Psalm 24 - The King Comes Home Series

May 21, 2014

Tom Lowe

Psalm 24 (KJV)

Title: The King Comes Home

A psalm of David.

Psalm 24 (KJV)

1 The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness 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.

Introduction

This psalm speaks of the coming of the Chief Shepherd. Tradition says it was composed by David and sung when he brought up the ark from the house of Obed-edom at Kirjath-jearim to mount Zion (2 Sam 6:12-23). The ark, according to tradition was built by Bezalel for Moses in the wilderness of Sinai (Ex. 37:1-9), signified God’s presence in the midst of His people. For seven months the Philistines had kept it under lock and key until finally, deciding it was too hot to hold, they returned it to Israel. It had resided at Kirjath-jearim on the western border of Benjamin in the rugged wooded highlands during the days of Samuel and Saul.

David himself had made one desperate attempt to bring it to Jerusalem after he had rested the fortress of Zion from the Jebusites. But now the time had come and the ark began its journey home. The historian tells us of the music and dancing, of the shouting and sacrifices which marked the triumphal entry of the ark into Jerusalem. Psalm 24 gives us the anthem which heralded the ark along the way.

When the temple came to be built in Jerusalem various psalms were sung as part of the daily liturgy. On Monday it was Psalm 48, Tuesday Psalm 82, Wednesday Psalm 94, Thursday Psalm 81, Friday Psalm 93, and on the Sabbath Psalm 92. On the first day of the week they sang Psalm 24. The very day Jesus tore away the bars of death and marched in triumph from the tomb the Temple choir was scheduled to sing this victorious Psalm.

The psalm was sung in a responsive way, that is, one person or choir would sing and another would respond. It has been suggested that it was sung by the chorus and solo voices of the procession. Josephus, the Jewish historian, says that seven choirs of singers and musicians marched before the ark as it was brought to Mount Zion where David had prepared a tabernacle for it until the temple was built.

This psalm was part of the religious ceremonies held during the Jewish New Year to mark the entrance of the ark into the sanctuary. The ceremony was held year after year in such a manner that everyone could take part, from king to commoner, in a renewal of loyalty to God. This noble hymn is one of the most exalted and majestic in the Book of psalms and has found a home in the anthems and solos of Judaism and Christianity.

It must have been wonderful to have heard this psalm sung in David’s day.

Some commentators connect Psalm 24 with our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday. For years, some Christian denominations have assigned this psalm to be read on Ascension Day, the fortieth day after Easter. Christians see Jesus Christ as “the Lord of glory,” first of all returning to heaven after His passion (Eph. 4:8{5]), and then returning in glory to establish His kingdom (Matt. 25:31{6]). This explains the repetition of “Lift up your heads” in verses 7 and 9.

There is another way to apply this psalm and frankly I love to think of it in this way—that is, that it looks forward to a glorious event which occurs at the end of the Great Tribulation. The thunders of God’s judgments have ceased, the Lord Jesus has returned to earth and has put down all His foes, and Christ is now marching to Jerusalem to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. This is a triumphal procession as the world has never seen. Even as the onlookers were startled by the depths of the Savior’s suffering, so they are now speechless at the height of His glory.