Broken Heart

" The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit : a broken and a contrite heart, 
God, Thou wilt not despise. Ps. li. 17. 

No psalm expresses more fully the experience of a penitent believing 
soul : — First, His humbling confession of sin, vers. 3, 4, 5. Second, 
His intense desire for pardon through the blood of Christ, ver. 7. 
Third, His longing after a clean heart, ver. 10. Fourth, His desire 
to render something to God for all his benefits. (1.) He says, I will 
teach transgressors thy ways. (2.) My lips shall show forth thy 
praise. (3.) He will give a broken heart, vers. 16, 17. Just as, 
long ago, they used to offer slain lambs in token of thanksgiving, 
so he says he will offer up to God a slain and broken heart. Every 
one of you, who has found the same forgiveness, should come to 
the same resolution  offer up to God this day a broken heart. 

I. The natural heart is sound and unbroken. 

The law, the gospel, mercies, afflictions, death, do not break the 
natural heart. It is harder than stone ; there is nothing in the uni- 
verse so hard. '*' Ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteous- 
ness," Isa. xlvi. 12. " We have walked to and fro through the 
earth, and behold all the earth sitteth still and is at rest," Zech. 
i. 11. "I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men 
that are settled on their lees," Zeph. i. 12. " They have made 
their faces harder than a rock," Jer. v. 3. "Careless women," 
Isa. xxxii. 10. " Women that are at ease," ver. 11. 

Why. First, The veil is upon their hearts. They do not 
believe the Bible, the strictness of the law, the wrath to come; 
the face of a covering is over their eyes. Second, Satan has 
possession. Satan carries the seed away. Third, Dead in tres- 
passes and sins. The dead hear not, feel not; they QlVq past feeling. 
Fourth, They build a wall of untempered mortar. They hope for 
safety in some refuge of lies  that they pray, or give alms. 

 

Pray God to keep away from you the curse of a dead, unbroken 
heart. First, Because it will not last long ; you are standing on 
shppery places ; the waves are below your feet. Second, Because 
Christ will laugh at your calamity. If you were now concerned, 
there is hope. Ministers and Christians are ready ; Christ is ready; 
but afterwards He will laugh. 

II. The awakened heart is wounded, not broken. 

(1.) The law makes the first wound.  When God is going to save 
a soul, He brings the soul to reflect on his sins : " Cursed is every 
one," etc. " Whatsoever things the law saith," etc. " I was alive 
without the law once," etc. Life and heart appear in awful colours. 

(2.) The majesty of God makes the next wound. The sinner is made 
sensible of the great and holy Being against whom he has sinned. 
 Against Thee,'' Ps. li. 4. 

(3.) The third wound is from his own helplessness to make himself 
better.  Still the heart is not broken ; the heart rises against God. 
First, Because of the strictness of the law. Second, Because faith 
is the only way of salvation, and is the gift of God. Third, Because 
God is sovereign, and may save or not as He will. This shows the 
unbroken heart. There is no more miserable state than this. 

Learn. It is one thing to be awakened, and another thing to be 
saved. Do not rest in convictions. 

III. The believing heart is a broken heart two ways. 

(1.) It is broken from its own righteousness.  When the Holy 
Spirit leads a man to the cross, his heart there breaks from seek- 
ing salvation by his own righteousness. All his burden of per- 
formance and contrivances drops. First, The work of Christ 
appears so perfect,  the wisdom of God and the power of God, 
divine righteousness. " I wonder that I should ever think of any 
other way of salvation. If I could have been saved by my own 
duties, my whole soul would now have refused it. I wonder that 
all the world did not see and comply with this way of salvation by 
the righteousness of Christ." {Brainerd, p. 319.) Second, The 
grace of Christ appears so wonderful. That all this righteousness 
should be free to such a sinner ! That I so long neglected, de- 
Bpised, hated it, put mountains between, and yet that He has come 
over the mountains ! " That thou mayest remember and be con- 
founded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, 
when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done," Ezek. 
xvi. 63. Have you this broken heart — broken within sight of the 
cross ? It is not a look into your own heart, or the heart of hell, 



 

but into the heart of Christ, that breaks the heart. Oh, pray for 
this broken heart ! Boasting is excluded. To Him be glory. 
Worthy is the Lamb ! All the struggles of a self-righteous soul 
are to put the crown on your own head instead of at the feet of 
Jesus. 

(2.) Broken from love of sin.  When a man believes on Christ, he 
then sees sin to be hateful. First. It separated between him and 
God, made the great gulf, and kindled the fires of hell. Second, 
It crucified the Lord of Glory ; weighed down his soul ; made Him 
sweat, and bleed, and die. Third, It is the plague of his heart 
now. All my unhappiness is from my being a sinner. Now he 
mourns sore like a dove, that he should sin against so much love. 
" Then shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings wherein 
ye have been defiled, and shall loathe yourselves in your own 
sight." 

lY. Advantages of a broken heart. 

(1.) Itkeeps you from being offended at the preaching of the Cross. 
A natural heart is offended every day at the preaching of the cross. 
Many of you, I have no doubt, hate it. The preaching of another's 
righteousness, that you must have it or perish,  many, I have no 
doubt, are often enraged at this in their hearts. Many, I doubt 
not, have left this church on account of it; and many more, I 
doubt not, will follow. All the offence of the cross is not ceased. 
But a broken heart cannot be offended. Ministers cannot speak 
too plainly for a broken heart. A broken heart would sit for ever 
to hear of the righteousness without works. 

Many of you are offended when we preach plainly against sin. 
Many were offended last Sabbath. But a broken heart cannot be 
offended, for it hates sin worse than ministers can make it. Many 
are like the worshippers of Baal : " Bring forth thy son that he 
may die," Judges vi. 30. But a broken heart loves to see the 
idol stamped upon and beaten small. 

(2.) A broken heart is at rest. The unconverted heart is like the 
troubled sea : " Who will show us any good ?" It is going from 
creature to creature. The awakened soul is not at rest ; sorrows 
of death, pains of hell, attend those who are forgetting their resting- 
place. But the broken heart says, " Return unto thy rest, O my 
soul." The righteousness of Christ takes away every fear, " casts 
out fear." Even the plague of the heart cannot truly disturb, for 
he casts his burden on Jesus. 

(3.; Nothing can happen wrong to it. To the unconverted, how 
dreadful is a sick-bed, poverty, death  tossed like a wild beast in 




a. net ! But a broken heart is satisfied with Christ. This is enough ; 
he has no ambition for more. Take away all, this remains. He is 
a weaned child.