Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful...

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

God knows our hearts. The "heart" of a person includes one's thoughts, feelings, and what makes one "tick".

Our hearts are notoriously sinful. Scripture clearly indicates that this sinful nature is present within us before we are even born! (Psalm 51:5) Since we are sinful from birth there is only one solution; a new birth is required!

Jesus says "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'" (John 3:6-7) Without Jesus our hearts are not just sinfully diseased, they are not even beating -- the are spiritually dead.

Psalm 84:10 - Better is one day in your courts than...

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

The "house" of the Lord provides eternal dwelling, whereas the wicked dwell in temporary "tents." A single day in His presence is far superior to all of the thousand best days the world can provide combined.