Psalm 34:18-19 - Part 7 - Are You Brokenhearted Or Crushed? Deliverance From Afflictions Series

PSALM 34:18-19 - PART 7 - ARE YOU BROKENHEARTED OR CRUSHED? DELIVERANCE FROM AFFLICTIONS

We are nearing the end of our study of Psalm with just two more to go. The second half of the Psalm deals with practical issues like teaching and commands. Today the issue is very practical and common.

[1]. CLOSE AND COMPASSIONATE WITH ALL COMFORT

{{Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is near to the BROKENHEARTED, and saves those who are CRUSHED in spirit.”}}

We enter a most touching area here that explores the very loving and compassionate nature of God that He shares with his own believers. The words I want to concentrate on to start with, are “broken-hearted” and “crushed” from the NASB. The AV rendering of that is – {{Psalm 34:18. “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a BROKEN HEART; and saveth such as be of a CONTRITE spirit.”}}

What is a broken heart, and what is broken-heartedness? The world uses this expression in relationships such as a man or woman having their heart broken by their partner. That may be so but it is superficial. The true man or woman with a broken heart has to be understood by the second part of this verse that speaks about being crushed.

There are people in the street who are there because life has crushed them and taken away even the will to live. A man may have gone bankrupt in business and his wife left him, and the sorrow is too great. He just gives up or starts drinking as if his life is worth nothing. He does not care any more because he sees no way of getting out of the deep hole he is in. You won’t just find them in the street. Some stay in their homes, deflated, dejected and see life as meaningless – no purpose and no objective to strive for. They see no hope.

The gospel message is that there is hope and that can only be found in Jesus Christ because man’s ultimate fulfillment is only ever in the Son of God – {{Acts 4:11-12 “He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very corner stone, and there is salvation in no one else, for THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”}}

I saw a horrible thing this morning. I was watching a symposium of church leaders on television speaking of comparative faith and there was a prominent Catholic bishop putting forth the Catholic position of who will be in heaven from Vatican 2. He actually said this. “God will accept even an atheist of good will,” and he will be in heaven. I am sorry bishop, but this is the word of God – {{John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT THROUGH ME.”}}

Isaiah is the prophet that was sensitive about the hurting people he saw and he knew these were endemic to this fallen world. Just one verse here from him, a prophetic one about the Lord Jesus Christ – {{Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me TO BIND UP THE BROKENHEARTED, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners”}}

The Lord’s mission was manifold but one essential of it was the compassion for those who were broken by failure, by sin, by circumstances. We can reach the position where we are not able to help ourselves and that is where the Lord’s hand is extended to take the one of a broken heart and mend that person to make him/her new again. Jesus healed up the broken hearted. In a sense we are all of a broken heart in relationship to God and need to be born anew to heal the damage sin has caused.

Jesus quoted the Isaiah verse here – {{Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are DOWNTRODDEN,”}}. It differs from the original Hebrew but the Luke word is “downtrodden” and that fits very well into the Psalm verse we are studying. Downtrodden people are broken hearted and become outcasts. The Lord reaches out to these for they know their lost condition and more readily turn to God. These are the ones who are demoralised and despairing. Do we feel for them? The Lord does - {{Psalm 147:3 tells us “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”}} Those wounded by the sinfulness of life find relief and deliverance in the Lord.