Scripture:
“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.
Prove me O Lord and try me; test my heart and my mind; for your steadfast love is before my eyes and I walk in your faithfulness. (Ps 24:3-6 and Ps 26:2-3)
Observation:
The neat thing about Psalms is how much the Psalmist is speaking to the face in the mirror. Basically I can read this and know I am speaking to myself and not to others.
That being said I have to reflect if I am a part of “the generation of those who seek him…”
Application:
Being a Christian is slippery at times.
Not the Redemption part—that is the Doctrine of Justification and all of God’s doing; I can do zip to influence that.
It is the Sanctification part—where my Human Responsibility meets God’s Sovereignty in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to (frankly speaking) pursue walking worthy of the Gospel.
And that is where I think that Ps 24-26 is whispering to me.
This is the Psalmist telling of the whispers of the Holy Spirit in his soul. In a large way these are rhetorical questions meant to stir my heart up; to have a vision and a goal. How do I “set my face like flint” and pursue the Kingdom? Being an active disciple isn’t primarily what is done for the world around me—it is wrapped up first in seeking His face and then being an instrument in the Redeemer’s hand.
I could do worse by ignoring the example of the Psalmist.
Prayer:
Lord God, how do I seek you? Haphazardly I think. Today it is a struggle to put You in front of my concerns, my fears, my anxiousness. Please help me to persevere through these troubles and concerns and lay them all down at the foot of the Cross—and not snatch them back again like a child playing “keep away.” After being able to rest in Your Salvation, following You Lord Jesus is hard work. Thank you for being faithful in your objective concerning me. AMEN.