Here’s a Psalm that’s full of details about the nature of God. Poetically powerful, it’s a Psalm of David, though its ascription tells us nothing of the circumstances in which it was written.

David begins by asserting the sovereignty of the One who created the world and everything in it – a foundational truth that runs counter to the prevalent cultural consensus of our day, a truth that we neglect at our peril. It’s also a truth that is cause for wonder, gratitude and praise.

David then moves on in verses 3 to 6 to ponder man’s relationship with our sovereign Creator, the One who is utterly holy, who requires holiness in his people, who alone provides salvation for those who seek him. The final section is a paean of thrilled expectation of the presence of God, the One who is ‘the King of Glory’ and ‘the Lord of Hosts’.

The Hill of the Lord

In verse 3 David poses an intriguing question. In spite of his confidence in his sovereign Creator, something is troubling him: “Who shall ascend in to the hill of the Lord?”

Of which hill is he thinking? Apart from one mention of Bethel as “the hill of God” (1 Sam 10:5), there is only one that is consistently referred to as his ‘holy hill’: the hill of Zion, on which the city of Jerusalem was founded. For example, in Psalm 2 God himself speaks about David like this, “I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (v6), whilst in Psalm 3 David records, “I cried to the Lord with my voice and he heard me from his holy hill” (v4).

Notice that it is God’s personal possession and that it is ‘holy’. The Hebrew word is qodesh, meaning ‘sacred’, ‘consecrated’, not to be profaned. Thus, in Psalm 24 David is perturbed as to who is fit to ascend this holy hill, recognising (in verses 4 and 5) that only the thoroughly righteous qualify. However, if at the time of writing David is living in Jerusalem, we might wonder why he is concerned about ascending into the city at all.

Glory Departed

The City of David, “the stronghold of Zion” (2 Sam 5:7), formerly the Canaanite city of Jebus, which David had captured, sat upon a narrow ridge in the Judean highlands. It was relatively small and did not extend to the summit of the hill of which the ridge formed its south-eastern end. This was the place to which David had longed to bring up the ark of God that had been in the Tabernacle at Shiloh in the days of Eli.

In those days the ark had been captured by the Philistines and the dread word, ‘Ichabod’, reflected the awful reality that the glory of the Lord had thus departed from Israel. Far from benefitting, the Philistine cities of Ashdod, Gath and Ekron each met with catastrophes, such that the Philistines rejected the ark, leaving it in a field belonging to Beth Shemesh in the Judean lowlands. However, such responsibility proved too much for the villagers, so men from Kiriath Yearim were asked to collect it, possibly because it was the nearest large town on the way back to Shiloh. There, a Levite called Eleazar was consecrated to provide appropriate care for it, where sadly it remained for 20 years, during which Samuel called the nation to repentance and renewal (1 Sam 7:1-6).

In those days the ark had been captured by the Philistines and the dread word, ‘Ichabod’, reflected the awful reality that the glory of the Lord had thus departed from Israel.

Unholy Efforts

The journey of the Ark of the Covenant. Copyright Dr Leen Ritmeyer (used with permission)It was at this stage that David’s first attempt was made to ascend with the ark to the ‘holy hill’. There is no evidence in Scripture as to any consultation with the nation’s prophet, Samuel, and David’s spectacular plan failed disastrously because he had approached the task as if it were a mere logistical exercise, rather than a spiritual one. He certainly hadn’t sought the Lord or consulted the books of Moses for guidance!

The ark had gone no further than the house of Obed-Edom, where David left it for another three months (2 Sam 6:1-11). Obed-Edom is described as a ‘Gittite’, leading many to claim that he was a Philistine from Gath. But according to 1 Chronicles 16:5 he must have been a Levite along with Asaph, making it much more likely that he was from Gath-Hepher, about six miles northeast of Nazareth (called ‘Gittah-Hepher’ in the Hebrew of Joshua 19:13). That would also fit more comfortably with David’s conscience following the tragic death of Uzzah and was perhaps his first step of planning things God’s way.

God’s Holy Order

Terrain of ascent to Jerusalem. See Photo CreditsGiven all of this, one wonders if this was the context in which David wrote Psalm 24, as he pondered how the ascent of the ark should be arranged. It seems from verses 3 to 6 that his conclusion was that it should only be in the hands of the righteous. This is borne out by his appointment of the High Priest, Zadok, to lead the event, accompanied by a host of priestly and Levitical assistants (almost 1,000 altogether!).

David also insisted that the whole group should be sanctified for the task, unlike the first attempt, about which he said, “the Lord our God broke out against us because we did not consult him about the proper order” (1 Chron 15:13). This time the ark would not be carried on a cart; as David said, “No-one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the Lord has chosen them” (1 Chron 15:2).

You can read all about his strategy in 1 Chronicles 15:1-11 and compare it with Moses’ instructions in Numbers 7. Bear in mind also that a permanent reminder of the need for holiness was the inscription ‘Holiness unto the Lord’ engraved in the golden plate on the High Priest’s turban – in this case worn by Zadok, the leader of the proceedings.

And so they prepared to ascend the hill of the Lord, the sons of Kohath bearing the ark upon their shoulders as God’s word required, many no doubt bearing in their hearts the hope that the presence of the Lord, who dwelt “between the cherubim” (Ps 80:1, with Ex 25:22), would thus return to the heart of the nation again.

One wonders if this was the context in which David wrote Psalm 24, as he pondered how the ascent of the ark should be arranged.

God’s Work, God’s Way

Backtracking a little now, into David’s period of pondering, we can perhaps appreciate rather more the glorious paean of anticipation that he writes in verses 7 to 10 of Psalm 24. It’s even possible that this became the song that was on the lips of the priests and Levites, especially as they approached the City of David on that holy hill and the tent that he had prepared for it: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates! [open wide!]…and the King of Glory shall come in!” No longer ‘Ichabod’, but now ‘Yehovah Shammah’ (‘the Lord is there/present’).

Did they sing antiphonally (one section asking the questions, the other sending back the answers), all accompanied by horns, trumpets, cymbals, stringed instruments and harps (1 Chron 15:28)? It’s very easy to imagine, but I don’t suppose we’ll ever know this side of Heaven – it’s another of those questions to put in store for that day!

David’s experiences with the Ark of the Covenant illustrate powerfully the principle that, as expressed by Andrew Murray, “God's work must be done in God's way, and in God's power. It is spiritual work, to be done by spiritual men, in the power of the Spirit.”¹ An appetite for God’s word leads to an ever-deeper appreciation of God’s ways, and a consecrated lifestyle is an essential element of every believer’s birthright.

Writing to the young Titus, Paul leaves no room for doubt about the importance of holiness: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age,” and points out that our Saviour “gave himself for us, so that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14).

What an encouragement is this to practise ‘Holiness unto the Lord’ in all things, individually and collectively. May the Lord inspire its renewal as a matter of urgency!

All Bible quotes from NKJV. You may also enjoy David's study on the geographical setting of Psalm 1.

References

1 Working for God, 1901. Fleming H Revell (USA). N.B. By ‘spiritual men’ we should understand ‘spiritual people’, just as Paul’s use of ‘all men’ signifies ‘all people’.