Examine Me

Examine me, O LORD, and test me.

Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives.

Psalm 26:2

Wow! Both the word examine and the word evaluate are words used in refining and purifying metals. 

בָּחַן ḇâḥan, examine, means to investigate, prove, examine, test, try (of gold, persons, the heart, man of God); to make a trial.

 

צָרַף ṣârap̱, evaluate, means to purge away, pure, melt, founder, goldsmith, refine, fuse. To cast.To test (and prove true).

Olive Tree Enhanced Strong’s Dictionary, 2023. 

What, precisely, is being purified? The word motives ( לֵב lêḇ) reveals the breadth of the task. The Psalmist, in this case, David, is asking God to examine and prove true his kidneys (figuratively his interior self) and his reins (what controls him). He is asking God to prove true his inner man, mind, heart, feelings, will, and intellect– the center of him. His soul. This one word includes his thinking, knowledge, reflection, and memory. Leb encompasses his inclination, resolution, and the determination of his will. His conscience, passions, the seat of courage. Even the areas where he is unaware. 

David wanted God to have it all.

I’ve been trained as a writer not to make endless lists. Three is the recommended limit, or we lose the reader’s attention. Sometimes I can’t help myself. Reader, are you paying attention? This long list is worth re-reading.

According to the living and active Word in Psalm 26, having a pure heart and mind is possible. If we ask Him, God will purify our thoughts and intellect and renew how we feel. He will heal our memories and even the places where we are unaware. He will realign everything that controls us so we can live according to His will. He will purify our passions, our courage, and our conscience.

There’s so much hope in that little word leb.

I’ve never been so terrified of what is in me as when I became a leader. Leadership exposes leb. David understood this. The sacred stewardship of other people demands we surrender to the examination and evaluation of the Lord. Dare we try to lead the complex, beautiful hearts of others, leaving our own hearts unexamined, untried, and untested? Instead, Let us dare to pray like David and volunteer the privacy of our hearts and minds to the Purifier.

Let Him have it all. 

I’m dreaming of a world where people pray like David, and we walk around shining forth His glory, reflecting His image, purified.

Examine me, O Lord, and test me. Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives. Amen.

@audreycfrank

Photo by Marko Ivanov on Unsplash