Informed Thinking

“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

What a wonderful prayer this is! Such desire must be pleasing to the Lord! Friend, I believe we would do well to join David in requesting the same today. Oh that our many words and thoughts about God would bring joy to our Heavenly Father, our Lord, our Rock and Redeemer.

While King David’s petition at the end of Psalm 19 is a precious ask in its own right, it is so much sweeter when read in light of its preceding verses. David describes the awe-inspiring splendor of God as witnessed through His creation. He describes how the Lord has made Himself known to all people through natural revelation (Psalm 19:1-6). He then testifies to the beauty of the God’s special revelation to Moses. He shows the priceless treasure of the Word – how it revives the soul, grants wisdom to the common, how it enlightens and endures, how it is sweeter than honey, more valuable than gold (Psalm 19:7-11).

With this in mind, David prays that He would think rightly on God. Sometimes God feels distant. It appears to us that He has grown bored or disinterested with His creation. We often wonder if we have somehow been forgotten. But here we see that is clearly not the case. God has made Himself known! We can see the works of His hands, the grandeur of His glory displayed in the things He has made, and know the certainty of His existence. Yet He has been so much more intimately involved with us. He has given us His Word – a Word that is profitable for teaching, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). This Word that David describes as perfect and true, pure and sure, has been given to His people. We do not have to wonder where God is or ponder at what He is like. We have that which He has revealed, and though we can only see in part, what we see is absolutely mind-boggling!

God is incomprehensibly big, powerful and mighty! And He is personally involved with His creation! We cannot fathom His thoughts; His knowledge is too great for us. Yet the One worthy our hearts affections has not only made Himself known to us, but He has also made Himself available. So when we pray, we can have great confidence knowing that we have been heard (1 John 5:14-15). This prompted Owen to write the following. “The truth is, we all of us know enough to love Him more than we do, to delight in Him and serve Him, obey Him, put our trust in Him, above all that we have hitherto attained.”

What David is truly longing for is an informed view of God to permeate His being – in every word and breath and deed. “Father, before I’m tempted to speak with empty words, revealing the folly of ignorance, remind me of who You are. Let me not speculate about You, but allow my soul to rest, fully conscious of what You have done. May I think on the ways You have disclosed knowledge of Yourself to us.” He is the Lord. He is our Rock. He is our Redeemer. May we consider the grace discovered in these truths and meditate upon their implications, and might such contemplation motivate faithful obedience that is acceptable in His sight.

Matt Fowler
Assoc. Pastor of Missions & Students
matt@nbchurch.info
@fattmowler