By Pastor Jim Jackson, Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church.
My recent bypass surgery has given me something of a new heart, at least one that may postpone the inevitable for a few seasons. For that I’m deeply grateful to all who made it possible, family, physicians, and hospital employees of all kinds.
But surely you are aware that’s not the only kind of heart of which we speak so often.
The Bible speaks of a different kind of heart. That’s the center of our will, emotions, and affections. King David knew all about that kind of heart, for it came to a place in his life when he pleaded to God: “Create in me a clean heart O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
We know all too well how David began those early adult years with his heart set on serving God, even under the threats of Goliath and his kind.
He must have marched off the field that day with a heart pounding with thanksgiving to God. Soon thereafter he rose to prominence as Israel’s greatest king, accompanied with the praises of his people. Stalked by King Saul, he kept his heart in the right place, trusting God rather than taking advantage of Saul’s vulnerability on more than one occasion. But for all reasons common to us humans, something went wrong. His heart found a new focus upon himself, his wants, desires, and lusts. You might say he had heart failure of the more serious kind.
He suffered for a time when he felt like God was at a distance and his bones were actually drying up. Fortunately he repented and plead to God for a new heart. By his own testimony, that’s exactly what he got: “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous, and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.”
We may never plumb the debts of David’s sins (adultery and murder) nor climb the heights of whipping a Goliath, but our sins are real and our need is great for a new heart from time to time. My blood pump has been hard at work for many years now, yet it hasn’t thrown in the towel. And for almost as many years, my other heart has been beating with the confidence that God isn’t running out of new hearts of the other kind.
“Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.”
My, David had a way of saying it!