"King of Glory"
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Intro: Over the last couple of weeks, we have had our fair share of some rain and storms. One evening, I looked outside after the girls had gone to bed and there was just a constant flashing of light. I went outside on my porch and began to watch in wonder. We had just seen a pretty spectacular July 4th fireworks show in Edenton, and a few weeks before, saw an amazing one at Disneyland. But nothing could compare to what I was witnessing. The way the sky was just constantly flashing. I could see my yard clearly even though it was 10pm. I could see everything on my porch. It was the power of God on display.
Yet, we must ask ourselves this question. Do I worship Jesus as I should, as the King of glory? Day to day, are we thinking about the work of Jesus as we read the Scriptures, as we pray, as we gather as the church, as we work, as we play, as we observe nature. Does the glory of God come to our minds, or are we too preoccupied with everything else, distracted lesser and minor things that have no bearing on eternity?
And what about us today?
READ THE TEXT
CTS: Worship the King of glory!
I. Who Owns Everything? (1-2)
I. Who Owns Everything? (1-2)
Though there is no question in this part of the Psalm, I have introduced this section as one. The statement is clear: the earth is the LORD’s. Remember that this is the covenant name of God, given to Israel. This would remind them of who He is and His power, His holiness, His covenant with them. We are reminded in Genesis from the very beginning that God created the heavens and the earth. The creation is the introduction to this Psalm, but it is not merely that he made it, but that He owns it.
Because God is the creator, He is the owner. He owns the very ground that we stand on today. He owns all that fills this earth, every creature, animal and person. He is the creator of you and me.
“There is no realm he does not claim as his own, no plot where his sovereignty does not hold sway, and no corner or crevice where he will fail to enforce his will.” - James Hamilton Jr. (EBTC Psalms Vol 1: p 301)
Hard for us to comprehend at times, but even the tiniest gnat is under the creative hand of God. Sure, they are a plague, but they are there, for a purpose. It could be that these inconvenient little bugs are also a reminder of the dominion of our God. Big and small alike, God claims it and owns it.
Because God is the creator, He is also all-powerful. That leads us to verse 2, which shows us the creative power of God. This earth was created on top of the seas (which he also created). Hebrew poetry of that day viewed the seas as chaotic. David in poetic form is showing his intricate work in taking the ground, the sands, the stone, the soil, and crafting a liveable and complex ecosystem that works within itself. This work, this fine-tuning of God, shows his power and existence. He founded the world, he established it. He gave dominion to us, but we are readily reminded that this place isn’t ours. It is God’s, and we would do well to remember that, respecting who He is and knowing that we are not our own, but we belong to our Creator. The Garden in Genesis is in view. We should see ourselves in the same light, made and owned by our Lord, even our Lord Jesus, who is revealed as the Son of God who
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Jesus is owner and master of us all!
II. Who Can Approach God? (3-6)
II. Who Can Approach God? (3-6)
The question of holiness: Thought the ESV translates this word in verse 1, it can be better translated as mountain. Keep in mind that David is still framing this Psalm in creation, and this should point us to the next part of the Genesis narrative, the Fall. The prophet Ezekiel describes the garden of Eden as a mountain.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
Mountains continue throughout Scripture: Moses ascending Mount Sinai. Mount Zion where the Lord will establish his reign. There is a sense of approaching the presence of God, which we have already established and seen through Scripture as a place of great holiness. Thunder and lightning, trembling by God’s people as they were afraid to approach that mountain. But why is that? Why can’t people just up and approach God on His mountain, to be in His holy presence?
And really, who can meet these requirements? Some would call this one of the Psalms of obligation. And if we truly look at ourselves honestly, this is unattainable, and in turn, means we cannot have relationship with God as described. Why is that?
The Fall explains this. Eden was that mountain, that presence of God, and man has been excised us from the Garden. Why? Because of unrighteousness, because of sin. No longer able to stand in the holy place of God. The questions that are coming from David is one of searching, yet also a statement. The requirement of anyone to come before God, to approach the mountain, are clean hands and a pure heart. Isaiah had to preach to God’s people who thought that by virtue of their “sacrifices and festivals” that they could approach God on his mountain, yet God makes abundantly clear that they do not have clean hands, do not have a pure heart, do not lift up their souls to what is true, and they swear deceitfully.
12 “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? 13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. 18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The identity of the worthy One: No one is righteous. No not one. Clean hands and a pure heart are not ceremonial phrases, they are moral. Man is morally unrighteous, falling short of God’s righteous standard laid out in his law. Man gives himself to that which is false, and they do not make good on their promises. They do not fulfill what the Psalter began with in Psalm 1. The blessed man reiterated here, and man can not fulfill it. Only one can. That one is the one who was born, who is the one established creation itself, who is completely clean and has a pure heart. That person can only be God himself. Jesus, the Son of God, the creator of all things made himself flesh, fulfilled what man could not, and is able to approach the mountain. He is the blessed man, blessed by God to fulfill his mission, affirming his work (“righteousness”). That righteousness here in verse 5 is better seen as an “affirmation” of this person’s work, pointing us to the work of the perfect Son of God.
Application: We must remember always that nothing of our doing makes us worthy of approaching God. Nothing we do or nothing that we did, or nothing that we will do. You cannot make yourself worthy. It is only Jesus. Do you put your full faith and trust in His work? That He is God, that He is sinless, that He is died for our sins to forgive us, to rise from the dead to give us resurrection life, to give those that believe and trust in Him His righteousness, His life for ours, that faith alone in Him, we receive his grace.
But we must also remember that though we don’t earn it or make ourselves worthy, we are now made worthy and are transformed. We now are positionally clean and made pure. We then should live like it. How do you live your life now, wherever you are, reflecting that righteous King Jesus? Are you living in purity, lifting your soul to truth, making good on our word, staying away from sin, living each day in the grace and mercy of Christ who has made you righteous?
III. Who is the King of Glory? (7-10)
III. Who is the King of Glory? (7-10)
The question shifts, but also a command within it. This one that approaches the mountain of the Lord is also the one who approaches the heavenly palace, the entrance to the temple of Zion. In other words, open the gates to the King who has arrived and who reigns. Why?
It is his in the first place: Reminding ourselves of what has come before, the God who created all things, who has authority over all things, is the King. He is the King of glory. And we often use that phrase, glory. It is part of our Christian vernacular, but have we also said it without realizing what it truly means. Has it lost its significance? This Psalm and others, and Scripture, declares otherwise. Glory is significant. It is rooted in who God is. Glory means to honor. It means God has splendour and riches. That glory is declared through His great power and authority. That glory is declared by creation itself, and it should be declared by us as His people. It means to ascribe honor to Him, recognizing His nature, His character, His power, and His wonderful salvation for us who have sinned against Him.
A Psalm of David. 1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” 10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 11 May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Who is this King? Two descriptions of this king are found, in verses 8 and 10. Verse 8 is declaring that it is YAHWEH, the strong and mighty warrior king. Moses declared this in his song that was sung after the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
3 The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.
This reminds us that God is the God who fights and battles for us. It is a stark reminder that it is the Lord who defeats the enemy, not us. As we have been reminded in the life of David, it is God who fights and wins. The point of the life of David is not that we be like David. We are not David as many like to correlate our lives to his. David is a picture of Jesus, an imperfect one. It points to Jesus who is the warrior King who fights the battle, who defeats the Enemy in totality, through His salvation work.
Verse 10 declares the it is the LORD of hosts. This phrase is used numerous times throughout Scripture, mostly in the Old Testament. Psalms uses it often, like in Psalm 46, 48, 84. It is the throne name of God in Isaiah 6:5.
But as we read these Scriptures, if we were to read the whole text of Isaiah, it reveals the work of the LORD of hosts. He is the glorious King who sits on the throne, but He is also the one who cleanses and redeems sinful man.
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
Do you see how significant that is, and what the LORD of hosts does? It is the glorious King who not only sits in glory, but has come from glory to atone for the sins of mankind. The King of glory is none other than Jesus. And the answer to all three questions we have been presented in the text. Jesus, the Creator of all things, and for whom all things exist. Jesus, the one who is worthy to ascend the mountain of the Lord, to stand in the holy place for He has clean hands and a pure heart. Jesus, the King of glory whom the heavenly place opens their gates, the Temple of Zion himself, the presence of God among His people, the church.
Application: The only proper application for this final question, this final statement of who Jesus is, is to worship Him. This Psalm is often used in the liturgical calendar for worship on Ascension Day. Our natural response to this incredible fact is nothing but worship. Worship in our hearts to the One who is glorious. Honoring Him with our words, our actions, our obedience, and our love for Him. Honoring Him by proclaiming the Good News of His salvation. Honoring Him by obeying His Great Commission by making disciples. Honoring Him by singing and giving ourselves to Him and to His purposes.
Eugene Peterson says this in reference to these final verses:
Something like this happens every time Christians gather in worship: we come to “seek the face of God”; God, the “King of glory,” comes to greet us and bless us in Jesus Christ. The church at worship, with heads lifted up in expectation, is at the summit of earth’s fullness.
So, what we simply do today is worship. Those that have put their faith in this worthy and glorious King. We have been worshiping gathered today, through singing, praying, giving, and hearing the reading of preaching of the Word. We continue to do so as we respond to this Word today, not only here, but as we leave and go out as the church scattered. Why? Because the King of glory is the one who places us back in the garden, yet in a garden even greater than Eden itself. We await the day, and lift up our heads until then in worship, when Jesus gathers us and takes us home. The gates have opened for Jesus, and we follow Him in, the victorious King, into the new heavens and the new earth. Revelation gives us this grand picture of the glory of King of glory. I want to close with this text of Scripture. Let it remind us of the worthiness of our King...
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.