The King Comes Home

Psalm 24 The King Comes Home

I. The Lord's Claim

1 The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

But why Earth? Why not Mars? Mercury? Venus or Saturn or Neptune? Why Earth? Because nowhere else in the universe does God have any need to assert His claims!

But this Earth is important to God because of what happened here. Fall Of Man.

II. The Lord’s Call

A. The Question Asked 3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, The wealth in every mine:

He owns the rivers and the rocks and rills, The sun and stars that shine.

But there is one spot on earth to which He lays special claim—the land of Israel.

There is one spot in the land which the Lord has singled out—the city of Jerusalem.

The Lord now throws down the challenge! "Who wants to ascend to the hill of the Lord?

What a call! It was to try to attain just such a dual throne of power that Lucifer fell.

B. The Question Answered

The essential qualification will be Christlikeness!

(a) Christlikeness of Life. 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;

Clean hands—that's the outward life, pure heart—that's the inward life.

Because we do what we do because we are what we are.

(b) Christlikeness of Longings. "He that hath not lifted up his soul into vanity."

Solomon went in for this world and threw away a crown, a throne, and an empire.

He set his heart and his affections on the wrong world and lost everything.

Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

(c) Christlikeness of Language. "He that hath not sworn deceitfully."

God is looking for people who are trustworthy and dependable—whose word is their bond.

III. The Lords’ Coming

A. The First Challenge 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.

Five times in these closing verses the Holy Spirit speaks of Christ as the King of Glory!

(a) His First Coming - Victory

B. The Further Challenge (9-10) 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.

(b) His Second Coming - Glory

At last the multitude, led by the King, arrives at the gate of Heaven.

Again and for the second time, the mighty shout goes forth: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in."

Again the sentry gives the ceremonial response: "Who is the King of glory?" and this time the Lord points to the redeemed and He cries: "The Lord of hosts! He is the King of glory." Thus we get the same triumphal entry into Heaven that He had Himself.

So shall we ever be with the Lord.