Preparing Your Heart | Entering His Courts
"My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises! Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn." (Psalm 57:7-8)
In yesterday’s devotional, we took a brief glimpse at the word “steadfast” in Psalm 57:7 (Heb. kun). This Hebraic term is also used in the sense of preparation. For instance, of the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness with Moses for forty years, the psalmist said that they were “A stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.” (Psalm 78:8) In contradistinction to this wayward generation, King Hezekiah would later pronounce a special blessing on a certain group of Israelites: “May the good Lord pardon everyone who prepares his heart to seek God…” (2 Chronicles 30:18-19)
Elsewhere I wrote the following:
“The important position the heart occupies within a person can be seen in Scripture… People are told to ‘rend’ their hearts (Joel 2:12), seek God with all their hearts (Psalm 119:2, 10), and pour out their hearts before Him. (Psalm 62:8) We are told of those who deceive their own hearts (James 1:26), backslide in heart (Proverbs 14:14), spurn reproof in their hearts (Proverbs 5:12), and regard wickedness in their hearts. (Psalm 66:18) It’s no wonder then that we are admonished to, ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.’ (Proverbs 4:23 KJV) Surely it is true: ‘the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep.’” (Psalm 64:6)
Preparing one’s heart to meet with the Lord is an important aspect of maintaining a quality devotional life. The truth is that the heart of man has a natural propensity toward sin, selfishness and pride. Spiritual pursuits do not come naturally to us. We must prepare our hearts to seek the Lord.
<pull-quote>The truth is that the heart of man has a natural propensity toward sin, selfishness and pride. Spiritual pursuits do not come naturally to us. We must prepare our hearts to seek the Lord.<pull-quote><tweet-link>TweetThis<tweet-link>
The other interesting word found in today’s passage of Scripture is “glory.” Why would David be speaking of his own glory? The Hebrew word literally means “weighty.” From there it is used to describe someone of substantial character. Of course, this term is rightly used repeatedly of the Lord. I believe Spurgeon captured the right idea when he said the following about this phrase: “Let the noblest powers of my nature bestir themselves: the intellect which conceives thought, the tongue which expresses it, and the inspired imagination which beautifies it - let all be on the alert now that the hour for praise has come.”3
And how about you?
• Do you consider your relationship with God valuable enough to prepare your heart to meet with Him?
• Does He mean enough to you that you will gather together all of your most noble aspirations to praise His name?
