Doct. That the keeping and right managing of the heart in every condition, is the great business of a Chriftian's life.

What the philofopher faith of waters, is as properly applicable to hearts; Suis terminis difficile continentur, it is hard to keep them within bounds: God hath fet bounds and limits to them, yet how frequently do they tranfgrefs, not only the bounds of grace and religion, but even of reafon and common honefty? Hic labor, hoc opus eft: this is that which affords the Christian matter of labour, fear and trembling to his dying-day. It is not the cleanfing of the hand that makes the Chriftian, for many a hypocrite can fhew as fair a hand as he; but the purifying, watching, and right ordering of the heart ; this is the thing that provokes fo many fad complaints, and costs fo many deep groans and brinish tears. It was the pride of Hezekiah's heart that made him lie in the duft mourning before the Lord, 2 Chron. xxxii. 26. It was the fear of hypocrify invading the heart, that made David cry, « Let my heart be found in thy statutes that I "be not afhamed," Pfalm cxix. 80. It was the fad experience he had of the divisions and distractions of his own heart, in the fervice of God, that made him pour out that prayer, Pfalm lxxxvi. 11. "Unite my heart to fear thy name."

'The method in which I fhall improve the point, fhall be this,

Firft, I fhall enquire what the keeping of the heart fuppofes and / imports.

Secondly, Affign divers reasons, why Chriftians must make this the 2 great work and business of their lives. 42

Thirdly, Point at those special seasons which especially call for this diligence in keeping the heart.

Fourthly, and lastly, Apply the whole in feveral uses.

1. What the keeping of the heart supposes and imports.

To keep the heart, neceffarily fuppofes a previous work of fanctification, which hath fet the heart right, by giving it a new fpiritual bent and inclination; for as long as the heart is not fet right by grace, as to its habitual frame, no duties or means can keep it right? with God. Self is the poife of the unfanctified heart, which biaffes and moves it in all its defigns and actions; and as long as it is fo, it : is impoffible that any external means fhould keep it with God.

Man, by creation, was of one conftant, uniform frame and tenour of fpirit, held one straight and even course; not one thought or faculty revelled or difordered; his mind had a perfect illumination to understand and know the will of God, his will a perfect compliance therewith; his fenfitive appetite, and other inferior powers, stood in a moft obedient fubordination.

Man, by degeneration, is become a moft difordered and rebellious. creature, contefting with, and oppofing his Maker, as the firft caufe, by felf-dependence; as the chiefeft good, by felf-love; as the highest Lord, by felf-will, and as the last end, by self-seeking; and fo is quite

difordered, and all his acts irregular: His illuminated understanding is clouded with ignorance, his complying will full of rebellion and ftubbornnefs; his fubordinate powers, cafting off the dominion and government of the fuperior faculties.

But by regeneration this difordered foul is fet aright again; fanctification being the rectifying and due framing, or as the fcripture phrases it, the renovation of the foul after the image of God, Eph. iv. 24. in which felf-dependence is removed by faith; felf-love by the love of God; felf-will by fubjection and obedience to the will of God; and felf-jeeking by felf-denial. The darkened understanding is again illuminated, Eph. i. 18. the refractory will fweetly fubdued, Pfalm cx. 3. the rebellious appetite, or concupifcence gradually conquered, Rom. v. 7. per tot. And thus the foul which fin had univer

fally depraved is again by grace reftored and rectified.

This being pre-fuppofed, it will not be difficult to apprehend what it is to keep the heart, which is nothing else but the conftant care and diligence of fuch a renewed man, to preferve his foul in that holy frame to which grace hath reduced it, and daily ftrives to hold it.

For though grace hath, in a great measure, rectified the foul, and given it an habitual and heavenly temper: yet fin often actually dif composes it again: fo that even a gracious heart is like a mufical inftrument, which, though it be never fo exactly tuned, a fmall matter brings it out of tune again; yea, hang it afide but a little, and it will need fetting again before you can play another leffon on it; even fo ftands the cafe with gracious hearts; if they are in frame in one duty, yet how dull, dead, and disordered when they come to another? And therefore every duty needs a particular preparation of the heart, Job xi. 13. "If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands "towards him." Well then, to keep the heart is carefully to preferve it from fin, which disorders it; and maintain that spiritual and gracious frame, which fits it for a life of communion with God. And this includes these fix acts in it:

1. Frequent obfervation of the frame of the heart, turning in and examining how the cafe ftands with it, this is one part of the work. Carnal and formal perfons take no heed to this, they cannot be brought to confer with their own hearts: there are some men and women that have lived forty or fifty years in the world, and have fcarce had one hour's difcourfe with their own hearts all that while : It is a hard thing to bring a man and himself together upon fuch an account; but faints know thofe foliloquies and felf-conferences to be of excellent use and advantage. The heathen could fay, anima fedendo et quiefcendo fit fapiens, the foul is made wife by fitting ftill in quietness: though bankrupts with not to look into their books of accompt, yet upright hearts will know whether they go backward or forward, Pfal. Ixxvii. 6. "I commune with mine own heart." The heart can ne ver be kept until its cafe be examined and understood.

2. It includes deep humiliation for heart-evils and diforders; thus

Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, 2 Chron xxxii. 26. Thus the people were ordered to spread forth their hands to God in prayer, in a fenfe of the plague of their own hearts, 1 Kings viii. 38. Upon this account many an upright heart hath been laid low before God: O what an heart have I? They have in their confeffions pointed at the heart, the pained place; Lord, here is the wound, here is the plague-fore. It is with the heart well kept, as it is with the eye, which is a fit emblem of it, if a small duft get into the eye, it will never leave twinkling and watering till it have wept it out: So the upright heart cannot be at reft till it have wept out its troubles, and poured out its complaints before the Lord.

3. It includes earneft fupplications and inftant prayer for heartpurifying and rectifying grace, when fin hath defiled and difordered it; fo Pfalm xix. 12. "Cleanfe thou me from fecret faults ;" and Pfalm lxxxvi. 11. "Unite my heart to fear thy name." Saints have always many fuch petitions depending before the throne of God's grace; this is the thing which is moft pleaded by them with God: When they are praying for outward mercies, haply their spirits may be more remifs, but when it comes to the heart-cafe, then they extend their fpirits to the utmoft, fill their mouths with arguments, weep and make fupplication: Oh, for a better heart! Oh for a heart to love God more. To hate fin more, to walk more evenly with God: Lord, deny not to me fuch a heart, whatever thou deny me; give me an heart to fear thee, love and delight in thee, if I beg my bread in defolate places. It is obferved of holy Mr Bradford, that when he was confeffing fin, he would never give over confeffing until he had felt fome brokenness of heat for that fin; and when praying for any spiritual mercy, would never give over that fuit, until he had got fome relish of that mercy. That is the third thing included in keeping the heart.

4. It includes the impofing of strong engagements and bonds upon ourselves to walk more accurately with God, and avoid the occafions whereby the heart may be induced to fin: Well-compofed, advised, and deliberate vows, are, in fome cafes, of excellent ufe to guard the heart against some fpecial fin; fo Job xxxi 1. "I made a covenant "with mine eyes;" by this means, holy ones have over-awed their fouls, and preferved themselves from defilement by fome special heart-corruptions.

5. It includes a conftant holy jealoufy over our own hearts; quickfighted felf-jealoufy is an excellent prefervative from fin; he that will keep his heart must have the eyes of his foul awake and open upon all the diforderly and tumultuous ftirrings of his affections; if the affections break loofe, and the paffions be ftirred, the foul muft difcover and fupprefs them before they get to an height: O my foul, doft thou well in this? My tumultuous thoughts and paffions, where is your commiffion ?

VOL. V.

3 I

State viri, quæ caufa vie? quive eftis in armis. Virg. Happy is the man that thus feareth always, Prov. xxviii. 14. Be this fear of the Lord it is that men depart from evil, fhake off fecurity, and preserve themselves from iniquity; he that will keep his heart muft feed with fear, rejoice with fear, and pafs the whole time of his fojourning here in fear, and all little enough to keep the heart ; from fin.

6. And, laftly, To add no more, it includes the realizing of God's prefence with us, and fetting the Lord always before us: This the people of God have found a fingular mean to keep their hearts upright, and awe them from fin; when the eye of our faith is fixed upon the eye of God's omniscience, we dare not let out our thoughts and affections to vanity: Holy Job durft not fuffer his heart to yield to an impure, vain thought; and what was it that moved him to fo great a circumfpection? Why, he tells you, Job xxxi. 4. "Doth he "not fee my ways, and count all my fteps? Walk before me (faith "God to Abraham) and be thou perfect," Gen. xvii. 1. Even as parents ufe to fet their children in the congregation before them, knowing that else they will be toying and playing; fo would the heart of the best man too, were it not for the eye of God.

In thefe and fuch like particulars, do gracious fouls exprefs the care they have of their hearts; they are as careful to prevent the breaking loofe of their corruptions in times of temptation, as feamen are to bind fast the guns, that they break not loose in a storm; as careful to preferve the sweetness and comfort they have got from God in any duty, as one that comes out of an hot bath, or great fweat, is of taking cold, by going forth into the chill air. This is the work, and of all works in religion it is the most difficult, conftant, and important work.

1. It is the hardeft work; heart-work is hard work indeed. To fhuffle over religious duties with a loofe and heedlefs fpirit, will coft no great pains; but to fet thyfelf before the Lord, and tye up thy loofe and vain thoughts to a conftant and ferious attendance upon him; this will coft thee fomething: To attain a facility and dexterity of language in prayer, and put thy meaning into apt and decent expreffions, is eafy; but to get thy heart broken for fin whilft thou art confeffing it; melted with free grace whilst thou art bleffing God for it; to be really afhamed and humbled through the apprehenfions of God's infinite holinefs, and to keep thy heart in this frame, not only in, but after duty, will furely coft thee fome groans and travailing pains of foul: To reprefs the outward acts of fin, and compofe the external part of thy life in a laudable and comely manner, no great matter; even carnal perfons by the force of common principles can do this; but to kill the root of corruption within, to fet and keep up an holy government over thy thoughts, to have all things lie fraight and orderly in the heart, this is not eafy.

2. It is a conftant work. The keeping of the heart is such a work

as is never done till life be done; this labour and our life end together: It is with a Christian in this bufinefs, as it is with feamen that have fprung a leak at fea, if they tug not conftantly at the pump, the water increases upon them, and will quickly fink them. It is in vain for them to fay the work is hard, and we are weary; there is no time or condition in the life of a Chriftian, which will fuffer an intermiffion of this work. It is in the keeping watch over our hearts, as it was in the keeping up of Mofes' hands, whilft Ifrael and Amalek were fighting below, Exod. xvii. 12. No fooner do Mofes' hands grow heavy and fink down, but Amalek prevails. You know it coft David and Peter many a fad day and night for intermitting the watch over their own hearts but a few minutes.

3. It is the most important bufinefs of a Chriftian's life. Without this we are but formalifts in religion; all our profeffions, gifts, and duties fignify nothing: "My fon, give me thine heart," Prov. xxiii. 36. God is pleafed to call that a gift, which is indeed a debt; he will put this honour upon the creature to receive it from him in the way of a gift; but if this be not given him, he regards not whatever elfe you bring to him: There is fo much only of worth and value in what we do, as there is of heart in it. Concerning the heart, God feems to fay, as Jofeph of Benjamin, "If you bring not Benjamin "with you, you fhall not fee my face." Among the heathens, when the beast was cut up for facrifice, the first thing the priest looked upon was the heart, and if that was unfound and naught, the facrifice was rejected. God rejects all duties (how glorious foever in other refpects) offered him without a heart. He that performs duty without a heart, viz. heedlefsly, is no more accepted with God than he that performs it with a double heart, viz. hypocritically, Ifa. Ixvi. 3. And thus I have briefly opened the nature of the duty, what is imported in this phrafe, "Keep thy heart."

2. Next I fhall give you fome rational account why Christians should make this the great bufinefs of their lives to keep their hearts. The importance and neceflity of making this our great and main bufinefs, will manifeftly appear in that, 1. The honour of God; 2. The fincerity of our profeffion; 3. the beauty of our converfation; 4. The comfort of our fouls; 5. The improvement of our graces; and, 6. Our stability in the hour of temptation; all are wrapt up in, and dependent on our fincerity and care in the management of this work.

1. The glory of God is much concerned therein; heart-evils are very provoking evils to the Lord. The fchools do well obferve, that outward fins are majoris infame, fins of greater infamy ; but heart-fins are majoris reatus, fins of deeper guilt. How feverely hath the great God declared his wrath from heaven against heart-wickednefs; the great crime for which the old world stands indicted, Gen. vi. 5, 6, . 7. is heart-wickedness. "God faw that every imagination (or fiction) of their heart was only evil, and that continually;" for which