Bible Meditation Psalm 119:58
A great verse that includes humility, prayer, a whole-hearted search for God and faith in His word
Psalm 119:58—“I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word.”
“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). God has always asked—demanded—that we search for Him and love Him “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). He, as God our Creator, has every right to expect His creation to do that. Most people don’t, of course, indeed very few people do, which is why hell is going to be full and heaven not so much so (Matthew 7:13-14). But He told us and warned us, and thus we have no excuse.
David, being the great and godly man that he was “entreated” God’s “favor” with his “whole heart.” He didn’t demand anything from God; as a sinner, that would be incredibly presumptuous. So, the king—the king—asked for God’s grace. He also demonstrated his trust in God here—he requested mercy “according to Your word.” As the verse in Jeremiah said, God told us we could find Him if we met certain conditions—a whole-hearted search for Him. That’s a promise from Jehovah. David believed it, and we should, too.
What a great verse this is! It has humility, prayer, an understanding of the need for mercy, a whole-hearted search for God, and faith in His word. No wonder God called David a man after His own heart.