Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1882-05-25
ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE.
BY REV. D. THOMPSON.

The Heart is, Dy nSure OF speech, put lOI
the soul Why is this-why is it thus employ
ed rather than any other organ of the human
body The only answer that can satisfacto-
rily be given is, that pulsation or throbbing of
the heart is certain sign of the presence OF
the soul or spirit in the body, and this sign is
put for the thing signifed. When the pulsa-
tion ceases, the circulation of the blood ceases,
and with this, the generation Of vital heat
ceases, the whole body becomes cold a coun-
tenance that lately beamed with intelligence,
and beauty becomes ghastly and repulsive so
that like Abraham with his beloved Sarah, we
are compelled to bury our dead out OF our
sight. DiSorganiZat4on commences, the body
returns to dust rs it was, and the spirit to
God who gave it,"
The heart is often employed in Scripture to
denote all the faculties of the sOul-the under
standing or intellect, the will and affections.
Many things are attributed to it, according to
the moral character of the person. 1t is said
to be s'deceitful above all things and desper-
ateiy wicked.' Again, in it's unrenewed state
it is said to be hard and stony; but in its re-
newed state it is called heart of flesh some
times it is said to be DOUBLE denoting deceit
fulness, whereas singleness of heart denotes
sincerity or integrity A clean or pure heart
denotes sanctified SOUL "With the heart
man believeth unto righteousneSS'-her all
the faculties of the soul are employed. The
understanding contemplates Christ in his glo-
rious person and offices, especiallyin his priest
ly office, by the execution of which he has
brought in everlasting righteousness, the will
and affections accept him as most suitable to
the condition of the poor lost sinner, and says
in effect, ''whom have l in heaven but thee
and there is none on earth that desire besides
thee. He is the chief among ten thousands,
yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my be-
loved and this is my friend, O daughters of
Jerusalem"
Another highly fgurative expression is fire.
quently found in the Old Testament, but es
pecially in the book of Psalms: viz. The Light
of the Countenance. This phrase is always
applied to God, and it denotes his favor and
love. In the songs of Zion, the church and
her pious members frequently importune the
God of grace to lift on them the light of his
countenance Such supplcations or addresses
are made after the manner of men. When
men are pleased with others, and love them,
all the features of the face become smooth,
and the result of this is that light is more
fully reflected from the countenance, and SO
far it shines. On the contrary, when men are
displeased with others, the facial muscles be-
come corrugated, dark burrows are exhibited,
the face frOwns
Another familiar expression of frequent oc-
currence in the book of Psalms is to incline
the ear and hear The import Of this express
sion is that God would graciously grant the
petitions of his people. When men wish to
show respect to others who address them,
they uniformly turn the head to the speaker
in order to hear distinctly and answer cor
rectly In the sick chamber, the sympathiz-
ing friend bends down his head to hear the
low accents of the person whom he will likely
soon hear no more Gods bending his ear to
hear denotes the regard that he has to believ-
ing prayer, and his condescension and COM
passion for his people in their Affections I'm
all their affections he was afflicted In him
compassion flows in such pity as father hath
in his children, like pity shows the Lord to
such as worship him in fear" "The prayer
of the destitute he surely will regard"