Clean Hands, Pure Hearts, Good Words
Text: Psalm 24
"Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? 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. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:3-5 ESV)."
The Psalmist answers the question of who shall ascend the hill by first talking about our hands. "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. (Psalm 24:4 ESV). King David has answered the question, but that only gives us more questions to ask of ourselves. Are my hands clean? Is my heart pure? Are my words truthful, and have I used them in the best way? Now we are in big trouble!
Are your hands clean? The Psalm is talking about hands used to do what is good and right in God's eyes. But these miraculous hands God has given us are used so often to do precisely the opposite. Those miracles of engineering God gave us to care for this world and for our neighbors can clench into a fist to punch or a pointing finger to accuse others of wrongdoing and make ourselves look better in the process of doing so. No, my hands are not clean. I can make them look clean, but under a microscope, they're covered with germs. By all appearances, my hands look busy doing the Lord's work, but in reality, they can be busy doing things they shouldn't. Are your hands any cleaner?
How pure is your heart? Mine is no better than my hands. We could probably stop there, but David listed one more thing that can allow us into the presence of God. One whose words are true. We should have quit while we were ahead.
If our hands aren't clean, our hearts are not pure, and our words are deceitful, then who can stand in our Creator's holy place? The Psalm tells us when to prick our ears up when it says, "Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Psalm 24:7 ESV)."
Who is this King of glory? He is none other than the Christ child we anticipate welcoming in our worship services this week. None other than the crucified and risen Lord, who we expect welcoming on the day of judgment."