Proverbs 28:26 - Homiletics

The folly Of trusting one's own heart

I. WHAT IT IS TO TRUST IN ONE 'S OWN HEART .

1 . It is to trust in one ' s own wisdom . The heart here, as throughout the Bible, stands for the intellectual as well as the emotional nature. Therefore we may be said to trust in it when we lean to our own understanding ( Proverbs 3:5 ) rather than seek counsel from God in prayer and the use of the Scriptures.

2 . It is to trust in our own character . We may think highly of our own goodness and moral strength, and so venture into temptation needlessly or rush into difficult enterprises without counting the cost.

3 . It is to trust in our own affections . Thus we are led to believe, like Peter, that our love to Christ will not fail ( Matthew 26:35 ).

4 . It is to trust in our own energy . Thinking we can do more than we are capable of accomplishing, through over-estimating our mental or spiritual powers we unduly rely on our own resources.

II. HOW ONE IS TEMPTED TO TRUST IN ONE 'S OWN HEART .

1 . Pride tempts . It is humiliating to own weakness. A high opinion of one's own merits inevitably leads to a dangerous self-confidence.

2 . Unbelief tempts . If men had more faith in God they would not be so content to rely on their own poor resources. It is the worldly spirit that leads to the limitation of view to human powers.

3 . Self-will tempts . Men naturally desire to have their own will fulfilled. The less they look away from themselves, the more does it appear that they can do as they like. A selfish life tends to be a self-contained life.

III. WHY IT IS FOOLISH TO TRUST IN ONE 'S OWN HEART .

1 . The heart is deceitful . "Deceitful above all things" ( Jeremiah 17:9 ). We do not know our own hearts. There are hidden weaknesses, unsuspected snares, unlooked for limits. Ignorance of our own inner selves makes the self-trust a confidence without foundation.

2 . The heart is sinful . "Desperately wicked" ( Jeremiah 17:9 ). Too often he who trusts in his own heart trusts in an evil heart. Therefore he is likely to be led astray by his thoughts and desires. Until the heart is cleansed and renewed, the worst possible course is to trust it. On the contrary, it must be distrusted, resisted, restrained.

3 . The heart is frail . Even when it has been freed from the dominion of sin, the heart of man is liable to fall. open to temptation, and in danger of yielding in the moment of trial.

IV. IN WHAT WAY ONE CAN AVOID TRUSTING IN HIS OWN HEART . It is not enough to see the danger and folly of this trust, for a man must have something to rest upon, and if the best foundation is unstable he will still build upon it rather than abandon himself to despair. Now, the cure for the tendency to trust in a wrong security is to be found in the possession of a better faith, a faith that is wise and safe. One great mischief of a man's trusting in his own heart is that he is thus led to forsake God. The remedy is found in returning to the true ground of the soul's confidence in God. He who thus trusts is wise.

1 . God is true . Unlike the fickle heart, he is faithful and can always be trusted.

2 . God is good . Therefore we should turn from the sinful heart to the holy and gracious God.

3 . God is strong . The frail heart fails; the mighty God is a steadfast Rock.