The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole duty of prayer. Delivered in…The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole dutie of prayer. Delivered in…

To this I answer, that to have a pure heart, ¹is not to be free from sin, and from da•y failings, (for so indeed none should have a pure heart) but pureness of heart, holiness of heart is, to have our hearts sprinkled from •n evil conscience, and to have our bo•tes washed with pure water, that is, to be purified before the Lord, is nothing else, but to have such an habitual disposition, which makes a man ready to wash himself still, though he be still spotted with sin. So that this is, the disposition of a holy man, if a man that draws near to the Lord with a pure heart; though he be still spotted, and polluted, and defiled, yet he hath an habitual disposition, he hath a principle within, he hath a new nature within, that is still working out that impurity, and washing it away; though still he he•e opposed, and assaulted, & tempted, and sometimes foiled, yet still he resists it, and fights against it; ⟨p. 132⟩as the Israelites had a charge never to make peace with Amalek; such a disposition is in such a man, he never makes peace with any sin; though he be led captive sometimes by it, yet he yields not to that captivity. This is to have a pure heart, though his heart be defiled sometimes, as a vessel will be foul, yet he washeth, and rinseth his heart, he never suffers it to continue muddy, and unclean, and in a filthy disposition, but he hath a fountain, a spring of grace within, that will work out all impurity, as a spring works out mud: he that thus purifies himself still, though the fountain be muddy, though there be many injections, many temptations, many lusts, and sins, yet, if he be purified himself, that he will suffer no sin to mingle with his heart (as it were) to rest there, and to abide, and dwell there, to lye, and continue there, such a man hath a pure heart. We say that is pure, that is full of it self, and will have no heterogenea, no other thing mingled with it, such a thing is pure, as pure oil is nothing else but oil. Now he that hath a pure heart, is not he that hath simply nothing else, that hath no sin mingled, that hath no dross mingled with his wine, but he that suffers it not to rest there; but as oil and water, when you jumble them together, (as you ²