Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14
I love this verse for its humility. David sees the Lord as the strength of his life and the only person that saved him. His redeemer. David is so humbled after writing of his Lord's wonders in Psalm 19, that all he wants to do is be holy in His presence. To have nothing within him that is unacceptable to his Lord.
David's Psalm embodies so much richness and finishes as if he is signing off with a summary of adoration, humility and worship.
Oddly, the Psalm appears as if it were two separate writings. But we will see it is not. In Verses 1-6, David gives a short declaration of the awesomeness of God in the heavens and the earth. He speaks of how God is seen in every aspect of creation regardless of where our eyes look.
David even describes the splendour of the morning sun rising over the horizon—imagining a bridegroom coming out of his chamber on his wedding day, the king of the ceremony. David is in awe of God in creation, and mainly how that made him feel as he beheld it.
But verses 7-14 seems as if from an entirely different Psalm. David now speaks of the Law of the Lord as if unrelated to his earlier thoughts. But if we look deeper, we see David's feelings of awe remain the same for both sections. He is awestruck by what both creation and the Law did for him.
As with his musings on the splendour of creation, David shows us his meditations on the majesty of God's Law. He explains to us that the Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
When David meditated on the Law, he appeared to be as enlightened as when the sun lit up his morning? He seemed to experience a spiritual awakening like he experienced the magnificence of creation.
At the end of this Psalm, all David asked for was that his offerings were acceptable. That the words that dropped from his mouth weren't foul, poisonous or deceitful, and what his heart mused upon was clean, lawful and holy.
Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Our mouths and hearts are parts of this sacrifice.
We could follow David's lead and offer our mouths and hearts as a daily sacrifice. In fact, we can become so full of Jesus Christ that unworthy words never leave our mouths nor do evil speculations occupy our thoughts.
Further, when we humble our instruments like that, we find we have less pride and therefore fewer arguments at home, less conflict at work, a greater understanding of others' needs, a healthier self-image, and a closer relationship with our Saviour.
Today's prayer:Dear Lord, I love how David finished this Psalm with such a humbling passage. There was no ego, just wholesome worship of you. Please help me do the same.
Photo by Greg Rakozy
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