Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. (Psalm 111:1)

In the previous devotion, we highlighted the significance of the word, Hallelujah, as understood from a Hebrew perspective and the implications of that understanding. So, in the interest of continuing to see things from that vantage point, we will look at another Hebrew word used in this verse and discover the nuances it has to share. The word in question is לבב lev, translated as “heart.” Typically this word is written as לב, having only one ב beit; but the psalmist made the decision to add the second ב beit thus prompting his readers to ask, “why?” Our Jewish friends offer an interesting explanation.

Within each of us there is a conflict between the inclination to do good and the inclination to do evil — i.e. spiritual man vs. the carnal man. As Jewish commentators explain, the psalmist expressed this idea by spelling the word lev as he did — לבב: one beit for each of these competing impulses. As followers of Messiah, you and I understand this very well. Because we are born with the inclination to sin, it is necessary for us to be born again — to become the new creation in Messiah and overcome the old, carnal man. Yet all of us would agree that, not yet being in our incorruptible bodies, we still war against the flesh and mustn’t allow it to rule over us. Therefore, like the psalmist, we must be determined to praise the Lord with our whole heart, not just part of it — with both beits as it were.

Those who love God will strive to harness any carnal impulses that would cause us to think, speak or act in any way that is contrary to the will of God. Throughout the Scripture, we are continually admonished to internalize His Word and to commit it to heart, indeed, to hide it in our heart that we may not sin against Him. To willingly give God all of our heart is the ultimate goal for all who love and serve Him. In fact, this ideal is the point of the greatest command given in Scripture: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). So, let us not be like many who were willing to give God much but unwilling to give Him all. Search the Scriptures and you will see that, with God, it is all or nothing, and so, may we continually praise and serve Him with our whole heart. Amen.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill