The text: Psalm 24 – NRSV
This is one of those little psalms that has much to say. It may be tempting to focus on its perhaps more famous second half that has been set to music many times. But to me this psalm speaks most strongly through the interplay between its two halves. On the one hand, the psalm asks who among us can ascend God’s holy hill and stand in that holy place. On the other, we see God arriving at this place through ancient gates. Is this then a convergence, a place where the human and divine meet? But this place is not the Holy of Holies, where only the high priest could stand, and then but once per year. No, we are talking about a company of people, those who have clean hands and pure hearts. This is not about law following. It is about internal transformation. What does that remind you of? Is this place none other than the Kingdom of God? It’s a fascinating question given how the psalm begins: The earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it. That Genesis claim sets the context for the entire conversation, pointing to a reality that God sees and desires. It may remind you of Psalm 47, another enthronement psalm that reflects the idea in Revelation of the world becoming the Kingdom. Perhaps there’s another way in. Remembering that such Hebrew literature can (and often should) be read at multiple levels, what if the gate, the ancient door, is the gate to your mind, heart, and soul? What would happen this Lent if you opened a gate in your personal defensive wall and let the King of glory come in? What would happen if you let the psalm self-reflect: read it again, now with the proclamation that you are the Lord’s and all that is in you. What transformation could this cause? It may be that the answer is right there: you will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from the God of your salvation.
