“Who shall ascend into the hill of Jehovah? And who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart Who hath not lifted up his soul unto falsehood, And hath not sworn deceitfully.” Whatever meaning the song may have had to the Israelites of Old Testament times, it will have added meaning if it is sung at the king of glory’s greater victory procession that is yet to come (cf. They receive the reply that he is Yahweh, the almighty God of Israel who gave the nation victory over its enemies (8-10). The gatekeepers challenge the right of the procession to enter, by asking the identity of this king of glory. Such are God’s true people, and God will defend them against their opponents (5-6).Īt the gate of the city the procession stops and demands entrance in the name of the king of glory (7). This was probably the occasion on which Psalms 24:0 was first sung.Īs the procession approaches the hill of the Lord (Jerusalem), a question is asked: who is able to enter the presence of the almighty Creator, Yahweh, the holy God of Israel (1-3)? The answer comes back: only those who have ‘clean hands’ in all their dealings with others and pure hearts in their loyalty to God (4 cf. One of the greatest days of his life, therefore, was the day on which he brought the ark into Jerusalem ( 1 Samuel 7:1-2 2 Samuel 6:12-19 2 Samuel 6:12-19). David set about correcting this state of affairs by restoring the ark, symbol of God’s presence, to its rightful place at the centre of the nation’s religious life. During his reign the ark of the covenant (or covenant box) remained in a country house in Kiriath-jearim. If we are in Christ, we are seen by God with Christ’s pure heart and clean hands.Saul had taken little interest in the religious life of Israel. It is they who are united with Christ, those who have been cleansed by Jesus’ atonement by his making propitiation for our sins, and those who depend and boast in what Christ’s righteousness has fully achieved for us-knowing all the while that this is a “the gift of grace” that is not of ourselves-who will ascend the hill to be with God both now and forever. In fact, the following verse sums it up with clarity:ĥ He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from God of his salvation. Thus, those “who may ascend the hill to the Lord” are indeed, those with “clean hands and a pure heart”. In fact, the gospel has already secured for us what our hearts really, fundamentally desire and go after when we sin anyways-acceptance, freedom, satisfaction, peace, and security-and we find these in God’s incredible love for us. Therefore, we are free from the burden of measuring up, and free from the enslavement of sin that brings gaping aches into our souls when we try to find acceptance, freedom, love, and peace apart from God. Indeed, we have “every spiritual blessing” by our being connected with Christ (Eph 1:3-14). Thus, because of Christ, and by connection to Christ through faith, we stand already accepted, forgiven, redeemed, reconciled, loved, blessed, secured, assured, valued, and purposed. But in Christianity, God gives His Son’s righteousness to us and swallows the death associated with our sin. This approach does not produce love in our hearts for God- it makes us fearful, brings us into despair, and enslaves us into the constant pressure and burden of trying to measure up. See, every other religion tells us that we have to be good enough, better, and better still to warrant God’s acceptance, love, or favor. Indeed, “in and through faith in we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Eph 3:12). Yet, it is Christ’s righteousness imputed to us through faith that we are brought near to God. It teaches that my righteousness is “as filthy rags”, and that “I was an enemy of God”, a “child of wrath”, “dead in my trespasses”, “fallen short of the glory of God”, “slave to sin” (unable to choose good), “son of Adam” (I am inherently stained with sin, born into its slavery), and that righteousness is something I cannot attain on my own because it is “not of yourselves so that no man can boast”. Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. -Psalm 24:3-4įor so long I thought that “those who have clean hands and a pure heart” meant I had to be good enough, moral enough, and try hard enough to be God-honoring in order to “ascend the hill of the Lord”, which means to be in His presence, and have closeness with Him.īut that is completely not true in light of what Scripture teaches.
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