Vibrations of the Heart

Psalm 19:14

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight,
    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

This familiar prayer comes at the end of a very poetic psalm. David spends the first 6 verses proclaiming the beauty of nature. He praises the heavens and the sun which glorify God without words. The next 3 verses proclaim the beauty of God's law, using similar poetic language, describing the law as refreshing, radiant and pure. The law, in contrast to nature, is only words, but it too brings glory to God.

We have two concepts then, something of words (law) that is tangible, and something without words(nature) that is more intangible. With this in mind David looks inward to himself.  He asks for forgiveness from the intangible (hidden faults) and protection from the tangible (willful sins).

This fits perfectly into the ending of this psalm, when he sums up the duality of both outward and inward. First he mentions the words of his mouth - the spoken word, similar to the law.  Next he mentions the meditations of his heart. The Hebrew word is Higgayon which is a musical term, with roots in an Arabic word that means a deep vibrating sound. This then is a depiction of an intangible, unspoken sentiment that literally vibrates from his soul or heart. He is hoping that the outward tangible spoken and the inward intangible vibration of his heart is pleasing to God.  However, this is more than an aesthetic "that looks nice". The Hebrew word translated 'in your sight' is Panim or Paneh which really means to come face to face with someone.  Have you ever had to do one of those exercises where you must face someone and not divert your gaze? It's incredibly hard to stand under a scrutinizing eye and not look away.

Whether we realize it or not, we are face to face with God at all times, he see's our outward actions and tangible deeds but he also knows the vibrations of our hearts. Before we bury our heads in shame, however, let's be reminded of David's final words here. "Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer"  David is reminding himself of two very crucial things 1) God is his rock or strength.  The power to even attempt to live well, make good choices, etc comes from God. 2) God is his redeemer. This word in Hebrew is Gaal, meaning claimed or bought back. God has already chosen to pay the price for us, despite our worthy or unworthy tangible and intangible parts. The truth is we've been redeemed.

It is out of the gratitude of our redemption, and with his strength that we, like David hope that our words and deeds, as well as our inner thoughts and essence bring delight to our God.

Praying a Psalm

1 Chronicles 16:7-36

⁷ That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise to the Lord in this manner:

⁸ Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
⁹ Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
¹⁰ Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
¹¹ Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

¹² Remember the wonders he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
¹³ you his servants, the descendants of Israel,
    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
¹⁴ He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.

¹⁵ He remembers^[c] his covenant forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
¹⁶ the covenant he made with Abraham,
    the oath he swore to Isaac.
¹⁷ He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
¹⁸ “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as the portion you will inherit.”

¹⁹ When they were but few in number,
    few indeed, and strangers in it,
²⁰ they^[d] wandered from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
²¹ He allowed no one to oppress them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:
²² “Do not touch my anointed ones;
    do my prophets no harm.”

²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
²⁴ Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

²⁵ For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
²⁶ For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
²⁷ Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

²⁸ Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
²⁹ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his^[e] holiness.
³⁰     Tremble before him, all the earth!
    The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

³¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
³² Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
    let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
³³ Let the trees of the forest sing,
    let them sing for joy before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.

³⁴ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.
³⁵ Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;
    gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
    and glory in your praise.”
³⁶ Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.

This Psalm is one of the first early prayers meant for the temple service associated with the ark of God. David seems to have combined several psalms to make this official one, using parts of Psalm 96, 105 and 106. 

Looking to this as an example there are really several sections we might mimic in our prayers.  My own way of organizing it follows:

-Look up/speak up: Invitation vs 8-11. Literally call, as in saying God's name out loud, singing and seeking him, talking about what he's done. 

-Look back: Remeberence vs 12-22. Recall God's miracles, his judgments and his covenant

-Speak out: Proclamation vs 23-24. The emphasis is more telling others about his deeds

-Look in: Personal Worship vs 25-29. Give glory and honor to God

-Look out:Outward Worship vs 30-33. Take notice of the world around. This is nature's response to God, but we must recognize the beauty.  

-Speak up: Thanksgiving vs 34. Give thanks to God

-Look forward: Petition vs 35.Going forward, ask for deliverance

There are several things that stood out to me as I studied this. The first was the word ascribe in vs 28,29.  The Hebrew for ascribe is Yahab and is usually transcribed as to give. However when I looked up other verses with yahab they were usually asking for something of need, if not strong desire, as in 'give me a child' or 'give me a spouse' or 'give me food'.  If we reverse this concept and make us the givers this concept is quite profound. Could God desire Honor as we desire a child? Could he crave praise as we crave food? If so, how important that part of prayer is!

The second thing of interest was the last verses commanding that we cry out (vs 35). These words "save us, gather us, deliver us" are themselves very descriptive words. In Hebrew,"free us, rescue us, snatch us away".  This implies not just movement from one place to another but an actual life changing, life saving action. The image is of us in peril, drowning or being kidnapped and then crying to be rescued.  Who does David say we should ask to be rescued from? The Nations, in Hebrew this is non-Hebrew people. Perhaps we would say this is secular society today. In other words, we cannot forget to pray that God snatches us away from negative influences of secular society. 

Finally, I'm struck with the simple perfect organization of the Psalm. I can easily remember these directional attributes when I pray. Look up, look back, look in, look out, and look forward.