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. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
Here, David expresses the nature of fellowship with God in OT terms. The “hill of the Lord” is a reference to Mount Zion. Because God is the great Creator-King whose residence upon the earth was symbolized in Jerusalem, the one who seeks his favor must not only prepare himself ceremonially, but also by a sanctified life. Those preparing to make the pilgrimage to worship at the hill of the Lord had to be ceremonially clean.
This cleansing included the ritual immersion in water. The purification ceremony was done to symbolize purification and the removal of sin. In the Old Testament, before the days of the temple, which would have been the time in which this psalm takes place, the rights of immersion were associated with maintaining ritual purity for the people, and especially the priest. However, God was not as concerned with the outward symbol as He was with the inward motive. The rest of the emphasis is on the moral integrity of those who come to worship the Creator King. Those who worship must have both righteous actions and righteous motives. The clean hands and pure heart are in contrast to those who have not “raised their mind” or whose “soul has not longed for” that which is false and worthless. Nor has the worshiper sworn deceitfully- undertake a solemn oath with no intention of fulfilling it, dishonesty, fraud, and hypocrisy.
Thus, the godly man, the one who worships God in an acceptable manner, is the one who is pure in life and affection, and not false and hypocritical. The word "heart" (leb) is the seat of human personality, the central focus of one’s life, who one really is. It is the most frequent and most important term the Bible uses in reference to any aspect or capacity of humans. It can be the seat of sin or of faith, and is used to speak of man’s basic attitude towards God.
In this Psalm it is of the utmost importance that the one who wants to worship God acceptably must have the entire coarse of his life, his focus, and his attitude toward God marked by purity.
Let’s look again at the phrase “raise the mind” or “whose soul longs." It is clear that this implies an attitude of adoration and worship. Thus, those who worship Yahweh must not be bound to or pursing things that are false and worthless. For to do so is to worship them rather than God.
Let me be clear that such a declaration is not one of absolute moral integrity, for no one can fulfill that, but rather a declaration that the worshipers are aware of the implication of there own worship-that they must be innocent, or free from all unconfessed sin and idolatry. Those who do this are described at the ones who consult God and “seek” his face, which is an idiom for covenant loyalty and fellowship with Yahweh. To the true worshiper, the desire to worship and honor God has become an integral part of their lives, providing direction and focus in all that they do. In fact, it is the direction of the totality of their lives. Those who do this will receive a blessing from the Lord.
I find it interesting that the so many things in scripture can be classified as "worship." It can be bowing, lifting hands, praying, singing, reciting, preaching, the Lord’s Supper, ordaining, etc. However, these outward symbols of expression can be in vain when the heart is not engaged. In Matt. 15:18-19, Jesus gives a warning to the Pharisees about this type of worship when he quotes Is. 29:13 “These people honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me.” Worship is dishonorable to God when it is done in vain or accompanied by an impure life and impure motives. Worship is futile when it does not come from the heart. Therefore, true worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart by the truth of God’s word. Where affection is dead, worship is dead.
Those types of affections that the Bible speaks of are:
Fear of the Lord
Holy Dread
Broken Spirit
Contrite Heart
A heart that longs for him
A thirsty soul
Hope
Fullness of Joy
Without this type of affection for God in our worship and purity of heart in our lives, we are hypocrites. We are lifting our mind to that which is false and worthless. William GT Shedd says in his Dogmatic Theology that "Sin is idolatry….All forms and aspects of sin are reducible to this." He is right.
Let's close out with some serious, "in your face" application:
If we want to receive blessing from the Lord both corporately and privately, we have to live lives of holiness. Listen, God will not bless disobedience, hypocrisy, spiritual apathy, or living out any part of your life that is not surrendered to his will. If we want to see God bless our churches with an outpouring of His presence; with the out pouring of His power to see lives changed and communities reached, it starts with each individual person. Yes, your personal sin and spiritual laziness and hypocrisy affects what goes on in the church. We are united together as one body.
Worship is not something that just happens on Sunday morning. It is something that happens 24/7. As a disciple, your whole life now is about worship. It is about glorifying God in all things. In your sorrow and in your speech. In your sickness and in your suffering. In your exuberance and in your joy. In your failure and in your restoration. When you are betrayed, abandoned, and left for dead; when you are on the mountain top and flying high; when you are doing the dishes or changing a diaper; when you are engaged in your work or your leisure, all is for the glory of God.
Our worship becomes unacceptable whenever there is a rival to God; whenever we are lifting our soul to something else while lifting our hands to God. These false things can be many- The wrong view of God; certain activities; certain attitudes such as pride (you are never wrong, things must be done your way, everyone else’s ideas are dumb); unwillingness to get outside of yourselves; moral sins (unforgiveness, bitterness, hate, fits of rage). So many things are apt to creep in and pollute our worship. That is why it is so important that we remain spiritually sober and steadfast, always guarding our hearts.