Our text today is Psalm 24. It is a good passage for starting the week.
The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.
As we begin the week, it is good to remember that God is in control. All the earth, and all those on it, in it, above it, are His. David was reminding the Israelites of God's sovereignty and also His holiness, in this psalm. It is believed that Psalm 24 was written on the occasion of the ark of the covenant having been brought by the king to its rightful place in the tent of meeting. For many years, the sacred object had been in a nearby city, being cared for by a Levitical family (See 1 Samuel 7). But, once David was firmly established upon the throne, he longed to restore the ark to its rightful place. Apparently, there was great pomp, ceremony and celebration upon this occasion of bringing the ark to Jerusalem. The story is recorded in 2 Samuel 6 and 7. David himself was even dancing energetically before the Lord, in worship. But, David wanted to remind the people that they were not worshipping an object; instead their honor and glory and worship should be to the Lord God Jehovah, their God over all.
David affirms in verses 1-2 that God created the world and claims it. We are told in Colossians 1:16-17 that Jesus Christ was present at this world's creation and that by Him, even now, all things created "hold together" (as opposed to flying off into several hundred billion pieces/directions, while the heavenly bodies go hurtling through space and time).
In verses 3-6, David reminds the Israelites that in their daily living their focus should be on a righteous, relentless pursuit of their holy God. These verses also allude to the coming of Jesus Christ who, by his sinless life, earned the right to ascend to his throne on the right hand of God the Father. He did enter the throne room of God after He descended to Hell and took the keys of "hell and death" from Satan, "setting captives free and giving gifts to men". (See Revelation 1:18; Ephesians 4:8-10 and Psalm 68, which Paul quotes in the Ephesians passage.) This is pictured in Revelation 5. He is there now, ever making intercession for us, His Bride. We can only ascend to God's holy place or stand in His throne room by the merits of what our Savior has done for us. We have no holiness, no clean hands, no pure heart, apart from His sinless, finished work of grace on our behalf. In light of the matchless gift of eternal life we have been given, we are reminded by these verses to "walk worthy" of our calling, as Paul said in Ephesians 4:1-3 - -
I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Verses 7-10 also have a double meaning. As the ark was ceremoniously moved into its rightful place, the presence of God was undoubtedly there among His people. (See Psalm 22:3) When Jesus Christ returns to earth to set up His physical, earthly kingdom, it is implied here that His people will be "sleepy-headed". (I guess that is a pretty apt description of the Church in America today!) But, Jesus told us in Matthew 25, through the parable of the 10 virgins to watch expectantly for His return. Let's do that today, as we go forth in the righteous, relentless pursuit of holiness!
Oh Father, God of Angel Armies, You ARE the King of Glory! Thank you for washing me in the precious blood of Jesus and for removing all my sins as far as the east is from the west. I thank you that I am Yours. It is only by Your mercy and grace that I can lift clean hands and a pure heart to You. It is only by Your power that I can watch for Your return, which could be at any time, and in the meantime walk....resplendent! In Jesus' name, amen.
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