Who Has Clean Hands?
Psa. 24:1 ¶ The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
Psa. 24:2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
Psa. 24:3 ¶ Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Psa. 24:4 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.
Psa. 24:5 He will receive blessing from the LORD
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Psa. 24:6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
In the Old Testament, God gave His people a Law to live by. It was a legal code, a family code, a way of life, and a constitution/bill of rights. Jesus came as a fulfillment of that law, so that all of the requirements of that law were met in Him. He fulfilled in in a lot more ways too, such as the parts that are ‘way of life’ guidelines and other relational structures.
When you read Psalms, you might come upon a passage that mentions ‘clean hands and a pure heart’ or something like that. If you’re like me, you might read that and think “Good grief, there is no way!” And feel condemned sometimes. “I can’t keep that Law!”
That is the point. The Law was given as a means to show how Holy and perfect God is, and as a means for people that had faith in God to express their faith to Him. People weren’t saved by the Law in the Old Testament, they were saved by God through faith. They expressed their faith by obeying God’s Law.
That’s why Habakkuk could say in Hab 2:5 ““Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.”
Jesus has now taken away our sins and we show that faith by living according to the Spirit. So when we read “clean hands and pure heart” we can get excited. That’s us!
So who shall stand in God’s Holy Place or ascend His hill? We will. We can come before Him and talk to Him and He’ll listen to us. Hebrews 4:16 calls it coming “boldly before the throne of grace.”
Let’s recognize this Holy Week that He has cleansed us to be with Him and to share life with Him. Seek His face and live in union with God. He did it!
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