#13 - The Tender Heart

I just finished Puritan Richard Sibbes' book, The Tender Heart. To be honest, it's more of a booklet than a book. It is only 65 pages long and it can almost fit into your pocket. I thought it was a full book when I ordered it and was surprised by its brevity. So I read it twice to make it feel like it should count as a book for the year.Sibbes was an English Puritan pastor in the early 17th century. Probably his most famous work is The Bruised Reed. In the preface to this book, the author describes Sibbes as not being concerned so much with surface behavior - "we have done wrong things and we need to start doing right things. Sibbes plumbs much deeper. He knew that the outward acts of sin are merely the manifestations of the inner desires of the heart. Merely to alter a person's behavior without dealing with those desires would cultivate hypocrisy, the self-righteous cloak for a cold and vicious heart."

He goes on to say that Sibbes "explains that those who are tender-hearted - who are soft to the Lord - do not simply desire 'salvation'; they desire the Lord of salvation himself. Only then, when a person is brought to love the Lord with heart-felt sincerity, will they truly begin to hate their sin instead of merely dreading the thought of God's punishment of it."

This booklet is a text from Sibbes' sermon from 2 Chronicles 34:26-27 in talking of King Josiah, "because your heart was tender..." Here are a few gems:

• A tender heart, so soon as the Word is spoken, yields to it. It quakes at threatenings, obeys precepts, melts at promises, and the promises sweeten the heart.
• If you will preserver tenderness of heart, take heed of the least sin against conscience, for the least sin in this kind makes way for hardness of heart. Sins committed against conscience do darken the understanding, deaden the affection, and take away life; so that one has not the least strength to withstand the least temptation.
• If you will preserve tenderness of heart, take heed of spiritual drunkenness; that is, that you be not drunk with an immoderate use of created things; of setting your love too much upon outward things...The setting of too much love upon earthly things, takes away the sense of better things, and hardens the heart. When the heart is filled with the pleasures and profits of this life, it is not sensible of any judgment that hangs over the head...When a man sets his love upon created things, the very strength of his soul is lost.
• Let those who are young by all means labour to keep tenderness of heart; for if young persons be good, there is a sweet communion between God and them, before the heart be pestered with the cares of the world.
• How is your heart affected to men when they commit sin against God, as idolaters, swearers, drunkards, liars, and the like? Is it mercy to let these go on in their sins toward hell? No, this is cruelty; but mercy is to be showed unto them, in restraining men from their wicked courses. Therefore do not think you show mercy unto them by letting them alone in sin, but exhort and instruct them.
• What an excellent thing a tender heart is. God has promised to dwell in such an heart, and it is an excellent thing to have God dwell in our hearts...can God come into a heart without a blessing? Can he be separated from goodness, who is goodness itself? When the heart therefore is pliable and thus tender, there is an immediate communion between the soul and God; and can that heart be miserable that has communion with God? Surely not.
• But it will be an unfruitful repentance to repent in hell; for there a man shall get no benefit by his repentance, seeing there they cannot shake off the execution of God's judgment, as they shake off the threatenings of his judgments here.

Sibbes is very readable and had many great thoughts. He seems especially relevant to a culture today that misunderstands grace and mercy. People want to act as if they are the judge and king of the universe, able to impart forgiveness and grace to others. Let's err on the side of grace to others they say.

But is this truly grace? Toleration of sin? Grace and mercy is the exact opposite. The most loving thing to do is to show people their sin and idolatry so that they may repent and experience true grace and true mercy from the true king and judge of the universe. Then they can experience true joy both in this life and the life to come.