Jeremiah 32:39

I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me for ever.

Whole-hearted religion

In reference to the heart, one of the earliest works of Divine grace is to unite it in one. Strange to say, I should be equally truthful if I said that one of the first works of grace is to break the heart; but so paradoxical is man that when his heart is unbroken it is divided, and when his heart is broken, then, for the first time, it is united; for a broken heart in every fragment of it mourns over sin, and cries out for mercy. Every shattered particle of a contrite spirit is united in one desire to be reconciled to God. There is no union of the heart with itself till it is broken for sin and from sin.

I. Unitedness of the heart.

1. It is naturally divided. Sin is confusion, and at its entrance it created a Babel, or a confusion, within the heart of mare The lusts crave for that which the intellect condemns; the passions demand that which the reason would deny; the will persists in that which the judgment would forego. To many a man it is given to admire things that are excellent, and still to delight in things which are abominable. His conscience bids him rise to a pure and noble life, but his baser passions hold him down to that which is earthly and sensual. Frequently, too, there is a very great division between a man’s inward knowledge and his outward conduct. Men are often wise in the head and foolish in the hand: ,they know the right and do the wrong Man is a puzzle, and none can put him together but He that made him at the first. He is a self-contradiction, a house divided against itself, a mystery of iniquity, a maze of folly, a mass of perversity, obstinacy, and contention.

2. If our heart be not whole and entire in following after God we cannot meet with acceptance. God never did and never will receive the homage of a divided heart. Alexander, when Darius proposed that the two great monarchs should divide the world, replied that there was only room for one sun in the heavens. What his ambition affirmed that God declareth from the necessity of the case. Since one God fills all things there is no room for another. It is idle to attempt to serve two such masters as holiness and iniquity. It was once proposed to the Roman senate to set up the image of Christ in the Pantheon among the gods, but when they were informed that He would not agree that any worship should be mingled with His own, the senate straightway refused Him a shrine. In this they acted in a manner consistent with itself; but those are altogether inexcusable “who swear by the Lord and swear by Malcham.”

3. It must be united for sincerity: a divided heart is a false heart. Declare that thou wilt serve Belial ever so little, and I know that thy service of Christ is but Judas’ service--mercenary, temporary, traitorous.

4. Our heart must be united, next, for intensity of life. True religion needs the soul to be ever at a fervent heat. None climb the hill whereon the New Jerusalem is built except such as go on hands and knees, and laying aside every weight give themselves wholly to the Divine ascent.

5. The heart must be united to be consecrated. Will God be served with broken cups and cracked flagons, and shall His altars be polluted with torn and mangled sacrifices?

6. We must have our heart united, or else none of the blessings which, are to follow in covenant order can possibly reach us. For, look, “I will give them one heart,” and then it follows, “one way”; no man will have a consistent, uniform way while he has a divided heart, Read next, “That they shall fear Me for ever”; but no man will fear God for ever unless fear has taken possession of his whole heart. The convert may profess to follow the Lord for awhile, but he will soon turn aside; he who does not begin with his whole heart will soon tire of the race.

7. God will give His chosen this unified heart. “I will give them one heart.” This the Lord does in part by enlightenment through the light of His Holy Spirit. He shows us the worthlessness and deceptiveness of everything that would attract our hearts away from Jesus and from our God; and when we see the evil of the rival, we give our heart entirely to Him whom we worship. The Lord works this also by a process more thorough still; for He weans us from all idolatrous loves.

II. If we have this we may now advance to the second blessing of the covenant here mentioned, which is consistency of walk. “I will give them one way.”

1. Without this unity there can be no truth in a man’s life. If he spins by day, and unravels at night, he is acting out a falsehood.

2. We must have one walk, or else our life will make no progress. He who travels in two opposite directions will find himself no forwarder.

3. We must choose and keep to one way, or we cannot attain to usefulness. If a man speak for God to-day, and so lives to-morrow that he virtually speaks for the devil, what power has he over those around him? How can he lead who has no way of his own?

4. No person can come to any true personal assurance while his life is of a double character. But if I know that I have one heart, and that my heart belongs to my Lord, and that I have one way, a way of obedience to Him, then may I be assured that I am His. A plain way will make our condition plain. This unity of way is a covenant blessing: it comes not of man, neither by man, but God gives it to His own elect as one of the choice favours of His grace. “I will give them one heart and one way.”

III. Notice the next covenant blessing, steadfastness of principle. “That they may fear Me for ever.” Get the heart and the way right, and then the spiritual force of the fear of God will abide in us in all days to come. Notice the basis of true religion,--it is the fear of God: it is not said that they shall join a church and make a profession, and speak holy words for ever; but that “They may fear Me for ever.” When God has given us a true spiritual fear of Him it will abide all tests. Outward religion depends upon the excitement which created it; but the fear of the Lord lives on when all around it is frost-bitten. Persecution comes, Christians are ridiculed in the workshop, they are pointed out in the street, and an opprobrious name is hooted at them; now we shall know who are God’s elect and who are not. Then, perhaps, comes a more serious test, the trial of prosperity. A man grows rich, he rises into another class of society. If he is not a real Christian he will forsake the Lord, but if he be a true-born heir of the kingdom he will fear the Lord for ever, and consecrate his substance to Him. A heart wholly given to God will stand the wear and tear of life in all conditions, whether in honour or in contempt. With some of you old age is creeping on; but I rejoice to know that your grace is not decaying. Oh, what a mercy it is to have within us a fear of God, which is not to last for a period of years, but for ever!

IV. Personal blessedness. “For the good of them.” Where God gives us one heart and one way, and steadfast principle, it must be for our good in the highest sense. Tell me who are the happiest Christians. They will be found to be whole-hearted Christians. Plunge into the river of life; let body, soul, and spirit be immersed into its floods, and you shall swim in joy unspeakable. Lose sight of the shores of worldliness and you shall see God’s wonders in the deeps. In intense devotion to the Lord, you will find the rare jewel, satisfaction.

V. The last is a relative blessing. “And for their children after them.” Wholehearted Christians are usually blessed with a posterity of a like kind. Be thorough and true, and your family will respect your faith. The almost inevitable consequence of respect in a child towards his parent is a desire to imitate him. It is not always so, but as a rule it is so: if the parents live unto God in a thorough, hearted way, their sons and daughters aspire to the same thing. They see the beauty of religion at home around the fireside, and their conscience being quickened they are led to pray to God that they may have the like piety, so that when they themselves commence a household they may enjoy the like happiness. (C. H. Spurgeon.)