An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…

Observe; It is our duty to be heedful.

We cannot be dutiful unless we are heedful; a headless person cannot be a faultless person. This duty runs quite through all we have to do; take heed, first, to the inward motions of the soul, take heed how & what you think (Pro. 4.23.) keep thy heart with all diligence (with all keepings, with all heedings, it is this word in the text) ⟨p. 319⟩heed thy heart, that is, thy first stirrings and motions unto any work. Secondly, take heed, as to the first motions of the soul, so to the affections of the soul, which are soul-motions formed up and stated; take heed of your affections, how and what you desire, how and what you love, how and what you hate. Thirdly, take heed to the tongue, how you speak, and what you speak, where you speak, and why or for what ends you speak; there is a great deal of take heed belonging to the tongue. Fourthly, take heed to the ear, when ye hear others speak, take heed how you hear, and when ye hear, and what you hear; infection may soon come in at those ports. Fifthly, take heed to the eyes, what you behold; the eyes are windows which often let in vanity, yea, I may say, venom and poison into the soul. In a word, take heed of all your actions, or of your whole conversation; take heed what you do,¹ and how you do it; see that ye walk circumspectly, take heed in and about all these things, that ye sin not, especially, that ye neither have, nor carry on any design or work that is sinful; take heed that ye be not found falling into that error, to avoid which, Elihu calleth or awakeneth Job to this watchfulness, take heed.

We cannot be dutiful unless we are heedful; a headless person cannot be a faultless person. This duty runs quite through all we have to do; take heed, first, to the inward motions of the soul, take heed how & what you think (