Just is my help from the Lord: who saveth the upright of heart.(Psalm 7:11 DR)
It is because God is just that the Psalmist now expects help and salvation, for as the searcher of hearts God will “discover,” as it were, that the Psalmist has been upright in heart. St. Augustine notes that in the previous Psalm (i.e., Psalm 6) the prayer of the righteous man is for mercy that he might be restored to health, whereas in this Psalm the prayer is more one of preservation in his innocence. Both are instances of being “made whole,” but this health is accomplished in distinct ways:
According to the one [Psalm 6] it is there said, “Make me whole for Your mercy's sake;” according to this other it is here said, “Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness.” [Psalm 7] For there he asks for a remedy to escape from disease; but here for protection from falling into disease. According to the former it is said, “Make me whole, O Lord, according to Your mercy:” according to the latter it is said, “My righteous help is from the Lord, who makes whole the upright in heart.” Both the one and the other makes men whole; but the former removes them from sickness into health, the latter preserves them in this health. (St. Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms, 7, 10.)
However, he notices a distinction here that he will elaborate upon, for in the previous verse God is said to be the searcher of “hearts and reins,” but in this passage saves or makes whole the “upright in heart.” But why is no mention made of the “reins” being saved or made whole? It will be remembered that the reins are the lower appetites, and that in the wicked the reins tend to over-ride the heart (i.e., the will) so that man becomes like unto senseless beasts. It is because the reins belong to the lower nature of man that they are not spoken of in the same manner as the heart in the passage, for they only attain unto goodness in the sense that they are directed towards good things by the heart. To place them on the same level, so to speak, would be to introduce disorder into the human person and obviate the uprightness of heart. St. Augustine explains:
For although the phantoms of things temporal, which the mind falsely pictures to itself, when tossed by vain and mortal hope, to vain imagination oftentimes bring a delirious and maddened joy; yet this delight must be attributed not to the heart, but to the reins; for all these imaginations have been drawn from lower, that is, earthly and carnal things. Hence it comes, that God, who searches the hearts and reins, and perceives in the heart upright thoughts, in the reins no delights, affords righteous help to the upright in heart, where heavenly delights are coupled with clean thoughts. (St. Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms, 7, 10.)
This is the purity of heart that we are commanded to seek, wherein we delight not in the things of this world but order the entirety of our being towards God. St. Paul says:
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1 DR)
Part of the subtext of St. Augustine’s commentary here is that to be upright in heart requires a mortification of the flesh and its appetites; one cannot be upright in heart while simultaneously indulging the desires of the flesh. The “reins” must be “reined in,” so to speak, and this will never decisively conclude in this life, for our bodies subject to decay still bear the concupiscence from the Fall and thus our appetites will in this mortal coil always naturally chafe against the higher things, “suggesting” to the spirit that we indulge the desires of the flesh.
But this is where the “just help” from the Lord enters in, which will provide healing and wholeness to those who are upright in heart. God’s grace is sufficient to overcome the weaknesses in our flesh, provided we cooperate with His grace:
And therefore when in another Psalm he had said, “Moreover even to-night my reins have chided me;” he went on to say as touching help, “I foresaw the Lord always in my sight, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.” Where he shows that he suffered suggestions only from the reins, not delights as well; for he had suffered these, then he would of course be moved. But he said, “The Lord is on my right hand, that I should not be moved;” and then he adds, “Wherefore was my heart delighted;” that the reins should have been able to chide, not delight him. The delight accordingly was produced not in the reins, but there, where against the chiding of the reins God was foreseen to be on the right hand, that is, in the heart. (St. Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms, 7, 11.)
In this animation I wanted something that looked cool but also had a bit of turbulence to it, so I broke out Trapcode Mir and created this nice looking swirly mass, increasing the Steps on one of the axes to get that separation. I added in some lights for, well, lighting, and added some Chromatic Glow to give it a nice sheen.
Enjoy.
Just is my help from the Lord: who saveth the upright of heart.
(Psalm 7:11 DR)
View a higher quality version of this gif here: