The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
Lift up your heads, 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. Selah.
This psalm triggers a vision of a choir singing beautiful anthems. I have sung these words many times or heard them sung but if you are not my age, you probably have not. Music has changed over the years and what I heard and sang in my youth is now outdated. Even I would not like these old style of anthems.
But I love this particular psalm because I learned it through music and beautiful music carries with it the majesty of the message.
The psalm starts out with "the Earth is the Lord's". Everything on this earth, including man, is the creation of God. He in His majesty brought forth all that we see and know.
It's good to stop every once in awhile and just ponder creation. We need time to enjoy sunrises; to marvel that our solar system runs so perfectly that we can say exactly what moment that sunrise will take place at any day in any given spot on planet Earth. It's good to walk out under the stars at night and remember we are part of something immense - far beyond comprehension. It's good to sit and listen to the sound of waves breaking on the beach. . .
I see trees of green, red roses, too.
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful World.
I see skies of blue, and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful World.
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
are also on the faces of people passing by.
I see friends shaking hands,
saying how do you do
But they're really saying,
I love you.
Babies cry and I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful World.
That is the first message of Psalm 24. We live in an amazing place - created by God - for us.
Message 2 is about standing in the presence of God (ascending to the hill of the Lord). I like the way it is expressed in this psalm because the visual image is so vivid. The psalm says simply, "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully" - that is who stands in God's presence.
We recognize that we all make mistakes but when you think about this verse - well, I see goodness described here that fits many people I know.
Clean hands - people who go about doing good every day. They are working to support their families, they are kind to those around them, they help their neighbors in little ways all the time; and when they do something wrong, they apologize and make things right. The world is filled with such people.
Pure hearts - I know we don't sense this as we watch the news so we have to look elsewhere. I think of my kids - I believe their hearts, their desires and motives, are pure. Then there is my neighbor next door and my teacher friends at the school where I teach. My life is filled with those who are pure in heart.
Hath not lifted up his soul to vanity - How many people do you know who are "filled with" vanity? I don't believe I know any. My friends and family are in no way vain.
Nor sworn deceitfully - deceit is a deliberate act. I have been blessed to have a life filled with friends and acquaintances that are totally free of deceit.
In my opinion most of those we meet in life are the very people this song is describing.
My life is filled with them. They are they who stand in "holy places" because they create those places where ever they are.
When I think of the elementary school where I was privileged to teach, I see in my mind's eye a place that was loving and supportive of every child. It was the place where principles govern actions therefore it was emotionally safe. Everyone was of equal value: kids, custodians, teachers, parents, etc. We created a wonderful place for children to learn and develop their talents. It qualified as a holy place - a bit of heaven on Earth.
Our homes can be like that too. When we talk of heaven we often think "life after death". But I like to think of heaven as a state of being, a way of life that is "Heavenly".
Since we are eternal beings, we don't have to wait for heaven. We can have it now - here - eternity is now. We are not mortals who will be some day granted eternal life. We are eternal beings having a mortal experience. Eternity is now! ( Carolyn Lynn Pearson, My Turn on Earth)
Hymn # 298 Home Can be a Heaven on Earth
Home can be a heaven on Earth
When we are filled with love.
Bringing happiness and joy,
Rich blessings from above.
Warmth and kindness,
Safety and security,
Making home a part of heaven
Where we want to be.
Message 3 of this psalm - Who is the King of Glory - lift up your heads. Handel used those words in his Messiah. Once again the psalmist remind us of the Majesty of God. President Gordon B. Hinckley used to do that when he referred to God as "The Almighty".
Latter-day Saints need to stop every now and then and remember that He who we so lovingly refer to as Father is the Almighty God, Creator of heaven and Earth, filled with Glory and Power, Strong and Mighty. Can we even imagine being in His presence?
Psalm 24 masterfully brings all of those things together.
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