Who May Enter The Holy Place Of YHWH? (Psalms 24:3-6)
‘Who will ascend into the hill of YHWH?
And who will stand in his holy place?'
But now having considered the greatness of YHWH an important question arises. Who is fitted to ascend into the place where this powerful Creator and Sustainer of the world will make His earthly dwellingplace? And especially who will be able to face up to His holiness, His total purity and ‘otherness', and stand his ground before Him (compare Psalms 1:5) in that holy place. The thought is not of the Holy Place within the Tabernacle, for the Tabernacle was not yet there, but of the whole mountain seen as a holy place. (‘Holy place' parallels ‘the hill of YHWH'). It is thus referring to the holy hill of YHWH, that is the holy hill of Zion (see Psalms 2:6; Psalms 3:4; Psalms 15:1; Psalms 43:3; Isaiah 2:2-3). At this stage ‘Zion' is limited to the one mountain, later the name will expand to cover all Jerusalem, and then be used as a synonym for the inhabitants of Jerusalem (e.g. Zechariah 2:7). And the question is as to who is fitted to ascend and enter there so as to meet with YHWH. By this he was establishing central Jerusalem (the one time Jebusite fortress on what would be the Temple mount) as ‘the holy city' (Isaiah 48:2; Isaiah 52:1), a description which would gradually spread to include its environs. See here Judges 1:8; Judges 1:21; where outer Jerusalem was settled by Judah and Benjamin, who were, however, unable to capture the Jebusite stronghold and the hill now taken by David, which has now here become ‘the hill of YHWH'. It was, however, a place full of sacred associations for Israel, for it was from there that the priest of the Most High God (El Elyon) had brought sustenance to their forefather Abraham and his men (Genesis 14:18-20), and had received tithes from him, at which Abraham had declared that YHWH was God Most High. Thus this was already the hill of YHWH, and had simply been awaiting His possession of it.
‘Who will ascend.' The idea of ascending is regularly associated with worship (1Sa 1:3; 1 Samuel 1:22; Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 37:14; Isaiah 38:22).
For us, however, there is a new and even greater vision of Jerusalem because in the New Testament the true Jerusalem is now seen as being in Heaven where our Lord Jesus Christ is established on His throne (Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22; and continually in Revelation) among His glorified people (Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 14:1). For in the end Jerusalem is a concept and not a place. It is the place where YHWH is seen as enthroned. The last thing that we can do is limit God to a piece of ground. Ezekiel saw this when he declared that the idealistic heavenly Temple was on a high mountain away from Jerusalem.
‘He who has clean hands, and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood,
And has not sworn deceitfully.
He will receive a blessing from YHWH,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.'
The question as to who is fitted to ascend into the hill of YHWH, the place where YHWH is to dwell, is now answered. It is those who are clean and pure, and this not just in ritual terms, but in terms of true purity of heart and life. It is those who are fulfilling the covenant that YHWH has made with them.
To have clean hands and a pure heart, is to have rid the hands and heart of all impurity by turning from sin and offering the appropriate sacrifice, having made any necessary compensation (Leviticus 1-7), thus being brought back into a state of full obedience to the Law, combined with having been rid of all ‘uncleanness' in the ways prescribed in the Law (Leviticus 11-15), all as epitomised in the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). We can compare here Psalms 18:20; Psalms 18:24 where to have clean hands is to be righteous. In Christian terms it is to have admitted our sins, bringing them to God and finding cleansing in the blood of Jesus, so that He might justly forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7-9).
‘Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.' This may be succintly describing obedience to the Law in terms of total honesty before the judges of Israel, and the Great Judge Himself, or the idea may be of obedience to the covenant, with all its requirements, which Israel had sworn to keep (Exodus 24:3 along with its context; Psalms 19:5-8; Deuteronomy 6:13; Deuteronomy 10:20). It is a reminder to us that we must deal honestly with God, and keep the promises that we have made to Him. This does of course include honesty towards our fellowmen, but its main emphasis is on honesty before God and obedience to His will, although in fact the two cannot be separated in practise, for to be honest towards God involves being honest to each other (see Matthew 5:23-24).
To ‘lift up the soul' is to ‘set one's mind and will on' (Psalm 20:25; Psalms 25:1; Deuteronomy 24:15). ‘Falsehood.' The word can indicate what is vain and empty (Job 15:31), what is false and hypocritical (Psalms 12:2), or what is basically wrong (Isaiah 5:18). Here, paralleled as it is with deceitfulness, it therefore tends towards signifying all that is false.
‘He will receive a blessing from YHWH, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.' And it is the one who is true to His covenant and His commands, who will receive blessing from YHWH and righteous dealings from their saving God. Included in the idea of righteous dealings is the righteousness imputed to them because of their genuinely offered sacrifices, which are a part of His saving plan. But it also includes His righteous dealings in all that is to do with them, including deliverance from all who hate them. Such are YHWH's blessings.
For us it is a reminder that having received righteousness once for all in Jesus Christ, we can only enjoy the full benefits of that righteousness by responding in righteousness in our lives. Thus, and thus only, can we be sure of a welcome when we go into God's presence. ‘If I regard iniquity in my heart YHWH will not hear me' (Psalms 66:18). Only the one who comes with a true and open heart can expect to be received.
‘This is the generation of those who seek after him,
Who seek your face, Oh Jacob. (Selah).'
The whole people then respond that they are the generation who are truly seeking after Him, who are seeking the face of the God Who is there as the God of their father Jacob. He is addressed as Jacob because He represents all that Jacob stood for, and worshipped, and because He is the God of Jacob, and their obedience is to Him through Jacob. He is addressed as Jacob as the One to Whom Jacob pointed, and in Him Jacob still calls for their obedience. (Some, however, translate as ‘even Jacob' signifying that they are, as ‘Jacob', seeking His face).
Or ‘this is the generation' may signify ‘this is the specific type of person' with reference to the previous description (compare Psalms 12:7; Psalms 14:5; Psalms 73:15).
‘Who seek after Him, who seek Your face --.' Two words are used for seek, both having a similar meaning. The idea is of the seeking of the inner heart. But the first may be seen as tending towards loving devotion, and the second as indicating more a petitioning heart.
‘Selah.' A musical pause, probably also suggesting, ‘pause and think of that'.