The Sovereign Savior Series

Psalm 24:1-10

A Psalm of David

THE earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?

Or who may stand in His holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah

Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in.

Who is he this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in.

Who is he this King of glory?

The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah

As we conclude our study in the Easter trilogy, we want to review again the importance of these three Psalms. In Psalm 22 we discover the prophetic nature of the Suffering Servant. In Psalm 23 we notice the credentials of the Good Shepherd. And in Psalm 24, we find King David singing the exaltation of the Sovereign Savior!

Introduction – The Sovereignty of God

Newscaster Paul Harvey tells a remarkable story of God’s providential care over thousands of allied prisoners during World War II, many of whom were Christians. One of America’s mighty bombers took off from the island of Guam headed for Kokura, Japan, with a deadly cargo. Because clouds covered the target area, the sleek B-29 circled for nearly an hour until its fuel supply reached the danger point. The captain and his crew, frustrated because they were right over the primary target yet not able to fulfill their mission, finally decided they had better go for the secondary target. Changing course, they found that the sky was clear. The command was given, “Bombs away!” and the B-29 headed for its home base. Some time later an officer received some startling information from military intelligence. Just one week before that bombing mission, the Japanese had transferred one of their largest concentrations of captured Americans to the city of Kokura. Upon reading this, the officer exclaimed, “Thank God for that protecting cloud! If the city hadn’t been hidden from the bomber, it would have been destroyed and thousands of American boys would have died.” God’s ways are behind the scenes; but He moves all the scenes which He is behind. We have to learn this, and let Him work. (John Nelson Darby/sermonillustrations.com)

God watches over all things and all people. But He has a special love for those who have committed themselves to Him! He is the Sovereign Savior! He loves sinners like you and me!

Let’s examine God’s Word in this 24th Psalm.

First, we observe that He is…

The POSSESSOR of Earth 1-2

Everything belongs to Him. There are two reasons why He is the owner. We hear God’s CLAIM! He owns it all! It was His idea to create everything from nothing. It was His idea to redeem mankind! And it was His idea to establish a relationship with sinners like us. We also hear him say that it is His CREATION! He controls it all! The waters are held back by His mighty hand. It has been said that if the waters were not held back that the entire earth would be covered by a mile and a half of water. He is the Creator and Maintainer of His world and universe.

Illustration – It’s All Mine

George W. Truett, the former pastor of FBC Dallas, was invited to dinner in the home of a very wealthy man. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area. Pointing to the oil wells punctuating the landscape, he boasted, “Twenty-five years ago I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it’s all mine.” Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of grain, he said, “That’s all mine.” Turning east toward huge herds of cattle, he bragged, “They’re all mine.” Then pointing to the west and a beautiful forest, he exclaimed, “That too is all mine.”

He paused, expecting Dr. Truett to compliment him on his great success. Truett, however, placing one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointing heavenward with the other, simply said, "How much do you have in that direction"? The man hung his head and confessed, "I never thought of that?”

Our Daily Bread, October 24, 1992