Psalm 24:3 “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?”
[Not just anyone may ascend and stand before you, Lord, for you are holy and pure, and have conditions that we must meet first.
I praise you that you did not bend your standards to let just any uncleansed sinner come, but you met your own demands for holiness in the sacrifice of Christ so that we can come before you forgiven, cleansed and accepted.
Praise you that you will not allow sin to enter Heaven, that you will definitely eliminate wickedness from the New Heaven and Earth, while saving those who trust in you. This is a wonderful part of our hope in you, Lord God.]
Psalm 24:4 “Who may ascend…He who has clean hands and a pure heart,”
[These we can have only in you, Lord Jesus. There is no way we can purify ourselves of all the sinful tendencies and drives which are an innate part of our natural hearts,or clean our hands from all the wrong things we have done.
David did so much wrong with his hands and heart, killing women and children in his raids, having so many wives, committing adultery and murder–yet you, Lord Jesus, provided cleansing and purity for him as he repented, and then you gave these to us. You are the One who paid the penalty so we can have cleansed hands, and a new, pure heart. Praise be to you!]
“who does not lift up his soul to an idol,”
[Here is our part, to worship you alone, Lord Jesus. Praise you, Lord, that you are showing me the many idols in my heart, that is, whatever I demand, apart from you, to be happy. And these are exposed any time I complain: for then I am seeking happiness in getting my way.
I praise you that you have exposed so many idols and continually help me to reject them. remembering that you, O Lord God, are the only one worth lifting our souls to. I commit myself to do that. Help me to quickly spot my idols and reject them.]
“or swear by what is false.”
[To put value on what is false is a serious sin. In the world beauty, wealth, power and position are the predominate and false values. But the truth is, only what you, Lord, value is worth our time and energy. I praise you that in you we can be free from what is false, for you are Truth itself and the truth sets us free.
You know all things, therefore your measure of truth is the one we should use. I praise and thank you, Lord Jesus, for shepherding us into freedom FROM falsehood, and into freedom IN Truth.
You are the wise God who, through your Word and Spirit, reveals to us what we cannot possibly discover with our feeble intellect. You are the great and wonderful God whom we can worship because you have opened the way into a rich and rousing relationship with you. Help me to walk with you closely through the whole of this day, rejecting idols and obeying what I know to be true, honoring you.
