it is good to see what the word doth witness or testify ; doth it testify good or evil ? for accordingly shall we be treated with in the day of jud»^ment. It is sad when we can only say of the scripture, as that king of the prophet of the Lord, ' He witnesseth nothing but evil against me,' 1 Kings xxii. 8. Let us see what God's testimony speaks, whether it will plead for us or against us at the great day of the Lord.
[4.] It upbraids our unbelief, that when God hath not only given us a law, but a testimony, still we are baclvward and careless. If the word of God were no more but a law, we were bound to obey it, be- cause we are his creatures ; but when it is his testimony, we should regard it the more, for now God stands not only upon the honour of his authority, but of his truth : 1 John v. 10 ' He that believeth not hath made God a liar, because he believeth not the testimony which God hath given concerning his Son.' We may urge it thus upon our hearts — What ! shall we make God a liar, after he hath so solemnly given liis word, that word which hath many signatures, characters, and stamps of God upon it ? Carelessness now is not only disobedience, but unbelief ; it puts the highest affront upon God, to question his veracity and truth, and does not only unlord him, but ungod him, by making him a liar.
So much for the first thing, the testimony of the Lord.
Secondly, The respect of the blessed man to these testimonies ; they keep them. What is it to keep the testimonies of God ? KeeiDing is a word which relates to a charge or trust committed to us. Christ hath committed his testimonies to us as a trust and charge that we must be careful of. Look, as on our part we commit to Christ the charge of our souls to save them in his own day, 2 Tim. i. 12, so Christ chargeth us with his word— (1.) To lay it up in our hearts. (2.) To observe it in our practice. This is to keep the word.
[1.] To lay it up in our hearts. In the heart two things are con- siderable— the understanding and the affections. God undertakes in the covenant for both : Heb. viii. 10, ' I will put my law in their mind, and write it in their hearts.' The meaning is, that he will enlighten our minds- for the understanding of his will, and frame our affections to the obedience of it. Well, then, you must keep it in your minds and affections.
(1.) In your minds. We must understand the word of God, assent to it; we must revolve it often in our thoughts, and have it ready upon all occasions. Understand it we must if we would be blessed : ' He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me,' John xiv. 21. We cannot make conscience of obedience till we know our duty. He that would keep a thing must first have it ; we have the law in possession when we get knowledge of it : Mat. xiii. 23, ' He that receiveth the word into good ground is he that heareth the word and understands it;' and Luke viii. 13, ' They that hear the word and keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.' It is not enough to hear the word, but we must understand it ; and j'et that is not all : an adversary may understand a truth, or else he cannot rationally oppose it. There is assent required, that we believe it as God's testimony, and accordingly embrace it, and give it place in the heart. Faith is a receiving of the word, Acts ii. 41 ; nay, we must have it ready upon
VeR. 2.j bEKMOKS UPON PSALM CXIX. li)
all occasions. Kational memory belongs to the mind or understanding ; therefore wc keej) the word in our minds when it is ever ready with us. either to check sin, or warn us of our duty, Ps. cxix. 9. Forget- fuluess is an ignorance for the time : Prov. iii. 1, 'My son, forget not my law; and let thine heart keep my commandments.' We should be ready to every good word and work, as occasion is offered to us,
(2.) To keep it in our hearts is to have an affection to it. Keeping the word relates to our chariness and tenderness of it, when we are as chary of the word as a man would be of a precious jewel : Prov. vi. 20, 21, ' My son, keep thy father's commandments ; bind them con- tinually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.' Sometimes it alludes to the apple of the eye : Prov. vii. 2, ' Keep them as the apple of thine eye.' Such tender affections should we have to the tes- timonies of the Lord, as a man has for his eye. The least offence to the eye is troublesome ; a man should be as chary of the commandment as he would be of his eye. Sometimes it implies the similitude of keeping a way : Josh. i. 7, ' Turn not to the right hand or to the left.' A traveller is very careful to keep his way ; so when Ave are thus care- ful, tender, chary of God's commandments and testimonies, this is an argument of a blessed condition. Thus we are to keep it in the heart.