Having Him incline my heart to Himself (1 Kings 8:58). Receiving clean hands that are, indeed, Jesus’ clean hands. My only hope: Receiving a pure heart as a gift. And yet, I have no ability to clean my hands. So if I don’t have clean hands, if I don’t have a pure heart, if I do long for what will never satisfy, and if I do mislead others with my speech – where does that leave me? Can I climb God’s holy hill? Is there any chance I can stand to worship Him in the assembly of the righteous?

Do I mislead others with my speech? Do I want others to think more highly of me than I deserve? Do I twist facts and accomplishments so that I look good? Is my yes always yes, and my no always no (James 5:12)? Once again: Guilty.

Do I lift up my soul to what is false – that is, do I long for what will never satisfy? That may be longing for the promise of power from a literal false god, a carved idol, but it also includes the longing for any goal in my life other than knowing God.

Do I have a pure heart? Jesus echoes this psalm in saying the pure in heart will have the blessing of seeing God (Matthew 5:8).

Do I have clean hands? Water does not suffice to clean them, as Pilate found out (Matthew 27:24).

Thus, they can indeed stand in His presence, in the assembly of the righteous. Therefore, to them He will become a God of salvation, not a God of wrath. Such people desire above all else to see the fulfillment of the High Priestly blessing in Numbers 6:25-27, by which God’s Name is put on His people: “The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Such seekers, identified with God, subsumed under His Name, will receive God’s blessing: His own righteousness (verse 5). Verse 6 provides the hope that verse 4 seems to preclude: Those who seek His face, who desire to know Him, are among the generation of those who receive the blessing of worshiping Him. Only the righteous, those with clean hands and pure hearts, can stand.īut consider verse 4: How clean must my hands be? How pure must my heart be? If my heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9), what hope is there for me to stand before God? How could I be clean enough to worship Him? Psalm 1:5 tells us that “the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.” No, the wicked could never stand in the presence of a holy God – they can only fall on their faces before Him, and be overwhelmed by His righteous wrath. So the question is: Can I stand in God’s presence? Am I qualified to worship and praise Him? The temple is a picture of God’s presence with His people. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.Ĭan I ascend the hill of the Lord? Can I stand in His holy place?ĭavid here presents us with a picture of a pilgrim ascending the hill to the temple in order to engage in the privilege of worshiping God. 5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Psalm 24:3-6 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 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.

Clean hands and pure heart