SERMON VI. The Preciousness of a Tender Heart.
heart. Similarly, like soft objects that can be easily moulded, or molten metal that can be poured into any mould and take its shape, a tender heart can be moulded into whatever God desires, following the mould of His Word. We have a remarkable scripture for this in Romans 6:17 (I find it surprising how those words are translated in some versions of the New Testament). It should be translated as follows: "You have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine into which you were delivered." So, you have obediently conformed your heart to the form of doctrine into which the Spirit of God delivered you. The form of doctrine is likened to a mould, and the human heart to molten metal. The Spirit of God, like a founder, takes the molten heart and pours it into the mould. Although the heart may have had a different form before, it now becomes shaped according to the mould. This is how it works with a tender and melting heart. A sinner who has lived in a certain sinful and wicked lifestyle for a long time encounters the Word of God, and the heat of God's Word begins to melt their heart. Then, the Spirit of God comes and takes the heart of this old sinner and puts it into the mould of the Word, transforming them into a vessel of honour.
Now, these five aspects can help us understand the nature of a tender heart, and you can use them to examine whether your hearts are tender or not. We could have discussed several other points to further elucidate the nature of a tender heart, but I prefer to leave them for the application.
SERMON VI.
The Preciousness of a Tender Heart.
"Because thine heart was tender" - 2 Kings 22:19
The Preciousness of a Tender Heart.
All I will do now is to demonstrate to you the preciousness of this tender heart and how God accepts it. Then I will conclude with words of comfort for those who possess such tender spirits.
Firstly, understand that it is very precious because it is a special fruit of the covenant of grace wherever it is found. Does your heart begin to soften towards God? Surely, this is a result of God's heart melting towards you first, through the means of the covenant of grace. Those heart-melting provisions within the covenant of grace begin to flow into your life when your heart starts to melt towards God. In Ezekiel
36, it is a clear text, interpreted by all divines as a promise of the covenant of grace and a special fruit of it. In verse 26, there is a promise: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them." A new heart! Every person naturally has a hard heart. Although some people's hearts may appear softer than others, everyone in the world has a hard heart. So, what is this new heart that God promises to give? It is the removal of the stony heart and the gift of a heart of flesh. Here lies the fruit of the covenant of grace. Whoever possesses this tender heart is undoubtedly received into the covenant of grace, which demonstrates its immense preciousness. For all things associated with the covenant of grace are precious, as the covenant itself is precious. The treasures of God's grace in the covenant are truly precious, and a tender heart is one of the choice jewels found within those treasures. When God gives you a tender heart, He is giving you this valuable jewel from the treasures of the covenant of grace.
Certainly, even if God were to grant you kingdoms to possess, or the entire world, it would be nothing compared to this gift. For God can give the possession of this world to someone whom He will never enter into a covenant with; God can bestow all this world out of His
general bounty and patience. I remember Luther saying about the entire empire of the Turk, "It is only a crumb that the great householder, the Lord, throws to his dog." But this tenderness of heart is a fruit of the covenant of grace, and to have even the smallest fruit of the covenant of grace is a greater mercy than having all the fruits of God's general bounty and patience.
Secondly, a tender heart is very precious because it contains many graces as its ingredients. Indeed, the heart of a person becomes supple and tender through the composition and mixture of many of God's Spirit's graces. The oil that softens the heart of a sinner is a blend of numerous graces. In fact, all the graces of God's Spirit are the ingredients in this composition that softens the heart of a sinner.
You can see humility, faith, wisdom, patience, and any other grace you can think of in this composition. God sees all the graces.
I remember Chrysostom expressing what I am now preaching about, the tenderness of spirit and its excellence. He said, "When the Spirit of God works this tenderness, it is like a lady who is creating a precious compound, a sovereign balm. She has all her noble maidens attending to her, and she calls one to fetch one ingredient and another to fetch another. She takes them all together and creates a sovereign balm, oil, or whatever she desires to make." Similarly, says
Chrysostom, the Spirit of God gathers all graces to come and create this compound, this oil, to soften the heart of a sinner. The truth is, even though you, poor tender spirit, may not be able to see the distinct workings of those graces, they are present within you. It is like a prescribed oil or conserve from a physician made of specific ingredients. The physician tells you to take this mixture if you want to be cured. So you go to the apothecary with the prescription, and the apothecary gives you a small amount of oil or conserve in a glass.
You may say, "But the physician told me there should be many ingredients." The apothecary replies, "Here it is, made from those ingredients, even if you can't discern them."
Likewise, in a soul, the scripture requires various graces such as faith, humility, patience, heavenly-mindedness, and others. Now, a poor sinner who has this tenderness of spirit often worries because they cannot find the exercise of specific graces. But if you have a tender spirit, you possess them all. They are all present within you, just like the oil that softened your heart. If any saving grace of God's
Spirit had been lacking, your heart would never have reached this tenderness. This demonstrates the preciousness of a tender spirit.
Thirdly, another aspect that demonstrates the preciousness of a tender spirit is that it puts the soul in a state of readiness to receive mercy. It prepares the soul to receive any mercy that the Lord has to bestow. As Bernard said, "God does not pour the oil of His mercy except into a contrite heart," and this is certain. But when the heart is contrite and tender, the Lord immediately pours the oil of His mercy upon such a person. It is in a state of readiness to receive any mercy, and the Lord, who takes pleasure in mercy, surely will not miss the opportunity to display His glory when He sees a soul capable and prepared for it. Now your soul is made ready to receive any mercy that the Lord has to offer, and the Lord is infinitely willing to bestow mercy. The reason why anyone in the world lacks mercy is not because there is a shortage of it, but rather because their vessel is not ready to receive it. You may argue that God could make them ready, but God is not inclined to exert His almighty power to prepare every vessel. However, once it becomes evident that God has such love for a soul as to prepare a vessel for mercy, that soul can confidently conclude that there is more than enough mercy available.
Perhaps you do not possess it at present, but one thing is certain: there is as much mercy for you as you can contain. I can say to you, just as the Lord says to His people in another context, "I know the thoughts that I have toward them, thoughts of peace and love." So, regardless of your fears and doubts, the Lord says to you, "I know the thoughts that I have toward this sinner, thoughts of love and mercy."
I could provide you with many Scriptures to demonstrate how this disposition prepares the soul to receive mercy. One remarkable passage is found in Zechariah 12:10: "I will pour out on the house of
David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child." God promises to pour out His Spirit, and He describes the manner in which they will mourn.
Then, at the beginning of chapter 13, it says, "In that day there shall be a fountain opened, a fountain of mercy opened, and it shall flow into their hearts when they have such a spirit poured out upon them." Here, the spirit of grace and mourning are mentioned together. A tender heart is called a spirit of grace, not only because of God's free grace in it, but also because of the many graces of God that are poured into the heart when this spirit is poured into it. That's the third aspect.
Fourthly, another way in which the preciousness of this tender spirit is evident is that it makes the soul suitable for engaging in all the ordinances and ways of God. For example, it prepares the soul for hearing the word, just as Josiah did when he sanctified the name of God by listening to His word. And when it comes to receiving the sacrament, nothing is more fitting than this tenderness of spirit.
Why? Because in the sacrament, we come to have communion with Jesus Christ, and as the text says, "From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." That means, just as the impression of a seal is left on wax, there is an impression for every impression.
Whatever grace is in Christ, the same grace is imprinted upon the heart. Now, when we come to receive the sacrament, we come to have communion with Jesus Christ so that we may partake of His abundance. Furthermore, we come to have the seal of the covenant of grace placed upon our hearts, for that is the nature of a sacrament—it is the seal of the righteousness of faith. And what disposition of heart could be more suitable for a seal than a tender heart? When you come to the sacrament, it is crucial to bring soft hearts, to bring this tender heart with you, for you are bringing your hearts to have the seal of the covenant of grace placed upon them. Oh, this is a precious disposition that the Lord loves dearly. When a group of people comes
to receive the sacrament, having softened their hearts beforehand and thus prepared their souls to receive the seal, it is highly regarded by the Lord. All of God's ways have a positive impact on a tender heart. Even the slightest mercy or beam of God's love can melt a tender heart, and that is why it is extremely precious in the eyes of God.
Fifthly, it brings great honour to God and exalts His name. There is no disposition in the world that honours the name of God more than a tender heart. It shows reverence for God, fears Him, acknowledges
His sovereignty and power, and gives Him glory for His justice and mercy. This disposition glorifies God, just as a trembling heart, as I mentioned earlier, brings glory to God. A tender heart greatly magnifies the name of God.
Sisthly, it is a disposition that commends all our services to God and makes them acceptable. Without a tender heart, no service we perform can be pleasing to God in any way. I'm sure you're familiar with the well-known passage in Psalm 51. The prophet speaks of a contrite spirit, saying, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Note that this broken and contrite heart is the same as the tender heart mentioned in the text. It is the sacrifice that pleases God, and sacrifices are mentioned in the plural form. This emphasizes the supreme value of a tender heart—it is the choice among all sacrifices.
It is what God requires above all sacrifices.
Moreover, a tender heart is equivalent to all sacrifices. Even if you cannot offer anything else to God, if you can offer Him a tender spirit and a contrite heart, He will be well pleased. Many poor sinners complain and are troubled because they feel they can do very little for God. But if you can offer a tender spirit and a contrite heart to God, I assure you, it is equivalent to all sacrifices before Him.
And thirdly, the sacrifices that please God are a broken spirit. This means that a disposition of a broken and contrite heart commends
any other sacrifice. If this sacrifice is present, it is as if all other sacrifices were there, and anything offered with this disposition is acceptable, while nothing is acceptable without it. In Isaiah 66, the Lord says, "But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." It follows that anyone offering a sacrifice without a contrite and humble spirit is like someone who slays a man or cuts off a dog's neck—such sacrifices are rejected. What an excellent disposition it is that commends all our sacrifices and replaces all other sacrifices before the Lord.
Seventhly, furthermore, a tender heart is precious because it keeps one close to God and causes them to cleave to Him. It is a disposition that continuously keeps the heart near to God. If there is even a slight drifting in the soul of one who possesses a tender heart, they quickly perceive it and cannot rest until they return to God. If the Lord withdraws even a little, someone with a tender heart is aware of it. Thus, it is a precious disposition because it keeps the heart of a sinner close to God.
Lastly, a tender heart is a disposition that makes a person a valuable member in the church and society. It makes them a beneficial companion. Someone with a tender spirit is always harmless. A sour spirit is troublesome to live with, but a tender spirit yields to anything when shown the reason by God. They have a peaceful and gentle nature. Such an individual is highly aware of the well-being or harm of the community. Often, someone with a tender spirit is as sensitive to the good of others as they are to their own good. If you present anything that concerns the glory of God or the public good, they immediately become aware of it because of their tender spirit.
On the other hand, if you propose something that does not concern their personal desires and satisfaction, others may not be sensitive to it. However, a tender spirit is receptive to anything you propose for God or the good of others. This is the excellence of a tender spirit.
The Lord highly esteems and values this tender spirit.
First, there is the primary object that captures God's attention in the entire world. The Lord looks towards this person, as stated in Isaiah
66. God says, "But this is the one to whom I will look..." There is no object on the face of the Earth that draws God's eye more than this.
Secondly, God's heart is greatly inclined towards such an individual.
Regarding Ephraim, we have a passage in Jeremiah 31:18. It says, "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself..." Ephraim sat alone, lamenting his condition and his heart began to break. Notice how
God's heart is moved towards him in the twentieth verse. God asks, "Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child?" Despite speaking against him, God remembers Ephraim earnestly and His bowels are troubled for him. God declares, "I will surely have mercy upon him," says the Lord. If there is a soul that isolates itself, lamenting its own sin out of a genuine sense of its evil and the dishonour it has brought to God, the Lord looks upon such an individual with His heart inclined towards them. His compassion stirs within Him.
Thirdly, it is crucial to consider this principal aspect, which, if we were to say nothing more, would be sufficient. Jesus Christ is anointed by God the Father with a special purpose to be the comforter of such a heart. Wherever there is such a tender, broken, contrite heart (for these are different expressions of the same disposition), let that person know that God the Father has anointed
His Son specifically to be the comforter of such a soul. This is clearly evident in Isaiah 61. It states, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted..." and further on, "to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit..." The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Jesus Christ and He is anointed to preach good news to those with broken spirits, to console those who mourn, and to exchange their sorrow for joy. Surely, a soul cannot lack comfort when Jesus Christ is designated by God the Father in His role to provide comfort. He is a Christ for it, that He may bring
comfort. When it is stated, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me," it is essentially saying that the Lord God the Father has made me Christ, for the word "Christ" simply means "anointed." God has made me Christ so that I may preach good news to sinners with broken hearts. Here, God is accepting a tender spirit when He sends His Son out of His bosom and instructs Him to go into the world, making it a vital part of His mission to be a comforter to such tender spirits. He pours the oil of joy, which replaces the previous oil that softened their hearts and made them tender. And that concludes the third aspect.
Fourthly, there are numerous precious promises in Scripture, especially directed towards them (each one worth a kingdom). The Scripture refers to these promises as exceeding great and precious promises, and the saints consider their wealth to lie in these promises. One promise in Psalm 34, for instance, a person with a tender spirit would not trade it for the world: "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." And then there is another promise in Isaiah 57:15, which is even more comprehensive:
"For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.'" My brethren, although heaven is a glorious dwelling place of God, it is not enough for Him. God does not consider it sufficient unless He also dwells in a tender, broken, humble spirit. That is the dwelling place that the Lord values, just as much as His dwelling in heaven. You know how great princes have various palaces in different countries. Similarly, the great King of the world keeps His court in heaven and in a contrite heart—those are the two principal places. Although the Lord encompasses the whole world and fills heaven and earth, His court is held in the highest heavens and the humblest heart. Take note, He is said to dwell with them. When a person passes by, they may be generous in passing, but their primary usefulness is found in their place of residence. While travelling, one can do good to some, but their greatest usefulness is in their dwelling. Likewise, although the
Lord may bestow common favours as He passes by others, it is in the heart where He fully extends His mercy. God dwells in the heart; He resides there in a constant manner to communicate Himself to them.
And for what purpose? He dwells with the contrite spirit to revive them. The living God is always dwelling with them. Even if your dwelling place is humble, even if it is a poor and dark abode where you must hide your head, having a contrite heart means that there is a glorious palace for the great King of heaven and earth to dwell in.
We have many promises, such as "Blessed are those who mourn" and "Blessed are the poor in spirit," and so on. If we were to search the scriptures and consider what the Lord says about this disposition of a tender spirit, time would quickly pass. It is another way in which God manifests His high regard for them.
Fifthly, the Lord shows exceptional tenderness towards someone with a tender heart in times of affliction. If there is any burden upon a person with a tender spirit, the Lord knows that they are sensitive to it, and therefore He is aware of their condition. The Lord is just as aware of your condition as you are of your burden, and His utmost concern is that such a person never falters before Him. This is evident in Isaiah 57, where He says that He dwells with the humble and contrite spirit. He declares, "I will not contend forever, nor will I be angry always, for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the souls that I have made." God says, "I will not allow burdens to be constantly upon them, even though I may, for a specific purpose and for their good, manifest some displeasure for the time being. But I will not remain angry forever. I know they are sensitive to even the slightest displeasure from me, and therefore I will be tender towards them, those who have such tender hearts, so that their spirits do not grow faint before me when I come against them in anger." In Isaiah
27, the Lord affirms, "My anger is not in me, but if anyone sets briers and thorns before me, I will march against them and burn them up together. However, as for my own people, I will be tender towards them and show no fury." The Lord is tender towards those who have such tender spirits.
Sixthly, once again, He seals such individuals for mercy in times of public calamity. In Ezekiel 9, you can find that those who mourned for the committed sins were commanded by the Lord to be marked with the seal of preservation before the city was destroyed.
Therefore, wherever there is a tender spirit, the Lord sets a seal of mercy upon them. Consequently, no matter what calamity befalls the place where such a person resides, they shall be marked for mercy.
This was evident in the case of Josiah, as it was a special demonstration of the Lord's mercy towards him that he would not witness the impending calamity but be delivered before its arrival.
Furthermore, this leads to another manifestation of God's love towards a tender spirit. If the Lord foresees that calamities are imminent upon kingdoms, and He observes that the heart of a particular individual, whether male or female, is so tender that they would not be able to bear those calamities, the Lord, in His great love, takes them away to Himself before the calamities strike. This is best exemplified by the case of Josiah.
I must say, when the Lord sees men and women with tender spirits who are unable to bear witness to the grievous calamities that God intends for certain places, where He will manifest His severe displeasure, out of His great love, God takes them away beforehand.
Just as Josiah was taken away, but not by the war of his own country or kingdom; the war against the kingdom did not occur until after God took Josiah away. Therefore, I have no doubt that the Lord has shown mercy to many of our forefathers who, in their time, lamented the sins of the kingdom. Some the Lord removed from our midst, while others He took away through death, for they were men and women of tender spirits. The Lord saw that they could not bear to witness and hear the dreadful things that we are reserved to witness and hear.
However, the truth is that the Lord has also reserved this hardhearted generation. While we can hear of dreadful things happening, we are not truly sensitive to the suffering of others because it is at a
distance from us. It seems that the Lord has reserved this generation to witness, hear, and experience dreadful things. He has taken away the tender-hearted generation. Just as a father would remove young and tender children from the sight of their mother having her breast cut off due to cancer or a similar disease, in order to spare them from witnessing her pain, God the Father takes away His tender-hearted servants when the Church, their spiritual mother, is about to endure severe afflictions. He does so because they are not able to bear the sight and hearing of such dreadful things. In doing this, God shows great respect for His servants. Many of His servants who have spent much time in solitary lamentation over the sins of the nation are now taken away from the impending evil, and the Lord has taken them up to Himself. If their hearts were so deeply affected, how would they be able to bear witnessing and hearing the things that we see and hear on this very day?
Application.
Now I will try to conclude with a few words of application. I had intended to explain how God reveals Himself to those with tender hearts and how they have the greatest influence in prayer. The Lord hears the prayers of the poor, He prepares their hearts, and inclines
His ear to listen to their pleas.
Therefore, it is a very dangerous thing for anyone to harm someone with a tender heart. Let people be cautious, for God will ensure justice. God holds a mighty high regard for such individuals, and perhaps it is because they have tender and humble spirits. You might think you can take advantage of them, as they may not retaliate blow for blow. However, they withdraw and pour out their grievances to their Father, telling Him about all the wrongs you have done to them.
In this way, they open their hearts to God and find solace. Many of you, when wronged by others, have no other way to find relief than to respond with anger and retaliation. But someone with a tender spirit has a better way to find comfort. They can retreat in solitude,
allowing their hearts to soften before the Lord, and there they find solace.
Now, it is likely to go very poorly for you if you have wronged such individuals. It would be better for you to wrong a hundred other people than to wrong them. Imagine if you have a child who has a gentle and tender spirit, someone who does not immediately resort to fighting. And then someone wrongs that child, and with tears in their eyes, they come to you to express their grievance. Wouldn't it stir up your spirit to protect and defend your child, especially because you know your child has a gentle and tender disposition?
Certainly, it is the same with God. God will ensure justice for them. I recall hearing about a prominent woman in Scotland who professed that she was more afraid of the fasting and prayer of John Knox and his followers than of an army of one hundred thousand men. So, always be cautious about causing harm to men and women with tender spirits, for God holds them in high esteem.
And for those of you who have tender spirits, I hope you take what has been said as your portion and rejoice in it. Perhaps God has not given you much of this world's possessions, but He has given you a tender heart, and that is infinitely more valuable. Maybe you have weak memories and abilities, and you cannot do what others can.
However, hasn't God given you a tender and compassionate heart?
That is worth more than all the riches in the world.
Let it comfort you in light of the weakness of your virtues. Yes, your virtues may be weak, but they are compensated by this tenderness. It is a profound question whether God values someone who excels in all virtues but lacks brokenness of heart, or someone who excels in brokenness of heart despite weaknesses in other virtues. Although brokenness of heart encompasses other virtues, it can still be prominent even when other virtues are weak. This is because, in addition to the mixture of other virtues, there is the presence of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God can activate and animate a particular grace in the soul, allowing someone who is weak in other areas to
excel in brokenness of heart. Thus, even if you are weak in other virtues, you possess an excellence that is as remarkable as those who have greater virtues.
Perhaps you have a temperament that prevents you from listening attentively or obeying the word as you desire. However, can you feel?
Do you have tenderness of spirit? Certainly, where there is a sense of feeling, there is life. So as long as you have that sensitivity, there is life within you.
Likewise, let it bring comfort to you in the face of all your fears. You fear God's wrath, but if you have a tender heart, the Lord will ensure that you never experience great displeasure. Because you have already sanctified the name of God, and you are sensitive to even the slightest display of His displeasure, it is certain that you will never encounter overwhelming displeasure from God.
And find comfort in this: Jesus Christ's sorrows are for you; you have a share in the sorrows of Jesus Christ. Although you have a mournful spirit, remember that you should not solely rely on the tenderness of your own heart, but rather look up to Christ who had a tender spirit.
If the tenderness in your heart is genuine, it is like the oil that flowed from Aaron's head down to his garments, from Christ your head down to His members. Christ Himself was one who had a very tender spirit. The tenderness that was in Christ now belongs to you. He was tender during His time on Earth, and He remains tender now and will have a tender heart even on the day of judgment. This is something that your soul should rejoice in and find comfort.
But you may wonder, "Lord, how can I be sure that these comforts truly belong to me? Can I apply them too soon and be presumptuous?"
I will give you one key to help you know with certainty whether these comforts belong to you or not.