From the depths of my Inmost Being

V1 “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.”

What is the inmost being? Where does that reside? When a person, like David, is moved by the Holy Spirit, there is a sense of poetry that grabs not just the heart, or the mind, but the soul. The soul is who you are. It is the combination of your heart, the place where you enthrone the things you love, your mind, that which you reason with, and what we refer to as your ‘gut’, that place where you pull from when you don’t know which way to turn.

So why does David feel the need to pull from his inmost being to praise God? David goes on to list a few reasons (verses 2-6):

1. He Forgives my sins
2. He heals my soul
3. He Redeems my life from the pit
4. He Crowns me with love and compassion
5. He Gives me good things that satisfy me
6. He defends the oppressed with righteousness and justice

In addition to listing these things, David, full of spiritual insight, says “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” in verse 8.

How did David know this? He did not live to see Jesus come to this earth and die for our sins. He did not hear the teachings of Jesus or the apostles. Yet, somehow, he deeply understands God’s true grace.

How is this possible?

To answer this question, we need to look closer at David’s heart.

David is unique among Old Testament characters. There was no patriarch like him. He was able to consider the divine within his soul and recognize his place in the spiritual realm. When I say this I am specifically thinking about the last verses he wrote in this Psalm, versus 20-22:

“Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, O my soul.”

In these versus, I imagine David reflecting his thoughts way above the earthly heavens, into a realm he does not understand, where spiritual beings roam. He imagines angels and other heavenly creatures, created to praise God, pouring out praise in angelic form. Then, his thoughts move to all the earth, which is God’s dominion, and all the cosmic forces doing God’s bidding. Then, in light of this, as with a sudden rush of thought, David moves down from the heavens to his very small world. Here, he focuses to his physical body and then moves immediately to his soul, where he tells his soul, in light of all he just imagined, to praise the Lord!

This is David’s secret weapon that differentiates him from others. This is why God over and over measures other Israel leaders to David who never measured up, not even David’s own son, Solomon. God did not do this because God was being legalistic, but because God was comparing others to David’s heart and David’s insatiable appetite for God’s own heart. A true relationship with God that was not one sided.

He spent time seeking God, thinking about God, and reflecting and comparing his inadequacies with God’s greatness. He determined that he should not be able to come this close to God without being pushed away due to his own imperfect humanity. He should not be able to receive God’s blessings instead of punishment. In the midst of David’s revelation of God’s abundant grace, David desired to be engulfed with all that God is.

And, David did this without fear of being pushed away from God. 

The book of Romans tells us that the earth itself is a testimony that God exists. Yet, the vast majority refuse to see it. They refuse to acknowledge God. This is why David says in verse 10-11:

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;”

Why does God give more love for those who fear him?

There are two things here. The first is that he does not give any of us what we deserve while on this earth. That includes those who fear him and those who do not fear him. Those who do not fear him on this earth have been given a temporary pass. A pass that gives them time to see the evidence around them and soften their heart to the things of God.

The second is that those who do fear him while on this planet, receive an extra grace. That grace is that God will grow close to us as we grow close to him.

This fear is a holy fear that is born out of respect and honor for all the attributes God demonstrates to us. It is not a fear that God will judge us for our sins and push us away when we attempt to draw close to him.

We who fear God get the benefit of a relationship, something those who do not fear him do not get. For verse 17a says:

“but from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,”

If we combine all these things, and we dig deep down into who you are, what do we find? Do we find joy, sadness, confusion, love, or compassion? Whatever it is, this is where David is pulling from. He is reaching deep inside himself to find that place that needs to worship God.

And, it is so overwhelming that he has to repeat again what he just said, “praise his holy name!” But, not the same as before. This time it is his Holy Name as before it was the Lord. Same person, yet different attributes. He is Lord over all of us. The King, the ruler of our hearts. The one we submit to and give ourselves to. He is also holy.

Webster dictionary defines holy as exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness. A comparable word would be divine. To be honest, perfection is difficult to grasp in a world that is so imperfect. But, if I imagine one that is completely perfect as God is, and, in addition, completely righteous, I picture a person that deserves my praise. It would seem prideful for someone to demand praise, no matter how perfect they are. But, God, being perfect and righteous, deserves far more than the praise we give him.

Yet, even though I cannot give him enough praise, I can certainly try. I can muster up all that I can give by pulling my praise from way down deep, from my inmost being.

Spend the rest of the day reflecting on God’s grace for you. Amen.