Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. 

Psalm 24:3-4 

How may we be acceptable to God? David is asking a pertinent question. The second portion of the text is the answer to it; however, it gives rise to more questions. Who actually has clean hands? Who has a pure heart? How do we who are born sinners by nature and by choice arrive at such a condition as our text describes? We cannot clean our own hands nor make our own hearts pure. These are things of which we are incapable. David understood that Christ is the answer. Later in the psalm he points out that righteousness comes from God. He goes farther to bring the discussion to Christ, the King of Glory in the last section of the passage. Therefore the answer to the question, ‘Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?’ rests upon our relationship to the One Who can give us clean hands and a pure heart. These are the results of His work, not the cause of His accepting us. Clean hands and a pure heart are the results of grace, and the work of God in us. David understood this. His life was marred by many things which would have militated against him describing himself as having clean hands and a pure heart apart from the grace of God in his life. Our acceptance with God rests upon grace. He makes us acceptable. He enables us to ascend into the hill of the LORD. 

Our Glorious, Saving God 
we rejoice that salvation is Your work. 
We praise You that from beginning to end, 
You are the author and finisher of it.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

The earth is the LORD’S, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters. 

Psalm 24:1-2 

Creation is a fact. Because it is, there are far-reaching implications. As the first portion of our text puts it, ‘The earth is the Lord’s.’ What is more pertinent and personal is that it included, ‘The world and those who dwell therein.’ This means that all who dwell within the world are His. No amount of much-vaunted theorizing can erase this truth. The problem arises when those who are His attempt to avoid their responsibility to Him. This gives rise to the idea that all that is has come to be by some completely non-sensical random occurrences of chance.  This really just demonstrates the lengths to which we as humans will go to avoid this responsibility to the One Who has founded the earth upon the seas. The conclusion of the matter is that He will never come to call any into account. Peter refers to this idea and relates it to creation. He quotes the deniers, ‘where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water.’ He is saying that the denial of the fact of creation is the result of a willful ignorance. In a de facto way this is a denial of Christ, Who  is the Creator according to Scripture. For us to acknowledge and affirm creation is to acknowledge and affirm Christ and His rights as God. He has done the work. He deserves the glory. We owe our allegiance to Him. 

Great God of Wonders, 
we rejoice that You have created all things. 
We praise You that You 
rule over all You have created. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. 

Psalm 24:1 

Who owns the earth? According to our text, Christ does. How can we be so sure it is Christ in view? Our text answers that question. It says, ‘He has founded it….’ The rest of Scripture points to Christ as the Creator. John articulates it when he says, ‘all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.’ The writer of Hebrews refers to it, by speaking of Christ as the One through Whom God made the world. These references and others like them lead us to the inevitable conclusion that Christ owns the world and everything in it.  This is a far-reaching conclusion. If the earth is Christ’s then those who dwell therein are His as well. Thus, we are His, whether we acknowledge it or not. We can live in harmony with this or at odds with it. If we acknowledge that Christ is the owner of the world and therefore our Lord, our life will be quite different than if we do not. We will be with the owner or against Him. We will side with Him or refuse to accept His rightful ownership. It is important for us to recognize that this is the reality of the situation. Otherwise we operate with an unrealistic view of who has the right to give orders and set expectations. If we understand that the earth and all within it is Christ’s everything begins to look different.  

High King of Heaven, 
we rejoice that You have created the world,  
and those of us who live in it. 
We praise You that You order all things  
over the counsel of Your Own will. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.  

Psalm 23:6 

This world is not our home. We confess we are strangers and pilgrims in it. We follow Christ, Our Shepherd, through it. He has gone before us and, even now, sits at the right hand of His Father’s throne until He makes His enemies His footstool. According to Paul we are already seated with Christ in heavenly places. In Revelation, John describes the situation of the redeemed, ‘and I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ This is where David dwells now. He has arrived at the house of God. He will dwell there forever. David is a representative of the redeemed. Christ was his Shepherd from the early days of his life. He made him to lie down in green pastures. He led him beside the still waters. He restored his soul. He led him in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. He was with him in the valley of the shadow of death. He comforted him with His rod and staff. He prepared a table before him in the presence of his enemies. He anointed his head with oil. He provided for him abundantly. His goodness and mercy followed him all the days of his life. Now, he lives in the house of God…forever. David is where we are going. He is in the very presence of Christ his Shepherd. David’s today is our tomorrow. Like him we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  

Glorious, Living God, 
we rejoice that You have prepared great things for us. 
We praise You that the day is coming, 
when the faith shall be sight.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.  

Psalm 23:6 

Christ has the inexhaustible means to do us good. He employs those means on our behalf consistently. David was keenly aware that his relationship with Christ was lifelong. He articulates it in our text. He declares that God’s goodness would follow him all the days of his life. He was cognizant that God was kindly disposed toward him and that He was intent on doing him good in every way. He was aware that Christ, His Shepherd, had done him good; was doing him good; and would continue to do him good for his whole life. Beyond that he was convinced that along with God’s goodness He would show him mercy. Christ would be faithful, longsuffering, and continue to bear with David’s many faults and failings. He would do so as long as David lived on the earth. This is our experience of Christ Our Shepherd, as well. He has already done us good. He is doing us good today. His character is such He will continue to do us good as long as we live. He is not only kindly disposed toward us but also merciful. He remains faithful to us even though we are fallible and often failing. He continues to be our Good Shepherd even when we exhibit our weakness. His goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life.  

Our Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd, 
we rejoice that You are abundant in Your goodness to us. 
We praise You that to it, You add Your mercy, 
for all our days. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning