THE DIVIDED HEART

PSALMS 86:1

A. "UNITE MY HEART TO FEAR THY NAME"
  1. This prayer is most revealing:
    1. It indicates man's dual personality
    2. A divided will
  2. Such a dual personality:
    1. Makes it most difficult to do one thing at a given time
    2. Disables one to do the will of the Lord B. THE DIVIDED HEART
  3. Indicates a dual personality:
    1. Paul speaks of the natural man as being a dual personality - "For that which I do I allow not; but what I hate, that do I" - Rom. 7:14-16
    2. "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind" - Rom. 7:23
    3. James, too, writes about a "double minded" man; "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways" - James 1:8
  4. That was the great trouble in ancient Israel:
    1. "And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? I Kings 18:21
    2. "They feared the Lord, and served their gods after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence" - 2 Kings 17:33
    3. They became a mixed multitude, "So these nations feared the Lord and served their graven images, both their children's children; as did their fathers, so do they unto this day" - 2 Kings 17:41
  5. This divided heart is not confined to those who attempt to serve God and at the same time serve their idols:
    1. God charges His own people of paying Him lip-service while their hearts are far removed from Him - Is. 29:13
    2. Ephraim was plagued with this disease, he attempted to be loyal to one master and yet he followed another. God compares him with a half-baked cake - Hosea. 7:8-11
    3. "Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty" - Jos. 10:2 C. EARNEST PRAYER FOR A UNITED HEART
  6. Is our first duty to God and man:
    1. Because a divided heart paralyzes our moral powers and we shall not be wholehearted in serving the Lord; Examples: Solomon, one of the wisest men ever living, had a divided heart I Kings 11:4; Neh. 13:26; what was true of Solomon was true of most of the leaders in Israel
    2. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" - Ps. 139:23-24
  7. It must be noted:
    1. That a divided heart leads to hypocrisy, a double standard; Examples: that marked the lives of the Pharisees; Matt. 23:1-36; compare the attitude of the two men that went to the temple to pray - Luke 18:10-14
    2. It is, actually, sin in our heart that causes us to have a dual personality - James 4:8; Rom. 7:17-18
    3. When we allow or cherish sin in our lives, we are tempted to hide that sin from others, and put on a front as though we were fully dedicated to God and His word
    4. Such a condition places us among the hypocrites who have their part in the lake of fire at the end of time - Matt. 24:51; 23:13,14,15,25,27,29
  8. Only God can unite a divided heart:
    1. The reason is stated by the prophet Jeremiah, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots; then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to doing evil" - Jer. 13:23
    2. That is why the Psalmist prayed so earnestly, "Create in me a new heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" - Ps. 51:10
    3. "A new heart also will I give you..." Ez. 36:26
  9. When our hearts are united by the operation of the Holy Spirit:
    1. God's holy law is written upon the table of our heart - Heb. 10:15-16
    2. It is then that we shall love the Lord with all our hearts, with all our mind, and with all our strength..." - Deut. 6:4-8; Matt. 22:34-36


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