BIND MY HEART

“LORD, bind my heart to the fearing of Your name.” — Psalm 86:11

This little verse speaks volumes to me.

Our hearts are not to be trusted. I am well aware that many, many people—Christians included—are prone to rely on their own hearts to guide them through the situations, trials, and perils of daily living. But, God’s word warns us that this should not be so.

Consider these verses…
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? — Jeremiah 17:9

(Jesus said) “From within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” — Mark 7:21-23

One who trusts in God cannot help but see these verses as powerful reminders of the dark side of every human being’s heart.

And, yet there is also biblical evidence that the heart is capable of wonderful acts.

Consider these verses…
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. — Proverbs 4:23

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. — Luke 6:45

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. — 1 Peter 1:22

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— Heart of the Bible —

Perhaps it would be helpful to understand what the bible means by the ‘heart’.

The word ‘heart’ is mention over 1,000 times in God’s Word. Though, naturally, we understand the heart to be a physical, vital organ, the biblical use of the term refers to the place where our emotions and desires dwell.

Even God has a heart. Luke refers to God’s heart in the book of Acts (Acts 3:22). God is not a physical being and so the reference to God’s heart is not to an organ, but rather where God’s perfect, unadulterated, uncompromised emtions and desires dwell. It is because God has a heart, we have one.

It is, in essence, the core of our being, and yet because of sin it has become corrupted(*). For this reason, the heart cannot be trusted. In its corrupted state it is not a reliable guide.

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— What’s the Good News?” —

The Good News is that God has provided a means of redemption for the corrupted heart. Christ’s sacrifice for sin has made it possible for our “old man (and, woman)” to be renewed. This renewal is predominantly spiritual in nature, yet also includes a restoration of the heart and transforming of the mind.

This does not mean that our hearts are no longer susceptible to the ruinous effects of sin. They are. Still, because of God’s saving grace and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can align our hearts with God’s will rather than the sinful desires that have kept us down for so long.

So, back to the prayer from Psalm 86. Our daily prayer should be that God draw us ever-closer to Himself, and bind our hearts to His holy name. But, more than that… bind our hearts to the FEARING of His name.

I believe the prayer recognizes that God’s holy name is to be a constant (not, occasional) source of awe and reverence for the believer. Daily we need to sit before His throne and glorify His name, for it is to be feared (awed, revered, respected). God is known by His name. His name is holy because He is holy.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! — Psalm 96:6

Scripture exhorts us to live holy lives. This includes keeping our hearts from retreating to the sinful desires that have become habitual for us over time. If we allow the Holy Spirit to bind our hearts to the awe of God’s name resisting sin becomes more and more natural to do.

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— So, What’s the Catch?—

This doesn’t happen overnight.

Becoming like Christ takes more than a lifetime. The apostle Paul never attained it. Rev. Billy Graham never attained it. Sister Teresa never attained it. Still…they strove for it. Their lives are an example—like the witnesses of Hebrews 11–that victory is indeed possible, though only complete in Christ’s grace during this life.

Sin is still our nemesis.

Yes, Jesus Christ vanquished sin and death, but His sacrifice did not eradicate either one. That will happen—once and for all—in the End Times.
Meanwhile, we must “work out (our) own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). In part, this refers to the moment by moment, day by day, reliance upon God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in resisting temptation and fleeing from sin. Even as believers we cannot do this on a consistent basis if our hearts are not as fully aligned as spiritually possible with God’s will.

Satan is still our foe.

I fear that the modern Christian, in general, gives Satan far too much credit for their personal sinfulness. It has become easy for many to blame Satan for their sin-encumbered situations. Though it is true that Satan endeavors to “devour” us (1 Peter 5:8), and he is the author of sin, it is our own evil desires (of the heart!) that propel us from temptation into sin (James 1:14-15).

As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. — Proverbs 27:19

Nevertheless, Satan is not to be underestimated. He is ever-mindful of those whose heart is lacking in fear of the LORD, and he will seek to devour them—literally. You’ve heard the phrase “Chew ‘em up and spit ‘em out”? That’s Satan.

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—Still, Good News Prevails—

The One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” — Isaiah 57:15

Let us always be contrite and lowly in spirit, relying fully upon the holy, perfect, awesome name of God.

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*Notice I did not say ‘corruptible’. Corruptible, I believe, implies that the heart can be motivated to evil, but is naturally good. No one is immune from the effects of sin. Consequently, no heart is pure and without evil intent—despite the barrage of well-meaning, yet misguided, psychologists who encourage their patients to believe that they are ‘good’ people.