Doctrine 1. Every man is appointed by the Lord to be his own Keeper . Where there is a depositum , there is a custos , he is a Trustee to whom there is a trust commited . Here take notice , 1 Every man hath other Keepers besides himself . God is his keeper . Psalm . 121.5 . The Lord is thy keeper . Our Governors and our Teachers are our Keepers , every man is , or should be his brothers keeper . Magistrates are the Keepers of their Countries . Ministers are the Keepers of their Flocks and Congregations . Parents are the Keepers of their Children and Families . We should have but ill looking to , had we no other Keepers than our selves ; and all our other Keepers , Magistrates , Ministers , and Parents could do little towards the keeping of us , if the Lord also were not our keeper , Psalm 127.1 . Except the Lord keep the City , the watchman watcheth but in vain . Magistrates will but govern us in vain , Ministers will but guide us in vain , Parents will but rule us in vain , unless the Keeper of Israel be our keeper . Oh bless the Lord , who though he hath put the care of us upon our selves , yet hath not cast off the care of us himself . Let us bless the Lord for his care and custody , and let us both take care of our selves , and also commit the care of our selves to him . To both we are exhorted in one word , 1 Pet. 4.19 . Commit the keeping of your selves to him , in a way of well-doing . Take all the care you can of your selves , and your own ways , and then cast your selves upon Gods care . Commit the keeping of your selves to him , as unto a faithful Creator . Let us commit the keeping of our selves to the Lord , and let us comfort our selves in this , that the Lord will take us into his custody , there we are in sure hands . He is faithful , and will keep what is thus committed to him . Beware you abuse not this comfort . Dare not say thus , God will look to me , and therefore I need not look to my self He that will not keep himself , God will be no keeper of him . He that will not take care of his own soul , says in vain , I have committed that care to the Lord . If thou wilt not take care of thine own soul , thou leavest it to the custody of the Devil ; and if thou dost , God will leave thee to him also . To say I commit the keeping of my self to God , and will not take care of my self , is the same in effect , as to say , I com●it my soul to the custody of Sathan . If thou take not care of thy self , God will not take care of thee ; and if thou be kept neither by thy self , nor by the Lord , into whose hands art thou like to fall , but into the hands of the Devil ? The Devil is a Keeper , yet not a Protector , but a Goaler , the Keeper of the Prison . All the Sinners of the Earth are Prisoners to this Goaler : and there is no man that escapes this Keeper , till he will faithfully keep and look to himself , and so commit himself to the Keeper of Israel .

2. Every man hath others to keep ●●●des himself . Not onely Magistrates , who are to keep their People ; or Ministers , who are to keep their Flocks ; or Parents , who are to keep their Children ; but every man is to look to his Brethren . It was the Question of a wicked one , and it was a wicked Question , Am I my Brothers keeper ? Yes thou art so , thou art to watch thy Brother , and to warn thy Brother , to prevent his falling into evil , and to restore and recover him when fallen , Gal. 6.1 . If a man be overtaken with a fault , ye which are spiritual restore , &c. Thus every man hath other Keepers , and every man hath others to keep besides himself : But

3. In special , every man is his own Keeper ; Deut. 4.9 . Keep thine own soul diligently . And so in the Text , Keep thy heart with all diligence .

Reason 1. If thou wilt not keep thy self , all the World is not able to keep thee . Ministers will but preach to thee in vain , instruct thee in vain , warn and watch over thee in vain ; Magistrates will but govern thee in vain ; Parents will look to thee in vain ; if thou wilt not look to thy self . God himself will not keep thee , if thou wilt not keep thy self . Men cannot , and God will not ; he will be no keeper of the careless ones .

2. If thou wilt not keep thy self , the Devil will be thy keeper . He will keep thee to thy wickedness , if thou wilt not keep thy self from it . This is every mans especial charge , to keep himself out of the hands of the Devil . The Devil will have thee , man , if thou look not to thy self ; nay the Devil hath thee already , if thou be careless of thy self . God will keep none but those , that under him , will keep themselves . Those that will not keep themselves , the Devil may come and take them into his custody The Devil goes up and down the World , to see if he can find any Sheep without a Shepherd ; and he that is not his own Shepherd , God will be none of his Shepherd . If thou wilt not keep thy self , God will not keep thee , thou art a Sheep without a Shepherd . Here 's a man for me , saith the Devil , he hath none to look to him , nor will he look to himself . This is a man for me , I will be his keeper . He will not keep himself for God , I will keep him for Hell . He is none of Gods Sheep , I will take him for one of my Goats . He is left out for me , he hath left out himself , a● therefore God hath left him out , and I will take him into custody .

3. If thou wilt not keep thy self , then thou wilt never keep those others that are committed to thy keeping . What a Parent , what a Neighbour art thou like to be , who art careless of thy self ? How are thy poor Children like to be lookt too ? How is thy Family like to be governed by thee , if thou keep not thine own soul ? He that will not keep his own Vineyard , how will he keep another mans ? He that neglecteth himself and his own soul , how will he mind the souls that are committed to him ?

Vse 1. Then no man must be a Sleeper or a Loyterer . Keepers must watch , yea and must work too ; he that is set to keep himself , is as the Keeper of a Garden , or the Keeper of a Vineyard , and so it is exprest , Cant. 1.6 . Mine own vineyard have I not kept . The Garden hath a Wall to be kept up , hath Weeds to be kept under ; the Vineyard may have wild Vines springing up and exuberant branches that must be pruned and lopt off . Thou hast thy hands full of work who hast such a Vineyard as thy self committed to thy keeping . What , standest thou all day idle ? Work in thy Vineyard we live most of us , as if we wanted work and had nothing to do . We find something to do for this World , and our outward man , and therefore here we are busy ; but we see not , we consider not how much we have to do for our souls , and therefore here we are idle , as if we had nothing to do ; and those that have the greatest work lying upon them , whose work lies most behind hand , who have let all within them run to ruine , and lye all out of order , these are usually the men , that live as if they had nothing to do . Thou art a Keeper , man , a keeper of thine own soul and life ; Is all in safety ? Is all in good order ▪ Look into thy self , and see to what a miserable case , for want of good looking to , thou art grown Conscience which is thy Wall or thy Fence is broken down , that little good that was in thee , thy Flowers are withered and plucked up , and how doth Weeds abound in thee , Pride and Lust and Covetousness ? and those Thorns , the Cares of this life , how have they over-run thy ground ? And dost thou yet loyter , as one that hath nothing to do ? Thou hast work for every day , thou hast work for every hour . The Foxes are waiting , the wild Bea●● Sathan with his temptations ) are breaking in , the we●●s are growing up every hour , behold thy case is growing worse and worse , thine eyes more blind , thy heart more hard , and sensless dayly , up and be doing , look to thy self , keep thy self with all diligence , lest thou let all run to ruine so long , that it be past recovery .

2. Then every man must give an account of himself . Whoever hath a trust committed to him must be brought to a reckoning , how he hath discharged his trust . Rom. 14.12 . Every one of us must give an account of himself to God . God that now says , keep thine heart , look to thy self , will then say , how hast thou kept thy self , What care or what pains hast thou taken ? and oh , what account will the most of us be able to give !

Sinner , thou art a careless heedless soul , thou takest no thought about thy self ; thou takest thought for thy Sheep and Oxen , thou takest care of thy House and thy Ground , but what thought dost thou take about thy self , thy miserable , sick soul , thy blind and dead soul , ; thy proud and earthly mind , thy envy and thy frowardness and thy malice and enmity against God and his holiness , those cursed weeds that thou art overgrown withal , that miserable plight that thy poor soul is in , do sufficiently evidence what a miserable keeper thou hast been of thy self . But man , what a reckoning dost thou think thou shalt give ! Dost never think of being brought to a reckoning ? Dost think that God will ever let thee alone ? Dost think thou shalt never hear of thine idleness and this carelesness of thy self . Thy Parents must give an account how they have done their duty , how they have kept thee whilest under their power , whether they have taught , whether they have governed thee and educated thee in the Lord , and thou must give the same account how thou keepest , and teachest and governest thy child . Ministers also must give an account of thee , how they have instructed thee , warned thee , and watched over thee , Heb. 13.17 . Obey them that have the rule over you , and submit your selves , for they watch for your souls as they that must give an account . Think not much that we deal so plainly , and so closely with you , that we are so instant , in exhorting , in reproving , in warning , and watching over you ; We must give an account how we discharge our duty towards you . Pa●●nts must keep their Children , Ministers must look to their Flocks , and must give an account hereof to God ; but besides this every man must give an account of [ himself ] to God . Rom. 14.12 . How he hath obeyed them , that were set over him in the Lord , how far he hath hearkned to their counsels , whether he hath received instructions and submitted to their exhortations and reproofs whether their discharge of their work towards him , hath set him faithfully to his own work concerning himself . And , oh , what account will you give of your selves to God ? what have many of you done more than others , that have never had Ministers to take care of them ? how little have many of you lived , better than those that never have been taught . Sinners , look into your hearts , look upon your lives , and understand , if you have so much understanding in you , in what a miserable case you are to this day . Is it not a miserable thing there should be so much ignorance , after so much teaching ? Are not those hard hearts , those barren and unsavory lives , much more , those lewd and wicked lives that some of you live , that Lying , and that Drunkenness , and that Sabbath-breaking , and that Covetousness that some of you still live in , are not these sufficient evidences , that whatever Ministers have been to thee , thou hast been a miserable keeper of thy self ? And what a reckoning must you be brought to for this ? Dost not think that God will reckon with thee for all ? Reckon with thee for thy Lying , reckon with thee for thy Drunkenness , reckon with thee for all thy carelessness and negligence ? What wilt thou say for thy self , when God shall demand of thee , How hast thou kept that Vineyard committed to thee ? How hast thou kept that soul of thine ? How hast thou ordered thy Life ? How wilt thou stand speechless in that day , and receive the sentence of an unfaithful Steward , and an unprofitable Servant !

From V. 24. Put away from thee a froward mouth , and perverse lips put far from thee . Note two things :

1. The unruly evil must be ruled . The Tongue is an unruly evil , James 3.8 . It is one of the hardest works that some Christians have to rule their Tongues : but yet it must be done .

Object . It is said it cannot be done , the tongue can no man tame . What , doth Religion put us upon impossibilities , to tame that member which ●annot be tamed ?

Sol. The meaning there is , that 〈◊〉 man can tame anothers tongue . Thou maist rule thine own tongue , but if thou wilt not do it thy self , it is more than all the World can do to tame it for thee . Who can stop uncircumcised lips , who can silence the tongue of the froward ? Neither Laws nor Penalties will do it , neither softest nor hardest answers will do it ; when the tongue is set on fire , there is no water will quench it , and yet it must be done .

2. That which cannot be ruled , must be put away . Put away your froward mouth , put away perverse lips . Put away frowardness and perversness from thee ; frowardness cannot be ruled , perversness cannot be kept in order . When we have done all we can , frowardness will be froward , perversness will be perverse ; and therefore that is the way to rule the tongue , to put away that frowardness which will not be ruled .

1. What frowardness is . I need not say much to answer that ; most men know it too well in their own experiences of the froward ones they dwell , or have to deal withal . There are few men but know what frowardness is , unless it be those that are froward ; the eye that sees others , yet cannot see it self . He that is of a froward mouth is hardly brought to understand that he is froward . He that hath a froward wife , she that hath a froward husband , they that have a froward neighbour , need not be told what frowardness is : but he that hath a froward heart , it is he that hath most need to be told it .

1. He is froward that is hard to be pleased , apt to be provoked , that is ever finding fault , who is like Tinder , apt to catch on fire by every spark , and that fire is quickly kindled , but hardly quenched ; no arguments , no patience , no forbearance will do ; but there it burns and will not be quenched , Eccl. 7.9 . Anger rests in the bosome of Fools : of these froward Fools we are speaking of . Frowardness is folly . That fire which is intended as a revenge upon others , doth burn , and vex , and fret out their own hearts .

II. He is of froward mouth , that gives vent by his lips to the frowardness of his heart , in virulent and bitter and provoking language .

2. The necessity 〈◊〉 putting it away . 1. The Lord commands us to put away froward mouths . What if thy Friend or thy Neighbour cannot pacifie or silence thee , shall not God pacifie thee neither ? If thou wilt not hear Man pleading for peace and quiet , wilt thou not hear the Lord God neither ? God commands thee silence , God commands thee to hold thy peace , and to utter not a word more of thy furious folly : what a perverse spirit art thou of , on whom the authority of the Almighty will not prevail . What dost thou say in effect , but I will speak my mind whether God like it or not ? 2. It is a sign whilest it prevails , that mens Religion is in vain , James 1.26 . If any man among you seem to be religious , and bridleth not his tongue , but deceiveth his own heart , this mans Religion is in vain .

1. There are some professors of Religion , whose Religion is but an outside and pretence ; they do but seem to be religious , they seem so to themselves , and seem so to others , but they are deceived , there is no such thing as Religion in them .

2. Some seem to be religious but bridle not their tongues , they pretend to be of circumcised hearts , but are of uncircumcised lips .

3. The unbridleness of their tongues , is an evidence that their Religion is in vain . When is Religion in vain ? Why , when it cannot reach its end , when it cannot save the soul ; and sure that Religion which cannot bridle the tongue cannot save the soul . Man , in what a case art thou ? Thou professest Religion , and hopest for salvation ; but if thou art of an unbridled froward tongue , thy Religion is vain , and cannot save thee .

III. Frowardness hinders all that little Religion that such men have in the exercise of it ; it puts them besides Prayer , or Reading , or Meditation , or spending one serious thought upon Eternity , all Religion is thrust behind the doors when the froward fit is up .