Psalm 24
Notes
Transcript
A Psalm of David.
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Selah.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!
8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.
Introduction
Introduction
As we move on to a sermon from the poetic books from our short series on Ruth, we look to one of the great poets of the bible, the great-grandson of Ruth and Boaz.
Traditionally, David is the author of 73 of the 150 psalms, almost half.
We know that David was a talented musician, and wrote many Psalms.
And because God has placed songs so prominently in the Bible, we know that music is loved by God.
God Himself sings over His people.
17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
He is the one who gave the gift of singing and music to His creation.
Although not all of us are good at making music, it is pretty universal that we appreciate and enjoy it.
This is by design of our creator, who created music itself, and allows us to image Him with music.
The reason I said all that was to bring us to our passage today, where poetic verse is put to music in the worship of the Creator of the universe.
As the hymnal of the Hebrew congregation, the book of Psalms has music for many occasions.
Just like our hymnal, there are songs for special days, serious songs, happy songs, and songs that were sung liturgically.
The liturgical psalms of the Hebrew congregation were used for all kinds of situations.
There were psalms for certain festivals, like passover and booths, psalms for different parts of temple worship, there is a whole section of psalms called the psalms of ascent, that are for making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for passover.
And when we come to Psalm 24, we find a sort of liturgy for returning to Jerusalem from a victorious battle.
A sort of song of triumphal entry.
God’s law had prescribed many aspects of life for the Hebrew people, from how a king should act to the everyday life of men and women.
And as the Hebrew people were a nation, ruled by God Himself through His word and His prophets and kings, the Law of God included normal nation running stuff, like going to battle.
In between property law in chapter 19, and laws about criminal justice in chapter 21, Deuteronomy chapter 20 gives laws about going to war.
1 “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.
2 “When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people.
3 “He shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them,
4 for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’
They were to remember the past victories, and go to battle knowing that God is the one who secures the victory and prosperity of their nation.
He was the all-supreme monarch of the nation, even when it came to the time of kings, and He would lead them.
And so, when they were victorious, they were to give the glory to where it belonged, to God.
This psalm recognizes that, and was probably sung as the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of God (not the mother of Christ, by the way), would return to it’s place after a victory.
A triumphal return of the supreme warrior for Israel.
David saw this when Goliath mocked God and Israel for sending a boy as their champion.
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.
46 “This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”
King Jehoshaphat prayed to God to save Judah from the Ammonites and the Moabites, and God answered His prayer.
He encouraged his soldiers to not be afraid, because God is the one who wins the battle.
17 ‘You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.”
And the return of soldiers from success in battle was met with a great celebration.
This is when this beautiful psalm would be sung.
Back and forth between those carrying the Ark of the Covenant and those at the gates of Jerusalem.
Every time it would return, as a reminder to those who fought and those who stayed, that it was God who fought for Israel.
God won the battles for them, not their own strength or military prowess.
He is the King of Glory, and the ultimate sovereign of Israel and the whole world.
We have to be reminded of this to, and this is why the Holy Spirit has placed this psalm in His Word for us to read, and sing.
So that we would also be reminded to look to God, who wins every battle.
Every believer must look to God, who wins every battle.
Every believer must look to God, who wins every battle.
Because He alone is sovereign over everything. v. 1-2
Because He alone is sovereign over everything. v. 1-2
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers.
The concept of God’s sovereignty over all things is a hard one to grasp.
We have been reading through the book, Trusting God by Jerry Bridges on Wednesday night prayer meetings.
And it teaches that understanding God’s sovereignty over this world is the key to trusting Him, even when life hurts.
The sovereignty of God is the foundation for trusting Him in all things, including difficult battles.
Bridge’s wrote…
“In the arena of adversity, the Scriptures teach us three essential truths about God—truths we must believe if we are to trust Him in adversity. They are:
• God is completely sovereign.
• God is infinite in wisdom.
• God is perfect in love.
Someone has expressed these three truths as they relate to us in this way: “God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about.”
― Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts
Imagine yourself being a soldier of Israel, and you are coming back from battle.
As you approach the gate to the city, the priests leading the procession with the Ark stop and sing with the gate keepers of the city.
The very first thing they sing together is a reminder that God is the creator of everything, that He is the owner of everything, and that He is sovereign over all that dwell on His earth.
Every time this would be sung, you would be reminded to trust God the next time you would go into battle.
You would remember that everything that you know, is the Lord’s.
The whole earth, and everything it contains, and every person.
This grates against our natural sensibilities.
And it always has.
Verse 2 gives us the basis for His sovereignty
2 For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers.
He is the creator of the earth and everything on it, therefore it is His.
It’s that simple.
This is why there has been such a push throughout history to replace God as Creator with other gods, or with some scientific sounding excuse.
If we can make something else the creator, then we don’t have to admit that we are not our own to do whatever we want with our lives.
This is exactly what Paul taught in Romans 1, that it’s obvious that God is the creator, but man in his rebellion looks at the evidence and closes his eyes and plugs his ears.
God did not create this, it was the act of an impossible natural process.
John, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, also teaches us this in
11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
If you can ignore the blaring reality of God’s creating power, you can ignore His sovereignty as well.
But we do not do this.
We bow the knee to His sovereignty here and now, recognizing His eternal power and divine nature.
And when we do that, we put the battle in His very capable hand.
And all of our trust is put in Him, not in the things of this world.
Why do we look to God? Because He is sovereign, also…
Because He alone grants access to His blessed presence. v. 3-6
Because He alone grants access to His blessed presence. v. 3-6
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Selah.
Again, we are placing ourselves in the sandals of the soldier of Israel approaching the gates of Jerusalem.
Being led by priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant.
The priests have entered the city and came to the tabernacle or later the temple.
Other priests have duty to protect the temple from violation.
The priests call out to those protecting the temple.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?
Then in response, those responsible for the temple would say
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart…
Clean hands and a pure heart.
The outside and the inside.
So many religions rely on ceremony for acceptance.
If I do this or pray like that, I will be ok.
But this is not what God looks for in His worshippers.
Clean hands for the right actions, that come from a pure heart.
This combination of purity inside and out is mentioned several times in scripture.
Do you remember when we went through the book of James, he tells us how to draw near to God, in the same way you draw near to the temple.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
The next criteria for entrance, is that we aren’t liars. That we keep our word.
4 …Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.
Now we run into a little bit of trouble.
Let’s say that you and I were priests carrying the Ark, and these were given as requirements to enter.
Clean hands, which are righteous actions.
A pure heart, which is an innocent inner person.
An honest soul, who has never broken his word.
The Ark would never make it to its home!
All of us fail, we all come short, of the ability to stand before the presence of God, except for one man.
And that man’s work on this earth was to have clean hands, because we don’t. To have a pure heart, because ours is dirty. And He has always kept His word.
And to illustrate His coming, the very work of the temple and the priests was to be able to perform sacrifices of unblemished lambs that pictured what the unblemished Son of God would come to do.
This is not a self-righteous declaration of purity on the part of those seeking to enter, this is an admission that without the righteousness of Christ, we wouldn’t make it in.
All of His righteousness is given to us, so that we can ascend into the hill of the Lord.
The next part of our passage in verses 5 and 6 say
5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Selah.
The one who qualifies, by God’s grace through Christ, receive His blessing and His righteousness.
Verse six is clearer in the esv
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
Seeking the face of God is a way of saying seeking the presence of God.
Which is what you would be doing going to the temple of God where He manifested His presence so clearly.
The result of clean hands and a pure heart, is to be able to enter the presence of a holy God.
The result of dirty hands and an impure heart is trying to escape His presence.
Adam and Eve after they sinned
8 …hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
And in the end,
15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;
16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;
In all of these and other cases, there was no escape from the presence of God, He will always be there.
Denying Him won’t make a difference.
Ignoring Him won’t stop His reality from hitting you like a freight train.
But turning to Christ will change what His presence means.
Bending the knee in saving faith and biblical repentance will mean His presence becomes sweet reward, instead of terrifying judgement.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.
10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
So look to God through Christ, and He will give you access to His sweet presence.
None of us are worthy in ourselves to ascend His holy hill, but through Christ’s grace alone, God’s blessings and righteousness are ours.
Third,
Because He alone is the King of Glory. v. 7-10
Because He alone is the King of Glory. v. 7-10
7 Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!
8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.
Here we have more back and forth between those coming in to the gates and the gatekeepers.
The ones who are coming back victorious because of God’s help, in a very poetic way, tell the doors to open up for the King of Glory.
But ancient gates are hinged on the side, they don’t lift up to open.
The callers are using this langauge to personify the doors, like they would have the emotions of men.
They should be excited to open up for the King of Glory, to let Him proceed on His path back to His throne.
Lift up your heads and sing! Be lifted up in exaltation for the King of Glory has returned a victor over the enemies.
Then the gatekeepers call out, “Who goes there?” “Who is this King of Glory?”
Then in praise, the answer comes back, “Yahweh, strong and mighty! Yahweh mighty in battle!”
No one else could command these gates to open.
The gate will only open for those that are worthy, and there is none worthy but the King of Glory.
Once the battle is over, the victor, He who is strong and mighty, comes to those gates and commands them to open up!
He commands again, “Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!”
They ask again,
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.
Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts or armies, He is the King of glory!
This King demands by right to enter in.
He is the victor, He is the leader of armies into battle and the winner of wars.
It is by His strength He conquers all of the enemies of His people.
He is the King of glory!
And we all know who this King is?
It is Jesus Christ!
David prophesied about this King in
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
2 The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
3 Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
And quoting this, the author of Hebrews says
12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.
Don’t you see? The King of glory isn’t just the victor over the enemies of the nation of Israel!
He is the victor over all of the enemies of God!
22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
So although we are not members of the ancient nation of Israel, we can lift up our voices in praise to our King, the King of glory!
Who wins all of our battles for us!
No, who has won the battle already, and is seated in victory at the right hand of the Father!
This is the King of glory! Look to Him!
Conclusion
Conclusion
This short psalm is packed with praise.
It is amazing to me how clear it is to see Christ, hundreds of years before His birth.
This is a psalm that was sung about victory in warfare.
And although we don’t fight the same type of war, as the church is not a nation, every single one of us are constantly at battle.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
And the reality is, God provided the victory for the Hebrew army, but they still had to go out and fight!
So, get out there and fight!
But remember to to God through Christ, He is the King of glory, strong and mighty, mighty in battle!
One more thing.
When those gates were opened and the King of glory went in, all those who were with Him, went in to worship, too.
Are you with Him? Have you bent the knee and have you been given His clean hands and pure heart?
That is the only way to get into those gates into the joyful presence of God.
If you aren’t sure, see me or Philip after the service, and we would be glad to point you in the direction of His holy hill.
