a vain thought be long neglected; the serpent of heart-apostasy Is best killed in the egg of a small remission of care. Oh ! if many poor de- cayed Christians had looked to their hearts in time, they had never come to that sad pass they now are in ? We may say of heart-neglects, as the apostle doth of vain babblings ; that they increase to more and more ungodliness. Nemo repentefit turp'issimus ; little sins neglect- ed, will quickly become great and masterless : The greatest croco- dile once lay in an egg ; the greatest oak 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 Mean. Take heed of losing the liveliness and sxveetnsss erf your communion with God, lest 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 some- thing among the creatures, and there it often loses itself, as well as its end. There is nothing more engages the heart to a constancy and evenness in walking with God, than the sweetness which it tastes therein : As the Gauls, when once they tasted the sweet wine of Italy, could never be satisfied till they conquered the country where it grew.
It is 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 delight in, we are never weary of, as is evident in the motions of the heart to earthly things, where the wheels being oiled with delight, run nimbly, and have often need of trigging ; the motions of the heart upwards would be as free, if its delight in heavenly things were as great.
6 Mean. Habituate thy heart to spiritual 7neditatio7is, if thou wouldst have it free from those burdensome diversions.
By this mean you will get a facility and dexterity in heart-work : It is pity those smaller portions of our time betwixt solemn duties should lie upon our hands, and be rendered useless to us. O learn. to save, and be good husbands upon your thoughts. To this purpose a neat author * speaks ; * These parentheses, which happen to come
* between the more solemn passages (whether business or recreations) ' of human 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 pre- ^ serve them ; for though they do not properly despise them, yet ' they neglect, or lose them, for want of knowing how to rescue ' them, or what to do with them : But although grains of sand and ' ashes be, apart, but of a despicable smallness, and liable to be scat- ' tered and blown away, yet the skilful artificer, by a vehement fire,
* brings numbers of those to afford him that noble substance, glass, ' by whose help we mav both see ourselves, and our blemishes lively
* Boyle's occasional reflect, p. 9, 10.
CHOICE MEANS TO KEEP THE HEART. 507
* represented (as in looking-glasses) and discern celestial objects (as ' with the telescopes) and with the sun beams kindle disposed mate- ' rials (as with burning glasses :) So when these little fragments, or
< pai'cels of time, which if not carefully looked to, would be dis-
< sipated and lost, come to be managed by a skilful contemplator, and
* to be improved by the celestial 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 in-
* flame our hearts with zeal ;' Thus far he.
Something of that nature I have under hand, for a public bene- fit, if God give life to finish, and opportunity to produce it : Cer- tainly this is a great advantage for the keeping of the heart with God.
IV. Use of' Consolation.
I shall now close the whole with a word or two of consolation to all diligent and serious Christians, that faithfully and closely ply heart-work ; that are groaning and weeping in secret over the hard- ness, pride, earthliness, and vanity of their hearts ; that are fearing and trembling over the experienced deceitfulness and falseness of them, whilst other vain professors eyes are abroad, their time and strength eaten up by fruitless disputes and earthly employments, or, at best, by a cold and formal performance of some heartless and empty duties. Poor Christian ! I have three things to offer thee, in order to thy support and comfort ; and, doubtless, either of them alone, mix- ed with faith, is sufficient to comfort thee over all the trouble thou hast with thine own heart.
1. Comfort. This argues thy heart to he upright and honest, whatever thy gifts and abilities are.
It is uprightness of heart will comfort thee upon a death-bed ; 2 Kings XX. 2, 3. " Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed " to the Lord, saying, remember now, O Lord, how I have walked " before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart," &c.
I am really of his mind, who said, si mihi daretur optio, eligerim Christiani rustici sordidissimum ^ maxime agreste opus pro; omni- bus victoriis <§* triumphis Alexandri aut Ccesaris ; might I have my wish, I would prefer the most despicable and sordid work of a rustic Christian, before all the victories and triumphs of Alexander or Caesar ; yea, let me add, before all the elaborated duties and excel- lent gifts of vain professors ; before the tongues of men and angels. It will signify more to my comfort, to spend one solitary hour in mourning before the Lord over heart-corruption, than many hours in a seeming zealous, but really dead performance of common duties with the greatest enlargements and richest embellishments of parts and gifts.
By this very thing Christ distinguishes the formal and serious Christian, Matth. vi. 5. The one is for the street and synagogue, for the observation and applause of men, but the other is a closet- man, he drives on a home-trade, a heart-trade. Never be troubled
508 CHOICE MEANS TO KEEP THE HEART.
then for the want of those things that a man may have and be eter- nally damned ; but rather bless God for that which none but the favourites and darlings of heaven have. Many a one is now in hell that had a better head than mine ; and many a one now in heaven that complained of as bad a heart as thine.
2 Comfort. Know further for thy conifbrt, that God would never leave thee under so many heart-troubles and burdens fhe intended not thy 7'eal benefit thereby.