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, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. Psalms 24:3-4 (NKJV)
du·plic·i·ty : contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially : the belying of one's true intentions by deceptive words or action. "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?" Based on personal merit, I guess that the answer would be a resounding "NO-ONE!" To ascend the hill of the Lord requires: 1) Clean Hands. 2) A Pure Heart. 3) Loyalty to God, and 4) No Duplicity, as in "sworn deceitfully." (Sworn Deceitfully simply means there exists a qualitative difference between what a person claims to be and who they really are)
du·plic·i·ty : contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially : the belying of one's true intentions by deceptive words or action. "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?" Based on personal merit, I guess that the answer would be a resounding "NO-ONE!" To ascend the hill of the Lord requires: 1) Clean Hands. 2) A Pure Heart. 3) Loyalty to God, and 4) No Duplicity, as in "sworn deceitfully." (Sworn Deceitfully simply means there exists a qualitative difference between what a person claims to be and who they really are)
This is what we know to be true concerning the human condition from the Bible. According to Jeremiah, the human heart is "deceitful" and "desperately wicked." According to the Apostle Paul, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." According to the Apostle John, "If we say that we are without sin, we are liars." None of this information is helpful if you plan to ascend the hill of the Lord. It all points to one ultimate truth: "We are all in desperate need of God's supernatural intervention!"
What can God do for the problem of the duplicitous heart? We will not fully "see" ourselves as we really are until we are with the Lord. As long as we are alive we will continue to hear the murmurs of the duplicitous heart as we rationalize away our guilt and justify our actions; however, if you listen, our teacher--the Holy Spirit will tell you the truth concerning YOU. His voice needs to become the "loudest" voice among the voices that speak to us. As we listen, submit and obey what the Holy Spirit is telling us, we have the opportunity to eliminate much of the duplicity that has caused so much confusion. It also allows us to ascend to new heights and a higher destiny in Him. He is our righteousness--He is our hope--He is our salvation!
Prayer: "Dear heavenly Father, I am a hypocrite. I know that comes as no surprise to You, but it came as an unwanted revelation to me. It is hard to imagine that such an imperfect, somewhat warped vessel, such as myself, could be used for Your purposes. I know that I am covered by the blood of Jesus and therefore, I wear His righteousness. But, I still pray the prayer of David: 'Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me.' Amen"
What can God do for the problem of the duplicitous heart? We will not fully "see" ourselves as we really are until we are with the Lord. As long as we are alive we will continue to hear the murmurs of the duplicitous heart as we rationalize away our guilt and justify our actions; however, if you listen, our teacher--the Holy Spirit will tell you the truth concerning YOU. His voice needs to become the "loudest" voice among the voices that speak to us. As we listen, submit and obey what the Holy Spirit is telling us, we have the opportunity to eliminate much of the duplicity that has caused so much confusion. It also allows us to ascend to new heights and a higher destiny in Him. He is our righteousness--He is our hope--He is our salvation!
Prayer: "Dear heavenly Father, I am a hypocrite. I know that comes as no surprise to You, but it came as an unwanted revelation to me. It is hard to imagine that such an imperfect, somewhat warped vessel, such as myself, could be used for Your purposes. I know that I am covered by the blood of Jesus and therefore, I wear His righteousness. But, I still pray the prayer of David: 'Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me.' Amen"
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