No greater questions about fellowship with God can be asked than the ones found in Psalm 24:3—”Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?”
Thankfully, there is no guess work needed to answer these questions correctly. David provides the inspired answer in verse 4—” He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” To be blessed of the Lord a person needs:
- Clean hands. He lives his life so that he is blameless, innocent of guilt. Because all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), this would mean that when he has sinned, he has repented of his misdeeds promptly and brought forth the appropriate fruits of repentance.
- A pure heart. The motives for his actions are free from evil and wickedness. His love for God, his fellow man (including his enemies) is genuine and sincere.
- No false worship. Idolatry is abhorrent to him. False worship of the true God is an abomination. Worshipping Jehovah in spirit and in truth is imperative to him. It is both his desire and his practice.
- No deceitful swearing. Like Jesus (1 Peter 2:22), his mouth is free from guile and deceit. He is a man of integrity whose word is his bond. His yeas are yea and his nays are nay (Matthew 5:37; James 5:12). He keeps his given word even if it results in another’s advantage (Psalm 15:4).
This is the person who “shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Psalm 24:5).
