that is, watchfulness, or taking heed.

"Take heed lest

there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God."

The disease is great indeed, a disease common unto the children of men to depart from God.

And the disease is very dangerous; for else, why should we take heed thereof? I shall speak something to all these, and not so much as to single out any doctrine: But thus from the first.

It is a very dangerous thing to depart from God.

When may a man be said to depart from God, or a people be said to depart from God; and what is the danger of it?

For answer, There is a total departing from God, and a partial departing from God; every sin that we do commit is a departing from God. For what is sin, but an avertency from the Creator, and a convertency to the creature.

A total departure there is, and that is two-fold, either total in regard of the object, or total in regard of the subject.

A man doth totally depart from God objective, when he doth depart from all the truths and ways of God, and turns heathen.

But subjective, a man doth totally depart from God, when he doth with his own heart and soul depart from the Lord, though he may keep many truths; as a man that breaks in his outward estate, he may keep something and yet be broken; so spiritually, a man may break and depart from God, and yet may keep many truths. Now it is this totally departing that is here aimed at; and it is a dangerous thing, either totally or partially; but especially a dangerous thing to depart from the Lord totally.

Now that is the question: When may a man be said to depart from God?

Look when a man doth depart from the service and the worship of God, then he departs from God. In Isa. lxv. 11, "But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain." When men do forget the holy mountain, the worship and service of God, and depart from that, then they depart from and forsake the Lord. And

Look when a man doth depart from an holy conversation wherein he hath walked before, then he is said to depart from

God, Job vi. 14. But he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. "To him that is afflicted, pity should be shewed from his friend, but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty:" it is not said, "he forsakes the Almighty," but he forsakes the fear of the Almighty, which is all one: when a man doth forsake the fear of the Almighty, the good ways of God, a holy and a good conversation wherein he hath walked before, then he is said to depart from God: and

Look when a man in time of danger and trouble doth not so much trust unto the Lord, as unto an arm of flesh for safety and deliverance, then he is said to depart from God, Jer. xvii. 5. Thus saith the Lord," Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." For a man in time of trouble to rest upon an arm of flesh, and not upon the Lord himself, why, this is to depart from God in scripture language.

Now it is a dangerous thing so to do.

For thereby a man doth depart from his life, in departing from God, he doth depart from his own life: for God is a living God, saith the text here: take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God: departing from God, then a man doth depart from his life: take away God and I am nobody, saith one: a true speech, take away the living God, and where is our life?

Thereby also a man doth depart from his own prosperity, 2 Chron. xxvi. 5. It is said of Uzziah, " As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper." Departing then from the Lord, is a departing from a man's own prosperity.

Thereby also in departing from God, a man doth depart from his refuge and shelter in the time of adversity as he doth depart from his own prosperity, so by departing from God, a man doth depart from his shelter, and covert, and sanctuary in the time of adversity. You know what God hath said, "I will be a little sanctuary unto you:" in the want of a sanctuary, God will be a sanctuary to his people, "Fear not their fear, nor be afraid, sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread, and he shall be for a sanctuary unto you." A hiding place, a shelter in the time of a storm When a man departs from

God, then he departs from his sanctuary, from his relief and shelter in the day of his adversity.

Thereby also a man doth depart from his own comfort; from all his comforts: take away the sun, and it is not all the torches in the land can make a day, or can give daylight: God is the Father of mercy, and the God of all consolation; depart therefore from the Lord, and we depart from all our consolation, we depart from all our comfort.

Thereby also in departing from the Lord, a man doth depart from his own being, and his own mercy: forsakes his own mercies, and cleaves unto lying vanities. The name of God you know is, I am, I am that I am : who is all-sufficient? I am, saith God: who is gracious? I am, saith God. The name of God is, I am, the name of the creature is, I am not : in departing therefore from the Lord, a man doth depart from his own being in him we live, and move, and have our being, departing from the Lord, we depart from all: surely it is a very dangerous thing then to depart from God.

Now the cause of this disease is unbelief: unbelief is the root of apostacy, infidelity is the ground of apostacy, an unbelieving heart is the cause of this departing from God. Here are two things:

That an unbelieving heart, is an evil heart.

That unbelief is the cause and root of this apostacy, or departing from God.

I shall clear it by several particulars, and but name them. An unbelieving heart is an evil heart, for it is a hard heart; and therefore you have it in the following words, "Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin:" what is a hard heart? we are generally mistaken about a hard heart; we think ordinarily that when a man's heart is straitened in duty, then his heart is hard: no, a man may be straitened in duty, and yet his heart may be soft: but a thing is said to be hard when it does not yield: soft when it doth yield. Touch hard wax and it yields not, touch soft wax and it yields, and takes the impression: a soft heart yields unto God's impressions; a hard heart yields not, but resists and contradicts: so doth an unbelieving heart: an unbelieving heart is a contradicting, resisting, an unyielding heart; and therefore properly an unbelieving heart is a hard heart.

As an unbelieving heart is a hard heart, so an unbelieving heart is an unclean heart: for faith purifies the heart, and therefore where the heart is unbelieving, the heart is unpurified, and so is unclean: an unbelieving heart is an unclean heart.

As an unbelieving heart is an unclean heart, so it is a proud heart. You know what the prophet Habakkuk saith, chap. ii., "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live by faith :" so then, an unbelieving heart also is a proud heart.

As an unbelieving heart is a proud heart, so it is a froward, peevish, fretful heart: faith and fretting are opposed, in Psa. xxxvii., "Fret not thyself because of evil doers, trust in the Lord, and do good: commit thy way unto him, and trust in him," verse 5. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him, fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way," verse 7. Faith and fretting are opposed. How did the people of Israel murmur in the wilderness; and why, but because of their unbelief? Froward, and fretful, and murmuring. An unbelieving heart is a fretting froward heart.

As it is a fretting and froward heart, so an unbelieving heart is a rash, foolish heart, and will put one upon doing foolish things. It is rash, faith makes not haste, but unbelief makes haste, " I said in my haste, I am cast out of thy sight:" that is unbelief," I said in my haste, all men are liars," that is unbelief. What a foolish thing it was for David to scrabble on the door, and let fall his spittle, and feign himself mad? It was his unbelief that did it: an unbelieving heart, is a rash, sudden, and a foolish heart.

As it is a rash and a foolish heart, so it is a doubting, wavering, staggering heart. It is said of Abraham, that he staggered not through unbelief. It seems then, that as drunkenness will make a man stagger, and reel to and fro, so unbelief will make a man stagger and reel to and fro: a doubting, wavering, unsettled, staggering heart, is an unbelieving heart.

As it is a doubting, staggering heart, so it is an undutiful, and an unserviceable heart: for it is faith that is the great performer of duties. What is duty but faith incarnate? what are works but faith incarnate? and prayer is a friend to faith.

Faith is a friend to prayer,
You may see how they are

twisted together, and one walks by another. In Psalm iii., David being in very great distress, he believes, verse 3., " But thou O Lord art a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of mine head:" why then he prays, verse 4., “I cried unto the Lord with my voice;" then he believes, verse 5., "I laid me down and slept," verse 6., " I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about:" then he prays at verse 7., “ Arise O Lord, save me, O my God:" he prays, and he believes, and he believes, and he prays. Prayer is a friend to faith, and faith is a friend to prayer: but an unbelieving heart, is an undutiful heart, an unserviceable heart, it is an unpraying heart.

As an unbelieving heart is an undutiful heart, and an unserviceable heart: so it is a sad, and a discouraged heart." Why art thou cast down, O my soul; and why art thou so disquieted within me? Hope, wait, trust in the Lord ;" and that is the way to take off discouragements: but a heart full of unbelief, is a heart full of discouragement.

As it is a sad and disconsolate heart, so an unbelieving heart is a dishonouring heart: by faith we honour the power of God, the grace of God, the all-sufficiency of God: "He that believeth not, makes God a liar," saith the apostle, that God is not faithful: faith honours the faithfulness of God, but he that believeth not makes God a liar: it is a God-dishonouring sin.

And to say no more in it but this: as it is a God-dishonouring sin, so an unbelieving heart is the heart that God will punish with the most severity: we may see how the Lord punished it in his own people, when they were in the wilderness, and they sinned through unbelief. God kept them out of the land of promise; and why? Heb. iii. 19., "So we see that they could not enter in, because of unbelief:" this was in their first time; but now in their last time, they were broken off. And how came they to be broken off in Christ's time, Rom. xi. 20. "Well, because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith :" because of unbelief they were kept out of Canaan; because of unbelief they were broken off in Christ's time; so that an unbelieving heart, and an unbelieving soul, is such an heart, and such a soul as God will punish with the most severity; " He that believeth not is condemned already:" an unbelieving heart is an evil heart.