You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. (Psalm 17:3)
As was stated in the previous devotion, God never chooses a perfect person but He always perfects those He chooses which is to say, He puts us all to the test from time to time. For example, that great man of faith, Abraham, was put to the test when God told him to take Isaac to the top of Mount Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. Because he believed in the promises of God, he did not delay and, at the end of the test, was found to be a man who would withhold nothing from God. Later, Israel was led through the wilderness for 40 years and tested to see if it was truly in their hearts to obey God (Deuteronomy 8:1-3).
In this verse, David acknowledged that he had been tested. God examined his heart in the dead of night when we are most susceptible to meditating upon our own desires. David claimed that, at this point in his life, God couldn’t find anything in his heart that would condemn him should it leave his mouth. It would seem that, as he wrote this psalm, David was committed to serving God without any consideration for his own will and carnal inclinations — a claim that he and so many of us couldn’t claim at all times. In other words, there had been for David, as it has been for us, times when God searched our heart and found us lacking.
Thankfully, our God is abundant in mercy and is quick to forgive those who are quick to renounce their sin and turn from their contrary ways. Not only that, when He forgives, He doesn’t let our past mistakes cloud His view of us. Consider the words that God put in the mouth of Balaam regarding Israel: “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel” (Numbers 23:21). Mind you, this is being spoken of those who worshiped a golden calf, complained on numerous occasions and would, in the very near future, commit abominations with the daughters of Midian and Moab. Still, God would not allow their enemies to see unflattering thing about them because He saw them as they were intended to be — a holy nation.
Should we not consider that He chooses to see you and me in this same way, that is, when we have committed our hearts to serve Him? In that light, it would be advisable for us to continually invite Him to inspect our hearts, day and night, and reveal anything that is unpleasing to Him. May it be that we draw so close to Him that He finds nothing except a committed heart.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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