And if the heart be holy and spiritual, then, as David speaks, from sweet experience, Psal. xlv. 1. " My heart is (inditing) a good *' matter, I speak of things which (I have made), my tongue is as " the pen of a ready writer." Here is a life richly beautified with good works, some ready made ; " I will speak of the things which " I have made ;" others upon the wheel making, my heart is indit- ing, but both proceeding from the heavenly frame of his heart.
SINCERITY AND JOY DEPENDS UPON KEEPING OUR HEART. 433
Put but the heart in frame, and the hfe will quickly discover that It is SO. I think it is not very difficult to discern, by the duties and converses of Christians, what frames their spirits are under ; take a Christian in a good frame, and how serious, heavenly, and profitable, will his converses and duties be ! what a lovely companion is he during the continuance of it ! It would do any one's heart good to be with him at such a time, Psal. xxxvii. 30, 31. " The mouth of *' the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judg- " ment, the law of his God is in his heart.''
When the heart is up wdth God, and full of God, how dexter- ously and ingeniously will he wind in spiritual discourse, improving every occasion and advantage to some heavenly purpose ? Few words run then at the waste spout.
And what else can be the reason why the discourses and duties of many Christians, are become so frothy and unprofitable, their com- munion both with God, and one another, becomes as a dry stalk, but because their hearts are neglected ? Surely this must be the reason of it, and verily it is an evil greatly to be bewailed ; for want of this Christian-fellowship, it is become a sapless thing ; so the attracting beauty that was wont to shine from the conversations of the saints upon the faces and consciences of the world, (which, if it did not allure, and bring them in love with the w^ays of God, yet at the least left a testimony in their consciences of the excellency of those men and their ways) this is in a great measure lost, to the unspeak- able detriment of religion.
Time was, when Christians did carry it at such a rate, that the Avorld stood at a gaze at them, as the word f sv/^ovra/, 1 Pet. iv. 4. imports. Their life and language were of a different strain from others, their tongues discovered them to be Galileans, wherever they came ; but now, since vain speculations and fruitless controversies have so much obtained, and heart-work, practical godliness, so much neglected among professors, the case is sadly altered ; their discourse is become like other men's : if they come among you now, they may (to allude to that. Acts ii. 6.) " hear every man speak in his " own language." And truly I have little hope to see this evil re- dressed, and the credit of religion again repaired, till Christians fall to their old work ; till they ply heart- work closer ; when the salt of heavenly-minded ness is cast into the spring, the streams will run clearer, and sweeter.
4. The comfort of our souls doth much depend upon the keeping of our hearts ; for he that is negligent in attending his own heart, is (ordinarily) a great stranger to assurance, and the sweet comforts flowing from it.
Indeed, if the Antinomian doctrine were true, which teaches you to reject all marks and signs for the trial of your conditions, telling you it is only the Spirit that immediately assures you, by witnessing your adoption directly without them, then you might be careless of
434 SIXCERITY AND JOY DEPENDS UPON KEEPING OUll HEART.
your hearts, yea, strangers to them, and yet no strangers to comfort : but since both scripture and experience do confute this dotage, I hope you will never look for comfort in that unscriptural way. I deny not but it is the work and office of the Spirit, to assure you, and yet do confidently affirm, that if ever you attain assurance, in the or- dinary way wherein God dispenses it, you must take pains with your own hearts ; you may expect your comforts upon easier terms, but I am mistaken if ever you enjoy them upon any other ; " Give all '' diligence, prove yourselves ;~' this is the scripture way. I remem- ber Mr. Roberts, in his Treatise of the covenant, tells us, that he knew a Christian, who in the infancy of his Christianity, so vehement- ly panted after the infallible assurance of God's love, that for a long time together he earnestly desired some voice from heaven, yea, some- times walking in the solitary fields, earnestly desired some miraculous voice from the trees and stones there ; this, after many desires and longings, was denied him ; but in time a better was afforded in the ordinary way of searching the v.^ord, and his own heart. An instance of the like nature the learned Gerson gives us of one that was driven by temptation upon the very borders of desperation ; at last being sweetly settled, and assured, one asked him how he. attained it? He answered, Non ex nova aViqua revelatione, Sfc. Not by any extraor- dinary revelation, but by subjecting his understanding to the scrip- tures, and comparing his own heart with them. The Spirit, indeed, assures by witnessing our adoption ; and he witnesseth two ways.
(1.) Objectively, i. e. by working those graces in our souls which are the conditions of the promise, and so the Spirit and his graces in us, are all one : the Spirit of God dwelling in us, is a mark of our adoption. Now the Spirit cannot be discerned in his essence, but in his operations ; and to discern these, is to discern the Spirit ; and how these should be discerned, without serious searching, and dili- gent watching of the heart, I cannot imagine.
(2.) The other way of the Spirit's witnessing is effectively, i. e. by irradiating the soul vN-ith a grace-discovering light, shining upon his own work ; and this in order of nature follows the former work; he first infuses the grace, and then opens the eye of the soul to see it. Now since the heart is the subject of that infused grace, even this way of the Spirit's witnessing also includes the necessity of keeping carefully our own hearts : For,
(1.) A neglected heart is so confused and dark, that the httle grace which is in it, is not ordinarily discernible : the most accurate and laborious Christians, that take most pains, and spend most time about their hearts, do yet find it very difficult to discover the pure and genuine workings of the Spirit there : how then shall the Chris- tian who is (comparatively) negligent and remiss about heart-work, be ever able to discover it ? Sincerity, which is the quwsitum, the thing sought for, lies in the heart like a small, piece of gold m the bottom of a river, he that will find it, must stay till the water is
ASSORANXE DEPEXDS UPON KEEPING THE HEART. 435
clear, and settled, and then he shall see it sparkhng at the bottom. And that the heart may be clear, and settled, how much pains and watching, care and diligence, will it cost ?