Over the past few weeks the phrase “the broken hearted” has repeatedly been called to my attention. Sometimes it would seem to account for a whispered phrase in the background of everyday life and at other times it would be as a booming echo upon which the events in our world seem to reverberate. Continually though, it is a label applied to the state we continue to exist in under our fallen condition.
Those who inhibited the ancient world identified the heart as the container of an individual’s soul. Therefore the phrase “broken hearted” implied that the individual themself was broken or defective to the core of their being. The authors of the Holy Scriptures were not immune to utilizing this idiom to identify and define the spiritual state which would otherwise escape description. It is in this condition that we begin to seek a way to full “whole”.
There is an innate desire within us to mend this “defective” feeling. This is where the clever designs of the Adversary come into play. It will begin with “one” cigarette, or “one” drink, or “one” act of sexual promiscuity. With each of these acts the individual may feel a momentary reprieve from their sense of longing. It should be known that in this condition the individual is numb to the longing still in their heart rather than receiving any real sense of healing. That momentary sense of numbness will lead the individual further down the paths of addiction while attempting to recapture that lack of longing they first experienced.
The truth in the matter is that there is only one cure or fulfillment to our sense of longing and our broken heart. That cure being a personal relationship between the individual and The Creator, Jesus Christ. This relationship is meant to be a lifelong one and is also defined as the process of conversion. That is not to say that an individual committed to Christ will not slip and will not fall. Remember, that “all have fallen short of the glory of God.” All of the hearts of every disciple are in the process of being mended. And it is through grace that our failures and shortcomings are satisfied.
In this sermon we will discuss three pivotal individuals that are intimately familiar with the condition of the broken hearted. These individuals are categorized as “The King”, “The Prophet”, and “The Cure”.
THE KING:
King David, a man beloved by God, was an inspired and prophetic leader of the Israelite nation. Yet still through the conditioning of his fallen state he yielded to temptation on several occasions. Arguably, the most pronounced of these was when he yielded to the desires of the flesh in his infatuation with Bathsheba. Under this transgression King David betrayed a faithful General and led to the untimely death of that faithful servant. The General’s only “crime” was that of being married to the woman his King lusted after. After this transgression, the judgment of God came swiftly to the House of David through the Prophet Samuel. King David was held accountable for iniquity and as punishment the Lord took his first born child through Bathsheba.
In his insurmountable grief King David turned inward. There, in the moment where King David could have found the feeling of hatred towards God, he humbled himself before the Lord.
THE BROKEN HEARTED
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, God, You will not despise” -Psalm 51:16-17
Here King David knows that his grief is the sacrifice God recognized. And in his grief God began to mend him and make him anew. Through this act of contrition the Lord blessed David with a son, Solomon, that would later surpass his father’s wisdom and accomplishments. In this act of contrition we find that even in our failings God will continue to mend and bless us.
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