We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
Scripture: Psalm 24
24 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 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.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.[b] Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah
Devotional Thought
Psalm 24 contains a well-known verse that is part of a famous song that I’m sure most Christians have sung within the church many times before, “Give us clean hands, give us pure hearts. Let us not lift our souls to another.” Perhaps, when we first sang those words that was our deepest desire; we desire holiness. As the years go by, those words become like every other verse to a song and the impact that they once had is not so urgent within our souls. Psalm 24 deals with this passage of scripture while containing a richness and wisdom within the Psalmist’s poem/song, revealing who the God is that we serve. “Give us clean hands and a pure heart” is the heart of this devotion and it is the heart of Psalm 24. These words remind us of His command “to be Holy for He is Holy” (Lev 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16). This is essentially what the Psalmist is referring to when he penned those words, “Give us clean hands and a pure heart,” that we are to live a life of holiness.
This holiness is not simply an outward cleanliness so that we look “holy” to those around us, to other Christians. Our clean hands do speak of our “good works”, but our good works do not make us Holy; they are simply an outworking of the sanctifying work God has already done and continues to do within our hearts. Spurgeon says it well: “There must be a work of grace in the core of the hearer as well as in the palm of the hand, or our religion is a delusion.” In other words, it is not enough for us to simply have clean hands without a pure heart. We must have a pure heart. One who is sanctified hates sin and turns from it.
The Psalmist continues to direct the reader towards God (in v 5-6), saying that those who are righteous, those who are truly His, will seek His face. They will not be satisfied by the vanities of this world but will seek to know the “God of Jacob.” Not for the things, He can do for us, but for the sake of a relationship with Him—to know God’s heart and to follow His will.
Why? Very simply put: Because He is God. He is creator; everything He has made in this world is already His. He is a mighty warrior; He has conquered both sin and death through the atonement and resurrection. To use a phrase that I end most prayers with, “He is God, He is good, and He is in control.”
Prayer:
Lord, let us be a people who seeks You and You alone. Continue to sanctify our hearts and deal with anything in our lives and hearts that do not bring glory to You. We repent from chasing everything else in this life and not chasing after You. Be the Lord of our lives and the King of our hearts; we pray. Amen
Julie McKenzie
NTC Office Manager