Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy hill,” asked David in Psalm 24:3.
The answer offered was, “He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (v. 4).
David later writes a pure heart can only be made by the work of God (Ps. 51:10). But an indication of a pure heart is “clean hands.”
For Jews, laws about the clean and the unclean were a vital part of their theology. The God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt declared, “Therefore, be holy because I am holy” (Lev. 11:45). That made laws about what was clean and unclean an inescapable part of Jewish covenant theology. Being “clean” was a necessity of Jewish law.
The Psalms of Ascent (120–134) repeatedly emphasize the graveness of ascending the Lord’s mountain. One was going into the presence of God. It was God’s holy hill, God’s sanctuary. It was a sacred destination.
One did not simply barge into the presence of the Holy God. One had to prepare for such an experience. One had to be “clean” or free from external impurities.
Even in Jesus’ day pilgrims to Jerusalem often bathed in the Pool of Siloam immediately before ascending the road of stairs that brought them to Temple Mount. After their baths they would don clean clothes brought specifically for the moment when they stood before the temple of God to present their offerings and sacrifices.
The experience was to be a time of awe-inspired reverence much like Moses experienced when he stood before the burning bush. No one took their encounter with God lightly. All had to prepare.
Ideally physical preparation also impacted spiritual preparation. As one went through cleansing rituals, the focus of one’s heart turned toward God. Spiritual awareness heightened. Expectation grew. Alertness to the presence of God increased.
In various Jewish writings the rules for cleanliness were meticulously recorded. Unfortunately over time concern became more focused on whether one had kept the laws regarding outward cleanliness than on the inward expression of a pure heart.
Perhaps that is why the New Testament concentrates on moral impurities arising from within rather than on external issues. Jesus challenged the whole system of clean-unclean when He told the Pharisees, “Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him. Rather it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean” (Mark 7:15).
Purified from sin
In 1 John 1:7, the apostle John wrote “the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.” That was the answer to the inward problem of humanity. Two verses later John makes the same point as if to emphasize it. He writes, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
As David had written centuries earlier in Psalm 51, only God can create a pure heart. John explains that the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary was God’s way of paying the price for sin so all who believe on Jesus may be declared clean and pure.
Interestingly, James, the half-brother of Jesus, picks up the Old Testament words when he urges readers to: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands … and purify your hearts” (4:8). The way that is done is to “humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up,” says the writer (4:10).
Like pilgrims of old, those who would meet God today must prepare for the experience. Worship is still intended to be an encounter with the holy. It is not a casual experience. It is not to be taken lightly.
An old proverb says: “We only prepare for what we think is important.” That is true in all parts of life including worship. In worship we are not meeting an old buddy or some long-lost pal. We are interacting with the Creator God, the Redeemer God, the One who is the destination of life’s journey and the One who sustains us on that journey.
Worship is a time to encounter the God in whose love and mercy we have staked our hope for eternity. How shameful to treat God as if He were no more than an idle afterthought. Worshippers still need a time to turn their hearts toward God and to prepare for an encounter with the divine.
Preparation begins internally. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that those who worship God must do so “in spirit and in truth” but how many Christians deal with their own spirit before gathering for worship?
More often we rush into a service content to be present without really expecting to meet God in those moments.
Internal preparation involves humbling ourselves before God. He is God. Worship is all about Him. It is not about the pastor, not about the music and certainly not about us. God is God and He alone is due worship and praise.
Listening is another part of internal preparation. Solomon cautions not to be hasty to make a speech before God (Eccles. 5:2). Yes, worship includes sharing our hearts with God through prayer but also it includes listening to God to learn what His agenda might be for us in the worship encounter.
Internal preparation may involve adjustments — adjustments to schedules, activities and priorities. It is hard to worship when one is exhausted from the previous day. It is hard to worship when one has given no thought of the Lord before arriving at a service. It is hard to worship when one is more interested in what happens following the service than with what happens in the service.
There are those rare times when worship happens in spite of lack of preparation. More often those who are unprepared miss times of genuine interaction with God because their spiritual awareness is not able to sense what God is doing among His people. That is why some leave a worship service awed by their encounter with God and others are just glad the service is over.
Again only those who think worship important will prepare for it. They will prepare their spirit, their focus and their sensitivity toward God.
Do you think worship is important? If so how will you prepare for worship this week?
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