The heart ought to be all tenderness; and when it is not, the life must be coarse and evil. Yet closely allied to this great calamity is one of the greatest spiritual blessings, namely, a spiritually broken heart, broken on account of sin and, sometimes, the brokenness of spirit which arises from physical sorrow, mental anxiety, or temporal trouble leads up to the contrition of heart.
I think that he is a very sensible man to say to himself, "Suppose that my health is all wrong? Possibly there is a cure for my malady, I will go and see if I can have this cure." Remember that the first thing you ought to see to is your soul. Sirs, by all means, attend to your health!
Those who mourn that their heart is a heart of stone, if they were to look calmly at the matter, might perceive that it is not all stone, or else there would not be a mourning because of hardness! It is written in the Covenant of Grace, "I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." I pray that this may be fulfilled in you even now.
Best of all, as the Healer of broken hearts, God has chosen One whose own heart was broken. Bring your poor broken heart to the heart that was once pierced by the soldier's spear and find sweetest rest in Jesus! There grows no healing herb but the one plant of renown. A word of His, being His, and recognized as His and coming home to the heart as His, brings healing to head and heart, conscience and imagination, desire and affection! And they said, one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with as by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?
It is God's to give you a tender heart, not yours to create it within yourself. Do not attempt, first, to renew your heart, and then to come to Christ for salvation, for this renewal of heart is salvation! When the Holy Spirit puts the Cross into the heart, the heart is dissolved in tenderness. The hardness of the heart dies when we see Jesus die in woe so great.
First, they have no need to say it when the Lord comes and dwells with them, for the Sun of Righteousness has risen upon them with healing in His wings. When Jesus healed the sick of the palsy, He said to him, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." Pardon and healing were one! We are on our way to eternal health! We have the life within us which is to be perfect forever and ever! O you who are now sick unto death, ask to be forgiven and healing will come from the pardoning hand. God bless you! Amen.