The Sinfulness of Evil Thoughts, Treatise · Chapter 32
CHAP. XXXII. Containing a Uſe of Exhortation.
IT is Solomons counſell, Pro. 27. 23. Be thou diligent to know the ſtate of thy flocks, and look well (in the Hebrew, ſet thy heart unto it) to thy herd; And I may ſay as the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 9. 9, 10. Doth God take care for oxen, and ſheep, or doth he ſpeak this altogether for our ſakes? may I not ſay rather, be diligent to know the ſtate of thy, heart, and of that flock of thoughts, which is a greater buſineſſe to look well too, then to keep a flock of ſheep, or herd of ſwine: A ſhame it is for man to look after every thing and not himſelf, to know every City, Country, Art, Language, Science, and not to know himſelf; to obſerve men, times cuſtomes every thing, and not to obſerve himſelf, and the cuſtomes and manners of his own heart and thoughts. The Grammarian makes his latine by rule, the Poet makes his verſe by rule, the workman builds his houſe by rule, and muſt we have no rule for our hearts and thoughts? The heavens and every ſtar move by rule, day and night come and go by rule, Summer, Winter, ſeedtime and harveſt come and go by rule, yea the Sea ebbes and flowes by rule, and the birds of the aire, the Swallow and Cuckow, come and go by rule, and ſhall man be the onelyonly unruly creature, and have Jer. 8. 7.no rule for his heart and thoughts to move by? and be as the clouds of the aire, or waves of the ſea, or a ſhip without compaſſe or Pilot, that is driven up and down without guide or ſtay? Is it not matter of ſhame to ſee we ſhould keep houſe clean, face clean, hands clean, and all our cloths muſt be clean, or we are aſhamed of our ſelves, and the heart unclean. Garden muſt be weeded, houſe muſt be waſht, houſhold ſtuffe muſt be ſcoured, door muſt be ſwept, ſwine and poultry muſt be rended, and the heart neglected; Strange it is we ſhould obſerve order in every thing and affect neatneſſe, every thing muſt have his fit place, the horſe hath his ſtable, the oxe his crib, the dog his kennell, the ſwine their coat, that horſe, dog, and ſwine, eat not, nor ly together; that we ſhould have no partition in our hearts, good and evil thoughts tumble together. We keep doors to our houſes, yea to every roome, locks, and bolts, or latches to every door, yea we have doors and iron bars to our very ſtables, and none to the heart. As a City without watch and ward, Gates and bars, or houſe without Pro. 25. 28.doors and locks, ſo is the man, ſaith Solomon, that hath no rule over his own ſpirit; we have hedges and ditches about our grounds, foldes to keep in our ſheep, and to keep out other cattle, and ſhall our hearts onelyonly ly open and unfenced, as commons and waſtes without any regard; We put our very ſwine to a keeper, and we have a horſe-keeper, and ſhall we have no heart-keeper; Eſpecially when we have ſuch a charge, that (whatever is neglected) the heart muſt be … with all keeping, Pro. 4. 23. There are two things that aske a great deal of paines and good skill.
1. To break and tame the heart, this is a work for the beſt Miniſter, the man of a thouſand, that can skill to tame and break a wild heart, as he had need of good Job. 33. 23.skill that ſhall back and break an unruly colt.
2. The other is thy own work, To keep thy own heart, and this is as great a charge as Jacob had to keep a great flock of ſheep, which made him ſweat and toyle by day, Gen. 31. 40.and broke his ſleep by night; or to keep a herd of ſwine is not a more toylſome buſineſſe: yea thou haſt as great a charge and task to keep thy heart, as if thou waſt made keeper of Newgate, or any common Goale, thou haſt as many unruly ones to deal with, that are more hardly kept in order, that thou haſt need of ſtrong doors, ſtore of Animum rege qui niſi paret, Imperat, hunc fraenis, hunctu compeſ…e catena. Hor.locks, bolts, fetters, cords, and make all ſure, leaſt they give thee the ſlip. A Captain over an unruly company of ſouldiers hath ſomewhat to do to keep them in order, but a General of an army had need to be a man of a good command to keep all in good order; what haſt thou to do who art to command ſo many Companyes and Regiments of mutinous and unruly thoughts?
Labour therefore to be well acquainted with they ſe…f, and to know thy heart as perfectly as thou doſt every room in thy own houſe, that thou maiſt ſay, Nota magis nulli domus eſt ſua, quam mihi cor eſt. Yea labour to know thy heart as perfectly as if thou hadſt a meſure of it, as the Prophet had of the Temple, who was to ſhew them Ezek. 43. ….the form of the houſe, and the faſhion thereof, the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the formes thereof, and ordinances thereof, and all the formes thereof again, and the laws thereof, and write it in their ſight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof. So there are formes and formes again, many and divers, and outgoings, and incomings of the heart (the beſt temple of a good heart) which are not eaſily deſcribed: This is the Art of Arts and ſcience of ſciences. It was an adventurous undertaking of thoſe that were ſent to ſpy out the land of Canaan, and it Num. 13. 2. 25.was fit for choſen men; A ruler and eminent perſon in every tribe, they went out and returned with a full account of their voyage after fourty dayes: It will coſt thee many more dayes, and yet thou wilt not be able to eſpy half that little-great piece of earth in thy own heart, and to be able to ſay; I ſpeak all that was in my heart, as Caleb did. And what an undertaking was that of our Joſh. 14. 7.Engliſh worthies, Drake and Candiſh, and many others ſince, to go ſearch the whole world, and make diſcoveries of unknown lands and ſeas? They compaſſed the whole earth in the ſpace of two or three years and returned, but it is a more honourable and profitable adventure to ſeek to compaſſe this Narrow-wide ſpot of earth in thy heart, though it may coſt thee more time and paines, and yet thou muſt ſay there is a great part of Terra incognita yet in it undiſcovered.
2. The ſecond exhortation is that of the text, To repent of evil thoughts; ſo Agur exhorts, Pro. 30. 32. If thou haſt thought evill lay thy hand upon thy mouth, that is humble thy ſelf and bewaile thy ſin. If ever thou haſt repented of any thing, repent much more for thy thoughts, if thou haſt never repenred, begin repentance here, cleanſe firſt the inſide of this foule cup and platter. Mat. 23. 26.Here is the Original ſin, and the Original of all ſin; Open the mouth of this Cave, and thou wilt ſee the Kings that were immured, Joſh. 10. 22.the chief enemies of thy ſoul lurk here; Here is the root of the matter of ſin: Here is the Cockatrices den, here hells mouth, here the devils forge. Here are heapes upon heapes of wickedneſſe, treaſures of darkneſſe, which the vultures eye of the wicked, nor the Eagle eye of the Godly never yet ſaw; open this pit and there ſteames out ſo much darkneſſe as thou ſhalt not ſee where thou art. Actuall ſins are many, but ſins in the thoughts many more, for one act of adultery, murder committed, a thouſand adulteries and murders in the heart. Actuall ſins are ſometimes reſtrained, but the reſtleſſe thoughts are ever ſinning, The wells of Moab were all ſtop… by the Iſraelites, 2 King. 3. 25. it were well if all the Iſraelites and people of God in the world could ſtop up theſe wells. But who can ſhut up the ſea with doores when it breakes forth as if it iſſued out of the womb? Cloudes are the garment of it, and thick darkneſſe, the ſwadling band of it. The Job 38. 8, 9.ſame may be ſaid of the heart, who can ſhut it with doores, &c. thick darkneſſe is the ſwadling band of it. Know that Gods word is a Judge of thy thoughts, and Gods eye is Heb. 4. 12. Pſal. 139. 1 Cor. 4. 6. Jer. 6. 19.upon the thoughts, and Gods judgment day is for the arraigning and diſcovering of thy thoughts: And thy reward will be according to the fruit of thy thoughts; And that which will moſt accuſe, or excuſe thee, Condemne or quit thee in that day will be thy thoughts, Ro. 2. 15. Oh what a ſad thing it will be when the Lord ſhall lay open all thy thoughts, and ſay, thus thou didſt and thus Pſal. 50. 21.thou thoughteſt, thy thought ſtill worſe then thy deed, a profeſſor in word an hypocrite in thy heart, a Saint at Church, a devil in thy thoughts, charitable in word, covetous in thy thoughts, courteous in words, falſe and treacherous in thy thoughts. Item ſo many thouſands of Atheiſticall, Impious, hard thoughts of God; Item as many Injurious, malicious, revengefull, miſchievous thought towards others; Item as many more Unclean, proud, and vain thoughts beſides that thy hear… was full off; Item ſo many worldly, plodding thoughts which all periſht with thee, Pſal. 146. 4. When thou wouldeſt preſerve them; Item ſo many good thoughts which periſht in thee, becauſe thou waſt ſo cruell to ſtifle and ſtrangle them.
3. To fly to the fountain opened for ſin and uncleanneſſe; Theſe evil thoughts where other foul ſins have not broke out ſhew us what an abſolute, univerſall, continuall need all have to fly to Chriſt Jeſus: Theſe fiery ſerpents ſhould make us look up to this Braſen Num. 21.ſerpent, for juſtifying, ſanctifying and healing mercies. This Leproſie is onelyonly to be healed by Jordan, not by Abana, and Pharpar waters. The bloud and ſpirit of Chriſt are the onelyonly meanes to cure this Leper, as the bloud of the dead bird and water with the living bird cleanſed the legall Leproſie. And as the ſeparation water mixed with the aſhes of the ſlain heifer, purified all uncleanneſſe, Lev. 16. Num. 19. So it is onelyonly the bloud of Chriſt, who through the eternall ſpirit offered himſelf without ſpot to God which can purge our conſciences from dead works to ſerve the living God, Heb. 9. 14. For as when we were in the fleſh, the motions of ſin which were in the fleſh did bring forth fruit unto death, ſo being married and joyned unto Chriſt, we ſhall bring forth fruit unto God, Ro. 7. 5, 6.
I have read of ſome ſprings that change the colour of the cattle that drink of them, into the colour of their own waters, as Du Bartas ſings.
Cerona, Xanth and Cephiſus do make.
The thirſty flocks, that of their waters take,
Black, red and white, And neer the crimſon deep.
The Arabian fountain maketh crimſon ſheep.
Jeſus Chriſt is ſuch a fountain in which whoſoever bathes, and of which whoſoever drinkes ſhall be changed into the ſame likeneſſe, and as he is pure, ſo ſhall they be preſented without ſpot before God through him.