A Look at Psalm 119:7

Psalm 119:7 “I will praise You with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.”
 

An upright heart is a heart full of truth. “The true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth” John 4:23. The only way to enter into the true spirit of worship is through truth. We must have an upright heart to worship God. However the upright heart is gained through learning what His righteous laws are.
 

Righteousness deals with our relationship with other people, while godliness deals with our relationship with God. We are made righteous through the blood of Christ. However, being made righteous we are to go and do acts of righteousness. Righteous acts could be termed the right treatment of other people. It’s treating other people the way God has treated us. We cannot worship God with an upright heart if we have a wrong relationship with another person.
 

We who have the Spirit of Christ in us are to represent Him on earth. I do not represent Jesus if I hate another person. I cannot come to God and worship Him in the Name of Jesus while I have something against another person. In Mark 11:25 Jesus says, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” If I have the sin of resentment in my heart, it is not an upright heart. I must have an upright heart in order to worship God. I cannot gain the upright heart until I make everything right with my fellow man. I must do the same good to others that God has done to me. 

Prayer plays a very important role in developing an upright heart. The more time we spend in the presence of God the more we see what God sees in others. The upright heart sees the things that God sees. Subsequently, those with this type of heart tend to treat others from that perspective.
 

Let me encourage you to take some time to meditate on this verse; as you do, ask God to help you develop an upright heart.

Continued