Summer In the Psalms: Enter In
Summer in the Pslams: Enter In by Rev. L. John Gable
July 25, 2021
As we continue our study of 50 Great Passages we come to a season of summer in the Psalms. The Psalms we will recall are a collection of hymns or songs used by worshippers in Jerusalem after the construction of the Second Temple. Imagine one of our hymnals being found a millennia from now. These hymns and the songs we sing would give a good indication of how we worship God in this time and place. The Psalms give us that same kind of insight in to the ancient practices of our faith. They also give us language to use in our worship and prayers. While most of Scripture would be described as God speaking to us, as we will see the Psalms give us wonderfully helpful language to speak to God whether our hearts are filled with joy and praise or are broken by grief and despair.
We begin with Psalm 24, a hymn which focuses our attention on the sovereignty, the Lordship of God, and calls the people to enter in to worship. It begins with a confession of faith, a statement of Who God is and what He has done. “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.” These two short verses are worthy of our committing to memory. Which God do we worship? We worship the God who is Maker of Heaven and earth; the God who is Owner and Lord over all things, ourselves included; the God who bested the chaos of the rivers and seas and brought order out of chaos. When life spins out of control for us Psalm 24 reminds us that God is still in control and is still able to bring order out of our chaos, so we hold fast to this confession of our faith.
It is natural then to want to know this God, to draw close to this God, but think for a moment like an ancient Hebrew. This God is largely unknowable and utterly unapproachable. Recall stories about how no one was allowed to look upon the face of God; how Moses alone was allowed to go up on the mountain to be with God and anyone who got too close would be struck down; how Elijah had to cover his eyes as the Lord passed before him, and Isaiah, in the passage we read last Sunday, finding himself in the presence of God, declared, “Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people with unclean lips”; even how only the High Priest was able to enter in to the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, and that only once a year on the Day of Atonement. While today we may error on the opposite extreme, addressing God too casually, on too familiar terms, like He’s our first cousin, this fearful awe and reverence for God became woven in to the worship practices of our ancestors. The people of Israel never even dared utter the name of God. When the Second Temple was built in Jerusalem after the return of the captives from the exile, recall the first Temple built by Solomon had been destroyed by the Babylonians, the Temple area complex was constructed in concentric circles. The largest outer circle area was open to all people, men and women, Jews and Gentiles alike. It reflected the welcome of God, but each successive area was limited to an increasingly more select group of people, the inner most accessible only by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement and at each juncture there warning signs indicating who was and who was not allowed to enter in.
The closest bit of antiquity from the time of the Second Temple we have was a limestone slab discovered in 1871. Written in Greek using large red letters against the white limestone background was this warning, “No foreigner may enter within the balustrade around the sanctuary and the enclosure. Whoever is caught, on himself shall he put blame for the death which will ensue.” So much for feeling welcomed in. That “Do Not Enter” sign made it clear as to who was and who was not allowed to enter in to the presence of the Lord, the question posed in the second section of Psalm 24.
“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.” Given those restrictions who on earth is worthy? Any volunteers? Certainly not I. The Temple area would have been surrounded by basins and pools for the worshipers to wash in, but these requirements extend far beyond mere personal hygiene or ritual obedience. Clean hands denote not just that one has used soap and water but that they are innocent of any wrong doing against another. Pure hearts has less to do with a clear EKG than it does an impeccable faithfulness and loyalty to God alone. These speak not only of ritual cleansing but of a righteous way of life, loving God and neighbor. While the intention may have been that all are welcome to enter in to the presence of God the message was being clearly sent that the standards and requirements for doing so are unattainably high.
Unfortunately, many feel the same today about entering in to a church or in to a relationship with God. As much as they may want to, and we may want them to, they feel they do not belong, or are unworthy, or fear they might be unwelcomed, by God perhaps, but more likely by those who call themselves God’s people. They know the sign says, ‘Enter in! Everyone welcome!’”, but they fear “Everyone does not mean me!” We who have entered in to a relationship with God and have been welcomed into the life of the church must be careful that we do not enter too far in, so far in, that we forget what it was like to be on the outside looking in. We must be careful that we do not become the New Temple’s “Do not enter” signs through our words or our actions.
So who is worthy to enter in? Who among us has clean hands and a pure heart? Not anyone of us, at least not on our own. All we can bring is a desire to be welcomed in, a desire to find ourselves in the presence of God, which I hope and pray is your desire (and mine) as we come to worship each and every week. If we come only for the fellowship we enjoy here, or to hear wonderful music, or in the hope of gaining some insight or encouragement from the preacher of the day, all of those, good as they may be, will fall woefully short and we set ourselves up for disappointment. Our worship is empty, vain and void, if it is born of anything other than our heart’s desire to be in the presence of the Lord as we read in verse 6: “Such is the company of those who seek Him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.” If that is our desire when we come to worship, to be in the presence of God, I can almost guarantee you we will be pleasantly surprised to discover how much we enjoy the fellowship of being with others, that the music is better than we ever could have imagined, and the preacher had better insights than we ever would have given them credit for. As one has rightly said, “Even when the choir is flat and the communion bread is moldy, and the sermon is dull, God is still present.”
So we return to the question, who is worthy to ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place? If not any one of us, then who? And the answer is given: Only the King of Glory, who is introduced in the closing stanzas of the hymn which we can hear as a call and response between the people and the priest as they entered the Temple. “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.” So important is this announcing of the coming of the Lord that it is repeated again. “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 of hosts, He is the King of Glory.”
So the Psalm does answer the question it poses, or at least it points to the answer which will only come in its fullness and fulfillment in Jesus Christ. If none of us is worthy to enter in to the presence of God on our own, but only Him, the King of Glory, then we need to be with Him! If we are not able to live up to the ritual demands of the Law (which we are not), then we must depend upon His righteousness to carry us through. If we are not worthy to enter in to God’s presence on our own merit, then we must ride on the coattails of the One who is!
Bear with me to see if this illustration makes sense to you. Whenever there is a procession from the church to the cemetery following a funeral service there is most often a police escort with at least two officers in cars or on motorcycles to lead us. I generally drive my own car to the cemetery so fall in line immediately behind the hearse. As we process, the officers flash their lights and sound their sirens as we enter intersections and it is always intriguing to me when the traffic on congested streets opens up and we pass through stop signs and red lights without even tapping our brakes. No matter how many times I have done that I always find it a kind of fascinating experience to be breaking countless traffic laws as I follow in that procession. Last week however I had to make my way from the church to the cemetery following a service, but there was no police escort. Suddenly I found myself wondering why I was stuck in traffic and why I had to stop at intersections and for stop lights? Wasn’t I on the same task? Doing the same duty? I was, but now I was on my own, without any escort.
If that analogy works at all it reminds us that if we think we can enter in to the presence of God on our own, approach the throne of glory on our own merit, unescorted, we will be found out as a people with unclean hands, impure hearts, unclean lips, and sinful people cannot enter in to the presence of a Holy God, then, now or ever. This is why we need Jesus Christ. This is what He has done for us. He is our righteous escort in to God’s presence.
In Hebrews 4, another passage which surely makes the list of 50 Great Passages, we read, “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
So who can enter in? Who can ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place? You can, I can, not because of what we have done for ourselves, but only because of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. He is our escort. As we put our trust in Him as Savior and follow Him as Lord He leads the way in to the Holy of Holies, in to God’s presence, and we are allowed to enter only because we are clothed with His righteousness, not our own. As we approach the throne of glory, whether in worship or the heavenly throne at the end of our days, we stand before God not in the filthy rags of our own sinful nature, but clothed in the righteousness of Christ, boasting not of our own goodness and worth, but humbly yet boldly confessing, “I am with Him!”, and for that reason alone, we receive God’s welcome blessing, “Enter in!”
Rev. L. John Gable
Tabernacle Presbyterian Church
Indianapolis, IN