Note from Celeste: Since the alternative lectionary selections for October 31 are those for All Saints Day (which was one of Tom’s favorite celebration days in the church), I’m posting his SOAR studies from All Saints Day, year B.
START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 24
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OBSERVE:
This Psalm of David is a hymn of praise in the mouth of a pilgrim who is coming to Jerusalem.
The Psalmist begins with a sweeping view of the earth from a distance, and then telescopes his focus as he zooms in upon the temple.
In a sense, the whole earth is the macro cosmic temple of the Lord:
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
Theologically, this is a reminder that all creation is under the Lordship and ownership of God. Human beings are only short-term tenants of the world that belongs to the Creator.
Then the Psalmist turns to the mountain upon which the Lord is worshiped. This hill is literally Mount Zion, but it is also metaphorically the place where the worshiper seeks the face of God.
The Psalmist asks the question — who is worthy to approach God?
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
The answer?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
If the mount of the Lord is a place of holiness, only those who are holy are permitted to enter in and receive blessing. The Psalmist makes it clear that only those whose actions are clean and whose hearts are pure are truly committed to seeking God:
Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
The focus of the Psalmist now changes. He has been describing the pilgrim who climbs the hill of the Lord, and the holiness required for the pilgrim to stand in his holy place.
But now he will describe what happens when the King of glory, the Lord approaches his city! The Psalmist cries out that the gates of the city should be thrown open wide:
Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
The Lord is returning to his city like a triumphant King who has been victorious in battle. Such triumphant processions were common in the ancient world when a king had conquered and then returned to his city. And we can’t help but be reminded of the triumphant procession of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem, with the waving of palms and the cries of “Hosanna!”
APPLY:
In this Psalm we are permitted to see the worship of God from many perspectives. We are reminded that:
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it.
As the great hymn written by Maltbie D. Babcock declares:
This is my Father’s world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.
We also catch a glimpse of what is required for us to approach the holy presence of God — clean hands and pure hearts; and a fierce devotion to the truth.
And we see that God approaches us as well. He is the King of Glory, and we must prepare our hearts for his coming by opening the gates for him. Again, I’m reminded of a great hymn, this one by Georg Weissel:
Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates;
behold, the King of glory waits;
the King of kings is drawing near;
the Savior of the world is here!
He urges us to:
Fling wide the portals of your heart;
make it a temple, set apart
from earthly use for heaven’s employ,
adorned with prayer and love and joy.
RESPOND:
We are called upon in this Psalm to worship God as our Creator, our Savior, and as our King of Glory.
The only aspect of this Psalm that troubles me is my own inadequacy. I’m aware of the holiness that is required to approach God:
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
But I’m also all too painfully aware that my own efforts to achieve that holiness invariably fall short:
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:2).
The bottom line for me is that my efforts at holiness will always fail; but God has accomplished my holiness through the atoning death of Christ, and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Only because of what God has done am I qualified to stand in his holy place.
A meme I saw on Facebook captures my thoughts well:
Religion says God will love us if we change.
The Gospel says God’s love will change us.
Our Lord, when I view the wonders of creation, I worship you. When I enter into a holy house of worship I worship you. But I also confess my sins and gratefully receive your cleansing pardon and power over sin. And I trust that as I open the gates of my heart to you that you do come in! Amen.
PHOTOS:
The photo used in "Psalm 24:3-4": "Figures ascend the Manaslu Glacier on their summit push" by Mark Horrell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.
SOAR Lectionary Bible Study 