September 7 — On Cleanness of Heart

Consider, first, the words of the sixth beatitude: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God, God is not to be seen by the eyes of the body, but only by the eyes of the heart, that is, by the interior eyes of the soul. Now, as the bodily eyes, in order to contemplate their proper objects, must be clean, (for if any speck interpose itself, and cover the sight, the object cannot be seen;) so the interior eye of the soul, in order to see God, must be clean; the sight must not be covered with any speck ot earthly dirt, that is, with any disorderly affection to any thing in this world. This cleanness of the inward eye requires two things, viz. simplicity in the intention, purity in the affection. With these two wings, a man is lifted up above the things of the earth. Simplicity aims at God alone; purity takes hold of him, embraces him, and adheres to him. Seek God, says the wise uian, in simplicity of heoil, (Wisd. i. 1,) that is, in the uprightness and sincerity of a single heart; of a heart free from all double-dealing, and all the guile of an artful self-seeking, instead of seeking G(A. Let the eye of the intention be simple, that is. single and sincere, and truly directed to God, and then tne whole body of the actions shall he lightsome, Matt. vi. 22. Let God be the great object of thy love, so as to admit of no affection that takes off thy heart from him; and thy heart will be truly pure and clean, and qualified to contemplate and embrace God.

Consider, secondly, the degrees by which we are to ascend to this perfect purity and cleanness of heart. The first, and most necessary purgation, is from ail mortal sin, and from the affections to it; for the heart that voluntarily admits of the affection to mortal sin, (whether it be the sin of impurity or any other vice,) is absolutely unclean, and is possessed by an unclean spirit and therefore can have no shan. in God. The second purgation goes farther, and not only settles the soul in a fixed determination never to consent, upon any account, not even in thought, to any one mortal sin, but also cleanses the heart from all wilful affec tious to venial sin, and fixes her in a resolution never, with full deliberation, to commit a known venial sin, much less to indulge any habit or custom of any such sin. All these sins, when fully deliberate, are so many spots and stains, which strangely disfigure the beauty of the soul, make her unworthy of the embraces of her heavenly spouse, and darken the eye of the heart, so as to disqualify it for the seeing of God. And therefore such spots and stains as these must be purged away, if we would be truly clean of heart

Consider, thirdly, that, in order to be perfectly clean of heart, the heart must also be purged from all affections to worldly honours, riches and pleasures; from all disorderly love of the creature, to the prejudice of the love of the Creator; and from every affection that takes off any part of the heart from God, which indeed is always the case, when we love any person or thing which we do not love for God’s sake, or with a due subordination to the love of God. Whatsoever love cannot stand this test is more or less an unclean love; it divides the heart, it makes the heart unclean, it sullies its purity, and disqualifies it for the seeing of God. O see then, my soul, what an evil it is, to suffer any irregular affection to possess thy heart; since it hinders thee from so great a good, even the sight of God, thy only true and sovereign Good I

Conclude to be ever jealous of the purity of thy heart; labour daily to purge it more and more, not only from all wilful sin, but also from every earthly affection that can any ways sully it, or overcloud its inward sight, with the exhalations that are always arising from sensual and worldly love.