Psalm 24 - The Promise of Sanctification

In my Bible reading recently, I read Psalm 24. It's a wonderful psalm full of profound statements about God—that's kind of how the Bible is, actually—but what I didn't realize is that it also contains one of the sweetest of God's promises to us. 

I thought I'd go over that promise today with you, so let's take a look at Psalm 24, and how it promises us sanctification. 

(You can read Psalm 24 here before we start, or you can follow along with the verses that I've pasted below.)

 

Verses 1-2 - "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers." 

Right away we see God's power displayed. God owns the earth—God made the earth. Nothing in nature is more powerful than the ocean, but God made the seas. 

And he also owns every person. "Those who dwell therein"—he made us, and he is the divine author of our stories. 

Verses 3-4 - "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 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."

This one makes me a little nervous. Because it seems to say that the only ones who can fellowship with the Father are those who are righteous. And I'm not. 

I don't have clean hands, and I don't have a pure heart. I sin all the time. There's no way I qualify for this. 

Does that mean that I won't be able to stand in the presence of God until I get my life together?

Verse 5-6 - "He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob."

And here's what was for me the epiphany verse. 

The man described in verses 3-4 will receive blessing from the Lord. That makes perfect sense; goodness is rewarded because God is just. 

But then there's that confusing mention of righteousness. The man also receives righteousness from God? I thought he was already righteous. 

And then it goes on to say, "such is the generation of those who seek him." 

Those who seek him.

It isn't the man's righteousness that made him blessed. It's the fact that he seeks the face of God. 

None of us are righteous. None of us are worthy to ascend the hill of the Lord, and none of us can do anything but sin on our own strength. 

And God knows that. And he blesses us anyway. 

The key idea here is sanctification. If you seek the Lord, you will receive blessing and righteousness. God recognizes that you are not perfect, so he keeps working in you. 

Philippians 1:6 says, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." 

If you seek God—if your heart has truly been transformed by the Holy Spirit—then you will be sanctified. 

It'll take a while. You'll mess up a lot, and your own sin will cause you a whole lot of heartache and pain.

But in the end, you will receive righteousness from the God of your salvation. 

Verses 7-10 - "Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!"

The ending to this Psalm always makes me wonder what it was like to listen to the Psalms back when they were Hebrew worship songs. It's a pair of couplets that are almost identical, emphasizing the image of the gates being opened so that the Lord can come in. 

I don't know what it means with absolute certainty. It references how God is our king, at least, and maybe it's a picture of how Jesus enters our hearts when we're converted. 

But it definitely tells us that God is powerful. 

That's where we began the Psalm, and that's where we'll end it. God made the oceans, and he is the King of glory. 

How does this relate to sanctification? 

It tells us that there is no other possible outcome. If God has a plan for you, he is going to complete it—no matter what (or who) tries to stand in his way. 

God will bless us. God will make us righteous.

No matter how long it takes. 

Because he is the King of glory.