The King of Glory
Psalm 24
“The earth is the Lord’s
and the fullness of it, the world and they who dwell in it. For He has founded
it upon the seas and established it upon the currents and rivers. Who shall go
up into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He who
has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood
nor sworn deceitfully.” (vs. 1-4 [NASB])
We could top there and
just praise, confess, and repent. David takes us through the first two parts of
prayer-adoring and confessing. David wanted to be in the Lord’s presence. He
wanted to praise God, but recognized his own sinfulness. Yet, that did not get
David down. He knew God had the power to make him clean so he could be in the
presence of God as He sat on His throne in His temple. David recognized he needed
clean hands, hands that had done no sin, and a clean heart, one that had not
contemplated evil thoughts that led to evil actions or words. Remember, from
the heart comes the evil a man does or the good he does. Jesus said this when
he said it is not what a man puts in his body that defiles him, but what comes
out of his heart and mouth that makes him unclean (Matthew 15:11). David came
to the Lord and said he had confessed and the Lord cleansed him. Have you
confessed and allowed God to cleanse you and make you pure so you can be in His
presence to worship Him?
David did not stop with
just praise, confession and repentance. He gave us something for which to thank
God in verse five. He said, “He shall receive blessing from the Lord and
righteousness from the God of his salvation.” David understood the greatest
reason for him to thank God after his confession and repentance. Once a person genuinely
comes before the Lord confessing and repenting, God will clean him or her. With
this newly received forgiveness and salvation, the natural response is thanks
and praise. David did that here. He said we must thank God for his blessings
and the righteousness He gives us through the salvation Jesus provided through
His death and resurrection.
With verse six, David explained
who would receive this blessing and salvation. He said, “This is the generation
of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob.” [AMP] David used the
name Jacob to refer to all the Israelites in the Old Testament. For Christians
today, this means all who have believed in Jesus for salvation as the Son of
God and have received His forgiveness and mercy. No one will be left out. All
people are called to believe in Him and receive salvation, being made
righteous-cleansed from our evil thoughts, words, and actions. Any of the
people of Jacob can go up the mountain to the temple of Zion, go into God’s
great heavenly throne room and stand in His presence adoring, thanking,
praising, and confessing to God.
After adoring,
confessing, and thanking God, the One who made heaven and earth and all that is
in it, the One who makes us clean and pure, the One who gives blessing and
righteousness, and will be found by His people, David brought us back to why we
should worship the Lord with verses seven through ten. He said, “Lift up your
heads, O you gates, and be lifted up, you age-abiding doors, that the King of
glory may come in. Who is the king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the
Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates, yes lift them up, you
age-abiding doors, the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The
Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory!”[AMP] We should worship the King, the Lord Jesus,
because He is mighty and victorious in battle. He took on the powers of hell
and defeated them for each of us. Open up, you gates of heaven and let your
King enter and take His place. He is mighty and strong in battle. Again, David
explained who the King, the One we should worship? He is the King of glory,
Jehovah, our righteous and all-sufficient Savior.
Just as the angels in
heaven bowed down when Christ returned to sit on the right hand of the Father,
He calls us to open our doors and let Him into our hearts and lives. Do you
know God? Do you recognize Him in creation on earth and in heaven? He is the
One who created all things and deserves adoration and praise.
Have you looked into
your heart and mind and recognized you are not innocent; you are unrighteous?
Jesus died so you can be clean from your sin. Confess and repent now and the
Savior, the Lord who died and won the victory over death and sin, will clean
and save you.
Are you one who has
tasted the victory Christ gives, but have forgotten to seek and praise Him? We
are of the house of Jacob and we have oh, so many reasons to thank and praise
Him. He is our Savior. He died because of His love for you even while you were
a sinner and far away from Him. For this, we should heartedly and with
humbleness thank and praise God.
Have you wondered who
this Jesus, the Son of God is? Do you need a reminder why you should praise
Him? He is the mighty warrior who defeated sin and death. He died and rose
again to walk into the throne room of the temple in heaven. He is the King of
glory. Jesus is the One to whom the angels and all the heavenly hosts bow down and
the One to whom you bowed when you confessed, repented, and accepted Him as
your Savior. He is the Lord of hosts and is your Lord.
If you have not
believed in Jesus Christ as the Savior, the One who lived a sin-free life and
died an innocent death, who rose back to life three days later and then
ascended back to heaven, He waits for you to believe in Him, and confess and
repent of your sins so He will clean you from your evil thoughts, words, and
actions. Jesus loves you and wants you to receive salvation so you can be free
of sin and death and live in an eternal relationship with Him, receiving His
blessing of eternal life. Will you come before the Lord now opening your heart,
adoring God for who He is and what He’s done? Will you believe Jesus Christ is
God’s Son, the One sent to be the Savior for all people so you can be cleaned
from your sins and receive eternal life? Will you come before Him thanking Him
for all He’s done for you and what He will do for you? Will you come before Him
praising Him because Jesus, Jesus alone, is the King of glory, mighty in
battle, and victorious over sin and death?
Christian, will you
come before God adoring Him? Will you come confessing and repenting so God will
cleanse you from your sins? Come before Him thanking Him and confessing Him
with all the hosts in heaven and on earth. All creation will rise up and praise
His holy name.
“All the earth shall
bow down to You and sing praises to You. They shall praise Your name in song.”
Psalm 66:4 [AMP]
Lord,
God almighty, we get caught up in doing life and forget about you. We do,
think, and say evil things. Without you we are powerless over sin and death.
Jesus, you give us this power because of your innocent death and resurrection.
Please forgive us now, we pray. Bring us back into a right relationship with
you so we can praise and thank You with our whole being-heart, soul, mind, and strength.
You, O Lord, deserve all praise, glory, and honor. Thank you for dying and defeating
sin and death for us. Thank you for Your love.
