Fuzzy Thoughts of David

Morning Reflection 3/15/12 – Psalm 24

Entrance into the Temple

Of David. A Psalm.

1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
2 for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.Selah

via Psalm 24:5 (NRSV) – Biblia.com.

I still remember the days when my children would look at their brother or sister and cry out, “Mine!” If I ever heard this, I would try to soothe the situation, but it wasn’t always easy. One would cry out “mine!” and the other one would just cry. They both wanted the same thing, but it did belong to one of them. 

I could see their point. They wanted to play with the item, and it was their’s. Sometimes I would take a judicial approach by saying, “Well, they were playing with it before you came into the room.” The justice of this statement seemed to be lost in the cries of “Mine, mine, mine.” Sometimes I would take a moral approach and say, “It is nice to share.” Although they never seemed too convinced. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I would take the direct approach, “I don’t care if it is your’s, your sister is playing with it now so you will just have to wait your turn!” I’m glad those days are over….for the most part.

This psalm reminds me that nothing is really “mine.” It is all God’s. It always has been and it always will be. I wonder how different my life would look if I remembered that what I have, is not mine. I wonder how different raising my kids would have been if we could have lived out the reality that it really is all God’s. Yes, I might have it right now, but it isn’t really mine, to do with as I wish. Perhaps we could have lived a bit more gratefully and griped our stuff more loosely.

David starts out with a sense of gratitude because all is God’s. God entrusts people with all of his creation. Then David asks who can stand in God’s holy presence? This psalm is a psalm of entrance into the temple were, for David, God’s presence resided. Who could go in? Only those who were pure. Only those whose hearts and lives were set on God.

I spend so much time ‘possessing’ things or trying to posses things so I can know what is mine when in reality it isn’t mine at all. My time may be better spent setting my heart and life on God and pursuing him. It makes sense to pursue God and make him mine rather than pursue those things that never will be.

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