Psalm 24
A psalm of David.
The Lord owns the earth and all it contains,
the world and all who live in it.
For he set its foundation upon the seas,
and established it upon the ocean currents.
Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?
The one whose deeds are blameless
and whose motives are pure,
who does not lie,
or make promises with no intention of keeping them.
Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord,
and vindicated by the God who delivers them.
Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,
Jacobʼs descendants, who pray to him. (Selah)
Look up, you gates!
Rise up, you eternal doors!
Then the majestic king will enter!
Who is this majestic king?
The Lord who is strong and mighty!
The Lord who is mighty in battle!
Look up, you gates!
Rise up, you eternal doors!
Then the majestic king will enter!
Who is this majestic king?
The Lord who commands armies!
He is the majestic king! (Selah) The NET Bible
"Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?"- That is the question of the day. I don't know about you, but that is a daunting prospect to me. Indeed who can consider themselves pure and holy enough to approach the Lord? Especially when you put it into an Old Testament context, where only those who obey all the laws are considered pure and holy. I am encouraged by King David's attitude though. He certainly wasn't a perfect man, but still he had a heart to seek after the Lord, and the Lord honored his desires. Shifting to a New Testament context, we know that the grace of the Lord allows us to approach the Lord based on the cleansing blood of Jesus. The Lord desires that we approach His holy hill, so He made a way so that we can ascend into His presence, despite our human frailty and failings.
"Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor."- I have trouble relating to the "blameless" part, but I can identify with those who "seek his favor". That's one reason I love the Psalms so much, because King David and the other psalmist were not prefect men, but they had a heart of worship, and were able to overcome their personal failings to find their way up the mountain of the Lord, to exalt Him and give Him the worship due His name.
The second part of psalm 24 is a great hymn of praise. Imagine, if you will, the great crowd of worshipers, who had ascended up the hill of the Lord, examining themselves on their journey according the the first part of the psalm. Now they are gathered on top of the hill, in the temple, waiting expectantly for the Lord, the King of Glory to arrive. Hear the trumpets sound and the cymbals clang as the worshipers raise their voices to announce the arrival of the King of Kings, giving glory to His name. The psalmist puts it in terms of the gates of the temple themselves rising up and declaring the glory of God. It's as if the temple and the people have become one in worship to the King. Do you see how this foreshadows the New Testament revelation that the temple of the Lord is the body of believers, the body of Christ? We ourselves are the gates of the temple that declare the majesty and glory of the King of King and Lord of Lord. Hallelujah!
Now listen to the Sons of Korah version of Psalm 24 which is very inspirational:
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