Tuesday 20 October, 2020

For the director of music. Of David. 1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. 4 Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. 5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. 6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge. 7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

It all starts with the heart. God is passionately interested in what is in our hearts. (1 Samuel 16:7) In other parts of the Bible (Matthew 12:34, Luke 6:45) we are told that what we speak flows from what is in our heart – here the psalmist says that our actions also flow from our hearts, especially if we deny the existence of God like “the fool” does.

The psalm goes on to show that refuge and salvation come from the LORD.  It follows that if we align our hearts with God – if he is most important in our hearts, then our actions and speech will flow from Him, and we will have safe refuge and sure salvation. What a blessing!

Father, thank you that you do not look at our outward appearance like we do – you look at our hearts.  Help me to remember to guard my heart. Help me to examine my heart and submit it to you for ‘repair and maintenance’. Thank you that I can always find safe refuge in you. Amen

Written by Megan Cornell