The psalmist prayed, "Give ear to my words, O Lord; and consider my meditation." (Psalm 5:1)
How few there are who could from the heart make that request? Who would like to have the Lord listen to all that they say? Certainly not they who blaspheme, or who use vulgar, idle, or foolish words, which they would not want even a good man to hear.
Yet whether we wish God to hear our words, or not, we may rest assured that He does consider them, for, says the psalmist, "There is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, you know it altogether." (Psalm 124:1)
And those words are recorded, for the Saviour says: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37)
Then there is our meditation. That is worse still, for every heart has cherished thoughts that have never been formed into words, because the individual would not betray his real character to his associates. It is the thoughts which mark the measure and character of the man. "As he thinks in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7)
Many people who pass for upright Christians, would be seen to be wholly corrupt, if their thoughts were but laid open to public view. Well, whether we pray that God will consider our meditation or not, we may rest assured that He does do so, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." (Hebrews 4:12-13)
The heart or mind of man is to the Lord like a printed page. He knows all its imaginings. And the time is coming when not only the Lord, but all the world, will be able to read the secrets of the heart. The apostle says that when the Lord comes He will "bring to light the hidden thing of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart." (1 Corinthians 4:5)
That will be the time when he who now is lifted up shall be terribly abased. Who is the one, then, who can ask the Lord to consider his meditation, and who will not be put to shame in the Judgment?
• It is he whose delight is in the law of the Lord, in which he meditates day and night.
• It is he whose works are committed to the Lord, and whose thoughts are consequently established.
• It is he who is pure in heart.
What a blessed condition does that man occupy, who can rejoice in the thought that the pure and holy God knows all his thoughts and approves them. Our daily prayer should be: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)--Signs of the Times, May 19, 1887--Psalm 5:1.