The Trembling Heart

The Trembling Heart

But to this one I will look,

To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.  (Isaiah 66:2b – NASB)

I read of a Scottish preacher during the Reformation period of the church who was about to be burned at the stake for his Biblical preaching.

Asked if he wanted to say a final word before the flame was lighted, he declared, “I stand here ready to give my life for Christ with far less fear than ever I had when mounting the pulpit to declare the Word of God.”

What was he saying? Was he being flippant in the face of death? Was his declaration an act of bravado denying he felt any fear at all?

No. He admitted to some fear of death; he just wanted his hearers to know he had a fear that was greater than the fear of death. He trembled at the possibility he may have taken God’s Word lightly, or that he had not treated it with the respect it deserved. He did not want to offend God by adding or taking away from it, or in misinterpreting it. He held it in such high regard as the message of a loving God to lost sinners, he was afraid to misrepresent it – a fear that overshadowed any fear of death he might have been feeling.

Would that more modern preachers approached God’s Word, the Bible, in that way. Would that the lukewarm climate of the present-day church would be invaded with this kind of Godly fear. We may yet see a revival before the awesome coming of our Lord.

The Trembling Heart

(1992)      

“But to this one I will look,

To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.  (Isaiah 66:2b – NASB)

Give me a heart that trembles

At the entrance of Thy Word;

Give me a life that follows

At the slightest whisper heard.

If there’s a doubt in reading

What the meaning of it is,

Give me the lips for pleading

To know what the answer is.

Give me a mind anointed;

Give me a heart on fire.

Give me the Spirit’s wooing

To keep my feet from mire.

Sometimes a fond persuasion

Takes root in the human mind;

If it differs from Thy thinking’

Grant that I be not blind.

Oh for a heart that trembles’

Oh for a heart that finds,

That the simplest word God’s spoken

Is above mere human minds.

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Photo of Portrait of an old woman reading by Gerrit Dou. This work is in the public domain  in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.

Truth’s Cutting Edge

Truth’s Cutting Edge

When Stephen finished declaring the truth to his accusers, the reaction he got was anything but mild:

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with [their] teeth. (Acts 7:54 – NASB)

They were so cut to the heart by the truth he declared that it led to his stoning.

The writer to the Hebrews confirms the sharp penetrating power of God’s Word, and how it can expose the very intentions (motives) of the heart.

 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 – NASB)

It is because the sharp cutting edge of truth that people try to blunt it.

When I am shaving I don’t want to use a razor that is blunt; doing so could be quite painful, besides being ineffectual. I don’t want to use a blunt scissors, or a scalpel when a doctor is about to perform an operation.

The healing of the soul requires a very sharp instrument, but we often choose to save ourselves from the cutting edge of God’s Word, rather than allow it to do its full work in us. Why? Because the pain of confessing the sin and shame is too painful to endure. We choose comfort over character, ease rather than the courage it takes to please God.

There are preachers who shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God lest they offend the sensibilities of their hearers. They would rather risk the displeasure of Heaven, than the censure of a few prominent board members.

God help us if we don’t allow God’s Word to do its perfect work.

Come, and let us return unto the Lord:
for he hath torn, and he will heal us;
he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. (Hosea 6:1 – AKJV)

I Won’t

(Wednesday 1^st October 2003)

I won’t soften it up

Or water it down,

Or change the message because

Of a frown that comes my way.

The Truth is as sharp as a doctor’s

Scalpel, and is meant to heal, not harm —

To blunt its edge is a cruel invention,

Revealing an evil, base intention.

So, I won’t soften it up

Or water it down:

I’ll preach it straight and

Make it plain,

Regardless of whether it

Administers pain, or pleasure,

Or ecstatic joy. I’ll spread

God’s truth — without alloy.

I’ll serve it up in the spirit of Love,

With the help of Heaven and the

Host of Light:

I’m not alone as I stand my ground:

By the mercy of God

In His truth I’m found.

I won’t soften it up

Or water it down,

Or change the message because

Of a frown that comes my way,

But I need the prayers of

God’s people each day,

To keep me walking the straight,

Narrow way.

Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
My blog: https://christophershennan.wordpress.com/
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Image uploaded by Brianann MacAmhlaidh onto wikimedia. Copyright. Used under the CC BY 2.0 license; please note the Disclaimer at this link. Description: photo of a Scottish claymore replica made by Soren Niedziella. “Chieftain Limited Edition Medieval Scottish War Sword”