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.
...............
Who doesn't want a little blessing their life? You may have met folks who respond to greetings by saying "I'm blessed, how are you doing?" There is something universally pleasant about feeling blessed - feeling like the sun is shining just for you, like Someone has had favor on you today.
Verse 5 promises blessing, and that should make us stop and consider what this blessing is all about and what we have to do to get it.
The word "blessed" just means "happy." When Jesus taught the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, he was describing what the truly happy man is like, and there are some parallels to this psalm that are worth noting.
For one, the blessed person is someone who is pure in heart. That is no easy task actually, and you know it if you've tried it. Sins of the heart are the deepest and hardest to uproot. Hidden sins of hatred and lust, for example, are singled out by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount as being the root of murder and adultery - in fact they are the heinous equivalent of those outward sins. Paul also singles out the inner sin of covetousness as being particularly impossible to escape due to universal human depravity (Romans 7). We are in fact at war within ourselves, even those who have the indwelling Spirit of God within them. To be pure in heart is a tall order.
Another similarity I see with the beatitudes is the emphasis on humility as the gateway to a relationship with God. Jesus said "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." The psalm reminds us that the earth is the Lord's, and yet we too are promised this inheritance if we humble ourselves before him and live a life knowing that he owns the world and the fullness thereof. This is ironic to the modern mind - we are truly happy and will inherit the whole world if we live in selfless humility.
Another point to consider: since verse 5 fits the pattern of parallelism found throughout Hebrew poetry, the words "blessing" and "righteousness" appear to be set as equivalent here. To the Christian's ears this is no surprise - the happiest gift he has received is the righteousness that comes not from works but that which is the gift of God received by humble faith. To be right with God - to have final peace with Him and be welcomed on his "holy hill" - is to experience the deepest and most lasting joy. It is an eternal joy. And it causes us to say...
"I am blessed."
Later in Psalm 32, David will reiterate this connection between blessing and righteousness. I will close with Paul's reference to this passage in Romans 4, which puts it specifically in the context of the righteousness granted to us through faith in Jesus:
"And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."
(Romans 4:5-8 ESV)
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