Ezekiel 36:26

26 And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 36:26

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you
A "new heart" and a "new spirit" are one and the same; that is, a renewed one; renewed by the Spirit and grace of God; in which a new principle of life is put; new light is infused; a new will, filled with new purposes and resolutions; where new affections are placed, and new desires are formed; and where there are new delights and joys, as well as new sorrows and troubles; the same which in the New Testament is called the "new man", and the new creature, ( Ephesians 4:24 ) ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ) . The Targum paraphrases it,

``a heart fearing, and a spirit fearing;''
where the true fear of God is, a truly gracious heart; and which is purely the gift of God, and is the fruit of his rich grace, abundant mercy, and great love: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh;
the Targum is,
``and I will break the heart of the wicked, which is hard as a stone;''
this is a heart hardened by sin, and confirmed in it; destitute of spiritual life and motion; senseless and stupid, stubborn and inflexible; on which no impressions are made; and which remains hard and impenitent: now this is in "the flesh", in corrupt nature; and this hardness of heart is natural to men; and all who have it are after the flesh, or are carnal; and it requires omnipotence to remove it; it cannot be taken out by men of themselves: nor by ministers of the word; nor by the bare mercies and judgments of God; but by the powerful and efficacious grace of God; giving repentance unto life; working faith in the soul, to look to a crucified Christ; and shedding abroad the love of God in the heart, which softens and melts it; all which is done by the Spirit, and frequently by means of the word. This is interpreted, in the Talmud F14, of the evil imagination, or corruption of nature; and is one of the names of it, a stone; and it refers, it is said F15, to the time or world to come, the days of the Messiah: and I will give you an heart of flesh;
a heart sensible of sin and danger; a penitent one, soft and tender, through the love and fear of God; a spiritual and sanctified heart; submissive to the will of God; flexible and obsequious to the commands of Christ; on which impressions are made by the grace of God; where the laws of God are written, the Gospel of Christ is put; where Christ himself is formed; where are the fear of God, faith, hope, and love, and every other grace.
FOOTNOTES:

F14 T. Bab. Succah, fol. 52. 1.
F15 Debarim Rabba, fol. 242. 2. & Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 3. 2.

Ezekiel 36:26 In-Context

24 For I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you together out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25 And I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your idols.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit in the midst of you: and I will cause you to walk in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, and do them.
28 And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
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