Psalm 24:3
Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place?
Who may ascend
The phrase "Who may ascend" invites contemplation on the qualifications necessary to approach God. The Hebrew root for "ascend" is "עָלָה" (alah), which means to go up or climb. This imagery suggests a journey or pilgrimage, not just physically but spiritually, towards a higher state of being. In the historical context of ancient Israel, ascending often referred to going up to the temple in Jerusalem, a place where God's presence was believed to dwell. This ascent is not merely a physical act but a metaphor for spiritual elevation and purity.

the hill of the LORD?
"The hill of the LORD" refers to Mount Zion, the location of the temple in Jerusalem. In ancient Israel, hills and mountains were often seen as sacred places where heaven and earth meet. The Hebrew word for "hill" is "הַר" (har), which can also mean mountain. This phrase emphasizes the holiness and majesty of God's dwelling place. Theologically, it represents the ultimate goal of communion with God, a place of divine presence and worship. The hill is not just a geographical location but symbolizes the spiritual heights one must reach to be in God's presence.

Who may stand
"Who may stand" implies a position of readiness and service before God. The Hebrew word "קוּם" (qum) means to rise or stand up. Standing in this context is not passive; it denotes an active, deliberate posture of reverence and readiness to serve. Historically, standing before a king was a privilege and an honor, indicating acceptance and favor. Spiritually, it suggests being in a state of righteousness and moral integrity, prepared to engage with the divine.

in His holy place?
"His holy place" refers to the inner sanctum of the temple, the Holy of Holies, where God's presence was most intensely felt. The Hebrew word for "holy" is "קֹדֶשׁ" (qodesh), meaning sacred or set apart. This place is not just physically holy but represents the purity and sanctity required to be in God's presence. In a broader sense, it symbolizes the heart and life of a believer, which must be consecrated and dedicated to God. The holy place is where God meets humanity, a space of divine encounter and transformation.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal existence and faithfulness.

2. The Hill of the LORD
Often understood as Mount Zion, the location of the temple in Jerusalem, symbolizing God's dwelling place.

3. Holy Place
Refers to the inner sanctuary of the temple, representing God's presence and holiness.
Teaching Points
The Call to Holiness
God calls His people to live lives of purity and holiness. Ascending the hill of the LORD requires a heart and life set apart for Him.

The Necessity of Righteousness
Only those with clean hands and a pure heart can stand in God's holy place. This righteousness is both imputed through Christ and lived out in daily obedience.

The Role of Worship
Approaching God involves worship, reverence, and awe. Our worship should reflect the holiness of the One we approach.

The Importance of Preparation
Just as the Israelites prepared to meet God at Sinai, we must prepare our hearts to encounter God, seeking forgiveness and cleansing through Christ.

The Assurance in Christ
Through Jesus, believers have the assurance and access to God's presence, fulfilling the requirements of holiness and purity.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does it mean to "ascend the hill of the LORD" in your personal spiritual journey?

2. How can we ensure our hands are clean and our hearts are pure in our daily lives?

3. In what ways does the concept of God's holiness influence your approach to worship?

4. How does the New Testament teaching on Jesus' sacrifice enhance our understanding of standing in God's holy place?

5. Reflect on a time when you felt particularly close to God. What steps did you take to prepare your heart for that encounter?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 19
The Israelites' encounter with God at Mount Sinai, where they were instructed to consecrate themselves before approaching the mountain, parallels the need for purity to approach God.

Isaiah 33:14-16
Describes the characteristics of those who can dwell with God, emphasizing righteousness and integrity.

Hebrews 10:19-22
Discusses the confidence believers have to enter the Most Holy Place through the blood of Jesus, highlighting the fulfillment of the requirements to stand in God's presence.
Climbing the MountainCharles Haddon Spurgeon Psalm 24:3
Who Will Ascend?W. Forsyth Psalm 24:3
Celebrating the Real Presence. (For Opening or Reopening a Church.)C. Clemance Psalm 24:1-4
Who Can Dwell with God?C. Short Psalm 24:1-6
The King of GloryW. Forsyth Psalm 24:1-10
A Great Question, and its AnswerA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 24:3-4
Character Developed by AssociationCanon H. Scott Holland.Psalm 24:3-4
Character Fitness for WorshipJ. Logan, F. R. S. E.Psalm 24:3-4
Climbing the MountainPsalm 24:3-4
Spiritual CatharsismHugh Macmillan, D. D.Psalm 24:3-4
The Message of the Ascension PsalmsCanon Diggle.Psalm 24:3-4
The One RequirementA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 24:3-4
The Pure in HeartHenry Mottet.Psalm 24:3-4
The Qualifications for Our Heavenly AscensionH. G. Youard.Psalm 24:3-4
The Soul's Cry and the True ResponseHomilistPsalm 24:3-4
Who Shall AscendE. A. Stuart, M. A.Psalm 24:3-4
People
David, Jacob, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Ascend, Hill, Holy, Mount, Mountain, Riseth, Stand
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 24:3

     5143   climbing
     5184   standing

Psalm 24:3-4

     1065   God, holiness of
     5017   heart, renewal
     5156   hand
     5430   oaths, human
     5440   perjury
     6147   deceit, practice
     6606   access to God
     7340   clean and unclean
     8245   ethics, incentives
     8322   perfection, human
     8326   purity, moral and spiritual
     8625   worship, acceptable attitudes
     8767   hypocrisy

Psalm 24:3-5

     1620   beatitudes, the
     6185   imagination, desires

Psalm 24:3-6

     8160   seeking God

Library
A Great Question and Its Answer
'Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? and who shall stand in His holy place?'--PSALM xxiv. 3. The psalm from which these words are taken flashes up into new beauty, if we suppose it to have been composed in connection with the bringing of the Ark into the Temple, or for some similar occasion. Whether it is David's or not is a matter of very small consequence. But if we look at the psalm as a whole, we can scarcely fail to see that some such occasion underlies it. So just exercise your imaginations
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The God who Dwells with Men
'Lift up your heads, O ye gates: and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 8. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 9. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.' --PSALM xxiv. 7-10. This whole psalm was probably composed at the time of the bringing of the ark into the city of Zion.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Ascension of Messiah to Glory
Lift up your head, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. T he institutions of the Levitical law were a "shadow" or "sketch" of good things to come. They exhibited a faint and general outline
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

June the Fifteenth the King's Guests
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?" --PSALM xxiv. Who shall be permitted to pass into the sanctuary of the cloud, and have communion with the Lord in the holy place? "He that hath clean hands." These hands of mine, the symbols of conduct, the expression of the outer life, what are they like? "Your hands are full of blood." Those hands had been busy murdering others, pillaging others, brutally ill-using their fellow-men. We may do it in business. We may do it in conversation. We may do
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Climbing the Mountain
Behold, then, before your eyes believer, the hill of God; it is a high hill even as the hill of Bashan, on the top thereof is that Jerusalem which is from above, the mother of us all; that rest "To which our laboring souls aspire, With fervent pangs of strong desire." This mount of which we speak is not Mount Sinai, but the chosen hill whereon are gathered the glorious company of angels, the spirit of the just made perfect, the Church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven. And we are
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 7: 1861

For Ascension Day. --Ps. xxiv.
For Ascension Day.--Ps. xxiv. Lift up your heads, ye gates! and wide Your everlasting doors display; Ye angel-guards, like flames divide And give the King of Glory way. Who is the King of Glory?--He, The Lord, omnipotent to save; Whose own right arm, in victory Led captive death, and spoil'd the grave. Lift up your heads, ye gates! and high Your everlasting portals heave; Welcome the King of Glory nigh; Him must the heaven of heavens receive. Who is the King of Glory?--who? The Lord of Hosts;-behold
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Letter Xliv Concerning the Maccabees but to whom Written is Unknown.
Concerning the Maccabees But to Whom Written is Unknown. [69] He relies to the question why the Church has decreed a festival to the Maccabees alone of all the righteous under the ancient law. 1. Fulk, Abbot of Epernay, had already written to ask me the same question as your charity has addressed to your humble servant by Brother Hescelin. I have put off replying to him, being desirous to find, if possible, some statement in the Fathers about this which was asked, which I might send to him, rather
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Influence of the King James Version on English Literature
THE Bible is a book-making book. It is literature which provokes literature. It would be a pleasure to survey the whole field of literature in the broadest sense and to note the creative power of the King James version; but that is manifestly impossible here. Certain limitations must be frankly made. Leave on one side, therefore; the immense body of purely religious literature, sermons, expositions, commentaries, which, of course, are the direct product of the Bible. No book ever caused so much discussion
McAfee—Study of the King James Bible

His Future Work
The Lord Jesus Christ, who finished the work on earth the Father gave Him to do, who is now bodily present in the highest heaven, occupying the Father's throne and exercising His priesthood in behalf of His people, is also King. To Him belongeth a Kingdom and a kingly Glory. He has therefore a kingly work to do. While His past work was foretold by the Spirit of God and His priestly work foreshadowed in the Old Testament, His work as King and His glorious Kingdom to come are likewise the subjects
A. C. Gaebelein—The Work Of Christ

The Holy Spirit in Relation to the Father and the Son. ...
The Holy Spirit in relation to the Father and the Son. Under this heading we began by considering Justin's remarkable words, in which he declares that "we worship and adore the Father, and the Son who came from Him and taught us these things, and the host of the other good angels that attend Him and are made like unto Him, and the prophetic Spirit." Hardly less remarkable, though in a very different way, is the following passage from the Demonstration (c. 10); and it has a special interest from the
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

Dialogue ii. --The Unconfounded.
Eranistes and Orthodoxus. Eran.--I am come as I promised. 'Tis yours to adopt one of two alternatives, and either furnish a solution of my difficulties, or assent to what I and my friends lay down. Orth.--I accept your challenge, for I think it right and fair. But we must first recall to mind at what point we left off our discourse yesterday, and what was the conclusion of our argument. Eran.--I will remind you of the end. I remember our agreeing that the divine Word remained immutable, and took
Theodoret—The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret

The Impossibility of Failure.
"But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak: for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which ye showed toward His name, in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister. And we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fulness of hope even to the end: that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made promise to
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Christian Business World
Scripture references: Proverbs 22:29; Romans 12:11; Psalms 24:1; 50:10-12; Haggai 2:8; Psalm 49:6,10,16,17; 62:10; Matthew 13:22; Mark 10:23,24; Job 31:24-26; Proverbs 3:9; Matthew 25:14-30; 24:45-51; 6:19-21; Luke 12:16-21. THE IDEAL IN THE BUSINESS WORLD There is often a wide difference between the methods actually employed in doing business and when they should be. Good men who are in the thick of the battle of competition and rivalry with other firms in the same line of trade, are the quickest
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Letter Xlviii to Magister Walter De Chaumont.
To Magister [75] Walter de Chaumont. He exhorts him to flee from the world, advising him to prefer the cause and the interests of his soul to those of parents. MY DEAR WALTER, I often grieve my heart about you whenever the most pleasant remembrance of you comes back to me, seeing how you consume in vain occupations the flower of your youth, the sharpness of your intellect, the store of your learning and skill, and also, what is more excellent in a Christian than all of these gifts, the pure and innocent
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Glory of Penitents and Pious People.
Who are they that compose yonder bright multitude? They are headed by a queen who does not wear a virgin's crown; and yet, she is so beautiful, and enjoys so intimate a union with Jesus. Who is she? She is Mary Magdalen, the bright queen of Penitents, and the star of hope to all who have grievously sinned in this world. She was once a sinner, and such a sinner! Her soul was the home of seven devils! She was a hireling of Satan, to catch the souls of men. But a flash of light came forth from the Heart
F. J. Boudreaux—The Happiness of Heaven

Sense in Which, and End for which all Things were Delivered to the Incarnate Son.
For whereas man sinned, and is fallen, and by his fall all things are in confusion: death prevailed from Adam to Moses (cf. Rom. v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. Ps. xlix. 12), while the devil was exulting against us;--then God, in His loving-kindness, not willing man made in His own image to perish, said, Whom shall I send, and who will go?' (Isa. vi. 8). But while all held their peace, the Son [441] said,
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Notes on the Third Century
Page 161. Line 1. He must be born again, &c. This is a compound citation from John iii. 3, and Mark x. 15, in the order named. Page 182. Line 17. For all things should work together, &c. See Romans viii. 28. Page 184. Lines 10-11. Being Satan is able, &c. 2 Corinthians xi. 14. Page 184. Last line. Like a sparrow, &c. Psalm cii. Page 187. Line 1. Mechanisms. This word is, in the original MS., mechanicismes.' Page 187. Line 7. Like the King's daughter, &c. Psalm xlv. 14. Page 188. Med. 39. The best
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

Question of the Division of Life into the Active and the Contemplative
I. May Life be fittingly divided into the Active and the Contemplative? S. Augustine, De Consensu Evangelistarum, I., iv. 8 " Tractatus, cxxiv. 5, in Joannem II. Is this division of Life into the Active and the Contemplative a sufficient one? S. Augustine, Of the Trinity, I., viii. 17 I May Life be fittingly divided into the Active and the Contemplative? S. Gregory the Great says[291]: "There are two kinds of lives in which Almighty God instructs us by His Sacred Word--namely, the active and
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

The King --Continued.
The second event recorded as important in the bright early years is the great promise of the perpetuity of the kingdom in David's house. As soon as the king was firmly established and free from war, he remembered the ancient word which said, "When He giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety, then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there" (Deut. xii. 10, 11). His own ease rebukes him; he regards his tranquillity
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

Destruction of Jerusalem Foretold.
^A Matt. XXIV. 1-28; ^B Mark XIII. 1-23; ^C Luke XXI. 5-24. ^a 1 And Jesus went out from the temple [leaving it to return no more], and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him ^b as he went forth ^a to show him the buildings of the temple. ^b one of his disciples saith unto him, Teacher, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings! ^c 5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and offerings, he said [The strength and wealth of the temple roused
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Election Confirmed by the Calling of God. The Reprobate Bring Upon Themselves the Righteous Destruction to which they are Doomed.
1. The election of God is secret, but is manifested by effectual calling. The nature of this effectual calling. How election and effectual calling are founded on the free mercy of God. A cavil of certain expositors refuted by the words of Augustine. An exception disposed of. 2. Calling proved to be free, 1. By its nature and the mode in which it is dispensed. 2. By the word of God. 3. By the calling of Abraham, the father of the faithful. 4. By the testimony of John. 5. By the example of those who
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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