GOD'S CALL, FOR Man's Heart: In 1 Knowledge, 2 Love, 3 Fear, 4 Confidence, 5 Singing of Psalms, 6 Prayer, 7 Hearing the Word. 8 Receiving the Sacraments. Delivered in a SERMON, by ABRAHAM JACKSON, Master of Arts, and Preacher of God's word at Chelsey, near London. MATH. 22.21. Give unto God those things which are Gods. LONDON: Printed by T. S. for Roger jackson, and are to be sold at his shop near Fleetstreet Conduit, 1618. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE Edward Lord Russell, Earl of Bedford, and the Lady LUCY Countess of Bedford; such felicity in this life, as may end with the beginning of those joys that shall never end. Most noble and truly religious Lord and Lady: AS your undeserved favour to me wards, challengeth my service as a debt: so though unmerited mercies of God to us all, requires our hearts as a due. The meditation of the latter moved me to pen this Treatise: and the consideration of the former, animated me to Dedicate it to your Honours; not that there is any thing in it which you knew not before, as having long since learned how to consecrate your hearts unto the Lord: but to put you in mind of your knowledge, that you do not forget to practise it. All that the Lord requires of you, for whatsoever he hath bestowed on you, is in effect but this, that you study to know him, to love him, to fear him, to trust in him; that you sing unto him, pray unto him, hear his Word, and receive his Sacraments with your hearts and souls, as you shall find briefly proved in this Treatise: which if you do (as all that observe your religious lives and conversations) are persuaded you do,) you may rest secure of God's love and favour towards you in jesus Christ, even to the full assurance of that inheritance, which he hath prepared for those that give him their hearts in his service. And so craving pardon for my boldness, if in this Dedication I be delinquent, I rest: Your Honours, ready in all humility to do you service, ABRAHAM JACKSON. GOD'S CALL FOR MAN'S HEART. PROV. 23.26. My Son, give me thy Heart. Lest in this time of giving and receiving of gifts amongst friends, and acquaintances, you should be unmindful of your best friend, even your God; from whom whatsoever good and perfect gift we have is derived. james 1.17. I have made choice of this Scripture for the subject of my speech, the better to stir you up to present unto God (by way of grateful acknowledgement of his love and favour) the best jewel, or (to use David's words) the best member that you have, even your hearts; and the rather because he requests them at your hands, in the words of my Text; My son, give me thy heart. If a Son would gratify his Father, or a friend his friend, that loves him dearly, and out of his love hath done much for him, he will consider with himself what his father or his friend best likes, and accordingly endeavour to the uttermost of his power to prepare it for him. Beloved, our gracious God and merciful redeemer, hath so dearly loved us, and done so much for us, as that between his love and created affections, there holds no proportion. For, suppose some great Prince should set his affection upon some poor man, so far as to disrobe himself of his royal apparel, cast off his Crown, and cease to be a King, only to enjoy more freely this poor man's company and familiarity; certainly it would be a great argument of love. Nay, suppose this Prince should yet go further in the manifestation of his love, by offering himself willingly to die for this his poor friend; if his death might be any way available unto him, as Damon, it may be, would have done for Pythias, or Pylades for Orestes; a greater testification of love there cannot be; and that by the testimony of our Saviour, joh. 15.13. Where he saith, That greater love than this hath no man, when any man bestoweth his life for his friends. Yet notwithstanding, all this love comes far short of Christ's love towards us: for he being the Prince of peace from all eternity, clad with the royal robes of glory, attended on with myriads of blessed Angels, swaying the sceptre of the whole world, sitting on the right hand of his father's majesty on high, measuring the waters in his fist, and counting heaven with a span, and comprehending the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighing the mountains in a weight, and the hills in a balance, Es. 40.12. This great Prince I say (notwithstanding all these prerogatives) was so inflamed with the love of us poor creatures, the wretched brood of sinful Adam, lumps of vanity, masses of misery, banquerupts in respect of grace, and captives to sin and Satan; that he left the brightness of his father's glory, and took upon him the vileness of our nature; he forbore thundering in the clouds, to cry in the cradle; he left the spacious and starre-beautified chamber of heaven, to be lodged in a stable, crowded in a cratch, and swaddled in a few proore clouts here on earth: in a word, The Word was made flesh and dwelled amongst us; and yet this is not all: he did not only take upon him our flesh, and our nature, but our nakedness, our misery, our poverty, our shame; nay, (that which is yet beyond the conceit and apprehension of men and Angels) he took upon him our mortality; he made himself subject unto death for us, even to that shameful, painful, racking, tormenting, linger death of the cross; he was crucified for us, he had his hands and his feet pierced and torn with nails for us, his head was crowned with thorns for us, his side and heart was wounded with a spear for us, his hands, his feet, his head, his side, his heart gushed out with streams of blood for us, and that, cum adhuc inimici essemus, when as yet we were his enemies. Rom. 5.7.8. Cum non solum non existentes, sed etiam resistentes, when we were not only not existent, but resistent; even his professed foes, and mortal enemies: When our hearts were as yet captives to sin and Satan, fight under their banners against him; he spent the precious blood of his heart to redeem us. Oh the exceeding love of a gracious God, to an ungracious people! infinite degrees beyond the affection of the dearest friend to his friend. Well then what remains to be done on our part, but that (by way of grateful acknowledgement of this his unproportionable favour) we present unto him this day for a newyears gift, the best member that we have, even our hearts; and the rather, because he asks them at our hands, as you may see in the words of my Text, My Son, give me thy heart. It may be called, Gods, demand of his tribute due unto him, from his children; or in fewer word, Gods call, for Man's heart. In the which (for my better proceeding, and your better perceiving) I have thought good to observe these four circumstances. I. What it is that God would have, when he calls for our Hearts. II. The Persons, whose hearts God calls for, in these words [My Son.] III. The manner how he would have these persons Hearts, in this word [Give,] he would have them by gift. FOUR The Person to whom he would have them given, in this word [Me,] he would have them given to himself: My Son, give me thy heart. 1. That which God calls for, to be given unto him, it is our Hearts, My Son, give me thy Heart. That you may the better understand what he means when he calls for our hearts, consider I pray you the several acceptations of this word Heart. This word Heart, it is taken either properly, or improperly. First, properly, so it signifies that dissimilar part, that internal pyramidal, or triangular fleshly substance within the body of man, which the Philosophers call the chair of state, or throne of the soul, the seat of the affections, the consistory of man's thoughts and meditations, conceits and imaginations, the fountain of the vital spirits, the first member of man that lives, and the last that dies. Secondly, improperly, and so it is taken either Synecdochically, or Metaphorically, or Metonimically. First, in a synecdochical acceptation, it signifies the whole man, as well his body as his soul; and in this sense our Saviour understood it, when in Luke 21.34. he bids us, Take heed lest at any time our hearts be overcome with surfeiting and drunkenness: Here the heart which is but a part of man, is by a Synecdoche taken for the whole man, for drunkenness is hurtful both to body and soul. Secondly, Metaphorically, so it signifies either the pith of a plant or tree, by which vegetative life and motion is conveyed from the root to the branches, or else the courage and valour of a man, so that a stout and valiant man is oftentimes called a Heart. Thirdly, Metonymically, and so (if you take the subject for the accidents) it signifies the understanding and the sincerity of the affections of the heart. Now when the Lord calls for our hearts, he calls not for them in a proper acceptation, nor in an improper synedochical or Metaphorical sense; but (as I conceive) chiefly, and principally, in a metonymical meaning: so that when the Lord calls for our hearts, he calls for our understanding, for our love, for our fear, for our confidence: he calls for the sincerity of our hearts in singing of Psalms, in Prayer, in hearing the Word, in receiving the Sacraments: My Son, give me thy heart; that is, know me with thy heart, love me with thy heart, fear me with thy heart, trust in me with thy heart, sing unto me with thy heart, pray unto me with thy heart, hear my word with thy heart, receive the Sacraments with thy heart: whatsoever thou dost in my service, do it with thy heart, and it shall be acceptable unto me. So that when the Lord requires our hearts, he requires the sincerity of them in the performance of these eight duties, as I shall endeavour to prove by several places of Scripture. 1. First we must study to know and understand what God is, we must set the meditations of our hearts awork about it. 1 1 Knowledge. Hence is it that the Lord promiseth to give his people A heart to know him to be the Lord. jer. 24.7. Whence I observe, that unless our hearts be inflamed with a special touch of grace to meditate upon God, and to study to know him, so far forth as he is pleased to make himself known in his word, we can never give him our hearts, as he requires. Let us then bend our hearts to that end, for which he gave them unto us. He gave us our hearts to study to know him: Oh let us render to him our hearts again, by employing our best endeavours in this business. Which we shall do, if we be diligent readers, hearers, and meditatours of his word, especially that part of his word, by which he is pleased to make himself known unto us in his Essence, Attributes, Names and Actions. If you meditate on these places of Scripture, you shall be well furthered in the true knowledge of God. When we meet then with any Scripture that describes him either in the a Deut. 4.35. Deut. 6.4. Esay 43.10. & 44.6. & 45.5. 1 Cor. 8.4. Gal. 3 20. Ephes. 4.6. 1 Tim. 2.5. jam. 2.19. Unity for his Essence, or in the b Esay 6.3. Mat. 13.16.17. & 28.9. joh. 14.16.17 1 job. 5.7. Trinity for the manner of his existence; or in his Attributes, either incommunicable, such as are c Ioh 4.24. Heb. 12.9. 2 Cor. 3.17. Es. 31 3. simpleness without mixture, d Ps. 90.2. & 92.8.9. & 102.27.28. eternity without beginning, e 1 King. 8.27. joh. 11.8. Ps. 139.7.8. jer. 23.24. immensity without limitation, f Ps. 102.13.27. Mal. 3.6. Heb. 1.11.12. jam. 1.17. Exod. 3.14. immutability without change; or communicable, such as are g Ioh 1.4. Deut. 32.40. Dan 4.34. life, h 1 Tim 6.16. immortality, i job 12.13. Dan. 2.20. Rom. 11.33. 1 Tim. 1.17. wisdom, k Rom. 9.18.19. will, l Gen. 17.1. Psal. 62.12. jer. 33.17.19. Luk. 1.37.49. Rom. 4.17. power, m Psal. 115.3. liberty, n Mar. 9.18. Psal. 118.1.2.3.4. Psa. 108.5. & 31.20. Tit. 3.4. goodness, o Exod. 33.3. grace, p 1 joh. 4.8. love, q Dan. 9 9.18 Exod. 34 6. Psal. 116.5. & 100L. 8.13. & 146.8.9. mercy, r Rom. 2.4. & 3.26. & 9.22. 1 Pet. 3.20. 2 Pet. 3.15. patience, s Ezek. 18.23. & 33.11. clemency, t Deut. 32.4. Psal. 11.7. & 145.7 Apoc. 16.5. justice, u 1 Sam. 2.2. Es. 6.3. Hab. 1.12.13.1 joh. 1.5. Apoc. 4.8. holiness, and x Deut. 10.17.1 Cron. 29.11.12. Psal. 83.19.1 Tim. 6.15. You may see a plain description of God's Essence, and Attributes in The Practi●e of Piety, set forth by Doctor Bayly, now Bishop of Bangor, from the 4. page, of the eight Edition, to the 59 glory: or in any of his Names, Titles or actions; we should meditate on it, and consider it deeply in our hearts, we should treasure it up in our memory, and walk as in the sight of his so awful and diume Majesty. If thus we endeavour to know him, we give him one chief thing which he requires, when he requires our hearts. 2 2. love. When the Lord calls for our hearts, he calls for the love of our hearts. Deut. 6.5. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Now he that loves God with his heart and soul, will delight to be in his house sometimes, lauding and magnifying his name with the congregation of his Saints, sometimes talking with him by meditation and prayer; he will esteem God's love and favour dearer than his life. Psa. 63.2. He will bewail his absence in disfavour as a bitter cross. Can. 3.1. He will hate those that hate God, & love those that love God; he will hate wickedness, because God hates it, and hate wicked men, because they hate God: he will love righteousness, because God loves it, and he will love righteous men, because they love God: he will be more sensible of God's dishonour, then of his own disgrace: he will love the image of God in wisdom, in knowledge, in uprightness of life, (though he find it in a poor and dejected man, in respect of this world) more dear than any friend can love the picture of his friend: These, and the like are the properties of that man that loves God with all his heart, and with all his soul. But if we take no delight to be in the house of God, if it be tedious unto us to discourse with him by Prayer, and Meditation; if we prefer either our ease, or our profit, or our pleasure, or our lives before his favour; if we can think ourselves happy to be out of his sight, if we can find a delightful recreation in the mad merriments of wicked men, if we can hate that which he loves, and love that which he hates; if we can be more careful to preserve our own credits, than God's honour; nay, if we can love the image of the devil in men, drawn to the life with the pencil of iniquity, then are not we the men that love the Lord; we may profess with our tongues that we love him, but our hearts will give our tongues the lie, because we love him not with our hearts. 3 3. Fear. When God would have our hearts, he would have our fear; My Son, give me thy heart; that is, give me the fear of thy heart, or fear me with thy heart. Hence is that Samuel exhorts the people to offer up unto God the fear of their hearts, 1 Sam. 12.24. Fear you the Lord, and serve him in the truth, with all your hearts, etc. And in Deut. 10.12. Moses tells the Israelites, that the Lord requireth nothing else at their hands; but to fear him, and walk in his ways, to love him, and serve him with all their hearts, and with all their souls. Questionless there is none of you that hear me this day, but will say he fears God with all his heart; but it is not enough to say so, unless it appear so by trial. Well then, if thou fear the Lord with thy heart, certainly thy fear will be filial, it will be such as the fear of a son in respect of his father; thou wilt be more fearful to offend him, then to bear the punishment of offence: thou wilt be fearful to commit any sin in private, or in the dark, because thou art certain the eye of God is upon thee: thou wilt be more troubled at the threats of God's Word, then at the checks of a mortal Man, though he be thy Prince. Ps. 119.161. Thou wilt with the Midwives, Exod. 1.17. with the three Children, Dan. 3.16. with holy Daniel, Dan. 6.10. with the zealous Apostles, Act. 4.19. & 5.29 and with faithful Abraham, Gen. 22.12. fear, and worship, and obey God, though it be prejudicial to thy ease, to thy profit, to thy preferment, to thy liberty, to thy life, though it cross thy reason, thy affection, thy hope, thy expectation, in future times. But if thy fear be slavish; if thou fear more the punishment, than the offence; if thou care not what wickedness thou commit, so that the eye of man be not upon thee; if thou be ready to do that which a wicked jeroboam shall command thee, though it be never so contrary to the word of God, fearing a temporal punishment more than an eternal condemnation: if thou refuse to obey such of God's commandments as do any way cross thy ease, thy profit, thy pleasure, thy reason, thy estimation with men, or the like; certainly, thou dost not as yet fear God with thy heart, and therefore thou hast not as yet any heart for God. 4 4. Confidence. When God calls for our hearts, he calls for our trust and confidence: My Son, give me thy heart, that is, rely upon me with thy heart, lay thy trust and confidence on me with thy heart: Thus did David give God his heart, Ps. 130.5. I have waited on the Lord (saith he) My soul hath waited, and I have trusted in his word. And again, in Ps. 28.7 he saith thus, The Lord is my strength and my shield, mine heart trusted in him, and I was helped; therefore mine heart shall rejoice, and with my song will I praise him. And as David trusted in the Lord, so must we: We must trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and not lean unto our own wisdom, Pro. 3.5. We must have recourse unto him, as to our only shield and buckler to defend us against the oppositions of our spiritual and temporal adversaries, as to our only help to save and deliver us in all our distresses, and as to our only preserver, to give us all good and necessary blessings, both for body and soul: We must rely upon him, wait upon him, and repose our trust in him without respect either to reason, to means, or likelihoods. This if we do, we trust in the Lord with our hearts: But if when we see no outward means of help, we fail in our hopes, as the Israelites did, Ps. 78.20. If when we are sick, we send for the Physician before we seek to God, as Asa did, 2 Cro. 16.12. If when some bone of sins body doth as it were stick in the throat of our guilty consciences, we hope to wash it down with a cup of Sack, as many lewd surfetters on pleasure do. If when we be in any strait, we make flesh our arm, jer. 17.5. If we repose our trust in our own or others with and policy, in our own or others strength. If we say to the wedge of gold, thou art my confidence, job 31.24. or to the sword thou art my safeguard, or to Physic, thou art my health, or Flectere sinequeo superos Acheronta movebo. if God forsake me, if nature forsake me, i'll go to Egypt for help, Is. 31.1. nay to hell for help: i'll see what Crossing can do, what Holy water can do, what Pope's pardons can do: and if all this will not do, i'll have recourse to Charms and Exorcisms, to Spells and Incantations, etc. If with the Prince of Israel we will not believe Elisha, I mean God's Ministers, when out of the word they promise us preservation and support, against the miseries and crosses of this world, against famine and want, and say as he did, 2 Ki. 7.2. Though the Lord would make windows in heaven, can this thing come to pass? If we will trust God no further than we see him, either actually reaching unto us his benefits, or laying before us the means probable in our conceit to attain them, then do we not trust in him with our hearts, because we rely not on him without respect to reason, means, or likelihoods. 5 5. Singing of Psalms When the Lord calls for our Hearts, he calls for our hearts in singing: when we sing Psalms, we must sing with our hearts. To this the holy Ghost exhorts us by the pen of the Apostle, Col. 3.16. when he bids us Sing to the Lord with a grace in our hearts, M. Byfield super locum that is (as a learned & judicious Divine expounds it) We must exercise the graces of our hearts in singing; We must sing to the Lord, that is, with an eye to his glory, with sense of his presence, with commemoration of his blessings; and we must sing with our hearts, not with our tongues only, outwardly for ostentation, but with understanding, Psa. 47.7 with sense and feeling: Hence is it that our hearts are to be prepared before we sing, Psal. 57.7. and hence is it that David bids his tongue awake, Psal. 57.8. noting that he observed in men a lethargy; not a hoarseness in voice, but a slumber in heart, when they used the voice. We must therefore sing to the Lord with our hearts, yea with the graces of our hearts, that is, with a holy joy, Psal. 9.2. with trust in God's mercies, Psal. 13.5. with a holy commemoration of his benefits, Ps. 47.6. yea, with the prayer and desires of our hearts, that our words in singing may be acceptable, Psal. 104.33.34. Persuading ourselves that it is not the sweet voice, but the zealous vow, not the harmonious sound, but the heart's soundness that makes melody in the ears of God; expressed by the Poet thus: Non vox sed votum, non musica chordula sed cor, Non clamans sed amans clangit in aure Dei. But if we sing Psalms as we do common Songs and Ballads, more to delight our own & others ears, then to testify our grateful acknowledgement of God's mercies: If we sing more for ordinary recreation, then for zealous devotion: If we respect more the music than the matter: If we care not how harsh the intention of our hearts be, so our voices be tunable; we sing not to the Lord with such a grace in our hearts as he requires, we give him not our hearts in singing of Psalms. 6 6. Prayer. The Lord calls for our hearts in Prayer. When we pray we must pray with our hearts. This David knew well, when in Psal. 51.17. he saith, that God will not despise a broken and contrite heart. Whence I observe, that (because the prayers which proceed from a broken and contrite heart are never slighted by the Lord) when we pray, if we hope to speed, we must pray with a broken heart, with a wounded spirit: When we offer up any petition to the Lord (if we expect an answer) we must offer up our hearts: For if we offer our lips instead of our hearts, it is no marvel if God give us stones instead of bread, that is, a shadow of comfort, instead of real comfort. Non labia vitulorum, sed vituli labiorum: It is not the calves lips, but the calves of our lips, Ose. 14.3. that are acceptable to God. Ille magis gratae laetatur mentis odour, Quam consecrato sanguine mill boum: He is more delighted with the sweet odour of a grateful breast, then with the sacrificed blood of a thousand Oxen. God is not like a child to be won with fair words; nor like the people of Tyrus and Sydon, Act. 12.21.22. that were ravished with Herod's eloquent Oration: for he esteems no more of the quaintest oratory, if it come not from the heart, then of the lowing of an ox, or the howling of a dog. It is not the length, or well-coucht phrases in a prayer, but the zealous heart of him that prays, which God regards: for he esteemed more of the Publicans four words, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, O. God be merciful to me a sinner, Luke 18.13. and of David's three syllables, Peccavi, I have sinned; nay, of the Haimorisses' touch, though without words or syllables, because they proceeded from a broken and wounded spirit, then of the Pharisees long and tedious gratulation, Lu. 18.9. etc. If then (when thou feelest within thee a trouble of conscience) thou goest to God in private, and with Hanna, pourest out thy soul before him, 1 Sam. 1.19. If with David thou supplicate and cry unto him with thy whole heart, Ps. 119.58.145. If with jeremy, thou lift up thy heart with thy hands, and pour it out like water before his face, Lam. 2.19. & 3.41. doubt not but he will accept thy sacrifice, yea, though thou want words to express thy suit: if thou canst sob, and sigh (though thou be not able to utter thy mind) thou mayst be persuaded that the Spirit understandeth thy meaning, and that those bitter sighs and sobs coming from the Spirit, will prevail with God for the obtaining of thy petition; for why, a broken and contrite heart, the Lord will not despise: when thou prayest, therefore pray with thy heart. 7 7. Hearing of the Word. The Lord requires our hearts in the hearing of his Word, and therefore in Luk. 8.15. he makes the hearing of the Word with a good heart, a note of the best hearers, comparing them to the best ground that brings forth the best fruit. Hence it is also that David inclined his heart unto God's Testimonies, Ps. 119.36. and hide his word in his heart, that he might not sin. Ps. 119.11. When then we come to Church, we should settle our hearts; that is, our ●ffections, our zeals, our attentions, to hear the Word either red or preached. When Christ puts his hand to the hole of the door, our hearts should (with the spouse in the Canticles) be affectioned towards him. When he talks with us by the way of this our pilgrimage, our hearts, with the two Disciples that went to Emaus, should burn within us. When the Minister of God's word is delivering his message, which the Lord hath put into his mouth, we should with the noble Emperor Constantine, Euseb. de vita Constant. lib. 3. cap. 17. & cap. 33. be so ravished with those things which we hear, as that we attend to nothing else: Our thoughts should not be distracted with variety of worldly businesses: our eyes should not be possessed with slumber; our taste (in respect of the Word) should not be like old Barzillais, without relish; we must not think of Sermons, as Naaman did of jordan, 2 King. 5.11. but we must have them in a reverend regard; we must settle ourselves to hear, and hear to understand, and understand to practice, and practice to attain an habitual obedience to the precepts of holy life. 8 8. Receiving the Sacraments. Lastly, the Lord would have us offer up our hearts unto him, when we receive the Sacrament. It is not then but upon good ground, that the Minister (before the administration of the Lords Supper) exhorts the people to lift up their hearts, Minister's exhortation before the Communion. and the people answer, we lift them up unto the Lord: or to use the words of the Prophet, Ps. 25.1. Unto thee O Lord, lift we up our souls. Well is it then which the Church of Scotland saith, that the only way to receive the Lords Supper worthily, is to lift up our minds by faith above all things worldly and sensible, and thereby to enter into heaven, that we may find and receive Christ where he dwelleth. We must not think (as the Papists vainly imagine) that we hold Christ bodily in our hands, and masticate him in our mouths, when we receive and eat the Bread; but receiving the Bread and Wine, as the symbols of his body and blood, we should lift up our hearts to heaven, where he sitteth at the right hand of his father, and where he must continue till the time that all things are restored, Act. 3.21. And thus much be spoken of the matter of God's demand; namely, of that which he requires at our hands, when he calls for our hearts, My Son, give me thy heart; that is, apply thy heart unto me in receiving the Sacraments, in hearing the Word, in Prayer, in singing of Psalms, settle thy heart to depend on me, to fear me, to love me, to know me: Me I say, that have done for thee then any created understanding can conceive. II. And so I pass from the matter what must be given, to the person that must give, expressed in these words [My Son.] The Lord calls for the hearts of his children: My Son, give me thy heart. Whence I observe, that a child of God owes no less to his heavenly father, than his heart. For if a servant own his industry to his master, that pays him his hire; if a Son own his obedience to his Parents that provides him maintenance: if a subject own his allegiance to his Prince, that defends him from thieves, in respect of his goods, and from murderers, in respect of his life; I see no reason, why we that stand in the relation of Servants, of Sons, of Subjects, of things of nothing, of things worse than nothing unto God, as our Creator, our Redeemer or Master, our Father, our King, our Protector or defender: should not be so much indebted unto him as our hearts comes too, as our souls comes too, as all that is within us comes too. We own then to God, no less than our hearts; if they were not his due, he would never demand them. Use, for examination. By this Doctrine we may examine ourselves whether we be the children of God or no: for if we can be persuaded in conscience, that we own our hearts to God, and accordingly endeavour to pay them, we may be certain, that we stand in the relation of sons unto God: but if we cannot find in our hearts to bestow our hearts on God: if there be an indisposition in us to know him, to love him, to fear him, to trust in him, with all our hearts, and with all our souls: if we can sing with our voice pray with our lips, hear with our ears, receive the Sacrament with our mouths, and not sing, pray, hear, and receive the blessed Sacrament with our hearts; certainly, we cannot as yet take any comfort in God's election, because we cannot certainly be persuaded that we are his sons, in that we are not willing to pay unto him that tribute which his sons own unto him, we present not our hearts unto him by way of gift, which is the third circumstance of my Text; namely, the manner how we are to bestow our hearts on God, expressed in this word [Give.] III. My Son, give me thy heart; that is, give it me. 1. Instantly, without delay. 2. Wholly, with out reservation. 3. And freely, without repining. 1. First, we must give our hearts unto God instantly, without delay: for so much the words Cedò, or Prebe import: give me thy heart presently, or out of hand, even before thou go out of the Church. The Lord is impatient of delays, we must therefore be as quick in answering his call, as an Echo in redoubling our voice. This quickness was in David, when the Lord bade him seek his face, he answers like an echo, Thy face Lord will I seek, Psal. 27.9. Even so beloved, now that the Lord bids us give unto him our hearts, let us instantly answer him, O Lord we give thee our hearts. Many would take a day with the Lord for giving up their hearts; they are loath to part with them upon the sudden. The poor man would be borne withal till he be rich; the rich man, till he be sick; the sick man, till he have recovered his health; the healthy and strong man, till he be weak; the weak and feeble man, till he be strong again; the young man, till he be old; the old man, till he feel the signs of death; the lascivious man, till his lust be satisfied; the envious man, till he be revenged on his enemy; the Merchant, till his trade be good; the Parent, till his children be provided for; the child, till he have his patrimony in his own dispose; the servant, till he be a master; and the master, till he have servants to his own liking, and then certainly God shall have their hearts: But, Qui non est hody, cras minus aptus erit. He that is not willing to part with his heart to day, will be less willing to morrow: For the longer he suffers his heart to be in the possession of his ease, or his profit, or his pleasure; he shall with the more difficulty get it out of their fingers, to bestow it on God. Indeed if it were in our own powers to take our hearts from pleasure and vanity, & give them to God at our list, there might be some colourable reason for delay; or if we had each of us two hearts, we might adventure one, to see what would come of it: But seeing God hath given to each of us one only heart, and that heart not in our own power neither to be stow on God when we will; we should be afraid to keepeit from him when he calls for it. Oh than my dear christian Brethren, let us for ever take heed, lest if with Argus, we listen too long to the Mercury pipe of God's long-suffering, we be cast into a dead sleep of security, to the utter separation of our hearts from God. Delays (as for the most part in our civil negotiation with men, so evermore, and especially, in our spiritual commerce with God) are very dangerous. If God would not have us say unto our neighbour, go and come again, and to morrow I will give thee, if we now have that which he desires, and we can well spare, Pro. 3.28. much less when he himself asks our hearts for himself, will he be patiented of a repulse till to morrow, much less till a week be over, much less till a month be over, much less till a year be over, much less till old age, and dotage, and weakness, and sickness, and death seize upon us. Let us consider God's case by our own. If we be delayed in our suits, if our expectation be put off from day to day, are not our hearts in a manner alienated from them on whom our hope depends? Are not our hearts possessed with faintness? Pro. 13.12. How much more should we think will God be averse from us, if we repel his suit for our hearts with delays? Oh then let us sacrifice our hearts unto him, whilst it is called to day, lest if we stay till to morrow, he will not receive them, though we present them with tears. 2 Again, God requires that we give him our hearts, not only instantly without delay, but wholly without reservation: My son, give me thy heart, that is, thy whole heart: not one piece to day, and another to morrow, but all at once: not half thy heart, but all thy heart; Deut. 6. Many of us I fear are like a woman that hath many suitors, who (willing to give them all content) speaks lovingly to one, smiles upon another, winks upon a third, and entertains the fourth, and the fift, and so the rest, with some such other glance or gesture of affection, and yet notwithstanding she would make her husband believe that he hath her heart: Even so beloved, although we have in Baptism solemnly betrothed our hearts and souls unto our Lord and Saviour jesus Christ, and have promised to forsake the Devil, the World, & the Flesh, and to reserve our souls as chaste Brides for his bed; yet when the world shall haunt our company, and present us with a map of his vanities, when the Flesh shall assail us, when any kind of sin shall offer us either profit or pleasure, to pollute our hearts with impure spawn; we will speak one fair, wink upon another, and entertain the rest with some secret smile or glance of favour; thinking nevertheless to make our Saviour believe that he only hath our hearts: Indeed if his knowledge were like man's, he might be deceived with shows and protestations: but seeing he alone is the almighty heart-searcher, he alone knows the deceit and hypocrisy of these protestations; he sees that we love him scarce with half an heart, and therefore divorces himself from us, and turns us over to our own lewdness: he must have all our hearts, or none at all. Suppose a man should offer his Creditor half the money which he owes him, is it likely that it would be accepted, especially when he knows his Debtor to be of ability to pay all? How much less than should we imagine that God will accept of half our hearts, when we own him all, and especially, when he gives ability to pay all? The unnatural Mother would have the child divided, but the natural Mother, rather than she would yield to that, offered to resign her interest to the other, 1 Kin. 3.28. So the Devil tells us he would have but half our hearts, and that God should have the other: but God will accept of no such conditions; he scorns to part stakes with the Devil: if the Devil have one half, let him take the other too: God can endure no Copesmate; he must have all, or none at all. 3. And that freely too, without grudging, without repining. We must not answer God when he calls for our hearts as Nabal answered David's messengers, when they entreated provision of meat for their Master and themselves, 1 Sam. 25. But we must give our hearts as freely as we would give any thing to our friend, that is in our own possession. But soft, it were not amiss if I propounded a question: Have all of us that are here present hearts to give or no? or rather are not some of us here without hearts? yes certainly: If there be amongst us any Worldling, or voluptuous person, or Epicure, or Drunkard, or Cheater, or busybody, or envious person, or the like, they are here without their hearts. The Covetous man's heart is where his treasure is; Where your treasure is, there will your hearts be also: The Voluptuous man's heart is where his wenches are: the Epicures heart is where his dainties are: the Drunkard's heart is where good liquor is: the Cheater's heart is where gamesters are; the busy-bodies heart is where contentions are; and the envious man's heart is where the person is whom he hates. If there be any such here (as it may be there are,) Oh call home your hearts while it is called to day, and to day present them as an acceptable sacrifice to him that hath long since bought them with the precious blood of his dear Son. FOUR And so I come to the fourth and last circumstance of my Text, which is the Person to whom we are to give our hearts, set down in this word [Me,] My Son, give Me thy heart. Whence I observe, that God only is the primary, and chief object of our hearts, and so (by a consequence) of our understandings, wills, and affections. Of our understandings, becaúse the chiefest truth: of our wills and affections, because the chiefest good. Other things there are, about which those faculties may lawfully be employed: as for example, the Understanding may be exercised about the knowledge of the universal and general, singular and individual natures of substances and accidents; as also about the images, representations, and privations of those real beings. And as the Understanding, so the Will and Affections may (in a degree) be taken up about other Objects, as about Virtue, lawful profit, and lawful pleasure; but not so as to seek for perfect happiness in the one or in the other: For God only (as being only infinite) is the only satisfactory Object, in whom alone, and in nothing else true felicity is to be found. The consideration of this Doctrine should be a strong motive unto us to direct our hearts (together with all their powers, motions, and affections) chiefly and primarily unto God. Other things we may meditate on, and desire, so far forth as they hold a candle unto us, and prick us forward to the primary and only true Object: But God alone must be the white, to which we all must aim; the Ocean whereunto the rivers of our affections must all flow; and the Centre wherein the lines of our best endeavours must all meet. That man that loves his daughter will be careful to bestow her in marriage upon such a one as desires her for love, and out of his love will assure her a good jointure: But if he hate his daughter, he will not care what becomes of her; he will give his consent to any that shall make love unto her. Oh than my dearly beloved Brethren, if you love your hearts bestow them on God, that asks them for love, that asks them not for any benefit to himself but for advantage unto them; that asks them to enrich and beautify them with the jewels & ornaments of saving graces here in this world, and to endow them with the crown of everlasting blessedness in the world to come. But if you hate your hearts, let either the world have them, that they may become stages for Folly, theatres for Vanity, beds for Security, consistories for Deceit, and chairs for Pride: or let the flesh have them, that they may be seats for Idleness, anvils for Lewdness, tables for Epicurism, furnaces for Lust; or let all manner of sin and impiety have them, that there may be liberty given to Satan to make Schoole-houses of them, wherein to read lectures of Atheism, of Idolatry, of Superstition, of Blasphemy, of Profanation, of Disobedience, of Uncleanness, of Cozenage, of Oppression, of Drunkenness, of Luxury, of Riot, and the like, till they become mere Chaoses of confusion, and vassals of damnation, to burn for ever as never-perishing Salamanders, in the red vengeance of endless tortures: from which the Lord of his infinite mercy deliver us all, Amen. FINIS.