#DailyDevotion Are You Able To Ascend To God’s Throne & Ask For Mercy?
Psalm 24 The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it, the world and those who live in it. 2He laid its foundation over the seas and set it firmly above the rivers.
Here we have great evidence that the true Israelites who worshiped Yahweh, (LORD) rightly had a different understanding about their God than the nations did about their gods. Some Israelites worshiped Yahweh as if He were like other gods, bound to their nations’ boundaries. But David here rightly proclaims the LORD possesses everything, the earth and everything and everyone in it and on it. He created it. He created all that is seen and unseen and it is His. We look out into the vastness of the universe as we look out with the Hubble and James-Webb telescopes and know and believe, the LORD created all this and it is His. We plumb the depths of the oceans and everything in it is His for He created it. We have barely scratched the surface and the depths of the LORD’s creation. If there are multiverses and other dimensions, the LORD created those also and they belong to Him.
(Voice:) 3Who can go up on the LORD’s hill? Who can stand in His holy place?
Here we see this was sung publicly in the worship of the LORD. Just as congregations today often divvy verses in our congregations, i.e. men, women, children, right side and left side, or choir and congregation, so too they often did this with the Psalms. A lone voice cries out. “Who can go up on the LORD’s hill and stand in His holy place?” Who indeed! We may remember when the LORD descended upon Sinai the Israelites told Moses, “You go up and talk with the LORD and then come down and let us know what He has told you.” The singer may be thinking of whatever hill the tabernacle was set up on as the Temple hasn’t been built yet. Yet, spiritually we can remember the tabernacle and the temples were only models of what Moses saw revealed to him on Sinai. The reality is in heaven. Who can ascend there and stand in His holy place?
(Leader:) 4The person whose hands are clean, whose mind is pure, who doesn’t set his heart on worthless idols, or lie when under oath.
Who among us can claim this? Whose hands are clean and mind is pure? Who doesn’t take comfort and seek solutions in created things instead of the LORD? Only Jesus Christ of Nazareth, God’s only-begotten Son. He has indeed ascended to the right hand of God and stands in the holy place with the blood He poured out for us, pouring it upon the mercy seat of God Almighty. Jesus declares, all who put their faith in his sacrifice, they are absolved of their sins. All who are baptized into His name, Peter tells us in 3:21, that baptism is “guaranteeing us a good conscience before God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” All who believe this then on account of Jesus have clean hands as they are washed in His blood. They have a pure mind as it has been absolved by the blood of Christ. Their hearts are set on Jesus, the LORD to receive all good things from Him.
Merciful God and Father, You have set up Your Son Jesus Christ to be the atoning sacrifice for our sin that we may approach Your throne and receive grace from You as our faith is in Jesus, His works, His suffering, His death, resurrection and ascension to Your right hand. Hear us then when we pray in His name as He has bidden us to do and answer our prayers according to Your good will. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.