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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 7, NUMBER 12, MARCH 25, 2007 “WHO MAY ASCEND INTO THE HILL OF THE LORD?” You may recognize the title of this article as a quote from the 24th Psalm. No one knows for certain when David wrote the psalm or what particular occasion prompted it. It has been suggested that perhaps it was written to be used at the time of the removal of the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David, or Jerusalem. We can read of that event in 2 Samuel 6. No matter when it was written, the psalm easily breaks down into three parts. Part 1 consists of the first two verses. They give praise to God as the Creator and Upholder of all things. He founded it. It is His. Part 2 is an inquiry, asking the question that is the title of this article, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?” In other words, who would be worthy to worship God, to stand in the holy place and to be regarded as His friend? This part consists of verses 3 – 6. The third part is a style of writing often used in the Psalms. It is a responsive song and is found in verses 7-10. You might note in verse 8 the question, “Who is this King of glory?” The response is “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” In verse 10, once again we find the question, “Who is this King of glory?” The response is, “The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.” For our purposes in this article, let’s read verses 3-6: “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face.” It is a profound question that we are considering. “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?” In many ways the question is comparable to asking, What constitutes true religion? Who is worthy to stand before God? What is required for worship to be acceptable before God? The answer, “He who has clean hands…” As Albert Barnes said in his commentary on Psalms, “The meaning is, that he who would be recognized as a friend and worshipper of Jehovah must be an upright man; a man not living in the practice of iniquity, but striving always to do that which is right. The hands are the instruments by which we accomplish anything; and hence to have clean hands is equivalent to being upright.” Not only are the outward acts that a man performs to be considered in the answer, but so is that from which those outward acts come forth. “And a pure heart…” True righteousness and the practice of true religion, true devotion and reverence for God, does not consist only of external acts and ceremonies, but must spring forth from a heart whose motives are pure. This reminds me so much of the statement that Jesus made to the Samaritan woman in John 4:24. The Lord said to her, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” While the primary emphasis of the Lord’s comment relates to the fact that since God is Spirit, where He is worshipped is not confined to a particular material place (in anticipation of the New Covenant) it also relates to the attitude with which worship is approached. It must be from the spirit of man, indicating what motivates that worship. The answer to the profound question continues with he “who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.” Your translation may be a bit different. It may say he “who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity…” I happen to prefer that because it gets more directly to the point. It is the idea of the individual who has not desired after vain and worthless things. Again, as Barnes noted, “He is a sincere man; a man seeking after the true and the real, and not running after shadows and falsehood; a man true to God and to his fellow-creatures; a man whose statements are in accordance with facts, and whose promises may be always relied on.” In other words, the one “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord” is the one who is righteous in act, in thought, and in word. The blessings for such an individual are great indeed. “The idea of the psalmist would seem to be, not that he would obtain this as if it were a gift, but that he would obtain the Divine approval of his character as righteous; he would be recognized and dealt with as a righteous man. He would come to God with ‘clean hands and a pure heart’ and would be welcomed and treated as a friend of God” (Barnes Notes; Psalms, p. 217). “This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him.” This has reference to the children of Israel, and I believe specifically, those of Israel who were truly His people. They were the ones who possessed the qualities and characteristics that the psalm speaks of. But, brethren, who are true Israel today? We are! Paul wrote in Romans 2:28-29, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” The life we live affects that worship we offer. This is a truth emphasized repeatedly in the book of Psalms in different ways. We close with Psalm 15: “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; he who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend: in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord; he who swears to his own hurt and does not change; he who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.” Beautiful, isn’t it? Greg Litmer
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