man love Sodom that lay in wickedness the world is a Sodom that lyes in wickedness Solomon tells you 'T is vanity and vexation of Spirit and will you love vanity and vexation of Spirit and in the next verse to the Text saith he All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life and these are not of the Father but of the world All these strengthen our lusts and the more our lusts are strengthened the more grace is hindered and the worle we grow but let not the painted bravery of the world deceive and cheat you what is there in an estite in power c. men have strange apprehensions of these things but see what John saith The fashion of this world passeth away it 's all a shew a Scheme there 's no substance in it That men have low thoughts of that they never dote upon If a woman have low thoughts of a man she will never love him the lower thoughts you have the looser will your love be what 's this world e're long it will be turned to ashes and will you love ashes Ephraim feeds upon ashes and upon the wind vain things vain worship and traditions and inventions of men and things of this nature men and women feed upon ashes poor low things well judge lowly of the world and account not highly of the world nor any thing in the world for it 's a world that lyes in wickedness a world that is evil The more you do ponder upon these things the more will your hearts be taken off Secondly If you would not love the world take pains with your own hearts mortifie your lusts mortifie the lusts that are in your hearts 't is our lusts make us love the world 't is from the wisdom of the flesh that men do love the world and the things of the world in Prov. 23.4 Labour not to be Rich why cease from thine own wisdom saith he 't is thine own wisdom 't is but the wisdom of thy flesh and of thy corrupt nature that thou wouldest be rich Labour not to 〈◊〉 rich cease from thine own wisdom and the wisdom of the flesh is enmity to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now in the 13 v. If ye live after the flesh ye shall dye but if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live Mortifie these Iusts our lusts are deceitful things unruly things they are craving things and they have their pretences Do but hearken to me in this one thing and if you would but hearken to me now I will trouble you no more but if you do they will come again and again and never have done therefore the best way for us is to mortifie our lusts and if we would do so we should not love the world From whence come wars and fightings among you come they not hence even of your lusts that war in your members ye lust and have not ye kill and desire to have and cannot obtain ye fight and war yet ye have not because ye ask not ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss that you may consume it upon your lusts Your lusts will set a praying to have the world to have honour and power and riches and you have them not but now if our lusts were mortified all these things would be at an end presently but we seek to gratifie our lasts and they undo us Thirdly If we would not love the world nor the things of the world then let us look much at the other world there is another world Heb. 2.5 For unto the Angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come There is a world to come and that world 's a better world than this world for in the 11 ch 16 v. But now they desire a better countrey that is an heavenly Abraham and Isaac and the Prophets they look'd at a better countrey there 's a better world above better things above then are here in this world And if so be we would look at that world the glory of it the riches of it the pleasures of it the company of it the latitude of it we should soon bid farewel to this world and look upon it as a dream a shadow a picture as nothing 2 Cor. 4. last While we look not at things which are seen but at things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal There are things not seen eternal things eternal riches the eternal God the Lord Jesus glorious Angels the Saints at one Rivers of pleasure at the right hand of God look at these things and then your hearts will be taken off of this world Fourthly If we would get our hearts off from the world which is a thing very necessary then keep your hearts with all diligence look as narrowly to thy heart as to thy eyes to the meat thou eatest to thy life keep it with all diligence look to your affections and let them not rove and wander up and down in the world and range here and there look to your fear many are afraid of poverty and afraid they shall not have to live and pay every man his own and so are filled with fears that they shall want but Matth. 6.26 saith Christ Take no thought for your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink nor yet for your body what ye shall put on is not the life more than meat and the body than rayment Behold the fowls of the air for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly father feedeth them are ye not much better than they poor creatures dont fear saith he dont fear want and poverty and that ye shall not have meat and drink and cloaths the fowls of the air are never afraid they have no body to look after them you feed your tame fowls indeed but who provides for the wild-fowls God provides for them look well to your fear now that makes men love the world and scrape and rave that they might have meat and drink and clothes So look well to your love that you take complacency in no creature whatsoever but love the Lord take complacency in God and Christ you know what Christ saith Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy soul with all thy strength c. Now if God have all what shall the creature have But the creatures have all and God hath little or nothing here 's a great failing yet here 's all put four times with all thy soul with all thy strength c. God should have all and the creatures have little or none So look well to your desires men are desiring O that I had this or that but thou shalt not covet saith God be content with what thou hast we should not covet any thing of the world but follow our
are perishing things but thy testimonies indure for ever The second request he makes concerning his heart is in the words I have read O Lord let my heart be sound in thy Statutes In which words you have first David's request Let my heart be sound in thy Statutes Secondly the end or the reason why he would have it so That I be not ashamed Let my heart he dont say let my Head be sound in thy Statutes but my Heart By heart he dont mean the fleshy part that is within man for so heart is sometimes taken in Scripture but he means by heart his Soul the principal part of man and so it 's taken in the 23. Prov. My Son give me thine heart that is give We thy Soul thy reason understanding judgment will and affections I call not for thy Body I call not for thy Flesh but I must have thy Spirit I I must have thy soul The soul is express'd here by heart because the soul doth act principally in the heart Let my heart be sound 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Hebrew word First Let my heart be perfect with thee and not divided and so it is opposite to division mens hearts are divided between God and the world Ephraim had a divided heart Secondly Let my heart be upright for so the word bears it too and so it 's opposed to Hypocrisie let my heart â—e upright and sincere and not hypocritical Thirdly Let my heart be undefiled so the word is rendred in the â— v. of this Psalm and so it 's opposed to pollution defiledness Let my heart be undefiled pure clean spotless free from Sin Fourthly Let my heart be sound having nothing but truth in it and so it 's opposed to all errors whatsoever so you have it in Tit. 2.2 Let the aged men be sober grave temperate sound in the Faith men are sound in the Faith when their hearts and ears are open to no error no corrupt opinions no false tenents no winds of Doctrine to nothing of Man nothing of Satan nothing of the world let my heart be sound in thy Statutes let not my heart have any errors in it any false Tenents in it any dangerous opinions in it but let my heart be sound in thy Statutes In thy Statutes In this Psalm you have mention of Laws Commands Precepts Testimonies Ordinances and Statutes divers appellations but noting the same thing Thy Statutes that is the appointments of God what God doth appoint to be the rule for our thoughts affections words worship and wayes what he appoints men to do those are his Statutes They are Statutes because determined of God to be standing rules for all men to conform unto and the Laws and Statutes of Nations and Kingdoms should be conformable to them Stata via 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Stabile Now saith David let my heart be sound in thy Statutes the words thus opened will yield us some points to treat on Obs 1. First That a gracious heart is a jealous heart Let my heart be sound in thy Statutes I am jealous of my heart 2. That the heart is especially to be look'd after Let my heart O let my heart my eye is upon my heart 3. That it is the desire of Saints and gracious ones to have sound hearts O Let my heart be sound in thy Statutes 4. That an unsound heart will one time or other make a man ashamed Let my heart be sound in thy Statutes That I be not ashamed If the heart be unsound it will appear it will break out It will be discovered and tend to your shame Doct. 1. First a gracious heart is a jealous heart saith David O let my heart be sound in thy Statutes I have a jealousie of my heart that 't is not sound and I would not be deceived here O let my heart be sound That a gracious heart is a jealous heart you may see it in the 47. Psal 6. v. I call to remembrance my Song in the night I commune with mine own heart and my Spirit made diligent Search I Commune with my heart and I make search and diligent search to see whether my heart be sound or no so in the 139 Psal 23.24 Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my Thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting Truly Lord saith he I am Jealous of my heart I am afraid of my heart I have been searching and trying of it and I am afraid there is some way of wickedness in my heart I am afraid it will deceive me and bring me to shame one day why Lord do thou search me and try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way that I cannot find out and Lord discover it to me and if there be any evil in me do not leave me to my own heart but Lord lead me in the way everlasting Thus the Church in the 3. Lam. 40 41. Let us search and try our wayes and turn again to the Lord let us lift up our hearts with our hands unto God in the heavens O come God is angry and hath corrected us severely our hearts have not been right with God let us search and try our wayes and turn again to the Lord we have gone aside and we were not aware of it our hearts have deceived us come come let us lift up our hearts to God he hath not our hearts yet Now this Jealousie that a holy man hath of his heart is a Godly jealousie not a wicked naughty jealousie but a Godly jealousie there is a Godly jealousie over others and over a mans self 2 Cor. 11.2 1 Cor. 9.27 Qu. Now it may be ask'd of what is he jealous in his own heart An. First he is jealous least the change which he hopes is in his heart should not be thorough he is afraid 't is not a thorough change he remembers he hath heard in Scripture that one may be almost a Christian and yet not altogether a Christian as Felix said Thou hast perswaded me almost to become a Christian I but he was not a Christian he remembers and considers Ephraim was a Cake half bak'd not thorough bak'd he considers the young man in the Gospel was not far from the Kingdom of Heaven but not in the Kingdom of Heaven Now he is jealous of himself in regard of his change there must be a change in a man that is Godly a thorough change an universal change now he hath a Godly jealousie of himself least he should not be thoroughly changed Secondly he is jealous from what principle he now acts act he doth but he is jealous least he doth not act from a right principle whether he act from the Spirit of God within from the Divine nature within him Or whether he do act from reason from affection from nature from custom what principle he acts by he is jealous of he hath a Godly
formal with God And so for men I must carry my self so towards them as I may have approbation of God Thirdly It advantages you upon this account that it will put you on to make out your jealousies and to bring you to certainties and reallities hath a man a jealousie I am afraid my grace is not right that my ends are not right Now when a man is awake and sees his errour he corrects it when a man hath a Godly jealousie and sees that there is some ground of questioning then he will make it out and bring it to an issue as when a man hath a crack'd title saith he I will go ask Counsel he cannot sleep nor be quiet till he be certified herein if a man have a good Bargain or a good Match offered and he hath a jealousie about them he will labour to make things sure when you have a jealousie your Children are not well you will carry their state to the Physician that you may be out of doubt and you will order things so that they may come to a healthiness so in the Soul when there be jealousies concerning your union with Christ and interest in God and the like it puts you on to cleer up things to your own Souls Fourthly It is the way to prevent carnal confidences which men are apt unto men and women are apt to have carnal confidence in themselves to trust upon some arm of flesh or other to rest upon this or that but now where there are Godly jealousies of a mans self or of his heart it will prevent carnal confidences Phil. 3.3 But we are the Circumcision which worship God in the Spirit and rejoyce in Christ and have no confidence in the flesh why Paul had a holy jealousie of his heart and saith he we are the Circumcision which worship God in the Spirit we look to our Spirits and rejoyce in Christ and have no confidence in the flesh Those have not this jealousie over their hearts will have confidence in the flesh they will rest and settle upon something which they should not 1. First is a gracious heart a jealous heart then here you are informed what to think of those that do commend their hearts and say they have good hearts good meanings good soul's and all 's well with them This is a common practice in the world a common sickness among ignorant and carnal professors they have good hearts though they cannot speak so well as others nor do as they do yet they have as good hearts as any of them all well hast thou nothing to commend the goodness of thy heart but thy saying so thy very saying so is a clear demonstration that thy heart is not good for if thou wert gracious thou wouldest be more jealous of thy heart than any thing else in the world knowing that the heart is desperately wicked thou hast a good heart though thou hast a narghty tongue a naughty life The tongue of the righteous is choice Silver but the heart of the wicked is little worth a wicked man hath a wicked heart and it 's worth little worth nothing at all Secondly Is a gracious heart a jealous heart then let us learn not to be conceited of our own hearts or to presume with confidence in our hearts people are too apt to do this but what saith the Scripture Prov. 28.26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a Fool but who so walketh wisely he shall be delivered from that evil A man that 's wise he is jealous over his own heart and he shall be delivered from trusting in his own heart The Scripture saith Be not high minded but fear Rom. 11.20 Well because of unbelief they were broken off and thou standest by faith be not high minded but fear Hast thou faith and art thou not then deceived in thy faith Is it true faith yet be not high minded but fear don't conceit too well of thy self and think well the Jews are cast out and I that was a Gentile am taken in well be it so yet be not high minded but fear Fear be jealous over thy heart be jealous over thy self be not confident so in the 1. Pet. 1.17 Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear have a holy jealousie over your selves be not too confident be not presumptuous do not conce it such and such things of your selves but pass the time of your sojurning here in fear I shall come now unto the next point Let my heart be sound in thy Statutes 2. Obs Observe hence that the chief care of a good man or a gracious man is about his heart O let my heart let my soul be sound in thy Statutes A good man hath a care of his eye a care of his ear a care of his lips and care of his hands a care of his feet a care of his family a care of his estate a care of his name I but his chief care is about his heart Let my heart my soul let that be right whatsoever becomes of all the rest so in the 36. v. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies and in Psal 41.4 I said Lord be merciful unto me heâ—l my Soul for I have sinned against thee O my soul Lord heal my soul he prays for his soul So in Psal 51. v. 10. Create in me a clean heart O God and renew in me a right Spirit his heart his spirit that 's the thing he principally looks at and hath chiefly a care of so that a Godly man his chiefest care is about his heart about his soul about his spirit But what 's the reason that a good man his principal care is concerning his heart and soul There be many reasons for it 1. First because the heart the spirit the soul of a man is the work of God and committed unto his keeping by God In Heb. 12. it 's said God is the Father of Spirits The body is from your Parents but the soul is from God and God commits your souls your hearts to your keeping keep saith Paul to Timothy that good thing which is committed to thee it 's true of the spirit or soul which is created of God and committed by him unto your keeping Now saith a gracious man or woman I must be faithful God hath created this heart my soul is Gods creature and God hath committed it unto me and shall I be unfaithful and not keep what God hath committed to me The Child that 's committed to the Nurse she will have a special care of it why it's committed to her trust so your souls and your spirits are the Lords and are committed to your trust and saith a gracious soul I must have a special care of it Secondly The heart spirit and soul of a man is very precious of great worth a man values his hand at a great rate he would not part with his hand for a great deal of money A man values his ear his eye and every Limb of his body
at a great rate but he values his life above them all he will part with an hand an eye an ear a leg for his life I but a man will let go his life rather than loose his soul the Martyrs did so they would part with their lives to save their souls and that shews of what value and how precious the soul is Math. 16.26 What is a man profited if hoshall gain the whole world and loose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul What is a man profited if he get all the world there 's riches enough in the world but what if I had it all and lose my soul What 's all this in recompence of a mans soul No it 's nothing to his soul so that the soul is of great price and worth and a Godly man knows how to prize his soul your principal care is over things that are precious if you have a Jewel in the house or any old Gold or any thing given you by a Friend of value you prize it at a great rate and will have a special care of that whatever you have of other things The soul is precious and therefore a Godly mans chief care is about that Thirdly A Godly man's principal care is about his heart and soul because that is the Treasury or Magazine of all his spiritual wealth and riches for where your wealth and riches are layd up you will be â—â—re to have a care of that place Now the soul I say is the Treasury and Magazine of all your spiritual Riches in this 119. Psal 11. Thy word have I bid in my heart the Word of God is very precious more than thousands of Gold and Silver now Thy word have I hid in my heart that 's the treasury of God's word and in Jer. and so in the 8. Heb. I will write my Law in their heartâ— saith God and in the 4. Psal Thou hast put gladness in my heart spiritual joy is in the hearâ— that 's the treasury Christ also is said to dwell in the heart by Faith Eph. 3.17 There 's a treasure there 's riches Christ with his fulness Christ with his graces dwells in the heart Christ with his Merits Christ with his righteousness and excellencies is there yea God himself dwells in the heart in the 57. of Isa I dwell in the high and hoâ—y place with him also that is of a contrite and humble Spirit c. I dwell saith God in the heart in the spirit of a broken and a contrite one So that the heart is the Store-house the Magazine where all spiritual wealth is where God is where Christ is where Grace is where Joy and Gladness is where peace that passes understanding is Now a Godly man hath a special care of his heart because there 's special riches the riches of Heaven the riches of the Gospel Fourthly He hath a special care of his heart because it is the Shop wherein all things are contriv'd hatch'd and wrought be they good or evil saith Christ in Mat. 15. Out of the heart comes evil Thoughts Lusts Murders and Adulteries In the heart are they form'd fram'd and wrought Now a good man he hath Corruption and Grace in his heart he hath Flesh and Spirit in his heart and the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit lusteth against the flesh so that he hath a special eye now and care of his heart to observe what workings are in his heart whether the old Adam be at work whether Corruption be at work whether Grace be at work whether the Spirit be at work what workings are in his Soul he looks unto that Fifthly His principal care is of his heart because the heart is the seat of the affections as it 's said of us that in God we live and move and have our being so in the heart in the soul our affections live and move and have their being And the affections are nimble mercurial things that do labour to get out and if they get wings they will sly and fly far now a Godly man hath a special eye and special care of his heart because there are such active things in it as his affections you know in your Ships you will have a special care of the Powder Room for if a spark of fire get in there there 's danger so a Godly man he looks to his affections least they be fir'd and mount up too high or least they be too low too dull and flat they are the pulses of the soul and they beat sometimes too high and sometimes too low they are the feet of the soul Eccles 5.1 Take heed to thy foot when thou goest to the house of God i. e. affections they are the feet of the soul and the wings of the soul and a good man looks well to his feet and to his wings he looks well to his affections because they being in the soul may exceedingly advantage or exceedingly prejudice it Therefore his eye is upon them Sixthly A Godly man hath a special care of his heart because of the many distempers and diseases it is subject unto because of the many worms and weeds that are apt to grow and breed therein The heart is subject to a thousand distempers a thousand diseases o what strange creatures breed there what Vermin gender there what weeds grow there The heart of man is the Garden of God and all sorts of worms and weeds grow there there will be deadness dulness unbelief pride passion worldliness filthiness revengefulness and other distempers without number A Godly man therefore hath a principal care of his heart O my heart 's dead my heart 's dull my heart 's out of frame my heart 's envious my heart 's malicious my heart is revengeful my heart is running after this or that if you have one in your Family that 's subject to the Megrim to the Falling sickness to the Palsey himself will be very careful and others will be careful why a man's heart is subject to all manner of distempers and all manner of worms and vermin are subject to creep in there all Devils in hell are seeking to get in there therefore he hath a special care of his heart Seventhly The heart of man is in eminent danger of being stolen from him of being lost and therefore a Godly man looks well to his heart he would not have it stolen from him he would not lose it Hos 4.11 Whordome Wine and new Wine had stolen away their hearts and in Mat. 16.26 what will it profit a man to win the whole world and lose his soul he is in danger of losing it the creatures are sly things and would steal away thy heart steal it from God's service steal it from doing its duty draw it aside from God do not you find it when you are reading praying hearing or conversing of good things how soon your heart is stolen away and drawn aside therefore a Godly man hath
I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which was good in thy sight I have walked before thee with a perfect heart a sound heart an upright heart an undivided heart And have done that which is good in thy sight that heart which is sound cannot sit still cannot imprison truth in unrighteousness cannot be negligent Christ who had soundness of heart went up and down doing good So then you see wherein this soundness of heart lyes Q. Why is a good man so earnest for soundness of heart An. First because all he doth be it never so much comes to nothing if his heart be not sound saith a good man I shall lose all if my heart be not sound If my heart be not sound and free from false principles if my heart be not sound if it be not healthy and free from guilt and sickness of sin if my heart be not free from dividedness perfect with God if my heart be not so and so that I have soundness if I be not sincere but hypocritical and the like all I do is nothing Pray Hear Preach give to the Poor do what you will all your service falls to the ground it never is accepted of God in Heb. 11.6 saith the Apostle Without faith it is impossible to please God for he that cometh unto God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him without faith 't is impossible to please God why if your faith be not real faith if it be not true faith but a faith of your own making if it be not a faith wrought by the word and spirit a faith of the operation of God Coloss 2. you will never please God whatever you do you must have a faith will purifie your hearts and unite your hearts to God and not suffer them to be divided a faith that will carry you to God with the whole heart otherwise you please not God and so your hope must be so and your love must be so they must be real so also the obedience that pleases God is the obedience of faith Rom. 16. latter end do what you will if you be not right principled if you have not truth of grace if your hearts be not united to God if you be not free from hypocrisie and sincere all falls to the ground and is rejected of God all you do is nothing but is like what Simon Magus did Acts 8.13 Then Simon himself believed also Mark he had a faith such as most people have And when he was baptised he continued with Philip and wondered beholding the miracles and signs which were done he continued with Philip he was in a Church State now see what he saith because his principles were not right When Simon saw that through laying on of the Apostles hands the holy Ghost was given he offered them money saying give me also this power that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost but Peter said unto him thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money O thou hast a wretched principle thou hast a rotten heart it is not right in the sight of God what 's thy believing now Simon what 's thy baptizing now what 's all thou hast done So say I what 's your faith and your baptism and your obedience and serving of God if your hearts are not right Ananias and Saphira sell their estate and bring it and lay it down at the feet of the Apostles I but their hearts were not right and therefore you know how it went with them all you do is but as a woman that brings forth a dead Child without a soul which is not acceptable to Father Mother or any present 'T is like Chaff without Corn Bones without Marrow Bottels without Wine Breasts without Milk God regards not any thing you do it is not acceptable it falls to the ground it comes to nothing if your hearts are not sound and upright and that 's the first reason why a Godly soul is so earnest to have its heart sound Secondly Hereby you shall discourage and disappoint the Devil the Devil seldom prevails where there is soundness of heart Job you know was a man that feared God and eschewed evil a perfect man The very word that is here in my Text and could the Devil prevail with him God le ts loose the Devil and gives him more power over Job than ever we read he had over any other man and could the Devil prevail against Job No he was a sound hearted man and he could not prevail Job wearied out the Devil he did strike him in his Servants and Cattel and Children and in his body and by his Friends and by his Wife he tempts him yet nothing could do why here was a sound hearted man and when a man is sound hearted he will not stand parlying with the Devil but he will resist the Devil he shuts the door presently and turns his back upon him he brings forth the Shield of Faith and quenches his fiery Darts he brings forth the Scripture It 's written Satan he resists the Devil and he flyes but if thou be sickly or faint hearted he will make thee flye or fall but a sound hearted man resists the Devil and makes him flye and so the Devil is discouraged and disappointed Thirdly Because such a heart will be a support to a man in any condition in the worst of conditions if you look into the 14 Pro. 20. A sound heart is the life of the flesh The Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the lives of the flesh a man that hath a sound heart sound in a spiritual sence that soundness of his heart is the lives of his flesh his flesh may have many deaths many diseases many temptations and discouragements many hard things to encounter with yet the soundness of the heart is the lives of the flesh a sound heart will keep up a man bear up his Spirits notwithstanding the flesh be full of pain yielding drooping and wearing away saith Paul the outward man decays day by day I but the inward man is renewed when a man hath a sound heart a sound soul soundness of grace in him the inward man is renewed So in Prov. 18.14 The Spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity when his spirit is sound but if a mans spirit be not sound it will not sustain his infirmity if there be guilt if there be sin lust and sickness in the soul it will not support therefore a Godly man desires soundness of heart he knows not what times he may meet with he knows not what storms he may meet with a Godly man may meet with very shrow'd things in the world but if his heart be sound it will bear him up in the 38. of Isa saith Hezek when the storm came upon him that he must dye
and unsound but there were others spake otherwise they were Gods Jewels they would not joyn with the wayes of God but rather did withdraw from them Heb. 10.25 Not forsaking the assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is we need not be so strict nor so oft in prayer and hearing and in speaking of the things and wayes of God the Commandements of God are grievous to them 1 Joh. 5.3 when Gods Commandements are grievous to a mans heart or spirit it 's a sign he hath a sick heart a sore heart a corrupt rotten heart when the Commands of God that would make them sound are grievous to them Many care not for examining their own souls when as the Scripture saith prove your selves examine your selves know ye not your own selves that Christ is in you except ye be Reprobates walk circumspectly redeeming the time such men have unsound hearts and one day they will be discovered to their shame 11. Those that can walk up and down in the world without having their thoughts carried unto God that can go all the day long and never think of God or Heaven or Eternity or Christ these men have unsound hearts in Prov. 23.17 saith the wise man there Let not thy heart envy sinners but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long A man should have God in his thoughts all the day long and should be fearing God from morning to evening and sanctifie God in his heart and make him his dread and his fear wheresoever he goes a man should be afraid to displease God in any place in any Company at any time but now when a man goes up and down all the day long and never thinks of God nor fears God this man is rotten at the heart he hath an unsound heart for he cares not for God nor for his Company depart from us say they in Job we care not for thy company So though this man saith it not with his Tongue yet he saith it with his heart The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death how can you depart from the snares of death when you are not in the fear of God Some fear God in time of Thunder or in a common Plague but to live in the fear of God all the day all their lives they know not what it means these have unsound hearts and will be ashamed 12. Whosoever doth presume upon the merits of Christ and the mercies of God and walk loosely they are unsound hearted and shall one day be ashamed 't is a common thing in these dayes for Christians to presume upon Christ's merits why did not Christ dye for sinners is not God merciful yes but must you walk loosely now Christ did not dye for sinners that they might go and sin neither is God merciful to encourage you to sin but you will find Christ a Stone to grind you to powder and Gods mercy to be fury and vengeance to you that do so in Rom. 8.1 There is therefore now no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus which walk not after the flesh mark but after the Spirit If men do presume upon Christs merits and Gods mercies and say they have a part in God and Christ they must not walk after the flesh but if you walk loosely you walk after the flesh what Drink Swear Whore Lye Cheat Rail Slander Backbite Defraud and Couzen in Bargaining and Selling you walk after the flesh you have no interest in Christs merits there 's condemnation and nothing but condemnation to you and mark what 's said in 1 Joh. 2.6 If any man say he abides in him that is in Christ he must walk as he walked what dost thou say thou art a Christian thou hast a part in the merits of Christ and in the free grace and mercy of God then must thou walk even as Christ walked in the world what 's thy walking is it so is it becoming the Gospel is it no otherwise than what Christ himself would do then thou mayest have comfort but if it be otherwise deceive not thy self thou hast an unsound heart and thou wilt one day be ashamed 13. They are unsound hearted who do account themselves rich strong wise knowing and full those that are conceited of their own worth of their own excellency of their own ability and as they have unsound hearts so they will be discovered one day for rotten hearted men and women It is incident to you all to have too high thoughts of your selves Paul tells you in Gal. 6.2 If a man thinks himself some body when he is nothing he deceives himself why should the Apostle lay down this Rule but that it was the practice of the Christians then these Galatians thought themselves wiser than Paul they must have another Gospel they must go another way to Heaven we will not be tyed to these wayes they thought themselves some bodies when they were nothing and so deceived their own souls O foolish Galatians they were fools indeed And the Church of Laodicea is a pregnant instance for you all to take notice of she said she was rich full and wanted nothing here was a Church had Priviledges Ordinances Enjoyments Apostolical men in her yet what saith Christ thou art blind thou art naked thou art poor thou art miserable thou wantest all things was not her shame discovered that Christian that is conceited of himself his Parts Gifts Graces Comforts Priviledges Enjoyments or Relations whatsoever they be that Christian is an unsound man and his shame will appear one day 14. Those Christians that do things in their own name and in their own strength they are unsound and they will be discovered and their shame will be thrown in their faces in due time 2 where almost is there a Christian but doth all in his own name and in his own strength I can do this and that saith one I can do so and so what canst thou do poor creature Christ tells thee without me ye can do nothing nothing to purpose nothing to please God nothing to afford you comfort or peace nothing to further your salvation without Christ the Apostle tells you We are not sufficient I Paul am not sufficient to think a good thought well see the Rule Col. 3.17 Whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus don 't do it in your own name you are unsound if you do your principles are not right your knowledge is not right and sound but whatsoever ye do do all in the name of Christ what Christians and do any thing in any name but in the name of Christ you are base Christians and you should do all in the strength of Christ 2 Tim. 2.1 My Son he speaks to Timothy an Evangelist a man full of grace and of the spirit My Son be thou strong through the grace that is in Christ saith David I will go forth in the
for us who knew no sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him made the righteousness how come we to be made why by faith in him Phil. 3.9 and be found in him not having mine own Righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God through faith So that the way for a soul that 's troubled with sin and guilt of sin and the like is to believe in the Lord Jesus and to rest upon him who takes away sin and brought in a righteousness that is sufficient for us Fifthly if we must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and can never be truly setled in our comforts and peace without faith in him then let us fetch our comforts our peace our assurance from Christ by believing and not from any thing of our own not from our repentance and obedience and Sanctification for these are mixt with imperfections these are defiled with our corruptions these are ebbing and flowing so will your comforts and peace and assurance be so long as you feed them from these these do not make us righteous before God it may be before men or in our own eyes may make us righteous our repentance our obedience our holiness but they do not make us so before God if we raise our comforts and peace and assurance from these it is from our own actings and this savours too much of a legal spirit if we believe in Christ and fetch all from him it will be certain and lasting and solid and will be unshaken Isa 45.24 It 's a Prophesie of the Gospel times Verily shall one say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength I have none in my self and I can draw none from what self doth but in the Lord have I righteousness and strength There is sufficient righteousness and there is sufficient strength to bear up my peace and comfort and assurance so that the way to have solid comfort peace and assurance is to believe in the Lord Jesus and to fetch all from him Sixthly If believing in the Son of God do lye under a command then I infer from hence that it will be our duty to enquire whether we have obeyed this command and do believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and believe the right way for there is some kind of faith in Christ which is not a right faith the Gospel tells us of some that believed yet afterwards fell off from Christ Now how shall we come to know whether we do believe aright in the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God or no this may be of use unto us I shall answer it in several particulars First that faith which is a true and right faith in the Lord Jesus Christ it follows conviction of unbelief Joh. 16.8 9. When he is come he will reprove or as it is in your Margins Convince the world of sin because they believe not on me that 's the Son The spirit of God when it comes convinces men and women of their unbelief convinces them of the evil of the greatness of this sin above all sins you think it may be other sins are very great and grievous sins Drunkenness Whordom Idolatry and the like yea but unbelief is the great sin of all that 's the soul damning sin and when faith comes all other sins are taken away but if you be unbelievers the guilt of all your other sins are bound upon you so that it convinces the soul of unlelief now have you had any conviction of what unbelieving hearts you have naturally how backward you are to believe how you put away promises and motions of the spirit well if you have a right faith it follows conviction of unbelief Secondly if you would know whether your faith be right or no in the Son of God then answer how you came by your faith How came you by your faith is it from your selves wrought by your own fancies from your reasonings is it a fillogistical faith only as thus he that believes shall be saved I believe and therefore I shall be saved this now is but a work of your own reasoning but the faith that is right is wrought by the power of God and is the gift of God Col. 2.12 Buried with him in Baptism wherein you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead There was the operation of God in raising Christ from the dead and the same operation of God is put forth in the hearts of those that do believe and the Ephesians they could witness unto it Eph. 1.19 And what saith he is the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places Why there was power and greatness and exceeding greatness of power towards us who do believe yea according to the working of his mighty power the power that raised Christ from the dead even that mighty power was put forth in our souls to raise us out of the grave of unbelief to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ so that in the 1 Thess 1.5 our Gospel saith he came not unto you in word onely but also in power and in the Holy-Ghost The power of the Holy-Ghost was put forth in working faith in the Thessalonians and so the power of God and his spirit is put forth in the working faith in any soul and usually some promise or some Gospel truth is set upon the heart in power where there is a right faith wrought as Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest and God so loved the world as he gave his onely begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life and whoever will let him come without money and without price c. Gal. 4.28 29. Now we Brethren as Isaac was are the Children of promise Children that are born of the promise But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit c. so then they are born after the spirit the spirit sets on some promise some word of God which is a seed of faith and of grace and life in the soul and so you come by your faith that way Thirdly That faith which is right in the Son of God excludes all boasting Rom. 3.27 where is boasting then 't is excluded by what Law of works nay but by the Law of faith 't is faith that excludes boasting and Rom. 4.2 If Abraham were justified by works he hath whereof to glory but not before God So the soul now if it were justified by its own actings it hath cause to boast but he that is justified in Christ he hath no cause to boast the soul sees it could never come to Christ except
All true children of Zion are precious and comparable unto fine Gold to the finest Gold or Silver that is in the world 2 Tim. 3.16 They make wise unto Salvation they furnish and fit a man for every good word and work they make precious Vessels Thirdly Gold is said to be a Cordial likewise and is not the word of God a Cordial the best Cordial we have in this world next to Christ and God himself The Word of God 't is a sweet Cordial a sweet Comfort unto the Soul 7. Gold endures tryal it will endure the fire the exactest tryal that can be Zech. 13.9 I will bring them through the fire and try them as Gold is tryed Gold is tryed and tryed in the fire and therefore it is esteemed because it will endure the fire so the Word of God is a tryed word Psal 12.6 The words of the Law are pure as Silver tryed in a furnace of earth purified seven times The Word of God is a tryed word Psal 18.30 The word of the Lord is tryed his promises have been tryed in all Ages they have had tryals several times and several wayes Those that have received the word have been tryed the Martyrs have been tryed and they find the word to hold out in the sharpest tryals and to stand them in stead So that you see Gold is desirable and upon what accounts and upon the same account the Word of God is desirable 2. Now the second thing is to shew you that Divine truths are more to be desired than Gold yea than much fine Gold More to be desired and that will appear several wayes First Gold and Silver and earthly treasures are at the will and command of men and we may be deprived of them Dan. 11.43 He shall have power over the treasures of Gold and of Silver and ever all the precious things of Egypt The King should have power over them and take them away from them and we see how Gold and Silver is subject to Thieses and to others and we may be deprived thereof But the Word of God when 't is ours when 't is written in our hearts once there 's none can take it from us nor deprive us of it Secondly The Word of God and Divine truths are more desirable than Gold because it 's better than Gold Psal 119.72 The Law of thy mouth is better unto me than Thousands of Gold and Silver There 's a betterness in the Word of God than in Gold and Silver it exceeds it and that in several respects First Gold and Silver are subject to cankering and so to perish James 5.3 Your Gold and Silver is cankered and the rust of them shall be a witness against you and it is subject to corrupt 1 Pet. 1.18 ye are not redeemed with Corruptible things as Silver and Gold and in the 1. Ch. 7. Gold that perisheth But the word of the Lord perisheth not corrupts not The word of the Lord endures for ever 1 Pet. 1.25 there 's no corrupting no cankering no perishing of the Word of God Therefore it 's better than Gold Secondly The word is better than Gold or Silver because it doth that which Gold and Silver cannot do nor all the treasures in the world can do and what 's that First It is not in the power of Silver and Gold and Riches or earthly Treasures to sanctifie any mans heart or nature They may pollute men and they do pollute most but sanctifie none But in Joh. 15.3 saith Christ Now are ye clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you The word of Christ and of God is a cleansing word it will cleanse your heads your hearts your lips your lives where withall shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word But all the treasures in the world will never cleanse any Joh. 17.17 Sanctifie them through thy truth thy word is truth Gods word is a word of truth and 't is a word of Sanctification that will make men and women holy the more of the word is in you the more holy you are the more filthiness of flesh and spirit is purged out of you So that it 's better than Silver and Gold upon this account Secondly Silver and Gold can never satisfie you Eccles 4.8 The eye is not satisfied with Riches Alexander had the world and yet he was not satisfied he would have another world Eccles 5.10 He that loveth Silver shall not be satisfied with Silver nor he that loveth abundance with increase A man is never satisfied with these things that are below The heart of man is triangular and the whole world being round can never satisfie a triangle but the truths of God are satisfying truths Open thy mouth wide and I will sill it saith God I will fill it with Divine truths Psal 36.8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house the word of God hath that in it will satisfie your souls Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive what God hath prepared for them that wait for him and for them that love him There is more prepared than you can expect or look for and that will satisfie Psal 65.4 We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house there is so much goodness in the house of God there you have Communion with God himself and with the Spirit and with Jesus Christ and these will satisfie the soul if ever it will be satisfied Thirdly They are more desirable than Gold and Silver because it is desire that makes the subject fit to receive the thing desired If a man be hungry and thirsty his hunger and thirstiness makes him fit to receive bread and to take drink Now the more excellent the thing to be received is the more must it be desired Matth. 10.37 He that loveth Father or Mother more than me is not worthy of me and he that loveth Son or Daughter more than me is not worthy of me Why I am the most excellent therefore I must have the most love and the most desire That Soul will never receive any real good by the Word that doth not desire it more than any other thing If you desire the Word but in competition to another thing or equal to another thing you will have no good by the Word but you must desire it more than other things and therefore it is better than other things Fourthly If our desires be more after the Word than after Gold and Silver and these outward things then these will fall in of course Mat. 6.33 First seek the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof and all these things shall be added unto you we must first therefore seek the Kingdom of God that is we must more desire the Kingdom of God than these things if we labour to know the Gospel to know God and Jesus Christ and desire the knowledge of these other things will be given in
counsel thee saith Christ unto the Church of Laodicea To buy of me tryed Gold that thou mayest be rich and white rayment that thy nakedness may be covered and the shame thereof may not be seen was not this good and sweet counsel that the Lord Christ did give to the Church that was poor and naked and shameful and destitute of all good So that the counsels of God are sweet counsels Secondly Are not the invitations that we find in the word very sweet sweet invitations are there made unto poor sinners Isa 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteth come ye unto the waters and he that hath no money come buy and eat come buy Wine and Milk without money and without price Here is a Hive of Honey and Honey-combs in these words come come come here 's water to quench your thirst here 's wine to comfort your hearts here 's milk to nourish you and cause you to thrive and grow in the wayes of God here 's bread to strengthen you and here 's all free without money How sweet are these invitations come come come and for such things as are so excellent and so precious so that of the Lord Christ in Matth. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and all of you come unto me and I will give you rest how sweet is this now to a burthened soul to a burthened conscience for a man or woman that is in straights and knows not what to do to come to the Lord Christ and they shall have rest in the 14. Hos 1. saith the Lord there O Israel return unto the Lord thy God for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity one would have conceived that Israel should have first sought to God who had offended God but God comes to delinquent Israel and saith O Israel return unto the Lord thy God for thou hast fallen by thine iniquities Take with you words and turn to the Lord say unto him take away all iniquity and receive us graciously so will we render the Calves of our lips he puts words into their mouths how sweet are these invitations of the Lord to poor sinners So in Matth. 25.34 Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world There 's sweetness in the invitations that the word holds out unto us Thirdly Are not the promises in the word of God very sweet sweet yea sweet as the Honey-comb There are many great and gracious promises 2 Pet. 1.4 they are exceeding great precious promises to have a promise from a great man that is able to perform his promise and faithful is sweet unto a poor man but to have exceeding great and precious promises from the great God who is able and willing to perform and faithful and will not fail how sweet are these promises to the Sons of men Ezek. 36.25 26. I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you A new heart also will I give unto you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes and ye shall keep my Judgments and do them Are not here sweet promises very sweet promises promise upon promise And all the promises of God they are very sweet Jer. 32.40 I will make an everlasting Covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me what a sweet promise is this to poor souls that fear they shall fall away and shall not hold out to the end God will put his fear into them and they shall not depart from him I will heal their backslidings and love them freely Hos 14. full of sweet and precious promises is the word of God Fourthly Is not the Gospel and the Doctrines of it very sweet Is not the Gospel glad tidings Luke 2.10 11. Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy to you this day is born a Saviour 'T is a Gospel of reconciliation that declares the reconciliation of poor sinners unto the great and holy God 2 Cor. 5.19 it is the Ministration of life and of Righteousness 2 Cor. 3.8.9 it is the Doctrine of Christ 2 Joh. 9. what gracious words came out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus never man said his enemies spake like this man but there 's sweetness in this Doctrine is it not sweet that rich mercy is held out unto the chief of sinners 1 Tim. 1.15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief what a sweet saying is this here is mercy held out to the chief of sinners so that all manner of sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven how sweet is this Matth. 12.31 So that God hath freely given his Son Joh. 3.16 God hath so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Here is a sweet truth unto those that will understand truth there is more sweetness in it than they can taste or find out he is a propitiation in this is manifested the love of God towards us because that God sent his onely begotten Son into the world that we might live through him and to be the propitiation for our sins 1 Joh. 4.9 10 14 15. By him we shall live he is the Saviour of his body the Saviour of sinners So how sweet is that 1 Cor. 1.30 He is made of God unto us Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption Here 's sweetness in these things that we are freely justified by him Rom. 3.24 Acts 13.38 39. How sweet is that saying of the Lord Jesus Christ Joh. 6.37 if there were no more in all the Gospel but that all that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out Let any poor creatures come unto me in their rags in their filth in their guilt in their sores I will not cast them out I will not send them away discouraged but they shall find favour in mine eyes So the Doctrine of Christs intercession with the Father 1 Joh. 2. If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous He is an Advocate to intercede for us and to order all things for our good so that there 's a great deal of sweetness in the word of God Fifthly There is sweetness in the example of the Lord Jesus Christ Christ washed his Disciples feet what sweetness is there in it to think that the Lord of glory and the Prince of life and the Heir of the world should humble himself so as to
earth and therefore savoured the things of the earth and spake of them but Christ he was of heaven and spake of heavenly things They were minding of their Cummin and Annise and Mint and Tythes and neglected the weighty things of the Law their hearts were upon those things 1 Joh. 4.5 saith he they are of the world therefore speak they of the world and the world heard them Men that are of the world that love the world they speak of the world and men love to hear them speak of the world And when any speak of heavenly things how unwelcome and unsavory are they 1 Cor. 2.14 The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned They do not perceive the things of God nor receive the things of God they are spiritual and unwelcome unto them Therefore in the 8. Rom. 5 6. saith the Apostle They that are after the flesh do savour the things of the flesh they savour them relish them and delight in them but they that are after the Spirit do savour the things of the Spirit and in Isa 58.13 If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my Holy day and call the Sabbath a delight The Holy of the Lord Honourable and shalt honour him not doing thine own wayes nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thine own words God accounts that man a gracious man a heavenly man a good man that turns his foot away from the Sabbath from finding his own pleasure and doing his own will and calls the Sabbath a delight and honourable and doth not his own work and will nor speaks his own words Now our own words are the words of the world the words of the flesh It 's an Argument a man is not of the world when he savours the things of God and turns away his feet from the Sabbath from doing his pleasure on Gods Holy day c. But when a man relishes and savors the world and the things of it in his discourses this shews we are glewed to the world and love the world Ninthly A man loves the world when he doth mourn and lament for the things of the world being taken from him That which we love we mourn when we lose it when men mourn exceedingly for a child it 's an argument they lov'd their child so when men mourn and are afflicted for the loss of Estate Names Friends and Relations it 's an argument they loved the world Rachel weeps and refuses to be comforted why her Children are not Many how greatly are they afflicted when they lose some outward things â—redit profit honours pleasures estates and reâ—â—tions how they mourn and are disconâ—tâ—ted and hang down the head and will not be comforted They love the world and the things of the world Tenthly Lastly we are said to love the world when men are resolved to be rich and will have the world one way or other they will have the world by hook or by crook as we use to say 1 Tim. 6.9 They that Will be rich They are resolved to be rich and to have the world whatsoever comes of it These men love the world indeed Thus then you see what the world is and what it is to love the world The next thing is why we should not love the world nor the things of the world First Those that are in a state of grace be they Babes little Children young men or Fathers they should not love the world because they are called out of the world called off from the world They are called to another state to a state of grace and now their love should run out to grace and the things of another world which they are called unto They are called to be Heirs with Christ and that of Heaven Glory and Happiness and therefore they should not love the world Secondly They should not love the world because it will put them upon things that are unreasonable which will be seen in tvvo or three particulars First 'T will put you upon things that are but probable and make you leave things that are certain Now this is unreasonable to be taken off from things that are certain and to be put upon things that are but probable It is but probabâ— for any man in this world to get the world noâ— to follow hard after that which is but probable whether we shall get it or no Hag. 1.6.9 saith the Prophet ye have sown much and bring in little ye eat but ye have not enough ye drink but ye are not filled with drink ye cloath you but there is none warm and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes and v. 9. Ye looked for much and loe it came to little and when ye brought it home I did blow upon it It is a hazzard a venture to get the things of this world men may take a great deal of pains and pursue these things eagerly and yet come short of them The greatest part of men dye in their expectations they look to get these things and do not get them nay those that labour most do usually attain least And therefore as the wise man saith Eccles 9.11 I returned and saw under the Sun that the race is not to the Swift who should get the race but the swift it's most probable that the swift should get the Race But the Race is not to the swift nor the Battel to the strong neither yet bread to the wise wise men dont get bread nor understanding men get riches nor get favour to men of skill but time and chance happeneth to them all 't is uncertain whether they shall get these things or no. The World and the Devils promises are seldom made good but now for other things they are certain and therefore it puts men upon unreasonable things to leave certain things for improbable things God's promises are certain God will not fail men that take pains for true Wisdom and understanding Ask and ye shall have seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you First seek these things for they are certain Secondly Suppose we do get the world with our endeavours yet we cannot keep them without fear of losing them Prov. 23.4 5. Wilt thou set thine Eyes upon that which is not for riches certainly make themselves wings they flee away as an Eagle towards Heaven Wilt thou set thine Eyes upon that which is not which is not considerable which is not long to continue Riches certainly makes themselves wings others need not make them wings And they flee away as an Eagle towards Heaven Prov. 27.1 Boast not thy self of to morrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth To morrow may be a great storm and may blow down the house a great Tempest and the Ship be overturned or driven upon an Anchor and all the