I’ve been stepping in and out of Proverb 4:23 – Guard my heart above all else for it is the source of life – for the last few months. In fact, in December (blog from 17th), I was studying how to “guard my heart” and taking lessons from Mary’s guarded heart.
In a rabbit-hole kind of way I found myself back at this verse again, and the Lord spoke another teaching (conviction) into Proverb 4:23 through Psalm 19. We know that scripture interprets scripture. As Isaiah suggests, we are to learn line upon line and precept upon precept (Isaiah 28:9-10). And as Brother Paul taught us, we are to use the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths (1 Corinthians 2:13). I absolutely love the way the Lord has interconnected all of His Holy Word. Scripture begets scripture. And Proverb 4:23 beget Psalm 19.
Now all of 19 speaks of ways to guard our hearts, but I’m zeroing in on verse 14, with lead ins in 12-13:
Who can discern his own errors?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults. (vs. 12)
Keep Your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed of great transgression. (vs. 13)
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in Your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (vs. 14)
When we look on these verses, we can probably all agree that 12 and 13 are vital to a guarded heart. We know that sin (errors, faults, transgressions) is the separator. It divided us from our Holy God. Remember, our Holy God cannot even look upon sin. He would not be able to look upon us either except that Jesus exchanged his righteousness for ours and gave us Status. Read verses 12 and 13 again. What do they say? They say cleanse me from the sins I don’t know about – whether hidden, suppressed, or sins I didn’t realize were sins. And then it says keep me from willful sins – help me to yield not unto temptation, turn from evil and wickedness (anything not of God), go the opposite way, empower me to resist from what I know is wrong. Being aware of sin, hidden or willful, is vital to a guarded heart.
Something else vital to a guarded heart is found in verse 14. It’s not just about ensuring that our hearts are free from sin (what’s out of our hearts), but it’s also about the meditation of our hearts (what’s in our hearts). Why is that important? The phrase before that tells us – the words of my mouth. Verse 14 is saying the meditations of our hearts determines the words from our lips. Take a minute to think about the words from your lips in the last hour, day, week. Think about those conversations with family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, strangers. It’s an Ugh! for me, maybe you too?
So, let’s figure this out together. Let’s read over verse 14 again:
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in Your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (vs. 14)
Now again, slowly, carefully, and incrementally:
May the words of my mouth
Read it over and over until it speaks to you, until thoughts start bubbling up, until questions start coming to mind. Until prays start ascending.
The word “may” means possibility, permission – perhaps a prayer, it expresses hope. We know what “words” are, right? They are something we say. We can speak in many different ways, but “words” come from our “mouth.” Say this phrase again. This is first person, my. This is personal. The Psalmist, King David, is praying about the words that come from his own mouth. When you say it, it is your prayer, your request, your hope pertaining to the words of your mouth.
and the meditation of my heart
And now King David turns to the meat. Again, this phrase is first person. It is personal. It is his prayer, his request. And now, it is about the meditation of his heart. So, let’s check out “meditation.” There are 20 uses of the word meditate or meditation used in the Bible. And there are 9 different words used for it. The Hebrew word for “meditation” in verse 14 is used only one time in the Bible. That word is higgayon. Higgayon means a murmuring sound, i.e. a musical notation. Similar to the Italian word affettuoso which is used as a musical direction which means tender, affectionate expression.
In verse 14, “meditation” refers to the joining of spoken confession (words of my mouth) and inner rumination (deep thought, chewing, thinking, what is in our deepest heart). What we meditate on in our hearts will be reflected in the words that we speak. Let’s move on, we will come back to this.
be pleasing in Your sight,
In essence, our words and our hearts must align in order to be pleasing. Our private thought-life must harmonize with verbal testimony if worship is to be acceptable before the Lord, in His sight.
Then King David, the man after God’s own heart finalizes his prayer by proclaiming, acknowledging, and laying claim to the One who can answer his heart prayer.
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
David’s prayer is that the meditations of his heart will be reflected in his words and bring glory to God. That too should be our prayer. That God would balance our inner thoughts and our outer sounds.
Higgayon tells us that God hears every chord struck, every word uttered, and every thought entertained. And although we know that we believers are to grow and produce fruit to cultivate a heart that speaks God-honoring words from the lips, we also know that without this prayer, we cannot do it.
So, what is the murmur of your heart? What is your heart saying that comes out your lips? Is it a song of joy, peace, encouragement, love? Are we taking steps to guard our hearts so that the meditation, the whisper, the song of our heart, the sound of our heart is tender, affectionate and approved by God. What song would your lips sing?