An Acceptable Heart

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” - Psalm 19:14

This is the final verse of Psalm 19 after three divisions – a creation fireworks starburst, then the glory of verbal revelation, and finally a confession of sin that is graced-based.

Psalm 19 ends with the Psalmist placing his heart in the center of his prayer, reflecting both public and private acts of worship and communication with “O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” This was done “in your sight,” (that is, in your presence). What a way to end a Psalm!

In considering how the language of the Psalm can “shape, encourage and describe” our devotions, the word “heart’ is often used. In Psalm 19 the request is “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight.” The Psalmist wants the words and meditations of his heart to be acceptable to the LORD. His worship/devotion is concentrated in his heart. His prayer for acceptance is grounded in the LORD as redeemer, not his own efforts. The Psalmist confessed, “Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;..”

Verse 1 can help shape our devotions, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” We can certainly see the glory of God in the creation we share. Verses 7-11 shape our attitude about the verbal revelation from the LORD. The mix of images in verse 10 is so descriptive, “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”

Verses 12 and 13 encourage us to confess our sins to a gracious and redeeming God. This confession comes before the prayer of the Psalmist’s heart to be accepted in the sight of the LORD. Listen to the prayer-shaping encouraging words, “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.” This is why the LORD is my rock, steadfast because of his grace as my redeemer.

So now back to the final verse, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Reflect, think about, and reread this verse to shape, encourage and describe your devotion life, your heart in the presence of our LORD, our rock and our redeemer.