“Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD or who shall stand in His Holy Place? He that has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Psalms 24:3-5).

Hill of the Lord: Mount Zion

There is a beauty in the words of Scripture that transcends the mind of man. The effervescence of inspiration overflows the heart and lifts the spirit into the realm of beauty and truth where angels tread and the spirits of the righteous meet to converse in the Spirit of the Living God. Such a thought concerns the matter of clean hands and pure hearts. Let us commune together there.

The Beatitude of our Lord says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). When the heart becomes pure by the cleansing of refining fire and fullers soap (see Malachi 3:2) the eyes of the heart are opened to see God in His Holy Hill, standing in His Holy Place, and we gaze upon and behold the Glory of the Lord.

The Beatific Vision, that unhindered, open and present vision of God, is the ultimate destiny of the redeemed which we obtain by faith and experience from one degree of Glory to another by the Spirit of the Lord (cf. II Corinthians 3:18).

Clean hands and purity of heart is a holy estate created by the Spirit of God in the believer as we gently yield to the washing of water by the Word; that working of the Spirit that sanctifies and cleanses the hands and heart and presents us to the Lord without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but rather that we become entirely holy and without blemish before the Lord in love (cf. Ephesians 5:26-27).

Christ Jesus, the forerunner of our faith (cf. Hebrews 6:20) has ascended into the Hill of the Lord for us and we have come unto Him in the Holy Mount (cf. Hebrews 12:24) having received the sprinkling of His blood that has perfected us in spirit, and has cleansed our hands and hearts to qualify us to receive the blessing from the Judge of all and by Whom we stand justified by faith and have been given free access to His Holy Presence in the Most Holy Place. We stand before Him without condemnation, wrath or doubting (cf. I Timothy 2:8), lifting holy hands in worship to His Majesty as our Sovereign Head.

Oh, let us worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness (cf. Psalms 29:2; 96:9); for there is nothing more beautiful in either heaven or earth. With clean hands and pure hearts may we see Him Who is the Desire of all Nations and may the Glory of the Lord be revealed in the House of the Lord, Whose House are we (cf. Haggai 2:7; Hebrews 3:6).

Yes, Saints of God, salvation has come to us from the Lord of Glory. Let us worship Him with clean hands and pure hearts. Let us ascend to the Hill of the Lord and present an offering of praise to our God and King for Who He is, and all that He has done.

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