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. (Psalm 24:3-5)
It is somewhat interesting that David refers to the Sanctuary of the LORD even though, in his day, the Temple had not yet been built upon Mount Moriah. David did erect a tabernacle on Mount Zion after he returned the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. During its tenure, this tent was the place worshipers came to present offerings and sacrifices and to do “according to all that is written in the Law of the Lord” (1 Chronicles 16:40). And so, is this the hill and holy place David was referring to or was he looking forward to the day when a permanent dwelling place was established for the LORD?
Rabbinical commentary is of the view that it is the latter; David, speaking prophetically, envisions the worshippers who would come to Jerusalem to ascend the hill of the LORD and enter in the Sacred Space atop Mount Moriah. In that light, perhaps you have heard of the Psalms of Ascent? These are fifteen different psalms (Psalm 120-134) that, according to tradition, were recited as pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem for the three primary feast days — Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Some are of the view these psalms were also recited as the worshipers ascended the steps that led from the lower city into the elevated Temple courtyard. Perhaps both views are accurate, but the point is, for one to go and worship the LORD in His Dwelling Place, one had to ascend — that is to say, go up to God. Even if you lived in the northern part of the country and at a higher elevation than Mount Moriah, you ascended to the hill of the LORD.
It seems obvious that the primary message we are to glean from this is that God is above all, and thus it is written, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1). Accordingly, we are to see ourselves as His servants and be willingly submissive to His sovereign will. In short, we are below Him which is why we must ascend in order to commune with Him. If we truly regard Him as King, it is up to us to cultivate and maintain a spirit of humility before Him because it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God” (Isaiah 45:23).
Finally, let us consider the graciousness of God in that He allows us to ascend His holy hill and stand before Him. If we have clean hands and a pure heart; if we turn away from idolatry and deceitfulness, He allows us to enter into His Presence. But for that to be possible, there was another requirement that must be mentioned — He had to come down to where we dwell, in the form of flesh, that we might be able to ascend to where He dwells. As Paul said, “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). And because of this, those who believe are promised everlasting life and the privilege of dwelling with the Most High throughout eternity. As David said, those who stand in His Presence are blessed of the Lord, receiving “righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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