“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” – Psalm 19:14,King James Version
The entire 19th Psalm is a praise offering to God which talks about God’s faithfulness and the glory of God in nature, and then it talks about the word of God. David climaxes this praise by offering, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”
James chapter 3 deals with the tongue and lets us know that the tongue can do a lot of damage if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to control it. What comes out of our mouths is the result of what we are thinking.
Philippians 4:8 tells us what to think on, and our Bishop James Johnson has said that “words are the embodiment of thought.”
Most of us eat meat or have eaten meat at some time in our lives. Before that meat could be consumed it had to undergo inspection by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the ultimate authority or watchdog for the safe consumption of food. You may remember seeing their stamp on some of the meat you’ve purchased: “USDA inspected.”
The inspector examining the meat has two stamps. One is “Inspected and Passed” and the other is “Inspected and Condemned.” One stamp indicates that this product is unadulterated, pure and is acceptable for human consumption – inspected and passed. The other indicates that the product is not acceptable for human consumption – inspected and condemned. One is approved, and one is condemned.
Now let’s relate this to David’s prayer – “Let the words of my mouth” – let what I say – “and the meditation of my heart” – and what I think deeply about – “be acceptable in your sight” – receive your stamp of approval – “O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” – because you are the ultimate examiner of what comes out of my mouth and what I think about.
Portia Simpson is an instructor at the Bethesda Temple Bible Institute – 314-382-2606.
