Commentary - Psalm 24:3-6

Bird's-eye view

This section of Psalm 24 presents us with one of the most fundamental questions of all Scripture, and indeed, of all human existence: who is qualified to approach the holy God? Having established in the opening verses that Yahweh is the creator and owner of all things, the psalmist now turns to the issue of worship and fellowship. The question is posed in classic Hebrew parallelism, "Who may ascend... And who may rise?" This is a liturgical question, a question for the worshiper approaching the temple on Mount Zion. The answer that follows provides a fourfold ethical and spiritual standard of absolute perfection, a standard that no fallen man can meet on his own. This impossibility is the point. The psalm sets up a divine standard that requires a divine solution. The one who meets this standard receives blessing and righteousness from God, identifying the true people of God not by bloodline but by their heart-posture as those who genuinely seek His face. Ultimately, this psalm points us directly to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only man with truly clean hands and a pure heart, who ascended the hill of the Lord on our behalf.

The structure is a divine filter. It begins with a universal question, provides a standard of perfect righteousness that excludes all sinners, describes the blessing bestowed upon the one who qualifies, and then defines the true people of God as those who seek Him. This is the logic of the gospel in miniature. It reveals our need, points to a perfection outside of ourselves, shows the benefits of that perfection, and calls us to be the kind of people who receive it by faith.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 24 is one of a trio of psalms (22, 23, 24) that beautifully lay out the work of Christ. Psalm 22 is the psalm of the cross, the Good Shepherd dying for His sheep. Psalm 23 is the psalm of the crook, the Great Shepherd caring for His sheep. And Psalm 24 is the psalm of the crown, the Chief Shepherd, the King of Glory, returning in triumph. This psalm was likely used in a processional liturgy, perhaps as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem. It begins with a declaration of God's universal sovereignty as Creator (vv. 1-2). It then transitions to the central question of our passage: on what basis can sinful man approach this sovereign Creator (vv. 3-6)? The final section (vv. 7-10) is a triumphant call for the gates to open for the King of Glory to enter. Our passage, therefore, serves as the crucial bridge. It connects God's cosmic kingship with the personal holiness required to enter His presence, thereby establishing the moral framework for the triumphant entry of the King.

Key Issues

The Unclimbable Mountain

The central question of this psalm is the central question of the Bible. How can man, who is sinful, have fellowship with God, who is holy? The setting is the "mountain of Yahweh," the "holy place." This is Mount Zion, the location of the temple, which is a picture of heaven, the dwelling place of God. The question "Who may ascend?" is not about mountaineering skill. It is about spiritual qualification. Who is fit to come into the presence of the King of Glory?

Every false religion is an attempt to answer this question by providing a list of things man must do. The Bible's answer is unique. It provides a list of qualifications that is, for us, utterly impossible. The law is a mirror. It is not a ladder. It is given to show us our filth, not to give us a leg up. This psalm erects a standard so high that any honest man must look at it and despair. And that is precisely the point. The law wounds so that the gospel can heal. This holy mountain is unclimbable, and we must be brought to admit that before we will ever look to the one who climbed it for us.

Verse by Verse Commentary

3 Who may ascend into the mountain of Yahweh? And who may rise in His holy place?

The question is stated twice for emphasis, a common feature of Hebrew poetry. To "ascend the mountain" and to "rise in His holy place" are two ways of saying the same thing: who has the right of access? Who is permitted to enter the throne room of the great King? This is not a question for tourists or casual observers. This is a question for worshipers. The mountain of God is where heaven and earth meet, and it is holy ground. To approach it is to approach fire. Therefore, a certain kind of person is required, and the rest of the psalm defines that person.

4 He who has innocent hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to worthlessness And has not sworn deceitfully.

Here is the fourfold answer, a perfect description of a sinless man. First, innocent hands. This refers to our outward actions. The hands represent our deeds, our work, our behavior in the world. Innocent hands are hands that are not stained with sin, violence, theft, or any kind of wrongdoing. Second, a pure heart. This moves from the external to the internal, from our actions to our motives. The heart in Scripture is the wellspring of our life. A pure heart is one that is unmixed in its devotion, free from greed, lust, and malice. Jesus says that the pure in heart will see God. Third, who has not lifted up his soul to worthlessness. This addresses our worship. To lift up the soul is an act of devotion or trust. "Worthlessness" or "vanity" is a common biblical epithet for idols. This is the man who is not an idolater, who directs his ultimate allegiance and affection to the one true God alone. Fourth, and has not sworn deceitfully. This concerns our words, our integrity. This is the man whose "yes" is yes, who does not use his speech to manipulate, lie, or defraud. He is a man of his word. Now, who is this man? If we are honest, we must confess that this is not us. Our hands are dirty, our hearts are corrupt, our affections are divided, and our words are often unreliable. This description fits only one man in all of human history: the Lord Jesus Christ.

5 He shall lift up a blessing from Yahweh And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

For the man who meets the standard of verse 4, there is a promised reward. Notice the beautiful wordplay. The one who has not "lifted up his soul to worthlessness" is the one who shall "lift up a blessing from Yahweh." True worship is rewarded with divine blessing. But the blessing is further defined, and this is crucial. He receives righteousness from the God of his salvation. The righteousness that qualifies him to stand in God's presence is not a righteousness he manufactured himself. It is a righteousness that comes from God. It is a gift. This is the great truth of the gospel. We are not saved by our righteousness; we are saved by a righteousness that is given to us by the God of our salvation. This is the imputed righteousness of Christ, credited to us by faith.

6 This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face, pay heed O Jacob. Selah.

The psalm now identifies the people who are characterized by this reality. "Generation" here does not mean a 30 or 40 year timespan. It means a "kind" or "class" of people. This is the true Israel, the true covenant people. And what is their defining mark? They are those who seek Him. They are a people who long for God Himself. The phrase is intensified: they "seek Your face." This is a quest for personal, intimate fellowship with God. The psalmist then addresses the covenant community directly: "pay heed O Jacob." The name Jacob recalls the patriarch's wrestling and seeking God's face at Peniel. It is a call for the visible people of God to ensure they are the true people of God, defined not by ethnicity but by this heartfelt seeking. And then, Selah. Pause. Stop and consider the weight of what has just been said. The true worshiper is not the one who achieves perfection, but the one who seeks the face of the God who provides it as a gift.

Application

This psalm is a wrecking ball to all forms of self-righteousness. It confronts us with a standard we cannot possibly meet and forces us to look outside of ourselves for a solution. You cannot get into heaven by washing your own hands or purifying your own heart. Your only hope is to be represented by the one Man who walked this earth with perfectly innocent hands and a perfectly pure heart.

Jesus Christ is the answer to the question of Psalm 24:3. He ascended the hill of Golgotha for us, and then He ascended the heavenly Mount Zion, entering the holy place as our forerunner. When we come to God in worship, we do not come based on our performance over the last week. We come clothed in the gifted righteousness of Christ. He is the one who received the blessing, and in Him, that blessing becomes ours. Therefore, the Christian life is not a frantic attempt to climb the unclimbable mountain. It is a life of gratefully seeking the face of the God who, in Christ, has carried us to the summit. We are the generation who seek His face because His face has first been turned toward us in grace. Selah.