PLEASING THE LORD
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
It was in David’s heart, as it should be in ours, to please his Lord. He desired that what he said and thought might be acceptable in God’s sight. This should certainly be at the center of our purpose in life, to live in such a way that He will be pleased with us.
As in all things good, Jesus is our perfect example on this subject. In John 8:29 Jesus said, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” As the sinless Son of God, Jesus never failed to do those things that pleased the Father. Obviously, none of us could make such a claim; nonetheless, it is in our hearts to please Him. We know when we have behaved in such a way that the Lord is not pleased, and it grieves us. If a person is truly saved, there should be a profound interest in pleasing God. We want to please Him because of what He has done for us.
David referred to God as his Redeemer. Because He has redeemed us, saved us by His grace, and rescued us from our lost condition, we want to please Him. We have been forgiven, and we belong to a new Master. He has purchased us with His own blood and promised to take us to Heaven when our time on this earth is finished. Not only did David speak of the Lord as his Redeemer, but also as his strength. He helps us and strengthens us daily as we depend on Him. He is our constant Companion and the Source of our comfort.
We long for Him to be pleased with us. David mentioned two specific examples of ways that we want to be acceptable to our Savior. We want “the words of my mouth” to be acceptable in His sight. The Word of God and our personal experience testify to the importance of controlling our words. Our words should be truthful, accurate, edifying, and kind. We should not be dishonest, deceitful, condemning, or harsh with our words. David was concerned also that his thoughts, “the meditation of my heart,” would be pleasing to the Lord. Because God knows our thoughts, it is important that we keep our hearts and motives right. We should seek to keep our minds dwelling on things that He will be pleased with. What a worthy challenge for our lives, to keep our thoughts and our words such that God would be pleased with them.