Moving Through Suffering – Psalm 109: 21-26

For Thy name’s sake” is a key phrase in this passage.  David spends a good portion of his psalm petitioning God to absolutely pulverize those who have slandered him – for Thy name’s sake, of course. I imagine a scene where David – king of Israel, meets Jesus – king of the universe.  To the bowing Jewish king, Jesus says, “David, I know this will be different for you, but instead of me destroying these people, I would like you to just forgive them. I want you to love them, turn the other cheek and then ask how you might serve them. I want you to start praying for these people not against them. Oh yes …. just one more thing – I love your heart.”

With his God-approved heart, I believe David would eventually have moved beyond his desire for revenge and personal vindication. So, what was it about David’s heart God liked? For starters, I believe it was David’s habit of regularly presenting his heart to him. God applauded David because he lived presumptuously, like a child, regarding God’s favor. (See Acts 13:22)

Knowing that he was safe with God, David confessed to him that his own heart was wounded, that he was weak and shaken. He wanted relief from his suffering. He wanted God to improve his circumstances. I believe God also loved a certain motive of David’s. David wanted everyone to see an outcome in his life that reflected well on God. It seems David is not too different than you and I.

We don’t know what percentage of David’s heart was motivated exclusively by a concern for God’s glory, but we do know a portion of it burned with that ambition – “and let them know that this is Thy hand; Thou Lord hast done it”. Even though David’s motives were mixed, like ours, God endorsed David’s heart.

What percentage of our hearts are fueled by concern for God’s glory? Do we see our hearts well enough to even know how divided they are?  Are we conscious that we do many things for our name’s sake? Even if we could discern our vested self-interest in singing that “special” or preaching that sermon or appearing in this or that light, can we then just flip a switch and be exclusively all in for-Thy-namesake? If it were that easy, those of us on our way back to Paradise, would forfeit the opportunity to know him more intimately, which was the point of Eden.

In another psalm the writer places his petition before God, “Unite my heart to sing Thy praise“. It seems this writer understood his duplicitous motives. He was crying out for purification and refinement in the deepest part of himself. It is in this space where motivations reside – where deep is calling unto deep. It is in this place that Jesus either becomes Lord or just a consultant we bring in on an  as-needed basis. Since we will one day see him face to face, “Lord, unite my heart to sing Thy praise” is a very sane prayer for us to be praying.

Having one’s heart united is painful. Being disentangled from previous alliances is death to our old selves. The suffering involved in this dying process is one of the things God uses to refine our heart-motives. If we will process our sufferings in the Lord’s presence, as David did, we will come to know Him more intimately. When we stand before him, a greater portion of our hearts will have been united – desiring to have sees his name exalted above our own. Is Jesus our Savior and Lord or is he Savior and consultant ? 

Father, help us to cooperate as you unite our hearts. Retrieve them from all the things we have given them over to – our reputations, our success, our ambition, our need for approval, our own comfort and our own glory.  May we grow to live for “Thy” name’s sake. Unite our hearts to sing Your praise. Amen.

 

 

 

 

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