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A59550 The government of the thoughts a sermon preach'd before the King and Queen at White-Hall, the 4th of March, being the 2d Sunday in Lent, 1693/4 / by ... John, Lord Arch-bishop of York. Sharp, John, 1645-1714. 1694 (1694) Wing S2977A; ESTC R17053 14,261 18

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The Government of the Thoughts A SERMON PREACH'D before the KING and QUEEN AT WHITE-HALL The 4th of March being the 2d Sunday in LENT 1693 4. PROV iv Ver. 23. Keep thy Heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of Life By the Most Reverend Father in GOD JOHN Lord Arch-bishop Of YORK Publish'd by Their MAJESTIES Especial Command LONDON Printed and Sold by Hen. Hills in Black-Fryars near the Water-side for the Benefit of the Poor PROV IV. Ver. 23. Keep thy Heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of Life THE Argument with which this Audience was entertained the last Lord's Day being the Government of the Tongue I cannot think it improper or unseasonable for me who have the Honour to come next to treat labour the Government of the Thoughts there being a near relation between these two and a necessary dependance of the one upon the other Our Words indeed are more easily governed than our Thoughts because they are more in our Power But it will be impossible either to govern our Words or our Actions as we should unless we first bring our Thought in some measure under Government I must confess this Argument of the Government of the Thoughts tho' it be a very useful yet it seems also a very nice and difficult one through the great variety of Cases arising from Mens different Tempers which will not come under the same Rules and yet ought to be provided for But however this shall not discourage me from undertaking this Argument it shall only make me more carefull as to what I say about it That is to have respect as much as I can to all sorts of Tempers and to deliver what I have to say with so much Plainness that every-body may go along with me The Words upon which I ground my Discourse are those of Solomon which I have read unto you and which contain one of those Precepts that he lays down for the Religious Conduct of our Lives Keep says he thy Heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of Life Not to trouble you with what others have said upon this Text I take the true Meaning of it to be this By the Heart here which we are exhorted to keep we are to understand the Inward Thoughts and Motions and Affections of our Souls or Spirits all which in the inspired Writings are constantly said to be seated in the Heart This undoubtedly is the Scripture Notion of the Heart And when we are here bid to keep our Hearts with all diligence I think there is no question to be made the Meaning is That we should diligently attend to the Thoughts and Motions and Affections of our Minds that we should watch them narrowly lest at any time we should give our Consent to something we ought not This is the Meaning of Keeping our Hearts with all diligence And then a Reason is added why it concerns us thus to keep them And that is this Because out of the Heart are the issues of Life What is the Meaning of that Phrase Plainly this The Issues the Fruits the Effects hat are shewn in our Lives and Conversation do certainly proceed from he Heart and therefore accordingly as that is well or ill guarded or kept so will our Lives and Conversations be The Goodness or Badness of our Lives doth altogether depend upon the Attending or not Attending to the Thoughts and Motions and Inclinations of our Minds As our Caution and Watchfulness in this Point is greater or less so will our Course of Life be better or worse And therefore it concerns us all that mean to live well to be infinitely careful in this Matter This is a plain Account of the Advice that is here given us So that you see if I mean to discourse pertinently to my Text my Argument must be what I said the Care and Management and Government of our Thoughts as they fall under a Religious Consideration In treating of this Argument there seem to me Two Things needful to be done First To give an Account what Power a Man hath over his own Thoughts Secondly To shew wherein the Art of Governing of them doth consist It is indeed this Second Thing which my Text naturally leads me to speak to But I cannot speak to that to any purpose till I have made way for it by clearing the First It is in vain to give Rules about the Government of our Thoughts till we know how far we have Power over them how far they fall or do not fall under our Conduct and Management And I must needs say that most of those I have met with that have discourse about the Government of Thoughts by not enquiring into and setling this Point have been so far from benefiting all their Hearers that desired to receive Benefit by their good Advices that to several of 'em they have done harm because as to them their Advices have been perfectly unpracticable Now those that by their own Experience found them to be so instead of considering that that Teacher might be in a mistake or that he did not sufficiently weigh and examine the Case of all Persons be gave his Advice to have peremptorily concluded that they themselves were in the fault and therefore they were in an evil Condition because they found themselves not able to live up to what was advised them The First Question then is How far a Man hath power over his own Thoughts There is not indeed any single Answer to be given to this Question that will fit all Men. For that is impossible It would be as unreasonable to demand it as it would be to require of a Workman to make a Garment that should fit all sorts and sizes of Men. Some Men by the very Principles of their Make and Constitution are much better able to govern their Thoughts than others Some that are naturally weaker have by long use and many tryals obtained a greater power over their Thoughts than others Again the same Persons that at some times have a greater power over the motions of their Minds may at other times have a less command over them and this according to their Health or their Business or a hundred Contingencies of outward things do affect them So that all that can be done as to this matter is to lay down some general Propositions which every-body is to apply to himself as there is Occasion And Five of this kind I have to offer and which I think will take in all or the greatest part of what belongs to this Argument The First Proposition I lay down is this That the first motions of our Minds are very little if at all in our power By the First motions of our Minds I mean those sudden Thoughts or Apprehensions or Passions or Desires which are excited in our Minds by any Object that is at that time presented to our Imagination As to these I say we are not so much Masters of our
the Portions of his Time as much as is possible may be filled with some useful or at least some innocent Imployment It is Idleness and having nothing to do that is the Mother of most of those vain and unprofitable and sinful Fancies in which some Men spend their days And whereas Temptations do now and then come in the way of other Men the Idle Man is forced to seek out Temptations for the Shipwrack of his Vertue And therefore no wonder if he that seeks them finds abundance of them And truly Loose and Impertinent Conversation which was the other thing I named tho' it looks something with a better Grace yet is not much better than Idleness For where-ever it is much used it will so emasculate a Man's Mind and take off the edge and vigour of it as to serious things that he cannot easily get it into a good Frame again Evil Communication saith St. Paul doth corrupt good Manners And therefore those People a great part of whose Life is taken up in gadding up and down in Play in merry Meetings in telling or hearing idle Stories and the like It is impossible but their Thoughts and Inclinations and the whole Frame of their Hearts will be suitable that is to say very frothy very light and foolish not to say prophane and wicked and Atheistical too if the Company they much converse with be of that strain Thirdly Another thing of great moment for the Keeping our Hearts is to be as attentive as is possible to the First Motions of our Minds and whenever we find that they tend toward something that is forbidden to stop them as soon as we can We cannot as I told you before often prevent irregular Desires or Passions or Inclinations from arising in our Minds upon sundry occasions But this we can do As soon as we are aware of them we can refuse our Consent to them and in that case I hope they will not be imputed to us as Sins Nay not only so but we can refuse their breaking out or shewing themselves in our Words or our Actions For the motions of our outward Members are all at our command tho' the first motions of our Minds be not Here therefore will lye a main Point in the Art of well-governing our Minds and Thoughts You cannot perhaps for Instance prevent a sudden Passion of Anger from rising in your Minds upon Twenty Accidents But as soon as you feel this Passion you can thus far stifle it you can seal up your mouth so that the Passion shall not vent it self in unseemly words And if you will withdraw that fuel from the new-kindled Fire it will soon be extinguished and die Whereas if you suffer it to break out in bitter Speeches and Expressions it will flame beyond measure Thus again If any undecent impure Fancies or Desires should be excited in you upon any occasion It was not perhaps in your power to keep them from coming into your Minds but it is in your power to withdraw from the Temptation that caused them and to endeavour to direct your Thoughts to some other Object at least not to proceed one step in any outward Action towards the Accomplishing of those Desires If you take this Course the Disturbance of your Mind will soon cease and you will return presently to your ordinary Temper And let me tell you this further That by your being thus careful to resist and smother the first beginnings of Sin you will not only preserve in a great measure the Innocency of your Minds under the present Temptation but you will also have this farther advantage that by this means you increase your Power over your Thoughts against the next time that the Temptation returns Every check you give to the first motion of Sin makes the next assault of them the less furious And if you do constantly use your thus to Guard and Watch over your Hearts you will in time obtain such a Command over them that you will not be troubled with a quarter of those irregular Desires and Passions which heretofore upon several occasions used to be kindled in you By this Method you will strengthen your Faculties and enlarge your Powers and by degrees bring your to that happy Temper of Soul that there will be no great War between the Law of your Members and the Law of your Minds But the World and the Flesh will be Crucified to you as you are to them that I may use St. Paul's Expressions But then Fourthly That you may be able not only to keep bad Thoughts out of your Minds but also to have a constant spring of good ones there are some particular Exercises very proper for this purpose to be recommended Such I mean as these Converse with discreet and pious Persons who read good Book especially the Holy Scriptures taking times of Meditation and Recollection and above all Fervent and Constant Prayer to GOD. It is not to be told how every one of these things doth help to inspire us with good Thoughts and Purposes A little Passage now and then tho' but occasionally dropt in a Conversation that is to the business of Vertue and Goodness will supply us some times with Matter for good Thoughts for a considerable while after What lasting Impressions then do ye think would be left upon our Minds if we made it our constant Exercise every day to read or hear something out of the Bible or some other Good Book with a design to grow Better thereby But above all things we must take care to be diligent and serious in our Applications to the Throne of Grace It is hearty Prayer and Devotion that when all is done will prove the most Effectual Means for the keeping ourt Hearts steady to that which is Good and securing them from the pollutions of the sensible Earthly Objects that do surround us O therefore let us be constant in our Religious Offices Nay let us take every Opportunity that our Affairs will allow us of raising our Minds to GOD and thanking him for his Infinite Love and Goodness to us and imploring the continual Influences of his Grace and Holy Spirit and re-inforcing our Vows and Purposes of persevering in his Service By this means we shall come to lead Spiritual Lives indeed Our Souls will be a perpetual Fountain of Good Thoughts And while we live here our Conversation will be in Heaven For GOD and Christ and the things above will have our Hearts tho' the World hath our Bodies But then in the Fifth and Last Place Notwithstanding what I have hitherto said concerning the Diligence with which we are to keep our Hearts yet this is always to be remembered That with our Diligence we must be careful to joyn Discretion My Meaning is this We must have a care not to intend our Thoughts immoderately and more than our Tempers will bear even to the best things But we must so keep our Hearts as at the same time to preserve our