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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
February, 1935
SPEAK to the HEART B y K. OWEN WH ITE* Gainesville, Georgia
T h e Hebrew language has a very terse, brief, and com pact way o f expressing the truth. Many of its idioms and phrases cannot be translated into English without suf fering loss. On the whole, the translators did a marvelous piece of work, but there are precious gems o f truth which are concealed rather than revealed by our English versions. The discovery o f such gems is adequate reward for the sometimes tedious task of poring over a strange language which has long been considered “ dead.” For an illustration o f the loss which sometimes occurs in translation, turn in your Bible to Isaiah 40:1. Chapters 40-66 o f the book o f Isaiah have been called “ The Book of Comfort,” and this great section begins with the words, “ Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,” etc. Now this verse just as it stands has long been regarded as one o f the most gra cious words in the Old Testament, but a literal translation o f the words of the great eighth century prophet is^surely more impressive. What Isaiah actually wrote was: “ Speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” In Hebrew, the phrase consists o f four short words: Dibberu ’al lev Yerushalam. The Hebrew prophets were great preachers. They were the interpreters o f God to men, the champions o f a truly spiritual faith, the moral and religious reformers of their day, and the forerunners o f the gospel preachers of the New Testament dispensation. The figure o f Isaiah towers far above his contemporaries. He was a spiritual giant! At -a time when idolatry was rife, When religion was di vorced from conduct, when immorality was the order of the day, when the outward observances o f religion were multiplied, but when the inward spirit o f religion was lack ing, this great preacher came to proclaim the message o f Je hovah, that “ this people draw nigh, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me.” T o Isaiah, religion was preeminently a matter o f the heart. M odern M a t e r ia l is m v er su s S p ir it u a l R e l ig io n [Modern educational methods have much to say about the mind but very little about the heart. The Scriptures have much to say about the heart but comparatively little about the mind. “ Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God” (Matt. 5 :8 ). “ My son, give me thine heart” (Prov. 2 3 :26 ). “ Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out o f it are the issues o f life” (Prov. 4 :23 ). Modern psychol ogy takes the human mind apart, examines its various ele ments, scrutinizes its inner workings, explains the process es o f thought, and reduces a man to a mere machine hope lessly enslaved by heredity and environment. Conviction, repentance, conversion, and regeneration are explained up on a purely natural basis^and the necessity for God is prac tically done away witQ (5) /5j If Paul were living today,, he might still say truly that the world through its wisdom knows not God. W e do not underestimate the value of research in every branch o f hu man knowledge. It is doubtless true that a study o f the inner workings o f the mind may be of almost inestimable value in helping us to understand human conduct and expe- *Pastor, Central Baptist Church. Dr. White was graduated from the Bible Institute of. Los Angeles in 1922.
rience, but it must always be with reverence that we ap proach such a study, remembering that a man is a living soul, and always allowing for the intervention of the Spirit o f God. Psychology may do much to help us in solving hu man problems, but there is a point beyond which it can not go. The modern Nicodemus still stumbles over the mystery o f the new birth. God has revealed Himself to us in various ways. He has spoken in the stars, for “ the heavens declare the glory o f God.” He has spoken in the world, and, to those who have eyes to see, “ the whole earth is filled with his, glory.” He has spoken through patriarchs, angels, prophets, and apostles. He has spoken through His Word, and He has spoken unto us by His Son. He speaks today through all these channels, and especially does He speak through His Spirit. It is to the heart that He speaks, and not merely to the intellect. A man must not believe with his mind only; for it is “ with the heart” that man believeth unto righteous ness (Rom . 10:10). TA man cannot love God supremely with his mind alone. Religion is a matter of the heart. The miracle of the new birth reaches to a man’s innermost being. In an age o f materialism and of pride in purely intellectual achievement, there is need for an Isaiah to “ speak to the heart.” ] (% ) fg\ T h e P l a c e of t h e P u l p it in a M odern A ge The preacher is God’s messenger. If he is not conscious o f the fact that he is the spokesman o f God, he has no right to speak. There is no reasonable defense for preaching unless the preacher is interpreting the mind o f God to his generation. The church has never been the place for an ex tended discussion of political issues. The pulpit has never been the place for a mere demonstration o f erudition and literary achievement. Let the pulpit speak to the heart o f a lost and bewildered world. Quite recently, a pastor on the west coast bewailed the lack o f interest shown in the services o f the average church today and called attention to the gradually dwindling crowds in many large churches. Judging from some samples o f his preaching, it is only to be wondered that the congregation was not smaller still. There was nothing at all for the heart and very little for the mind to feed on. Those who are burdened with sin do not come to church to be entertained. People who have been wrest ling with problems all the week do not care to listen to involved discussions o f economic affairs. Men and women whose hearts are hungry can never be satisfied when they are fed upon choice morsels of world literature. They need the Word o f God. JThere is very little value in a sermon which soars away on wings o f rhetoric far above the heads o f the hearers. The message o f the gospel should be delivered in terms which can be understood by a twelve-year-old child. Let the preacher who aspires to be eloquent be reminded that there is no highei^eloquence than the simplicity and dignity o f the Bible itselfT It is refreshing to hear a professor in (^the Department o f Old Testament in a great theological fsjkeminary urge his students to make much use o f the lan guage o f Scripture in their preaching. A man-made sermon may be clear, logical, and convincing and yet leave the heart untouched. The Word o f God makes a strange appeal to the heart.
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