Long before the American Holiness Movement
Psalm 86: Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.
I know that David has never heard of second blessing holiness. Jesus’ teachings about heart purity and Paul’s writing on being filled with the Spirit are way out in the future as David writes these words. Wesley, Bud Robinson, and a host of holiness preachers are yet to come. With that in mind, I don’t want to get carried away with David’s cry for an undivided heart and mind. Still, I see here an understanding of humanity. While David isn’t making a theological statement in this Psalm, he does make a human one. He sees division in his heart and he believes God can unify his life. I don’t have to overlay the centuries of theology that are yet to come to identify with that cry of faith. Today, the Christian who struggles with division in his or her life does well to start with this Old Testament prayer, asking God to “put me together.”
Take Away: The Lord can, and wants to, do a deep, transforming, uniting work in the lives of his people.