A broken heart

'A broken heart'

— Psalm 34:18

A broken heart, a contrite spirit and a subdued will are rare things in our day. This is the day of human rights, human dignity and human sovereignty. Self-esteem, self-worth and self-promotion are the cry of the day. All men are demanding what they call ‘their rights’. Every man does that which is right in his own eyes. All men by nature are exceedingly proud, selfish people. Preachers today, knowing man’s natural pride, have capitalized upon it. They have developed a flesh-pleasing theology of pride. Our forefathers exalted the dignity, the majesty and the supremacy of the eternal God. But the smooth-tongued prophets of deceit in our day have set themselves to exalt the dignity, majesty and supremacy of man. It seems that religion today is dedicated, not to the honor of God, but to the honor of man. Its purpose is to make man feel good about himself. Therefore we hear little about brokenness of heart, contrition of the soul and the subduing of man’s will.

Of this one thing you may be sure: ‘The sacrifices of God are [still] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise’ (Ps. 51: 17). The Lord God declares, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word” (Isa. 66:2). I am convinced that God will have broken material with which to build his kingdom. Sooner or later, the Lord God will bring us to nothingness before his presence, or we shall never experience his salvation. God’s people, all of God’s people, are a broken people.

That person who is saved by the grace of God has seen himself and his sin in the light of the crucified Christ and his heart is broken by what he sees (Zech. 12: 10). Such a person takes sides with God against himself (Ps. 51:4). justifying God in his own condemnation, he is justified by God and freed from all condemnation.