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Introduction
Personal: Coming Back From Sabbatical
Thank the congregation for the gift from Sara and me
Big Takeaways: Starting new DMin program (heart behind this), the need for more regular heavy intakes of days with God (once a month intentional day with God), staying the course.
Pray
Sermon Series Broad View on Psalms
Today we continue our sermon series on Psalms by digging into Psalm 24.
What a remarkable Psalm we have before us.
By way of reminder the book of Psalms was composed hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ and was essentially the song book of the people of God in the Old Testament.
These psalms explore the full range of human emotion and experience, all from a Godward perspective.
In other words, as these Psalms are digested, and reflected on, and sung personally, we learn how to see and think Biblically, godwardly.
Context: Psalm 24
Psalm 24, Like many of the Psalms, has a Call and Response component to it, as we will see later on this sermon.
This means there were parts that a leader would shout out, and then other parts that the congregation would sing together.
And still other parts where a single voice would respond.
There is quite a sense of drama around Call and Response Psalms.
The description of this Psalm is that it was written by King David.
It reads much like a March of Victory, and so traditionally associated with the moment when King David and all of his army marched back into jerusalem after a great battle, carrying the Ark of Covenant with them.
This particular song became so important in Jerusalem that it eventually became part of the weekly rhythm of songs sung by the priests in the temple.
Every Sunday morning, Jewish rabbinic tradition tells us that the priests would sing this Psalm.
Verses 7-10 utilize the phrase the King of Glory five times.
And so, if I could summarize this Psalm in one main idea, it would be ‘Victory Belongs to the King of Glory.’
Textual
We are going to read this Psalm together as it would have been sung by the congregation in the Old Testament.
I have composed the words on slides behind.
Some parts of the Psalm are meant to be read congregationally.
You, the congregation will read those words.
Psalm 24 “A Psalm of David. 1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear 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 seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Selah 7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may 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 gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!
Selah”
Move 1: The King’s Authority Spreads Over the Entire Earth
Verses 1-2 comprise the first part of this Psalm and in these verses we learn what is and ought to be a simple truth, God rules over the entire Earth.
Psalm 24:1-2 “1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.”
Monotheism
Let’s dig into the details of these two verses in order to glean what we can.
The idea is quite simple, and to many in the modern West the concept of one global deity, one God who is over all things and who created all things, is a bit of second nature.
Even if you don’t believe that Jesus is who we as a Church claim He is, if you’ve been raised in the West you are likely familiar with the idea of monotheism, one God.
But this would not have been the case when this Psalm was originally written.
It is also not the case in many places around the world.
The Four Laws in Thailand
I served as a missionary in Thailand for a little over a year.
I recall early in that time learning an important lesson.
I was familiar with sharing the gospel the way I had been taught to share the gospel through Campus Crusade, and that was to begin by speaking about God’s plan for your life.
That works in the West because when you speak of God in the West, most people are at the very least conjuring to mind a monotheistic God, a God who rules the universe.
But in Thailand there was no such thing.
There were many so called “gods” to be worshiped, and demons to be appeased.
Therefore in order tos share the gospel in Thailand I needed to begin with a new first step.
There is only one God, and He reigns supreme over all of creation.
Only after establishing that fact, could I begin to speak of God’s plan for someone’s life.
Back to Early Jewish Culture
This Psalm was written into a culture that had many gods.
The surrounding nations had many gods.
And into that religious pluralism was this unique people that refused to believe in many gods.
God’s people of the Old Testament worshipped one God.
They believed as these verses say that He created the entire Earth and everything that fills the Earth, including us.
When the text says, “He founded it upon the seas (v. 2), it brings to mind the precision and detail with which God created and sustains.
Every lip of every river bank was defined by God.
He established it all.
Whether We Believe it or Not
Permit me for a moment to speak into our modern cultural context.
Though the West has been founded on the monotheism of Christianity, in recent decades we have returned to the pagan religious pluralism of the Old Testament days.
There are countless number of religious gods to be worshiped, and countless numbers of secular gods to be worshiped.
The great crime of modern society is to make the claim that only our God reigns.
The great crime against society is to make the exclusive claim that all other gods are false and that only the God of the Bible truly reigns.
And into the controversey of such a statement comes the clarity of Psalm 24:1-2.
The Earth is Yhwh’s and Yhwh’s alone.
The reality is that it does not matter whether a person believes that Jesus is their King.
Today in this room there may be a dozen atheists who reject God, and that makes no difference about reality.
God reigns whether we believe it or not.
The question is will he recognize His rulership over the world.
Move 2: Only Those Who Have Cleansed Themselves May Come Before the King
The second part of this Psalm is contained in verses 3-6.
These verses communicate that ‘only those who have cleansed themselves may come before the Lord.’
Psalm 24:3-6 “3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear 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 seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Selah”
The Definition of Salvation
Verse 3 begins, ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?” Quite literally, the visual is of the Lord ruling and reigning from on top of hill, and asking the question, “Who is able to be in His presence?”
What does it take for a person to rest in the fullness of the presence of God?
This question is the ultimate question that every person under the sun is asking whether they it or not.
Deep down in the soul of every human is a longing for the answer to this question, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord.”
Various cultures and worldviews may ask this question very differently.
Our modern secular culture might ask the question this way, “How might I find fulfillment?”
Or perhaps, “How can I have peace?”
Now while those questions dont’ mention the Lord directly, they tap into the inner longing inside every human’s soul for joy, for peace, for God.
The atheist doesn’t know it, but what they are searching in their search for joy and peace and contentment and fulfillment, is something that God can provide.
This is the ultimate question, and verse 3 captures the proper way to ask it, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
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