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I will wash my hands in innocence; so I will go about Your altar, O Lord, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works. Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells. (Psalm 26:6-8)

It is clear from all we know of David that he was a worshiper. He loved the LORD without reservation. He would sing to the LORD in good times and bad; his prayers always acknowledged God’s goodness and His greatness. When the Ark of the LORD was brought up to Jerusalem, his exuberant worship was ridiculed by his own wife who called his demonstration undignified. His response was, “I will play music before the Lord and I will be even more undignified than this” (2 Samuel 6:21-22).

We see that same zeal in these verses as he expresses a desire to proclaim all of God’s wondrous works with a voice of thanksgiving. Notice, though, David also acknowledged the necessity of coming before the LORD innocent and cleansed of any spiritual contaminants. He understood that to approach God in His Sanctuary — to be able to freely go about His altar in worship — required a person’s readiness to be cleansed of anything that would be offensive to the LORD or His house. Not only did he wish to draw near to the LORD with clean hands but David wished to approach Him in innocence. In other words, he wanted to worship the LORD in His House with a clear conscience.

If we were all to be honest with ourselves, there have probably been times in our life when we entered God’s House not feeling so clean and so clear of conscience. Perhaps we had allowed something to linger in our heart that prevented us from worshiping God as freely as we would like to. There is nothing we can hide from Him for He knows all things and He expects us to approach Him appropriately. Therefore, if our heart is condemning us, then we must do something about it — repent of the transgression and, as David said, wash our hands in innocence. If we want our prayers and our praises to be received, then we must approach the LORD in holiness. So in that vein of thought, we will close with this encouragement from John’s first epistle which says:

“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” (1 John 3:21-22)

Blessings and Shalom,  

 

Bill 

 

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