Keeping the Heart Quotes

“It would much conduce to the settlement of your heart, to consider that by fretting and discontent you do yourself more injury than all your afflictions could do. Your own discontent is that which arms your troubles with a sting; you make your burden heavy by struggling under it. Did you but lie quietly under the hand of God, your condition would be much more easy than it is.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart

“Providence is like a curious piece of tapestry made of a thousand shreds, which, single, appear useless, but put together, they represent a beautiful history to the eye.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart

“Suppose that by revenge you might destroy one enemy; yet, by exercising the Christian's temper you might conquer three‌–‌your own lust, Satan's temptation, and your enemy's heart.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart

“As God did not at first choose you because you were high, so he will not forsake you because you are low;”
― John Flavel, Keeping The Heart

“The heart of man is his worst part before it be regenerate, and the best afterwards: it is the seat of principles, and fountain of actions. The eye of God is, and the eye of a Christian ought to be, principally fixed upon it. The greatest difficulty in conversion, is, to win the heart to God; and the greatest difficulty after conversion, is, to keep the heart with God.”
― John Flavel, Keeping The Heart

“It is my ignorance of God's design that makes me quarrel with him.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart

“If you would have the distraction of your thoughts prevented, endeavor to raise your affections to God, and to engage them warmly in your duty. When the soul is intent upon any work, it gathers in its strength and bends all its thoughts to that work; and when it is deeply affected, it will pursue its object with intenseness, the affections will gain an ascendancy over the thoughts and guide them. But deadness causes distraction, and distraction increases deadness. Could you but regard your duties as the medium in which you might walk in communion with God in which your soul might be filled with those ravishing and matchless delights which his presence affords, you might have no inclination to neglect them. But if you would prevent the recurrence of distracting thoughts, if you would find your happiness in the performance of duty, you must not only be careful that you engage in what is your duty, but labor with patient and persevering exertion to interest your feelings in it. Why is your heart so inconstant, especially in secret duties; why are you ready to be gone, almost as soon as you are come into the presence of God, but because your affections are not engaged?”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart

“Maintain a prayerful frame of heart in the intervals of duty. What reason can be assigned why our hearts are so dull, so careless, so wandering, when we hear or pray, but that there have been long intermissions in our communion with God? If that divine unction, that spiritual fervour, and those holy impressions, which we obtain from God while engaged in the performance of one duty, were preserved to enliven and engage us in the performance of another, they would be of incalculable service to keep our hearts serious and devout. For this purpose, frequent ejaculations between stated and solemn duties are of most excellent use: they not only preserve the mind in a composed and pious frame, but they connect one stated duty, as it were, with another, and keep the attention of the soul alive to all its interests and obligations.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart

“the state of the whole body depends on the soundness and vigor of the heart, and the everlasting state of the whole person depends on the good or ill condition of the soul.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart: In Modern English

“God rejects all duties (how glorious soever in other respects) which are offered him without the heart. He that performs duty without the heart, that is, heedlessly, is no more accepted with God than he that performs it with a double heart, that is, hypocritically.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart

“most men rather need the spur, than the reins”
― John Flavel, Keeping The Heart

“Perhaps you deceive yourself by looking forward to what you would be, rather than contemplating what you are, compared with what you once were.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart

“If the heart is wicked, then as Christ says: “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” (Matt 15:19) Note the order: first evil and vengeful thoughts, and then unclean and murderous practices.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart: In Modern English

“Justification has destroyed the damning power of sin, and sanctification has defeated its reigning power; but glorification destroys its very being and existence.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart: In Modern English

“The heart of man is his worst part before regeneration and his best afterwards.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart: In Modern English

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart: In Modern English

“the motions of a tempted soul to sin is like the motion of a stone falling from the brow of a hill: it is easily stopped at first, but once it starts rolling, it is hard to stop.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart: In Modern English

“heart-neglect is a leak in the bottom,”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart: In Modern English

“It is not enough to hear, unless you take heed how you hear.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart: In Modern English

“all ordinances, means, and duties are blessed for the improvement of grace in us in proportion to the care and strictness we use in keeping our hearts in them.”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart: In Modern English

“carriages”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart: In Modern English

“Man, by the apostacy, is become a most disordered and rebellious 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 irregular. But by regeneration the disordered soul is set right; this great 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;”
― John Flavel, Keeping the Heart

“Is sense and feeling a competent judge of God’s actions and designs?”
― John Flavel, Keeping The Heart

“if I yield to thy temptation, I must either feel the pangs of conscience, or the flames of hell.”
― John Flavel, Keeping The Heart

“The state of the whole body depends upon the soundness and vigour of the heart, and the everlasting state of the whole man upon the good or ill condition of the soul.”
― John Flavel, Keeping The Heart

“When providence frowns upon you, and blasts your outward comforts, then look to your hearts, keep them with all diligence from repining against God, or fainting under his hand; for troubles, though sanctified, are troubles still; even sweet-briar, and holy thistle, have their prickles.”
― John Flavel, Keeping The Heart

“But if you have derived any benefit from the reproaches and wrongs which you have received, if they have put you upon examining your own heart, if they have made you more careful how you conduct, if they have convinced you of the value of a sanctified temper; will you not forgive them? Will you not forgive one who has been instrumental of so much good to you? What though he meant it for evil? If through the Divine blessing your happiness has been promoted by what he has done, why should you even have a hard thought of him?”
― John Flavel, On Keeping the Heart