Living in the Spirit

October 6, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 90:12-17

So teach us to count our days
   that we may gain a wise heart.

Turn, O Lord! How long?
   Have compassion on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
   so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
   and for as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be manifest to your servants,
   and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
   and prosper for us the work of our hands—
   O prosper the work of our hands!

I have never thought about a heart having the quality of wisdom. We view the heart as an essential pump that pushes blood throughout our system. The Hebrew word used here, lebab, translated as heart, means inner man, mind, will, heart*, which was the perception of that day and remains with us today. So, what is a wise heart?

The rest of the poem outlines what would be gained by having a wiser heart. God giving us compassion surely means we are to share kindness with others. God’s love for us brings us joy, our love for others should be a source of pleasure. I do not perceive that God afflicts us unless we count the gift of free will as the source of our troubles. A wiser heart would guide us toward better decisions. We must also deal with the wrong decision made by others that our poet describes as evil. Addressing the injustices we see in our world calls us to let God’s work manifest in us as we strive to carry out God’s vision of a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Lord, give us wise hearts to serve you more nearly. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3824.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.