Today's reading: Psalm 24, Acts. 1:9-11

It so amazes me how David could express so many of God’s thoughts into words! This Psalm is one of the most beautiful expressions of these thoughts, right from the Heart of God!  

In the first verses of this psalm David declared the greatness of God:

“The earth [b]is the Lord’s, and the fullness of it, the world, and those who dwell in it. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the streams and the rivers.” (AMP 24:1, 2)

In the AMP Bible I found the following footnotes which I thought were very interesting:

Psalm 24:1 In the Talmud it is said that the Levites sang a particular psalm for every day of the week, and this was the psalm for the first day.

(b) The ancient rabbis taught that since the earth and everything it contains belongs to the Lord, it is sacrilege to enjoy anything of the world without first saying a benediction for it.

We as Christians might not believe this as a sacrilege, but if we meditate…this in other words, is the same as “taking for granted”. How many times in my “busyness”, I have done so!

 In the second section of this Psalm, David expressed how we can come into relationship with God:

“Who may ascend onto the mountain of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?” (24:3 AMP)

The question in this verse is something we usually do not ask ourselves, but it is something that as Christians we know by heart, something that Jesus taught us:

 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” (Matt. 5:23-24)

We as Christians have that blessing and privilege to come to His Holy place, just as it is written in Hebrews 4:15-16

¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. ¹⁶ Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].”

In Psalm 24:4-5. David answers: :“He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully; he shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the blood of his salvation.”

C.H. Spurgeon explains: “If a man were clean as to his actions, but not clean as to his motives, he would not be fit to enter heaven, but the man described here is a true man. He has not followed after vanity, neither has he uttered a lie, but he has followed the truth, and he has spoken the truth. He is the man whom God will bless, but he has no righteousness of his own, so we read that “he shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” So he needed to be saved, and he needed a righteousness better than his own, and this God will give him.”

 

Psalm 24:7-10 -This last part welcomes God unto His people by the opening of the gates:

“Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, ancient doors,That the King of glory may come in.⁸ Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.⁹ Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in. ¹⁰ Who is [He then] this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory [who rules over all creation with His heavenly armies]. Selah.(AMP)

I love how Matthew Henry explains these final verses:

“This is the gospel call and demand, that we let Jesus Christ, the King of glory, come into our souls, and welcome him with hosannas, “Blessed is he that cometh”.  That we may do this aright we are concerned to ask, “Who is this King of glory?”—to acquaint ourselves with him, whom we are to believe in, and to love above all. And the answer is ready: “He is Jehovah, and will be Jehovah our righteousness”, an all-sufficient Saviour to us, if we give him entrance and entertainment. He is strong and mighty, and the Lord of hosts; and therefore it is at our peril if we deny him entrance; for he is able to avenge the affront; he can force his way, and can break those in pieces with his iron rod that will not submit to his golden scepter.”

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father it amazes me that You, the Creator of heaven and earth and all that is come to existence, would love us so much as to give the life of your Precious Son in sacrifice for the saving of our lives! May we lift up holy hands (1 Tim 2:8) in prayer and praise as we approach your throne of grace “so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].” (Heb. 4:16)  Thank you for the privilege of being our King and our all-sufficient Savior! Our prayer is that our loved ones will one day answer your loving call to open the doors of their hearts (Rev. 3:20-21), and we all be one in You and cheerfully proclaim: “You are the King of Glory! The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle, You are our King!”  In Jesus Name we pray. Amen!

 

Blessings,

Mari.