Consider -Keeping the Heart 101713

In his work, Keeping the Heart, John Flavel writes:

"Man, by the apostacy, is become a most disordered and rebeleious creature, opposing his Maker, as the First Cause, by self-dependence; as the Chief Good, by self-love; as the Highest Lord, by Self-will; and as the Last End, by self-seeking.
Thus he is quite disordered, and all his actions are irregulat.  But by regeneration the disordered soul is set right; this gret change being as the Scripture expresses it, the renovation of the soul after the image of God, in which self-dependence is removed by faith; self-love, by subjection and obediecne to the will of God; and self-seeking by self-denial.  The darkened understanding it illuinated, the refractory will sweetly subdued, the rebellious appetite gradually cconquered.  Thus the soul which sin had universally depraved, is by grace restored.  This being pre-supposed, it will not be difficult to apprehend what it is to keep the heart, which is nothing but the constant care and diligence of such a renewed man to preserve his soul in that holy frame to shich grace has raised it." (Emphasis mine)

He goes on,
"For though grace has, in a great measure, rectified the soul and given it an habitual heavenly temper; yet sin often actually discomposes it again; so that even a gracious heart like a musica instrument which though it be exactle tuned, a small matter brings it out of tune again; yea, hand it aside but a little, and it will need setting again before another lesson can be played upon it."

The heart is kept by diligent attention to those gracious gifts God has provided us for this purpose.  We have the Word and the Spirit we have prayer and worship.  Propper and diligent attention in and to these gifts are God's gracious provision but we must attend to them dutifully and consistantly our else we will be out of tune and sounding distressing instead of comforting notes in our lives and the lives of others.

Keeping the heart is keeping the heart from sin not retrieving it from sin.  Keeping the heart is watchfulness and diligence is the graces and mercies God has provided.  We are called to be oly and holiness is a great hinderance to sin.  We must be about the business of holiness first in our hearts and then, as a consequence, in our living.

But we fail to keep our hearts and suffer greatly in lack of confidence and lack of assurance.  Confidence in proclaiming Christ and assurance that we are in Christ.  Hence we are settled in a mediocre life - lukewarm and strangers to the joy of the Lord.  Adversity becomes a greater burden than it actually is and prosperity becomes a greater trap than is should be.

Keeping the heart is critical to keeping all else from disorder and confusion.

Consider.