Worship The King of Glory
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Warfare & Worship
Warfare & Worship
In the days of David, when one army was victorious over another army, they would parade into the city with a triumphal procession. The triumphal procession was a celebration march accompanied with feasting and partying. More often than not, the procession would include a display of one's captured enemies in chains. But before feasting and partying, the procession would make its way to the holy place, or the sanctuary. David’s practice was no different.
In Psalm 24, the setting is likely Israel returning victoriously from battle. As Israel enters the city, they would head to the “Holy Place” which is where the Ark of the Covenant would be returned. Since the Temple was not built in David’s lifetime, they would have gathered around the Tabernacle of David. The Tabernacle of David was the precursor to the Temple. As they marched toward the holy place, they would recite a temple entry Psalm like Psalm 24.
You can imagine the Ark of the Covenant leading the Israel’s army toward the sanctuary with the priests shouting, “Who is this King of Glory?” and the people responding, “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. The Lord of host is the King of Glory.” The whole scene is meant to stir your heart with the reality that God is a King of Glory who fights for his people and deserves your worship.
When the temple was built, people would enter the temple reciting Psalms like this Psalm 24 to prepare their hearts to enter the sanctuary of God. The psalm served as a means to stir their heart to gaze upon the glory of almighty God. It should be no small thing to enter the presence of God.
Today is Reformation Day. It is a significant day in the protestant church. Five hundred and three years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five thesis to the door of the Catholic Church of Wittenberg. The ninety-five thesis was ninety-five protests that Luther had against the Catholic church. Luther took issues with the sail of indulgences for salvation, justification (how one is made righteous before God), and the people not having access to God’s word. Baptist are protestant because our ancestors protested the Catholic Church as well and even the Lutheran Church.
But one thing I have observed in the Catholic and Lutheran Church is their service has a high degree of reverence for God. Many protestant churches in America appear to have distaste for liturgy. In some churches, the worship set feels more like a concert and the sermon more like a motivational talk. God is portrayed as an old wise grandpa or sage. In my experience, somewhere down the road we’ve lost a sense of reverence for God. Ask yourself this morning,
How did you prepare your heart to enter the presence of God?
How did you prepare your heart to enter the presence of God?
How much time in prayer did you spend reciting the greatness of God to your heart? What scriptures did you meditate on to inspire your heart to the holiness and greatness of God? What songs did you sing this morning before church that made God the object of your worship?
I’m guilty of enter the sanctuary expecting the church to move me into God’s presence, while, I have done nothing to prepare my heart to see God, worship God, hear from God, and respond to God. How often do you enter the sanctuary with God not being the object of your worship?
Psalm 24 is a Psalm that helps you set your heart right before God before you enter His presence. The Psalm reveals three glories of God that serve as a reminder of whom you are about to worship.
Three Glories of the King that help you prepare your heart to worship.
Three Glories of the King that help you prepare your heart to worship.
The King’s Glorious Possession (Psalm 24:1-2)
The King’s Glorious Possession (Psalm 24:1-2)
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
God owns everything because God created everything
God owns everything because God created everything
As David enters the sanctuary he reminds himself of God’s position as Creator King. In the first verse he acknowledges that everything in this world belongs to God. Moses asserted that same truth to Israel in
Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.
God owns the world because he created the world. In verse 2, God is the one who sets the earth’s foundation on the seas and rivers. The imagery of water should take you back to the very beginning of Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Israel’s conception of creation believed the earth rested on the waters. The psalmist says of the Lord,
to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever;
When God commanded Israel not to create idols, he said
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
God created the earth and set it on firm foundations, like pillars sunk down into the depths of the sea. To David’s readers, though, God’s power over creation would be seen in him being able to tame the water, like seas. In ancient Near Eastern mythology, the sea represented untamable chaos. The Old Testament says that Yahweh has the power to subdue the sea, showing the all the world that He is supreme.
When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.
Yahweh is truly the King of Glory who created everything, controls everything (even the chaotic seas), and therefore owns everything. He possess the earth with such power, nothing can stop Him from doing what he desires to do.
There is no enemy who can come close to defeating him. God is never frustrated. He is always victorious. He is the supreme God who possess all the stars in heaven and everything that fills the land and seas. And this supreme God deserves to possess your heart, your loyalty, your love, your adoration. The question for you is, does he possess your heart?
Pondering the King of Glory Possession Prioritizes Your Worship
Pondering the King of Glory Possession Prioritizes Your Worship
If Yahweh truly is the supreme God who owns everything because he created everything and he rules over everything, even subduing the chaotic sea, then why do you act as though he has no right to rule your life? Why do you let things capture the loyalty of your heart over Him? In TTV we are teaching the children the Ten Commandments. They’ve learned that idolatry is loving anything more than God. It is prioritizing things or people or ideas above the Lord. It;s allowing something else to posses your heart.
When you ponder the glory of the King’s possession of all the earth, including you, the King’s possession confronts your idolatry. Preparing your heart to enter His sanctuary is a way of getting your heart to prioritize the King of Glory over anything that is competing fur worship.
Who is this King of Glory? He is the one who possess all the earth, and the one who possesses my heart. Once the the worshiper has set his heart straight about the King of Glory’s possession, that is, his ownership of everything, verse three asks an important question, “Who can come into the presence of the King of Glory?
The King’s Glorious Presence (Psalm 24:3-6)
The King’s Glorious Presence (Psalm 24:3-6)
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.
Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
The question posed in verse three is both rhetorical and reflective. On the one hand, true worshipers of God know that God’s presence is special and very dangerous. His holiness breaks out against sin. On the other hand, the question forces you to ask yourself, “Am I able to come into the presence of the King of Glory?”
What is required of me to enter the King of Glory’s presence?
David answers the question in verse 3 with verse four, which says,
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.
The Hebrew word for clean means innocent and the word for pure emphasizes moral purity. Those who are innocent are those who are innocent of wrong doing. They do not devise wicked schemes in their heart and carry them out against their neighbor.
The prophet Isaiah offers a contrast to one with clean hands with one whose hands are full of blood. Of the one whose hands are defiled with evil, Yaweh says,
When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
Guilty hands are covered with blood, injustice, extortion, and exploitation. To such a defiled person, God will not allow them into his presence.
In order to have clean hands you must have a clean heart. You must be morally pure. A pure heart is a heart committed to the law of God.
Purity of heart is characterized by God’s law
Purity of heart is characterized by God’s law
according to
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
Purity of heart is how you receive God’s goodness.
Purity of heart is how you receive God’s goodness.
The Psalmist also says that God is good to those who are pure
Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
Purity of heart is the only way you can see God.
Purity of heart is the only way you can see God.
Jesus says
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
At the end of the day, to enter God’s presence, the desires of your heart and the actions of your hands must align with God’s holy standard. You must be consistent on the inside and the outside. Willem A. VanGemeren sums this up well when he says,
“Purity of “hands” and “heart” is the condition of living before God in accordance with his precepts and out of the desire of his heart. Appearance of holiness is not enough, because the “clean hands” are expressive of “a pure heart” Willem A. VanGemeren
“Purity of “hands” and “heart” is the condition of living before God in accordance with his precepts and out of the desire of his heart. Appearance of holiness is not enough, because the “clean hands” are expressive of “a pure heart” Willem A. VanGemeren
With clean hands and a pure heart,
God requires that you have a singleness of heart.
God requires that you have a singleness of heart.
The phrase “who does not lift his soul up to another” could also be rendered “who does not lift his soul up to an idol.” To understand what David means here you need to look at Psalm 25:1
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
To lift up your soul to God is to trust him entirely. You get the sense of this in
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
There is parallel between trust and lifting up ones soul. Trust is believing God and enjoying his steadfast love for you.
In contrast, the pagan nations around Israel were lifting their souls to idols, false gods. They were deceived, giving their love and loyalty falsely to a false god.
To enter the true King of Glory’s holy presence, you must come with a clean heart that expresses love for God’s morality from a clean heart that trusts God’s steadfast love.
At this point, you should feel some tension in your heart. When you ask the question, “Who can ascend the Lord’s holy Hill? Who can come into his holy presence?” you are immediately confronted with your impurity. That is the consequence of being in the presence of a Holy God. His holiness spotlights your impurity. It is a terrifying thing.
Consider the prophet Isaiah. In the sixth chapter of his book, he has encounter with the Holy King of Glory.
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isaiah experiences God’s holiness. Look at how he responds
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Isaiah is immediately confronted with his impurity. He sees his uncleanliness for what it is, sin against the King. He is terrified. He is coming undone. He knows he is going to perish.
Interestingly enough, Peter had the same response to Jesus. Jesus told Peter to cast his net on the other side of the boat. Peter says, “Master, we have been fishing all night long and caught nothing.” Peter is saying to Jesus, the fish are not here. There is no need to cast this net on any side of the boat. However, because Jesus asked him to do it, he obeys Jesus. Of course, the net fills with fish to the point they think it is going to break apart. At this point Peter turns to Jesus and says
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!”
Peter caught a glimpse of Jesus’ glory. Remember, only God can subdue the sea and command the fish.
The reality is, no human being in their own can enter the presence of the King of Glory. He is holy. He demands that all who enter his presence be holy. We are depraved. He is sinless. We are sinful. He is perfect. We are imperfect. No matter how hard you try to be good enough for God, you are no different than Isaiah and Peter. Isaiah says later in his book that your best righteousness is like filthy rags before God (Isaiah 63)
To prepare your heart for worship you must contemplate the King of Glory’s possession. You must realize he owns everything because he made everything. He is the one true God and there is none like him. You must also realize to come into his presence you must be holy like him. You must come with clean hands and a pure heart that is absolutely devoted to His law, His morality, His kingdom. This should be humbling thought. At this point, your idols have been exposed and your impurity has been exposed. Pondering his presence should stop you dead in your tracks before coming into worship. How often do you stop and think about the holiness of God before you come on Sunday mornings?
The final preparation is realizing the glorious power of the King.
The King’s Glorious Power (Psalm 24:7-10)
The King’s Glorious Power (Psalm 24:7-10)
As I said before, the setting of Psalm 24 is likely Israel returning from a battle victorious over their enemy. The King is going to enter the gates, parading his army and enemies before the people as you see in verse 7.
Verse eight describes the King of Glory as a warrior King.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!
It echoes back to Yahweh’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.
Throughout the Old Testament, Yahweh is the God who fights for his people. Moses reminded Israel
And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people
and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them,
for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’
Yaweh is the one true God who possesses all heaven and earth and under the earth. Everything is at his disposal. Heavenly armies await his command to strike his enemies at any moment. Have you read of Elisha praying for his servant to see the Lord’s armies when they were surrounded by their enemies?
Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Then Elisha prayed again and asked the Lord to blind all of his enemies.
And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha.
Do you see the strength and might of the Lord? He has the power to physically blind all of his enemies. He has the ability to confuse them to the point his enemies turn on each other and kill each other. He can control the sun and make it stop in mid day to exhaust the strength of his enemies. He has parted seas and opened the earth to destory those who oppose Him. He has even conquered death itself. There is nothing in heaven and earth and hell that compares to the glorious power of the King of Glory.
So lift your heads and see this king of glory who possess everything, whose presence is holy and power unimaginable.
Who is this King of Glory?
Who is this King of Glory?
It’s possible that Psalm 24 came on the heals of 2 Samuel 6, when the Ark of the Covenant returned to Jerusalem. David rejoiced that the Ark was home because it meant that the presence of god returned to Israel. On this side of the cross we see the greater grace, the greater Son than David, the greater presence of God, the true King of Glory, who who left heaven to secure the salvation of His people.
The Son of God who was at the beginning at creation, who currently sustains the entire world, who lived a perfectly holy life fulfilling every iota of God’s moral law, who conquered your greatest enemy, death, by dying on the cross to atone for your sin and being raised on the third day, secured the forgiveness of your sins, giving you the righteousness you need to come into and remain in the presence of God for all eternity, who was welcomed back into heaven where he sits now at the right hand of the father, He is the true King of Glory.
His name is Jesus.
His name is Jesus.
To enter the sanctuary of God, you must prepare your heart to worship him by having the righteousness of the His Son.
Jesus, the true King of heaven and earth, provides you the clean hands and pure heart you need to come into the presence of God. You must confess your sin, repent of it, and put your faith in His death and resurrection. You must believe in your heart that he is the Lord, that God raised him from the dead and that your sins are only forgiven through Him. Once you do that, you are prepared to enter the throne room of God the Father and worship him rightly.
Jesus gives you his righteous so that you are justified. he gives you the right to be called children of God, adopting you as children of the Father. He gives you a new heart that is ruled by His Spirit, giving you clean hands and a pure heart. He provides for you the power to cancel sin in your life and to fight against the force of evil in this world, clothing you with the full armor of God. He conquered your greatest enemy death, so that you can live abundantly now, and forever with him as your King of Glory.