Psalm 119:1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! 4 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.
8 I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
Devotional:
When we say "heart," we usually mean the seat of our emotions. "My head says yes, but my heart says no" means that in my mind I am in favor, but emotionally I am opposed.
The Old Testament's use of heart is broader. The heart is the center of the person, the self. All of my feeling and thinking and doing begin in my heart.
So when the believer says, "I have hidden your word in my heart," he means: Your word is deep within my being. It's at my roots. It's the center of my life.
To the psalmist "your word" means first of all God's written revelation, the Bible. In the psalmist's time there wasn't much of a Bible. You and I have much more.
Learning a Bible verse "by heart" (by memory) is an excellent thing. But it does not necessarily mean that we have "hidden the word in our heart." We also learn the multiplication tables by heart. And some of us know the names of all football players by heart. That does not put them at the center of our lives (we hope!). All it does is put the football heroes or the multiplication tables or the Bible verse in our memory bank.
God's Word is bigger than the written revelation. It's also God's will revealed in creation and�especially�in Jesus Christ. He must live in our hearts by his Spirit. That Word must be the hidden Source of our desire, thought, will, and action.
