Keeping the Heart (Puritan Writings) [Hardcover]

John Flavel (Author)

Book Description

Series: Puritan Writings | Publication Date: February 1999

"The greatest difficulty is to keep the heart with God", so writes Flavel in his classic work on union and fellowship with God. In his comprehensive and helpful book Flavel looks at what 'Keeping the Heart' means, why we should take commission seriously and particular times when we need to be especially wary of being distacted from our goal. He then shows how we can develop a greater ability in keeping our hearts in tune with God. His advice is timeless, sensitive and profound.. His writings are known for their practical nature.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Flavel was born at Bromsgrove in Wordesterchire. He was the elder son of Richard Flavel, described in contemporary records as "a painful and eminent minister." After receiving his early education, partly at home and partly at the grammar-schools of Bromsgrove and Haslar, he entered University College, Oxford. Soon after taking orders in 1650 he obtained a curacy at Diptford, Devon, and on the death of the vicar he was appointed to succeed him. From Diptford he removed in 1656 to Dartmouth. He was ejected from his living by the passing of the Act of Uniformity in 1662, but continued to preach and administer the sacraments privately till the Five Mile Act of 1665, when he retired to Slapton, 5 miles away. He then lived for a time in London, but returned to Dartmouth, where he labored till his death in 1691. He was married four times. He was a vigorous and voluminous writer, and not without a play of fine fancy. His principal works are his Navigation Spiritualized (1671); The Fountain of Life, in forty-two Sermons (1672); The Method of Grace (1680); Pneumatologia, a Treatise on the Soul of Man (1698); A Token for Mourners; Husbandry Spiritualized (1699). --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 170 pages
• Publisher: Soli Deo Gloria Pubns; Updated edition (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573580775
• ISBN-13: 978-1573580779
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,072,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sadly, no room for a 6th star, August 27, 2007

By 

Nathan Parker (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Keeping The Heart (Puritan Classics) (Paperback)

I have said to my students that if I were locked away for the rest of my life and could only have 3 books with me, I would take my Bible, Calvin's Institutes and Keeping the Heart. Flavel's "Keeping the Heart" is, in my opinion one of the best books written since the close of the Apostolic age. Flavel is a man who walked with his God - you can sense that as you read. I think this is the most important and also most ignored aspect of the whole of the Christian life: The keeping and right ordering of the heart. Flavel shows that heart work is not only the most important but also the hardest work. THIS heart work is what separates those Christians who go about their business for decades without giving thought to their hearts and those who commune with the Lord in all that they do. Read this book Christian! You will be so blessed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Has Proven Itself By Being My Heart-Shepherding Companion This Entire Last Year, June 7, 2008

By 

Jacob Hantla "hantla.com" (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keeping the Heart (Puritan Writings) (Hardcover)

Puritan John Flavel (1630-1691) in Keeping the Heart (originally titled: A Saint Indeed or The Great Work of a Christian Opened and Pressed) has proven to be a steady and timely friend to me over the last year. This book has been a near constant companion during that time and I have made my way through it a number of times. I suppose that I am familiar enough with the book now to write a review so that others may be encouraged to spend time with this heart-shepherding work as well; however, I in no way do I feel that I have mastered its contents or the practice of them. I am convinced though that this book will prove to me to be a lifelong companion whose true worth I could only underestimate.

Using Proverbs 4:23 ("Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flow the springs of life."), Flavel creates a treatise designed for all professing Christians. The aim is that the contents of the heart be laid bare, so that sin which is present is seen as sin and dealt with as a believer should and that the heart be guided to be pure in its devotion and affection for God. He does this, not with law, but by constantly pointing the believer to God's grace as the grounds and means for his sanctification. Flavel is not content to merely convey information, rather, with each point he carefully takes aim at your very soul and deftly fires shot after gospel-saturated, God-glorifying shot. Make sure you read this book slowly and prayerfully, allowing each purifying blow to have its full affect on your heart.

The treatise is basically broken down into four sections:
1."What keeping the heart presupposes" (Six statements describing what is basic in keeping the heart).
2."Why keeping the heart is a great business" (Six statements and their exposition explaining why the life of a Christian should be described as a life of "keeping their heart")
3."Special seasons for keeping the heart" (104 specific pieces of advice particularly tailored for 12 seasons of life in which special diligence is necessary to guard the heart)
4."Uses" of means in keeping the heart (Examples and guidelines on using information, exhortation, direction, and consolation in the keeping of the heart).

Keeping the Heart is a work that is difficult to navigate without seeing the "big picture" of what Flavel is setting out to do. I therefore recommend you acquire a copy that includes the "Outline" by Maureen Bradley. Each of the statements, seasons, or uses alluded to in describing the structure of the work has many subpoints underneath it. I would recommend in your reading that you decide to either read one statement/season/use at a time (roughly 10 pages a piece, although they vary dramatically), or to use it devotionally in much smaller chunks by reading one subpoint at a time. After your first time through the work, you will then be able to quickly navigate to the heart-shepherding help that is particular to your struggle or circumstance.

You will be well-served to read Keeping the Heart, working through the 17th century language (Flavel is not nearly as difficult as many other Puritans and the Soli Deo Gloria edition has helpfully modernized spelling, formatting, and grammar).

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Classic, Poor Edition, April 11, 2008

By 

Paul West "Jalapablo" (San Marcos, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Keeping The Heart (Puritan Classics) (Paperback)

This is very good work by the fearless Puritan John Flavel. The whole book is basically a discourse on Proverbs 4:23: "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life". There are wonderful insights and powerful exhortations dealing with the subject of heart-keeping, and the writing style is easily understood, the sections concise and straightforward. The only drawback is the particular edition Amazon sells - the fascimilie is full of technical errors in punctuation, words cut-off, sentence jumbling. It can get to be a little distracting, like a trainwreck in the middle of a paragraph, severing your concentration till you figure out and try and piece together the typographical error.

Otherwise, a very helpful book for believers concerned with keeping their hearts pure before God. Highly recommended.