We began our study last week of Psalm 24.  I believe it was written when David brought the Ark back to the Temple from Obed-edom’s house.  We looked at verses 1-2 and the thought of the ‘Authority of the Sovereign’.  Let us turn our attention this week to verses 3-6 which we have entitled the ‘Account of His Subjects’.  In these verses David says, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.  He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.  This is the generation of then that seek Him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.”

In verse 3 we are confronted with ‘An Accounting Question’.  No one could ever entertain the thought of going to where He is if they have no testimony of Him coming to where they were.  We cannot imagine standing in His holy place if He never hung in our place as a substitute for our sin.  “The question before us is one which all should ask for themselves and none should be at ease till they receive an answer of peace.  With careful self examination let us inquire, ‘Lord, is it I?’ (Spurgeon)

In verse 4 we are confronted with ‘An Accounting Quote’.  It is here there is a quote of an answer from the LORD to the question of verse 3.  The only ones who can ascend to His presence are those with a ‘Proper Life’.  We must have clean hands and a pure heart.  The clean hands speak of the outward life and the pure heart deals with the inward life.  There is not much weight to a testimony of a pure heart of salvation if there are no clean hands of an outward life of sanctification.  There must be not only a proper life but there must be a ‘Personal Longing’.  We cannot be lifted up to vanity.  Solomon traded the fullness of God for the emptiness of this world.  What are your personal longings?  Are you pulled more by the gravity of this world or the world to come.  There also must be in this life a ‘Pure Language’.  The Lord manifested His disgust for deceit.  The Christian’s word is his only oath.  God will have nothing to do with liars.  They will have their part in the lake of fire.  I wonder how many lies you have to tell before you become a liar.

In verse 5 we see an ‘Accounting Quota’.  The child of God is promised the sum quota of righteousness and blessing.  We will not enter that holy hill as givers but only as receivers.  We will be robed in the wedding garment of His righteousness and blessed with benefits beyond all numbers of count.  My, what an accounting quota heaven holds for God’s children.

In verse 6 we see an ‘Accounting Quest’.  The word ‘quest’ means a search or inquiry after.  The great proof of quest for the child of God is that we are seekers of God.  The word ‘seek’ means to strive after in prayer and worship.  We are told the true children seek His face and not His hands.  Oh, let me be in that number.

He closes this section with a powerful phrase, ‘Selah’.  The word ‘Selah’ means to stop and think upon this.  God allows us to address Him as “…O Jacob.”  It is here we find in order for Him to be the cure for our sins and take us to His holy hill, he must become the likeness of the cause.  He became like Jacob of old that He night make us into the likeness of Himself, the Israel of God.  In the words of John Phillips in defining Selah, “Well, what do you think about that?”