One thing I of the Lord desire,
For all my path hath miry been,
Be it by water or by fire,
O make me clean, O make me clean.
If clearer vision Thou impart,
Grateful and glad my soul shall be;
But yet to have a purer heart
Is more to me, Is more to me. [Refrain]
Yea, only as this heart is clean
May larger vision yet be mine,
For mirrored in its depths are seen
The things divine, the things divine. [Refrain]
I watch to shun the miry way,
And stanch the springs of guilty thought;
But, watch and struggle as I may,
Pure I am not, Pure I am not. [Refrain]
Refrain:
So wash me, Thou, without, within,
Or purge with fire, if that must be,
No matter how, if only sin
Die out in me, die out in me.
Walter C. Smith, 1878
Read James 4:7-12
The pursuit of a clean heart is not a passive undertaking. We are called to action. The active pursuit of holiness is difficult, especially in a culture where we don’t want to make waves or seem intolerant or unloving. But we cannot be obedient to Christ and follow Him genuinely without committing to a different standard. May we adopt the prayer of this hymn, that our lives reflect the purity and humility that come from walking in obedience to our Lord.