The book of Psalms begins in chapter two with God responding to the wickedness of man by saying
As for me, I have set my king on Zion,
my holy hill. (2:6)
Then we come to Psalm 24 and the big question of the book.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place? (24:3)
And then we are given more description of who can ascend it.
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not life up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully. (24:4)
The King they are looking for to ascend the hill of the Lord will be perfect, clean hands, pure heart, completely devoted to Yahweh. And in response to the one that is worthy to ascend the hill of the Lord, the gates of defense around Jerusalem are to be opened to receive the King.
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts
he is the King of glory! Selah (24:7-8)
The King is God but he also sure sounds like a perfect man. When he ascends, the enemy will be crushed like it says in Psalm 2 and the righteous citizens under the protection of the King will rejoice. In the desert wandering after Egypt, they longed for this. In the exile in Babylon they longed for this, and in our rebellion and exile we long for this. We read about this in Psalm 68
God will arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee from him! (68:1)
You ASCENDED on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, the Lord God may dwell there.(68:18)
So it seems that only God is worthy to ascend this hill but by his ascension he has made it possible for us to follow him, he lead us out to freedom.
So in response we offer praise because "his steadfast love endures forever" because the King is worthy to ascend the hill of the Lord and has made it possible even in our rebellion to follow him.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone (Ps. 118:19-22)
a clear reference to Jesus the King!
And how will we recognize this King that the builders will reject? First, he will be rejected, but He will also perfectly fulfill Torah, A-Z as the acrostic poem of Psalm 119 shows us.
Then in response to this King who perfectly fulfills Torah, Messiah (118) Torah (119)
we have the... drum roll...
Psalms of Ascent!!! (120 - 134)
In the grammatical - historical approach these were songs sung by worshipers on their way to the temple to worship, climbing, ascending the hill of the Lord. In a broader picture of how the Psalms are compiled is sure seems like this is in response to the question of Psalm 24, who can ascend the hill of the Lord? Jesus!
So maybe it's not about us being good enough, or ascending to God in our own efforts but that we have a King who is perfect and if we follow him, he will lead us, protect us and provide for us who are in relationship with the King or as it says in Psalm 2
Kiss the Son, the King, the anointed one, because he is worthy to ascend the hill of the Lord.
