A CHILDS TENDER HEART The tenderness of the heart of a true Christian is elegantly signified by our Savior, in his comparing such a one to a little child is very tender; so is the heart of one that is new born. This is represented in what we are told of the cure of Naamans leprosy by his washing in Jordan; which was undoubtedly a type of the renewing of the soul, by washing in the laver of regeneration. We are told, II King 5:14, That he went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child. Not only is the flesh of a little child tender, but his mind is tender. A little child has his heart easily moved, wrought upon and bowed: so is a Christian in spiritual things. A little child is apt to be affected with sympathy, to weep with them that weep, and cannot well bear to see others in distress: so it is with a Christian, Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep -Romans 12:15 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it - I Corinthians 12:26. A little child is easily won by kindness: so is a Christian. A little child is easily affected with grief at temporal evils, and has his heart melted, and falls a-weeping: thus tender is the heart of a Christian with regard to the evil of sin. A little child is easily affrighted at the appearance of outward evils, or anything that threatens his hurt: so is a Christian apt to be alarmed at the appearance of moral evil and anything that threatens the hurt of the soul. A little child, when he meets enemies or fierce beasts, is not apt to trust his own strength, but flies to his parents for refuge: so a saint is not self-confident in engaging spiritual enemies, but flies to Christ. A little child is apt to be suspicious of evil in places of danger, afraid in the dark, afraid when left alone, or far from home: so is a saint apt to be sensible of his spiritual dangers, jealous of himself, full of fear when he cannot see his way plain before him, afraid to be left alone, and to be at a distance from God. A little child is apt to be afraid of superiors, and to dread their anger, and tremble at their frowns and threatenings: so is a true saint with respect to God: To this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and trembleth at my word. -Isaiah 66:2. A little child approaches superiors with awe: so do the saints approach God with holy awe and reverence. Holy fear is so much the nature of true godliness, that is called in Scripture by no other name more frequently than the fear of God. Hence gracious affections do not tend to make men bold, forward, noisy, and boisterous; but rather to speak trembling. It tends to clothe them with a kind of holy fear in all their behaviour towards God and man; agreeable to Psalm 2:11, I Peter 3:15, II Corinthians 7:15, Ephesians 6:5, I Peter 3:2, Romans 11:20. A holy boldness in prayer and the duties of divine worship is doubtless chiefly to be found in eminent saints, persons of great degrees of faith and love. https://facebook/groups/1610832099144591/ John Stewart 3020 Waialae Ave Honolulu, HI 96816 USA _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 04:24:44 +0000
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