Are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?

The title of this morning’s message is, “Are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?

[Slide] Scripture Reading: Psalm 15 & Psalm 24:3-6 (Pastor Hector reads passage)

[Slide] Before we look at Psalm 15

It’s not about justification but sanctification.

Justification is a one-time event in which one is made right with God and declared “not guilty” based on what Jesus did through his death and resurrection.

Sanctification is a life-long process of becoming more like Jesus every day.

Without the gospel, Psalm 15 becomes a moral checklist to “earn” God’s acceptance.

Nonetheless, the question remains, “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?”

The answer describes the following individual with the following qualities:

[Slide] 1. Godly character

Walks blamelessly

Does what is right

What does it mean to walk blamelessly?

It doesn’t mean sinless perfection.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”

James 3:2 “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”

1 John 1:8 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

In the Bible, when a person is described as someone who “walks before the Lord” is describing someone who lives in such a way with the goal to please God.

To walk blamelessly doesn’t mean sinless perfection. The word blameless (Heb, tamim) could also be translated as: , “entire; whole; complete; full.” (Vine’s Dictionary)

To walk blamelessly describes a person who puts his entire life, his complete heart, his full devotion into the pursuit of loving, serving, and glorifying God. This of course, is opposed to someone who wants to love and serve God half-hearted.

This is further clarified by the phrase, “and does what is right.”

Hebrew parallelism: A feature in Hebrew Poetry. In English, poetry uses rhyme and/or meter (Dr. Seuss, “From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.”). In Hebrew, poetry places two phrases or sentences side by side to convey an idea. There are three main kinds of Hebrew parallelism:

Synonymous parallelism, where two lines say something similar

Antithetical parallelism, where two lines represent a contrast

Synthetic parallelism, where the thought of the second line develops or expands the thought of the first line.

Psalm 15:2 “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right.”

Have you ever heard the phrase, “to walk the talk”? A person who does what is right seeks to please God through his actions.

Ephesians 4:1 “ I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”

Colossians 2:6 “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,”

Ephesians 1:4 “[God chose us in Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

Another character quality is that this person

[Slide] 2. Builds others up with his words

Speaks truth in his heart.

Does not slander with his tongue

Does no evil to his neighbor

Does not take up a reproach against his friend

A person who speaks truth in his heart is someone who genuinely cares about others. He/she builds others up with his/her words.

Using Antithetical parallelism, David tells us that the opposite of speaking truth in his heart is slander. What is slander?

“Slander is a sin of speech that involves reporting information about someone else in order to discredit that person. The information usually is false or distorted, or it could possibly have a shade of truth.” Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics

Slander is a big deal in God’s eyes that is part of the 10 commandments: Exodus 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Leviticus 19:16 “You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.”

Psalm 15 and James 4:11 simply calls slander as speaking evil against another person.

David continues writing in Psalm 15: He who does no evil to his neighbor. Using Hebrew synonymous parallelism, compares “doing no evil” to “not taking a reproach against his friend.”

“A reproach (חֶרְפָּה) is a cutting taunt, scorn, sharp criticism or personal attack (s.v. Ps. 22:6). It refers to what is said. It is very easy to scorn another person, especially when things go badly for them; but the LORD prohibits this. The righteous will not incite this kind of ridicule nor indulge in it.” Allen Ross

Taking a reproach against another person is just one example.

The Bible speaks of other sins of the tongue:

Gossip

Lying

Cursing

Harsh words

Flattering which is manipulation.

Proverbs 29:5 “A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.”

Can you say you have used your words 100% of the time to build others up this week? No wonder James 3:2 says that we all stumble in what we say.

Application: Ephesians 4:29 “29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

[Slide] 3. Well-grounded biblical values

Despises a vile person

Honors those who fear the Lord

What does it mean to despise a vile person? It does not mean you look down on those who are not walking with God.

Using antithetical parallelism, where two lines represent a contrast, David is telling us that we should be discerning about honoring people’s character based on their values.

The godly person does not admire or honor the vile person but honors and wants to be like those who fear the Lord.

To despise a vile person is to reject their godless values rather than admire their wickedness.

Let’s honor those who work hard to provide for their families instead of idolizing those who cheat in order to get ahead of life.

Let’s honor those are faithful in their marriages instead of looking up to those who sleep around.

Does the media we consume promote and honor vile character?

[Slide] 4. Reliable and trustworthy

Keeps his promises even when it hurts

Lends his money without charging interest

Does not take a bribe against the innocent

It’s easy to keep our word as long as is not an inconvenience or disadvantage.

Imagine you ask a contractor to build you a deck. You and the contractor agree on the cost. You shake hands and the plan is to start tomorrow. However, that same day, you discover that a different contractor can build it for you for $500 less. That’s when your character will come to light. I’m going to keep my word even when it hurts. And I learned my lesson to ask for quotes before making a commitment.

The final Hebrew parallel set of lines speak about being reliable and trustworthy with money.

All the resources I researched agree that this is not talking about investing your money, but about helping someone who in financial distress without taking further advantage of them.

Exodus 22:25 “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.”

We see an example of this in Nehemiah 5 where the wealthy were taking advantage of the poor: Nehemiah 5:4–5 “4 And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5 Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.””

In essence, David is stating that godly people don’t use their money to exploit or take advantage of the vulnerable. This is further explained by the phrase, “and does not take a bribe against the innocent.”

The question remains, “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?”

Only one person can truly say, me! His name is Jesus.

Every single one of us have failed in one or more areas in this psalm. What’s next? Ask God to search you.

[Slide] Are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?

After World War II, not a single church in the Hebrides Islands off the coast of Scotland had any youth in attendance. Then in 1949, The Hebrides Revival began with two sisters: Peggy and Christine Smith. One was 84 years of age and blind, the other 82 and crippled with arthritis. They were greatly burdened because they'd been told no young person attended public worship at their church. They decided to pray twice a week. On Tuesdays and Fridays they got on their knees at ten in the evening, and remained there until three or four in the morning; two old women in a very humble cottage. Then Peggy had a vision of the church crowded with young people. They persuaded their minister to call 'a session'. Seven men agreed 'not to give rest nor peace to the Almighty until He made their Jerusalem a praise in the earth'. Those men also began to meet on Tuesday and Friday nights for some months

For months, they had waited on God. Nothing happened, until one night a young man, Bible in hand began reading from Psalm 24, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” He shut his Bible. Looking at his companions, he said, “Brethren, it seems to me so much humbug waiting as we are … unless we are rightly related to God. I must ask myself: Are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?” He then began to pray.…

At that moment, something happened in the barn. A power was let loose that shook the parish from center to circumference.… God had visited them, and neither they nor the parish could ever be the same again. (The Lewis Revival)

After several months of prayer, the revival began one night when a young deacon prayed, “O God are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?” MacKay invited the Scottish revivalist Duncan Campbell (1898–1972) to preach at a series of meetings. After the second night’s service, the congregation remained outside the church and others left their homes to join them. Soon six hundred people streamed back into the church, spending the night in repentance and prayer. The revival spread throughout the islands, so that on Sundays the roads were crowded with people walking to church.

Conviction and confession of sin precedes revival.

[Slide] Prayer of Confession

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer