" The world wo.s void, The populous nnd the powerful ,n1.s o. lump, Sensonless, herbless, treeless, mnnless, lifeless- A lump of death-a chaos of hard clo.y. The rivers, lakes, o.nd ocean nil stood still, And nothing Htirred within their silent depths; Ships sailorless lay rotting on the sea, And their masts fell down piecemeal : 11s they dropped They slept on the abyss without a surge- The waves were dead; tho tides were in their grnve, The moon, their mistress, had expired before; The winds were withered in the stngnnnt nir, And U10 clouds perished ; D11rkness had no need Of aid from them-she was the Universe."
Ver. 23.-0n guard. I. WnAT IS TO BE KEPT, The heart. In the Bible tho PROVERBS, B 98 THE PRO.VERBS, [oH, IV, 1-27.
"heart" represents what we call the "head" as well as the affections and conscience to which we confine th(l word "heart;" i.e. it stands for the whole inner nature, the life cf thought, feeling, and will. This is the "Town of Man&0ul," and it has the various· constituents of a towu. 1. Entrance gates. 'l'he soul is always receiving thoughts and impulses from without. It is important to see that no adulterated article, no poison, no subject of infectious <lisease comes in. Debased, false, aud immoral impressions must be warded off. 2. Ways of e:cit. 'l'he broad river bears on her bosom argosies from the busy city to many a distant port. Let us see that the cargo _is of good wares, m good measure, honestly realizing professions, containing no injurious things. Some hearts export only sham products, some deadly poisons. Deeds, words,· even smiles. and glances carrying thought and influences out of the soul must be carefully guarded. 3. Internal thoroughfar_es. The town is a network of streets and passages. Busy thoughts run to and fro m the heart. Let the traffic be orderly, the road well pi:eserved, lest pure thoughts should be smirched with the mire of an unwholesome mental habit. 4. Storehouses. Memory has her treasuries, warehouses, granaries. Let us see that they are not crowded with rubbish, left in disorder, made fever-nests by the corruption of any unhealthy contents. Nourishing truths and beautiful ideas should stock t)lem. 5. Factories. In the heart we weave fine webs 9f fancy-see that the pattern has .the beauty of holiness; there, too, we forge great engines for future work-see that ~hey are constructed on safe and serviceable principles.· 6 .. Halls of amusement. Let them be places of recreation, not of dissipation. 7. Shrines 'for :worsli'ip. See t)lat no idol takes the place of the true God, no hypocrisy' 'does service. for tl\.e incense of spiritual prayer and praise. 8. Graveyards of dead hopes and loves; keep them b'eau'tiful with flowers of tender memory. Are there also grayes of de\ld sills? Pla~t. weeping willows 1 of penitence over them. . • •• • •. • ll. WHY IT IS TO BE KEPT. 1. For its oipn sake. The heart-'~ 'tbe' centre of the life ; the soul is the true being, the self. .To care for the health of the body ~bile the soul is diseased and dying in 5in.is like sending for'the bwlder .to.repair the house; but leaving the sick inmate to perish without attention. "What shall it profit a ma.n if be gain the whole world and lose his own soul "-life; heart? 2. For its fruits. "OU:t of it are the issues of life." In proportion as the heart is vigorous or feeble, healthy or diseased, all the organs of the body work well or ill. Take care of the heart first, cultivate right principles, see that. the affections are set on things above, and then the practice of the details of morals will· follow almost as a matter of course. 'It i~ a mistake to put·casuistry in the forefront of moral teaching. The result of doing so is' to weaken conscience, to confuse the sense of right and wrong. Let the coliditioil of the heart be the first concern; see that truth, justice, purity, charity, are enshrined there. Let the love of God and the love of man be well cultivated, and the spiritual directory will be greatly simplified. But it is not even enough' to cultivate right prin- ciples. Deeper than these is the life. Below the particular actions come general principles; beneath these lie the character, the life, the heart of all. The fundamenta•. requisite is not to do this or that deed, nor to cherish one or another principle, but to possess the life eternal in the heart, out of which pure blood will flow through main arteries of principles to the most remote and minute and intricate capillaries of conduct. III. How IT 1s TO BE KEPT. 1. Pure. Let us see that the heart above all thiugs is cleansed from sin and kept holy. We cannot do this for ourselves. But we can go to the fountain that is opened for uncleanness, and there wash and be clean. The blood of Ch1ist, which cleanses from all sin, not only removes guilt, but purges out the corrup- tion and power of evil By faith in Christ and the indwelling of the Divine Spirit that is a consequence of faith, the heart can be cleansed and preserved in purity. 2. True. The Christian is to be a servant of God. Let him be loyal-frank, too, and ingenuous and simple. 3. Tender. One has well said that we want "tough skins and tender hearts." There is much in the world to harden them. Let us seek to have them soft to receive Divine influences and to feel human compassiona. _The heart must be kept, not as a prisoner under hard restraint, nor like the jewels at the Tower, in usrless seclusion; but like a garden, well weeded, but also sown with good seed and bearing fruit Hnd flowers. Keep the heart thus by watchfulness, by self-control (the New Teiltament "temperance"), by prayer, above all by cntrustiog it to thu kcopipg cf OH, IV, 1-27.] THE PROVERBS. 99