THE BUBBLING HEART

My heart is inditing a good matter: Psalm 45:1

This oft quoted verse from the forty-fifth psalm is one which may have given English translators trouble. They do not convey the words of this first portion of the verse literally. Moreover, there are differences in the various English versions. The ESV translates it: “My heart overflows with a pleasing theme.” Literally, the verse is translated: “My heart gushes a good thing.” Words, in any language upon earth, will fail to fully capture the blessed truth of God in Christ. When Christ’s atoning work and God’s saving grace arrests the soul, the very center of our being bubbles up like a spring and spills forth to refresh. It is a “good thing” (de-VAR tōv). Have you ever meditated upon the amazing grace of God in Christ, pondered the magnificent wonder of His work upon the cross, or rejoiced in His sweet salvation without words because your human language fails miserably to capture what the Spirit has conveyed in the depths of your soul? Of course you have. The atoning truth of God in Christ is a love which surpasses knowledge (Eph 3:19), a joy unspeakable (1 Pet 1:18), and brings peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7). Do I suggest we begin babbling in some unknown or heavenly tongue? Certainly not. It is a joy UNSPEAKABLE. The rest of the verse justifies this truth: “I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (KJV). Then one by one, the psalmist declares truth after truth of Christ’s eternal throne, as he is led by the Holy Spirit. Bubbling, not babbling, is a precious act of worship. Silence before the King of kings, until He bid us speak, is honorable and appropriate in the courts of eternal glory.

My heart brings forth a goodly thing;
My words that I indite
Concern the King: my tongue’s a pen
Of one that swift doth write.
Scottish Psalter, 1650

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Today's M'Cheyne Reading Schedule: 5/2 - Num 9; Psa 45; Song 7; Heb 7

If you don’t have one, get a free PDF copy of Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s “Daily Bread” Bible Reading Calendar by Clicking Here.

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