The Tender Heart

‘To read the work of a Puritan doctor of the soul is to enter a rich world of spiritual theology to feed the mind, heart-searching analysis to probe the conscience, Christ-centred grace to transform the heart, and wise counsel to direct the life. This series of Pocket Puritans provides all this in miniature, but also in abundance.’– SINCLAIR B. FERGUSON

Richard Sibbes always sought to get under the superficial layer of his listeners’ behaviour and deal with their hearts, affections and desires. In The Tender Heart , he explains that those who are tender-hearted do not simply desire salvation; they desire the Lord of salvation himself. Only when a person is brought to love the Lord with heart-felt sincerity will they begin to hate their sin truly instead of merely dreading the thought of God’s punishment of it.