When reading Psalm 8:10 a question immediately jumped out at me. If God delights in a heart that is true and right, how do we get it there?
God is my shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right. Psalm 8:10
I love the phrase, “God is my shield.” A while back a wrote a post on Psalm 91 called “I Love the Shade.” The first couple of verses say this.
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. Psalm 91:1-2
He shelters us and gives us rest. He is our stronghold and protection. In Him we find safety. Why? Because we can trust Him. But in our Psalm for today, it’s our hearts that are the issue.
The Bible comes right out and says that our hearts aren’t true and right. Look at what the prophet Isaiah wrote.
We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved? We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Isaiah 64:5-6
The Apostle Paul continued on the same theme in Romans 3 of what Isaiah wrote about. First in verse 10 then in verse 23.
As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” Romans 3:10-12
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Romans 3:23
How God Delights In A Heart
Well, so far I’m not receiving much encouragement and I’m sure you aren’t either. But don’t stop reading, things do turn much better. Let’s read at what the Psalmist said in Psalm 8:12.
If a person does not repent, God will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He will prepare his deadly weapons and shoot his flaming arrows.Psalm 8:12-13
Look where it all starts. He said If a person does not repent. That is also the direction the Apostle Paul went to.
Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. Romans 3:24-25
That is the key to having a heart that is true and right. We can’t obtain that type of heart because of our sinful nature. But God presented Jesus and through His sacrifice, we are made “right” with God.
Now we can go throughout our days knowing we can be true and right in the Lord. We can put a song in our hearts and praise with our lips just as the Psalmist did.
I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. Psalm 8:17
Lord, we admit that we fall short in every way of trying to maintain a relationship with you. Thank you though, that the gap is bridged through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God also delights in a thankful heart.
Read all of Psalm 8 here
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Christian Perspectives
Featured Image by Erika Varga from Pixabay
