Evening by Evening
Charles H. Spurgeon
... 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,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?
That moment, Lord, reprove;
And let me weep my life away,
For having grieved thy love"
Read more devotions for August 15:
Morning by MorningFaith's Cheque BookHymns for Morning WorshipHymns for Evening Worship
366 Precious Promises
A promise a day. These 366 devotions will help you strengthen your faith each day of the year.
These devotions are written in modern English but based on Charles Spurgeon's 1889 devotional The Chequebook of the Bank of Faith, commonly known as Precious Promises.
May these precious promises assist you in your spiritual journey, and may you become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4) as you grow in the Lord.