David, the poet in this psalm, knew the connection between the heart and the tongue. He knew if praise was within him, it would flow out of him. He also knew the difference between his God being disappointed in him and pleased with him.
Does praise rise up out of our hearts or is it something else? I once heard someone say "praise rises up as a natural overflow of a grateful heart". What flows up out of an ungrateful heart? I'm afraid we all know...or maybe only I know!
Joe Stowell (I know...my fav!) in THE WEIGHT OF YOUR WORDS talks about the tongue as discussed in James 3:3-6 as a bit, a rudder and a fire. He says:
"These things are all affected by something else. The horse's bit is controlled by the
rider; the rudder is wielded by the helmsman and the fire is born in the spark. So
our tongues march to the drumbeat of our spirits."
He also says: "...our speech problems are really heart problems. Our tongues are the servants of our spirits. My words simply reveal what's on my heart."
When we ask God to give us pure hearts (Psalm 51:10), guess what begins to happen to our words?
The Lord longs to be gracious to you (Isaiah 30:18)...He has an incredible plan for you to be gracious to others with your words and your actions, to build them up and not tear them down (Eph. 4:29-32). May our words and our thoughts be a sweet aroma to our God and to others beginning today!
For further study: Psalm 51:10, 66:18, 119:9-16; Proverbs 4:23-24, 12:18, 27:19; Ezekiel 36:26-27, Matthew 12:33-37, 23:25-26; Luke 6:43-45, Ephesians 4:29-32, James 3:3-6
Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.
Love,
Holly
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