The Holiest of All By Andrew Murray

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To
116 abe Dolieet of ail
they hear His voice ;
then, to their great danger, hardening the
heart against that voice. Not to the unbelieving Jews, but to
the Christian Hebrews are these words of warning directed.
Christians in our day have no less need of them. Let us take
more abundant heed to the word : Even as the Holy Ghost
saith, To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your
hearts.
When God spake to Israel, the first thing
he asked
of them
was a heart that did not harden itself, but that in meekness and
gentleness, in tenderness and docility
turned itself to listen to
His voice. How much more may He claim this, now that He
speaks to us in His Son. As the soil must be broken up by the
plough and softened by the rain, so a broken, tender spirit is the
first requisite for receiving blessing from God s word, or being
in truth made partakers of God s grace. As we read in Isaiah,
this man will I look, even to him that is
poor and of a con
trite heart, and trembleth at My
word." When this disposition
exists, and the thirsty heart truly waits for divine
teaching, and
the circumcised ear opens to receive it, God s voice will bring real
life and blessing, and be the power of living fellowship with
Himself. Where it is
wanting, the word remains unfruitful, and
we go backward, however much head and mouth be filled with
Bible truth. Wherefore, even as the Holy Ghost saith, If ye
hear His voice, harden not your hearts.
It is not difficult to say what it is that hardens the hearts.
The seed sown by the wayside could not enter the soil, because
it had been trodden down by the passers-by. When the world,
with its business and its interests, has at all times a free passage,
the heart loses its tenderness. When we trust too much to the
intellect in religion, and very great care is not taken to take
each word as from God into the heart, into its life and love, the