Gospel-love, heart-purity, and the flourishing of the righteous being the last sermon of the…

I, and you must often wash your hearts, if you would keep them clean; for your hearts will contract filth, do what you can, unless they are daily washed, and duly searched.

I, and you must often wash your hearts, if you would keep them clean; for your hearts will contract filth, do what you can, unless they are daily washt, and duly searcht.

As it is with a Garden, let a Garden be dressed, and made very exact, so that there is not any thing amiss, not a Weed to be seen in it: I, but the Garden must be kept thus, or else in a little time it will be over-run with Weeds again. It is so in our hearts: Suppose we have weeded out this, and that, and the other evil, if we do not keep a continual care of our hearts, the Weeds will grow again; and therefore our hearts must be continually ⟨p. 79⟩weeding; and our hearts must be continually washed. We must go daily to the Fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness: We must wash our hearts by the renewed Acts of Repentance, confessing our sins, bewailing our sins, mortifying our sins. This is a great work for us. If you have pure hearts, look to it that you keep them pure; you may quickly be defiled: David, a man that had a pure heart; yet got so much defilement upon his heart, that he could not tell what to make of it, but begs of God to create him a new heart, and all because he did not watch his heart, but gave way to Temptation, and so was overtaken: then you will find if you do not daily sweep your houses, they will defile; and the cob-webs they will grow; the Spiders will be at work; and though your hearts be never so pure, Spiders will creep into them, this Lust, ⟨p. 80⟩and that Corruption, and they will be weaving their Webs there. O what sad Webs we have in the hearts of men, and all because they look not after them! You must sweep down the Cob-webs, and throw out the dirt every day, if you would keep your hearts clean.

As it is with a Garden, let a Garden be drest, and made very exact, so that there is not any thing amiss, not a Weed to be seen in it: I, but the Garden must be kept thus, or else in a little time it will be over-run with Weeds again. It is so in our hearts: Suppose we have weeded out this, and that, and the other evil, if we do not keep a continual care of our hearts, the Weeds will grow again; and therefore our hearts must be continually