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Clean Hands and a Pure Heart The attainment of our poetical and devotional aspirations unto God will increase as we seek to live out these creative facts: Our lives and the way that we live them unto God are our major form of worship unto our Maker. God created the earth for a purpose, to bless us; and He created us for a purpose, to bless Him. A wonderful example of this is shown by the life and songs of King David. His revelations of the person and the purpose of God increased through personal relationship with Him. One of his most powerful revelations is displayed in Psalm 24. (Psa 24:1-2) "A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods." The earth, including the part that we are made of, belongs to the Lord. For He created and established it with His Word. He has entrusted it into the hands of those who serve Him. The cattle on a thousand hills and all the fruit that the earth can produce belong to the Lord. All the improvements, though they be made by the skill and industry of man, are still His. The hidden mines (both spiritual and physical) full of gold, silver, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds, are all in His hand. Through His providential love for us, He extends His gracious hand and allows us to be stewards over our portions. The fullness of our inheritance is acquired as we realize that we are not our own. Our bodies, our souls, even our tongues, are to be at His constant service. (Psa 24:3-5) "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation." Clean hands: Clean: blameless, clear, exempted, free, guiltless, innocent. Hands: power. Doing what is right in the sight of God with all the substance and power of which we are stewards. A pure heart: Pure: choice, clean, clear. Heart: anger, conscious, courage, desire, heart, mind, purpose, thoughts, understanding. The inner part of man constantly cleansed and disciplined so that all that emanates from his life brings life. Hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity: Soul: living, being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion, breath. Vanity: deceit, false, false visions, worthless, lie, lying, vain. One’s entire life being brought and kept in Christ and subject to the cross daily. Nor sworn deceitfully: Sworn: adjure, charge, take an oath, promise, curse, vow. Deceitfully: fraud, craft, deceit, false, feigned, guile, subtlety, treachery. Voiced opinions, hear-says, lies or anything that brings detriment to someone else’s life and character. In his commentary on the Bible, Matthew Henry writes that this Psalm is written in reference to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Within Psalm 24, The commentator sees the providential kingdom of Christ, by which He rules the world, and the kingdom of His grace, by which He rules the church. He states that this psalm was written concerning the subjects of the kingdom of Christ and their character. It is supposed that Psalm 24 was penned upon occasion of King David’s bringing up the ark to the place prepared for it, and that the intention of it was to lead the people above the pomp of external ceremonies to a holy life and to faith in Christ, of whom the ark was a type. In like manner, the way we live our lives in worship to God must not be reckless or wicked. If we are to ascend His Holy mountain and inherit the blessings, we will have to do it God’s way. When we take on the title of "Christian," we do not simply add another nice word to our vocabulary, but rather we identify with the call of God and the purposes of His kingdom. The godly motivations, the divine power, and His righteousness are only attained as we maintain our relationship and right standing with Jesus Christ. (Psa 24:6) "This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah." May we have the revelation, and may we live the reality of the covenant relationship that God desires to have with us: Putting away all evil and malice that we may be a part of the remnant that serves God with clean hands and pure hearts. In every generation there is a remnant of this kind of people. -Kurt Thurston November Newsletter 1998 | The Lord’s Will | Pastor's Journal November 1997 | Questions on the Test Clean Hands and a Pure Heart | A People of Understanding part 4 of 4 | Poems | Thanksgiving Revised: August 29, 2007. |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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