(GOD SPECIALIZES IN HEART TRANSPLANTS)
TEXT: JEREMIAH 17:9
BY: Adeoye, Emmanuel (Evang.)
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It is true in general that There is that wickedness in our hearts which we ourselves are not aware of and do not suspect to be there; it is a common mistake among the children of men to think themselves, their own hearts at least, a great deal better than they really are. The heart, the conscience of man, in his corrupt and fallen state, is deceitful above all things. Herein the heart is desperately wicked; it is deadly, it is desperate.
Jeremiah 17:9 states, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” This verse exposes the depth of human corruption and the limits of self-analysis Note, Therefore God is Judge himself, and he alone, because he, and none besides, knows the hearts of the children of men.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
In speaking of the Jews’ deceit of heart, he appropriately uses a term alluding to their forefather, whose deceit, but not whose faith, they followed. His ‘supplanting’ was in order to obtain Yahweh’s blessing. They supplant Yahweh for “trust in man” (Jer 17:5), and then think to deceive God, as if it could escape His notice, that it is in man, not in Him, they trust.
Desperately wicked dangerously sick, ‘incurable, Trust in one’s own heart is as foolish as in our fellow-man (Jer. 17:50; Prov. 28:26).
We cannot know our own hearts, not what they will do in an hour of temptation (Hezekiah did not, Peter did not), not what corrupt dispositions there are in them, nor in how many things they have turned aside; who can understand his errors? Much less can we know the hearts of others, or have any dependence upon them. But, whatever wickedness there is in the heart God sees it, and knows it, is perfectly acquainted with it and apprised of it: the Lord search the heart.
This is true of all that is in the heart, all the thoughts of it, the quickest, and those that are most carelessly overlooked by ourselves—all the intents of it, the closest, and those that are most artfully disguised, and industriously concealed from others. Men may be imposed upon, but God cannot. He not only searches the heart with a piercing eye, but he tries the reins, to pass a judgment upon what he discovers, to give every thing its true character and due weight.
He tries it, as the gold is tried whether it be standard or no, as the prisoner is tried whether he be guilty or no. And this judgment which he makes of the heart is in order to his passing judgment upon the man; it is to give to every man according to his ways (according to the desert and the tendency of them, life to those that walked in the ways of life, and death to those that persisted in the paths of the destroyer) and according to the fruit of his doings, the effect and influence his doings have had upon others, or according to what is settled by the word of God to be the fruit of men’s doings, blessings to the obedient and curses to the disobedient.
It is true especially of all the deceitfulness and wickedness of the heart, all its corrupt devices, desires, and designs. God observes and discerns them; and (which is more than any man can do) he judges of the overt act by the heart. Note, God knows more evil of us than we do of ourselves, which is a good reason why we should not flatter ourselves, but always stand in awe of the judgment of God.
It intimates what a great vexation it is to a worldly man at death that he must leave his riches behind him; and justly may it be a terror to those who got them unjustly, for, though the wealth will not follow them to another world, the guilt will, and the torment of an everlasting, Son, remember, Luke 16:25..
TAKE HOME AND LESSONS
- THE HEART CANNOT BE TRUSTED BLINDLY: Popular culture says to “follow your heart,” but scripture warns that human emotions and intuition are inherently unreliable and prone to rationalizing wrong choices
- DECEPTION COMES FROM WITHIN: The heart is described as deceitful above all things, meaning it easily tricks us into believing our selfish desires are good, justified, or harmless.
- SPIRITUAL BROKENNESS REQUIRES A HIGHER CURE: The phrase “desperately sick” or “beyond cure” shows that human beings cannot fix their own moral and spiritual corruption on their own; we need a spiritual physician
- GOD TRULY KNOWS US: Right after exposing the heart vs 10 reminds us God search the heart and test the mind. Meaning nothing is hidden from him and he set our true motives clearly.
- WE NEED TRANSFORMED NATURE: Because our natural Inclinations are flawed. True change require a new heart and constant reliance on God’s guidance rather than self reliance
CONCLUSION
HYMN 576 BY LAURENE HIGHFIELD
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