A Pure Heart
Psalms 73 :1-16
A psalm of Asaph.
1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. 5 They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity ; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.8 They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression.9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. 11 They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?"12 This is what the wicked are like-- always carefree, they increase in wealth.13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.15If I had said, "I will speak thus, " I would have betrayed your children.16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply
What is a pure heart? The writer of this poem seems to be troubled in thought between pure heart and callous hearts, amassing wealth, doing malice, and clothing themselves with violence and arrogance. Their attitude and results of their lives seem to be totally different, the first ones are suffering from spiritual and financial difficulties, and the latter ones are free from those problems and do not care for anyone else, even God, being very arrogant.
Here are the ones who try to have pure hearts, but envy their prosperity of the wicked, having slipped their feet, which means that they have got troubles deeply in hearts. What about you and me? While living the life, we live according to the value of something we think more meaningful and valuable, and so on. Also, we tend to see others through any frame that we have based on the point of view to the world.
If I had not met Jesus, I would have had the same frame of the writer of this poem, as this world looks like moving by the power of the rich and arrogant and the merciless, but I know for sure that it does not. God knows everything and He has a multitude of knowledge about the world and the people, whether they are pure or wicked. And there surely come the results of them: the spiritual life or the eternal death at the last judgment.
When it comes to struggling to have a pure heart, I do every morning, like the woman who was troubled with the word of Jesus, "You must love one another." I meditate on the bible verses every day or night with NIV meeting members and I try to understand the meaning and the world, being oftentimes troubled deeply with my heart as it is not easy to understand and do everything written in it, but I try to do it, as I know that they are the words of life, making me prosperous and successful in life here and there in Heaven.
Joshua 1:8
Do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Amen!
