“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart.” – Psalm 24:3-4
As I conversed with my neighbor one afternoon, he reminisced about what it was like growing up in Nigeria. He talked about many things, but what stood out most to me was his description of when he and his daughter met the queen of his province.
He went into detail about the process and procedures that had to be followed by a person who planned to enter into the presence of royalty. He described how patiently people would wait hoping to see the queen. Their attire was important; anyone who wanted to meet the royalty had to be dressed in fine clothes. The location was also specified; guests could not be greeted just anywhere on the palace grounds, but only in a specific court. This was an important person, and she was treated as such.
The more my neighbor described these procedures, the more I thought about the Most High God, who is above any earthly king or queen. Anyone who desires to come into the presence of the Most High has to present himself in a certain way as well. However, God is more concerned about the condition of our hearts than any physical quality.
The focus verse tells us that we must have “clean hands, and a pure heart” to ascend into the hill of the Lord. God will not overlook sin, so when we come to Him we must first make sure that our sins have been forgiven and forsaken, and that we are living holy lives. Psalm 100:4 tells us to “enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” We serve a loving God who provides for our every need before we even ask. He is worthy of our praise, and we need to show our gratitude when we come before Him. We are also told that God is “to be had in reverence of all them that are about him” (Psalm 89:7). More than anyone else, the Most High God deserves our utmost honor and respect.
God does not want us to just stay in the outer courts; He wants us to go behind the veil, into the Holy of Holies. Let us approach His throne with boldness that we may obtain mercy, and let us be sure that our hearts are rightly prepared to come before the Most High God.