The King Of Glory Series

The King of Glory

I. TEXT:

Psalm 24 (CSB)

1 The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord; 2 for he laid its foundation on the seas and established it on the rivers. 3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed to what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who inquire of him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah 7 Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord of Armies, he is the King of glory. Selah

II. INTRODUCTION:

The Talmud suggests that our text should be read on the day after the Sabbath due to its emphasis on the creation of the world. And here we are on the first day of the week, reading it.

In 1 Corinthians 10:26, the Apostle Paul uses Psalm 24:1 to argue that even food dedicated to idols belongs to the LORD (1 Corinthians 10:26). God created and owns everything.

Early Christian writers connected the last stanza of Psalm 24 to the Ascension of Jesus because of its beautiful description of the "King of glory" ascending the hill of God.

Some scholars have suggested that this psalm was sung during an annual autumnal enthronement festival in ancient Israel. During the festival, they acted out the procession of the LORD towards Jerusalem and into the temple where He was symbolically enthroned.

Others see a direct connection with 2 Samuel 6:12-19, where David brought the Ark to Jerusalem.

One theme that underlies the psalm is the theme of mutual advent, the King of Glory entering human space, and humans entering the presence of God.

The psalm has a three-part structure:

Declaration of the Lord as Creator (vv. 1–2)

Liturgy of human entrance into God’s sphere (vv. 3–6)

Liturgy of the Lord’s entrance into human space (vv. 7–10)

1. Declaration of the Lord as Creator (vv. 1–2)

1 The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord; 2 for he laid its foundation on the seas and established it on the rivers.

The psalm begins with a hymnic praise of the LORD as Creator: a reminder that ancient Israel's military victories were a result of the reality that the LORD is not only God in Israel but throughout the entirety of all that we can see and cannot see. Everything and everyone belongs to the LORD because he made it all.

David was a successful king, but Israel was a tiny kingdom compared to the surrounding nations like Egypt and Assyria. Someone might have imagined that the gods of these nations were greater. But, as Paul says even that which is offered to idols belongs to the LORD.

“The ‘fulness’ of the earth may mean its harvests, its wealth, its life, or its worship; in all these senses the Most High God is Possessor of all. The earth is full of God; he made it full and he keeps it full.” (Spurgeon)

"all it contains" Lit. "its fulness"

In Ancient Near Eastern mythology, the sea was chaos personified. The gods demonstrated their power by conquering the Sea. In Genesis 1, the waters of chaos are not gods themselves, but a part of God's good creation that God shapes and builds upon. Even those things which we fear because we cannot control are under the control of the LORD.

On the one hand, chaos remains an active element in creation. God has limited the reach of chaos (“thus far shall you come, and no farther,” Job 38:11), but chaos and randomness remain present. On the other hand, creation is secure, because of the Lord’s ongoing providence and stewardship of creation.14 Thus, the creation into which God is entering in the psalm needs God’s presence, because only God can hold chaos at bay and secure the environment for life. (NICOT)

Upon the chaos of your life, He can build something solid and lasting.

Colossians 1:15-17 CSB

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.