vii 4. _Take heed._
The Hebrew word signifies, to prevent or keep off any evil with which
we are threatened. The direction ought to extend to all that we do;
for not one duty can be rightly performed without diligent attention,
and it is no less incumbent upon us than upon the king and people of
Judah (H. E. I. 4880-4890). It is a necessary and useful caution,
which ought to be reduced to practice at all times, especially in
seasons of perplexity and distress, such as that wherein Ahaz and his
subjects received this admonition. 1. Take heed to your _senses,_
particularly what you see and hear; for these are the avenues by
which sin and vanity, or wisdom and instruction, enter into the heart
(H. E. I. 4895). 2. Take heed to your _actions,_ what you do, and how
you act, and for what purpose you are employed, that you may happily
avoid the many sins and dangers to which you are exposed, and attain
the great ends which you ought uniformly to pursue. 3. Take heed to
your _tongue,_ that you sin not with your mouth; consider wisely what
you say, to whom you speak, and to what purpose, especially when your
minds are fretted, and when you feel yourselves under the influence
of timidity and disappointment (P. D. 3558, 3559). 4. Take heed to
your _hearts,_ and keep them with all diligence, for out of them are
the issues of life; attend to the secret operations of your minds,
and the objects on which your affections terminate, that you may
perceive whether they are properly moderated and directed (H. E. I.
2695-2705, 4887; P. D. 1735).--_Robert Macculloch: Lectures on
Isaiah,_ vol. i. p. 395.