Sermon Tone Analysis

There was a man in England who put his Rolls-Royce on a boat and went across to the continent to go on a holiday.

While he was driving around Europe, something happened to the motor of his car.

He cabled the Rolls-Royce people back in England and asked, “I’m having trouble with my car; what do you suggest I do?”

Well, the Rolls-Royce people flew a mechanic over!

The mechanic repaired the car and flew back to England and left the man to continue his holiday.

As you can imagine, the fellow was wondering, “How much is this going to cost me?”

So when he got back to England, he wrote the people a letter and asked how much he owed them.

He received a letter from the office that read: “Dear Sir: There is no record anywhere in our files that anything ever went wrong with a Rolls-Royce.”

That is justification!

In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch.

He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery.

“Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience?

That will be hard because you have been a king.”

“I understand,” said Henry.

“The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.”

“Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard.

“Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.”

When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The King learned to rule by being obedient.”

A fitting intro to today’s look at Ps. 24…and the connection there between the obedience of the King and the obedience of the people…especially concerning their ability to worship the Lord.

READ Ps. 24

Is there a historical setting to this psalm?

Could it be the entrance of the ark into Jerusalem?

Maybe, but probably not it’s full intent…actually certainly not.

This Psalm clearly has a messianic theme to it.

So, even if David wrote it about the entrance of the ark…the HS intention was far beyond that.

Jim Boice notes an interesting fact.

The ancient rabbinical sources tell us that in the Jewish liturgy, Psalm 24 was always used in worship on the first day of the week.1

The first day of the week is our Sunday.

So, putting these facts together, we may assume that these were the words being recited by the temple priests at the very time the Lord Jesus Christ mounted a donkey and ascended the rocky approach to Jerusalem.

The people who were outside the walls, who were approaching Jerusalem with him, exclaimed: "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” "Hosanna in the highest" (Matt.

21:9)!

Inside the priests were intoning: “Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors that the King of glory may come in.

Who is he, this King of glory?

The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory.”

But the priests were not joining in the cries of acclamation for Jesus, and within days they would conspire to have him executed as a blasphemer.

The common people, even though they hailed him as the Lord's Anointed on Palm Sunday, would be crying, "Crucify him!

Crucify him!" before the week was out.

King of All Creation

Verses 1 and 2 seem out of place in the whole of the Psalm.

At first glance they don’t seem to fit the theme of the following verses…so what are they doing there?

The bulk of the psalm describes the people of God coming to Jerusalem—we must assume that they are largely Jews—and God also coming to his city.

It would be very easy for the people to conclude from this description that God is a Jewish God exclusively, that is, that he is for Jews only or somehow loves Jews more than other people.

We know how strong that idea later became, because even in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ the disciples seemed unable to think of a worldwide kingdom but thought instead of an exclusively Jewish one.

Thus, even after the resurrection they were asking Jesus, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel" (Acts 1:6)?

Their understanding of the kingdom was restricted ethnically (it was for "Israel"), politically (it was a "restoration" of the earlier kingdom of David) and geographically (it was to be centered in Jerusalem).

Jesus had to teach them that his was to be a spiritual kingdom which would extend throughout the world: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (v.

8).

The opening verses of Psalm 24 are an Old Testament expression of this truth.

They tell us that, although for a time God did in a way tie his earthly presence to Jerusalem, God nevertheless is God of all the earth.

"The world and all who live in it” belong to him.

If you are a part of this world, as you are, you owe him allegiance as your true and rightful King.

You have a great responsibility.

But from it there also flows a great blessing.

Who May Come

Verse 3 brings us back to Jerusalem…back to the holy hill.

For David…the hill in question was Mt.

Moriah…just north of where his palace stood…the same hill Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac upon…the same hill where the ark would find a resting place…the same hill that later Solomon would construct a temple…the same hill that later Herod would expand and create the massive temple mount that still stands to this day.

<<pics?>>

The same hill that Jesus entered on Palm Sunday and was led away from carrying his cross on Good Friday.

But David’s question centers on worship…who may approach this Holy God in worship…who is worthy?

Verse 4 answers the question.

But, I don’t know about you…that’s a concerning verse.

So, as we gather for worship today on the Lord’s holy hill, as we enter his throne room, his holy place, to offer our prayers and offerings, I ask you.

Are your hands clean, and is your heart pure?

Have both your every thought, that which you conceive inwardly, and your every deed, that which you have done outwardly, measured up to the standard of your heavenly father’s perfection, “Be ye perfect, as I am perfect.”

Have you walked blamelessly this week?

Have you committed no sins?

Have you not failed to do anything required of you?

Have you prayed without ceasing, loved without flagging, poured fourth your heart, soul, mind, and strength upon the altar of the Lord?

Loved every creature in the world and all those who dwell therein?

Glorified God for every moment of grace and blessing that you have experienced?

Children, have you obeyed your parents?

Always?

Without delay?

Without question?

Have you been happy to do so, with honor and love in your heart for those who are in authority over you?

That is the central question asked of you by Psalm 24, and it is the question of the Law.

The law does not inquire of your intentions alone, whether you want to please God, whether you are trying to.

It asks how you have done, how you are doing.

It asks about your heart, and your hands.

And its standard is perfection.

It offers blessing for performance, not intention.

Reward for inward and outward obedience.

That is the question of the Law, and that is the deal it offers you.

Do these things, think these thoughts, and you will live.

I’m sure we’ve all heard sermons in the past…sermons that consisted entirely of these questions to the congregation.

How have you done this week?

Have you been blameless, have you been truthful?

Have you honored the Lord?

Can you try harder next week?

You must.

But, let’s be honest what comfort, what hope, was offered by those sermons, other than that Jesus is waiting patiently for your best effort.

But we were never told whether our best effort would be good enough, though I somehow I think we all know that it wouldn’t.

See, the problem with those try harder sermons is that they often lack the gospel.

They call upon you to make yourself worthy without acknowleding your inability to do so.

As sinners our hands are never clean enough, hearts never pure enough…we often lift our souls up to what is false…we are often deceitful.

Don’t miss this…its crucial to understanding this Psalm

In Psalm 24 David asks us who can lead this procession?

Who is worthy?

And as he cries out, the great congregation responds in kind: “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.”

Remarkable, isn’t it, how this most ancient of biblical liturgies (remember this was part of the weekly readings by the priests) approaches the place of worship with the law on its lips, confessing their sins, confessing their need for a holy priest, a true prophet, and a mighty king to lead them into worship, just as much as they needed the Ark of the Covenant to lead them in victory on the battlefield.

This Psalm is crying out for Jesus!