Psalm 19 is one of my favorite passages in all of the Word of God. It speaks of God’s revelation of Himself, His revelation to man. In it the Psalmist tells how God has revealed Himself through what He has wrought– His Creation and what He has written– His Word. God has revealed Himself in the skyand through the Scriptures.
My purpose in this post is not to unpack all of Psalm 19, but to call your attention to only one verse, Psalm 19:14
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
After pondering the ways in which the God of the universe has made Himself known, David utters a prayer before God. He desires that his speech and his attitudes be pleasing to God. The prayer of verse 14 ought to be on the lips and in the heart of every growing disciple all day long.
Jesus told us that the meditation of the heart controls the words of the mouth in Mark 7:14-23
“14 Summoning the crowd again, he told them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand:15 Nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 When he went into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 He said to them, “Are you also as lacking in understanding? Don’t you realize that nothing going into a person from the outside can defile him? 19 For it doesn’t go into his heart but into the stomach and is eliminated” (thus he declared all foods clean). 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, self-indulgence, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”
As He often does, the Lord Jesus explains with crystal clarity the heart of the problem. Jesus tells them that the heart of the problem is really a problem of the heart!
The prophet Jeremiah said it this way, 9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9, CSB)
That is also why Solomon warns us in Proverbs 4:23 to make sure that we, Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.
The word picture for “meditation” is that of a musician plucking the strings of a harp. I wonder, who controls the music of your heart? Is it the Word of God or is it the world system in rebellion against God and His Word?
As we journey together and seek to follow Jesus, let’s continually pray, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
