We can add depth to our knowledge of God if we learn to study Scripture in light of what it meant to the people who first received these words.

Remember: those who lived during the days of the Old Testament didn’t have our scientific advances. But they knew that when the heart ceased to beat, a life had ended. They understood that in times of intense emotion or effort, the heart would beat more rapidly. And they believed the heart meant the center of life itself, with all of its emotions and motivations. 

When the psalmist wrote “unite my heart to fear your name,” he was praying that his life would be driven and motivated by his faith in our powerful and holy Creator. He wanted to know the ways of the Lord so that he could walk in God’s truth. 

That should be our goal for Bible study as well. It isn’t about simply learning the words of Scripture and their meaning. Bible study should unite our hearts and minds with God. When the truth of Scripture lives at the center of our lives, our hearts are united with God’s because we “fear” his name. To fear God is to live with reverent awe of who he is and all he is. 

When we know the ways of God, we can choose his ways instead of our own. When our hearts “fear” God, we want him to be our King. When our hearts are united with God, we will live with his thoughts, his love, and his motives. 

The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Those blessings live in our hearts and motivate our actions. God is the source of all things, and he has given us everything we need to unite our hearts to his—now and forever.