are pleased in and with what they do, they are said to do it with their
men. So, in the beginning of the verse, our Saviour calls grace "The good treasure of the heart" of a good man, whence what is good proceeds. It is a principle constantly inciting and stirring up to, and consequently bringing forth, actions like it, of the same nature as itself. And it is also called a treasure for its abundance. It will never be exhausted; the more lavish men are, the more they draw out of this treasure, the more it abounds! As men do not spend their grace, but increase it, by its exercise, no more do they their indwelling sin. The more men exercise their grace in duties of obedience, the more it is increased; and the more men exert the fruits of their lust, the more it is increased in them; it swallows up its own poison, and grows thereby. The more men sin, the more are they inclined to sin. It is from the deceitfulness of this law of sin that men persuade themselves that by this or that particular sin they shall so satisfy their lusts as that they shall need to sin no more. Every sin increases the principle, and fortifies the habit of sinning. It is an evil treasure, that increases by doing evil. And where does this treasure lie? It is in the heart; there it is laid up, there it is kept in safety. All the men in the world, all the angels in heaven, cannot take this treasure from a man.
The heart in the Scripture is used sometimes for the mind and understanding, sometimes for the will, sometimes for the affections, sometimes for the conscience, sometimes for the whole soul. Generally, it denotes the whole soul of man and its faculties, as they are all one principle of moral operations. The mind, as it inquires, discerns, and judges what is to be done; the will, as it chooses or refuses; the affections, as they like or dislike, cleave to or have an aversion; the conscience, as it warns and determines, - are all together called the heart. And in this sense it is that we say the seat of this law of sin is the heart of man. Only, we may add that the Scripture, speaking of the heart as the principle of men's actions, usually includes with it two things: -
1. A pleasingness to the soul in the things that are done. When men are pleased in and with what they do, they are said to do it with their whole hearts. Thus, when God blesses his people in love, he does it