XXVII.  The Wise Pupil, and His Domestic Tutor

"The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips." PROVERBS 6:23.

For method's sake, and to inform my reader's judgment, and to assist his memory, I will lay down my intended plan of operation in the following manner, and execute it under the following heads.

I. Treat of this mans wisdom, "The heart of the wise."

II. What we are to understand by the heart; for it is his heart that teacheth his mouth.

III. Who it is that furnishes this mans heart. with all this~ wisdom, and these mighty works. and,

IV. The progress that he makes in learning; his heart not only teacheth his mouth, but adds learning to his lips.

First, I have treated largely of the wisdom of the wise in this little work before; but, as that subject is copious, much more may be said upon it.

It lies principally in these four things:

I. In the divine instruction which is given to the sour by the Holy Spirit of all grace when he condescends to regenerate and renew the soul, and to lead it into the truth as it is in Christ. "The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace."

1. That the Holy Spirit and his grace are meant in the above passage, appears plain, by its being first pure. God sprinkles clean water upon us, which is his Spirit, in order to purify us, and to cleanse us from all our filthiness, and from all our idols.

2. The Spirit testifies of Christ as our peacemaker; and one fruit of the Spirit himself is peace, for he fills us with joy and peace in believing.

3. Gentle. It is under the Spirits humiliating and meekening operations that the turbulent soul is tamed and made tractable. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall he down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them," Isaiah xi. 6.

4. This wisdom that is from above is easy to be entreated, but cannot be driven; as may be seen in the prophet Elijah, who had much of the spirit of power upon him. For, when king Ahaziah sent a captain of fifty with his fifty to the prophet with this message, "Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down, and Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty; and there came down fire from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty; and he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty: and the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him; be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king," 2 Kings, chap, i. By all which it appears, that the Holy Spirit is easy to be entreated, but he is not to be commanded, much less driven.

5. This wisdom is said to be full of mercy; for the sure mercies of David, which are made sure to Christ, who is of the seed of David, and sure to us in him, are revealed to us by the Holy Spirit; hence it is said, that "according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour."

6. This wisdom is full of good fruits. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, &c." Gal. v. 22,23.

7. This wisdom is without partiality. It wilt never justify the wicked, nor condemn the just. It influences a man to love God, and to love those that love him. "Every one that loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him." It is this spirit of wisdom that makes man a freeborn citizen of Zion; and the character of such a citizen is, that in his eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord, Psalm xv.

8. This wisdom is without hypocrisy. It makes the heart honest and sincere; it deals not deceitfully with God, nor with man; nor will it suffer a man to appeal to be something when he is nothing; nor yet to he against his right when the Spirit hears witness to his sonship.

II. The second general head of this discourse is, the wisdom of divine revelation, especially the covenant of grace, or what is called the gospel. "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." The folds of this wisdom are many. They begin with Gods appointing the second Adam before the first Adam was formed; by his fixing his eternal love upon us in Christ before we incurred the wrath of God by the dreadful fall of our first head. By giving us eternal life in a new covenant head before the entrance of death by sin into the world. In his appointing us to obtain mercy through Jesus before the curse and condemnation of the law took place, and declaring his mercy to be from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him. In predestinating us to the adoption of children before we became servants of sin, and appointing us to be conformed to the image of Christ before the image of God was lost in Adam. In setting forth the mystical union between Christ and the church by the marriage of Adam and Eve. "We are of his flesh, and of his bones. This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the church." In making known the appointed incarnation of Christ as soon as man fell, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpents head." In appointing salvation to be of grace, not of works; that it might be sure to all the seed. In choosing the poor, the foolish, the weak, and the base things of the world, for the sake of magnifying his own free, sovereign grace and mercy. In sending forth his own Son, made of a woman; which glorious incarnation of Christ made God and man more closely united than ever they were before, God and man being but one person. In the work of redemption, in which the glorious grace and mercy of God appear, and yet the justice and holiness of God are highly honoured. In the death of Christ, in which Satan is outshot in his own bow, sin is condemned in the flesh of Christ; Satan, sin, and death, are destroyed; and sinful man saved. In the forgiveness of sins, which is according to the riches of his grace; and yet, by its coming to us through the atonement of Christ, we receive it on the footing of strict, justice. "God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." In the aboundings of sin being supplanted by the superaboundings of grace, the vilest of sinners are cleansed from sin; yet vengeance is taken of their inventions. In the imputation of an everlasting righteousness, in which God appears strictly just, and yet he justifies the sinner from all his ungodliness upon his believing in Jesus, The saint is a vessel of free mercy, and yet he is bought with a price. God, of his own good pleasure, works in us both to will and to do; and yet "God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which we have showed toward his name." The Lord will give grace, and he will give a crown of glory, even to the chief of sinners; and yet it is the Lord, the righteous judge, that gives that crown, 2 Tim. iv. 7.

III. The third branch of wisdom is Christ himself. "He is made of God unto us wisdom. Christ, in his highest nature, is the essential wisdom of God; hence he is called the power of God and the wisdom of God. All his children are called fools, and the foolish things of the world; and it required great wisdom to deliver them; and this was done by wisdom. The poor wise man by his wisdom delivered the city. "Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength." To this the New Testament agrees: Christ was crucified through weakness, 2 Cor. xiii. 4. And yet there was such wisdom displayed in this weakness as destroyed all the powers of this world, and all the power of Satan, of sin, death, and the grave; and all this by weakness and wisdom.

2. Christ crucified is the wisdom of God in a mystery. And this wisdom God ordained before the world to our glory, 1 Cor. ii. 7. "And God forbid," says Paul, "that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."

IV. The fourth branch of this wisdom of the wise lies in the experience of these things. The wise man is a partaker of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit testifies of Christ to him, and forms Christ the hope of glory within him, and leads him into all truth, and especially into all the truth of the promises, which are all yea and amen in Christ, to the glory of God by us. And with the promises come all the spiritual blessings with which God blessed us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I come now,

Secondly, to my next general head, which is to treat of the wise mans heart; for it is the heart of the wise that teacheth his mouth. By the heart, in scripture, various things are meant.

1. Sometimes it signifies the will. "And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought forth bracelets and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the Lord."

2. Sometimes by heart is meant the memory. "And these are they by the way-side, where the word is sown; but, when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts."

3. Sometimes by the heart is meant the understanding. "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."

4. Sometimes the heart is put for conscience. "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God."

5. By the heart the affections are often intended. "And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." And again: "For where the treasure is, there will the heart be also."

6. Sometimes knowledge is ascribed to the heart. "The heart knoweth its own bitterness, and a stranger intermeddleth not with his joy." And again: "And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord; for they shall be my people, and I will be their God;" and they shall return unto me with their whole heart. Now, according to all these scriptures, it seems as if the heart meant the whole soul of man, and every faculty of it; so that the mouth and the lips of a wise man proclaim nothing else but the inward sensations and springs of the soul. And, indeed, that wisdom is but of little use that floats in the head; God requires it in the heart. "Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom." So that the proper seat of wisdom is the hidden part; and true wisdom properly seated and established there, is no less than the hidden man of the heart, even that which is not corruptible, 1 Peter ii 4. There is a divine treasure in every wise mans heart, which is the Holy Spirit and his grace, and the pure word of God, and the promises of life. "Every scribe, which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old." Again: "A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things," Matt; xii. 35. The Holy Spirit furnishes and inlays the soul with his grace, and establishes it there, and confirms his own work, by giving us an understanding in the word of God, which always agrees with the Spirits work. And by the various operations which he makes us experience, the heart moves in concert with the mouth. The Spirit is deeply concerned in all the teaching that the heart of the wise conveys to his mouth.

1. He forms the word in the heart before it be conveyed to the mouth. "Which things also we speak, not in the words which mans wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

2. It is the Spirit which teacheth the mouth, and even pronounceth the word. "I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him." "I will give you," saith the Lord, "a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist." "For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."

3. The Holy Spirit, under his influence, gives the soul a feeling sense of the matter which is spoken. Words from the head are always dry, light, and barren; but what the Holy Spirit sends forth from the heart are sent with energy, being attended with power; hence they are said to be seasoned with salt, and to minister grace to the hearers. Light instructs the understanding; and knowledge, clearly uttered, informs the judgment; but it is the power of the Spirit, the savour of grace, and the dew of divine life, that refreshes the bowels of the saints. This enlarges their heart, revives their faith and hope, encourages the soul, and conveys comfort to them which warms their affections. All gifts, and even spiritual gifts, will wither and die without this inward furniture. It is the Spirit, and his continual communications of grace, which feed the wise mans gift. The Spirit of grace is a springing well, and the words of wisdom a flowing brook; nor can that brook dry up; for God, in Christ, is a fountain of living water; and it hath pleased him that all fullness should dwell in our Mediator; and from the Saviour's fullness there is a continual emanation to the believing soul. I will water the vineyard every moment; I will keep it night and day, Isaiah xxvii. 3. And this never-failing river of pleasure flows for evermore, and furnishes the heaven-born soul with endless supplies. "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." When all these supplies can fail, when this fountain and river cease to flow, then may the believer's springs become dry; but not till then. His gifts shall not die, his leaf shall never wither, nor shall he ever cease from yielding fruit; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. "The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth." And much teaching doth the wise man need; for he hath many persons, and various cases, to speak to, and not two exactly alike.

"For though I be free from all men," says Paul, "yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak, became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." To the Jew Paul discoursed of the law, and of Christ the end of that; of the prophecies, and of Christ the substance of all the predictions; of the promises made to their fathers, and of the accomplishment of them all by Christ, and of their being all yea and amen in him, to the glory of God, by the salvation of us. Paul showed that the seed of Abraham was to be found among the Gentiles; that every heir of promise is an Isaac, and every spiritual worshipper of God is an Israelite; that he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; namely, a regenerated soul, formed by the Holy Spirit for Gods use, and sanctified to set forth his praise; that circumcision stands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, or the old man, by the circumcision of Christ, who took our sins on him; and in removing the ignorance and enmity of the heart, and by enlightening of us, to see the suitableness of Christ, and inflaming our hearts to love and adore him. Thus the apostle of the Gentiles becomes a Jew to the Jews, but still makes Christ the substance and subject matter of his whole ministry.

"To them that are under the law, as under the law." To these poor prisoners, though not prisoners of hope, Paul went back to his former state of bondage, when he warned sinners for three years together, night and day, with tears; he brought forth the matter of his conversation with these, from the bondage of his soul in former days; he brought forth his former exercises when labouring under wrath, terrors, and horrors of soul; his doubts, despondings, and misgivings of heart; the workings of unbelief, carnal enmity, and all manner of concupiscence; his legal striving, and bad success at it, till he was informed that Gods grace was sufficient for him, and that his strength was displayed in human weakness, which made the cause of his former grief to be the joy of his soul. "Most gladly therefore will I glory in mine infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me; for when I am weak then am I strong."

"To them that are without law, as without law." Paul argued with these with sound reasoning, and with the workings of their own thoughts and consciences, and how these accused or excused each other; and, as every poor heathen is summoned to the bar of equity by his own thoughts, that he may listen to the sentence of conscience, and, when brought in guilty, the restlessness and disquietude of the soul, when his own judgment takes place. All of which shows that conscience is an umpire, has an office assigned, and is empowered to act under one who is higher than conscience; and that this tribunal is daily held under God, and will at last end in a final and universal judgment; and that by God himself. Paul showed to these heathens their native weakness, and the power of sin, and their propensity to evil, even when their resolutions and determinations were against it. Paul showed the rise of this evil, and from whence it came, and the remedy that God had provided against it, and the sinners need of that remedy, which is the blood of Christ to purge it, and the grace of God to subdue it.

"To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak." To these Paul spoke of his former staggerings through unbelief, of the instability of his hope and love, of his dim sight, and shallow comprehensions; of his living on the breasts of consolation, the sincere milk of the word, and of his rising and falling, believing and disbelieving according to his transient and momentary comforts; that he was at that time unskilful in the word of righteousness, being, as all others at first are, a babe; that he thought as a child, and spake as a child, and understood as a child, till he became established in the faith, and grew up to be a man in understanding. And sure I am that we need truth and wisdom in the hidden parts of the heart to discourse to the edification of all these.

It is the heart of the wise that teacheth his mouth. The heart, when furnished with the choice experience of Gods Holy Spirit and his grace, is a strange thing; especially when it is brought savingly to know God; for it moves in concert with the light of Gods glory shining in the face of Christ; just as the moon does in the face of the sun. The heart rises with joy, and sinks with grief; it enlarges with love, and contracts with fear; it is courageous in Christ's presence, and fails at his absence; goes forth at the approaches of Christ, and draws back at his departure. It is swoln with grief at the Lords frowns, but overflows with glee at his smiles; it is smitten and withers like grass when God appears angry, but teems at his approbation, good-will, and pleasure. It trembles at his judgments, but waxes bold at the outgoings of his mercy and lovingkindness; it admires his clemency, but stands in awe of his terrible majesty. It is deeply concerned, for Gods honour; and it highly resents every affront and insult offered to him; it embraces, upon the first sight, every sincere friend of his, and is closely barred against every enemy of God; and even moves alternately with love and hatred while a doubtful, dubious, and suspected character appears before it, until judgment and conscience bring in their verdict; then the heart opens or shuts, embraces or rejects, according to the imperfect but honest decision of these feeble judges.

There is an unction and an anointing from the Holy One; and, as he is pleased to instruct us, so we know all things essential to be known. And in his anointing two things are manifest: the one is the motion of the Spirit upon the heart; the other, his illuminating rays upon the understanding. Hence it is said that holy men in old time spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; and such are called seers, because they were enlightened to see into futurity. Love and joy in the heart, and the rays of it shining into the understanding, are what is meant by the unctuous teaching of the Holy Spirit.

Many are the lessons which the heart of the elect receives from God the Father, from God the Son, and from God the Holy Ghost. Blessed, says David, is the man whom God chasteneth, and teacheth him out of his law. It is by the powerful application, and under the influence of the law, that the human heart is laid open. Its terrors bring the soul into bondage; its rigorous demands set the soul to its legal strivings to balance the enormous account; the fear that it works brings amazement into the soul and the terrors of endless death; and the unlimited demands of the law set the poor sinner to working for life; but all in vain. It is under this application and divine teaching that the plague of the heart is felt; the enmity, the desperation, the inflexibility, the unrelentingness of the heart, its stubbornness, and its wild distraction, are stirred up, manifested, and made to boil up and overflow, and discover itself, to the unutterable astonishment of the awakened sinner. But God has made his most gracious promises to them that know the plague of their own heart, acknowledge their disobedience, and call upon his holy name.

There is also the bitterness of the heart, as well as the plague of it. "The heart knoweth its own bitterness, and a stranger intermeddleth not with his joy," says the wise man. The bitterness of the heart rises up when guilt and wrath, law and conscience, the enmity of the mind, and the displeasure of God, meet together. These-make sad work with the poor sinner, and are always attended with the bitterness of death. And the Lord appearing to cross the sinner in all his intentions, to resist him in all his approaches to him, and in providence to walk contrary to him; these things increase the bitterness of the heart. However, these things teach the sinner this wholesome lesson, that he which trusteth in his own heart is a fool. And sure I am that none are more evangelical, none more pure from confidence in the flesh, none cleave more closely to Christ, nor savour more of him, nor loath themselves more in their own sight, than those who have been disciplined with such sharp exercises.

"The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth." His heart and his mouth must go together. He dare not advance what he doth not believe, nor pretend to those joys which he never felt, as some do, who, as Paul says, glory in appearance, but not in heart. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." If the heart be purified by faith, the precious atonement of the Son of God, the cleansing efficacy of the blood of the covenant, the certainty of forgiveness, and the happy enjoyment of it, will be the leading topic in a wise mans conversation, which is called a good conversation in Christ. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Here the heart and the mouth are in harmony; what the heart embraces, the mouth acknowledges and proclaims. The heart leads the van, and the mouth brings up the rear. With the heart man believes unto righteousness to the justification of his soul freely and fully from all things, and the mouth confesses that the soul is eternally saved.

Again: it is faith in the heart that furnisheth the mouth. "I believed, therefore have I spoken," says David. "We believe, and therefore speak," says Paul. And faith regulates the mouth; so that the believer prophesies according to the proportion of faith; for, if he be weak in faith, he will speak doubtfully about his own personal interest in the things of Christ; yet he will not speak doubtfully about the truth of the things which God has revealed. Divine revelation is yea, yea; but weak faith is yea and nay. To prophesy according to the proportion of faith, is to speak of what we have got, and to speak of that as our own of which we are the most sure. If the heart, like the heart of David, be fixed, trusting in the Lord, we shall speak of the things which concern the Lord Jesus with all confidence. Confidence is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. There is eternal life in true faith; and that is the thing hoped for; while faith, as an evidence of things not seen, assures the conscience of them, and silences all gainsayers; and this brings peace and quietude. "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength," says the prophet.

"It is a good thing," says Paul, "that the heart be established with grace." There are seven things which establish the heart. The first is, having the heart sprinkled from an evil conscience. 2. Having the sentence of justification passed in the court of conscience, upon which the sinner passes from death to life. 3. To have the peace of God ruling in the heart; for peace is the effect of pardon, and the fruit of righteousness. 4. A comfortable degree of assurance, sufficient to claim an interest in God; To as many as received Christ, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. No less than divine power can work this faith in the heart of an infidel; and it requires the power of assurance to enable such a sensible sinner to claim this his sonship. 5. The love of God shed abroad in the heart, which casteth out all fear, and in some measure, keeps it out. 6. A good hope through grace, or a firm expectation of the glory that is to be revealed; "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil." The seventh and last thing is the infallible witness of the Holy Spirit;" "He that believeth hath the witness in himself;" and this witness both testifies to the heart, and speaks by the mouth. He bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God; and, because we are sons, he is sent forth into the heart, crying, Abba, Father. A heart thus established with grace, will furnish the mouth with everlasting themes. Not so the impostor, not so the hypocrite; for such often travel contrary ways, even at once. He promises and proclaims liberty, but he communicates nothing but bondage; the mouth glories, but the countenance fails. Such glory in appearance, but not in heart. "Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness," Prov. xiv. 15. Here is laughter in the mouth, sorrow in the heart, mirth in the way, and heaviness in the end. But God makes the heart of the wise honest; and an honest heart is a faithful conscience; a conscience that will magnify its office, by dealing justly, and bearing a true testimony. According to the true state of the heart, and according to the good treasure of it, and according to the frame of it, so the mouth speaks. The sorrow of the heart fills the mouth with complaints. An enlarged heart opens the mouth, and fills it with joyful acclamations. "O ye Corinthians," says Paul, "our mouth is opened unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels." Different frames send forth different voices. "Thus saith the Lord, There shall be heard in this place the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness; the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; the voice of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land," Jer. xxxiii. 10, 11.

The real door of the heart is the mouth, if the heart be overcharged with grief, the lips are closed. "Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak." But when the heart is enlarged, then the mouth is open. "Our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged." The treasure of the heart is brought forth by the mouth; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. And this shows us what our Lord means when he says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear nay voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." The Lord doth not knock as we do; we knock with the hand, but the Lord knocks with his voice. "It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh," says the spouse. The word of Christ is a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces; his reproofs are his knocks. He smites with the rod of his mouth, and tells us that if we hear his voice, and open the door, that he will come in unto us. To open the door is to open our mouth to him by confession, by inquiry, and by prayer, as Samuel did, when he said, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth;" and as Paul did when the Lord knocked at his door, who said, "Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. And he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." And after this inquiry, and the information that the Lord had given him, Paul fell to praying; and the Lord heard his prayer, and sent Ananias to him, that he might receive his sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And thus Paul opened as soon as Christ knocked; and by the Spirit Christ entered into Paul when Paul sweetly supped upon the sacrifice and satisfaction of his longsuffering Lord; and Christ supped upon the prayers, praises, blessings, and thanksgivings, of Paul, his former enemy, but now affectionate friend. Besides, it is our Lords meat to do the will of him that sent him, in saving the objects of his Fathers choice; for it is not the will of our Father that one of his little ones should perish.

And thus it appears that all the savour, sweetness, life, and power, that attend the word, comes from the heart. "Let your words," says Paul, "be seasoned with salt, that they may minister grace to the hearers," "Have salt in yourselves," says Christ, "and be at peace one with another." "With all thine offerings," says God, "thou shalt offer salt; nor shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy burnt offerings." "It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace." "He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips, the king shall be his friend." Without the new cruse and salt in the spring-head, all is death. The letter killeth, whether it be taken out of the Old Testament or out of the New; but the Spirit giveth life. All gifts, without grace, have their seat in the mind, will, and understanding; hence we read of a fleshly mind puffed up; and of voluntary humility and will-worship; and of understanding all mysteries, and yet being nothing. The seat of God in Zion, and the throne of the King of kings, and the eternal residence of the Holy Spirit, are in the conscience, and in the affections, of the saints. God dwells in the contrite heart, or in the tender conscience; and he circumcises the heart to love him; and "He that loveth dwelleth in God, and God in him." Hence we see that all ministerial gifts, without charity, and without the springing-well of grace to feed them, wither and die; and carnal men gather such branches into their company and they are burnt. Prophesying, light in the understanding, working miracles, gifts of tongues, gifts of speech, like the tongues of men and of angels; reformation, fiery zeal, and sound notions without grace; together with all temporary faith, the joy of natural affections, and dissembled love; are nothing but bodily exercise, a fair show in the flesh, and having a name to live while dead: "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." It is by an eager embracing of these things that many fail, of the grace of God, and come short of the promised rest; as may be seen by the knocks and calls of the foolish virgins, and by the plea of those who plead, "Have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and done many wonderful works?" and who, notwithstanding all these gifts and performance, are sent away with, "Depart from me, I know you not." But to be plain, honest, and faithful, in these things, incurs the hottest displeasure of empty professors, and exposes one to all the reproach and scandal that Satan can invent, or malice propagate.

Thirdly. But I come now to show where the wise mans heart gets all this wisdom; why God tells us that he will make the seed of his dear Son to endure for ever, and that he will build up his throne to all generations. Now we know that it is Gods work to root up, and to throw down to build and to plant. There is none under heaven that builds us up in a spiritual sense but God. Ye are Gods husbandry, ye are Gods building." And the principal graces that are employed in carrying up the building of mercy are, first, faith. "But ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost," Jude 20. And it is charity that edifieth. Charity, or love, raises the edifice, or builds the soul up in God, for love draws the whole soul out of itself, and draws it into God, till the whole grows up into an holy temple in the Lord. And this growing up is explained by Christ of having our treasure where our heart is; and Paul calls it setting our affections above, at the right hand of God, where Christ sitteth. And sure I am, that when God builds up Zion he shall appear in his glory. The heart, in short, is the seat of the most holy and ever-adorable Trinity. God dwells in the heart by love; for "He that loveth dwelleth in God, and God in him? Christ dwells in the heart by faith. This Paul witnesseth when he says, "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." And the Holy Ghost dwells in us by the witness that he bears to our adoption, and by the steadfast and constant cry of Abba, Father. From the indwelling of these adorable divine persons hath the wise man's heart all this wisdom, and all these mighty works; which makes the wise man a wonder to many, and a wonder to himself. And thus "Our sufficiency is of God." And it is wholly owing to the body's being the temple of God, and the heart being the seat and throne of God, that this wisdom of the wise man is displayed in the world. "Zion," says God, "is my rest; here will I dwell for ever; for I have desired it." Out of Zion the Lord roars, and utters his voice from Jerusalem; which Jerusalem is nothing else but his covenant, and the elect of God in it. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath and will for ever shine; but this shining is into our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Fourthly. But the wise mans heart not only teacheth his mouth, but it addeth learning to his lips. Alexander Pope says, that there is difference between learning and languages; and perhaps there is. There is a deal of difference between the wisdom of God in a mystery, and the wisdom of this world, that comes to nothing. We read of all the words of this life, in the Acts; and we read of great swelling words of vanity, in Peter. Homer's Iliad, which is so much esteemed, is full of such. They are empty sounds, like bladders full of wind; prick them, and, like ether, they evapourate into air. And the whole account is nothing else but the potsherds of the earth striving with the potsherds for mastery. He tells us of the mountains of the dead, the ample shield, and reeking gore; and of the earth trembling at the fall of his warriors. The word of God calls all these the drop of a bucket, worms of the earth, the dust of a balance, grashoppers, and the crushing of a moth, Isaiah xl. 15; Job iv. 19. These words debase fallen men to a level with the meanest creatures, when Homer exalts them to be almost as gods. But as the wisdom of this world is opposed to the wisdom of God, so the words which God teacheth are opposed to the words of human wisdom. "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." The glorious things which the ancient prophets saw in the visions of God, and have left upon record, are as puzzling to the learned as to the illiterate. "And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed. And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned." The scholar that could not read this book of visions was a man of human learning, and he complains that the book is sealed; so that he owned that spiritual things cannot be discerned but by the Spirit of God. Hence it appears that divine teaching is necessary in order to understand divine things. And God has made provision for this also. He tells us that the law is our schoolmaster; and he will chasten us and teach us out of his law. And Christ says, "Every man therefore that hath heard; and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me;" that we may sit down at his feet, and receive of his word; for the words of eternal life are in his mouth; as Job saith, "Who teacheth like him?"

The things which we are to learn are in the scriptures of truth. "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning; that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." The scriptures are our books of learning; and God promises to teach us out of these books; and this sort of learning is to be held fast, and to be highly esteemed. "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them." The chief branch of this divine learning is Christ Jesus. He is the wisdom of God in a mystery, and the great mystery of godliness. Hence we read of some who gave themselves over to all uncleanness; and of others who had not so learned Christ, Eph; iv. 30. Human learning and divine learning are distinguished the one from the other in the scriptures. The apostles themselves, though taught of God, are called unlearned, because they were not possessed of human learning. "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled," Acts iv. 13. These are called unlearned, because they had not human learning; so there are others that are called unlearned, because they have no divine teaching. "But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all." And Peter tells us, that in Paul's epistles there are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scripture, 2 Peter iii. 16.

"The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth," saith my text, "and addeth learning to his lips." God teacheth the heart, and the heart teacheth the mouth. Divine learning doth not he in great swelling words of vanity, but in words weighty and powerful; weighty because they come from God, and lead to the enjoyment of an eternal weight of glory. They are said to be powerful, because they influence the soul, bow the will, and constrain to obedience. That which commonly passes for learning among us, consists in storing the mind and memory with the natural and acquired parts and abilities of the ancient heathens. But divine teaching widely differs from this. It lies in the deep things of God. "The Spirit searcheth all things; yea, the deep things of God." And this is done that we might know the things which are freely given us of God. The secret of his decrees is with the righteous. The depths of his ancient councils are made known at our conversion, which is called the purpose of God, and the mystery of his will; he having predestinated us to the adoption of sons, and sending his Spirit into the heart to make it known to us. His exalting his dear Son, from all eternity, to be our future head, king, and mediator, is the depth of divine wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory; which none of the princes of this world knew. Predestination to the adoption of children, and to be conformed to the image of Christ, and to eternal life and glory by him, are such deep things as cannot be learned but by the Spirit of God, God making us accepted in Christ, and admitting us into his grace and favour by the faith of him, and under the influence of his Spirit, is a most precious branch of divine learning. Communion and fellowship with the Father and the Son, an understanding of this, the enjoyment of it, and to be enabled to set it forth to others, is the best wisdom and learning in all this world. But then all divine subjects are unsavoury to men in a state of nature; and every branch of human learning is dry, lifeless, and unsavoury, to a soul quickened of God. In short, there are no depths to be compared to the secret purposes and all-wise councils of God. No heights like those of divine love; no wisdom to be compared to the destruction of Satan, sin, and death, by the mystery of the cross. No learning so satisfactory as that which leads us to a knowledge of God, and of our interest in him. This learning is unctuous, savoury, and satisfying, having the dew of divine favour, the grace of God, and eternal life, in it.

Sometimes the wonderful performances of God are set forth poetically, that they may be adorned with the flights of heavenly poetry, as in the third chapter of Habakkuk. And sometimes all created nature is ransacked for images to setforth the glory of Christ, the beauty of the church in him, their mutual love, and eternal union, as in the Song of Solomon. And it is thought, by some, that the most eloquent orator in the school of nature never could find out such a variety of words to express one and the same thing as are to be found in the 119th psalm. "The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips." The strength and art of oratory may warm the imagination, and move the natural passions; but words of truth and peace, which convey the power of divine grace, and minister faith, hope, and love, are the only learning that can suit a hungry soul, convinced of his natural blindness and ignorance. Such God promises to feed with knowledge and understanding.