One Hundred and Ninety Sermons on Psalm 119

Secondly, The respect of the blessed man to these testimonies, they keep them. What is it to keep the testimonies of God? Keeping is a word which relates to a charge or trust committed to us. Christ hath committed his Testimonies to us as a trust and charge that we must be careful of. Look as on our part we commit to Christ the charge of our souls to save them in his own day, 2 Tim. 1. 12. So Christ chargeth us with his Word: (1) To lay it up in our hearts. (2) To observe it in our practice; this is to keep the Word.

(1) To lay it up in our hearts. In the heart two things are considerable, the Understanding ⟨p. 10⟩and the Affections. God undertakes in the Covenant for both, Heb. 8. 10. I will put my Law in their mind, and write it in their hearts. The meaning is, that he will enlighten our minds for the understanding of his will, and frame our affections to the obedience of it. Well then, you must keep it in your minds and affections.

1. In your minds: We must understand the Word of God, assent to it, we must revolve it often in our thoughts, and have it ready upon all occasions. Understand it we must if we would be blessed. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, Joh. 14. 21. We cannot make conscience of obedience till we know our duty. He that would keep a thing must first have it; we have the law in possession when we get knowledge of it.