Psalm 19:14

Psalm 19:14 closes the psalm with a beloved prayer: that the words we speak and the thoughts we ponder would be pleasing to God, our strength and redeemer. After contemplating God's revelation in the skies and in His word, David turns inward, asking that his whole life respond rightly to such a God.

The prayer reaches both the outward and the inward person. "The words of my mouth" covers everything we say -- our speech, our conversations, the things that pass our lips. "The meditation of my heart" reaches deeper, to the private thoughts and inner musings that no one else hears. David longs for both to be "acceptable" to God, a word used of an offering that pleases the One who receives it. He desires that his very thoughts and words be a fitting gift laid before God. The prayer ends by naming God as "my strength, and my redeemer." The word for strength here is rooted in the idea of a rock, and redeemer refers to one who buys back, rescues, and restores. David grounds his prayer in who God is -- the firm foundation who holds him and the kinsman who rescues him. This verse makes a fitting close to a psalm about God's word, for it asks that God's word would so shape us that even our hidden thoughts become pleasing to Him.