“The fool says in his
heart, ‘There is no God.’” So begins Psalm 14. We will consider the heart and
the language about the heart in the Psalms in “shaping, encouraging and
describing” our Christian devotional life and experience. The heart is at the
center of our devotion, worship and daily lives. Paul echoes this idea in
Romans 10 reflecting on what Moses wrote: “But what does it say? ‘The word is
near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we
proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe
in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the
heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is
saved.” Conversion, the decision to follow Jesus as Lord as a disciple, is a
matter of our hearts. Our devotional lives are expressions of our heart in the
presence of God.
Our heart is where our passions, dreams,
desires, affections, and our memories lodge. Our heart and the memories that
reside there are controlled by the defaults or habits of our heart. These automatic
choices make us comfortable and help us to feel safe in a changing and
sometimes dangerous world. The heart dwells on what we chose to see as determining
our significance. Tim Keller writes, “Where you find your significance is where
you find your salvation.”
Psalm 14 reminds us that “The Lord looks down
from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who
seek after God.” What does the LORD see our hearts seeking after moment by
moment?
Consider the following verses. Remember the
context is the whole Psalm.
Psalm 26:2 – “Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test
my heart and my mind.”
Psalm 36:1 – “Transgression speaks to the
wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.”
Psalm 119:32 – “I will run in the way of your
commandments when you enlarge my heart!”
Psalm 28:7 – “The Lord is my strength and my
shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song
I give thanks to him.”
Psalm 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart may
fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalm 9:1 – “I will give thanks to the Lord
with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”
Psalm 19:14 – “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 21:2 – “You have given him his heart's
desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah”
Psalm 25:17 – “The troubles of my heart are
enlarged; bring me out of my distresses.”
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