Psalm 24:3–4: “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.”

January 30th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Since God is perfect, how can sinful people approach Him; how can we come near the only true Holy One? In this Psalm, David lists 4 things needed to ascend the hill of the LORD. The person must have clean hands, a pure heart, does not lift up his soul to an idol, or swear by what is false.

The first is not referring to the idea of “cleanliness is next to godliness,” although many mothers quote that as Bible when they are prodding their young sons to wash their hands before a meal. The psalmist has another kind of dirt in mind here. It is a dirt that defiles us all and alienates us from God: sin, the selfishness and deception that lies in the heart of every person. The New Testament teaches that this dirt can only be removed and cleansed by the very unique detergent of Jesus Christ’s blood.

A pure heart does not mean sinless perfection, but rather a genuine heart, one that has been cleansed by Christ’s blood. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Thank God that He has made a way for us to be cleansed and purchased back from death and corruption. We maintain a pure heart before God through confession and repentance. Confession and repentance means taking out the garbage, dumping it at the foot of the cross of Calvary, and then leaving it there.

“LORD, today we choose cleanness. Please cleanse our hands and hearts of all deception.”