Broken People by Don Fortner
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves
such as have a contrite spirit. Psalm 34 verse 18 A broken heart, a contrite spirit,
and a subdued will are rare things, especially in this age in which
men everywhere are taught to demand their rights, and the
church has become a place where man is exalted and enshrined
as though he were God. Self-esteem, self-worth, and
self-promotion are the cry of the day. 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 preachers
of deceit in our day have set themselves to exalt the dignity,
majesty, and supremacy of puny 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. The Lord God declares, To this
man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite
heart, and trembles at my word. Isaiah 66.2. God will have broken hearts with
which to build his kingdom. Sooner or later, the Lord will
bring us to nothingness before his presence. God's people, all
of God's people, are a broken people. No man has ever experienced
the grace of God in salvation until his heart is thoroughly
broken before the Holy Lord God, revealed in the crucified Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. If ever a man finds out who he
is, who God is, who the Lord Jesus Christ is, and what he
has done for sinners, he will be a broken man. When Job saw
himself in the presence of his three miserable friends, he vindicated
himself, But when he stood in the presence of God, he was a
broken man, and he spoke as a broken man. He saw himself in all the
hideousness of his sin, and he saw God in all the holiness of
his glorious majesty. Then he said, Behold, I am vile,
I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees
you, therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. There is no pride and egotism
there, no haughtiness. No self-vindication. Once Job
had seen the Lord, he was broken. He loathed himself and blamed
himself. Once Job saw the Lord, he honored
God and vindicated him. The truly broken heart will always
vindicate God, no matter the cost. This brokenness can be
produced in proud, stubborn, sinful men and women only by
the saving revelation of Christ in our hearts. Brokenness is
found at the cross, only at the cross. Have you been to the cross? Have you had the crucified Christ
revealed in your heart? Has your heart been broken by
the knowledge of the Lord? O Lord, evermore break our hearts
before you. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit, a broken and a contrite heart of God you will not despise. Psalm 51 verse 17