A psalm of Robert the servant of the LORD, a prayer for a heart that is single-minded and free from deceit. To the tune, St Denio, which is based on ‘Can mlynedd i nawr’ (‘A Hundred Years from Now’) and familiar to us in the hymn, ‘Immortal, invisible God only wise.’
Even many of those who instinctively enjoy and welcome change have found the upheavals and restrictions of the last few plague and climate-driven emergencies hard to endure in recent years. Not only does the Lord see the huge difficulties these events have engendered, but there is also the matter of people’s fickleness and unreasonableness to reckon with - hearts – including our own.
The word ‘fickle’ has an interesting history. In Old English word (f i c k o l) it meant not only ‘frequently changing our mind,’ and being ‘impulsive and unreliable,’ it also implied deliberate deceitfulness.
The Lord loves it when we keep the eyes of our heart fixed on Him, but He hates it when people deliberately set out to misrepresent facts and to conceal truth.
It is more important than ever to remind ourselves and one another of the constancy of God. In this prayerful reflection, therefore, we will be pondering two main themes: the steadfast faithfulness of God, and our own tendency to be changeable.
Paul wrote that it was his goal that all God’s people might be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that we might have the full riches of complete understanding, and know the mystery of God, namely, Christ. (Col. 2:2). So we pray with the psalmist, ‘Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.’ (Ps. 84:11 ESV) What a powerful phrase that is!
What a powerful phrase that is, so that all our concerns and actions spring from a heart that is at one, both with the Lord and within itself. There is a lot of talk today about being ‘true to ourselves’ and ‘following our hearts.’ But the Lord told Jeremiah that “the heart is deceitful above all things,” (Jeremiah 17:9), and even those of us who truly desire to love and serve the Lord can fail to notice the deceitfulness in our own way of thinking, and others things for which we need to repent. It is as if we are operating under artificial arc lights of our own making, as opposed to examining our hearts in the true light of God.
Jesus, You want us know the truth of what You find in our hearts, and we do well to recall how direct and specific You were in the heartfelt letters of warning You send to Your beloved Churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.
The writer to Hebrews urges us to avoid having our heart choked and hardened by ‘sin’s deceitfulness:’ the very things that quench the abundant life of Jesus and the flow of His Spirit (Heb. 3:13; cf Mark 4:19)
May the Lord be with us now as we seek to move away and beyond the things that make for unhappiness and which perpetuate an inner brittleness rather than a full-on trusting relationship with Him. May we be eager for all trace and shadow of deceitfulness to be driven out when He chooses to inspect our hearts, and to respond to His constancy by seeking to be constant and whole hearted in all that we do!
Thank You, Lord, that Your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. What a joy it is to know that although Heaven and Earth will pass away, Your words will never pass away. (John 1:2; Ps: 119:89; Matt: 24:35).
You are the immortal invisible God only wise. You are blessed and glorious, Almighty and victorious. You are the Ancient of Days in whom there is no shadow of change. (Dan. 7:13; Neh. 9:5; James 1:17)
(Music: Welsh hymn melody, St. Denio. With many thanks to James Horsfall (piano), Francis Cummings (violin), Cathie Muncy (viola), Natalie Halliday (cello), Jane Horsfall (Celtic harp), Mike Halliday (Clarinet)]