A message from God in my heart.....

Psalm 36 begins with these words:

^" I have a message from God in my heart
    concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
    before their eyes."

David, the man after God's own heart, says from the very beginning of this psalm, "I have a message from God in my heart."   The verse continues and we learn David's heart message concerns the sinfulness of those who are wicked.  David has detected this by noticing they have no fear of God.

I'm going to agree with David on one part.  That's a message that needs to be preached.  Even our preachers today sometimes begin their Sunday morning sermons by confessing their message will be about something that has been weighing on their hearts.

Let's see what else was on David's heart.  If you read the next three  verses, there will be revealed he was taking on the entire forces of hell with this message from his heart.....and he was.

In switching gears, David then begins to educate us on the greatness of God.  Verses 5-9 show us attributes of God like justice, righteousness, preservation, refuge and abundance.  Needless to say, those people described in the section about wickedness and sin, needed to be taught about God's goodness and His grace.

Now notice verses 10-11:

Continue your love to those who know you,
    your righteousness to the upright in heart.
¹¹ May the foot of the proud not come against me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

Did you see that?  Apparently God is concerned also with the heart of David.  Davis is praying in verse 11, " Don't let this message to the people be accompanied by my attitude of pride and arrogance."  Further, "Lord, keep me from the wickedness which my heart's message is combating."

I am praying that God continues to work in this same way in the presentation of the gospel today. It's a message people need to hear, from someone who has a heart motivated by love toward those who hear it.  And not only that, there is a message for the messenger, too.  God wants us to know we are doing HIS work, and proclaiming HIS message.  How foolish for us to depreciate the power of that message by making it about us.

Lord, we yield our hearts to you, praying you will fill us with your Spirit, our words to you, and pray you will take control of our lips to speak your word, our lives to you, praying we will be directed in your ways.   Amen.

<ronbwriting@gmail.com>