While doing some study in again in Psalm 24 recently, the Lord underscored some truths and helped me understand even more how necessary preparation for worship really is. Let’s look again at David’s psalm:
1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory. [NIV]
Background
Psalm 24 could have been used as a song to prepare for worship, perhaps when the ark is brought to Jerusalem. Never the less, it still serves as a reminder for us today about preparing for worship. [I am indebted in great part to Tremper Longman and David Garland, who provide good insight and commentary into the Psalms in their volume on “Psalms” found in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Revised Edition, Volume 5, by Zondervan, published in 2008.]
Biblical scholars are uncertain as to the occasion for which the psalm was written, but its celebration as God as the Great King is central to the theme. In verses 1-2, the psalmist declares that Yahweh created everything, and thus He owns it, directs its, controls it. Part of the preparation for worship is the recognition that God is the Creator and Owner of all. We really have no rights to ourselves. He is the Absolute Master of all things. He created it all and made all the rules. We are His servants to do His bidding.
Once David has established that Yahweh is the great Creator-King, he has set the stage for the question, “Who may go and worship Him?” and the answers for the question [verses 3-6]. Knowing that God is the All-Powerful Creator is essential in recognizing just who is to be worshiped. We are not just approaching another important person, but God, Himself– Ruler, Creator and King. Because of who He is, not just anyone may approach Him. Who may come before Him to worship? “The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.” [4] By clean hands, the psalmist in not talking about whether or not someone has washed their hands with soap and water, but one who has been forgiven, and one whose actions are right. Those of a pure heart come to God with pure motives. Those that come to God come trusting in Him alone as God, placing faith alone in Him. Part of the preparation for worship is right actions and pure motives. We cannot approach Holy God with unconfessed sin in our hearts and lives. We cannot approach God with alternative motives for our own selfish gain or pleasure. Realizing that He alone is Lord and Master of it all helps prepare us for this.
Such trust is not without reward: “They will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God their Savior.” [5] God bestows His gracious loving-kindness on them and becomes their protector. The true sons of Jacob are those who approaches God without sinful actions, who comes with pure motives, and considers only Yahweh as his only God. The same is true for us today: coming to God rightly has its rewards: the unmerited favor of God, that is, His blessing as well as His protection, His vindication. God is responsible for my reputation; we can trust our safety and our reputations to Him for His honor and glory.
Once we realize that God is in ultimate control, once we are prepared to meet Him, then the call comes to open the gates to receive Him. This might have been an antiphonal song between the people and the leaders. They are not to “lift up their heads to an idol”, but to who? The King of Glory. In this context, it is a sign of rejoicing. The repetition is for the emphasis given to the preparation. The Creator-God is the King of Glory; He is the LORD Almighty. As LORD Almighty, is the Covenant keeping God who is the most powerful and most mighty, worthy of all glory, all honor and all praise.
The psalm speaks to us today to prepare for worship. We must realize that He alone is the Creator King. We must approach Him on His terms. We must open the gates and recognize Who, God is: the Creator-King who is also the King of Glory, the Great Victorious Warrior. He has already conquered sin and death. He already reigns over the universe. He is Yahweh Almighty, the Covenant Keeping Creator God who desires to have a relationship with us.
Application:
-What are you going to do today to prepare for worship?
-Will you realize that God alone is the Absolute Ruler and Owner of all things?
-Why not proclaim that out loud right now?
-Will you confess any sin and wrong motives and seek forgiveness from the Father? Preparation for worship demands that we approach God with clean hands and a pure heart, depending on Him alone as our God.
-Will we make those preparations necessary that honor Who He is and What He has done?
Showing posts with label pure heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pure heart. Show all posts
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Preparing for Worship: Psalm 24:3-6
Going to Worship
Psalm 24 is a well known psalm and has been used for years in worship. Handel even included part of it in Messiah [Lift up your heads]. Sometimes familiarity with something allows us to miss the obvious. I would encourage everyone to complete a thorough study of the entire psalm, but for our purposes I would like to focus on at least the middle section, verses 3-6.
Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah.
Some scholars believe that this psalm might have been used as part of the celebration when David brought the ark of God to Jerusalem [2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 15:16-23]. [D. Guthrie and J. A. Motyer, The New Bible Commentary, Revised. W.B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, 1970, p.466] As you will remember, David first tried to bring the ark back by placing it on an oxcart with Uzzah and Ahio assisting. When they had reached the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled and Uzzah attempted to steady the ark from falling. It was at that point God struck him dead. [I Chronicles 13] The ark remains at the house of Obed Edom for three months when David makes another attempt, however, this time following the biblical mandates of carrying the ark on poles carried by Levites.
Key to the understanding of the passage is knowing the background of the first attempt. The first time, David had gathered 30,000 of the finest soldiers, there was a festive air of praise to God everywhere, for the ark that had been ignored by Saul was now central to the new king. But worship and praise that does not follow what God commands will not be blessed, and David’s failure to follow God’s instructions were partly responsible for the death of Uzzah. [See note at the end.] Preparation for worship, for meeting God took on a deeper, more serious tone for David. So, as David begins this new journey to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem part of the praise song touches on preparation: “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” The assumption is to ascend Mount Zion to worship Jehovah; the question is “who,” or “what preparations must be made?”
The first thing David mentions are “clean hands,” that is, not just someone who uses soap and water to wash his or her hands, but here, “clean hands” can refer to right actions. He continues with “pure heart,” that is, one after God’s nature and character, one with pure and right motives. Thirdly, “one that does not lift his soul to an idol” would refer to precisely that, bowing down to idols, whether ones made with human hands or ones we have created in our hearts and minds. Anything that would come between our total surrender to His Lordship can be considered an idol, and such things as positions, powers, acclaim, even in the “religious” world can easily become an idol as we take our focus from God and place something else in its place. Idols can also be things of our own creation or things to which we assign an attribute of God. Worshiping our own creation is a type of self worship. We fail to see ourselves as God sees us, and fail to see Him as He truly is. David concludes by mentioning “not swearing by what is false.” Lying is one of the things God hates. [Proverbs 6:16-19] Most of us would shutter to think that we would boldly lie to God, but, every time we sing or say things we really don't mean or practice, like a song of full surrender, yet fail to fully surrender, we are lying.
David closes the passage with a promise of blessing: “He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior and a postscript of sorts describing what sort of person is one who is able to ascend to worship, that is one who seeks God’s face. Those that seek God are those who are willing to prepare to do so. Worship is not a divine accident, but God’s gracious initiative from which we respond. “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” [2 Chronicles 16:9] God is continually seeking those who with clean hands and pure hearts, free from any other focus in truth and transparency seek Him. Part of preparation for worship is this self check-up: Right actions, right motives, no other thing or person between ourselves and God in complete honesty and transparency, seeking Him.
It is possible that this psalm was used as a preparation by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for worship. What better way to remind themselves of what God is seeking than to rehearse them in your heart through song? Are we coming to Him with actions that do not glorify God? Are our motives pure, or are we approaching God just so we can get what we want? Do we want Him more than any other thing or person? Are we honest and transparent before Him? Are we prepared to worship?
---
An Additional note about the I Chronicles 13 passage:
Another note here might include Uzzah and Ahio’s own attitudes. The ark had been in the possession of their household since its recovery from the Philistines [1 Samuel 6] and remained their for at least 20 years of the life of Samuel the prophet, the 40 years of Saul’s reign and the first 7 years of David’s kingship. They had grown up with the ark around them all the time and most likely, it had become commonplace. They began to take it for granted. It lost its specialness. So much so that Uzzah felt no hesitation in reaching out to steady it. How important for those of us who virtually live in the things of God, not to begin to take them for granted, lest we be guilty of the same sin.
Psalm 24 is a well known psalm and has been used for years in worship. Handel even included part of it in Messiah [Lift up your heads]. Sometimes familiarity with something allows us to miss the obvious. I would encourage everyone to complete a thorough study of the entire psalm, but for our purposes I would like to focus on at least the middle section, verses 3-6.
Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah.
Some scholars believe that this psalm might have been used as part of the celebration when David brought the ark of God to Jerusalem [2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 15:16-23]. [D. Guthrie and J. A. Motyer, The New Bible Commentary, Revised. W.B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, 1970, p.466] As you will remember, David first tried to bring the ark back by placing it on an oxcart with Uzzah and Ahio assisting. When they had reached the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled and Uzzah attempted to steady the ark from falling. It was at that point God struck him dead. [I Chronicles 13] The ark remains at the house of Obed Edom for three months when David makes another attempt, however, this time following the biblical mandates of carrying the ark on poles carried by Levites.
Key to the understanding of the passage is knowing the background of the first attempt. The first time, David had gathered 30,000 of the finest soldiers, there was a festive air of praise to God everywhere, for the ark that had been ignored by Saul was now central to the new king. But worship and praise that does not follow what God commands will not be blessed, and David’s failure to follow God’s instructions were partly responsible for the death of Uzzah. [See note at the end.] Preparation for worship, for meeting God took on a deeper, more serious tone for David. So, as David begins this new journey to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem part of the praise song touches on preparation: “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” The assumption is to ascend Mount Zion to worship Jehovah; the question is “who,” or “what preparations must be made?”
The first thing David mentions are “clean hands,” that is, not just someone who uses soap and water to wash his or her hands, but here, “clean hands” can refer to right actions. He continues with “pure heart,” that is, one after God’s nature and character, one with pure and right motives. Thirdly, “one that does not lift his soul to an idol” would refer to precisely that, bowing down to idols, whether ones made with human hands or ones we have created in our hearts and minds. Anything that would come between our total surrender to His Lordship can be considered an idol, and such things as positions, powers, acclaim, even in the “religious” world can easily become an idol as we take our focus from God and place something else in its place. Idols can also be things of our own creation or things to which we assign an attribute of God. Worshiping our own creation is a type of self worship. We fail to see ourselves as God sees us, and fail to see Him as He truly is. David concludes by mentioning “not swearing by what is false.” Lying is one of the things God hates. [Proverbs 6:16-19] Most of us would shutter to think that we would boldly lie to God, but, every time we sing or say things we really don't mean or practice, like a song of full surrender, yet fail to fully surrender, we are lying.
David closes the passage with a promise of blessing: “He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior and a postscript of sorts describing what sort of person is one who is able to ascend to worship, that is one who seeks God’s face. Those that seek God are those who are willing to prepare to do so. Worship is not a divine accident, but God’s gracious initiative from which we respond. “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” [2 Chronicles 16:9] God is continually seeking those who with clean hands and pure hearts, free from any other focus in truth and transparency seek Him. Part of preparation for worship is this self check-up: Right actions, right motives, no other thing or person between ourselves and God in complete honesty and transparency, seeking Him.
It is possible that this psalm was used as a preparation by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for worship. What better way to remind themselves of what God is seeking than to rehearse them in your heart through song? Are we coming to Him with actions that do not glorify God? Are our motives pure, or are we approaching God just so we can get what we want? Do we want Him more than any other thing or person? Are we honest and transparent before Him? Are we prepared to worship?
---
An Additional note about the I Chronicles 13 passage:
Another note here might include Uzzah and Ahio’s own attitudes. The ark had been in the possession of their household since its recovery from the Philistines [1 Samuel 6] and remained their for at least 20 years of the life of Samuel the prophet, the 40 years of Saul’s reign and the first 7 years of David’s kingship. They had grown up with the ark around them all the time and most likely, it had become commonplace. They began to take it for granted. It lost its specialness. So much so that Uzzah felt no hesitation in reaching out to steady it. How important for those of us who virtually live in the things of God, not to begin to take them for granted, lest we be guilty of the same sin.
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