Psa 24:5 | KingComments | STEP | form the background for the two questions posed in . Who dares to “ascend into the hill” of that sovereign and almighty God to approach Him? By “the hill of the LORD” is meant Mount Zion (cf. ). And what is beyond that – for the hill of the LORD is a holy place – who is able to stand “in His holy place”, to stand in His presence and serve Him as a priest? These are questions about how a person can approach a holy and righteous God, about the possibility of having fellowship with that exalted and holy God. Four conditions are mentioned ( ; cf. ). These do not involve sacrifices or good deeds, but uprightness in actions and motives. Two conditions are positive and two negative. “Clean hands” refers to the deeds; “a pure heart” refers to the motives behind the deeds. “Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood” means that he does not indulge in idolatry and does not worship anything or anyone other than God alone. He who does indulge in what is false exalts himself against God. One who “has not sworn deceitfully” is one who does not use God’s Name in vain by committing fraud in His Name. To swear deceitfully means to make God the protector of one’s falsehood. He who is ‘clean’ is not ‘false’, and he who is ‘pure’ is not a ‘deceiver’. He who is upright in his actions and motives receives blessing and righteousness from God ( ). The blessing is that he is in God’s favor, that God accepts him in pleasure. The righteousness is that God sees him as righteous and receives him into His presence. God can do that because He is “the God of his salvation”. That means that God has kept Him from all that testified against him. That is only possible because He imputes to him the work of the Lord Jesus, which He sees ahead. God always blesses and gives His righteousness only on that basis. The answer to the question of who can dwell with Him is the Lord Jesus. He answers all the conditions. But He also wants others to dwell with Him. They are mentioned in . Those who are blessed by Him and to whom He gives His righteousness, are those “who ask Him, who seek Your face”. They demonstrate a mind that is pleasing to Him, for they desire to be pleasing to Him and to live to His glory. This is about the fact that it is possible to approach the Creator, and therefore the rightful Owner, of the universe. That this is possible is apparent from the change halfway through this verse from speaking of God, “who seek Him”, to speaking to God, “who seek Your face”. Those who seek Him are the offspring of “Jacob”, of that Jacob of whom God said: “I am … the God of Jacob” ( ). The offspring of Jacob bear the characteristics of their ancestor. It is a generation that has always longed for the blessing of God, but has so often been unfaithful in the way they have sought to appropriate that blessing. God gives them the promised blessing in the realm of peace after a long way of forming, which He also went through with their forefather.

‏ Psalms 24:5

Who May Be With the LORD

Psa 24:1-2 form the background for the two questions posed in Psa 24:3. Who dares to “ascend into the hill” of that sovereign and almighty God to approach Him? By “the hill of the LORD” is meant Mount Zion (cf. Psa 2:6 ; Psa 15:1). And what is beyond that – for the hill of the LORD is a holy place – who is able to stand “in His holy place”, to stand in His presence and serve Him as a priest? These are questions about how a person can approach a holy and righteous God, about the possibility of having fellowship with that exalted and holy God.

Four conditions are mentioned (Psa 24:4; cf. Psa 15:2-5). These do not involve sacrifices or good deeds, but uprightness in actions and motives. Two conditions are positive and two negative. “Clean hands” refers to the deeds; “a pure heart” refers to the motives behind the deeds. “Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood” means that he does not indulge in idolatry and does not worship anything or anyone other than God alone. He who does indulge in what is false exalts himself against God. One who “has not sworn deceitfully” is one who does not use God’s Name in vain by committing fraud in His Name. To swear deceitfully means to make God the protector of one’s falsehood. He who is ‘clean’ is not ‘false’, and he who is ‘pure’ is not a ‘deceiver’.

He who is upright in his actions and motives receives blessing and righteousness from God (Psa 24:5). The blessing is that he is in God’s favor, that God accepts him in pleasure. The righteousness is that God sees him as righteous and receives him into His presence. God can do that because He is “the God of his salvation”. That means that God has kept Him from all that testified against him. That is only possible because He imputes to him the work of the Lord Jesus, which He sees ahead. God always blesses and gives His righteousness only on that basis.

The answer to the question of who can dwell with Him is the Lord Jesus. He answers all the conditions. But He also wants others to dwell with Him. They are mentioned in Psa 24:6. Those who are blessed by Him and to whom He gives His righteousness, are those “who ask Him, who seek Your face”. They demonstrate a mind that is pleasing to Him, for they desire to be pleasing to Him and to live to His glory.

This is about the fact that it is possible to approach the Creator, and therefore the rightful Owner, of the universe. That this is possible is apparent from the change halfway through this verse from speaking of God, “who seek Him”, to speaking to God, “who seek Your face”.

Those who seek Him are the offspring of “Jacob”, of that Jacob of whom God said: “I am … the God of Jacob” (Exo 3:6). The offspring of Jacob bear the characteristics of their ancestor. It is a generation that has always longed for the blessing of God, but has so often been unfaithful in the way they have sought to appropriate that blessing. God gives them the promised blessing in the realm of peace after a long way of forming, which He also went through with their forefather.