When God Applies It to the Heart
Hebrews 4:12-16 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates
even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all
creation is hidden from God’s sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us
in our time of need.
Matthew Henry: Observe the proposed end: spiritual and eternal rest; the rest of grace here, and glory hereafter; in Christ on earth, with Christ in heaven. After due and diligent labor, sweet and satisfying rest will follow;
and labor now will make that rest more pleasant when it comes. Let us labor, and encourage each other to be
diligent in duty. The Holy Scriptures are the word of God.
When God applies it to the heart through His Spirit, it convinces powerfully, converts powerfully, and comforts powerfully. It makes a soul that has long been proud become humble, and a perverse spirit become meek
and obedient. Sinful habits that have, so to speak, become natural to the soul and are deeply rooted in it- are
separated and cut off by this sword. It will reveal to people their thoughts and purposes, the vileness of many of
them, the bad principles that motivate them, and the sinful ends for which they act.
The word will show the sinner all that is in his heart. Let us hold fast the doctrines of Christian faith in our
heads, its enlivening principles in our hearts, the open profession of it in our lips, and be subject to it in our lives.
Christ executed one part of His priesthood on earth in dying for us; the other He executes in heaven, pleading
the cause and presenting the offerings of His people. In the sight of Infinite Wisdom, it was necessary that the
Savior of humanity should be one who has the sympathy that no being except a fellow creature could possibly
have. Therefore, it was necessary that He should have actual experience of all the effects of sin that could be
separated from its actual guilt.
God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3)
But the more holy and pure He was, the more He must have been unwilling in His nature to sin and must have
had a deeper impression of its evil. Consequently, the more He must have been concerned to deliver His people from its guilt and power.
We should encourage ourselves by the excellence of our High Priest to come boldly to the throne of grace.
Mercy and grace are the things we need: mercy to pardon all our sins, and grace to purify our souls.
Besides our daily dependence upon God for present supplies, there are seasons for which we should make
provision in our prayers: times of temptation, whether through adversity or prosperity, and especially the time of
our death. We are to come with reverence and godly fear, yet not as if dragged to the seat of justice, but as
kindly invited to the mercy-seat, where grace reigns. We have boldness to enter into the holiest only by the
blood of Jesus; He is our Advocate and has purchased all that our souls need or can desire.
Hebrews 4:12-16 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates
even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all
creation is hidden from God’s sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us
in our time of need.
Matthew Henry: Observe the proposed end: spiritual and eternal rest; the rest of grace here, and glory hereafter; in Christ on earth, with Christ in heaven. After due and diligent labor, sweet and satisfying rest will follow;
and labor now will make that rest more pleasant when it comes. Let us labor, and encourage each other to be
diligent in duty. The Holy Scriptures are the word of God.
When God applies it to the heart through His Spirit, it convinces powerfully, converts powerfully, and comforts powerfully. It makes a soul that has long been proud become humble, and a perverse spirit become meek
and obedient. Sinful habits that have, so to speak, become natural to the soul and are deeply rooted in it- are
separated and cut off by this sword. It will reveal to people their thoughts and purposes, the vileness of many of
them, the bad principles that motivate them, and the sinful ends for which they act.
The word will show the sinner all that is in his heart. Let us hold fast the doctrines of Christian faith in our
heads, its enlivening principles in our hearts, the open profession of it in our lips, and be subject to it in our lives.
Christ executed one part of His priesthood on earth in dying for us; the other He executes in heaven, pleading
the cause and presenting the offerings of His people. In the sight of Infinite Wisdom, it was necessary that the
Savior of humanity should be one who has the sympathy that no being except a fellow creature could possibly
have. Therefore, it was necessary that He should have actual experience of all the effects of sin that could be
separated from its actual guilt.
God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3)
But the more holy and pure He was, the more He must have been unwilling in His nature to sin and must have
had a deeper impression of its evil. Consequently, the more He must have been concerned to deliver His people from its guilt and power.
We should encourage ourselves by the excellence of our High Priest to come boldly to the throne of grace.
Mercy and grace are the things we need: mercy to pardon all our sins, and grace to purify our souls.
Besides our daily dependence upon God for present supplies, there are seasons for which we should make
provision in our prayers: times of temptation, whether through adversity or prosperity, and especially the time of
our death. We are to come with reverence and godly fear, yet not as if dragged to the seat of justice, but as
kindly invited to the mercy-seat, where grace reigns. We have boldness to enter into the holiest only by the
blood of Jesus; He is our Advocate and has purchased all that our souls need or can desire.
Heavenly Father;
Too often we can be found to not understand the seriousness of what has been done for us, what is being done to us,
and of how we are called to proclaim to a world drowning in sin; the wonderful things that You have done, and of the
fulfillment of the promises that are yet to come.
Father, we say that we love You, we come together to worship and sing Your praises; but as we leave that unity of
hearts- we can soon be found to be out of sight and with You out of mind. Lord, forgive us- when we wander, forgive
us- for the thoughts we entertain, forgive us- when we show slight towards one another, and when given opportunity
to-we do not encourage one another.
We are weak and we do not draw on Your strength nearly enough, we do wander-because we forget whose we are,
we say what we shouldn’t, we do what should not be done and we entertain what should be taken captive and rebuked. All because we say that we love You, but do not understand the love that we speak of.
Lord, the truth is before us as we look around: if not for the grace of God-there would go I!
I am thankful that You have humbled me, I am thankful for Your Holy Spirit that convicts me and helps me to understand that often times there are hidden areas of my life that only You can see, and that I must deal with- You then reveal them to me in ways that stir me and cause me to pursue You for the answers that I need: forgiveness and healing.
Great is Your faithfulness, Lord. Amen
Too often we can be found to not understand the seriousness of what has been done for us, what is being done to us,
and of how we are called to proclaim to a world drowning in sin; the wonderful things that You have done, and of the
fulfillment of the promises that are yet to come.
Father, we say that we love You, we come together to worship and sing Your praises; but as we leave that unity of
hearts- we can soon be found to be out of sight and with You out of mind. Lord, forgive us- when we wander, forgive
us- for the thoughts we entertain, forgive us- when we show slight towards one another, and when given opportunity
to-we do not encourage one another.
We are weak and we do not draw on Your strength nearly enough, we do wander-because we forget whose we are,
we say what we shouldn’t, we do what should not be done and we entertain what should be taken captive and rebuked. All because we say that we love You, but do not understand the love that we speak of.
Lord, the truth is before us as we look around: if not for the grace of God-there would go I!
I am thankful that You have humbled me, I am thankful for Your Holy Spirit that convicts me and helps me to understand that often times there are hidden areas of my life that only You can see, and that I must deal with- You then reveal them to me in ways that stir me and cause me to pursue You for the answers that I need: forgiveness and healing.
Great is Your faithfulness, Lord. Amen