Now let's proceed to section two of Psalm 24 (vss. 3-6), and,
again, I will translate it, attempting to be as literal as possible:
Second Section:
Who is this? He is one
who shall ascend to the mountain of Yahweh.
Who is this? He is one
who shall rise and stand in the holy place. (v. 3)
His hands are innocent
[of transgression], and his heart is pure.
Who is this? He is one
who did not raise my hopes for nothing [or set me up only to let me be put to
shame] or swear deceitfully [concerning my salvation]. (v. 4)
He shall obtain
blessing from Yahweh and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (v.
5)
This is the generation
of this One thus asking of [and receiving from] God — [they will be] those [who
will be] asking of Him, those [who will be] seeking your face, O Jacob. (v.
6)
As I said at the end of my last post, if we really understand
the declaration of verses one and two of Psalm 24 — if we really appreciate the
terrible plight we are in as condemned sinners in Adam — the question,
"Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?," should bring silence. It
should create a silence followed by loud weeping like the apostle of John in
the book of Revelation. And it should make us weep because no one is worthy, no
one can have hands clean enough or heart pure enough, to ascend the hill of the
LORD even as no one is worthy to take the scroll and open it.
Moreover, if we fail to see this, if we think we can keep
our hands clean and hearts pure enough to ascend the hill of the LORD, we set
ourselves up for pride, self-deceit, and the sin which legalism or
self-righteousness always causes. For us to do that would be like joining the
Israelites in their glib response to Moses, "Whatever the LORD commands we
will do." (We know how that turned out.) Or, more to the point, it is like
being there with John and stepping toward the throne to take the scroll, when
the question comes, "Who is worthy to take the scroll?" How foolish
and presumptuous it would be for any of us to do that — for any of us to think that
we could somehow be good enough to walk up there and take the scroll from the
right hand of him who sits upon the throne — open it, and be part of what it
takes (or, more properly, who it
takes) to make that story of redemption happen! We can no more ascend the
LORD's hill with our righteousness (our clean hands or pure heart) than the
apostle John or anyone else in heaven or on earth could take that scroll and
open it.
This silence broken only by John's loud weeping also
resonates with what God says in Isaiah: "I looked, but there was no one to
help" (63:5). In that context, there was a need for blood to satisfy God's
wrath. But God looked around, and, again, there was silence. There was no one
worthy. There was a need and no one in heaven or on earth was able to meet that
need. Then God says, "So my own arm brought me salvation" (63:5).
Again, He says, "I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples
no one was with me" (63:3). This has messianic implications. He means that
God's blood would be shed (Acts 20:28), the blood of His own Son was the price
of His people's redemption. Isaiah says, It was "the will of Yahweh to
crush him" (53:10). The winepress He tread, the grapes he crushed,
symbolized the crushing of His Son. God's wrath for sin was spent upon own His
dearly beloved Son. God alone did this. No one helped Him. No one was worthy.
No one was a part-savior in this work. It is by grace alone, Christ alone,
faith alone.
Notice, though, that as John was weeping, one of the elders
said to him, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven
seals" (5:5). In the same way, in this second section of Psalm 24, David
by the Spirit answers this question of "Who shall ascend the hill of the
Lord?," with "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" (v. 4).
That is, I am suggesting that David is not talking here primarily about God's
people — not even His saved people — but of the Messiah who was to come. Yahweh
in the flesh. God alone, is the One, the answer to the "Who?" As Isaiah
says of the Messiah, "there was no deceit in his mouth" (53:9). And
Paul says that in Jesus Christ we have a "hope that does not put us to
shame" (Romans 5:5).
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