What does it mean to "unite my heart to fear Your name" (Psalm 86:11)?

If one is a true worshiper, then he will truly desire the grace of God's presence to guide all his footsteps. Thus, the heart being lifted up to God, he will have proper concern for his feet. The psalmist therefore deeply desires that the Lord will teach him His way (v. 11), with firm purpose of heart to walk in the truth. He asks God therefore, "Unite my heart to fear Your name." This is in contrast to a divided heart, that is, one part for the Lord and another for self. This is really double-mindedness, and James 1:8 tells us, "a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." On the other hand, if we are fully for the Lord, we shall not easily be led astray.

This fear of the Lord is not the slavish dread that marks the superstitious. No. It is a reverent trustfulness accompanied by hatred of evil. “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (Prov. 8:13). “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever.” Where this is maintained the presence of the Lord is a reality and joy.

This psalm is the meek yet confiding and confident appeal of a soul conscious of its godly feelings towards Jehovah and looking to the results of relationship with Him. We have had Jehovah since Psalm 84, which is founded on these covenant relationships in which the remnant feel themselves to be, though awaiting full blessing in the land. Still it is yet in distress, for the people are not revived nor set in their covenant blessings in the land. Holy (v. 2) is pious or gracious (chasid, not kodesh, holy). The three requests of the psalm are, "Bow down thine ear and hear me" (v. 1). The gracious attention of Jehovah is called for to give ear to the prayer of the suppliant; then to attend to the voice of his supplication (v. 6); that is, he looks for his request being granted; thirdly, to be taught in the way of truth (v. 11). Jehovah's mercies in the terrible conflict of the remnant are then owned; but he who thus cried, still looked for His interference in his behalf, that they that hate him may be ashamed, because Jehovah has helped and comforted him. How the state of the remnant, like Job, brings out the great conflict between the power of Satan and divine deliverance, but in which, however low he may be brought, the godly soul owns the source of all to be Jehovah, though his feet may well nigh slip in seeing the prosperity of the ungodly! It is not a psalm of complaint nor bitterness of soul, but of one who is yet poor and needy, but has tasted the comfort of Jehovah's goodness.

This brings us lastly to look at the way in which these two sets of curtains were connected. The word for coupling together is a suggestive one; it is from the same root as "Hebron," which means friendship, companionship. This, too, shows absolute unity of character in our Lord. The aspiration of the psalmist, "Unite my heart to fear Thy name" (Ps. 86:11), found perfect realization in Him. The "curtains," as we have seen, are closely allied with the word "to fear," and thus illustrate the unity in the fear of God exemplified in our Lord.

But then for what are we to abide in Him? The whole purpose of the vine is fruit; and this is what rules in the ways of the husbandman with it. He prunes unsparingly, that he may have fruit: one might think, to look at him, that he was making but a wreck of the whole plant. What harm in all this wood and leaf that he is paring away? In itself none; and yet in relation to its fruit-bearing, very much. Not the parasites that destroy it from without can do it much more harm than just these fruitless stems and this exuberant foliage. The precious sap is drawn off by them by which the fruit is to be filled out and perfected; and, if they are spared, not simply will there be less fruit, but (worse than all) the whole character of that which is produced is deteriorated. And so with the toleration of much that is merely evil in its power to draw off and scatter the energies which should be yielding fruit for Him and are not. It is the "one thing I do" that as a principle characterizes the whole man, and marks him out as Christ's, glorifies Christ in him. It means seriously "Christ is all." It proclaims Him the sunshine of life, not shadow; and sunshine is what the fruit needs. It says that for progress every moment of life is valuable, saves the life from dilettanteism and superficiality, makes Christ Lord, not casual adviser: no wonder that in the servant's psalm we should find, as nowhere else in them; this prayer, "Unite my heart to fear Thy Name."

But here there is at once great and apparently insuperable difficulty. The eleventh verse, as it stands in the Hebrew, "unite my heart to fear Thy Name," could never have been the prayer of our Lord, whatever His humiliation. The Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate indeed, by the help of another punctuation, substitute for this, "my heart shall rejoice": but this is rejected in general, and would only partially relieve the difficulty. The fifth verse bases the confidence of the suppliant towards God on His being "good and ready to forgive," for which again the Septuagint uses the vaguer term "gentle," but the verb in Hebrew is always — as far as Scripture is concerned — "to forgive, remit." The fifteenth verse again seems to take similar ground.

In Jacob something of this same spirit is evident in Haran, and he laboured hard to "provide for his own house," yet in his case he did not forget that he owed much to the grace of God. God indeed seeks by this same grace to fully restore him, when He tells him to return to Bethel, "God's house." But Jacob lingered on the way, and at Shechem "bought a parcel of a field," and settled down. Instead of leaving the world fully behind, he bought a little part of it, and the price he paid later was far higher than silver or gold. How easily we too, because of divided affections, may be content with a half-way house, instead of being in God's place for us, "God's house." But the results here, in Jacob's family, were the most shamefully evil in his history. Let us beware of a divided heart, partly for the Lord, partly for the world; but rather pray in earnest with the Psalmist, "Teach me Thy way, O Lord; I will walk in Thy truth: unite my heart to fear Thy name" (Ps. 86:11).

In Jacob something of this same spirit is evident in Haran, and he laboured hard to "provide for his own house," yet in his case he did not forget that he owed much to the grace of God. God indeed seeks by this same grace to fully restore him, when He tells him to return to Bethel, "God's house." But Jacob lingered on the way, and at Shechem "bought a parcel of a field," and settled down. Instead of leaving the world fully behind, he bought a little part of it, and the price he paid later was far higher than silver or gold. How easily we too, because of divided affections may be content with a halfway house, instead of being in God's place for us, "God's house." But the results here, in Jacob's family, were the most shamefully evil in his history. Let us greatly beware of a divided heart, partly for the Lord, partly for the world; but pray in earnest with the Psalmist, "Teach me Thy way, 0 Lord; I will walk in Thy truth: unite my heart to fear Thy Name." Psalm 86:11

As Jacob continues his journey we are told that the angels of God met him (v.1). It was not God Himself as yet who met him, but the angels were no doubt intended as an encouragement for Jacob to be diligent to return all the way to the Lord's place for him. We may wonder in what way they appeared, but Jacob recognized them as "God's host," and names the place "Mahanaim," meaning "two camps." Jacob had not yet learned that his interests ought to be merged with God's interests, therefore he considers God's "camp" separate from his. This has its unhealthy influence over his actions soon after, when he divided his own company into "two bands" (v.7). How much better it would have been for him if he had prayed the prayer of the Psalmist, "Unite my heart to fear Thy name" (Psalm 86:11). It is always because our hearts are not undividedly devoted to God that we resort to divisions among the people of God.

As Jacob continues his journey we are told that the angels of God met him (v. 1). It was not God Himself as yet who met him, but the angels were no doubt intended as an encouragement for Jacob to be diligent to return all the way to the Lord's place for him. We may wonder in what way they appeared, but Jacob recognized them as “God's host,” and named the place “Mahanaim,” meaning “two camps.” Jacob had not yet learned that his interests ought to be merged with God's interests, therefore he considers God's “camp” separate from his. This has its unhealthy influence over his actions soon after, when he divided his own company into “two bands” (v. 7). How much better it would have been for him if he had prayed the prayer of the Psalmist, “Unite my heart to fear Thy name” (Psalm 86:11). It is always because our hearts are not undividedly devoted to God that we resort to divisions among the people of God.