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| This tool was colored by one of our youngest participants. I love the metallic colors and the bold blue. They seem to reflect Jesus' majesty and place in the Godhead, while the red, reminds us of His blood, and the pink and white space speak to the topic of purity. Thanks Kaya! |
Day 2 – Pure Hearts
I can not talk about purity
without the song “Give us Clean Hands” popping into my head. While reading
through verses for this study, I studiously ignored the singspiration going on
in my head, until low and behold – there was the song in my Bible. Sometimes, I
think, when we’re singing a hymn or song, we think, “Gee, these are really nice
lyrics.” When so often, they’re so nice, because the Ancient of Days wrote them
in His Bible and on our hearts long ago.
These words can be found in
Psalm 24:
The earth
is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who
dwell therein,
2 for he has founded
it upon the
seas
and established it upon the
rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does
not lift up
his soul to what
is false
and does
not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing
from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the
generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of
Jacob.[b] Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient
doors,
that the King of glory may come
in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient
doors,
that the King of glory may
come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah
In any given Bible
translation the phrase “pure heart” is mentioned roughly 9 times throughout
Scripture. It is a topic of both the Old and New Testament; a topic of wisdom
literature, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles. It’s clearly an
important piece when we talk about purity.
What is a pure heart? How do
we get one? Why does it matter?
Psalm 24 gives us a window –
a pure heart does not lift up his soul to an idol. I lift up my soul to an idol
when I make my will and my plans vital before God’s. When I treat my husband
with contempt or disrespect. When I underappreciate the good gifts of a
beautiful home and healthy children because it all seems like so much work on
any given day. I lift up my soul to an idol when I want more stuff, better
stuff. So far, I’m not doing so well on the pure heart front.
Psalm 51 gives us another
window into what a pure heart is and where we can get it. (It may look a little
long, but I guarantee it’s worth it!):
Have mercy
on me, O God,
according to your steadfast
love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before
me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your
judgment.
5 Behold, I
was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother
conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in
the secret heart.
7 Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken
rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean
heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit
within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a
willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness,
O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud
of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare
your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased
with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite
heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of
Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered
on your altar.
Both of these beautiful
Psalms are written by David. Both wrestle with the real desire to be pure
before God. To offer Him our absolute best. There is so much comfort for me in
knowing that David lived the same sinner-saint life that I live today. I want
so much to have a pure heart, to cast down idols and stand firm in Him, who is
my Rock. And God says, “Yes!” Let us be a generation that seeks His face and
plants our feet firmly in His solid ground!
But in my dark moments, where all
is revealed before Him. I know I always going to fail. There will always be one
more idol lurking around the next corner, wooing me with false promises. If you
look in your Bible, there is a small notation under the title of Psalm 51
stating “To the choirmaster. A
Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in
to Bathsheba.”
Yikes. David was so far from purity. Yet God in His
Mercy, penned this Psalm –
Create in me a clean (a pure) heart, O God….
Renew a right Spirit within me….
God renews, God purifies. God helps us to cast down
idols at every turn in our lives. God grants us clean hands, pure hearts.
Seeking His face together, girls! Thank you for sharing the journey with
me.
