_THE CONTRITE HEART_
ISAIAH lvii. 13-21.
Let us look at this description of the dwelling-place of the Eternal God.
"_I dwell with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit._"
And who are the contrite? In the original word there is the significance
of pieces of rock or lumps of soil having been crumbled into the finest
powder. Have I not sometimes heard the phrase--"He's just a lump of
pride"? Well, that pride has to be broken down into the finest powder,
until not a bit of stubborn self-conceit remains. And then the contrite
become the humble! Our gracious Lord has sometimes to use heavy hammers in
the destruction of this hard and stony pride: the shock of calamity, the
battering of disappointment and defeat! Our pride _must_ be ground to
powder. Then He will come in and dwell with us!
And what then? He will "_revive the spirit of the humble, and revive the
heart of the contrite ones_." Our broken pride shall be as broken soil in
which our Lord will grow the flowers and fruits of the Spirit. The death
of pride shall be followed by a revival of all things sweet and beautiful.
When pride is laid low, it is a "day of resurrection." The wilderness
shall "blossom as the rose."