Your heart and mine

Contents

Introduction 5

(1) The Heart 15

(2) The Human Heart — Sin Cursed from

Introduction

As a fit introduction to a book that deals with the most important subjects known to man, and a book that gives the mind of God on these subjects, so that we can easily know for ourselves "the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," we choose to give a few select passages from the Old and New Testaments, on what the Word of God says about itself.

To the consecrated parent reader with children of proper age, having this book in their home, we suggest that you use every means to induce them to memorize its scripture contents, when you can be assured you have really given them a higher education than all the high schools in the country, and which would affect their success in two worlds more than anything else you could possibly do for them. Try paying them lc to 5c a verse if necessary — best money you ever spent. "Thy words have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee." J. C. C.

Preface

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes : I will not forget thy word. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth : hide not thy commandments from me. My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times, [v. 40.] Princes also did sit and speak against me : but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors. My soul cleaveth unto the dust : quicken thou me according to thy word. My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word. I have chosen the way of truth : thy judgments have I laid before me. I have stuck unto thy testimonies : Lord, put me not to shame. Teach me, Lord, the way of thy statutes ; and I shall keep it unto the end. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments ; for therein do I delight. Let thy mercies come also unto me, Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word. And I will walk at liberty : for I seek thy precepts. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction : for thy word hath quickened me. The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law. I remember thy judgments of old, Lord; and have comforted myself. Thy p utes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. The bands of the wicked have robbed me : but I have not forgotten thy law. Teach me good judgment and knowledge : for I have believed thy commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. Their heart is as fat as grease ; but I delight in thy law. The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word. [v. 147.] Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight. Let the proud be ashamed ; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts. My soul fainteth for thy salvation : but I hope in thy word. [v.

147.] Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me? For I am become like a bottle in the smoke ; yet do I not forget thy statutes. All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me. For ever, Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. I will never forget thy precepts : for with them thou hast quickened me. I have seen an end of all perfection : but thy commandment is exceeding broad. how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies : for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers : for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding : therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. My soul is continually in my hand : yet do I not forget thy law. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. I hate vain thoughts : but thy law do I love. Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross : therefore I love thy testimonies. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.

Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. Thy testimonies are wonderful : therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of thy words giveth light ; it giveth understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments. Order my steps in thy word. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful. Thy word is very pure, therefore thy servant loveth it. I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me : yet thy commandments are my delights. The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live. Mine eyes prevent the night watches that I might meditate in thy word. Thou art near, Lord ; and all thy commandments are truth. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law. Many are my persecutors and mine enemies ; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word. Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, Lord, according to thy lovingkindness. Thy word is true from the beginning : and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word. I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love. Great peace have they which love thy law : and nothing shall offend them. My soul hath kept thy testimonies ; and I love them exceedingly. My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness. Let thine hand help me ; for I have chosen thy precepts. I have longed for thy salvation, Lord; and thy law is my delight. Psalms 119:9-174.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. Matt. 5:17.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. Matt. 7.24.

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. He that hath ears to hear let him hear. Matt, 11:13.

But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition ? But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Matt. 15:3.

- Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. Matt. 22 :29.

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand : repent ye, and believe the Gospel. Mark 1:15.

And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered. Mark 7:9.

And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? Mark 12:24.

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Mark 13:31.

For no word from God shall be void of power. [R. V.] Luke 1:37. -

And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. Luke 4 :22.

Now the parable is this : The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. Luke 8 :11.

But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. Luke 11 :28.

And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets ; let them hear them. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Luke 16:17.

And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures ? Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. Luke 24:32.

When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. John 2 :22.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Search the scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. John 5:24.

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed ; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8 :31.

If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken. John 10:35.

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. John 15:3.

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me ; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I have given them thy word ; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray 1 for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:8.

Chapter I. The Heart

Text: Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Prov. 4:23.

There is something mysteriously divine about the heart. Just as that 'physical organ in the bosom controls and gives life and nourishment to all the physical body — so there is a seat of affection — somev.'here, that is the controlling poiver in every life — the dynamo of all impulses and activities. It is the seat, the throne-room of judgment, sensibilities and will.. Some tell us that this center of moral, mental, and spiritual forces, is located at the base of the brain; others say — it pervades all the brain; and still others say — it is located in the physical organ — The Heart. We shall verify the fact, from the Word, that it is the seat of all affections — whether good, or evil.

C. F. W.

Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! Deut. 5:29.

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deut. 6:5.

For the Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. 1 Sam. 16 : 7.

Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men. 1 Kings 8:39.

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind : for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee ; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. 1 Chron. 28:9.

And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord. 2 Chron. 12:14.

Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Psa. 44 :21.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts : and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Psa. 51 :6.

Create in me a clean heart, God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psa. 51:10.

My heart is fixed, God, my heart is fixed : I will sing and give praise. Psa. 51 :7.

Keep thy heart with all diligence ; for out of it are the issues of life. Prov. 4 :23.

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. Prov. 15:13.

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes : but the Lord pondereth the hearts. Prov. 21 :2.

But thou, Lord, knowest me : thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. Jer. 12:3.

The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond : it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars ; I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Jer. 17:10.

And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you ; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh : But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God. Ezek. 11:19-21.

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart ; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts;,, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies : These are the things which defile a man. Matt. 15:18-20.

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. Luke 16:15.

And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen. Acts 1 :24.

Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. Acts 8 :22.

And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us. Acts 15:8.

But, after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Rom. 2:5.

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Rom. 8 :27.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb. 4:12.

Chapter II. Proposition : The Human Heart — Sin-cursed From Birth

Text: "Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me." Psa. 51 :5.

"Children are born pure," declare many, in these days. "We are only one generation from the millennium," we heard recently from the pulpit. "If they get out of the kingdom, they ivill have to sin out — they are born in the kingdom — pure as angels." But over against this dangerous heresy, the Book says, "In Adam all die." We should like to enter into a detailed discussion of this most important doctrine, but we will pass it over, by giving what the Bible has to say about it. The object of this work is to give the language of the Bible with but little comment.

The VII and VIII Article of the Methodist Church rings true on this subject. Then in the Baptismal ritual we find a true statement of the spiritual condition of children: "Dearly beloved, forasmuch as all men are conceived and born in sin, etc., then the prayer which follows : "0 Merciful God, grant that the old Adam in this child may be so buried that the new man may be raised up in him, etc."

"Lord we are vile, conceived in sin,

And born unholy and unclean; Sprung from the man whose guilty fall,

Corrupts the race and taints us all.

Soon as we draw our infant breath, The seeds of sin grow up for death.

The law demands a perfect heart, But we are defiled in every party

Notice another old hymn.

"How sad our state by nature is! Our sin how deep it stains!

And Satan, binds our captive souls Fast in his slavish chains."

If our children are born pure and may be trained 0Md kept in the kingdom., tell us, ye modern sages, wherein did He die for all? May His death, if we keep our children in the fold, as it were; may His death not soon become unnecessary? If children are born without the Adamic sin, the salvation of all the children is in our hands, and we do not need the death and suffering of our Lord. It is an insult to ridicule the Adamic fall, bringing its curse and misery, for tvhich Christ died to atone.

Children are innocent, that keeps them in a saved relation; the death of Christ provides for them. But they do not have to sin out when they reach accountability. Unless they ratify the atoning provisions of grace through the death of Christ — accepting it by faith — they are out. The curse of the fall is upon them. To say that children are not born ivith a predisposition to evil, is to acknoivledge ignorance touching facts demonstrated in every household. Deceit, dishonesty, selfishness, pride, anger, etc., are characteristics of children, beginning at the cradle. The accountable child is dead in trespasses and sin, and must be born again.

We shall trace this black heart further through the inspired Word. Let God interpret the nature of the Unregenerated Heart. C. F. w.

UNREGENERATED— Ephe. 4:18.

NOT RIGHT WITH GOD— Acts 8:21

THE WHOLE TROUBLE WITH THE WHOLE WORLD

Make the tree good and his fruit good and you solve the problem o,f the individual, the home, the community, the nation. the world.

Chapter III. The Unregenerated Heart

Text: For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the man. Words of Jesus in Mark 7:21-23.

Either make the tree good and his fruit good ; or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt ; for the tree is known by his fruit. Words of Jesus, Matt. 12 :33.

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden ? And, the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: [Gen. 2:16.] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. [Gen. 2:17.] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die : For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked ; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception: in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life ; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Gen. 3:1-19.

And God saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Gen. 6:5.

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. Job 14:4.

If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom. Job 31 :33.

For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness ; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Psa. 5:9.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous ; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved : for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages : in the secret places doth he murder the innocent : his eyes are privily set against the poor. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten : he hideth his face ; he will never see it. Psa. 10 :4-ll.

The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good ; he abhorreth not evil. Psa. 36:1-4.

Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother ; thou slandereth thine own mother's son. Psa. 50:17-20.

Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Psa. 51:5.

For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel : they despised all my reproof. Prov. 1 :29, 30.

To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh f roward things ; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness ; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words ; Which f orsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. Prov. 2:12-19.

They sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. Prov. 4:16.

Lo, this only have I found that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Eccles. 8:11.

Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. Eccles. 20:16.

Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. Isa. 43 :27.