Psalm 24 reflects the Temple Endowment Ceremony beginning at the Creation of the Earth. The first two verses state, “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.” The Hebrew suggests that the earth was ordained for a divine purpose. The Lord’s establishment “upon the floods” is a reminder of His supreme power to subdue and control the waters of chaos. This will be addressed in more detail in the next post for Psalm 29.
The basic requirements to enter the temple and one of its purposes are described in verses 3 and 4:
“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.”
The “hill of the Lord” is the “mountain of the Lord’s house” (Isaiah 2:2)—His holy place, or temple. The “clean hands” represent our outward actions and behavior. The “pure heart” represents our inner feelings, reverence for God, our motives, and our thoughts. Sometimes we refer to this as “the inner man” (or woman). “Vanity” represents forms of false or fleeting worship or placing trust in empty worldly pursuits. To swear deceitfully is to not keep covenants we have made with the Lord or to intentionally deceive others.
There is a gesture of approach as we symbolically approach God’s presence. It is called the “Hallel Gesture.” Footnote 4b goes to 1 Timothy 2:8: “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” This concept of lifting up the hands or “spreading forth the hands,” as mentioned in the Old Testament, is the Hallel Gesture. Its connection to the temple is solidified at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple in 1 Kings 8, verses 22, 38, and 54 as this gesture is repeated three times in these verses. The words “uplifted hands” are repeated three times in D&C 88, as the Lord begins to reveal the Temple Endowment. It is mentioned in verses 120, 132, and 135. Verse 74 teaches us that cleansing our hearts and hands is not entirely possible based on our own efforts. The Lord said, “purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean.”
We see this gesture again in another psalm: “Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle” (Psalm 28:2). The “holy oracle” is the Holy of Holies, where the high priest would symbolically come to the throne of God and symbolically enter His presence.
The symbolism behind the Hallel Gesture is that we raise our hands and arms exposing the chest cavity to reveal a pure heart. We raise our hands before the Lord to show Him that our hands are clean. These verses make it clear that this is also a prayer gesture. The full context is illuminated in Isaiah 1:15 as the Lord condemns Israel’s dirty hands by saying, “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.”
The Hebrew word Hallel means “to praise.” Thus, in this gesture, we praise the Lord. It is also a gesture symbolizing our willingness to surrender to His will. The open hand bears no weapons of rebellion, while the clenched fist is a gesture of defiance.
Our preparation to walk back to God’s presence is demonstrated in the Book of Mormon. Alma asks, “I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?” (Alma 5:19). I believe I have mentioned the term Leitwort previously in posts. It was discovered by Austrian-Israeli philosopher and Bible scholar, Martin Buber (born in 1878). He observed that certain theme words in the scriptures are repeated for emphasis. Leitwort means “leading word” in German. The words up and down are used to emphasize coming into the presence of God or leaving the presence of God. The symbolism of this verse points to our walk back to the presence of God and having His image reflected in our countenances.
By the way, if this were a post about Hebraisms, I would note that the clean hands and pure hearts in Psalm 24 are inverted in Alma 5, where it’s “pure heart and clean hands.” This is a Hebrew writing style discovered by Moses Seidel and was first published in 1955. Seidel observed that when a prophet quotes an earlier prophet, the phrases are inverted. There are several examples of this in the Book of Mormon. An example from the Bible is Leviticus 26:4 and Ezekiel 34:27. This is known as Seidel’s Law:
“Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” (Leviticus 26:4)
“And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase.” (Ezekiel 34:27).
That was a diversion, but getting back to Psalm 24, verse 6 states, “This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.” The root of the Hebrew word for generation is duwr, meaning “to go in a circle.” Hugh Nibley argues that this is in connection with ancient prayer circles that moved in a circular pattern. Nibley wrote an article about the early Christian prayer circle. In some apocryphal texts (like the Acts of John), Jesus or an apostle stood in the center while disciples form a circle around them. The round dance is still practiced among Native American tribes.
The last four verses of Psalm 24 are an antiphonal dialog, or antiphonal singing. This is where one group of singers ask a question and another group of singers answers the question. The lines are repeated. This is similar to rituals where the initiate is tested to give the correct name or answer in order to progress in a temple-like journey.
Here is the antiphonal dialog in Psalm 24:
“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.”
David Mitchell states in his awesome book The Songs of Ascents that these verses were sung as the Ark of the Covenant was brought through the gates leading to Mount Zion when the Ark was placed in the temple (see 1 Kings 8:3-8).
See below for YouTube videos explaining the Hallel Gesture and ancient Jewish round dances. The round dance video is kind of fun. I hope you will see eternal doctrine, symbolism, and temple themes while watching.