PSALM 51:6: “WHAT DOES
THIS MEAN?”
The other night, I asked
the Lord what I should read before bed. “Psalm 51.” I love that Psalm, but
there are verses that I don’t fully understand. I know that happens to you,
too. But there are easy resources online for doing a quick study or even an
extended one. So, I decided to take a closer look and do a word study on verse
six:
“Behold, you [God] desire
truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part, you [God] will make me
know wisdom.”
When we look up the words
in their original language, we can better understand what the verse really
means. It’s a way to meditate on a scripture and let it make a more profound
impact, sinking into our hearts, because we take the time to focus on it longer
than the time it takes just to read it and move on.
David says: “You, God,
desire truth in the innermost part of me.” The first word I want to look at is
“desire.” The Hebrew word “chaphets” means “delight in, take pleasure in,
like.” But there’s more I wouldn’t have known about unless I looked it up: In
the definition of “desire” is the idea of bending down toward someone,
inclining yourself toward them. So this tells me God actually takes so much
pleasure in us having truth that He bends down toward us, delighting in when He
sees truth in us.
So, what is this “truth”
God likes bending down to see in us? The word “truth” is the Hebrew word “emeth,” meaning
all kinds of amazing things. Among them are: “faithfulness, reliability,
trustworthiness, peace and stability.” But again, there is more to it. This is
“truth that is spoken,” “truth as it pertains to divine instruction,” “truth in
ethical knowledge,” and “truth in judgment.” So, God delights in leaning down
toward us to smile at our faithfulness, our trustworthiness, His truth that we
are speaking, our receiving the truth of His divine revelations to us, doing
the right thing when we have ethical decisions to make, and truth in good
judgment.
Where does God see these
wonderful truths in us? The verse says He sees them in our “inward parts.” The
Hebrew word for “inward parts” is “tuwchah,” and it means “the
seat of the mind and thoughts.” In other words, these truths are not just flighty
thoughts off the top of our heads but come from a deeper place in our minds. If
someone took the time to seriously ask you: “What do you really believe?” you
would go to this part of your heart and mind and say with the most conviction:
“This is what I believe.”
God bends down lovingly
toward us to see if we have embraced His truths and if they live steadfast and
unmovable in the depths of our hearts.
The rest of Psalm 51:6
tells us what God does when He sees His truth in our hearts:
“In the hidden part, you
[God] will make me know wisdom.”
The “hidden part” is one
Hebrew word, “satam,” which is the ”secret part, storehouse,
treasury.” The word “know” is the Hebrew word “yada,” which means
to “see and know, to be sure of, discover and know by experience, feel,
understand, and be able to teach.”
Then, the final word,
“wisdom,” is “hakma” in Hebrew. Wisdom is always about applying knowledge.
However, the definition of wisdom here is specific to certain areas.
It is defined as ‘wisdom in
administration, prudence in religious affairs, wisdom in ethical matters, shrewdness
or cleverness, and skill in war (both spiritual and physical).’ One example is Matthew
10:16: “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (AMP).”
In studying the words used
in Psalm 51:6, we find that our loving God is inclining Himself down toward us.
He delights in seeing what He’s taught us, dwelling in the deepest parts of our
hearts. When He finds them there, He can attach the blessing of discovering,
experiencing, understanding, feeling, and being able to teach, like David, excellent
skill in war (physical and spiritual), administrative skills in all categories
of life, cleverness, prudence in religious matters, and godly ways to handle
ethical issues as well.
Studying the words God gave
David to speak in Psalm 51:6 really helps us see the bigness of God’s heart of
love toward us. He bends down to us, desiring to see His gift in the innermost
part of our hearts and seeing us discovering and knowing by experience His
wisdom in ethical matters, religious matters, and skills of spiritual warfare.
Studying a verse is easy
to do online. Just go to the link below, put a word or scripture reference in
the search box, choose the Bible version, and click the arrow. Then click where
it says “STRONGS.” That gives you the option of looking at the definitions of
the original words. I found in this resource that I had to use the KJV or the
NASB, but there may be other sources if you prefer reading a different version.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/51/6/ss1/t_conc_529006
Try this, even if you only
look up a couple of words. I think you will really be blessed.
Love, Carolyn
No comments:
Post a Comment