Book Review: Keeping the Heart
Until Christ’s glorious return, there remains a raging battle for the very heart or soul of man. Thus John Bunyan, in his allegory called The Holy War, writes: “Nothing can hurt you except sin; nothing can grieve me except sin; nothing can defeat you except sin. Therefore, be on your guard, my Mansoul.” Since Genesis 3, the Devil (or Diabolus as referred to in The Holy War) has sought to deceive and destroy by assaulting the very heart of man. Thus in his God-given wisdom, Solomon wrote “keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
As a contemporary of John Bunyan, John Flavel (1627-1691) wrote a profound and penetrating book now known as Keeping the Heart. In the book description, what is at stake is well summarized: “How diligently a man will guard his fortune and his home, which are of temporal value; but how carelessly do most men guard that which is of eternal value, their very soul!”¹ Why do we do what we do? Why do we pursue what we do? Why do we say what we say? It is all from what is… in the heart! (Matthew 6:19-21; 12:34) Thus, in the introduction to Keeping the Heart, Maureen Bradley rightly notes: “Within the context of the absolute necessity of keeping our hearts, we need to realize the primacy of the mind.… If we are to live holy lives, the road traveled must be first to our minds (knowing what is right), then to our hearts (embracing truth), and then to our wills (actions: doing what is right). Though it is often a thousand miles from our minds to our hearts, it is most assuredly a tiny step from our affections to our obedience.”²
What is the obedience in which God delights? Paul explains in Ephesians 6:6 that it is “not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” If the love of Christ controls the heart, then we will no longer live for ourselves but for Christ who for our sake died and was raised (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). However, Maurice Roberts gives this warning: “The believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting the love of Christ and savoring the felt comforts of a Savior’s presence. When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search of other lovers.”³
In Flavel’s treatise of the heart in light of Proverbs 4:23, he compares the heart to a fountain. If the foundation is purified and kept pure, then that which flows from it will also be pure. Thus, his exhortation is to “keep thy heart with all diligence.” To that end, Flavel writes: “The keeping and right managing of the heart in every condition is the great business of a Christian’s life.”⁴ He then adds: “Keeping the heart is such a work as is never done till life is done.… It is with a Christian in this business as it is with seamen who have sprung a leak at sea: if they tug not constantly at the pump the water increases upon them and will quickly sink them.”⁵
In his contemplative treatise of the heart, Flavel exposits and applies Proverbs 4:23 with four main focuses:
What keeping the heart presupposes
Why Christians should make this the great business of their lives
Special seasons in a Christian’s life that require special diligence
Application in several uses
In encouraging readers to rely upon the grace of God in keeping their hearts, Flavel packs each of his main points with meditations upon various scriptures. In so doing, he often gives illustrations and word pictures that drive home each point or application.
One of my favorite sections of the book deals with standing firm in the face of temptation. Flavel wrote, “The stability of our souls in the hour of temptation will be much according to the care and conscientiousness we have in keeping our hearts. The careless heart is an easy prey to Satan in the hour of temptation. His main batteries are raised against that fortress the heart. If he wins that, he wins all; for it commands the whole man.” He then describes how to resist temptation by dealing with it immediately before it gains strength. In using the analogy of a large boulder on a hill that goes into motion, he concludes that the best course of action is to give all vigilance in stopping the boulder immediately rather than trying to stop it further down the hill (with the obvious implication of getting crushed by it after it has picked up momentum). Flavel continues: “And therefore it is the greatest wisdom in the world to observe the first motions of the heart, and to check and stop it there.”⁶
If you want to understand not only why you do what you do but how to do it all to the glory of God (from the heart) in a faith that is sincere, I trust that Flavel in Keeping the Heart will gain the affections of your heart as through his writings he takes you by the hand and helps you to know deeper the truth of Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
¹ John Flavel, Keeping the Heart (Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1998), back cover.
² Flavel, vii.
³ Flavel, x.
⁴ Flavel, 3.
⁵ Flavel, 10.
⁶ Flavel, 22.