[V. THE REASONS WHY A BROKEN HEART IS ESTEEMED BY GOD AS SUCH AN EXCELLENT THING.]
As bread to the hungry, as water to the thirsty, as light to the blind, and liberty to the imprisoned; so, and a thousand times more, is Jesus Christ to the wounded, and to them that are broken-hearted. Now, as was said, this must needs be excellent in God's eyes, since Christ Jesus is so glorious in his eyes. To contemn what a man counts excellent, is an offence to him; but to value, esteem, or think highly of that which is of esteem with me, this is pleasing to me, such an opinion is excellent in my sight. What does Christ say? 'My Father loveth you, because ye loved me' (John 16:27). Who hath a high esteem for Christ, the Father hath a high esteem for them. Hence it is said, 'He that hath the Son, hath the Father'; the Father will be his, and will do for him as a Father, who receiveth and sets an honourable esteem on his Son.
But none will, none can do this, but the broken-hearted; because they, and they only, are sensible of the want and worth of an interest in him.
I dare appeal to all the world as to the truth of this; and do say again, that these, and none but these, have hearts of esteem in the sight of God. Alas! 'the heart of the wicked is little worth,' for it is destitute of a precious esteem of Christ, and cannot but be needy, because it is not wounded, broken, and made sensible of the want of mercy by him (Prov 10:20).
Fourth. A broken heart is of great esteem with God, because it is a thankful heart for that sense of sin and of grace it has received. The broken heart is sensitive. This we touched upon before. It is reasonable of the dangers which sin leadeth to; yea, and has cause to be sensible thereof, because it has seen and felt what sin is, both in the guilt and punishment that by law is due thereto. As a broken heart is sensible of sin, in the evil nature and consequences of it; so it is also sensible of the way of God's delivering the soul from the day of judgment; consequently, it must be a thankful heart. Now he that praises me, glorifies me, saith God; and God loves to be glorified. God's glory is dear unto him; he will not part with that (Psa 50:23; Isa 42:8).
The broken-hearted, say I, forasmuch as he is the sensible soul, it follows that he is the thankful soul. 'Bless the Lord, O my soul,' said David, 'and all that is within me bless his holy name.' Behold what blessing of God is here! And yet not content herewith, he goes on with it again, saying, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.' But what is the matter? O! he has forgiven all thine iniquities, and healed all thy diseases. He has redeemed thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with loving kindnesses and tender mercies' (Psa 103:1-4). But how did he come to be affected by this? Why, he knew what it was to hang over the mouth of hell for sin; yea, he knew what it was for death and hell to beset and compass him about; yea, they took hold of him, as we have said, and were pulling of him down into the deep; this he saw to the breaking of his heart. He saw also the way of life, and had his soul relieved with faith and a sense of that, and that made him a thankful man. If a man who has had a broken leg is but made to understand that by the breaking of that he was kept from breaking his neck, he will be thankful to God for a broken leg. 'It is good for me,' said David, 'that I have been afflicted.' I was preserved from a great danger; for before that I went astray (Psa 119:67,71).
And who can be thankful for a mercy that is not sensible that they want it, have it, and have it of mercy? Now, this is the broken-hearted, this is the man that is of a contrite spirit, is sensible of, and that concerning mercies of the best sort, and therefore must needs be a thankful man, and so have a heart of esteem with God, because it is a grateful heart.
Fifth. A broken heart is of great esteem with, or an excellent thing in, the sight of God, because it is a heart that desires now to become a receptacle or habitation for the spirit and graces of the Spirit of God. It was the devil's hold before, and was contented so to be. But now it is for entertaining, for being possessed by the Holy Spirit of God. 'Create in me a clean heart,' said David, 'and renew a right spirit within me. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me, uphold me with thy free Spirit' (Psa 51:10-12). Now he was for a clean heart and a right spirit; now he was for the sanctifying of the blessed spirit of grace; a thing which the uncircumcised in heart resist, and do despite unto (Acts 7:51; Heb 10:29).
A broken heart, therefore, suiteth with the heart of God; a contrite spirit is one spirit with him. God, as I told you before, covets to dwell with the broken in heart, and the broken in heart desire communion with him. Now here is an agreement, a oneness of mind; now the same mind is in thee which was also in Christ Jesus. This must needs be an excellent spirit; this must needs be better with God, and in his sight, than thousands of rams, or ten thousand rivers of oil. But does the carnal world covet this, this spirit, and the blessed graces of it? No, they despise it, as I said before; they mock at it, they prefer and countenance any sorry, dirty lust rather; and the reason is, because they want a broken heart, that heart so highly in esteem with God, and remain for want thereof in their enmity to God.
The broken-hearted know that the sanctifying of the Spirit is a good means to keep from that relapse, out of which a man cannot come unless his heart be wounded a second time. Doubtless, David had a broken heart at first conversion, and if that brokenness had remained, that is, had he not given way to hardness of heart again, he had never fallen into that sin out of which he could not be recovered, but by the breaking of his bones a second time. Therefore, I say, a broken heart is of great esteem with God; for it—and I will add, so long as it retains its tenderness—covets none but God, and the things of his Holy Spirit; sin is an abomination to it.
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