Clean Hands…Pure Heart

Psalm 11:7 (NIV) “For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.”

Psalm 15:1-3 (NIV) “LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman.”

Psalm 24:3-4 (NIV) “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.”

Uprightness is a condition that starts in the heart. Doing what is right does not happen by accident. No, that is the domain of wickedness. Our sinful, human nature defaults to actions of ungodliness rather than righteousness. Clean hands, which is a metaphor for righteous living, is always tied to a pure heart. The outside always reflects the condition of the inside. David, who wrote the words to these Psalms, was clear that he knew what was right because of God’s word. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.” (Psalm 119:9, NIV) It is the Lord who initiates his righteousness in our hearts through his word. We can only live in his holy place because he has drawn us to him. We have a pure heart only through contact with God. Then he draws us to his sanctuary, so that we can live in the light of his presence all the days of our lives. His sanctuary is not a physical place as it was before the time of Christ. His sanctuary is where his presence dwells, and through the Holy Spirit we have access each day to the place where he lives.

We must never forget that the Lord loves justice; he loves what is right. We may have been given a pure heart through receiving Jesus by faith; however, the Lord is not pleased with our slander, our idolatry, our unrighteous living. If we are to dwell, to rest, to abide, to live in the holy place of the Lord, we must clean our hands. Our actions must come in line with the righteousness of God. Take this example from Israel’s past: Each time they began to worship the gods of the nations around them (e.g. Judges 10:6-8), he became angry with them and allowed the nations around them to oppress them. This caused God’s people to cry out to God and to turn back to him (Judges 10:10). Although the Lord’s relationship with his people is different with us because the Holy Spirit lives inside every believer in Christ (see Romans 8:9), let’s not assume that his character has changed. God is still not happy with sin, and he will work through circumstances in our lives to bring us into alignment with his character.

Moses, the man of God and the most humble person on earth, was not allowed to see the face of God. However, David says that upright men will see his face. Stephen, the deacon of the early church who was known as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5, NIV), testified that he saw heaven opened and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:56) Is it possible for us to see the face of the Lord while we are living? Is it possible that there is a greater revelation of the Lord as we grow in righteous living? I believe that there is. If we would have clean hands, we must adopt the same love of justice in our hearts that our Lord has. In this way when we are tempted to live in a different manner than the word of the Lord shows us, the conviction of the Holy Spirit will move us to change. Then, when we wander from the Lord, our own heart which has had the word of God written on it, will bring us back to him. Instead of external pressure bringing us back to the Lord, we will be moved to close the gap between us and the Lord. May we know the glory of his presence in such a way that our heart’s desire and our lifestyle are in agreement. “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4, NIV)