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A PURE HEART (II)
SATURDAY, APRIL 10
Psalm 24:4-6

Jeremiah 7:8-11

 

“He that hath clean hands,

and a pure heart…”

 

A PURE HEART (II)
 
David’s description of God’s true worshippers continues. Now they are described negatively, giving us more detail as to the kind of purity that is in view here. In the first place, a true worshipper is one who “hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity” (Ps 24:4). To lift up the soul is an expression of worship, as we see in the next psalm (Ps 25:1). But the object of worship here is “vanity” ‒ this word has the idea of falsehood, and refers here to false gods or idols (cf. Ps 31:6). To lift up the soul unto vanity, then, is a description of false worship, rendered to a false god; a placing of one’s trust in that which is not worthy of such allegiance.
 
In the second place, a true worshipper is one who has not “sworn deceitfully.” To swear deceitfully is the epitome of falsehood: a deliberate pretence put on to convince others of a lie. In this context it describes the hypocrisy of pretended worship, which is an abomination to the Lord. Be warned that He is the one who can “search the heart” and “try the reins” (Jer 17:10); He knows that “though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely” (Jer 5:2).
 
Dear reader, those whose loyalties are divided ‒ who have lifted up their souls as an offering to the world, in exchange for its fleeting pleasures and imagined security ‒ disqualify themselves from the company of the saints. Many, it is to be feared, fill the pews with their bodies who are spiritually absent from the house of prayer; many, sadly, fill the building with sweet voices, while the courts of the Lord echo hollow and devoid of true praise.
 
But those who truly seek the Lord shall find Him. Those who singlemindedly and full-heartedly hunger and thirst after a righteousness they do not possess in themselves, will surely be fed, and welcomed into His holy place. They “shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of [their] salvation” (v 5). As you prepare to meet the Lord this week, ask yourself: Do I come to God’s house lifting up my soul to Him, or to the world? Do I come sincerely, or hypocritically?
 
THOUGHT: “Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.” (Ps 25:1)

PRAYER: “Remove far from me vanity and lies…” (Prov 30:8)

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