and let's pray.
Lord, we thank you that you've called us
into your presence this evening
to declare your praise and to hear your word.
We ask now, I ask now,
that the meditations of my heart,
the words of my mouth
and the meditations of all our hearts
would be acceptable in your sight.
Oh Lord, our rock and our redeemer.
Amen.
Well, this is the third of our series
in soul-bearing psalms.
Soul-bearing because on one hand,
they lay our souls bare before God,
the one who knows our hearts.
Soul-bearing because having had our souls laid bare,
the psalms strengthen us, nourish us
to be strengthened and flourish
as we live in God's presence,
as God's people.
Over the last, the two psalms
over the last three weeks
have woven together some themes
that come together in this evening's psalm
as Peter and Neil spoke to them
over our past couple of studies
with seeing how Psalm 19
brings together creation
and the command of God
and how last week we saw
how praise is woven into the life
of God's people.
And both of these come together
as we've seen already
as we've read and sung Psalm 24,
our psalm for this evening.
But as the psalms do,
there's many ways,
many facets for looking at these themes.
And so we'll see this evening
a different glimpse
of how these things come together,
of how it is that
one who creates all things
is also the one who saves,
that the one who saves
is the one in whose presence
his people live.
Well, we've read the psalm.
I won't read it again,
but we'll be picking it up
point by point
as we go along this evening.
So I'd encourage you
to open your Bibles
and have them open in front of you.
It's a short psalm,
beautiful, powerful psalm.
And there's just two things
I want to note before we dig in.
Thing number one
to note before we dig in
is that psalms have contexts.
Those of you who are here
in the lead up to Easter
will remember the time
that we spent in Psalm 22.
And as part of that series,
Christian Hofstra stood in this spot
and mentioned to us
how Psalm 22 came
in a sequence of psalms,
which actually starts
in chapter in Psalm 20
and runs through to our psalm
in Psalm 24.
Psalms 20 and 21
are the prayer
for the anointed king
and rejoicing
in that king's strength.
Psalm 22 tells us
of the afflicted king
who is vindicated.
Psalm 23 speaks to us
of the shepherd king
who provides.
And so we come this evening
to Psalm 24,
the glorious king,
the king of glory.
And all of these five psalms
then weave together for us
a picture of the king,
who his people are
under the king
and how we all live together
in the presence of God.
How that longing,
perseverance,
provision,
trust,
faith
inform our minds
and hearts
as we come to Psalm 24.
Well, we won't be
picking up all of those themes
this evening,
but as you reflect
on the psalms,
I'd encourage you
just to have an eye out
for how the psalms
weave together
a picture for us
of God and people
in the world
to which he calls us to live.
Second thing to note
as we dig in
is that psalms,
in case you haven't noticed,
are poems.
They're poems.
And we see in the psalms
the discipline
and delight
of the poet's art
as the words
are woven together,
not just thrown together,
not that any of the words
of Scripture
are thrown together,
but woven with care
and sometimes
in striking ways.
And we want to just pause
and read a little bit slowly
as we see
the art and craft
of the poet employed
in the service
of the communion
of God.
It reminded me
as I was reflecting on this
of a modern hymn writer's line,
a hymn we sometimes sing,
come now fount
of every blessing,
tune my heart
to sing thy grace.
I think as we attend
to the poetry
of the psalm,
it's art and craft,
we have our hearts
tuned
to the psalmist's key.
So that's partly
what we want to do tonight
is spend a little time
reading the psalm
and then spend a little time
having the psalm read us.
So that's our two-point structure
for this evening's sermon.
We read Psalm 24.
And point two is
Psalm 24 reads us.
As is sometimes the case
with a few points,
there's a few sub-points
to go with that.
That's 15 sub-points
and you laugh.
Susan and I were watching
a conference sermon this week
and a terrific sermon.
It was really helpful.
And the speaker said,
well, it's the end of the day.
This is a hard slot to fill.
So just one-point sermon
this evening,
22 sub-points.
And people laughed,
but there were.
And so there are tonight,
not 22,
no,
just 15.
But in Psalm 24,
if you've got your Bible open,
you can see quite readily,
you can probably even see from there
that it falls into three
quite neat sections.
Verses one and two
speak of the creator.
Verses three to six
speak of the creature
who is also a worshiper.
Verses seven to ten
speak of the king.
And we often see these,
commentaries often see these
as three quite distinct sections.
And they are distinct,
but we'll want to revisit
this judgment
when Psalm 24 reads us.
How do these three parts
of the psalm connect together?
And we'll be able to make
a judgment about that
when we see what each part contains.
So,
we read Psalm 24,
we start at verse one,
and here's sub-point one.
God owns the world.
God owns all there is.
And already as we look at verse one,
we see the poet's art and craft
in the service of communion with God.
How is it that the earth
and the world are related?
And if we just pause for a moment
on this first line of the poem,
I think we'll already get to a sense
for the journey
that this psalmist is taking us on.
The earth.
We've heard of that before,
haven't we?
In the beginning,
God created the heavens
and the earth.
The earth is mentioned,
I've got it here,
approximately 2,508 times
in the Old Testament.
That's very common.
In fact,
it's the most inclusive way
of speaking
of the world
in which that God has made.
It's the earth.
And what about the earth?
It's fullness.
Say the old translations,
which I happen to like
from time to time.
Everything in it.
The earth is the Lord.
So the psalmist starts
by drawing the sphere
of God's ownership
as large as possible.
What's the next line?
The world
and all who live in it.
Now we might think,
well,
we've seen that already.
It's in the first part.
Ah,
not so fast.
We have a poet
at work here.
And in fact,
the word for world
is quite a special word.
It's only used
36 times.
It's only used
in poetry.
It always refers
to the ordered world
in which human beings live,
in which God sustains
by his power.
It's the place
that we inhabit
that God makes for us.
It's a very special place then.
And it's not just everything.
It's all who live in it.
It's every living being.
And in fact,
the way this is phrased,
it's a little bit like
being a citizen of the world.
It's the inhabitants.
It's you and me.
It's the people
who God has made
to live in this world.
So let's just step back
from verse 1 for a second.
So what do we see here?
The poet starts with
the largest imaginable
claim about what God has made
and what God owns
and then starts to focus in
on the world that God creates
for us
and for his human creatures
to inhabit.
So we get a sense already
of how the poet
is starting to use
this poem
to focus in
something about God
and people.
Not all the sub-points
will take that long.
Some of them
will be very short indeed.
But we've started a journey
in this case.
Point 2,
still in verse 1.
The Lord owns
all there is.
Well,
we'll see a question
and answer strategy
emerge in the later part
of the psalm.
But in a sense,
this first verse
also answers a question.
Now,
if I read it
two different ways,
you'll see what the questions are.
Let me try it.
the earth is the Lord's
and everything in it.
The earth is the Lord's
and everything in it.
Okay.
That's a subtle distinction.
But one question is,
what does the Lord own?
Well,
the Lord owns the earth
and everything in it.
The other question is,
whose is all this?
All this?
This is the Lord's.
And in fact,
the way the psalmist
sets it up,
it's pretty clear
that it's the second of these.
Who owns all this?
Do you own it?
Does some alien deity own it?
Who owns this?
The Lord owns this
and everything it contains.
Now,
it might seem a subtle point
just to focus
our attention there.
But I think,
I hope,
it will bear some fruit
as we read on.
Point three.
In verse two,
he founded it upon the seas
and established it
upon the waters.
Verse two gives us
the title deeds.
Why is this the Lord's?
Quite simply,
he made it.
It's his.
But we're quite used
to seeing and saying
these words
and we might miss
some of the oddity
that they bring us.
What kind of piece of work
is this?
Some of you will know
the song,
The Wise Men Built His House
Upon the Rock.
The Wise Men Built His House
Upon the Rock.
What's the Lord build on?
He founded it upon the seas
and established it
upon the waters.
Now, we've got architects
and builders
in this congregation.
I think they'd recommend to you
not to use this building strategy
yourself.
So what does the psalmist see
when he says
the Lord founded it
upon the seas
and established it
upon the waters?
Well, we need to get
a little sense
for a world
that we look out on
that is not ours.
I mean, we look up
and we look into
infinite space.
We see stars,
the closest star
light years away.
We see and know
that some of those stars
are galaxies
of billions of stars.
And we look down
and we see beyond
this platform
the Earth's crust,
magma,
tectonic plates.
If we keep going
in the neighborhood
of New Zealand,
come out the other side
in more infinite space.
that's not what
the psalmist saw.
The psalmist saw
a firmament
that God had put in place
and in that firmament
had placed stars
to be lights.
Looked down
and saw
the Earth
beneath
and saw
in that
ground
underneath it
the waters
of chaos
that threatened
human existence.
It's why we see
lines like this
in the Psalms.
This is Psalm 29,
verse 10.
The Lord sits
enthroned
on the flood.
Why is the Lord
enthroned
on the flood?
Because it's
in setting bounds
on these
subterranean
chaotic waters
that the Earth
can emerge,
that there can be
ordered life,
that there can be
agriculture,
that there can be
a flourishing
human society.
There's
dozens of passages
like this
in the Old Testament
once we start
to see them
in the book of Job
and in the Psalms
and in Isaiah
in particular.
So the work
of creation
that entitles
the Lord
to ownership,
this is the point
in verse 2,
is that it brings
about the possibility
of human flourishing
for our lives
to be lived
in this world
that is the Lord's
for he made it.
Point 4.
If verses 1 and 2
say that there's
an everywhere
that belongs
to the Lord,
verse 3 says
that there is
a here
which especially
matters.
Who may ascend
the hill
of the Lord?
Who may stand
in his holy
place?
There isn't
everywhere,
but there is
a here,
there is
a watery
foundation,
but there is
a mountain
of God.
And we
as pilgrims
now stand
at the bottom
of that mountain
looking up
and wondering
what it is
to be
in the presence
of God.
Point 5,
still in verse 3,
this assumes
that the mountain
of God
is a place
for human
habitation too.
And the language
does suggest
the journey
of the pilgrim
as the pilgrim
goes up
to Jerusalem
to the house
of God.
You'll remember
the set of psalms
that begin
in Psalm 120
and go through
to Psalm 134
and each one
of them
is called
the Song
of Ascents,
the Song
of Pilgrims
going up
to Jerusalem.
Probably the
clearest of these
that reflect
our theme
is in
Psalm 122.
I'll just read
you a couple
of verses
from it.
Jerusalem
is built
like a city
closely compacted
together.
That is where
the tribes
go up,
the tribes
of the Lord,
to praise
the name
of the Lord
according to
the statute
given to Israel.
It's that
impulse
to be a
pilgrim
to the place
of God
that we see
here in
this verse.
But who
may ascend
the hill
of the Lord?
We see
this question
asked.
Who can
stand in
his holy
place?
But we're
going up.
We're going
up.
Verse
4.6
if you're
keeping track
gives us
the moral
requirements
fitting for
the Lord's
holy place.
He who
has clean
hands
and a
pure heart.
That
answers the
question of
who.
The one
with clean
hands,
a pure
heart,
who does
not lift
up his
soul to
an idol
or swear
by what
is false.
Now there's
two other
places in
the Old
Testament
where we
read this
kind of
question and
answer.
One is in
Psalm 15,
just a few
psalms back.
If you want
to read it
later,
the whole
psalm fills
out some
of the
things that
we see in
these couple
of verses.
Another place
is in Isaiah
33, in
fact.
Isaiah 33
verses 14
to 16.
Where again
the question
is asked,
who can
stand in
this place?
God is a
consuming fire.
And the
answer comes.
And it's a
remarkable answer.
And again,
at the risk
of thinking
we're going
really slow
here.
Let's just
take a
lingering look
at verse
4.
He who
has,
or just
says,
if I
were giving
you sort
of my
version,
who may
stand in
his holy
place,
the clean
handed,
the pure
hearted.
Very
terse
language.
And what
do we have
then with
hands and
heart?
that are
clean and
pure?
Well,
we have
hands,
the external,
what we
do.
In Hebrew
thinking,
the heart,
not an
emotive
faculty,
but a
cognitive
faculty.
It's what
I think
with.
So we
have our
thoughts
and our
deeds
here,
positively
framed.
It's what
we do
with
cleanness,
with
purity.
And we
might think
this is a
very obvious
set pair,
comes up
everywhere.
Well,
it's pretty
unusual,
in fact.
We see it
one other
place in
the Psalms,
Psalm 73,
which,
as some
of you
might know,
is a
fairly
downcast
song.
I'll
just read
a couple
of verses
from it
for you.
Surely
God is
good to
Israel,
to those
who are
pure in
heart.
But as
for me,
my feet
had almost
slipped,
for I
envied the
arrogant when
I saw the
prosperity of
the wicked.
Something,
it seems,
to this
psalmist
has gone
wrong.
And in
verse 13,
Surely
in vain I
have kept
my heart
pure.
In vain I
have washed
my hands
in innocence.
Echoing the
words of
our song,
implying that
if I'm
leading this
kind of
life,
there's
something I
should be
getting back
from God.
Well,
there's one
other place
then where
this language
also comes
in the
Old Testament.
There's one
person of
whom it
is said
he had
clean hands
and a
pure heart.
Should I
have a
prize?
Anyone?
No.
Genesis
20 gives
us the
second story
of Abraham
passing off
his wife
as his
sister.
Well,
she was
his
sister,
but
nonetheless,
in a
kind of
way,
we won't
be going
there
much.
But there's
a Canaanite
pagan king
named Abimelech
who takes
Sarah into
his household
and God
comes to
him in the
night and
says,
you're a
dead man.
you've got
another man's
wife.
And Abimelech,
that's the
name of the
king,
says,
but it was
in the
cleanness of
my hands
and the
purity of
my heart
that I
did this
thing.
I had
integrity
when I
did this.
And God
says in
the dream
of the
night,
I know,
that's why I
prevented you
from doing
anything wrong.
It's fascinating
to think that
the one
person in the
Old Testament
that has
this character
is a little
bit like we
saw in this
morning's
sermon,
one who
is not
numbered among
the people
of God.
But we
have then
in these
first few
words the
positive side
of what it
is to be
one fit for
the presence
of this
God.
In the
next couple
of lines,
who does
not lift up
his soul
to an
idol or
swear by
what is
false,
we see
again the
internal and
the
intentions
of the
soul,
the
swearing,
the speaking
of the
mouth.
But in
negative
terms now,
what is
purposed
towards
false
gods
and
false
ends
ought not
to be
for the
person who
comes into
the presence
of this
God.
So we
see a
remarkably
complete
picture in
just this
very short
verse of
things framed
positively and
negatively of
our thoughts,
our words,
and our
deeds as
directed to
God, our
neighbor, and
ourselves.
It's a
remarkably
comprehensive,
ethical,
moral
guideline in
a very
small compass.
God, our
love, and
it's who
can stand
in the
presence
of God.
One who
has clean
hands, pure
heart, does
not lift up
his soul to
an idol or
swear by
what is
false.
Point
seven brings
us to
verse five.
This one
will receive a
blessing from
the Lord and
vindication from
God, his
savior.
And here we
see the ends
of actions,
not in terms
of payoff, as
the psalmist of
Psalm 73
began to
think.
Of course, the
thing is resolved
in a slightly
different way in
Psalm 73.
But here, as it
comes to be
lived out in
the life of
this worshiper
fit for the
presence of
God.
I'd like to
slightly tweak
the translation
here for us.
He will receive
a blessing from
God.
I think better
put here would
be he will
bear.
in his
life.
A blessing
from the
Lord and
vindication,
that is the
righteousness of
God.
So it's not so
much that do
this and you
get receive
payment in
kind, but
it's do this
and your life
bears in
it these
divine qualities
of blessing
and of
righteousness
that come
for the one
who is fit
for the hill
of the Lord
and his
holy place.
verse 6.8
it says here,
such is the
generation of
those who
seek him,
those who
seek your
face,
O God of
Jacob.
And it
might not
strike us
until we
pause to
see this
poet at
work that
this is the
first time
in the
psalm we
hit a
plural.
It's not
about a
singular you
or a him
or a her.
It's about
a them
and a
those.
It's not
just about
an individual.
This is the
generation of
those who
seek the
Lord.
Not only a
pilgrimage
undertaken by
the individual,
but undertaken
by all those
who would
belong to
the God
of Jacob.
point nine
brings us
to the
latter part
of the
psalm.
Lift up
your heads,
O you
gates.
And in
verses seven
and verse nine,
lift up
your heads,
O you
gates.
This very
clear,
repeated
pattern.
Perhaps
one of the
most famous
or at least
one of the
most resonant
portions of
our psalm.
If there's
any Messiah
fans here,
I mean,
Handel's
Messiah now.
Lots of
Messiah fans
here.
You might
know that
in part two
of the
Messiah,
scene two,
movement 33,
these are the
words that
Handel uses
to sing the
declaration of
the ascension
of the
resurrected
Christ.
And this
is the
section that
leads some
people to
believe that
the words
of Psalm
24 have
to do
with
perhaps
a
celebration
of the
procession
of the
Ark of
the
Covenant
into the
temple,
even though
we have
no evidence
for a
celebration
of the
procession
of the
Ark of
the
Covenant
into the
temple.
But it
just,
it has
that kind
of evocative
language,
doesn't it?
Here again,
we need to
make the
psalm just
a little
bit strange.
lift up
your heads
or you
gates,
be lifted
up your
ancient
doors.
We picture
the port
collis being
flung up.
Is that
what you
picture?
Don't
picture that.
The gates
of ancient
Near Eastern
cities,
temples,
all of
them,
swung on
hinges,
just like
our doors
do.
I think
it's kind
of important
to get
that picture
in our
minds,
because these
gates aren't
going to keep
out this
king.
It's not
a question
of requesting
them to
be open.
So what's
going on
when it
says,
lift up
your heads
or you
gates,
be lifted
up your
ancient
doors?
Well,
here in
this world
that God
has made,
there seems
that there
is something
of human
fabrication
too,
but
personified.
Lift up
your heads.
It's inviting
the entranceway
to the king
of glory
to be
jubilant,
to be
exultant,
to be
joyful,
to be
proud,
because of
who's going
to come
through those
gates.
Stand
tall,
be exultant
at the
coming king.
And finally,
in verses
8 and 10,
who is this
king of glory?
And we
have an
answer that
again might
strike us
as a little
bit surprising.
Who is this
king of glory?
Well,
it's pretty
military,
in fact.
The Lord
strong and
mighty,
the Lord
mighty in
battle.
In fact,
we could
say a
battle-hardened
warrior for
that second
line.
And in
verse 10,
who is this
king of glory?
The Lord
Almighty,
which older
translations will
give us as
the Lord of
hosts,
and which we,
some of us,
become used
to singing
in Chris
Tomlin's
yet more
literal translation
of this
phrase.
I know
who goes
before me.
I know
who stands
behind.
The God
of angel
armies
is always
by my
side.
This is
the king
of glory
who's
entering
in.
Well,
that's the
ten sub
points,
and there
is yet
more that
could be
said,
but we'll
leave it
there.
I hope
that's been
a help,
just reading
Psalm 24
and seeing
perhaps some
facets of it
that we
might not
have contemplated
before.
But having
read Psalm
24 and
with some
of those
thoughts in
mind,
we want
to let
Psalm 24
read us.
You'll be
glad to
know we've
got only
five sub
points now.
First of
all,
then,
I want
to revisit
that question
we posed
about the
three sections
of the
Psalm at
the beginning.
We can
see them
quite clearly.
Creator,
creature,
king.
But I
hope you
can see
now how
they work
together to
give us
one
interdependent
picture as
we start
with the
very foundations
of God's
created
order.
And then
work up
to the
world that
humans
inhabit.
And then
stand at
the bottom
of the
mountain of
God and
look up.
And as
we look
up,
ask,
can we
go up
this
mountain?
And as
the king
comes,
the cry
goes out
to the
gates on
the pinnacle
of the
mountain to
be lifted
up.
And you
can see
that we're
going up,
up,
up.
who can
go up
the hill
of the
Lord?
Who can,
the word
isn't
actually
stand,
I'm afraid
to tell
you again,
it's who
can arise
in his
holy place
as if
standing up
from kneeling?
Who can
ascend it?
And then you
have the
gates
themselves
proud,
exultant,
rejoicing
at the name,
at the coming
of the
creator king.
I think we
see one
movement from
bottom to
top.
And I
think there
is one
other place
in the,
if this
helps,
in the
Bible,
where we
see a
dynamic like
this one.
And it
was when a
king came
into Jerusalem.
In Luke's
account of
the triumphal
entry,
Jesus is
being acclaimed
as the
coming king.
blessed
be the
king who
comes in
the name
of the
Lord.
And the
disciples who
are saying
this are
rebuked.
And Jesus
replies,
I tell you,
if these
were silent,
the very
stones would
cry out.
And it's as if
Psalm 24 is
giving us this
picture where
actually the
stones are
crying out,
the stones are
standing erect
at the coming
king as
God's people
gather,
to worship.
So that's,
I hope,
gives us a
sense for
the shape of
this psalm and
maybe starts to
suggest how it
claims us.
So briefly,
a second point.
What is the
setting for
this psalm?
I hinted a
little bit
earlier that
there are some
speculations about
where this
psalm comes
from.
Is it part of
a liturgical
movement?
Is it part of
a seasonal
celebration?
Was it used
as an
enthronement
psalm?
How was it
used?
And the
very short
answer is,
we don't
know.
It doesn't
say.
So what
does the
psalm tell
us about
itself?
What's this
psalm about?
God?
It affirms the
basis on
which God
and people
live together,
quite simply.
The
creator king
comes to
his people.
Who are
the people
fit for the
creator king?
It's just
one thought,
really.
It affirms
the basis
on which God
and people
live together.
other.
So how
does that
claim us?
Third thing,
how does
creation claim
us?
In verses
one and
two.
We have
a very
understandable
tendency to
think that we
see in
creation a
powerful God
and that's
amazing and
that's true.
But that's
one of the
reasons why
I spent a
little bit of
time trying
to give us
another view
of the
universe that
isn't ours.
It's the view
of these
pre-scientific
psalmists.
They look at
the ordered
world,
the firmament
above,
the ground
beneath,
see that the
world flourishes
and this is the
response that
they have.
Fearing the
God who can
subdue chaos.
loyal to
the one who
made it
possible for
me to
live.
Trust in
the one who
sustains the
world so
that life can
flourish.
In fact,
this is exactly
Moses' logic
as he's
instructing the
people of
Israel before
they enter the
promised land
in Deuteronomy
10.
Just a couple
of verses
there.
Deuteronomy
10,
verse 14.
Moses says
to the people,
to the Lord
your God
belongs the
heavens,
even the
highest heavens,
the earth
and everything
in it.
Sounds familiar,
doesn't it?
So what's the
corollary?
What's the
implication of
that?
He continues,
Moses does,
fear the
Lord your
God and
serve him.
Hold fast
to him
and take
your oaths
in his name.
He is the
one you
praise.
He is
your God
who performed
for you
great and
awesome wonders.
In a sense,
that's our
Psalm 24
in a nutshell.
That's how it
claims us.
By
demanding of us,
if we see it,
once we see it,
demanding of us
our loyalty,
demanding of us
our trust,
demanding of us
our obedience,
obedience.
Which leads
us forth
to consider
a little bit
more this
response in
verses 3
to 5,
the identity
of the one
who's able
to stand
on the hill
of the Lord.
Now,
there is one
way of thinking
about this
question and
answer that
could go like
this.
Who may
ascend the
hill of the
Lord?
Well,
he who has
clean hands
and a pure
heart.
Forget it.
no one
can stand
in the
hill of
the Lord.
I understand
that reading,
but I don't
think that's
what the
psalmist wants
us to see
here.
I don't
think that's
what Psalm
15 wants
us to see.
That's not
what Isaiah
33 wants
us to see.
Unless this
seemed like
an Old
Testament thing,
let me just
point to the
one place in
the New
Testament where
this language
comes together
in quite a
striking way.
we pointed
out the
hands and
heart in
Psalm 73
and in
this pagan
king.
Well,
there's one
hands and
heart passage
in the
New Testament
and it's
in James
chapter 4
and I'll
just read
you the
key bit.
James
chapter 4
at verse
8.
Come
near to
God and
he will
come near
to you.
In a
sense,
that's our
psalm.
The
creator
king comes
to his
people.
Who are
the people
fit for
the creator
king?
Come
near to
God and
he will
come near
to you.
Wash
your hands,
you sinners.
Purify
your hearts,
you double
minded.
Grieve,
mourn,
and wail.
Change your
laughter to
mourning,
your joy to
gloom.
humble
yourselves
before the
Lord.
He will
lift you
up.
That's
Psalm 24
quite neatly.
Wash
your hands,
purify your
hearts,
and remember
that
Pastor James
is writing
to churches,
is writing
to Christians
with these
words.
And he's
elaborating
here on
how friendship
with the
world is
enmity
with God
in terms
that very
much resonate
with Psalm
24.
So the
question of
Psalm 24
3,
who may
ascend the
hill of
the Lord,
invites us
then to
test ourselves
what has
been my
response to
the creator
king?
Have I
responded to
the creator
king?
And because
this isn't
just a
me thing,
it's the
generation
of those
who seek
the Lord,
have we,
have we
responded
rightly to
the creator
king?
Which brings
me to
point 5.
So is
Jesus then
in this
psalm?
Well,
I think
he is.
Perhaps
not at
the point
where we
might first
have
thought.
The
God of
salvation
comes up
in verse
5.
And again,
we didn't
pause at
every word.
You might
have felt
we did.
Who may
ascend the
hill of
the Lord?
This
person,
verse 4.
Verse 5,
he will
bear a
blessing from
the Lord
and vindication
from God,
his
savior.
Savior.
What is
there that
needs saving
here for
one who
is fit to
stand in
God's
presence?
Well,
as we
read these
with Christian
eyes,
we see
that Christ
is the
one in
whom all
God's
promises,
God's
covenant,
the arrangements
that God
made with
his people
Israel,
find their
yes in
Jesus.
It's
through
Jesus being
the victorious
king that
all God's
promises find
their yes.
How it
is that
divine
righteousness,
divine
blessing can
be ours from
the savior
God.
I think in
some ways
we're back
at this
morning's
sermon.
sermon for
those of
you who
were here.
Andy
Hunter was
speaking of
Jesus teaching
in Luke 11,
finished with
these words.
Blessed,
blessed,
are those who
hear the
word of
God and
keep it,
heed it,
attend to
it,
obey it.
the creator
king comes
for his
people.
Are his
people fit
for the
presence of
the creator
king?
Clearly,
then,
there's a
strong claim
on those
of us who
identify
ourselves as
God's
people and
who seek
to live as
those fit
for the
presence of
the creator
king.
So we
want to
ask
ourselves,
what do
my hands
do?
What
lengths do
they click?
What
beverages do
they reach
for?
How
readily do
they form
fists?
What does
my heart
seek?
To be a
voyeur,
do I want
to win
the argument?
Do I
simply want
to live
an untroubled
life?
Chill.
Do I
just want
to adore
my
personal
idols?
Pure
hands,
clean
heart,
do not
swear by
what is
false,
do not
lift up
your heart
to idols.
And this
is why
we live
repentant
lives.
As we
thought about
Wednesday
evening,
turning away
from the
sins of
our
thoughts
and words
and deeds,
turning to
our
savior king
in whose
life we
find our
lives.
And perhaps
this evening
as we
gather
together,
there are
some here
who don't
count
themselves
among the
people of
God.
Perhaps
not,
I'm not
a Christian
yet.
And perhaps
you look out
of your
eyes and
see a
world much
like the
psalmist
did,
even if
now we
see galaxies
and the
psalmists
are stars.
you know
that God
has made
this and
you know
God has
made you.
And so
the psalmist
is inviting
you to
be one
of the
generation
who seeks
the Lord,
to enjoy
the presence
of that
God by
being fit
to stand
in his
presence,
by turning
away from
sin,
seeking the
savior king
who made
it possible
for us
to live
a life
fitting
for this
creator king.
Join the
generation
of those
who seek
him.
Draw near
to him.
He will
draw near
to you.
Let's
pray.
The
earth is
the Lord's.
We
are yours,
O Lord.
And we
pray tonight
as we
ponder
the world
you have
made
and the
life you
have called
us to
live in
this world
and with
each other,
that by
your grace
and through
the work
of your
son,
Jesus
Christ,
you would
fit us
to be
the people
who stand
in your
holy place
for your
glory's
sake.
Amen.