Psalm 24:3-4

An episode of the Our Saviors Sermons podcast, hosted by Our Savior's Lutheran Church, titled "Psalm 24:3-4" was published on January 16, 2023 and runs 2 minutes.

January 16, 2023 ·2m · Our Saviors Sermons

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Summary

In Jesus’ name. This is Pastor Michael Lilienthal of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Albert Lea. Together, let us meditate on and wrestle with God’s Word: Psalm 24:3-4: Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. You and I are creatures of an almighty God, the one and only God, in fact. As such, we were made to be in relationship with him, to be able to walk with him and enjoy his presence. But David declares this universal truth, that only those who are perfectly clean, pure, and sinless can be with God. Who is such a person? From Genesis, we see how the sin of our first parents corrupted all human beings, so that access to God was in fact cut off: “He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24). The situation seemed hopeless. And yet God had made a promise: one descendant of the woman Eve would crush the head of the deceiver, restore righteousness to men, and bring us back to God. God gave this promise again to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. One man would ascend the hill of the Lord and bring us life. In his sermon on the mount, Jesus declares the seriousness of our case: “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20). But in that same sermon, Jesus also declares the fulfillment of the Promise: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:17). He is the one God’s Word pointed to, the one with clean hands and a pure heart, the one who perfectly kept the Law, and he won for you the ability to be in God’s blessed presence. Amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.

Episode Description

In Jesus’ name. This is Pastor Michael Lilienthal of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Albert Lea. Together, let us meditate on and wrestle with God’s Word:

Psalm 24:3-4: Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.

You and I are creatures of an almighty God, the one and only God, in fact. As such, we were made to be in relationship with him, to be able to walk with him and enjoy his presence. But David declares this universal truth, that only those who are perfectly clean, pure, and sinless can be with God. Who is such a person?

From Genesis, we see how the sin of our first parents corrupted all human beings, so that access to God was in fact cut off: “He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24). The situation seemed hopeless.

And yet God had made a promise: one descendant of the woman Eve would crush the head of the deceiver, restore righteousness to men, and bring us back to God. God gave this promise again to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. One man would ascend the hill of the Lord and bring us life.

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus declares the seriousness of our case: “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20). But in that same sermon, Jesus also declares the fulfillment of the Promise: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:17). He is the one God’s Word pointed to, the one with clean hands and a pure heart, the one who perfectly kept the Law, and he won for you the ability to be in God’s blessed presence.

Amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.