Devotions for the Heart (2)

selections collected by John Mincy from Keeping The Heart by John Flavel (written in 1667)

[Part One]

This article continues with some excerpts from Flavel’s wonderful little book (about 145 pages excluding editorial additions in the Soli Deo Gloria Publications 1998 edition). The excerpts arise, of course, from helpful contexts. They are given here to encourage a thorough reading of the whole book.

The affections command the thoughts to go after them. (p. 70)

It is with the heart in duty as it is with those who dig for gold ore: they try here and, finding none, try there, and so go from place to place till at last they hit upon the rich vein and there they sit down. (p. 70)

Why are you ready to be gone almost as soon as you come into the presence of God? Is it not because your affections are not engaged? (p. 70)

Never slight wandering thoughts in duty as small matters. Follow every vain thought with a deep sigh, turning to God with such words as these: “Lord, I came here to speak with Thee, and here a busy devil and a vain heart conspiring together have set upon me. O my God, what a heart have I! Shall I never wait upon Thee without distraction? When shall I enjoy an hour of free communion with Thee? Help me, my God, this once, do but display Thy glory before mine eye, and my heart shall quickly be recovered. Thou knowest I came here to enjoy Thee, and shall I go away without Thee? See how the heart of Thy poor child works towards Thee, strives to get near Thee, bugly than the creature, and yet his affections to the creature be sometimes moved more violently and sensibly than towards God? As rooted malice argues a stronger hatred than a sudden though more violent passion, so we must measure our love not by violent motion of it now and then, but by the depth of the root and the constancy of its actions. (p. 98)

It is our unhappiness that when we give saints and sinners their proper portions, that each of them are prone to take up the other’s part. (p. 101)

Whether you are willing to die or not, I assure you there is no other way to obtain the full satisfaction of your soul and complete its happiness until the hand of death does you the kind office to draw aside the curtain of flesh; until then your soul cannot see God. (p. 108)

Most men need patience to die, but a saint who understands what death admits him to should rather need patience to live. (p. 108)

How true we find that saying of Theophrastus: “The soul pays a dear rent for the tenement it now lives in.” But glorified bodies are clogged with no indispositions. Death is the best physician; it will cure you of all diseases at once. (p. 111)

Many great services have been performed, many glorious works are wrought by men, which yet are utterly rejected by God, and shall never stand upon record in order to an eternal acceptance because they took no heed to keep their hearts with God in those duties. This is that fatal rock upon which thousands of vain professors have split themselves eternally. They are curious about the externals of religion, but disregard their hearts. Oh, how many hours have some professors spent in hearing, praying, reading, and conferring! Yet, as to the main end of religion, they may as well have sat still and done nothing; for all this signifies nothing if the great work (I mean, the heart work) is all the while neglected. (p. 114)

John Flavel (c. 1627-1691) was an English dissenting clergyman, a faithful preacher in the face of oppression, and a prolific Puritan author. A few details are available here.

John Mincy was a church planter in Singapore and California and is now pastor emeritus of Heritage Baptist Church in Antioch, California.