"Look after the purity of your heart and the purity of your life will follow." - Pastor Brainerd
For a good man out of the treasures of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45
I can lay claim to nothing more than distilling the thoughts of those who have gone before. The following from Thomas Manton's "Exposition, With Notes, Upon The Epistle of James"...
ReplyDelete"Persons scandalous, whom he intendeth by sinners, must cleanse their hands; hypocrites, noted in the other expression, double-minded, they must make their hearts clean. The first care must be spent about the heart; a pure spirit will not brook filthy thoughts, unclean desires, fleshly counsels."
The Manton commentary has been a delight. Like his fellow Puritans, he really wrings out the meaning and hedges it round about with insightful wisdom.