Heart: September 2021
Table of Contents
Heart
Man’s Heart Meeting God’s Heart
There is heart enough in Jesus to open the heart of the vilest sinner. The sinner finds he has a title in God’s heart when he can find none in his own. The woman that was a sinner loved much because much was forgiven her. It was a broken heart that met the heart of God, and the heart of God met a broken heart. It is wonderful when the heart of man really meets the heart of God. J. N. Darby
Heart Flow
You must be in present dependence in preaching. There is no power unless we are receiving while we speak. What you need is a living connection with the heart of God, and then what flows out of the heart of God into your heart will come with power to the hearts of those to whom you speak. J. G. Bellett
Unbelief of Heart
All our failure, whether as sinners or as saints, is because of our unbelief in the goodness that is in the heart of God. It is unbelief of the goodness in the heart of God that is the root of all our coldness, carelessness and lack of earnestness in the things of God. H. E. Hayhoe
The Heart
We are all familiar with the expression “the heart,” and at least in Western society, almost all of us understand the dual meaning that is attached to it.
The Organ
First of all, we may think of the heart in medical terms, as that entity in us that pumps our blood around our bodies. As such, the heart is indeed a wonderful organ, for it must continue beating if we are to stay alive. If the heart stops beating and nothing is done to remedy the situation, irreversible damage to the body occurs in less than five minutes, especially to the brain.
In a normal healthy person, the heart may beat close to 100,000 times in a 24-hour day, pumping an average of five liters per minute. During vigorous exercise, this volume may increase to 10 or 15 liters per minute, and even higher in those in tip-top condition.
What is also wonderful about the heart is that it has its own natural, internal pacemaker, the so-called sinoatrial (or SA) node. The impulses that cause the heart to beat in a proper manner originate here and are transmitted down to the rest of the heart through nerve fibers. These impulses continue to be generated in a regular sequence, independent of the central nervous system. The speed of these impulses can be modified, of course, by various factors in the body, which we will not enlarge upon here. When I was in medical school, I well remember asking one of my professors what caused these impulses to be generated by the SA node. His reply was, “God does, if you believe in Him.” I replied that I certainly did believe in Him, for only He could create something that would continually send out impulses for a lifetime, to keep the heart going.
Thoughts and Feelings
However, as we have mentioned, the expression “the heart” has another meaning, and it is this meaning with which we are concerned in this issue of The Christian. The Word of God uses the term “heart” more than 800 times, nearly always with the meaning of “thoughts and feelings.” The expression is used first of all in Genesis 6:5, where it is recorded that God said, “Every imagination of the thoughts of his [man’s] heart was only evil continually.” The verse that follows refers to God’s heart, where it is recorded that “it grieved Him [God] at His heart.” If we look at the various references to the heart in Scripture, we see that it is a general expression for all the inner man. Sometimes it is spoken of as the seat of the affections and will, while at other times (as in the verse quoted from Genesis 6:5) it refers to our sinful self with its evil desires. When Scripture says, “If our heart condemn us” (1 John 3:20), then it encompasses the conscience as well as the affections. When we read, “My son, give me thine heart” (Prov. 23:26), it is more our affections that are in view. In Jeremiah 17:9 we read that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Here it is man in all his sinfulness as a result of his fall. When we read, “The veil is upon their heart” (2 Cor. 3:15), it is spiritual perception or lack of it. Thus, within the framework of the Word of God, the heart refers to all moral exercise within us. The word must, of course, be interpreted to some extent by the context in which it is used.
The Mind
The expression “the mind” in Scripture may sometimes overlap “the heart” in meaning, but there is a distinction; they are not synonymous terms. The heart refers more to the seat of desire and affection, while the mind is connected more with thinking, perception and reason. Thus, my heart tends to go toward what is important to me — where my affections are—but I have the ability to set my mind on something as an act of my will. Thus the will, while, in one sense, being part of the mind, also controls it and directs it in different ways. But as to the heart, our Lord Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34). We find the two expressions used in connection with Nebuchadnezzar: “His heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride” (Dan. 5:20). His heart was lifted up in pride, and as a result of that pride he hardened his mind against God. In other articles in this issue, we have sought to bring out some of what Scripture says concerning our heart and God’s heart.
“The Heart”
It is interesting to notice that even in the world at large, the expression “the heart” has a large place in our everyday speech, and particularly in the realm of affection and love. We speak of someone having a “large heart” for some particular cause, or of an individual who “puts his whole heart” into something. We speak of those who have fallen in love, saying, for example, that “she lost her heart” to someone. Figures of hearts are used to indicate love between individuals, and they are often featured in Valentine’s Day cards and anniversary cards.
Concerning the expression “the heart,” a writer in the New York Times recently made this observation:
“To accurately size up a human situation, you have to project a certain quality of attention that is personal, gentle, respectful, intimate and affectionate — more moving with and feeling into than simply observing with detachment. ... I see less and less of this sort of attention in America, even amid the tragedies of 2020. Far from softening toward one another, the whole country feels even more rived, more hardened and increasingly blind to lives other than our own.”
It is sad to see this tendency creeping up on us, and surely it is not limited to the United States of America. But we must realize that it is familiarity with the heart of God in Christianity that has brought about the philanthropy and goodwill that has been seen in Christendom over the years, and which consequently has spilled over into the rest of the world. But with the giving up of God and His Word, it is not surprising that man has become more self-centered, narcissistic and callous toward the feelings and plight of others.
W. J. Prost
Giving the Heart to God: A Perversion of the Gospel
The story has been often told of the North American indigenous chief who sought to obtain salvation by offering first his blanket and then his gun to God. He was told that gifts like these would not purchase the divine favor, but that if he wanted to be saved, he must give his heart to God.
Now this sounds very right and good, but the writer has met with persons who have been driven into doubt and legality by the use of this very phrase. Awakened to a sense of their sinfulness and impressed with the importance of being right with God, they kneel down and earnestly seek to dedicate their hearts to Him. With a sense of relief in having made the “surrender,” they rise from their knees determined to live a holier life in the future.
Before very long, however, they find by bitter experience that their hearts are just as bad as ever and that the old sinful thoughts come crowding into their minds again with overwhelming force.
Perhaps they think that the surrender has not been wholehearted enough, so with greater earnestness than before, they try to “give their hearts to God” and beseech Him to take them and keep them. But with what result? Alas! after the first impression of relief and expectation has passed away, they have again to acknowledge their lack of success, and they soon conclude that it is no use trying anymore. So they sink down into a hard, indifferent state of soul and perhaps turn to the attractions of the world, hoping to deaden their feelings of disappointment by flinging themselves into the whirl of its pleasures.
To Gain Favor
To speak of giving one’s heart to God in order to gain His favor is a great mistake and arises from three causes: (1) a wrong estimate of your own heart; (2) a wrong use of Scripture; (3) a wrong idea of the gospel.
Observe carefully how the natural heart is described in the following passages of Scripture:
“The HEART is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9).
“Out of the HEART proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matt. 15:19).
“God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his HEART was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5).
These three scriptures are very clear and to the point: They need no interpretation. Beyond all doubt, they teach that the human heart — yours and mine — is naturally full of deceit, incurably wicked, and the source of every kind of evil, not merely sometimes, but “continually.”
With this description before me, am I to bring as a present to the holy God a thing which He Himself declares to be desperate in wickedness and surpassing all things in deceit? Will that induce Him, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, to look with favor upon me? Surely such a present, instead of purchasing God’s good will, could only call forth His holy condemnation and wrath.
“Give Me Thine Heart”
“But does not the Bible itself say, ‘Give Me thine heart’?” asks one. You refer to Proverbs 23:26, but have you ever noticed the two significant words with which that verse opens? “My Son,” it says, “give Me thine heart.” These two words, “My son,” show that the one addressed stands in a known relationship to the one who speaks. But are you indeed His child? And is He indeed your Father? It is not everyone that can say “Yes” to this question, for the New Testament makes it abundantly clear that all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they alone, can claim to be God’s children. (See John 1:12; Gal. 3:26.) If you, as a guilty sinner, have trusted in the Savior and have received from His blessed hands the forgiveness of your sins, you are indeed a child of God. In that case, to you the exhortation, “Give Me thine heart,” applies with full force. You are now no longer your own, but His, and constrained by His love, it will be your greatest joy to hold all that you have at His disposal — in other words, to give Him your heart. And He is worthy!
But until you can say that you have been saved by His love and power from the worst of fates, you have no right to arrogate to yourself family privileges until you belong to the family circle. Passages of Scripture such as, “Give Me thine heart” and “Yield yourselves unto God” refer only to real believers. To apply them to any others is to make a wrong use of them and to sow the seeds of a sad harvest of disappointment and despair.
But the misuse of such passages is generally the outcome of an imperfect acquaintance with the gospel. People are not sufficiently careful to learn for themselves from God’s own Book what God’s own way is of blessing sinners.
The Gospel Gives
There are two important points in connection with the glad tidings. First of all, God is revealed in the gospel as a giving God. He did not always appear before men in this character. On Mount Sinai He spoke as a demanding God, and it was this that He claimed. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matt. 22:37-38).
But alas! among the thousands of mankind, not one was to be found who loved Him with all his heart. If then salvation could be obtained only in this way, not a single sinner would ever have been saved. The day of demanding, however, came to an end, and the day of giving has taken its place. The law says, Thou shalt love God; the gospel says, God loves you. The law claimed love and obedience from man and cursed him because he did not produce it. The gospel takes for granted that man is unable to meet any just claim, and therefore demands nothing, but brings every blessing with it. God is now revealed as the great and good Giver.
God’s Gift
If it be asked, What has brought about this great change? the answer is soon given. Besides being a God of unimpeachable righteousness, He is a God of infinite love. He saw that unless His wisdom devised a plan and unless His heart made a sacrifice, He could never address men in terms of grace and mercy.
So instead of continuing to demand, He gave. And what was the gift? The very best that He could give. He “so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” For what purpose? That He might so fully meet the just claims of God that God need make no more demands upon men, but that He might freely give all that was in His heart to give. The curse was endured by the spotless Victim at Calvary, and the full right was acquired for God to take the place of giver instead of being a demander.
God’s Place as a Giver
“It is more blessed to give than to receive” were the words of the Lord Jesus, and as a result of the God-glorifying work of the cross, God gets the more blessed place, and we have only to take the place of thankful receivers.
“I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely” (Rev. 21:6). This is the wonderful message that now rings down from heaven into this dark world of sin, and as if to emphasize it, and make it of even wider application, the invitation is added: “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). Mark those golden words, “I will give,” and, “Let him take.” Instead of the sinner giving and God taking, it is God who gives and the sinner who takes.
Does not the thought of it make your heart leap with gratitude to the giver of all good? Do you desire to make some response for His grace? Say then like David of old, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits?” And let your answer be like his: “I will take the cup of salvation” (Psa. 116:12-13). Nothing could please Him better or be a more acceptable way of showing your gratitude than for you simply to take what He so freely offers. “I will give”; “let him take”; “I will take.” Precious words!
“Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15).
P. Wilson, Christian Truth, Vol. 13 (adapted)
The Head and the Heart
The question has been asked, in spiritual things, What is the difference between believing with the head and believing with the heart?
The term “believing with the head” is thought by some to be an objectionable one; nevertheless, we surely find in Scripture that which is conveyed by the expression. In John 2, for example, our blessed Lord exposes mere head belief. “When He was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man” (John 2:23-24). “Many believed in His name,” yet their hearts were untouched and their consciences unreached. There was no sense of sin and no turning of the heart to Christ.
Natural Understanding
The mind, or natural understanding, was convinced that He who wrought such miracles must be God, but although the understanding was thus convinced, there was no subjection of heart to God and no confidence in Christ Himself. They could appreciate the miracles which He did and imagine that they were honoring Him who wrought them. But He who knew “what was in man” could not accredit such a profession of faith, however fair in appearance. It might have passed as genuine in the estimation of man, but God looks on the heart, and He must have “truth in the inward parts.” Their belief was a mere human persuasion, founded, as our Lord hints, on what was in man. The faith that connects the soul with Christ is founded on the testimony of God to Him. This makes all the difference.
But there is one thing which marks this merely human faith — it produces no movement in the soul towards God. There was no question on the part of these Jews as to man’s sinful state, but they had no exercise of conscience as to pardon and eternal life. They never got away from themselves and did not understand that salvation was to be found in another.
The Case of Nicodemus
If we now turn for a moment to the case of Nicodemus in John 3, we shall see the perfect contrast to all this mere surface work. The essential difference between Nicodemus and the Jews in John 2 is that he came to Christ under a sense of need. He saw the miracles as they did, but a desire was awakened in him to know God’s mind on these matters. This is a sure sign of genuine faith, for it leads the man outside of himself. He has learned, in some measure, that there is nothing good in himself and that blessing is to be found alone in Jesus. In all such cases, there can be no question that God is at work in the soul.
When truth acts on the heart in the power of the Spirit, it creates a want. Nicodemus evidently felt a lack which nothing in himself or in his own religion could ever meet. He had been a high religionist and was doubtless well acquainted with the doctrines and forms of his religion, but now his conscience was reached by the blessed Jesus, and a new desire was awakened in his heart. He felt there was something wanting, and to rest content in this state was impossible. The One whom he had seen do such wonderful works and speak such wonderful words was the right person to approach in his perplexity. There may be great tardiness in making a decision and a fear of others, but when there is a true sense of sin in the soul and Christ is the object of its desires, the full expression of faith will come.
This was the case with Nicodemus. He came to Jesus by night; he was afraid of the world and of his fellow professors. Yet the vital germ was there, and though surrounded with dangers, it increased in power, and in time manifested its divine origin. In chapter 7, we find him standing up for Christ before the council, and chapter 19, he is bold enough to face the world for the rejected and crucified Jesus. Such is the difference between that kind of belief which rests on the mind of man and the faith which is grounded on the truth of God. The one gives way under adverse circumstances; the other is deepened by them.
Belief in the Heart
It is perfectly plain from the Word of God that all outward expressions of faith are utterly worthless, unless they flow from an inward work of grace in the heart. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9-10). The term “heart” in this passage may embrace the entire inner man, as contrasted with the confession of the mouth, or outward expression. When the work is of God’s Spirit, by the Word, the mind is not only instructed, but the heart is touched, and the conscience is reached. It is by the conscience that the light comes in and reveals the sad state of the soul. This makes a man serious.
But as the Spirit of God works very differently with different individuals, it becomes us, wherever we see the least sign of a divine work, to be slow in judging. While angels are celebrating a new birth, we may be looking on with unbelieving suspicion! How sweet and strengthening to the heart at such a moment is the spirit of Christ! He gathers the lambs with His arm and carries them in His bosom. Should we not seek to follow His example?
God has put away sin and brought in righteousness by the cross, and now grace reigns “through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21). “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him” (Psa. 2:12).
C. H. Mackintosh (adapted)
Keep Thy Heart
Proverbs 4 concludes with a renewed call to heed a father’s words clothed with the authority of Jehovah.
“My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thy heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart more than anything that is guarded; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee perverseness of mouth, and corrupt lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be well-ordered. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil” (Prov. 4:20-27 JND).
The Listening Ear—Attentive Mind – the Heart
When parental affection, in the fear of Him who deigns to teach us, would bring lessons of wisdom before the child, the listening ear and the attentive mind cannot be dispensed with. Personal respect, however due, is not enough: The ears, the eyes and, above all, the heart have their part to do. Such training is to be kept “in the midst” of the heart. What else can be compared with what has Christ for its source, character, object and aim? “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). No wonder then that it can be added, “They are life to those that find them and health to all their flesh,” or, as the Apostle says to his genuine son Timothy, “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation” (1 Tim. 4:8-9). No doubt, too, Christianity has given immense accession to the truth by the coming of the Son of God, for “without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached among Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1 Tim. 3:16). Yes, the secret of piety is in Him thus known as He is; all else is but a fair show in the flesh, which flickers for a moment before it is extinguished forever.
Hence the call to “keep thy heart more than all that is guarded.” The utmost vigilance is needed, “for out of it are the issues of life.”
The Moral Center
Scripture always views the heart as the moral center on which all outward conduct and walk depend. Hence the Lord in Luke 8 speaks of those who in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. In John 15 He says, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). This indeed is piety: to abide in Him who is life and salvation and peace, to have His words, not only obeyed but constantly cherished, with prayers going up and answers coming down accordingly. No wonder then that His Father is glorified, much fruit borne, and the Lord Jesus not ashamed to own such as His disciples.
But there is, meanwhile, evil still allowed to go on around, and what is so trying, it is in our own nature, the old man. That it was crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin might be annulled, so that we might no longer be slaves to sin, is our blessed knowledge by faith. This is no real reason that we should deny the existence of that evil thing in us, but the best and most powerful ground why sin should not “reign” in our mortal body, for we are not under law but under grace. Hence, though this knowledge could be possessed in the Old Testament, yet then as now the word is: “Put away from thee perverseness of mouth, and corruption of lips put far from thee.” The Epistle of James is the plain proof of the importance attached to this, and yet more pressed, if possible, than of old.
The Eyes and the Feet
There is another call quite as urgent. “Let thine eyes look right on, and thine eyelids look straight before thee.” Christ always was the object of faith, and He is now revealed as the way, no less than the truth and the life. But, morally speaking, the eye is of great moment, the state of our spiritual vision. As Christ gives eyes to those who were born blind, so only He makes and keeps our vision clear. “The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness” (Luke 11:34-35). Let us not forget the searching word. Christ guides safely but by the single eye.
We are also given direction in detail. “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be well-ordered.” Negligence is no more of faith than haste, and we slip in both ways through lack of dependence and attention to the Word of God.
The path of Christ is narrow, but direct through this world to Himself in glory. The saints were ever called to walk with God before their eyes, and His will is now declared thus to honor the Son. Hence, “turn not to the right hand, nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil,” for evil lies on both sides.
W. Kelly (adapted)
Purpose of Heart for Christ
What we need among us is purpose of heart. We do not need mere knowledge, but purpose of heart, individuality of love to Christ, that He, and He alone, should be the polestar drawing up all our hearts to Him as we go through the wilderness. We have two beautiful incidents of this in John 12 and 20.
Two Beautiful Instances
With Mary of Bethany, there was no unusual light in sitting at His feet; she simply loved her Lord. In John 12:3 she gave an expression of love, of the most costly order; not only the ointment, but she wiped His feet with her hair, and “the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.” In Mary’s mind there was only one thought, and only one Person present could read the enigma of her strange doings. Did she wish to make a perfume? No, personal attachment to the Lord alone and the heart drawn up to God to know what to do to express it caused her to hear from Him how to put honor on Jesus. Her thought was, What most costly thing can I give Him? Judas was quite the opposite: How much could I put in the bag? Out of the abundance of their hearts both spoke.
Then she got such guidance from God! Her whole mind being set on Christ, God suggested to her heart the suited act. The power of the Lord let her into something new. Oh what a beautiful thing is the walk of one full of Christ! A channel prepared of God for His own purposes. What could have been wiser? It was in beautiful season too. God honors His people by letting their loving purpose do the very thing He wants for His Son. She did the very thing that showed she was in practical fellowship, because Christ was the object.
Mary of Magdala
Where there is purpose of heart, it is brought into a most blessed place of privilege (John 20). As to Mary of Magdala, her thought was, My Lord lies buried; I will go and visit the spot. But all her hopes were blasted when she found the stone gone. She went to the disciples, saying, in effect, “We have lost the object of our love.”
The disciples had not the purpose of heart Mary had (vs. 10). “The disciples went away again unto their own home” shows how low in love even the best of His disciples were. Mary’s home was the sepulcher of her Lord! No sympathy or interest lay elsewhere, and she was riveted to the spot. No doubt the Lord kept her there to reap the reward of her unwearied love.
There was more attractiveness to her in Christ than in anything else; the angels did not surprise her (vs. 12). What were they to the One she wanted? Nothing could turn her off. The needle of her compass was quite true to the one point; her soul was in a state for all that honored Christ to pass before her (vs. 13). They drew from her the spring of her sorrow. “My Lord,” as if hers alone.
One Object Pursued
What a touching scene follows (vss. 14-15). The Lord risen from the grave, cognizant of the state of all His disciples, saw this woman absorbed with Him, and He communed with her to prove to her that His love for her was greater than hers for Him. “Whom seekest thou?” “If thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Though dead, she still wanted to have Him. But He said, “Mary.” Whatever there was in that word, whatever the manner of naming her, she turned around with “Master!” She had now a living Christ. She got the place of messenger of resurrection — blessed privileget! How did she get it? With full purpose of heart, occupied so with the Lord that she was above all other objects, and neither angels nor disciples turned her aside. What a heart she must have had in going forth with the message to gladden and console the disciples! Here was her reward; all through she had no thought of personal devotedness; she thought of Christ. He had her heart. If your eye be single, you cannot divide between having an object and following it.
“Touch Me not ... but go to My brethren.” As risen He could recognize them in this new relationship. “My Father, and your Father; and ... My God, and your God” — blessed position of sons of God brought out at Pentecost! A woman got that truth first of all, simply by purpose of heart, beyond faith. Himself as the object of worship in heaven increases the quantity of truth revealed, God finding and bringing souls into purpose of heart, into scenes where Christ came. Knowledge is useless without the heart, but they ought not to be divided. I would rather have less knowledge, but real purpose of heart for Christ, and Christ Himself.
These women at the tomb of our Lord are not vessels to be put forward outwardly, but Christ ought to have been anointed for His burial. He ought to have had someone to watch His tomb, and God used them to honor Him. These are perhaps the two greatest instances of Christ attracting the heart after Him and their following in purpose of heart; therefore, God uses them to anoint Christ and to greet His Son after His resurrection. Oh, for more purpose of heart for Christ among all the children of God!
Bible Herald, 1877 (adapted)
Making Melody in the Heart
In 1 Corinthians 14 we are enjoined to sing with both the spirit and the understanding. Christians are expected to be intelligent in the ways of the Lord, and not to be “children in understanding.” There is, however, another element in singing which is of equal importance. Without the melody of the heart, it is impossible to render acceptable praise to the Lord.
We find this repeatedly expressed in both Old and New Testaments. The psalmist desires more than once to praise Jehovah with his “whole heart” (Psa. 9:1; 111:1; 138:1). In two of Paul’s epistles there are also special exhortations to this effect: “Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19); “singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).
Heart and Mind
The heart, therefore, must be right before the Lord, as well as the mind. Both should be in exercise; the mind should contribute spiritual intelligence, and the heart sacred emotion.
Scripture shows that there is an intimate connection between the two and that the heart exercises a considerable influence over the mind. When the declension of man from the knowledge of God to the darkness of heathendom is described, it is first stated that they “became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened.” It then follows that “even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind” (Rom. 1:21,28). The heart foolish and darkened was the precursor of the reprobate mind. Again, the Apostle prays for the Ephesians that God would give them “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your heart being enlightened: that ye may know what is the hope of His calling” (Eph. 1:17-18 JND). So it is clear that while the knowledge of God was lost through the darkening of the heart, the full knowledge of Him is now communicated through the enlightening of the heart. Since the heart, therefore, is the highway to every true and proper apprehension of the things of God, it is of the highest importance that the heart should be strictly guarded, even as it is said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23).
Scripture uniformly teaches that the heart is the core of man’s being. It is the seat of the affections and of the impulses that carry man forward in the path of life. The Lord Himself declared that it is from the heart that proceeds everything that defiles (Matt. 15:19). On the other hand, the heart of the renewed man is to characterize every action; as servants of Christ we are to do “the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6). Indeed the very Spirit of God Himself is in our hearts to originate and characterize every affection. This the Apostle teaches: “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6).
This fact is of great importance to us who have learned the deceitfulness of the natural heart (Jer. 17:9). Now it is He who fills the heart with such a sense of the incomparable love of God (Rom. 5:5) that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34-35; Luke 6:45).
Melody of the Heart
But while the melody of the heart cannot exist apart from the Holy Spirit, the responsibility to produce it devolves upon the singer. The one who utters the praises of the Lord with the lip is expected to offer concurrent melody in the heart, for the Holy Spirit assuredly will not act unless the believer honors His presence here upon the earth and yields himself to His direction. It is therefore incumbent upon the worshipper to assume this attitude of faith and dependence in order to secure the operation of the Holy Spirit without which no sacrifice of praise can be acceptable on high.
Notice also that in Ephesians 5:19, the saints are exhorted, not merely to sing or merely to make melody in the heart, but to sing and make melody in the heart. No degree of melody with the voice can become an equivalent substitute for melody in the heart, according to the words before us.
Some maintain that a correct mechanical rendering of hymns to God is sufficient, but let such seriously consider the solemn warning words of the Lord to the scribes and Pharisees. “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain do they worship Me” (Matt. 15:7-9). They were, in fact, but “things without life, giving sound.”
Musical Instruments
It is imperative, therefore, that along with the tuneful voice there should be the melodious accompaniment of the heart. This is to take the place of the musical instruments of the temple worship. The Christian is not invited to praise the Lord with the sound of a trumpet, with the psaltery and the harp and the high sounding cymbals; nevertheless, his song should be distinct with the pathos and holy enthusiasm of the inner man.
With Grace in the Heart
In Colossians we are bidden to sing “with grace” in our hearts, for grace moves the soul to its inmost depths. Those who contemplate the love of Christ, in that He has washed them from their sins in His own blood and made them kings and priests to God and His Father, cannot fail to ascribe to Him the glory and dominion forever and ever.
Grace provokes the heart into outbursts of praise and thanksgiving to God, for it is to God we sing in Colossians as the Author of grace, while in Ephesians the Lord is before the soul evoking the melodies of the heart — “making melody in the heart to the Lord.”
The Secret
And it may surely be said that herein lies the secret of this heart-melody. If any ask, “How may I produce this inward harmony?” the answer is, Let Christ be before the soul. Why does the tongue so often sing while the heart is silent? Is it not because the blessed person of our Savior and Lord is forgotten? The voice joins listlessly with others, but the heart is apathetic and dull or even engaged with the most worthless thoughts. Oh! for faith so to realize His presence that in this as in other things we might exhibit a demeanor becoming to us and, if we may so speak, worthy of Him.
May we not say that it was the sense of the Lord’s presence in the Philippian dungeon that caused Paul and Silas to sing “songs in the night”? Therefore they sang aloud, making melody in their hearts. They were not as those who sing “songs to a heavy heart,” for the presence of the Lord makes even “the tongue of the dumb to sing” (Isa. 35:6), and none of His redeemed can be sad before Him, for the light of the Master’s face transfigures even circumstances of sorrow into occasions of joy.
The Heart Yielded
Above all things, therefore, let the heart yield its melody to the Lord. “No heart but of the Spirit taught makes melody to Thee.” It is not the cultivated voice but the renewed heart that the Father seeks. It should be a comfort, therefore, to those whose singing consists only in making “a joyful noise to the Lord” that they can, at any rate, make melody in their hearts.
Bible Treasury (adapted)
Love out of a Pure Heart
First Timothy 1:5 refers to “the end of the commandment.” It is perhaps better translated, “the end of what is enjoined.” Unlike the law, we do not have specific commandments in the New Testament, but it is simply, as in John 15, abiding in Him and His words abiding in us.
This grand summing up specifies three things which are to claim our attention. Let us look at them in the order given. “Charity [love] out of a pure heart.” Perhaps it may be asked, What is a pure heart in the light of Scripture? We have instruction in 2 Timothy 2:22: “Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Then in 1 Peter 1:22 we are exhorted, “See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.” I believe that the mind and heart of the new man are closely connected, and the exhortations as to each are similar in character. The heart is looked at as the seat of the affections, and the mind as where the intelligence of the new man is stored.
The Mind and Heart of Christ
In Philippians 2:5 we are told, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Then we have in Romans 12:2: “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
In the prayer of Ephesians 3, the desire is that “Christ may dwell in your hearts.” Then in chapter 4 we read: “If ye have heard Him and been instructed in Him according as the truth is in Jesus; namely your having put off according to the former conversation the old man...and being renewed in the spirit of your mind; and your having put on the new man, which according to God is created in truthful righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:21-24 JND).
It seems from these scriptures, then, that “love out of a pure heart” can spring only from one who is born again and that all thoughts and desires of the old man are put in the place of death, so that it is only the thoughts and desires of the new man that are in evidence, and hence it comes from a pure heart. All the selfishness and ambition which characterize the present age are not given a place in the heart and mind of the new man. It is not a state reached once and for all practically, but it is a matter of being before the Lord constantly in self-judgment.
The Lord passes us through a school of training here in our wilderness journey, similar to Israel of old as brought before us in Deuteronomy 8: “To humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart ... that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord” (Deut. 8:2-3).
This “love out of a pure heart” would be that love which Christ always manifested down here, proceeding out of the hearts of His people. One is reminded of what is said in John 13: “Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.”
J. L. Erisman
A Kept Heart
Jeremiah 2, 3 and 4 give a beautiful unfolding of the deep distress that it is to the Lord if His people are not near Him. Ah, beloved, nothing can satisfy the heart of the Lord Jesus but having you and me near Him. And nothing can satisfy our hearts but being near Him, for “the backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways” (Prov. 14:14). It does not say the backslider outwardly, but the backslider in heart.
How wise is God to say, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). Again, as a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). It is not what I do or say, but what my heart is — what the affections are occupied with. In spiritual things, intelligence often goes ahead of the heart, and the main reason for a lack of spiritual power is pride of heart. Let us beware of backsliding in heart; God must have reality.
Now look at these three exceedingly interesting chapters of Jeremiah. They show us that in days gone by God had a people whom He loved with a very deep love — a love He was continually expressing. They show also the beautiful way in which He seeks to win His people back to Himself, after they have wandered. Nothing could be more touching. Look at the deep-toned affection of God for His people! In the people themselves too we may see the picture of what our own hearts are, and the only way of restoration, when they have wandered from God.
God’s Way of Restoration
Now God’s way of dealing with a backslider is surely not our way. God’s way is beautiful and perfect. There had been a great outward revival in Judah, during the reign of King Josiah (2 Chronicles 34- 35). But God looked underneath, and He saw that it was only feigned. “Judah hath not turned unto Me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD” (Jer. 3:10). Therefore, Jeremiah is selected to bring this word to them!
“Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of His increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD” (Jer. 2:1-3).
I love to see the affection of soul, and fervency, that mark a young convert. Let us ask our hearts, Is the simple love of Jesus, the delight in Jesus, and the desire to be anything and everything for Him, the same as it was when we were first saved? You may have forgotten that early thrill of affection, but God has not forgotten. He says to Israel, “I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me.” Where? Into a wilderness. What was in the desert? Only two things — God and the sand.
First Love
The second chapter of Jeremiah is very like the second chapter of Revelation. The Lord there says to the church of Ephesus, “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Rev. 2:4). Something has come in, says that blessed Lover in Revelation 2, that has eclipsed me, and all your affection for me. Ah, beloved, where are our souls as regards Christ?
Let me implore you, especially you who are young, to beware of backsliding. The first movement toward it is that something comes in to intercept the enjoyment of the love of Christ, and your heart loses its sweet apprehension of His love and grace. You have forgotten Him, but He has not forgotten you. Paul brings the same thought before us when he says, “I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2-3). It was a great exercise to the beloved apostle in that day, lest anything should come in to make Christ less precious to them. To the Thessalonians also he says, “Now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord” (1 Thess. 3:8).
The Heart Made Right
Are these lines in the hand one who is saying, I have gotten away from the Lord? It is good that you know it, for the Lord knows it, and always seeks to bring us back. To do this, does He chide? No. He may have to rebuke and chasten, but that which restores is His Word. I do not forget your devotedness; you may have forgotten it, but it was sweet to Me, says the Lord, so I have never forgotten the hour when you came to Me, and I was everything to you. By a word like this He sought to recover Israel; and, beloved friend, it is the same with the Lord today! He is yesterday, and today, and forever the same.
But it is of no use for a backslider to try and put things right outwardly. External washing will not do. It is the heart — that which is inside — that must be made right. “For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God” (Jer. 2:22). If my soul is exercised, I may say, How am I to get back? The answer is simple — confession. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). There is no breaking of the relationship on God’s part. It is really lovely to see how God tenderly seeks to recover and link the soul with Himself.
W. T. P. Wolston (adapted)
The Hand and Heart of God
Do we trace things only to the hand of God and go no further? He who rightly takes to Himself the title of “The Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort” comforts those that are in tribulation, not only that they may be comforted themselves, but that they may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith they themselves have been comforted of God.
I trust I may never forget one lesson I learned of God some years ago, which I will just jot down, hoping that it may be used to help and comfort others.
Trace It to His Heart
Many years ago and not long before being called to pass through a very heavy trial and sorrow, I went up to London. While there I went one evening to where I knew a Bible reading was to be held. During the meeting the old brother in whose house the meeting was held made the following remark: “We often speak of tracing things up to the Lord’s hand, but do we give His heart credit for moving His hand?” I was much struck by the remark at the time, little knowing what was before me. My mind reverted to it occasionally, and I saw that the hand was but the servant of the heart, even in ordinary things. For instance, if a thief steals anything, the heart has first coveted it, and the hand is merely the agent that appropriates what the heart longs for.
I returned to my home and about six weeks later one very, very dear to me passed away rather suddenly. In my very deep sorrow the mentioned remark came before me. Others spoke about so and so having been the means of bringing the infection, etc. But to me, thanking God for the grace given, there were no second causes to be looked at. No, to God Himself I must trace it, and not to His hand only, but to His heart.
What, His heart? Yes, the same heart that gave Jesus. Oh, the exquisite sweetness and infinite preciousness of the thought were inexpressible! I knew what it was to have God Himself wiping away the tears from my eyes.
Tears Wiped Away
Another incident comes before me which is in every way in keeping with what I have been saying. A young sister in the Lord had just lost her baby, her firstborn, and was in deep grief, as might be supposed. An old brother who knew her well wrote to her and in the letter was the following: “May you know the joy of having Jesus wipe away the tears from your eyes, and know that it is more blessed to have Him wipe away your tears than to have no tears to wipe away.”
In conclusion I would add that I have found in my own experience the truth of what I once heard another say, “There is no bitterness, even in the deepest sorrow, unless the will is at work. It is the working of the will that brings the bitterness.”
A. Trigge
Losing Heart
We read from the lips of our blessed Lord Jesus that “men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). In the Greek language, that word ‘to faint’ is en-kakein, formed from the word kakos, meaning “cowardly.” But from “cowardly” it came to mean anything that was bad, mean or base, for to the Greeks cowardice was all that. The first part of the word, en, means “in”. The whole word taken together means literally, “Give in to evil.” We find it translated by such words or expressions as faint, lose heart, be discouraged, turn coward.
The evil about us is so strong, the battle is so fierce, and the result seems so hopeless, the sides appear so unequal, that as we pray, we are tempted to say in our hearts, if not with our lips, “It is hopeless, it is no use praying any more for that person; I’ll give up.” “No!” the Lord says, “No! Do not give in! Do not lose heart! Do not be discouraged! Do not turn coward!”
We are really on the winning side. The Lord is still on the throne. He still sits on the waterfloods, and the Lord on high is still greater than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea (Psa. 93:4). So, cheer up! Take courage! Pray on! Pray always! And never turn coward, never give up.
In Troubles and Sickness
This word en-kakeo is only used six times in the New Testament, and each is very instructive. We have already seen the first time it is used, and that is in connection with prayer. Next it is used twice within a few verses of each other, in 2 Corinthians 4:1 and 4:16. “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not...For which cause we faint not; but if indeed our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” And so though troubles and sickness and sorrows come down here, and consume our outward man, there is no need to lose heart, no need to be discouraged, no need to turn coward, or give in to evil.
Weary in Well Doing
The next place we find it is in Galatians 6:9. “Let us not be weary in well doing,” or, as the JND translation renders it, “Let us not lose heart in doing good.” It is so easy to lose heart in doing good. That poor soul you helped out the other day later proved to be a crook and not in need at all, and you vowed you will not be taken in as easily again. No, no; let us not be discouraged; let us not give in to evil. Next time you may turn away somebody really in need; and “whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Prov. 21:13). Or that Sunday School class that is so noisy and unruly! It seems to be useless to try and go on with them. Give it up! It’s not worth trying any longer!
I once did that. I once had a desperately bad Sunday School, and at the advice of an older brother, I gave it up. About three weeks later I met one of the children on the street and she said, “Oh, why did you give up the Sunday School? I wanted so much to know I was saved. I think I would have found the Lord the very next Sunday; but I had to go somewhere else, and there I found the Lord.” Another time an old brother urged that I should give up some children’s work that the Lord had opened up. I was much perplexed and went for advice to another old brother, and to my amazement he said: “Take on more work of that kind; but never give up! All giving up is of the devil.” That was more than fifty years ago, but how often have I thanked God for those words.
Herbert Taylor, Hudson Taylor’s eldest son, once told me that he was at one time so discouraged that he said to his father, “Father, I’m so discouraged, I’m going to give up.” His father replied, “All discouragement is of the devil!” God is “the God of all encouragement” (2 Cor. 1:3 JnD). No, beloved, God’s Word is clear. “Let us not lose heart in doing good.”
In Tribulation
Next see Ephesians 3:13. “Wherefore I beseech you not to faint through my tribulations for you, which is your glory.” Paul “despaired of life” in his tribulations for the Ephesian saints, but he did not turn coward (Acts 19:23-41; 2 Cor. 1:8). He was ready to go in and face the mob who were thirsting for his blood. There is no need to be discouraged even if tribulations do come.
Nay, rather, “we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience [endurance].” (Rom. 5:3). The word “tribulation” comes from the Latin word “tribulum,” which means “a flail.” I suppose most of my readers have never seen a flail, such as they used to use to thresh wheat. I have used it, and seen the terrible “tribulation” it gives to the wheat. But that is the way the wheat is delivered from the chaff.
In Daily Work
The last place we find this word en-kakeo is in 2 Thessalonians 3:13. “We hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.” I suppose this means you and I are not to be discouraged, not to lose heart, not to turn coward, through the grind of our daily work in the office, the shop, the kitchen, the field, the school, or wherever else it may be. Let us do our daily work to the Lord and not unto men, and let us not grow discouraged in it. It is our Lord’s own command. There may be much evil around you. It may be unspeakably hard, but even so, let us never give in to evil; never turn coward, never lose heart.
So, to sum up, Let us not give in to evil, whether it be —
To give up Prayer. Luke 18:1
In failing health and old age. 2 Cor. 4:1, 4:16
In doing good, or in well doing. Gal. 6:9
In tribulation. Eph. 3:13
In our daily tasks. 2 Thess. 3:13
G. C. Willis (adapted)
Unbelief of Heart
The Lord's Heart
The blessed Lord’s heart could enter into all human feelings; in that fact lies the very thing that gave such a poignancy to His sufferings. Our minds are so little, they cannot hold more than a certain measure of great sorrow or joy. If in great sorrow we cannot feel little things. The Lord felt all great things in connection with suffering, and yet the shooting out of a lip, the shaking of a head — all was felt by Him in detail at the same moment.
G. V. Wigram
The Heart of God
My soul hath found the living spring,
The source of all her joy,
The river of eternal peace
Which nothing can destroy;
The ocean of unbounded love,
Unstained by earthly clod,
Which floweth on forevermore:
It is the “heart of God”!
Yes, God Himself, the living God,
It is His heart I know;
His hand, which holds the universe,
And guideth all below;
That heart and hand are both for me,
In love and power divine,
And, though I’m but a pilgrim now,
In glory I shall shine.
How wonderful! The living God
Should be my Father too,
And, though I’m but a feeble child,
He faithful is, and true;
Accepted in His Son am I,
And all my sins forgiven;
By Jesus’ blood I’m now made nigh;
His home is mine in heaven.
‘Tis wonderful, that such as I,
So guilty and undone,
Should in the Christ of God be blest,
Have life in His dear Son!
Yea, more than life, full fellowship,
And knowledge of His will;
For, since I’ve proved the heart of God,
His love my soul does fill.
S.T.