The Seeking Generation

Psalm 24

This is a praise psalm composed by David. There are three major sections. The first section focuses on the creative power of the Lord. The second section asks and answers the question, "who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?" The final section addresses the gates of the temple or the city, proclaiming the arrival of the King of glory. This section seems to build into a crescendo of praise, perhaps resulting from the thought that the Lord has vindicated and blessed his people.
It is obvious that David's hope of salvation was in the Lord. He asks who may stand before the presence of God and then answers his own question: those who have clean hands and a pure heart and whose loyalties are not divided. The qualifications are high: both inwardly (heart) and outwardly (hands), David has to be perfect. I really like the simplicity with which David sums up the requirements to stand before God. In three simple images, he captures the total picture. His hands must be clean meaning that his actions must be righteous. There must not be any blood on his hands. His heart must be pure which means his affections, his attitudes, his motivations and his thoughts must be pure. He must not swear by any other god, meaning that his worship must be focused only on the Lord God. He must not have anything besides God at the center of his life.
The requirements are impossible to meet and yet David has this utmost confidence that he can stand in the presence of God. Why? Because he trusts God for his salvation and not his own religious observances and piety. David recognizes his own sinfulness (we'll see that in other psalms) but trusts that the grace and righteousness of God are enough to overcome his impurity and make him pure.
This is also my only hope. Yes, of course, I strive to be more righteous in my actions, interactions, atttitudes and worship but ultimately I know that I am not righteous. I depend on Christ for my vindication. This is the characteristic of the generation who seeks God's face - their hands are clean because Jesus has made them clean. Their hearts are pure because Jesus makes them pure. They worship with integrity because Christ has bound their wandering hearts to his.