There is some dispute about Psalm 24. Some say it was an entrance ceremony; others say a hymn of praise; most commentators say it was used as the Ark of the Covenant was brought to
The Psalm was sung in Herod's temple each Sunday. This Psalm is also connected with the Lord's entrance into
A Psalm of David.
1 The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.
The people all spoke or sang this chorus in unison.
In these first few verses we see the worship of the creator. The LORD Jehovah is the founder and creator of all the earth. The whole world and all that is in it and all who are in it are the sole possession of the Jehovah God.
That is a big step for men to take; to relinquish ownership to this unseen God. The earth is the Lord's. There are many beliefs out there about how the earth came about, but there is only one truth. That's what matters. Some believe in a big bang where nothing went boom and became everything. Others see some sort of god caused a big bang and then went away to leave us to ourselves. There are many who worship the earth and are obsessed with saving the earth even at the expense of man. Man has many beliefs about God and the earth.
David declared that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it is his. Of all the planets and stars he made……. He chose this one to populate, to chose a people, to send a savior, to reveal Himself to men by His word. The earth is the Lords. He is the one that founded it and established it. It's all His and if He made it then He is also completely capable of taking care of it. That doesn't change our responsibility to be good stewards to what the Lord has entrusted to us. But all that we possess and give back to the Lord belonged Him initially. He grants us the privilege of breathing his are, drinking his water, eating His food.
He alone is worthy of worship because he is creator.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
The leader would ask verse 3……….the people would respond.
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah
Anyone could go to the sanctuary and worship. Anyone can walk in the door of this church or any other. However not everyone will experience true worship. Who can stand in the holy place? The one with clean hands is the one who have acted innocently toward others. The pure heart is the one cleansed of all unpure motives toward other people. Mathew 5:8 says, "Blessed are those pure in heart, for they shall see God." To stand in the holy place one must not life up his soul to an idol……….to a false thing. This man is pious toward the Lord. He will receive a blessing and righteousness from the God of his salvation. David said, "This is Jacob." This was his people, a generation of people who sought the face of God. True piety is displayed in a hunger for the Lord; a hunger to see His face.
None of us have a clean hands or a pure heart. None of us can say we've never lifted our soul to an idol. None of us can meet these perfect standards. Only Jesus Christ could stand before God. We can't receive that blessing because we have clean hands and a pure heart. We can only receive it by faith and receive the righteousness from the God of our salvation.
Our generation, in general, does not seek the face of the Lord. In fact our culture thumbs its nose at the things of the Lord. Up until recent days, the people of the Lord had been left alone in this country. But those days are over. All over the world, those who seek His face are under attack. Regardless, we should stand seeking God and striving for clean hands and a pure heart.
This section is worship of the savior
7 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
In this last section we see worship of the king.
This is a call to the gates of the city and the doors of the sanctuary to pay attention and give heed. The city gate was like city hall. All that was important was heralded from there. Everyone at the gate was to take notice…….This King is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is bigger than any king that has ever gone through any manmade doors. The implication is that the gates may have to stretch…….. the doors may have to be made larger.
This 'lift up your heads' statement also fits with the ascension of Jesus.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The leader would ask……….the people would respond.
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.
Again this is a sort of responsive reading.
Whis is this King of glory?
The answer is Jehovah strong and mighty.
Jehovah mighty in battle.
You can imagine the Ark of the Covenant coming down the road to enter the city. It was a big day. But you can also see why the early church saw this as a hymn of ascension. They saw the gates of the heaven opening wide to let the King of glory in.
9 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
The direction to the gates is repeated. The gates would have to open wide. Then the King of glory would come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The leader would ask……….. and the people would respond.
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah
Yehovah of hosts. He's the one……..He's the king of glory.
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