As I’ve said before we are going through the Psalms at my church. Every Psalm has a prayer for everything we go through in life.
Psalm 24 tells us to pray for clean hands and a pure heart. It had three main parts and they’re very clear in what they say.
Psalm 24 begins with a strong assertion that God is the creator who separated the dry land from the waters.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains. The world, and those who dwell in it. For He had founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers” – Psalm 24: 1-2
The point is simple. God has created all there is and everything belongs to Him.
Who can stand in the Lord’s presence?
The second part of this Psalm refers to the qualifications for entering the holy temple. If you could imagine a bunch of believers on their way to Jerusalem because they want to go to a place where there is a powerful sense of the presence of God.
The Scriptures are clear that God is omnipresent. But the Scriptures also make it clear that there are times and places in which His presence is so especially powerful.
If you’ve ever been go a Good Friday celebration with a 100 or more people worshipping God, you know the power of God is so strong that it almost knocks you off your feet you know what I mean.
“Who may ascend to the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place” – Psalm 24:3
The word “stand“ is well chosen. Who can stand in God’s presence and not be destroyed? In 2 Samual 6, a man named Uzzah touched the ark of the covenant (God) because the oxen stumbled and the ark was falling. Uzzah’s irreverent act caused his death.
“He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Who had not lifted up his soul to falsehood and had not sworn deceitfully” – Psalm 24:4
“He who had clean hands and a pure heart…“ In other words, he who has integrity. The word integrity describes a wholeness or oneness. The one with integrity had a whole heart. For instance David, was a great sinner, but the Bible says he was a man after God’s own heart. This means that David didn’t worship other gods.
Matthew 5:8 says “Blessed are the pure in heart. He was drawing from this Psalm. The goal is to see God -to be in His presence.
This means even after we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit and have been forgiven and cleansed, we must still walk in newness of life. We are on the same path as the believers in Jerusalem going to the temple to seek God’s powerful presence and we have not yet arrived.
“He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and had not sworn deceitfully” – Psalm 24:4
Those who support idols swear by what is false, and swear deceitfully. The person who has clean hands and a pure heart receive the favor and vindication of God.
“He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation” – Psalm 24:5
Who can have that status? Those who seek the God of Jacob. This is the generation of those who seek this blessing. Namely, those who seek Him, even your people who are Jacob. In other words, the followers of the Lord God.
From Pity to Praise 