"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14
Of today's Bible verse Thomas Sherlock, Bishop of London in the mid-18th century writes:
"The best have their failing, and an honest Christian may be weak. Nevertheless, the goodness and sincerity of their hearts will entitle them to pray the petition of this verse. No hypocrite or cunning deceiver can ever use this prayer."
That's quite a statement, and one that causes me to consider "the goodness and sincerity" of my heart. Do I really want the meditation of my heart, the very thoughts of my heart, to reflect the authority of God's word? Am I willing to not only speak truthfully, but to center my heart in truth and, if necessary, to ask God to change the way I think so that it submits in obedience to Him?
Jesus said, "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander." (Matthew 15:18-19)
You see, no one knows the thoughts of our heart except the One who created us. He searches us and knows the truth of what we meditate on, and this is serious business. If we want to live a life of godliness and self-control, then how we conduct the thoughts of our heart matters. By the grace of God, if we are honest and confess to Him that our thoughts are not pure, He will forgive us. What's more, we can ask Him to change the way we think, and He will do it! God desires holiness from His children, and He knows we can't do it in our own flesh. We need the Holy Spirit's empowerment to transform our hearts and minds (Ephesians 4:23).
We serve a powerful God. We also serve a merciful, loving God who wants the best for His children. He is our rock and our redeemer. May our prayer be that the words we speak and the thoughts of our heart be acceptable in His sight!
Today's music video is Psalm 19 by Sounds Like Reign. C.S. Lewis called Psalm 19, "The greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world."
I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.
I truly enjoyed this video. What a beautiful and clear voice . . . we used to do this in our church . . . singing directly from the psalms . . . Lovely post thank you :)
ReplyDeleteWe do serve a mighty God and I want to honor Him and glorify Him in all I say and do. I pray a special prayer on our country right now at this crossroads. May reconciliation take place and love take over.
ReplyDeleteBlessings and hugs,
Betsy
I love Sounds Like Reign.
ReplyDeletehow very lovely in every way... your thoughts, scripture, and song.
ReplyDeleteGood reminder of being truthful to ourselves. May our thoughts and actions be pleasing to God.
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