Psalm 24
INTRODUCTION
This month I’m going to take a look at three psalms: Psalms 24, 69 and 119. Today, we’ll look at Psalm 24.
The words of the psalm are really moving:
‘Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in…’
We can imagine some ancient doors like something out of Lord of the Rings, closed for aeons, waiting for a particular person to arrive. Now, the gates are being told, ‘Lift up your heads.’ ‘Lift up your heads’ means, ‘Cheer up! Something good’s going to happen!’
Then follows the question, ‘Who is this King of glory?’ Who could he be, this king who is entering through those ancient doors? Then comes the astounding answer:
‘The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.’
A few English Bibles give a more literal translation:
‘Who is the king of glory?
Yahweh, strong and mighty;
Yahweh, mighty in war!’
Yahweh! Wow! GOD HIMSELF is entering through those ancient doors!
The psalm is moving. But what does it mean?! A flood of questions come into our minds. When is it talking about? What was the occasion? What are these ancient doors? And as we start to digest the psalm, another question appears. How do the different parts of the psalm connect together?
Commentators and Bible scholars view Psalm 24 as a difficult psalm. It can be understood in a number of different ways. But it seems to me that there is really only one way to understand it in which the different parts of the psalm fit together.
OVERVIEW
Let’s take a quick first look at the psalm and see why the parts might not seem to fit together. [PowerPoint slide of Psalm 24. I used ESV]
You should be able to see the word ‘selah’ at the end of verse 6 and at the end of verse 10. A few versions of the Bible don’t include ‘selah’ – the NIV, for example. No one knows what ‘selah’ means and I suppose the NIV imagines there’s no point putting in a word which we don’t know the meaning of. But having the word ‘selah’ is still helpful, as we can see that the psalm has at least two parts. Actually, commentators mostly split the psalm into three parts: verses 1 and 2, verses 3 to 6, and verses 7 to the end.
The first part of the psalm starts, ‘The earth is the Lord’s.’ The subject is THE EARTH BELONGS TO GOD.
The second part asks, ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?’ The subject is ‘WHO CAN ENTER GOD’S HOLY PLACE?’
The third part contains the question, ‘WHO IS THIS KING OF GLORY?’
Each part of the psalm has a different subject! But what’s the connection between them?
SOLVING THE JIGSAW
If you’re doing a jigsaw, you can put a single piece down on the table and it can face any way you like. But once you connect it with other pieces then it must line up with the other pieces. There is only one way it can face. Much the same is true here.
Verses 7 to 10 are about a king of glory entering somewhere. The king of glory is ‘the Lord’, and we have already noted that it’s the word Yahweh, meaning God. That means God in the form of God the Father, God in the form of Jesus, or God in the form of the Holy Spirit. There are a certain number of occasions in history or in the future when God, in some form, enters somewhere. This piece, on its own, can face a number of directions. Here are some examples.
God entered the temple after Solomon dedicated it. We read, ‘As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.’
Jesus entered our world as a baby.
Jesus entered heaven after God raised him from the dead.
God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, enters people who receive him, who open the door to him – as Revelation 3 tells us.
All of these ideas, and many others, have been suggested. My impression is that the commentators are happy to mention various possibilities, but hold back from saying, ‘this is actually what it means.’ But it seems to me that once we connect this piece – verses 7 to 10 – with the other pieces, there’s only one way it can face.
VERSES 1 AND 2
Let’s look first at verses 1 and 2. I’d like to show how they fit into the story with an illustration.
During the 1982 Falklands War, British soldiers landed in the Falklands and advanced on Port Stanley. President Reagan telephoned Margaret Thatcher and proposed some sort of peace deal. She told him, ‘This is democracy AND OUR ISLAND, and the very worst thing for democracy would be if we failed now.’ Note Thatcher’s words: ‘This is … OUR ISLAND.’
When Margaret Thatcher told Ronald Reagan, ‘This is … OUR ISLAND’, her point was that Britain had every right to take it back – and would do so.
David starts the psalm by telling us, ‘the earth is THE LORD’S’. Why is he telling us that? What’s his point? Why does he talk about a king entering, in verse 7? Why does he tell us that this king is ‘The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!’ in verse 8, or ‘The Lord of hosts’ – which means ‘the Lord of armies’ in verse 10?
Surely David is laying the groundwork in verse 1 for what he is going to assert later in the psalm. The earth is the Lord’s. At present, it’s in a state of rebellion. But God has every right to take it back – and will do so.
In his autobiography, Ronald Reagan referred to his conversation with Margaret Thatcher. He wrote, ‘She [Margaret Thatcher] told me too many lives had already been lost for Britain to withdraw without total victory.’
That isn’t a point that David makes in this psalm. But I feel sure it’s also true of God. This earth not only belongs to God, Jesus has given his life to redeem it. He isn’t going to stop before the job is finished.
But David has more to say. Go on to verse 2. David says, ‘for he [God] has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.’ It isn’t simply that the earth BELONGS to God. He FOUNDED it and ESTABLISHED it. If you found a company, you create it. If you establish a company, you build it up. Priscilla [my wife] and I did that once.
There’s a difference between owning something and founding and establishing something. We own a car. But we founded and established a business. We poured ourselves into that business. No prizes for guessing which was more precious to us! The business was our baby. We cared for it.
God founded and established the earth. He values it enormously. He cares for it. He's going to see his plan for it to completion. This understanding lays the groundwork for what follows.
VERSES 3 TO 6
In verses 3 to 6 David moves from the earth to us. If we own a house, we can live there. But if we rent a house, well, that’s another matter! You know about tenancy agreements? There are rules. There are conditions. So, if the earth belongs to God, it’s very natural to ask, what are the conditions? Or, to put it another way, ‘Who meets the conditions?’
David doesn’t waste any time. In verse 3 he asks ‘Who?’ ‘Who shall ascend?’ or in some versions, ‘Who MAY ascend?’
He answers the question in verse 4:
“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.”
This is the person who can come into God’s presence. What do you think of that? We’ve been well taught and we know that ‘righteousness is by faith alone.’ So, where’s faith?!
Go on to verse 5. David tells us:
“He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
That’s a bit better, isn’t it? That fits with what we’ve been taught. ‘He will RECEIVE … righteousness.’ We know that a person isn’t righteous because of what he has done. A person is righteous on the basis of his faith, and he or she RECEIVES righteousness. This fits with our understanding. But where is faith?
Faith is of course invisible. But faith is evident. Faith produces results. The famous Reformer, John Calvin, wrote in 1547, ‘It is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet THE FAITH WHICH JUSTIFIES IS NOT ALONE.’ Genuine faith produces a result. There is evidence of faith. The things which David mentions in verse 4, the clean hands and pure heart, the rejection of what is false or deceitful, evidence commitment to God – faith, in other words. On the basis of that faith, we receive righteousness, and can enter God’s presence.
VERSES 7 TO 10
We can now move on to verses 7 to 10. Verses 1 and 2 set the scene. The earth is the Lord’s. A time will come when God will enter the earth to take up his rule.
At Christmas we often read this verse from Micah 5:2:
‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.’
Do you notice this word ‘ruler’? That’s the plan. But Jesus isn’t yet ruling. He will come a second time and then he will take up his rule.
What will that be like? Will the people of earth simply acknowledge Jesus as king and hand over power? Regrettably not.
In the book of Revelation John describes a vision he had of the time when Jesus comes again. This is Revelation 19:11-16. This part of Revelation links back to Isaiah 63. This is what John wrote. Just to warn you, there are some gory bits.
"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."
This rider on a white horse is clearly Jesus. He’s identified as ‘The Word of God’ and ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.’ It’s a picture of Jesus many of us are not comfortable with. He judges and makes war. He strikes down nations.
But it’s the same picture that David gives us in Psalm 24. David asks, ‘who is this king of glory?’ He then answers. This king of glory is ‘The Lord, strong and mighty … the Lord, mighty in battle … the Lord of hosts’ – which means, the lord of armies.
The earth is the Lord’s and the Lord – God – will enter it, strong and mighty, mighty in battle.
This is what we have to look forward to! Your favourite band has cancelled its tour. But something is still on. The King of Glory is coming! David is so excited about it that he says ‘The King of Glory’ five times! He tells the doors and gates to lift up their heads four times. It’s a great thing that’s about to happen. In the last-but-one verse of the Bible, John says, ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’ We can’t wait for Jesus to enter our world and take up his rule.
CONCLUSION
The psalm reminds us that ‘the earth is the Lord’s.’ God founded it and established it, and the day will come when he will enter it again as King of Glory. His kingdom will be a great kingdom to be part of. Jesus is a king like no earthly king.
We can be part of it if we wish to. We can ascend the hill of the Lord; we can stand in his holy place. We’ll need the righteousness that God gives. We can ask ourselves, ‘Do I wish to be part of the generation who seek the Lord? Will I offer him clean hands and a pure heart?’
There are a few final points I’d like to make.
First, I’ve presented a way of approaching this psalm which makes sense to me. It’s an approach which some commentators and Bible scholars hold, but it isn’t the majority approach. I don’t have time to discuss lots of different views, but I want you to at least be aware that there are other views.
Second, it will be clear from what I’ve said that I believe that Jesus’ reign will be on this present earth. That has been the subject of quite a bit of discussion by theologians in the past twenty years or so. I think that Romans 8:21 makes a strong argument for that. Paul tells us that ‘creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.’
Finally, Christians who are concerned for the environment often quote verse 1, ‘The earth is the Lord’s.’ David ISN’T telling us that in order to call us to care for the world. However, it is a logical consequence! We need to do that.
But the main thing to say is: let’s look forward to Jesus returning and coming through those ancient doors! And let’s be part of his kingdom.
Talk given at Rosebery Park Baptist Church, Bournemouth, UK, 13 September 2020
