We have previously studied Locket Verses that talked about worshiping the Lord with our whole heart.  Here, again, the Psalmist declares that he will praise the Lord with his whole heart.  He desires to have undivided loyalty and whole hearted devotion to the Lord.  If we are to praise the Lord with our lives, that gives very deep meaning to the manner in which we live those lives.  If everything we do is to be considered as a praise offering to the Lord, then everything must be worthy of praise.  So often it is true that a person can come into a church building and give what appears to be whole hearted praise to the Lord.  That praise can even be heart felt and sincere.  However, often times, that very same person can leave the "sanctified place" to live a life that is not wholly given unto the Lord.  He has failed to see that every activity, every desire, every pursuit, must be given totally to the Lord.  At any moment we should be able to give account to the Lord that what we are doing is being done totally unto Him, all our actions, all our thoughts, all our motives.  Once when my children were small, we were memorizing our weekly verse together.  The youngest kept frowning as we repeated the verse: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord... Colossians 3:23.  Finally her confusion was understood as we listened to her say it out loud: "And whatsoever ye do, do it hardly, as to the Lord."  Unfortunately, many people have also seemingly misunderstood the principle of that verse.  The things they do are hardly done unto the Lord!  And they hardly do things as the Lord would have them to do.  How wonderful it would be in our lives and that of our family and friends, if each of us would take to heart the admonition to do ALL things HEARTILY as unto the Lord.  Then our lives would be ones of constant praise offerings to the Lord.  Then we could declare with the Psalmist that we are praising the Lord with our whole heart!  Today as you go about your activities, think: am I doing this heartily as to the Lord?  Is this being done as a whole hearted praise offering to Him who gave all for me?  There is another thought in this verse we should pause on, the phrase in the assembly of the upright.  First of all, we should praise the Lord with our whole heart, sincerely and boldly, in front of the saved.  There is never a place for phoniness in the house of God.  When we testify and serve, it must be done in all sincerity!  God knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts.  Let us be honest and open with His people.  Secondly, the gathering place of the church should be filled with the upright.  Pray for your church that it will be filled with those who are upright in character and actions.  Pray that the strength of the church will be found in people who have given their lives totally to the Lord and to the leadership of the Holy Spirit who always will guide us in paths of righteousness.  The dictionary defines upright as being of "inflexible honesty and moral rectitude."  That is a very strong definition, using words of great character!  Think about it.  As a member of your assembly (church), are you living each moment as one of inflexible honesty?  The question should not be what will it take to make you turn, but the realization that nothing will ever make you break a commitment to absolute honesty.  The strength of Christian character is to be found in a total commitment to moral rectitude, a character of integrity and correct judgment.  Our intensity of prayer for our church should be directed to the realization of those principles of character being evident in our entire assembly!

In Psalm 112, the Psalmist has been describing the godly man that feareth the Lord (verse 1).  Our verse for today details one of the characteristics of that man.  We are told that he shall not be afraid of evil tidings.  To hear bad news can be a devastating experience.  Many people become crushed in the face of the terror of evil tidings to the point where their Christian experience seems to have little effect.  Not so with the man that is described in Psalm 112.  His reaction is spoken of in the absolute, he shall not be afraid!  In watching a television show about emergency situations, I noticed a real difference in the reactions of various individuals.  Some people came so completely unsettled that not only were they hysterical in their own right, but they were unable to help others.  Yet, there were those who remained calm in the face of crisis, were able to maintain their own dignity and, at the same time, aid others and make correct decisions.  The blessed man is like that.  No matter what the situation, he is able to remain secure in the knowledge that his Lord is a God who can be trusted, One who will rightly direct the outcome.  He does not give way to hysteria, or become overcome with dread and fear because his heart is fixed, [he is] trusting in the LORD.  Not only can we understand evil tidings as actual situations where something bad has happened, but also as the threat of evil.  If the Psalmist was a man involved in war and its intrigue, we can easily understand this importance.  If a leader were to give in to fear of the threats of the enemy based upon rumor, he could never lead his people into victory.  Everyday our enemy the devil comes to us with evil tidings.  He whispers in our spiritual ears that if we go God’s way, danger and trials will lay ahead for us.  He tries to lead us down his pathway, promising us the easy way out!  We must steel ourselves to never give way to fears of evil tidings, no matter where they come from, because they could come from our enemy!  Certainly, there will be hard times and difficult situations to face in each of our lives, but we can do so with the absolute assurance that the Lord is Master of all!  In my own life, I can remember many applications of both meanings of the verse.  Especially when my children were small, I had to face many crisis situations involving illness or injury.  With the Lord’s help, I was usually able to remain very calm and give the assistance needed.  Afterwards, I can remember being overwhelmingly grateful to the Lord for his help in each situation, not only with saving my child, but giving me the calmness and clearness of thought that was necessary.  What an important part of being a Christian this is, one which we often think little about, but surely appreciate in the face of crisis.  I can also think of the other side of the issue and remember situations that verify the validity of the principle of not giving in to reports of evil tidings.  When my husband and I gave our lives to missionary service, there were many who had "evil tidings."  Many of these people were, I am certain, sincere in their concern.  But we knew the pathway that God would have us tread and also that only He knew what would lie ahead, only He could control the situations.  We had to determine in our hearts and minds to steadfastly follow the Lord (our hearts had to be fixed) and to trust in Him alone!  I wonder how many workers have turned aside because of evil tidings.  None of our children died while we served, we never starved to death, nor did any of the other evil predictions come to pass.  But even if these things had happened, they would have been in the Lord’s plan for us.  We must absolutely trust in Him, so trust that nothing will be able to sway us from following the Lord.  The next verse contains a very important phrase in reference to this same idea: His heart is established, he shall not be afraid.  Is your heart established in the Lord today?  If evil tidings come, either in the form of a crisis in your life, or the whispered rumor of threats, will you be able to stand the test?  You can if your heart is fixed and you have discovered the real victory of trusting completely in the Lord.

    Be not dismayed what-e’er betide, God will take care of you;

    Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you.

    God will take care of you, Thro’ ev’ry day, O’er all the way;

    He will take care of you, God will take care of you.

Throughout Scripture, we are given delightful pictures of women who were given the privilege of having children after years of being barren.  Hannah and Sarah, Elizabeth and Samson’s mother, were all women who were barren and yet they were enabled by the Lord to conceive and give birth, each to a very special child.  They would certainly have echoed this verse with the Psalmist!  The desire of their heart had been granted and they felt blessed indeed.  In ancient Jewish times, to be barren was not only to be denied the joy of motherhood, but to be questioned as to the reason you were not the recipient of God’s normal blessing.  To give birth removed the stigma and granted the blessing!  In our modern life, motherhood is too often treated lightly.  Some woman talk as if it was a curse to bare a child, rather than a blessing.  Many women selfishly deny their husbands the pleasures of a family because they have refused to submit themselves to the wonders of motherhood as God intended.  Do you think we would have the problem of abortion if "modern" women had the love of the Lord in their lives that gave them the proper view of womanhood and the blessings of motherhood?  Of course not!  Modern women have dwelt so much on self that they can not even envision the "blessings of the womb" that Scripture speaks of.  Our verse is so rich in meanings.  Not only does it encourage godly woman to pray for children, but it speaks to each of us, in our own situations.  At one time all of us mothers were "barren."  In conceiving and giving birth, we entered into the joy of this verse.  We were given the wonderful opportunity to be keepers of the house God gave to us and to be joyful mothers.  Let us never take this situation lightly.  It is a wonderful privilege, so great that it caused the Psalmist to cry out, Praise ye the LORD.  Do the "drudgeries" of motherhood cause you to think of despair, (even just once in a while)?  Take heart and take spiritual counsel: Praise the Lord for the privilege He has given you.  Even in the midst of trials, never despair, never allow bitterness or selfishness to control you... be a woman of God!  Then for the woman who has never married, or who is enable to have children, Rejoice, praise the Lord... He has a plan for YOU!  He has still given you the privilege of keeping a house.  Whether it is your joy to make that house a blessed house for your husband, or a home of testimony and spiritual refreshment for others, it is a wonderful God-given privilege.  To add joy to pleasure, He will give you the opportunity of motherhood.  It may never be physical childbearing, but it can certainly be that unique spiritual role of motherhood that gives you joy.  Several of my dearest friends have been single woman missionaries.  They did not have the joy of physical motherhood, but their joy of birthing children into the family of God was a joy only heaven will fully tell!  There have also been women I have known who were married, but childless.  Those that experienced joy in their situation, had first accepted God’s plan for their lives without bitterness or anger.  Then they were able to share their lives with others.  Sometimes, it was the other children in their larger family, or the children of the neighborhood or church.  One of the dearest women in my life was my Great Aunt Ruby, who never had a child of her own.  Yet she opened her heart of love to me and was as close as a grandmother.  In her home I learned many lessons of compassion, caring and homemaking that affected my life in deep ways.  She gave me many pleasures.  I trust that our relationship gave her much joy.  Whatever your situation, take this verse to heart and count it all joy to be a woman of God.  Praise the Lord for the privilege He has given to you!  Go about your household duties today with your head held a little higher, your heart a little more proud. Look at your children, physical or spiritual, and rejoice in the opportunity that is yours.  Praise the Lord!!

Moses prayed much like this many times in his position as leader of God’s people.  Often times in his own flesh he had seemed tempted to desire other dealings, but he realized that the glory of the Lord was of uptmost importance.  Many people ask the Lord for victories in their life just for their own benefit.  To get "what we want" may mean only temporary victory in view of eternal results.  How many times do we pray earnestly for something that we find out later was not really the best for us.  Young people are so often caught in this type of prayer dilemma.  Everything is related to the immediate in their lives, while God’s long range goals seem very dim.  Their hearts seem to be broken and even their faith weakened, when their prayer about "that boy" or a certain job is answered in the negative by God.  Yet God always seeks His glory to be performed in our lives.  He knows all from the beginning to the end.  His "no" answer will always be the best for us.  When our hearts are fully submitted to Him and our desire is only for His glory in our lives, than we will understand and praise the Lord for His answers to prayer.  Think in your own life of the things that you have been praying most earnestly for.  Would you be willing to put all under the category of "let Thy will be done?"  Verse three of this Psalm gives a marvelous reason for totally accepting God’s answer for His glory to be done: But our God is in the Heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.  The comparison is to idols, which neither know our needs nor can answer prayer.  How marvelous it is that we know the One and only true God.  Yet, how often do we rebel when He answers prayer according to His will and knowledge!  Our constant prayer and attitude should be that everything in our lives would honor and glorify the Savior, that whatsoever is done, is for His testimony.  If that is our heart attitude than it will certainly change the way we view the happenings in our lives.  Rather than always being concerned about our own advancement and personal victory, we would desire His victory.  It would be like a soldier in a great war.  If he only thought about his own personal benefit, he might even desert in the face of battle.  But if his desire were for the victory of his king’s forces and the glory of the army he was enrolled in, then he would stay and fight the battle.  We are in a great war spiritually, it must always be our duty and desire to fight for our King and stand true to His Holy Name!  The amazing thing is that if we so desire the glory for our Lord, He will grant victory and glory to us as His faithful soldiers.  Verse 12 gives us the reassurance: The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us...  Pray today for God’s glory to be seen in everything in your life.  Place your requests under the sheltering category of His glory first.  Because of His great mercy and truth, He will answer!

Certainly, as a mother, this is the prayer of my heart!  I would want my life and that of my children to be blessed of the Lord to the point where we increase spiritually more and more.  The Psalm itself answers our question as to how to obtain this blessing for me and mine, you and yours.

    1.     We are to seek God’s glory above our own: verse 1 (unto Thy name give glory).

    2.     Trust totally in the Lord: verse 9 (trust thou in the Lord: He is their help and their shield)

    3.     Fear the Lord, verses 11 and 13 (He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great)..

    4.     Praise and bless the Lord, verse 18 (bless the Lord...praise the LORD).

One of our greatest responsibilities as a mother is to so live our own lives that the lives of our families will be blessed of the Lord!  It is more true of parents than of anyone else that "no man is an island, sufficient unto himself."  Everything we do is reflected in the lives of our children.  Bill Gothard, in his seminars, has often said that which we as parents do in moderation will be so often done in excess by our children when they grow up.  The parent that sees little harm in occasionally "indulging" in a certain sin, should heed his warning.  Would you want to see your child’s life damaged by that sin?  How heartrending to think of the many parents who have had to view the consequences of their failures in the lives of their precious children.  It can only be guessed at how many occasional drinkers have had to attend the funerals of their own children killed in alcohol related accidents.  How many disease ridden bodies from smoking are second generation?  And how many casual Christians are there whose parents did not sense the necessity to be totally given to the Lord and to His program in the local church?  How convicting this should be in each of our lives.  Pause and examine your life right now.  Is there something you do that you would not like to see multiplied or even copied in your child or grandchild?  Is it anger, worldliness, language?  Whatever it is, take this opportunity to ask the Lord for His help in overcoming this area and protecting your children from its future consequences.  Praise the Lord, there is the reverse positive promised areas of blessing that is spoken in our verse.  The more we submit to the Lord and give Him first place in our lives, the more and more He will increase the blessings not only in our lives but in the lives of our children!  What a goal and what a responsibility is ours!  Let each of us review the list above and think of the negative things that we must forsake and allow the Lord to change in our lives...for the sake of our precious children and their children and theirs...  O Lord, my heartfelt prayer is that I would see Psalm 115:14 true in my life and the lives of my children and grandchildren.  Start with me, Lord.  Start with me.  Make me more pleasing in Thy sight, remold and remake me day by day to be the person You desire.  And, Lord, let the victory be seen in the lives of my family...increasing more and more, blessing both small and great.

What a great watch word for a church this verse is!  Think of your church and its services, the voice of rejoicing and salvation should be there.  Part of that responsibility is with each individual member.  If even one brings into the service an attitude of bitterness or anger or depression or any other negative area, the entire congregation is affected.  My husband has often told me of the unusual sense that God gives to a preacher as he is proclaiming the message during a service.  He can actually "feel" the spiritual condition of the listeners.  Sometimes it is a specific awareness that a certain person is under conviction, but often it is just the feeling that something is not quite right in the midst of the congregation.  What a blessing it is to a pastor to be able to sense victory and rejoicing in the lives of his congregation!  What a marvelous freedom it gives to him to preach the Word of God in power.  Think of how great our country would really be if throughout the land there was heard the voice of rejoicing and salvation in all of the churches.  Times of great revival have been like that!  From every church door could be heard the sounds of rejoicing.  Oh, that revival would come into each of our churches even now.  Think of the songs of victory to be sung:

    True-hearted, whole hearted, faithful and loyal.

    King of our lives, by Thy grace we will be.

    Under the standard exalted and royal,

    Strong in Thy strength we will battle for Thee.

    Peal out the watchword!  silence it never!

    Song of our spirits, rejoicing and free;

    Peal out the watchword!  loyal forever,

    King of our lives, by Thy grace we will be.

So first, this verse speaks to us of what our prayer should be for our church.  But we could also think of it in two other ways.  Our homes should be like tabernacles of rejoicing and praise to the Lord.  Everything that we do within our family and its home should be an honor and praise to His name.  Our children should learn there about the Lord.  The message of salvation should go forth to all that enter.  No one should ever enter our home and be left in doubt as to whether or not we are Christians.  Lord, make my home a testimony to You!  Then also, our own lives are spoken of in the New Testament as tabernacles for the dwelling of the Lord.  From each of our lives the sounds of rejoicing and salvation should be heard!  How often do you take the opportunity to witness for the Lord?  How much of your time is spent rejoicing to and about the Lord?  Dear Lord, please make my life a fit tabernacle for You and one that is full of rejoicing and testimony, because I love You, Lord.

Psalm 119 is rich in reference to the Word of God.  It is also rich in statements of commitment to the Lord.  I have written in the margin of my Bible that the total Psalm has a theme regarding the concepts of "whole, continually and entire."  In verse 10, we see that theme applied to the seeking of our whole heart toward the Lord and our desire to be continually in obedience to His commandments.  Let’s put ourselves into the Psalmist’s shoes and personalize this verse.  We should be able to say as a Christian, "Lord, with my whole heart I have sought You, every day in every way, my desire is to know You and to be aware of Your presence in my life.  The more I know about You, the more wonderful I realize You are, and the more I want to please You at all times.  Therefore, Lord, I realize that the greatest hindrance to whole hearted devotion in my life towards You is if I should wander from obedience to Your commandments.  So Lord, knowing that I do not have the strength in myself, I humbly plead with You, don’t let me wander away from that pathway of absolute obedience to Your Word.  Don’t let me be a cast away or ship wreck in my faith.  Don’t let me become a half-hearted Christian, following only when it is convenient.  Let me follow, follow on, even if the way is rough, even if the storm clouds form.  Help me to be totally committed to You and Your testimony."  Daniel had the kind of whole hearted seeking toward the Lord that is spoken of in our verse.  In Daniel 9:3, his prayer to the Lord is recorded: And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.  His commitment to be a whole hearted follower of the Lord was what enabled him to make the decisions he did and take courageous stands for the Lord in the midst of trials and dangers.  Sometimes we are likely to think of men in the Bible just as story book characters, but they were not.  They were men of "like passions" as we, who had extraordinary commitment to the Lord and, therefore, extraordinary accomplishments for the Lord.  If Daniel had not purposed in his heart to fully follow the Lord, he would not have been able to obey the Lord’s commandments regarding which foods to eat and from which to abstain when he was just a young teen.  Think of how many other young men must have said, "Oh, it is just an old fashioned rule that our parents taught us.  They don’t understand modern times!  And after all, would God really want us to risk not going along with what our captors want?  Just for one silly rule.  Besides, I don’t think it is wrong for me."  All the others have names we do not know, but Daniel and his three friends who did not wander from God’s commandants have names recorded in the history of our Bible and were rewarded for their faithfulness and courage, not only by God, but by the world.  It is easy for us adults to see the parallel to teenagers, but it should be just as evident in our own lives.  How often do we compromise or go along with worldly standards or rules and justify it to ourselves.  What we are really doing is failing to whole heartedly follow the Lord and wandering from His commandments.  Let us be women of spiritual courage and whole hearted seeking and love for the Lord Jesus, individuals who will keep on the right path and follow the Lord, wherever He leads!

When these devotionals were originally written for the ladies of my church, this week of verses fell on the first week of the New Year.  I enclosed a personal note that, though perhaps not in the same place of the calendar, could be appropriate for any time of the year.  Truly each day brings forth a new opportunity to start afresh with the Lord.

"Dear Special Friends,

As I finish this week’s Locket Verses, I am reminded that we are beginning a New Year together.  Many of the commitments that have challenged us in the Locket Verses would make wonderful New Year’s resolutions!  I especially thought that the concepts found in Psalm 119:10 were a wonderful challenge to my heart.  They seemed to encompass all the others.  If I whole heartedly seek after the Lord this year, and ask His help to not wander from His commandments, then surely all the other challenges will fall into place.  Won’t you join with me in pledging to the Lord to be the best women for Him that we can be in this new year!  In all the opportunities and situations, areas of responsibilities and cares, Lord let me be the exact woman You would desire me to be.  Let me show forth Your glory in my life, let my life be a praise offering to You."