Evening, August 15
Go To Morning Reading
“And I will give you an heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26
A heart of flesh is known by its tenderness concerning sin . To have indulged a foul imagination, or to have allowed a wild desire
to tarry even for a moment, is quite enough to make a heart of flesh
grieve before the Lord. The heart of stone calls a great iniquity
nothing, but not so the heart of flesh.
“If to the right or left I stray,
That moment, Lord, reprove;
And let me weep my life away,
For having grieved thy love”
The heart of flesh is tender of God’s will . My Lord Will-be-will is a great blusterer, and it is hard to subject
him to God’s will; but when the heart of flesh is given, the will quivers like
an aspen leaf in every breath of heaven, and bows like an osier in
every breeze of God’s Spirit. The natural will is cold, hard iron, which is not to be
hammered into form, but the renewed will, like molten metal, is soon
moulded by the hand of grace. In the fleshy heart there is a tenderness of the affections . The hard heart does not love the Redeemer, but the renewed heart
burns with affection towards him. The hard heart is selfish and coldly
demands, “Why should I weep for sin? Why should I love the Lord?” But the heart of flesh says; “Lord, thou knowest that I love thee; help me to love thee more!” Many are the privileges of this renewed heart; “'Tis here the Spirit dwells, 'tis here that Jesus rests.” It is fitted to receive every spiritual blessing, and every blessing
comes to it. It is prepared to yield every heavenly fruit to the honour
and praise of God, and therefore the Lord delights in it. A tender
heart is the best defence against sin, and the best preparation for
heaven. A renewed heart stands on its watchtower looking for the coming
of the Lord Jesus. Have you this heart of flesh?