Meditations of the Heart and Words of the Mouth, part 1
The Heavens
In the introduction to “Managing Your Mouth,” we saw that Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Also, in Psalm 19:14, the Psalmist pleads with God, “Let the words of my mouth… be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” But, how can my words be acceptable in God’s sight? The answer to this also lies in Psalm 19:14, “Let the… meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” In order for our words to be acceptable in God’s sight, our heart must be filled with things that are acceptable to God and our mind must meditate on them.
What things are acceptable to God?
Psalm 19 is a unique Psalm. It tells what we should fill our minds with and what we should think about. It also tells how to apply those things in our lives. Finally, it reminds us to meditate on these things and speak of them.
Psalm 19 is divided into several parts:
Verses 1 through 6 – what we should see and hear
Verses 7 through 9 – what we should read and meditate upon
Verses 10 through 13 – the affects these things should have on our lives
Verse 14 – the outward manifestation of seeing, hearing, reading, and meditating upon these things
I. What we should see and hear
A. What we should see?
1. The Heavens
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.” (verses 1 and 2)
Go outside on a clear night, especially a clear winter night. What do you see? Stars – bright, beautiful stars! Take a look at the heavens. See how vast they are! If you have a telescope, take a look through it. What do you see? Can you find an end to the stars? How many are there? Do you notice that they appear to us in different colors as they twinkle in the night sky? What about the moon? Does it look the same every night? Why is it that you can see all of the moon sometimes but not other times? Why does it seem to have shade on certain parts of it? Why does it look a different color some nights?
Why does God want us to see the heavens? What can we learn by looking at them?
The Psalmist was out one night gazing at the heavens, and he penned these words, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalm 8:3,4)
What did the Psalmist observe about the things he saw?
The heavens were the works of God’s fingers. They were beautifully and masterfully created
The moon and the stars were ordained by God. They have courses to run. Sometimes we see certain stars in the sky and certain constellations. Other times of the year we see different ones. Sometimes we see a full moon, other times we see part of the moon, other times the moon is not visible at all. All of these things were ordained by God.
What effect did the Psalmist’s observations have upon him?
The Psalmist was overwhelmed by the glory of the heavens. He was overwhelmed by the power and greatness of God. He saw that the heavens were very vast, but he knew that this was only a small part of the workings of God. In wonder, he said, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” The heavens showed the Psalmist that God was very great and he was very small. Thinking on God’s work in the heavens made him humble and awestruck and very grateful. The God who made the stars and the moon with His fingers, with more ease than an artist can make a beautiful painting, and spread these stars across the heavens and filled them with glory for all to see, cared about him. God loved him. God visited him. God crowned him with glory and honor.
The first thing to fill our hearts with and to meditate upon is the greatness of God. He created the heavens. They are the work of His fingers. He controls the moon and each of the stars in their courses. He is all-powerful. Yet, He loves us, and He remembers us. We are the crowning work of His creation. Our response should be one of awe, humility, and joy. If these things fill our hearts, they will be the first step in giving our mouths something acceptable to speak about.
Stay tuned for the next part, which will be the practical application.
How does this apply to my life? What can it do to my heart? How can it influence my speech?