A Loving Request

Rev. J. Van Haaren (1933-1983)

Translated from De Goede Belijdenis, den Hertog, Houten the Netherlands, 1985

The words of our meditation are taken from the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs was written by King Solomon, who was gifted in an extraordinary manner with the Spirit of wisdom. This wisdom is visible in the many proverbs, the hearty counsel, the earnest warnings, and the wise lessons for this life whereof this book is full, all of which are worth taking to heart. In this text Solomon directs himself to young people when he says, “My son, give me thine heart.” He considers himself more of a father than a teacher and looks upon his students as his children. He is driven by his love for them. In love he warns them about sin and recommends the service of the Lord to them. What a blessing it is when a person conducts himself in such a manner either at school or in the catechism classes.

It is necessary that at every occasion parents should speak with their children in such a manner about the emptiness of the world and the riches contained in the fear of the Lord. They should raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Word. The Lord has promised to bless that simple instruction. Just think of Obadiah who could say, “I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth.” Parents, do you sometimes speak with your children about the seriousness of life, the necessity of true conversion, and also the sweetness of the service of the Lord? What do the children learn, hear, and see in the home? Do they only see a dead letter? Do they see mostly world conformity? Can they see that your life agrees with your confession? Children’s eyes can see through things so easily and completely. The fear of the Lord is lacking in so many families. It is, therefore, no wonder that so many families split apart.

The words of this meditation are, however, not only Solomon’s words. Above and behind him stands the Greater Solomon, Wisdom Himself. Wasn’t He able to say, “Counsel is Mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength”? In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He is the True God and life eternal! He is the Creator of heaven and earth. He can call everything His own. What depth is then found in the words of our meditation when they come out of His mouth. Shouldn’t it be a wonder to us that He, who considers the ages as hours, should seek for an insignificant son of man, yea, that He asks for us? Shouldn’t it be a wonder to us that He is so concerned with our eternal welfare?

With this request He lets us cast a glance into His heart which burns with compassion! Here we see how the Lord was moved as Immanuel from all eternity in taking upon Himself flesh and blood. Lor, in order that sinners who were worthy of damnation could be saved, according to God’s eternal good pleasure, He, in due time, died for the ungodly. So that ungodly sinners could be saved, He addresses them full of love, “My son, give Me thine heart!”

It is not spoken here of being a child as Paul speaks of it in his epistle to the Romans. There we read that God’s “Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God.” When Christ says, “My son,” then it is not about being a child. We will only become children when we are born again. It does speak of our relationship to the covenant wherein we have been placed.

In baptism we are separated from the world. We belong to the Lord. He reminds us of this when He says, “My son, give Me thine heart.” It is as if He would say, I have a right upon you, it is proper that you fear Me. You should give Me the love of your heart. How clearly it is seen in the Word that the Lord has no pleasure in the death of the sinner but that He has pleasure in his salvation.

How important this is to Him because He prays and begs for our heart! It is for this reason that He comes to us continually in the preaching of the Word. Are not God’s servants ambassadors for Christ, who pray you in Christ’s stead, “Be ye reconciled to God”? Should not this request cause our heart to be overcome? What does He really mean when He asks us for our heart? Our heart is the deepest part of our being. It is the fountain of our life. The heart is actually the “person” of the person. When we, therefore, give someone our heart, we do not just give something of ourselves, but we give our whole self. The other person accepts our heart, and our heart goes out to the other person. It is for this reason that Christ asks for our heart. He does not just want something from us, even not everything from us, but he wants our complete being. No, He is not satisfied just with our money, for He can say, “All the gold and silver is mine and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” He does not ask for our hand or our foot, for we can run ourselves ragged in the service of the Lord even though the Lord Himself does not have the love of our heart.

He also does not ask for our head because we can have a doctorate in theology without knowing or loving the Lord. He also does not ask for our emotions. There are many tears that are shed which do not well up from a broken heart. He also does not ask for our mouth. We can speak or preach in an orthodox manner without having an understanding of the words or the matters. We can even be admired because of our beautiful prayers while the Lord says of them, “This people draw nigh to Me with their mouth, but their heart is far from Me.” No, the Lord does not ask for just something from us; He asks for our entire being, for our heart. Then when He has our heart, He also has our money. Nothing is too much for the service of the Lord. Then He also has our strength, for we wish to use all our strength in His service. He also has our time, for then we wish to be busy every day in the fear of the Lord. He also has our eye, for “With a confidence complete, toward the Lord my eyes are turning.”

We have given our heart to the devil. Our heart does not go out to the Lord but to sin, to that which is pleasing to the eye and to our senses. We do not have any desire to serve Him. We do not want Him to be King over us. Yet, to such stubborn sinners He says, “Give Me your heart’.’Should not our hearts break when such a request is placed before us?

Then He also has our ear. We pay attention to the answer God gives us. He also has our hand, for then we give Him our hand and come into His sanctuary. Then He also has our foot, for “Thy path of life I choose for mine, and walk with purpose true.” He also has our understanding, for then we will consider the things which are above. He also has our soul, for then we can say, “With my soul have I desired Thee in the night.” He also has our knee, “for what joy fills my soul when I may kneel at Thy sacred altar.” He also has our emotions, for then our soul and body yearn for Him in a dry and thirsty land where no water is.

These are the reasons why He asks for our heart. He does not ask for our heart because it is good but that He may make it good. He does not want our heart because it beats for Him but that it might begin to beat for Him. How full of grace and how uncovering is this request! For when He asks for our heart, it means that He does not have our heart. We have given our heart to the devil. Our heart does not go out to the Lord but to sin, to that which is pleasing to the eye and to our senses. We do not have any desire to serve Him. We do not want Him to be King over us. Yet, to such stubborn sinners He says, “Give Me your heart.” Should not our hearts break when such a request is placed before us?

Considering this, who still dares to withhold his heart? Who dares to say, “Go Thy way for this time”? If we will do that, this Word will testify against us in the great eternity. How blessed are we if this Word may have driven us into our inner closet, when this Word has touched us. We will become ashamed of our sinful existence. We will begin to see who God is and what our sins are before Him. Then we receive a desire for the Lord and begin to hate sin. We cannot fathom why the Lord would ask for us when we did not wish to have anything to do with Him. Oh, how gladly we would then give Him our heart, but we come to the realization that this is impossible. We begin to realize that we are incapable of any good and inclined to all evil. How that makes us guilty before Him, and it is the cause of so much grief.

Come, do you know something of this? It is evidence that the Lord has already captured your heart. How did that happen? That is the wonder of preaching, for when the Holy Spirit comes along with the preaching, it is a power to salvation. Then we can no longer strive against Him, and we can no longer listen and remain uncommitted. We can no longer live without God and sin against Him. In this it becomes apparent that we have received a new heart, but, one may ask, how did we receive that new heart? God gave it! Did not He ask for our heart? How can He then give it to us? That is the wonderful secret of salvation. We are dealing with a God who gives what He asks for. It is He who takes the heart, and as a fruit of that taking we begin to pray, “Lord, wilt Thou take my heart. Please make it what it is not and what it will never be of itself. Oh, Lord, create in me a clean spirit and cleanse Thou, O Lord, this foul fountain of all my iniquities.”

It is all His own work. Oh, what a rich and free gospel this is. It all comes from one side. That is also the reason that God’s Church continues to pray for a new heart, for with discovering light He lets them see that their heart is still so divided. That causes them to sigh, “Miserable person that I am, if I only had another heart, if I only were another person.” In this manner they need more and more the administration of Christ so that He will cleanse them with His blood and renew them by His Spirit. This places a mark upon their lives, for then the fruits of the Spirit are seen, and in this way the Lord is glorified. They long for the perfection, for then they may receive their heart’s desire, and what the poet sang becomes true, “With all my heart will I record Thy praise, O Lord, and exaltation.”

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