Psalm 24: 1 and 10 -
The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all
who live in it; for he
founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
David may have written this Psalm for the return of the Ark
from Abinadab’s
house to Jerusalem. The commentaries said it may have been used as
a sort of choral chant every Sabbath to request the gates of the temple to be
opened for worship. The people would chant…. “Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of
glory may come in.” from verse 7 and the Priests would answer
them with verse 8… “Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.”
The exchange was repeated twice in David’s Psalm….perhaps as
a way for the people to really focus on why they had come to worship that day.
The priests had to say their part twice too…perhaps to focus on who they were
asked to minister to. It must have been a great thing to watch….all the
Israelites gathered at the gates…and all the priests just inside. I just bet it prepared them for a great time
of prayer and worship once the gates were open and they were allowed inside.
God required them to come inside the temple…seek him to
identify sin in their lives and offer sacrifices to wash it away. It simply said
they had to have pure hearts. It spoke of the need to be completely honest…with
God and ourselves.
Honesty is so important to a pure heart…the honest heart can
see God’s glory…so worship is more intent….more real. The honest heart admits
every tiny thing it has done wrong…and allows God to plant a seed of blessing
in the space that we emptied out. Each sin that is removed and washed clean
with Jesus’ blood…is replaced with a goodness that God will use later in our
lives to help him minister to others.
Dishonesty builds a wall of self-deception …that blocks our
communication with God. Satan plants
seeds of doubt and destruction each time we allow a lie…small or big….to slip
from our mouth. There are tons of other scriptures about the dangers of lying… this
one in Matthew 12:37
kinda sums them all up… “For by your words you will be acquitted, and by
your words you will be condemned.”
God created this world…he owns it…he rules it…he is in
control of it. We are called to be
caretakers…and keep our hearts as pure as we can…to run from the temptations of
lying…for any reason. Our pure heart will be able to see God in his holiness…and
talk with him…and hear his plan for how he wants to use us. Our pure heart will
more quickly travel through the trials that he allows in our lives to train us
for later in the ministry he has planned for us.
Father…thank you for loving me so much that you keep reminding
me of my need to purge sin from my heart...and uncover all the things that keep
me from hearing your still quiet voice. Let me wake each morning and call out
to you to open up the gates of communication between us…so I can come in and
see your glory…and it can help me see the hidden sin in my life. Be my great priest…that asks me who you are….so
I can quickly answer back that you are my savior and redeemer…my best friend…my
life. Uncover any sin in my life this day…so I can walk closer to you…and seek
to do only your will in my daily actions and thoughts. Amen.
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