Psalm 24 describes someone “ascend[ing] the hill of the Lord” to “stand in his holy place.” What is that “hill,” and who is worthy to stand on it? This Words of Hope devotional by Jonathan Brownson explains the meaning behind this curious phrase:

[This verse] suggests that “ascending the hill of the Lord” is quite different from playing “King of the Hill.” When Jesus ascends, the psalmist cries for the gates to open to receive the “King of Glory” (v. 7). The Lord Jesus is “King of the Hill” forever. He alone is perfectly clean and pure (v. 4). He is the Lord of hosts.

And as we approach the throne, we do not find Jesus ready to repel our advances. Rather, he invites us to join him. He promises that, “I will be [their] God, and [they] will be my [people]” (Rev. 21:7). His blood makes us clean (1 John 1:7). We can follow the ways of the world and struggle to exalt ourselves or we can “humble [ourselves] before the Lord, and he will exalt [us]” (James 4:10).

Read the full devotional at Words of Hope.

Once again, Jesus goes before us to open the way for us to follow. Jesus beckons from the “hill of the Lord,” inviting us to freely approach God’s throne. Have you followed him there?

By: Andy. This entry was posted on Thursday, May 20th, 2010 at 8:24 am and is filed under Devotional, Jesus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.