them. And what made them fo? Their outfide was fair; here were reverend postures, high profeffions, much seeming joy and delight in ordinances, "Thou art to them as a lovely fong;' yea, but for all that they kept not their hearts with God in thofe duties, their hearts were commanded by their lufts, they went after their covetousness; had they kept their hearts with God, all had been well; but not regarding which way their hearts went in duty, there lay the core of their hypocrify.

Objection. If any upright foul fhould hence infer, then I am an hypocrite too, for many times my heart departs from God in duty; do what I can, yet I cannot hold it clofe with God.

Solution. To this I anfwer, The very objection carries in it its own folution. Thou fayeft, do what I can, yet I cannot keep my heart with God. Soul, if thou doft what thou canft, thou haft the bleffing of an upright, though God fees good to exercife thee under the affliction of a difcompofed heart. Their remains ftill fome wildness in the thoughts and fancies of the best to humble them; but if you find a care before to prevent them, and oppofition against them when they come, grief and forrow afterwards; you will find enough to clear you from reigning hypocrify.

(1.) This fore-care is feen partly in laying up the word in thine heart to prevent them, Pfal. exix. 11. "Thy word have "I hid in mine heart, that I might not fin against thee:" partly in our endeavours to engage our hearts to God, Jer. xxx. 21. and partly in begging preventing grace from God in our onfets upon duty, Pfal. cxix. 36, 37. it is a good fign where this care goes before a duty.

And, (2.) It is a sweet sign of uprightness to oppose them in their first rife, Pfal. cxix. 113. "I hate vain thoughts," Gal. V. 17. "The spirit lufteth against the flesh."

And, (3.) Thy after-grief discovers thy upright heart. If, with Hezekiah, thou art humbled for the evils of thy heart, thou haft no reason, from those disorders, to queftion the in tegrity of it; but to suffer fin to lodge quietly in the heart, to let thy heart habitually and uncontrolledly wander from God, is a fad, and dangerous symptom indeed.

3. The beauty of our conversation arifes from the heavenly frame, and holy order of our fpirits; there is a fpiritual luftre and beauty in the converfation of faints; "The righteous is « more excellent than his neighbour," they fhine as the lights of the world; but whatever luftre and beauty is in their lives, comes from the excellency of their fpirits; as the candle within puts a luftre upon the lanthorn in which it fhines. It is im

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poffible that a difordered and neglected heart should ever produce well-ordered converfation; and fince (as the text obferves) the ifïues or streams of life flow out of the heart as their fountain, it muft needs follow, that such as the heart is, the life will be: hence Pet. ii. 11, 12. “Abstain from fleshly lufts,---havingyour conversation honeft," or beautiful, as the Greek word imports. So Ifa. lv. 7. "Let the wicked forfake his way, and the "unrighteous man his thoughts." His way notes the course of his life, his thoughts the frame of his heart; and therefore Since the way and courfe of his life flows from his thoughts, or -the frame of his heart, both or neither will be forfaken: the heart is the womb of all actions, these actions are virtually and feminally contained in our thoughts, these thoughts being once made up into affections, are quickly made out into fuitable actions and practices. If the heart be wicked, then, as Chrift faith, Matth. xv. 19. "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, mur❝ders, adulteries," &c. Mark the order; firft wanton, or revengeful thoughts, then unclean, or murderous practices.

And if the heart be holy and spiritual, then, as David speaks, from sweet experience, Pfal. xlv. 1. "My heart is (inditing) "a good matter, I fpeak of things which (I have made), my 66 tongue is as the pen of a ready writer." Here is a life richly beautified with good works, fome ready made; "I will speak "of the things which I have made?" others upon the wheel making, my heart is inditing, but both proceeding from the heavenly frame of his heart.

Put but the heart in frame, and the life will quickly difcover that it is fo. I think it is not very difficult to discern, by the duties and converses of Christians, what frames their spirits are under; take a Chriftian in a good frame, and how serious, heavenly, and profitable, will his converfes 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, Pfal. xxxvii. 30, 31. "The mouth of the righteous fpeaketh wif"dom, and his tongue talketh of judgment, the law of his "God is in his heart."

When the heart is up with God, and full of God, how dexterously and ingenioufly will he wind in fpiritual difcourfe, improving every occafion and advantage to fome heavenly purpofe? Few words run then at the waste spout.

And what else can be the reafon why the discourses and du-
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ties of many Christians are become fo frothy, and unprofitable, their communion both with God, and one another, become as a dry talk, but because their hearts are neglected? Surely this must be the reafon of it, and verily it is an evil greatly to be bewailed; for want of this Chriftian-fellowship, it is become a faplefs thing; fo the attracting beauty that was wont to fhine from the converfations of the faints upon the faces and confciences of the world, (which if it did not allure, and bring them in love with the ways of God; yet at the leaft left a teftimony in their confciences of the excellency of thofe men and their ways) this is in a great measure loft, to the unspeakable detriment of religion,

Time was, when Chriftians did carry it at fuch a rate, shat the world ftood at a gaze at them, as the word gran, 1 Pet. iv. 4. imports. Their life and language were of a different ftrain from others, their tongues difcovered them to be GaliJeans, where-ever they came; but now, fince vain fpeculations, and fruitless controverfies have fo much obtained, and heart-work, practical godliness, fo much neglected among profeffors, the cafe is fadly altered; their difcourfe 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 fee this evil redreffed, and the credit of religion again repaired, till Chriftians fall to their old work; till they ply heart-work clofer: when the falt of heavenly-mindedness is caft into the fpring, the ftreams will run clearer, and fweeter.

4. The comfort of our fouls doth much depend upon the keeping of our hearts; for he that is negligent in attending his own heart, is (ordinarily) a great ftranger to affurance, and the sweet comforts flowing from it.

Indeed, if the Antinomian doctrine were true, which teaches you to reject all marks and figns for the trial of your conditions, telling you it is only the Spirit that immediately affures you, by witneffing your adoption directly without them, then you might be careless of your hearts, yea, ftrangers to them, and yet no strangers to comfort: but fince both scripture and experience do confute this dotage, I hope you will never look for comfort in that unfcriptural way. I deny not but it is the work and office of the Spirit, to affure you, and yet do confidently affirm, that if ever you attain affurance, in the ordinary way wherein God difpenfes it, you must take pains with your own hearts; you may expect your comforts upon eafter terms, but I am mistaken if ever you enjoy them upon

any other: “ Give all diligence, prove yourselves;" this is the fcripture way. I remember Mr Roberts, in his Treatife of the Covenant, tells us, that he knew a Chriftian, who, in the infancy of his Chriftianity, so vehemently panted after the infallible affurance of God's love, that for a long time together he earneftly defired fome voice from heaven, yea, fometimes walking in the folitary fields, earnestly defired fome miraculous voice from the trees and ftones there: this, after many defires and longings, was denied him; but in time a better was afforded in the ordinary way of searching the word, and his own heart. An inftance of the like nature the learned Gerfon gives us of one that was driven by temptation upon the very borders of defperation at last being sweetly settled, and assured, one afked him how he attained it? He anfwered, Non ex nova aliqua revelatione, &c. Not by any extraordinary revelation, but by fubjecting his understanding to the fcriptures, and comparing his own heart with them. The Spirit, indeed, affures by witnelling our adoption; and he witnelleth two ways.

(1.) Objectively, (į. e.) by working thofe graces in our fouls which are the conditions of the promife, and fo 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 difcerned in his effence, but in his operations; and to discern thefe, is to difcern the Spirit; and how thefe fhould be difcerned, without ferious searching, and diligent watching of the heart, I cannot imagine.

(2.) The other way of the Spirit's witnefling is effectively, fie.) by irradiating the foul with a grace-difcovering light, hining upon his own work; and this in order of nature follows the former work; he firft infuses the grace, and then opens the eye of the foul to fee it. Now fince the heart is the subject of that infused grace, even this way of the Spirit's witneffing alfo includes the neceffity of keeping carefully our own hearts: For,

(1.) A neglected heart is fo confufed and dark, that the little grace which is in it, is not ordinarily difcernable: the moft accurate and laborious Chriftians, that take most pains, and spend moft time about their hearts, do yet find it very dif-. ficult to difcover the pure and genuine workings of the Spirit there: how then fhall the Chriftian who is (comparatively) negligent and remifs about heart-work, be ever able to difcover it? Sincerity, which is the quaefitum, the thing fought for, lies in the heart like a fmall piece of gold in the bottom of a river, he that will find it, muft stay till the water is clear, and

fettled, and then he shall fee it sparkling at the bottom. And that the heart may be clear, and fettled, how much pains and. watching, care and diligence, will it cost?

(2.) God doth not usually indulge lazy and negligent fouls with the comforts of affurance; he will not fo much as feem to patronize floth and carleffness; he will give it, but it shall be in his own way: his command hath united our care and comfort together; they are mistaken that think the beautiful child of affurance may be born without pangs: ah, how. many folitary hours have the people of God fpent in heart-examination! how many times have they looked into the word, and then into their hearts? Sometimes they thought they discovered fincerity, and were even ready to draw forth the triumphant conclufion of affurance; then comes a doubt they cannot resolve, and dashes all again: many hopes and fears, doubtings and reasonings, they have had in their own breafts, before they arrived at a comfortable settlement.

To conclude, fuppofe it poffible for a careless Chriftian to attain affurance, yet it is impoffible he should long retain it; for as for those whofe hearts are filled with the joys of affurance; if extraordinary care be not used, it is a thoufand to one if ever they long enjoy it: for a little pride, vanity, careleffnefs, will dafh to pieces all that for which they have been labouring a long time, in many a weary duty. Since, then, the joy of our life, the comfort of our fouls, rifes and falls with our dili gence in this work, keep your hearts with all diligence.

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5. The improvement of our graces depends upon the keeping our hearts; I never knew grace thrive in a negligent and careless foul: the habits and roots of grace are planted in the heart; and the deeper they are radicated there, the more thriv ing and flourishing grace is. In Eph. iii. 17. we read of "being rooted in grace;" grace in the heart is the root of every gracious word in the mouth, and of every holy work in the hand, Pfal. cxvi. 10. 2 Cor. iv. 13. It is true, Chrift is the rootof a Chriftian; but Chrift is origo originans, the originating root; and grace, origo originata, a root originated, planted, and influenced by Chrift; according as this thrives under divine influences, fo the acts of grace are more or less fruitful, or vigorous. Now in a heart not kept with care and diligence, these fructifying influences are ftopt and cut off, multitudes of vanities break in upon it, and devour its ftrength; the heart is, as it were, the pafture, in which multitudes of thoughts are fed every day; a gracious heart diligently kept, feeds many precious thoughts of God in a day, Pfal. cxxxix. 17. "How precious are