Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
We have seven verses in this week's look into the Psalms for the occurrences of 'heart/ hearts'; the first is in Psalm 81...another one of Asaph's; he is quoting God:
But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. -- Ps. 81:12; 'hearts' is the frequently seen Strong's H3820, leb - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
When God releases people to do what is in their unregenerated hearts...well, it generally doesn't go well for those people. Notice the adjective 'stubborn' ...someone set on doing things his/her own way; unteachable. If people refuse to be taught, refuse to listen, refuse to learn long enough...then God will let them have their way. And that's never a good thing.
The next time we see 'heart' is in Psalm 84; this one is authored by the Sons of Korah. We know this one from contemporary worship:
My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. -- Ps 84:2; 'Heart' is H3820 again.
Have you been in this place? When only the presence of God will satisfy the inner longings? I can identify. And it usually follows a period of going my own way, like a kid who's wandered off in a shopping center and suddenly realizes Mom is nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, only Mom will calm the fear and settle the spirit. No substitutes.
Still in the same psalm, but the focus has changed slightly:
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. -- Ps. 84:5; 'Hearts' is translated from the other familiar Hebrew word, Strong's H3824, lebab, of which H3820 is a derivative. It also means inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.
The word translated 'pilgrimage' here is Strong's H4546, msilla, which means highway, raised way, public road.... whose hearts are set on the high road. or [and] the road is in their hearts Kind of an odd visual to us, but maybe not so odd. If my strength is in God, I am not relying on myself...I am not following my own stubborn heart. He has put his way in my heart, and that's what I'm following.
The next psalm that mentions 'heart/hearts' is number 86 -- one of David's:
Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O LORD my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. Ps 86:11-12; both uses of 'Heart' are H3824.
"All my heart" and "undivided heart" are basically the same thing, but it's interesting that David asks God for an undivided heart, rather than putting the emphasis on his own efforts to have an undivided heart. But...to receive an undivided heart, one can't hang on to the old, stubborn, fragmented heart.
Y'all, that's worth a selah right there.
Ok, I'm back. The next verse listed in the concordance is in Ps. 89, which is attributed to Ethan the Ezrahite, and, according to the notes in my Scofield, is a 'Psalm of the Davidic Covenant'. We're looking at a couple of verses at the end of the Psalm:
Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, the taunts with which your enemies have mocked, O LORD, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one. - Ps. 89:50-51
'Heart' here is a word we haven't seen before, Strong's H2436 - hek - 'from an unused root, apparently meaning to enclose; the bosom (literally or figuratively): -- bosom, bottom, lap, midst, within. KJV translates this as 'bosom', but 'heart' is not an unusual rendering, scanning some of the other translations in the Blue Letter Bible app. I think it's apparent...the scorn, taunts, mockery, reproach of the enemies of God are a weight in the bosom/heart. I'm reminded of the passage in Joshua in which God 'rolled away the reproach of Egypt' from his people (Josh 5:9), which happened after the younger generation was circumcised; the dedication according to the covenant. Reproach is not something that can be shaken off; it's a heart burden that God removes..
There's a notation in my text that Book 4 begins with the 90th Psalm...'A prayer of Moses the man of God.' and there's one verse that mentions 'heart'...
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. -- Ps. 90:12; 'Heart' is H3824 again.
Maybe it's my own struggles showing here, but numbering days aright sounds like setting priorities, which is something I struggle with on the daily. I tend to work on the thing that's flashing or making the most noise instead of what might actually be the most important. But, once again we see the action of God -- teaching us to number our days rightly, to set the right priorities
Normally, I don't see an overarching theme to the day's readings, since it is, after all, a skip through poetry, but today I do. We need to listen and commit fully to God...and he will give us an undivided, focused heart, he will teach us to follow him, to set priorities.
I think I shall ponder that a bit.
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