God's Character and Love for the Brokenhearted
God's Character and Love for the Brokenhearted
The biblical concept of God's character and love for the brokenhearted is rooted in various passages throughout the Psalms and other scriptures. According to Psalms 34:18, "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit" [1]. This verse highlights God's proximity to those who are suffering and sorrowful.
The Psalms frequently describe God as one who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (Psalms 147:3) [2]. This image conveys God's compassionate and restorative nature towards those who are afflicted. The brokenhearted are characterized by a spirit of deep contrition and dependence on the Lord, which is considered a proper sacrifice to God (Psalms 51:17; Tyndale House on Psalms 34:18) [6].
In the view of John Gill, a Baptist/Reformed commentator, the brokenhearted are those "who are pressed and bore down with afflictions, by the sorrow of heart under which their spirits are broken" (John Gill on Psalms 34:18) [8]. God is near to these individuals in a special manner, manifesting himself to them in a gracious way and pouring in the oil and wine of his love.
The character of God is further described in Torrey's Topical Textbook as being loving and merciful. It is stated that God's love "is a part of his character" and is described as "sovereign, great, abiding, unfailing, unalienable, constraining, everlasting, and irrespective of merit" [5]. This love is manifested towards various groups, including perishing sinners, saints, and the destitute.
The biblical concept of God's love is closely tied to his character, which is marked by compassion and mercy. According to Tyndale House on Psalms 103:14, "The Lord compassionately cares for frail humans" [9]. This care is reflective of God's character, which remains true to itself in loving faithfulness, blamelessness, and purity (Tyndale House on Psalms 18:25) [10].
In contrast, the wicked are described as being hateful to God, full of evil, and far from Him (Torrey's Topical Textbook: Character of the Wicked) [3, 4]. However, God's love is not limited to the righteous, as He shows kindness even to the wicked (Tyndale House on Isaiah 26:10) [12].
The love of God is also demonstrated in His treatment of the weak and humble. According to Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 1:27, God chose despised and humble people to demonstrate His judgment on human pride [11]. This theme is echoed in Isaiah, where it is written that a bruised reed shall not be broken, symbolizing God's tenderness towards weak and ignorant persons (John Gill on Isaiah 42:3) [7].
Sources
- Psalms “Psalms 34:18 (NASB) — The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
- Psalms “Psalms 147:3 (NASB) — He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Character of the Wicked — Abominable -- Re 21:8. Alienated from God -- Eph 4:18; Col 1:21. Blasphemous -- Lu 22:65; Re 16:9. Blinded -- 2Co 4:4; Eph 4:18. Boastful -- Ps 10:3; 49:6. Conspiring against God's people -- Ne 4:8; 6:2; Ps 38:12. Covetous -- Mic 2:2; Ro 1:29. Deceitful -- Ps 5:6; Ro 3:13. Delighting in the iniquity of others -- Pr 2:14; Ro 1:32. Despising the works of the faithful -- Ne 2:19; 4:2; 2Ti 3:3,4. Destructive -- Isa 59:7. Disobedient -- Ne 9:26; Tit 3:3; 1Pe 2:7. Enticing to evil -- Pr 1:10-14; 2Ti 3:6. Envious -- Ne 2:10; Tit 3:3. Fearful -- Pr ”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Heart, Character of the Unrenewed — Hateful to God -- Pr 6:16,18; 11:20. Full of evil -- Ec 9:3. Full of evil imaginations -- Ge 6:5; 8:21; Pr 6:18. Full of vain thoughts -- Jer 4:14. Fully set to do evil -- Ec 8:11. Desperately wicked -- Jer 17:9. Far from God -- Isa 29:13; Mt 15:8. Not perfect with God -- 1Ki 15:3; Ac 8:21; Pr 6:18. Not prepared to seek God -- 2Ch 12:14. A treasury of evil -- Mt 12:35; Mr 7:21. Darkened -- Ro 1:21. Prone to error -- Ps 95:10. Prone to depart from God -- De 29:18; Jer 17:5. Impenitent -- Ro 2:5. Unbelieving -- Heb 3:12. Blind -- Eph”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Love of God, The — Is a part of his character -- 2Co 13:11; 1Jo 4:8. Christ, the especial object of -- Joh 15:9; 17:26. Christ abides in -- Joh 15:10. Described as Sovereign. -- De 7:8; 10:15. Great. -- Eph 2:4. Abiding. -- Zep 3:17. Unfailing. -- Isa 49:15,16. Unalienable. -- Ro 8:39. Constraining. -- Ho 11:4. Everlasting. -- Jer 31:3. Irrespective of merit -- De 7:7; Job 7:17. Manifested towards Perishing sinners. -- Joh 3:16; Tit 3:4. His saints. -- Joh 16:27; 17:23; 2Th 2:16; 1Jo 4:16. The destitute. -- De 10:18. The cheerful giver. -- 2Co 9:7. Exhibited in The g”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 34:18: 34:18 Those who are brokenhearted possess a spirit of deep contrition and dependence on the Lord. God accepts this spirit as a proper sacrifice (51:17). The wicked hate the brokenhearted (109:16), but the Lord heals them (147:3; see Isa 57:15; 61:1).”
- Isaiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Isaiah 42:3: A bruised reed shall not break,.... The tenderness of Christ to weak and ignorant persons is here and in the next clause expressed; by whom young converts or weak believers seem to be designed; who are compared to a "reed", because worthless with respect to God, whom they cannot profit; and in the view of men, who reckon them as nothing; and in themselves, and in their own view, who judge themselves unworthy of the least of mercies; and because they are weak, not only as all men are, of which weakness they are sensible; but they are weak in grace, especially in faith,”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 34:18: The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,.... Who are pressed and bore down with afflictions, by the sorrow of heart under which their spirits are broken, Pro 15:13; or with a sense of sin, and sorrow for it, for which their hearts smite them, and they are wounded by it, and broken with it: to these the Lord is "nigh"; not in a general way only, as he is to all men, being God omnipresent, but in a special manner; he comes and manifests himself to them in a gracious way, pours in the oil and wine of his love, and binds up their broken hearts; yea, comes a”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 103:14: 103:14-16 The Lord compassionately cares for frail humans (see 37:2; 90:5; 92:7; 102:4; Isa 40:6-8).”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 18:25: 18:25-29 The faithful God remains true to his character. He loves faithfulness, blamelessness, and purity, and he hates the perverse (see 1:6).”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 1:27: 1:27-29 God chose despised and humble people in order to demonstrate his judgment on human pride (cp. Rom 3:27; 4:2; 2 Cor 4:7-11; 12:8-10; Eph 2:9).”
- Isaiah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Isaiah 26:10: 26:10 God has shown kindness to the wicked. Although they deserve judgment (see also Rom 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9), he has been patient and forbearing and has blessed them. However, time will run out one day.”