In the first two verses of this Psalm David directs the attention to God’s glory and strength, and he calls the mighty ones of the earth to recognize that the LORD has a glory and strength that far exceeds their own.

He calls each one of us to humbly worship Him, recognizing He is Worthy, for only He is Holy!

In the following verses David describes how the voice of the Lord sounds:

^“The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The Lord thunders over the mighty sea. (v.3)

He also describes it as (verses 4-9):

- Powerful and mighty.

- Full of majesty.

 “The thunder is not only poetically but instructively called ‘the voice of God,’ since it peals from on high; it surpasses all other sounds, it inspires awe, it is entirely independent of man, and has been used on some occasions as the grand accompaniment of God’s speech to Adam’s sons.” (Spurgeon)

I remember as a child how I joined the children from our street and we would play under the rain. But it was really scary to see a lightning followed by the sound of thunder! That would make us run back home!

This reminds me how God’s people in Exodus 20:18-19, reacted to this sound: “Now all the people witnessed the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the smoking mountain; and as they looked, the people were afraid, and they trembled [and moved backward] and stood at a [safe] distance. ¹⁹ Then they said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us or we will die.” (AMP)

In contrast with Moses, these people were not only afraid of the smoke and thunders, but feared the sound of God’s voice! They had gone out from Egypt where they once had compromised with the immovable gods and idols of that place. Now they were under the care and guidance of a LIVING GOD! A God who could see the intentions and condition of their hearts!

This same happened to Adam and Eve back in Genesis 3:8-10

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” (NIV)

Imagine: Adam and Eve were both so accustomed to God’s voice before they sinned against Him! O how sweet conversations Adam and Eve both had with God. But once they disobeyed and sinned against Him, they feared His voice which God’s was convicting to their hearts!

 Now David was a man after God’s own heart and by faith he had the conviction that his God was a living God, so he was able to hear His voice, as he expressed it in Psalm 18:46 “The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!  May the God of my salvation be exalted!

Even Job had this same revelation: “ I know that my redeemer^[a] lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. (Job 19:25)

And we who have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior have received this same blessing and privilege! We can now live in fellowship with our Living God, and be able to speak to Him through prayer and worship and have the certainty that He listens and answers!

Finally, David recognizes that our Lord and King  is also our caring Shepherd:

^“The Lord sat as King at the flood; Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.
¹¹ The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace. (29:10-11)

Yes, in our afflictions we can call on Jesus, that same Jesus that calmed the sea for his disciples (Matthew 8:23–27) will do the same for us, and right after the storm He will give us His peace! Isn’t He Amazing?

-“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 (NLT)

-“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me…My sheep hear my voice…” (John 10:14, 27)

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father: I want to thank you for loving us and revealing yourself to us, not only through your wonderful creation, but through the Saving Sacrifice of Jesus! May our hearts be always seeking you through prayer and worship.  May our ears be always attentive to the sound of Your voice. Please deliver us from walking astray! We always want to be able to hear Your voice and follow You!  And when storms and afflictions may come, let us remember in faith that You give us the strength to stand firm, and will grant us your peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7), because “nothing…will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). Amen

Blessings,

Mari

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.