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David was asking for forgiveness. He wanted to be forgiven - to be holy before God. A pure heart is a repentant heart that wants to be holy. A pure heart will want to flee from sin.
Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (NASB) 2 Tim. 2:22 Pure Motives. In Psalm 73, we discover that a “pure in heart” also has pure motives. In this psalm the author, Asaph, says that God is good to those who are pure in heart.
Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart! (NASB) Ps. 73:1 But then he compares himself to those who are “pure in heart” and implies that he was not. Asaph had almost stumbled because he was envious of the wealth of the wicked.
But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, my steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, and their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like mankind. (NASB) Ps. 73:1-5 Envy is a desire to have something that one does not own. As a result he was motivated to do something that almost caused him to stumble into trouble. This tells us that those who are “pure in heart” do not also have unholy desires as a pattern of life, and do not have a life filled with wrong motives.
Not Deceptive. Our next passage reveals that the pure in heart has also not given or “lifted up” himself or herself to falsehood and promises of honesty.
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. (NASB) Ps. 24:4 The “pure in heart” do not have a pattern of lying and do not claim that they have never lied. Recently a pastor claimed that he had never lied - he had always told the truth. 1 John 1:8-10 says that he is either self-deceived or a liar. And Ps. 24:4 says that he does not have a pure heart.
Has someone ever asked you to not reveal something that they told you? Maybe you even repeated your promise or said, “cross my heart and hope to die if I ever tell anyone!” If you made such a promise or something close to it and then told someone, you were not “pure in heart.” The “pure in heart” do not make false promises. The “pure in heart” keep promises that are made to their spouses, children, or friends even if it is inconvenient or they have a change of heart. The “pure in heart” are not deceitful.
The Apostle Paul also uses the phrase “pure in heart” in 1 Timothy in another sense. Paul tells Timothy that he teaches with a pure heart.
But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. (NASB) 1 Tim. 1:5-7 The goal or purpose of Paul’s instruction is different from that of some teachers. Some teachers do not know what they are talking about, even though they make strong statements and are confident in their claims. Many public speakers, including debaters, politicians, teachers and preachers, substitute strong body language, words, and assertions when they lack content and truth, in order to motivate an audience to believe them. It is a common strategy. A dynamic speaker can often convince a crowd to believe a lie. We need to always check the accuracy of their statements in the light of scripture. Does scripture support their point? |
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