![]() There’s this chosen king again, and this time he’s the one who is entering the throne room, the dwelling place of God, as it were. If we keep reading in Psalm 24, we see the epic refrain: “Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in” (Psalm 24:7). Which sounds like the blameless man described in Psalm 15. ![]() And the answer, like in Psalm 15, comes in the next verse: “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” (verse 4). Then in Psalm 24, the passage we’re looking at, the question comes again: “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?” (verse 3). But according to Psalm 15, the blameless man dwells on the hill of the Lord. So, according to Psalm 2, God’s chosen king dwells on the hill of the Lord. It’s the place where God dwells, the place of his presence - the place where he has set his king, the human ruler over his chosen people.īut then, a few pages later in Psalm 15:1, we find this question: “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?” The answer comes in the next verse: “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend” (Psalm 15:2–3). God’s holy hill - “the hill of the Lord” - is also called Zion. If we turn back to the very beginning of the Psalms, back to Psalm 2, we see this unmistakable declaration from God: “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6). In fact, this isn’t the first time we find this very question. This isn’t the first time “the hill of the Lord” is mentioned in the Psalms. It’s a simple question, but its conclusion is profound. “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?” David asks in Psalm 24:3. Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees because they appeared righteous but were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matthew 23:28).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. He knows our thoughts, motives, deeds, and speech, and He hates hypocrisy. Further, the person who legitimately enters the Lord's presence in worship does not worship idols: anything or anyone other than the one true God.Ī true worshipper does not practice deception (John 4:24). Having a pure heart likely refers to a person's godly thoughts and character. Pilate's dramatic washing of his hands declared his opinion that he was completely innocent of what happened to Jesus (Matthew 27:24). This imagery is reflected in modern English expressions such as "willing to get his hands dirty," which implies someone willing to do evil to accomplish their goals. ![]() Having "clean hands" refers to the performance of righteous deeds, as well as avoidance of evil deeds. ![]() Isaiah 52:11 commands: "Purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the L ORD." Exodus 30:18–21 instructs Aaron, the high priest, and his sons to wash their hands and feet at the laver in the tabernacle before ministering to the Lord. The Levites who transported the ark had to be ceremonially clean, as did the priests. The question is not whether or not a person is capable of singing or saying words it's whether their efforts are appropriate. A person cannot truly worship God unless they are submitted to Him in faith, and that submission cannot occur until they have been redeemed by salvation. Proper worship of God requires clean hands, a pure heart, and integrity. The answer to the question posed in verse 3 is given here. ![]()
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