THE LORD OF THE EARTH (PSALMS 24)
A fifth grade teacher in a Christian school asked her class to look at TV commercials and see if they could use them in some way to communicate ideas about God. Here are some of the results from the kids:
God is like BAYER ASPIRIN ... He works miracles.
God is like COKE ... He’s the real thing.
God is like HALLMARK CARDS ... He cares enough to send His very best.
God is like TIDE ... He gets the stains out that others leave behind.
God is like GENERAL ELECTRIC ... He brings good things to life.
God is like SCOTCH TAPE ... You can’t see him, but you know He’s there.
God is like DELTA ... He’s ready when you are.
God is like ALLSTATE ... You’re in good hands with Him.
God is like VO-5 HAIR SPRAY ... He holds through all kinds of weather.
http://bitsandpieces.blogstream.com/v1/pid/42398_What-is-God-Like.html
There is so much to talk about planet earth, from tornados in the west to typhoons in Asia, from earthquakes to epidemics, from fires to famine. Our planet is resourceful, rich and rough. The study of earth or earth science includes geology (the study of rocks and the earth’s history), oceanography (the study of the oceans), meteorology (the study of the atmosphere and weather) and environmental geology (the study of humans on the earth’s systems. (Wikipedia).
Psalm 24 is much more than the study of the earth – her surface, shape and sights, but her Creator, cause and caregiver. Christians care for the earth as much others. Christian groups such as the Quakers emphasize finding God’s presence in nature and living in such a way that is mindful of their impact on the earth.
What is our identity as a creature in creation? How are we stewards, stakeholders and shapers of the world we inhabit? What role do we have in the conservation and care of the earth?
Meet the Creator
1 The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
Harold Scott sold cheap shoes. He had a small lorry, and he bought the shoes from the factory and took them from one house to another and tried to sell them to people. He sold a lot of his shoes in small villages, because there were not many shops there, and people did not want to go to the town and buy their shoes there.
One day Harold drove along the street of a village and stopped in front of one of the houses. There was a small boy beside the door. Harold opened the window of his lorry and called to the boy, "Hello. Is your mother at home?" The boy looked at him. Then he answered, "Yes, she is."
"That's good," Harold said, and he smiled. He got out of his lorry, took some shoes from the back and went to the door of the house. He knocked at the door and then he waited, but the door did not open. After a minute, Harold knocked at the door again and waited for two minutes, but again the door did not open.
Then Harold looked at the small boy and said in an angry voice, "Your mother is not at home." "She is," the small boy answered.
"Then why hasn't she opened the door?" Harold asked.
"Because this isn't my house," the small boy answered
The earth did not exist by itself. Behind the earth is a story and a source, but a stranger to many. Verse 1, while read “The earth is the Lord’s,” begins with “To God the earth” in Hebrew. It is an attribution, ascription and acknowledgement of God, like who is the Maker. The earth and the world include earth and universe, the habitat and the inhabitants (all who live/dwell in it), the property and the people.
I asked Perplexity: “How is earth and world different?”
Perplexity: “Earth refers specifically to the physical planet we live on—the rock, soil, mountains, oceans, and the “big rock floating in space.” It can also mean just the ground or soil beneath our feet. World, on the other hand, usually means more than the planet itself. It often refers to human society, culture, systems, and all life on Earth—the social, economic, and political aspects of life. It can also mean “the universe” or different realms in some contexts. So, Earth = the planet; World = the planet plus everything living, doing, and happening on it.”
A song says it well: “We are the world, we are the children” not “We are the earth.”
V 1 Earth World
Planet People
Habitat Inhabitants
Abode Abundance
The clause “the earth is the Lord’s” means that the Lord is the Author of Life, the Architect of Life, and the Anchor in Life. Our breath, our being and our beginning or birth is in Him. This might upset the environmentalists, tree-huggers and hippies; the English translation begins with the focus on the earth, but the Hebrew starts with “To Yahweh…the earth.” There is no precedent for the use of this first word “to Yahweh” in all the Psalms and the Bible, except here. It means the Lord is the origin of life, the owner of life and the order in life.
The earth is the star of the show, the show-stopper and the scene-stealer (as in typhoons), but the Lord is the producer, the playwright and the proprietor. Without God, earth is merely muddy waters, marshland and miry clay. While the earth is the crowd-pleaser, the Lord is the crowd-funder. By the way, it is not about you too because there is no “I” in the chapter.
The awkward translation “everything in it” (v 1 “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”) is “fullness” in Hebrew. Fullness means its existence, essence, entirety - everything, in all its richness, resources and reserves, belong to God. The earth is flat, formless and feral without God, but fruitful, fertile and full in Him.
Verse 2 (“for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters”) begins with the all-important “FOR.” God is the master designer who founded his creation upon the seas.
According to Genesis 1:1, the statement “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” was followed by “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (v 2)
I asked Google AI, “Was the earth submerged in water?” Ai’s answer was:
“Yes, early Earth likely was a "water world," with oceans so vast that they would have submerged the current continents, with evidence coming from studies of ancient ocean crust and the water-holding capacity of the Earth's mantle.”
Poe AI:
“The Earth has not been entirely submerged in water at any point in its history.”
Copilot AI:
“Around 3.2 billion years ago, Earth may have been covered by a vast global ocean with no continents at all. Evidence from ancient seafloor rocks in Australia suggests that land masses hadn’t yet formed above sea level.”
V 2 Founded – day one Established – day one onwards
Founded Fastened
Emerged Erected
Surfaced
Stood
Make the Change
3 Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
Verse 3 asked, “Who is acceptable to Him? Clean hands and a pure heart refer to hand and heart,
V 4 Clean hands Pure heart
Outward behavior Inner thoughts
Deeds + practices Desires + passion
Hands’ conduct Heart condition
Gaylord Kambarami, the General Secretary of the Bible Society in Zimbabwe, tried to give a New Testament to a very belligerent man. The man insisted he would roll the pages and use them to make cigarettes. Mr. Kambarami said, “I understand that, but at least promise to read the page of the New Testament before you smoke it.” The man agreed, and the two went their separate ways.
Fifteen years later, the two men met at a convention in Zimbabwe. The Scripture-smoking pagan had been saved and was now a full-time evangelist. He told the audience, “I smoked Matthew, and I smoked Mark, and I smoked Luke. But when I got to John 3:16, I couldn’t smoke anymore. My life was changed from that moment.”
From examining the outer world previously (v 1), the psalmist next examined the inner world. The Hebrew word for “idol” (v 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an “idol” or swear by what is false) is “false” in Hebrew, or dishonesty, deceit or doublespeak. This includes today’s fake news, false information and fabricated nonsense.
A person with clean hands and a pure heart will receive the Lord’s blessing (v 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior) - to experience God’s goodness (Ps 21:3), grace and guidance in one’s life. A blessing is received (v 5), not obtained, ordained or obligated. It is bestowed; not earned by a person, earmarked for a person or embodied in a person. We are not lucky, fortunate or opportune. We are blessed not by or for our earthly possessions, prosperity, parentage, personality, profession or profits. Unbelievers seldom use the word “blessing” because it amounts to acknowledging, “I’m merely and mainly a recipient, a respondent and a representative of God’s blessing.” Surprisingly, there are very few direct references to the “blessing + the Lord.” The first person in the Bible to experience “the blessing + the Lord” is Joseph (Gen 39:2). Proverbs 10:22 says, “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth.”
Seek God’s face (v 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob) means to look at Him, lean on Him and learn from Him. It must be a prioritized, persistent and purposeful practice; to continually have a reverence for him, a refuge in Him and a relationship with Him. It means to be close to Him, committed to Him and centered on Him. It is a pursuit, a priority, a passion, a privilege and a practice.
Mark the Celebration
7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may 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 you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty--he is the King of glory. (Ps 24:7-10)
Here are some quotes on the glory of God:
“The glory of God is like the rising sun, without it, there is no light. When the glory of the Lord rises, it causes us to shine.”
“The glory of God is like the shine and brilliance and luster of a diamond. The brilliance, shine, and color are not the diamond, but they reflect the beauty and worth of the diamond.”
“The glory of God is like a cloud – it will settle over us and our hearts and make all things new.”
“The glory of God is like the sun shining at its brightest.”
“The glory of God is like radiant light, shining out, enlightening and giving life.”
“The glory of God is like the fragrance which emanates from a bouquet of flowers, each flower represents one of God’s attributes.”
“The glory of God is like a mirror that reveals our true identity.”
“The glory of God is like a powerful waterfall in its unbelievably beauty and power.”
The glory of God is compared to rainbow in its brilliance (Ezekiel 1:28), a consuming fire on top of the mountain (Ex 24:17) and waters cover the sea
(Hab 2:14).
The glory of God is His purity, power and perfection, in all its beauty and brilliance, greatness and grandeur, excellence and entirety. (Victor Yap)
The imperative “Lift up” occurs 12 times in the Bible, out of which four times are in this chapter (vv 7 twice, 9 twice). It is a call for celebration, commitment and courage. It is a time to rejoice, renew and resolve. It is a delight, a devotion and decision.
LIFT UP 4x
Celebration Commitment Courage
Rejoice Renew Resolve
Enter Embolden Exclaim
The title “King of Glory” occurs five times in the psalm (vv 7, 8, 9, 10 twice), and none other elsewhere in the Bible. One of the most unique attributes of God, more unique than the word “holy” (15x in Psalms), is the word “glory” (51x in Psalms). The noun “glory” is used exclusively, especially and essentially for God, not for monarchs, chiefs or judges of the world. The title of “king,” however, is never used to describe God in the “historical books” (Psalms excluded) until the exilic period, where the kingdom was no more. God acknowledged Himself as Jacob’s King (Isa 41:21), Israel’s King (Isa 44:6) and King of the nations (Jer 10:7) only after the local king was dethroned and the Jewish monarchy was disposed, to show there would be no confusion with Israel’s kings that were temporary, transitory and toppled. The King of GLORY rejects the notion He is King of any city, country or continent – not a political, patriotic or populist king. The kings of the earth are wicked, weak and worthless.
The Hebrew word “kabod” or “glory” appears about 200 times in Hebrew. “Kabod” refers to the weight or “quantity” of a thing. He is the heavyweight; fully packed, fully stacked and fully backed. His glory is changeless, ageless, endless, timeless, boundless.
The phrase “strong and mighty” (v 8) is physical strength versus mental toughness. “Strong” means greatness and “mighty” means guarded. God’s glory means that He is not just a competitor but a conqueror; not just a contestant, challenger or contender, but THE combatant, the champ and the crusher.
The other title in the “Lord of Almighty,” or the “Lord of Hosts” in most other translations. What is meant by “Lord of hosts,” especially the “hosts” word? The word is used for the starry host of heaven (Deut 4:19, Ps 33:6, Isa 34:4) and for heavenly hosts of angels (Ps 103:20-21).
According to Wikipedia, astronomers estimate that there are 300 billion to one septillion stars in the observable universe – that’s one followed by 24 zeros!
Conclusion: The Westminster Confession says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” There is only one occasion of “great power and glory” in the Bible attested by the gospels - when the Son of Man comes (Matt 24:30, Mark 13:26, Luke 21:27) to claim His regal title as “King of kings and Lord of lord” (1 Tim 6:15, Rev 19:16). Jesus says, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
Conclusion: Our Five Identities:
Sons – Our salvation
Saints – Our sanctification
Sheep - Our susceptibility weakness
Stewards – Our service
Sojourner – Our stopover
