1. Ignorance and defect of gifts ; for it is by knowledge all grace comes into the soul: Col. iii. 16, 'Let the word of God dwell in you richly.' When the understanding is fraught with spiritual treasure, when the word of God dwells in us richly, then we have it upon all occasions to help us, we have at home a truth ready, and can call it to mind, either for suppressing of temptation, or encouraging us to duty, or for allaying of such a grief, speaking comfort under such a cross ; otherwise we are lean, dry, and cannot act with that fulness of strength. But —
2. Another thing that straitens the heart is the love of present things. So much as your hearts are enlarged to the flesh, so much they are straitened to the spirit, 2 Cor. vi. 13 ; as what the land loseth the sea gains. By pleasures and by the cai'es of the world your hearts are straitened towards God, they are ' overcharged,' Luke xxi. 34.
3. Sorrow and uncomfortable dejection of spirit, through the fears of God's wrath, or by reason of desertion, when we have a sense of his wrath, and when we can find no effects of his grace. God with- draws, you have not your wonted influences, your wonted answers of prayer : Ps. Ixxvii. 4, ' I am so troubled that I cannot speak.' This locks up the heart, and hinders it in the service of God, that it cannot so freely come and pour out its soul.
4. Great sins work a shyness of God. The faulty child blusheth, and is loath to look his father in the face, when he hath been doing some offence. The Israelites, after they had sinned in the matter of the calf, they stood afar off, and worshipped every man in his tent- door. You lose your freedom by gross sins: 1 John iii. 21, 'If our hearts condemn us not, then irappTjcriav exo/nev, we have confidence towards God ; ' we may come into God's presence without a self- accusing and condemning conscience. You have not this liberty and
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enlargedness of heart towards God when an accusing conscience pur- sues you. When a man hath lost his peace and comfort, he cannot come and tell God all his mind, his temptations, straits, doubts, fears.
5. Unbelief. That is a cau.so of straitening, when it represents God under an ill notion ; as terrible : Lam. iii. 10, ' He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places;' Isa. xxxviii. 13, ' I reckoned till morning, that as a lion so will he break all my bones : from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.' It fills us with misconceits of God, as if he were terrible. When one came tremblingly with a petition to Augustus, What ! said he, art lliou giving a sop, a bit to an elephant? We disguise the majesty of God by our unbelieving thoughts ; we come to him as to a bear and lion that is ready to tear us in pieces, and then we cannot have that cheer- fulness and delight in his service.
6. Pride. We are not humbled, but puffed up, when our heart is enlarged, and abuse the quickening influences of the Lord's grace to feed our pride : Ps. li. 15, ' Open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.' He doth not say, Mine own jn-aise ; then I will discover my gifts, and show Avhat I can do : but, Thy praise. Many beg quickening and enlargement to set off themselves, and ask con- tributions of heaven to supply the devil's service ; or as he that lighted his lamp at the altar that he might go and steal with it. We would put up self as an idol in God's stead, and have help from God that we might make him serve with our iniquities, that we might set off our- selves with honour and esteem in the world. Therefore God with- draws and withholds his hand. These are the causes of straitening.
Use 2. Let us then see if we have this benefit, an enlarged heart, which is so necessary for the keeping God's commandments.
Two things will deceive us : many think they have it <vhen they have it not, and many think they have it not when indeed they have it.
1. Many think they have it when they have it not. Enlargement of gifts differs from enlargement of grace. A ready tongue many have — that depends upon the temper of the body — but not a humble heart. They may take pride and complacency in their own gifts, and yet not delight in communion with God. There are many in the world that have abilities of utterance, and some fanatical joys accom- panying the exercise of it, and yet they have not an unfeigned love to God. Such as are enlarged in point of gifts, it is many times seen in this, that generally in private they are more careless, and they are more in expression than in feeling. The great deceit and counterfeit of grace is parts and common gifts, especially when exercised in holy things, in a spiritual way, and for the good and edification of others. Certainly men have not spiritual enlargement when they still lie under the bondage and dominion of sin ; and so though they may seem to have particular enlargement in some duties, and may be carried on with a great flush of gifts, yet they have not a general enlargement, the yoke is not broken, but still they are the servants of corruption.