A new heart and a new spirit – Thomas Brooks

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances.” Ezekiel 36:26-27

A true child of God has the law of God written, not only in his understanding but also in his heart and affections. And this is that which makes his obedience to be pleasing and delightful to him.

If he might be free from the injunctions and directions of the word he would not value such a liberty. He would not swear, nor lie, nor be drunk, nor whore, nor dissemble, nor cheat, nor run into all excess of riot if he could because in his soul he has a principle of grace, and an inward contrariety and antipathy against evil. He would not cease to hear, to read, to pray, to meditate if he could because his soul takes a pleasure and sweet delight in these things.

There is a principle within him agreeable to the precepts of Scripture, which makes all pious performances to be easy and pleasurable to him.

Look! as the eye delights in seeing, and the ear in hearing, so a gracious heart (except when it is under a cloud of desertion, or in the school of temptation, or under some grievous tormenting afflictions, or sadly worsted by some prevalent corruption) delights in obedience.