MOUTH AND HEART TOGETHER

Psalm 19
MOUTH AND HEART TOGETHER
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (v.14)

Psalm 19 is a gem of completeness. It extols in the first part the heavens above (vv.1-6) and in the second the law below (vv.7-13). Each in its own way manifests the glory of God. One represents the natural order, and the other the moral order.

The laws of the universe are decreed by God no less than the law of the LORD. He who set in place the principles of thermodynamics also gave to man the Ten Commandments. Whether in physics or in ethics, the laws are binding. They point to the Creator and Author, for in creation as well as in conscience God is seen and known. Such wonders of nature and law lead the psalmist to conclude with a humble prayer. His desire is that he may please God. Again, the prayer is a model of completeness. It addresses not only the words of the mouth, but also the meditation of the heart. The mouth declares with the heavens the glory of God (v.1), but what use is it if the heart does not keep the law? As it is, the psalmist delights in keeping God's law (v.11), and so his heart acts in harmony with his mouth to please the LORD.

Jesus warns us, "These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Mark 7:6). It is possible to look and sound spiritual on the outside without a corresponding godliness inside. May the prayer of the psalmist be ours as we keep God's commands below, and extol his glory above.

We are not complete till our heart harmonizes with our mouth.