I would have prayed better, and beleeved better, and been more active, but thou hast had my heart, the Soul that can say so, the Lord would answer it even as David said to the Lord, in 1 Chron. 29. Oh! Lord (saith he) I know that thou lovest the heart, when he had offered up an Oblation he and his People, Oh Lord! (saith he) I know thou regardest the heart, and hast pleasuere in uprightness, as for me in the uprightness of my heart I have sought thee; So when thou shalt say, Father, my memory is weak, my utterance bad, my temptations strong, and my corruptions great, I can deny none of these, but the Lord knows he hath my heart, could I get it in a better frame, I had rather see it in a better frame than have the estate of an Emperor; Where there is a willing mind (it is an excellent Speech of the Apostle, in 2 Cor. 8. in the point of Alms, and I wil give you an instance in that, that you may make of it in a hundred other things, when he would stir them up to contribute, he saith, where there is a willing mind) it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not, as if he should have said, The Lord hath given me a heart, I like this cause so wel I would willingly give twenty shillings to this cause, but I am not able to give above a penny, Hast thou a willing mind to give more? thou art accepted according to what thou hast, The liberal gift is but the work of Gods Providence, the willing mind is the work of Gods Grace, The same wil run throughout all duties, go to prayer, one man hath such an utterance, conception, working fancy, can speak admirably to the affecting of all, but these are but gifts and parts, and if he hath an humble broken heart goes with it there is Spirit too: but it may be another poor Soul that joyneth in the Duty, that can hardly speak a few words of sense together, but God knows if they could pray, if they could pour out their souls, if they could wrastle with God, they had rather do it than any thing else in the world, that is the work of prayer, the other is but the work of common gifts, that is for the edification of others, therefore know this all of you, we poor creatures deal with men, and it is almost impossible but we value men according to their parts, a man whom God enableth with parts and gifts to edifie others, especially if there be Grace in his Heart too, he is measured by the value of his parts by all men, God goes not by that value, No, that Soul that takes most care about his Heart, give me a Woman, a handmaid that wrestles more in secret, that she may bring her wil to Gods wil, and may love and hate nothing but what God loves and hates, find such an one out, they are Gods choice ones, and his Jewels, therfore be not discouraged for the want of any thing while you can say, The great God that knows al knows my great study is about my Heart, I will conclude this use with a speech I have often heard of one Mr. Banes, a man that was indeed an excellent emminent Man for any thing that was good, and not long before he died, some friends were with him in his Library, it was an excellent one, and they fel a commending of it, I (saith he) There they stand but the Lord knows that for many years last past, I have studied my Heart more then my Books; Oh! There was a study, give me a Scholler that can say, I study my Heart more then my Book, I study my Heart more then my Shop-book, I study my Heart more then my Counting-House, I study my Heart more then a Bargain, that it may be pure and Holy, this Man is a blessed Man and Woman that hath but attained this; and then Lastly the last Use that I would make (and I wil but even name it) is this,
USE, 3.
I beseech you therefore for the time to come will you all make this your study, You have heard it is a dangerous Heart you bear about you, whatsoever you are that think you may be most secure of your heart, you are but Fools to trust it, and your Conversation wil be as your heart is, remember all the Arguments I gave you, and let it prevail with you for the time to come, to enter into this serious study, how you may keep it in a good frame continually, and this now would have been an Introduction to the second Question, for this is sufficient to prove that it ought to be so: But now the next is,
Quest. Wherein stands the keeping of the heart in a good frame? It is true, I confess it is comfortable to hear of the general endeavor of it, but what are the rules and directions the Servants of God should attend to, when they would keep their hearts in so good a frame, that it may be such a Temple of the Holy Ghost for the Lord to delight in?
Answ. That is too great a Question in truth to handle in a little time, only these two or three things I would say in general before I dismiss you: As First,
1. There is no talking, it is not for any man living ever to talk of keeping his heart in a good frame, until first the Lord have broken it to pieces and new molded it, that is for certain, while the heart is as we come into the world, as we are in a state of nature, the wildest Beast under Heaven will be easilier tamed, than the heart of a man wil ever be ordered; It is just as a Bel that hath a crack throughout, al the Bel-founders in the Town & Country they may hew it, and chip it, and scurfe it, and I know not what, they wil never make it sound right, til it be choped a pieces and new cast: So (I say) the heart of man is by nature so forlorn, so ful of wickedness, so utterly destitute of all good, that if all the Teachers and Tutors under Heaven had it to work, to bring a man up and make him right, til God take away the heart of stone and regenerate him, and give him a new heart, there is no talking of ever keeping it in a good frame: Therefore if you be not throughly grounded in it, get your heart knocked in pieces, the first thing you do pray God Almighty to break it through, break it down, break it up, and then when the Lord hath broke it and new shot it, that he hath given you an interest in Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is become a new life to you, then you are fitted to this Duty, but til the Lord hath wrought that in you, all other talk is to no purpose, therefore your first work must be, to get such a heart as is capable of this, for every one is not. Then Secondly,
2. When the Lord hath done so, then for the keeping of it in a good frame, all the directions (though there be very many of them yet) I think they may be all brought to these two heads. The one is,
1. Keep the heart pure, keep it pure from sin, from the defilement that wil daily grow upon it if it be not wel kept, from the stirrings of corruption, either to keep them down that they do not stir, or when they do stir to get them dayly washed off by the blood of Christ. And then the other is,
2. As to keep it pure from sin, so to keep it fit for Duty, tuned and prepared for the several Duties, the word is large and through Gods mercy your instructions are many, and whosoever is willing may have constant directions to guide him in all these.
FINIS