Psalm 24 - The Great and Sovereign God

you [Music] we come now to Psalm 24 a psalm about the great and sovereign God the King of glory the psalm is simply titled in the original Hebrew a psalm of David there are many people who think that this Psalm was written upon the occasion of the entrance of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem during the reign of King David you'll find that in 2nd samuel chapter 6 whether or not the psalm was actually written to correspond with that event i don't think we can say for certain but it would certainly fit here is this wonderful short psalm only 6 verses in length here we go verse 1 the earth is the lord's and all its fullness the world and those who dwell therein don't you love the expressive and expansive character of that statement the earth is the Lord's now don't forget that David was a noble and a successful King but he was the king of a relatively small in insignificant Kingdom I mean after all what was the Kingdom of Israel it was small it didn't have a lot of global importance it wasn't a mighty empire and one might easily think that the gods of the Egyptians or the gods of the Assyrians were greater because their kingdoms were greater yet David boldly and rightly knew that the Lord that is Yahweh the Covenant God of Israel he was the God of all the earth the earth is the Lord's in other words it's not like well he divides this part with the gods of Egypt and this part belongs to the Lord or this part belongs to the gods of Assyria no forget those pagan idols that aren't gods at all the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness you see it wasn't enough for David to say that the entire earth belonged to the Lord he had to add that all its fullness also belonged to God it's difficult to think of a more sweeping statement of God's complete ownership over everything I mean we think of what is the fullness of the earth well it probably means everything that comes from it's harvests its wealth its life all the gold in every mind that has yet to be dug up from the earth that's the Blanc's of the Lord every dime in everything just everything in the seas everything's on the land the earth is the Lord and the fullness of it everything belongs to the Lord now there is a sense in which the world belongs to Satan in passages like second Corinthians chapter four verse four Satan is called the god of this age and when Satan tempted Jesus with the promise of giving him the kingdoms of this world Jesus didn't question the devil's ability to do so I don't know if you remember that from the temptations of Jesus for example in each one of the Gospels where it describes Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and one of the temptations that Satan brought to Jesus was I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world and Jesus never answered back say we they don't you don't possess those you can't give them to me there's some sense in which Satan is the god of this age yet Satan can only do anything at god's allowance so God's ultimate ownership is true the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness now the Apostle Paul quoted this line twice in second Corinthians chapter excuse me first Corinthians chapter 10 verse 26 and in verse 28 of first Corinthians chapter 10 he did that to establish that no food is in itself unclean and that in fact there's nothing that actually belongs to the false gods that the pagans made their offerings unto no the earth is the Lord's the world and those who dwell there in God's ownership of the earth extends even to the people who live upon it through the rites of creation I mean everything belongs to God because he created everything but also through the rites of continuing provision God has a claim upon every person who has ever lived now why why does God have these claims again I refer to the right of creation that's going to be repeated now or the ideas gonna be established in verse two check this out for he has founded it upon the Seas and established it upon the waters God has the right to the earth and to all who dwell upon it because he created both the earth and everybody who dwells on it specifically David looked back to the creation account of Genesis chapter 1 and he remembered the creation of the land in the midst of the Earth's waters on the third day of creation that's why he says he established it upon the waters now to the best of our knowledge David had never ventured more than a few hundred miles beyond Israel and David had never seen a sea beyond the Mediterranean Sea perhaps also he saw the Red Sea but David never saw a modern globe he never saw a modern earth projection on a flat map yet he knew that the waters of the earth dominated the globe so much so that it could be said that the earth is in the midst of the waters instead of the waters being in the midst of the Earth's land isn't that amazing he says he's established it upon the waters somehow David knew by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit no doubt that it was the waters that dominated the earth and the land of the earth actually sits in the midst of the waters not to David that might have seemed like a wonderful engineering marvel that God could establish the earth upon the waters and it's the great God that has done this now having established the greatness of God now a critical question gets asked in verse 3 look at this who may ascend into the hill of the Lord or who may stand in his holy place two questions actually virtually the same question asked twice for the sake of emphasis as is the pattern in Hebraic poetry the simply asked who may ascend into the hill of the Lord you see in light of God's sovereign ownership of the earth and everybody who lives upon it David wondered exactly who had the right to stand before God and this wasn't about mountain climbing ascending the hill of the Lord it wasn't about your ability to climb up a lot of steps but it was about the right to come before God that's why it's asked again who may stand in his holy place David there clarifies his previous question David asked who has the right to stand before God at his holy temple in the holy place who can stand before God now I'll tell you what I find fascinating about this question this is a question that used to concern mankind much more than it does in our present day there was a time when men and women genuinely wondered what is required to make me right with God there was a time when people actually asked that question and I suppose there's some places in some cultures on some places in the year today where people really do think much about that question but today in the Western world and when I say the Western world I mean North America I mean Europe I mean the cultures that are dominated by European and American and North American culture I mean in the Western world it seems like the most asked question is not what does it take to make me right with God no people want to ask the question how can I be happy matter of fact it seems that nobody asks the question who may stand in his holy place I want you to know something that just because our culture doesn't ask this question the way that they should it doesn't mean that it's not an important question I believe personal happiness is important but it is not more important than being in right relationship with our Creator and our provider David not only asked an important question when he said who may ascend into the hill of the Lord who may stand in his holy place it's not only an important question it's the most important question well what's the answer look at it here in verse 4 he who has clean hands in a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully here in three aspects are the qualifications of the person who can stand before the Lord the first aspect mentioned is who has clean hands and a pure heart this speaks of a man or a woman who is both pure in their actions that's the idea behind the hands and there appear in their intentions that's their heart that's the one who can ascend the hill of the Lord that's the one who can stand in his holy place now once you understand something David already established that God ruled the earth now he declares that God rules the earth on a moral foundation God is concerned with the moral behavior of mankind you know when it says there who may ascend into the hill of the Lord who may stand in his holy place God could have said what the person who is really beautiful you know the person who looks really attractive by human standards but he doesn't say that he could have said well the person who's young he doesn't say they could have said the person who's old he could have said the person who's rich he could have said the person who's poor he could have said the person who's really smart he could have said the person who's really simple none of those things all of those have their place in this world but what God was fundamentally concerned about was a moral foundation God is concerned with the moral behavior of mankind he who has clean hands and a pure heart now clean hands are important for good hygiene people are always washing their hands nowadays they're always using that hand sanitizer they want to have clean hands that's important but this speaks of much more than washing with water or even the best hand sanitizer remember Pontius Pilate washed his hands but they were not clean no this has in mind the person who is pure in their actions what they do with their hands and a pure heart pure in their intentions and did you notice the next line there who has not lifted up his soul to an idol the one who's accepted by God also rejects idolatry notice not only in their actions but especially in their soul they have not lifted up their soul to an idol and the last line of verse 4 they have not sworn to me verse 3 verse 4 rather they have not lifted up their soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully the words we speak are a good indication of the state of our heart the inner person is revealed by what we say that's in Matthew chapter 12 verse 34 the one who makes deceptive promises before God they find a welcome from God now let's kind of review this who can come into the presence of God who may ascend into the hill of the Lord who may stand in his holy place he who has clean hands in a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully David understood all this from the general principles of the Old Covenant and under the Old Covenant for example if you were to look in Deuteronomy chapters 27 and 28 under the Old Covenant God promised to bless and receive an obedient Israel he also promised to curse and afflict a disobedient Israel so we see this what David says in the first four verses makes perfect sense in an Old Covenant perspective now outside the terms of the Old Covenant that God made with Israel these answers of David may cause us to despair it's easy to look at this list and see you know what my hands are not always clean my heart is not always pure idolatry can be subtle and stubborn in my heart I also find it too easy to make promises with at least a tinge of deceit where it says there in verse 4 nor sworn deceitfully that's not even easy for me so fortunately God has established a better covenant a new covenant through the person and work of Jesus Christ you see under the new covenant we see that Jesus is the one who has clean hands and a pure heart Jesus is the one who has never lifted up his soul to an idol Jesus is the one who has never sworn deceitfully and those things Jesus had performed perfectly now Jesus in his perfect righteousness took all my sin and the sin of all who believe he took all our sin upon himself and he says I will give you my righteousness I'll give you my clean hands and my pure heart I'll give you my soul that has never been lifted up to an idol I'll give you my tongue that has never sworn deceitfully in his righteousness it's given to all who believe we can ascend his holy hill and stand in his holy place brothers and sisters I want to give you the assurance you can take the promise of verse 3 or the invitation of verse 3 who may ascend into the hill of the Lord who may stand in his holy place and when you see it requires the purity of life the purity of action the purity of motive that's talked about in verse 4 you can say Lord by faith I have that righteousness in Jesus Christ now that being said David's principle is also accurate under the New Covenant in this sense the conduct of one's life is a reflection of their fellowship with God John wrote it this way in 1st John chapter 1 verse 6 he said this if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie and do not practice the truth we might say that under the Old Covenant a righteous walk was the condition for fellowship with God but under the New Covenant a righteous walk with God is the result of fellowship with God founded on faith yet under both covenants God cares very much about the moral conduct of his people he cares very much about the whole moral conduct of mankind in general but especially with those who identify themselves as his people now what kind of blessing comes to the righteous man take a look here at verse 5 where we read he shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the god of his salvation isn't that beautiful he shall receive blessing from the Lord God knows and cares about the moral behavior of men and women and he rewards those who honor him with their lives now this blessing may be sometimes understood in reward that God grants to the obedient but other times it's to be understood it's just the natural result of living according to God's wise order listen God has established the order a system a a way that we should live and when we obey that there's blessing in it sometimes it's just the inherent blessing of living the way God wants us to live but even more so look at what it says there verse 5 and he shall receive righteousness from the god of his salvation David here spoke in the idiom of the Old Covenant we're right standing with God might be assumed from the life of the obedience at the same time David wrote of a received righteousness that came from the god of his salvation we might say that the obedient life spoken of in Psalm 24 is the product of the received righteousness obtained by faith the righteousness from the god of his salvation now even with the important distinctions that we make between the old and the new covenants it's a mistake to say that salvation was by works under the Old Covenant don't ever think that what one might say in some sense that blessing was by works of obedience under the Old Covenant but righteousness has always been from the god of his salvation you see under the Old Covenant that faith was often expressed by the trust in the work of sacrifice it would look forward to the ultimate perfect sacrifice promised by God and fulfilled in the work of Jesus at the cross so here is a description of the Blessed and righteous one verse 6 this is Jacob the generation of those who seek Him who seek your face Selah this is Jacob David says it's David's way of identifying God's covenant people these are the blessed and righteous ones these are the ones who have entered into covenant with God the Covenant that had its roots back in the Covenant that God made with Abraham Isaac and Jacob but then sort of had its branch or or another aspect of it in the Old Covenant made with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai this is as it says there in verse 6 the generation of those who seek him the blessed and righteous ones do more than enter into covenant with God they also pursue him with a continual seeking this is something for each generation to do afresh are you part of the generation of those who seek Him those who as it says in verse 6 seek your face there the idea is intensified by repetition that the descriptor to seek your face is even closer than seeking Him and there it's also intensified by the use of that come to plate of pause that say law that's what's a law is all about it's about pausing for a contemplation sometimes it might have been accompanied by a musical flourish as well but the whole idea is to pause for contemplation now verses 7 & 8 a little bit of a twist a little bit of a change in the focus of Psalm 24 here here we read lift up your heads o you gates and be lifted up you 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 don't you love the the triumph of that verse 7 lift up your heads o you gates you see the first section of this Psalm verses 1 through 6 it declared the greatness of God the second section spoke of how man can come into right relationship with God now the third section welcomes God unto his people by the opening of the gates and let me rephrase what I just said before you could say verses 1 & 2 are the first section of song that's the greatness of God verses 3 through 6 are the second session how man can come into right relationship now the third section verses 7 through 10 this describes God coming unto his people the opening of the gates the idea is of the glorious procession of a king into the gates of a walled city and that the city has a wall all around it for defense and protection and of course the gates are very important because if the gates aren't secure then the walls aren't secure so it's a very Simonis thing open up the gates and open them wide because the King of glory is entering in now Charles Spurgeon in his great work on the Psalms called the treasury of David he quoted an author named Evans who wrote this quote he's looking back to a time older in England ready quote this is from Evans cited and Spurgeon quote when the King of England wishes to enter the City of London through the Temple Bar the gate being closed against him The Herald demands entrance opened the gate from within a voice is heard who is there The Herald answers the King of England the gate is at once opened and the king passes amidst the joyful acclamation of his people this is an ancient and the allusion to it is in this Psalm now listen I have no idea if they still do this in London today with the Queen or any other monarch who may sit on the throne of England but it's kind of picturesque to think in ancient times in England the king coming up to a certain gate in the City of London and crying out open the gate they shout back who's there they declare it's the king of England and then he comes in with joy and acclamation it's the same idea here the king of glory comes to the gates and what does it say it says that the king of glory shall come in who is this King of glory he's the Lord strong and mighty think about it the king of glory shall come in now as I said at the very beginning of the psalm there are people who believe that King David wrote this Psalm either for the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem or the commemoration of the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant Jerusalem if so you can see that that maybe this is the idea of the king was coming into Jerusalem coming in through the gates and it was symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant coming in there if that's the case or even just if that concept is true which seems to be so we can make several connections to the idea that the king of glory shall come in this was fulfilled when the Ark of the Covenant came into Jerusalem that's in 2nd Samuel chapter 6 verses 11 through 18 this was fulfilled also when the ascended Jesus entered into heaven do you remember when Jesus ascended on high but how about this this is also fulfilled when an individual heart opens to Jesus's King can't you see this being a symbol or just a picture for us in our mind but that's it it's as if my heart is is a walled city resisting Jesus Christ and then Jesus comes to my heart and he says Here I am open the gate and I say who is desiring interest and he says it's the king of glory the king of the universe I desire to come into your heart and then I say come Lord Jesus come into my heart you see the idea is planed it's assumed that when God is welcomed with open gates and doors he is pleased to come in the king of glory will meet with his people when he is approached correctly and when the doors are open to him you know that the idea that somehow the doors are the gates might be opened to God yet he would not come into a man it's not even considered like somebody would open their heart wide open to Jesus and she said nope not for you you see we have the promise it's in James chapter 4 verse 8 that when we draw near to him he will draw near to us now in Revelation chapter 3 verse 20 this idea is presented as a plea from Jesus unto his people he says this again this is Jesus speaking unto his people behold I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in to him and dine with him and he with me jesus promised this open the door and I will come in that's what we need to do we need to open the door to Jesus now I know it's possible to overthink this we overthink this like this well I I can't open the door unless God doesn't work in me first and I don't know if God's done that work or not maybe God has maybe God hasn't I I don't know me I don't want to open the door if it's not God leading me to do it we just listen open the door of your heart and Jesus will come in now I know that you can't open the door of your heart unless God is working you but don't think about that in the moment in the moment just say I want Jesus I'm gonna open up the door of my heart to him and he will come in I like what FB Meyer said about this he said we must have the King of glory within two on the outside even though he's on a throat no that's no good I'm paraphrasing yep be Meyer but he said we need to have the King of glory within the verse eight who is the king of glory it is the Lord strong and mighty you know perhaps even with a touch of amazement here David notes that the same God who responds to man's welcome is still the king of glory he's still mighty in battle his openness to man does not diminish his glory or his might now let's take a look at the last two verses verses 9 and 10 and what's fascinating about this is verses 9 and 10 are virtually the same as verses 7 and 8 what we have here is a dramatic example of repetition for the sake of emphasis this is very Hebraic in a Hebrew a poetry here ready here we go lift up your heads o you gates lift up you 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 Salah again did you notice that in verse 9 lift up your heads o you gates as is common as I said before in Hebrew poetry repetition communicates emphasis the ideas of verses 7 and 8 were so important in so glorious that God said I'm gonna say him twice now when Jesus entered Jerusalem at the triumphal entry Matthew tells us that the city asked the question who is this that's in Matthew chapter 21 verse 10 if they had known who it was their response should have been the Lord of Hosts he is the king of glory and notice those two ideas first of all the Lord of Hosts do you know what it means that he's the Lord of Hosts the idea of the Lord of Hosts is that he is the commander of heavenly armies hosts are like ordered ranks of soldiers and the idea of the Lord of Hosts usually has the idea of angelic armies he commands all the hosts all the armies of heaven and earth he commands everything so he is the Lord of Hosts and he is the king of glory Salah this Psalm rightly ends on a reflective pause it is no small thing that the King of glory Stoops down to be received by men and to receive man I think it's interesting we are here at the end of Psalm 24 and G Campbell Morgan connected three Psalms of David Psalm 22 Psalm 23 and Psalm 24 and he connected them in an interesting way he says if we were to put it in our time yesterday he passed through Psalm 22 today he's exercising the shepherd lis office of Psalm 23 tomorrow he will exercise finally the authority of Psalm 24 reigning as the King of glory over all the earth in the fullness of measure let's conclude with this how does Psalm 24 point to Jesus well again we spoke about this very clearly about what we have in the New Covenant that Jesus established but let me just give you three additional ways that Psalm 24 points to Jesus number one when it speaks of God as the creator in verse two do you remember that verse two we read this for he has founded it upon the Seas and established it upon the Otters he god created the earth and Colossians chapter 1 verse 6 tells us that Jesus was the agent of God's creation in the creation of all the earth it says of Jesus in Colossians 1 6 for by him by Jesus all things were created that are in heaven and that are on the earth if Jesus created everything then when it mentions the creative glory of God in verse 2 it's talking about Jesus then secondly when it asks who may ascend into the hill of the Lord in verse three really is that not referring to Jesus who not only ascended into the hill of the Lord in any earthly sense but he ascended into heaven on high and he was gloriously seated at the right hand of God the Father and high this is the true ascension not just going up to a temple or a tabernacle on earth in Old Testament times know what it's really referring to in the ultimate sense is the ascension of God the Son into heaven who may ascend the hill of the Lord Jesus the one who had clean hands and a pure heart Jesus the one who had not lifted up his soul to an idol Jesus who had never sworn deceitfully that one described in verse four in perfect measure Jesus is the one who has every right to ascend to the hill of the Lord to heaven on high seated at the right hand of God the Father finally when in verses 7 and 8 and 9 and 10 remember the repetition when this Psalm welcomes the king of glory you know who it's welcoming it's welcoming King Jesus the king of kings and the Lord of lords let him reign in your life father that's my prayer I pray that everybody who views this or listens to this would have their heart stirred by the glory and the majesty of our great king thank you for this great Psalm that draws our attention to our great king and thank you for the right of access that we have to your throne in Jesus Christ we praise you for this in Jesus name Amen [Music] you [Music]

Channel: David Guzik

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Keywords: david guzik, guzik, enduring word, psalm 24, the great and sovereign god, jesus christ, christ, lord, great, sovereign, great king

Id: VZV7FWhlFD4

Length: 33min 24sec (2004 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 18 2020