“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5v8
King David is described as a ‘man after God’s own heart’ (1 Sam 13:14) and in Psalm 24 he writes of the glory of the Lord. In response to that glory, David asked “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?” In the face of such glory and majesty, who could come close to such a God? His answer, the answer we find in Psalm 24, is; “He who has clean hands and a pure heart”. It is no surprise that this is a characteristic that Jesus highlights during His Sermon on the Mount as He details what followers of His should look like: People who are ‘pure in heart’ (Matt 5:8).
As followers of Jesus what does it mean to be ‘pure in heart’? Christ, and David, believe that the Christian must be someone whose heart is clear in their complete devotion to God. Pure means untainted. Think of the ‘pure’ things that we see in our everyday life – pure orange juice, pure honey, maybe some of you are lucky enough to own something that is pure gold! They are untainted. They are without stain or blemish. There is nothing extra or added to them except for the substance that they claim to be.
A Christian who is pure in heart does not add anything else to their devotion to God. They do not worship God and something else. They do not love God and someone else. Our heart is purely for God. Our love and our worship are His alone.
We constantly see that purity of heart in the life of Jesus. One of the clearest examples is in the Garden of Gethsemane: as Christ prepares for the cross He prays, ‘Not my will but yours be done’ (Matthew 26). Even to the point of death He worshipped God the Father through His pure, untainted, obedience.
What is it that spoils your heart from being pure? What is it that you love or worship more than God? Where do you turn first in times of difficulty? What draws you away from your Bible or prayer?
This summer, as you serve in camp or Hello Life, echo David’s prayer in Psalm 51:10 where he asks God to ‘Create in [him] a clean heart’ – a heart that is pure in its sole devotion to our majestic and glorious God.
For further study:
Psalm 24
1. How does David describe God in this Psalm?
2. What more does David require from us in this Psalm?
3. What picture is David painting in the last few verses of this Psalm?
1. How does David paint a picture of desiring a ‘pure heart’ in this Psalm?
2. How does David describe himself in this Psalm?
3. How does he describe God? What does that teach us about how we should desire to act as people ‘pure in heart’?
