The Meditation of My Heart

In my devotions this morning, I noticed a phrase that is only used twice in the entire Bible- "Meditation of my heart".

Psalm 19:14- "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 49:3- "My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding."

This led me to dig a little deeper into the Word of Jehovah today.

The word Meditation is only used a grand total of SIX times in the Bible.

The two times listed above, plus- Psalm 5:1, 104:34, 119:97 and 119:99.

As I read over all of these verses today in their context, the Lord began to reveal to me a transition, or a growing if you will, of the person who is meditating.

Psalm 5:1- 
"Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation."

In this verse, the Psalmist is focusing on Himself- "MY words", "MY meditation".  He is asking the Lord to consider him and listen to his pleas.

I know I've done this before. "Lord, please give me       .  I deserve it because I've done             ."

In Psalm 5, the Psalmist is praying a prayer for protection. He starts the prayer by saying "Hear me! Remember the good deeds I've done!".

Psalm 19:14-
"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 is about the Law of the Lord, here are some of the previous verses- 

v7- The Law of the LORD is perfect,

convicting the soul:

The Testimony of the LORD is sure,

making wise the simple.

v8- The Statutes of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart.

v9- The fear of the LORD is clear,

enduring forever:

The judgments of the LORD are true

and righteous altogether.

v10- More to be desired are they than gold,

yea, than fine gold:

Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

v11- Moreover by them is thy servant warned:

and in keeping them there is 

Great REWARD."

There has been a change of attitude here.

He realizes his words matter less and less, and Jehovah's matters more and more.

This Psalm is followed by a prayer for victory. 

Psalm 20:1 says- "The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob defend thee."

So, even though he is realizing that his opinion matters less, he is still trying to make his voice heard.

Psalm 49:3-

"My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding."

Instead of saying- "Hear me! Hear what I have to say!" (Psalm 5) or "Let me be acceptable" (Psalm 19), the Psalmist is now saying- 

"Lord, I have accepted You! I will speak of Your Wisdom, 

I will meditate on Your Understanding."

That is a powerful change of heart!

But I noticed something even more powerful. The next Psalm, Psalm 50 is titled in my bible as "God is the Judge", here's how it starts-

"The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence:" (Psalm 50:1-3a)

So, not only is there becoming a change in how he is meditating and speaking, there is also a change of heart in how he's praying.  

He is no longer demanding, or asking, for the Lord to hear him. 

He is saying- 'God speaks and it is so.'

Psalm 104: 33-34- 

"I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD."

Here, he has gone yet a step further! He is no longer speaking, or asking to be heard. He is planning to sing to the LORD as long as he can!

He is now calling his meditation 'sweet'. He is glad whenever he thinks of Jehovah.

And further- Psalm 105:1-6 says- "O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy Name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD and His strength: seek His face forevermore. Remember His marvelous works that He hath done; His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth."

He is now sharing the good news with others. He is telling others the steps he himself has taken to gain a closer walk with the Lord.

Psalm 119:97-104-

v97- O how I love Thy law!

It is my meditation all the day.

v98- Thou through Thy commandments hast

made me wiser than mine enemies:

for they are ever with me.

v99- I have more understanding than all my teachers:

for Thy testimonies are my meditation.

v100- I understand more than the ancients,

because I keep Thy precepts.

v101- I have refrained my feet from every evil way,

that I might keep Thy word.

v102- I have not departed from Thy judgments:

for Thou hast taught me.

v103- How sweet are Thy words unto my taste!

Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

v104- Through Thy precepts I get understanding:

therefore I hate every false way.

There has now been a complete transformation.

He meditates on the Law and the Testimonies of Jehovah daily, and it has completely changed his life.

The Law is the Word of God, the Testimonies are the acts of God.

So, by meditating on what the Lord says He will do, and meditating on what the Lord has already done, - it creates in the heart-

• a love for the Law
• wisdom greater than your enemies have
• more understanding than your teachers
• more understanding than the ancients
• a desire to refrain from doing evil
• not departing from the judgments of the Lord
• a desire for the words of the Lord above honey ("good" things of this life)
• a hatred for the false ways of the world.

I think back to Psalm 19:11- "...and in keeping them (the Law of the Lord) there is GREAT REWARD."

The eight things above are just some of the rewards of following the Lord.

Oh, Heavenly Father! Help me to meditate on Your words and testimonies above all other things in my life!

Are you meditating on the Word of the Lord? Do you think on the testimonies of His faithfulness in your life and the lives of others? 

If you do, it could result in some heart-changing, mind-blowing, life-altering times with the Lord!  

But- 

What should we desire more than that?

The Fear of God

The last couple of weeks in Sunday School, we have been studying the Command of Christ- Honor your Parents.

This is a command that all of us should be following on a daily basis, but I know I, for one, fail miserably more often than not.

This Sunday, the lesson was specifically about Respecting Authority, and the different fears we have that evoke respect for our many different authorities.  And I must say, it was quite an eye-opener for me.

The teacher shared three fears that govern our motives for respect-

1. The Fear of Punishment

2. The Fear of Causing Shame

3. The Fear of Losing Intimacy

Fear #1, the Fear of Punishment, is what everyone should have. It is how the chain of command works in our everyday lives.  For instance- a child will do what their mother says because they’re afraid of the punishment that their dad will give them.  An employee will do what the manager says to do because they are afraid of the punishment of losing their job. So in a sense, the Fear of Punishment makes the world go around, you might say.

Fear #2, the Fear of Causing Shame motivates Godly actions.  People will change their whole demeanor to keep from bringing shame to their parents, their friends, their boss, or themselves. This is a Fear that we all will have at some point in our lives.

Fear #3, the Fear of Losing Intimacy. You might be saying, ‘Hey, I don’t have a significant other, so I don’t need to worry about that!’, but this Fear goes beyond human relationships.

May I ask you a question?

Do you profess to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

If you do, then guess what?

*DRUM ROLL PLEASE*

You have a Significant Other! His name is Jesus Christ! And He loved you so much, He died on the cross and arose from the grave just to prove how much He loved you! If that doesn’t call for an intimate relationship, I don’t know what will.

*Now back to the Fear*

All three fears are ways that we relate to authority and can be applied in our everyday lives.

For example- We don’t speed because we’re afraid of the punishment of a speeding ticket; we don’t drink, smoke, cuss, etc. because we are afraid of the shame that it would bring our parents or grandparents if we did; we save ourselves for our husband or wife so that we may have an intimate relationship with them.

But how do we relate to Jesus, the Lover of our Souls?

King David said in Psalm 86:11- “Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.”

This should be the cry of our hearts as well.  If for no other reason than because “The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.” (Proverbs 19:23)

But is it enough to Fear God with just a Fear of Punishment? Certainly, we should do or not do certain things, such as the Ten Commandments state. But do we obey simply because we fear the consequences?

Or should we fear Him solely based on the fact that we might cause Him shame? I mean, come on, there are just some things you shouldn’t do when you are a Christian.  Christian by definition means ‘Little Jesus’.  You bear HIS name.  Shouldn’t you at least act like it?

May I submit to you that both of these are good fears to have. They are motivating, driving forces that cause us to do what is right, but I believe that we need to have the Fear of losing an intimate relationship with Christ as our driving force behind why we do what we do!

Hebrews 12:28-29 says “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.”

(Side note- The term ‘Godly Fear’ used in this passage is the Greek word- Eulábeia – which means “fear of reverence”.)

I would submit to you, that if God is not a ‘consuming fire’ in your life, you are probably not living in a close and intimate relationship with Him.  The only thing really to compare this too is an engaged or newlywed couple-

A man and woman in love can hardly bare to be separated for more than a few moments usually, ask them to go apart for a few days, and you would think you had asked them to take a walk to the guillotine! Their love for each other consumes them! They think about each other constantly.  They are continually considering the others feelings, and trying not to do anything to hurt the other. And this only scrapes the surface of their love and devotion for each other! 

If a man and a woman, both mere mortals, can have that kind of love and reverence for each other- how much more should we have this same love, reverence, and devotion towards a Holy, righteous God?

Living in a close and intimate relationship with Christ will cause you to do things differently.  If you do not have this close relationship with Christ, I would challenge you to pick up your love letter (yes, I’m talking about the Bible ), and see what He has to say to you.

I have another question for you-How would you rate your Fear of God?

Ask yourself these questions-

Do I have a continual awareness that God is watching 

EVERYTHING I say, do, and think?

Do I bow before the LORD in honor of HIS Holiness?

Do I stand up to honor HIS Holiness when I sing hymns of praise?

Have I bowed the knee to Jesus to proclaim that HE IS LORD (this goes beyond the basic “Jesus, come into my heart and save me from my sins”. This is recognizing Christ as the sole Ruler of your life, and living your life in accordance with His Will on a daily basis)?

Do I take care of my body as a temple of the LORD?

Do my parents feel as if I honor them?

Do I respect government authority in their position as ministers appointed by God for my good?

Do I spend the LORD’S Day honoring HIM?

Do I deflect praise to the LORD?

                                                                          

This is by no means a list of guidelines or rules, or an exhaustive list of what you should be doing.   But it is a great spiritual check-up.   

I know many times I fall short in the everyday things, such as eating too much junk food from time to time, or getting a sarcastic tone in my voice when talking to my parents.  This really helped open my eyes to help me see that it’s the little things that matter (“…thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things…” Matt. 25:21b).

  

In closing, I think King Solomon said it the best-

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13

So, with this stitch in time God has so graciously given you, with what fear will you live?

Your Fellow Laborer and Sister in the Faith,

-Kristin