Psalm 24

The earth is Yahweh’s, and all its fullness, the world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

Fact: The earth is God’s.

Fact: We all belong to Him.

Fact: God made the earth and all that is upon it.

There is a “but”, but the “but” doesn’t change the facts. The “but” is: But we have rebelled against God, we have joined the ranks of the enemy. Because of this the psalmist writes:

Who may ascend into the hill of Yahweh? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from Yahweh and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face – even Jacob.

Yet there is a “but” beyond the “but” of rebellion, it is but “God so loved the world”; while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly…but God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6, 8).

We can receive the love of God and be reconciled to Him in Jesus Christ or we can continue in rebellion. We can allow Jesus to cleanse us and purify our hearts and draw us into intimacy with the Trinity, or we can continue lives consumed in falsehood and deceit.

Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied…Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:6, 8). There is a generation, a people, who seek the face of God; this is not a generation in a typical chronological sense, that is it is not confined to a 30 or 40 or 50 year period, but it is rather a generation birthed in God in Christ that transcends time and space and is on pilgrimage to the hill of Yahweh, to His holy place. In a world of smoke and mirrors, of vanity and deceit, this generation renounces “self” and takes up its cross and follows Jesus – it states in word and deed that its citizenship is in heaven and that it is looking for Jesus (Philippians 3:20 – 21). This generation knows that all that is and all that will be exists for the glory of God and that a day will come when all will acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). This generation knows that the King of Glory (Psalm 24:7-10) comes today and is coming tomorrow.

This is a good day for us to lift up our heads and our gates that the King of glory may come in.