Who is this King
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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
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Today as we approach the text we have before us I wanted to us to give thought to something that may seem disconnected to this psalm but I assure you it isn’t.
I want to ask you how do you start your day? What is your routine? Do you have one? I assure you that you do have one.
There are many different ways to start your day and everyone has a different flow of how they like that to happen.
Maybe you get up, brush your teeth, and wash your face?
Maybe you get up and have a cup of coffee? For many of you I would hope that reading scripture is part of your daily routine.
I saw a list of the best ways to start your day, it suggests...
15 mins of no screen time, Grab a coffee or lemon water, Sit up straight and practice deep breathing and stretching
Grab a coffee or lemon water, Sit up straight and practice deep breathing and stretching
Sit up straight and practice deep breathing and stretching
Meditating and stretching
and streching
These things are supposed to make you more productive during your day.
If you are a young trendy Pacific North-westerner you may start your day with a pour over coffee, meditation and affirmation of goals, Thats your rhythm.
If you are a student then maybe you start your day by waking up late and trying to wash up and eat breakfast at the same time so you can get out the door for class on time.
Probably for those who are younger students, you will wake up early that first week of school and take a long shower. You will have your clothes laid out the night before. You will eat a good breakfast and be ready early??? Or maybe not, lol
Maybe your parents will wake you up and make you shower and lay out your clothes and make you eat breakfast everyday, and that is your routine.
How about when your families get together for holidays? I love Thanksgiving. We wake up early and start cooking the turkey. Spend the day preparing other side dishes. Invite family over at 1, eat appetizers till dinner is ready at 3pm. We spend time around the table saying what w are thankful for and after dinner we watch football while the girls check the Black Friday adds. Then have desert and play a game. that is our custom, our tradition, our ritual.
Why am I taking time to talk about all this?
Because what we would call your daily routine or morning ritual, our holiday customs and traditions, we actually have a word for in the church, it’s called Liturgy.
We all have a Liturgy in life, whether that is daily as individuals or something for special times when we gather. And we have a Liturgy in our worship gatherings. You may have noticed today that there is a time of confession, and or acknowledging The Lord in our singing, a time of fellowship and greeting, and a time of hearing the Word preached followed by a time of response in song. That is our liturgy.
And I would be quick to point out that it is something we get from scripture. When the Church gathers, we practice coming before God, confessing sin, proclaiming the Gospel of our salvation, with singing and preaching. We call it an order of Service, but it is actually a liturgy.
When the Church gathers, we practice coming before God, confessing sin, proclaiming the Gospel of our salvation, with singing and preaching. We call it an order of Service, but it is actually a liturgy. And just like when families gather, some people like it and some people don’t, but it is not a bout the individual preference, rather about it is about their gathering as a family. Likewise in the church some people love our liturgy, and others do not but it is not about preference, not about songs you like or dislike, not about texts you love or texts you would rather not hear, it is about Worshipping God together with others, not about the individual.
And just like when families gather, some people like it and some people don’t, but it is not a bout the individual preference, rather about it is about their gathering as a family. Kids are not in control of the family gathering whether they like to say what they are thankful for or not...
Likewise in the church some people love our liturgy, and others do not but it is not about preference, not about songs you like or dislike, not about texts you love or texts you would rather not hear, it is about Worshipping God together with others, not about the individual.
So because of that, unless you can point out how any part of our liturgy is not in accordance to scripture, we will not change that to accommodate any individual. It’s not about songs you like or not, we do not sing for an individual we sing together to our God and each other as we remind our selves of truth. Our liturgy can change but make no mistake about it we have a liturgy, we have a ritual way we worship, we have traditions in style and that makes us distinct from any gathering in the world.
What is all this about anyways???
This text we have before us today is a Psalm of Liturgy. It was sung every-time the the gathering would enter the Temple, especially when carrying the Ark of the Covenant after a battle. This was a repeated psalm of confessing the King, Approaching the King and Welcoming the king.
So as we go through this want for you think about how congregations of God’s people have sung this as part of their worship for years. How it shaped their Liturgy and what it is declaring.
Last week we looked at and saw how the Lord is our Shepherd. Well this psalm continues to look at the Lord as more than a Shepherd, now as a conquering King. In fact psalm 22,23,24 seem to be connected.
J Vernon McGee writes ‘to put it succinctly, in we see the cross, in the crook (the Shepherd's crook), and in the crown (the King's crown). In Christ is the Saviour; in He is the Satisfier; in He is the Sovereign. In He is the foundation; in He is the manifestation; in He is the expectation. In He dies; in He is living; in He is coming. speaks of the past; speaks of the present; and speaks of the future. In He gives His life for the sheep; in He gives His love to the sheep; in He gives us light when He shall appear. What a wonderful picture we have of Christ in these three psalms! ‘
J Vernon McGee writes ‘to put it succinctly, in we see the cross, in the crook (the Shepherd's crook), and in the crown (the King's crown). In Christ is the Saviour; in He is the Satisfier; in He is the Sovereign. In He is the foundation; in He is the manifestation; in He is the expectation. In He dies; in He is living; in He is coming. speaks of the past; speaks of the present; and speaks of the future. In He gives His life for the sheep; in He gives His love to the sheep; in He gives us light when He shall appear. What a wonderful picture we have of Christ in these three psalms! ‘
We will see that this Psalm asks the Question, “Who is this King”?
This question is meant to be answered not only by the Psalm but by the people singing and repeating this every time they entered the temple for worship. Their liturgy shaped their view of God and it does the same for us.
In this psalm they will Confess their King, Approach their King, and Welcome their King. Let’s look at it closer.
Confessing the King
Confessing the King
If I was to ask someone from another country to to tell me about their King or ruler, how would they respond?
I we asked someone from England to tell us about the history of the Kings of England how would they answer?
The King rules over the people of England, his borders are his country, his power is enforced by his army and navy. He is super rich, he lives in a palace, he is known for being nice or not??? Think about this.
These people when they entered the Temple were confessing their King as a ritual to remind themselves who they belong to. Let’s loom at this Psalm Verse by Verse.
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
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.
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
Here is the confession fo their King...
Our King is our God, Yahweh, the Lord. He created and sustained the whole earth that belongs to him. Oh and everything in and on it belongs to him too!
He Sovereignly rules over all the people who live on it!
This is a proclamation that rivals any other god a people will worship. We declare a God who is ruler and Creator over everything and everyone.
To be Sovereign means to be supreme ruler with Supreme power to rule and the full rights to govern everything under his jurisdiction.
So what is the jurisdiction of this King??? The Earth and everything in it and everyone on it!
This is quite the declaration of a King! If this psalm is true, if this king exists, we better get to know him!
And how did he come into power and establish his boundaries?
2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
He founded it
He has founded it??? That word we translated founded is a Hebrew word that means to Lay a foundation, to assign, to make or create, or to begin something.
SO what did God make, create, assign, begin or lay a foundation to???
IT??? It what? The Earth. God Created the Earth!
We have many places where Scripture tell of this. is the creation account.
14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.
11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
The whole earth belongs to our Sovereign God. and he made it on the seas...
Why does it say the seas?
This is poetic language that is meant to convey the thought that God is powerful enough to bring order out of Chaos. God is always pictured as winning victory over the seas that rage. it is a sign of ultimate power. That is why Jesus could command the seas to be calm in the midst of the storm… Because Jesus was proving he is God who created the seas and commands them.
Out of Chaos order, out of raging seas stable land… Post tennebra Lux!
Out of Darkness Light. He created the world this way and still saves people this way! this is the confession of our King! This was their liturgy and it is part of ours as well!! We sing this, we preach this, we pray this because this is true.
But if this is true, how shall we approach this King?
What are his standards? what are his laws? Who could enter into his presence???
Approaching the King
Approaching the King
If this God exists and he can do what they are declaring he can do, then what access does anyone have to him? can anyone come to him? do we have to earn a right or have a worthy enough request to demand and audience with this King??
Understand that these people are entering HIS Temple. So a common question would be, “Who can be with this Holy God”? There must be requirements???
There must be external and internal purity required if someone is to worship this God / King! Let’s look at it!
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?
There is 2 thoughts I would draw your attention to here. Who and Where?
Look at it… Who is good enough, to ascend or stand near you?
Does any of this sound familiar to those who have been tracking with us for a few weeks now? Do you remember what God declared in ??? that when nations rage and set up their governments against God and his Anointed that God responds???
6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
Who can go there???? Well apparently God says he has set a King on his Hill in his Holy Place!
So, God’s king can approach him. But remember they were singing this as they were going into the temple. They Believed that God was going with them into that temple on Mount Zion as they sung these words.
And how is it that God’s King is allowed to go to that 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.
So now we have it… here comes the only way that someone can draw near to God, in this case the only one who can fulfill the requirements is the one who has ‘clean hands and a pure heart’...
Notice the High standard of the one who can ascend to God and stand in his presence is someone who is innocent Externally - Clean Hands, and Internally - Pure Heart!
How many people do you know that can be that? Sure maybe someone can have a good day, and a good period of time, but no one can be that always! This is someone pretty special… and as we have seen God has already said this was his King he set on his Hill, so God’s king is someone innocent inside and out!
Also he won’t lift up his soul to what is false… Meaning This person will not place his trust in someone other than the True God! Nor will he swear by the names of False gods!
But remember this is part of their liturgy, part of the ritual of coming into the temple. They are singing this in a call and response way.
Vs 1,2 is a confession from God’s people of Who their God is - he the sovereign creator ruler!
vs 3 is from the perspective of people on the outside of the temple asking -”Who can Ascend?”
vs 4 is from the gate keeper - “He who is clean and pure!” “Who trust in the rue God and denounces false gods!”
So God will accept the Perfect person
But the biggest problem with this is that there are no perfect people… Thats a Problem for those who are outside the temple.
Does it seem like their liturgy is rehearsing a story?? Ever notice how the songs we sing and sermons we preach tell a story as well??
So if we have an answer of How can someone come to God in this way, the next question would be, “what will he get for being able to approach our great creator God/ King??”
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Please notice that this verse is talking about a HE… A person is the subject in this verse, even though a People are asking “Who can come”, the answer is a HE!
He will receive Blessing and righteousness! They would look to imperfect kings in hopes of fulfilling this, but we can look to the perfect King who did for us what we could not do for ourselves knowing it has been finished and the righteous requirements is fulfilled!
Yet He is the one who receives the blessing, he is the one who receives righteousness, which means right standing with God!
So the story they are Singing in this liturgy tells of a righteous one. Our liturgy points to the Righteous one!
So this sounds like really great news for that one perfect king that God will appoint on his holy hill, but what about the people who started on the outside of the gate asking who can come in???
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
now we have a people group again. we have a generation who seek him. that term generation means more than the Baby Boomers, ’ers, millennial’s etc… It is meant to define a whole People group and not a time period. Generation is a family term to describe people who belong to a blood line.
So a people group are included here, but what are they doing?
I would submit to you from all the studying that I am doing on this psalm that the use of the word him here means the perfect one who can ascend the hill of the Lord, and adds the face of God to that person.
Meaning the people group who seek the perfect king that God has set on his Holy Hill, and seek God’s face, will be included. That is why it says, such is the generation… that also could be translated to “So also is the generation...”
So as they are singing in their liturgy of repeating a story upon entering the Temple they are declaring that God is Sovereign, his King is perfectly righteous, and the people who seek him will be brought in too!
For us we know that Jesus is that King. we know that to seek God’s face we seek Jesus...
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
For those who are enabled by God’s Holy Spirit to seek him, we see God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ!
In this way and only in this way can we Approach our King!
So it is one thing to Confess the king but another to approach that King.
And once we know of the King that made a way for us to be part of his generation that is counted with him, then we must Welcome him!
Welcoming the King
Welcoming the King
In their repeated ritual of entering the Temple, their liturgy continues to a welcome of this King by pointing out what he has done by rhetorically asking Who he is.
The are building their story to a triumph and praise, their liturgy is climaxing as they remind themselves of this story, where only one is worthy and he somehow qualifies them too! The welcome of this King will be by a people who know him to be victorious upon his entry and return from his battle.
The welcome comes from his people in a certain place.
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7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
We have here more poetic language that personifies gates by saying they have heads. Meaning that the those at the gates, whether gatekeepers or those who standing outside and asking Who can come in from vs 3, are now to lift their heads and see the arrival of their King!
In this liturgy the people are singing, The story now is shouting to his People, “He is Back! Let the King in in! Look at him!”
Who is back? Back from where?
8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!
Who is this King??? Notice it says the Lord...
Remember vs 1? who is sovereign over the earth and everyone in it and everything on it??? The LORD!
Who is this King? The Lord returning from Battle, a Mighty Warrior!
3 The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.
They understood the Lord to be a God who fought for his people. This was their experience. this was their reminder… This was their song to remind them upon entering that the God they served fought for them...
14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
The Lord is strong and Mighty especially in battle!
This Liturgical Psalm celebrated the victory of their King and shouts a welcome to him!
Within our liturgy we acknowledge our sin and need for this Savior King as well as his imminent return!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Vs 9 repeats what was just said in an effort to Declare with extreme force that the King Must be Welcomed! Their song is repeating… Liturgy can be repeated, songs can be repetitive, if they are true!
And in case you were not sure who this King is yet...
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah
Who is the lord of Hosts? the word hosts there means the Lord of Armies!
In the old testament this was a common name for the Lord. but in the NT we we only truly get one glimpse of this Lord of Host! Lord of the Armies of heaven.
2 weeks ago we read part of this but it is true for this text today as well and gives a picture of that future and final welcome of this King.
rev18
11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. 14 “The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!” 15 The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, 16 “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls!
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Who is this King??? It is King Jesus
Confess this King approach this king and Welcome this King only if you belong to this King.
This liturgy was the story that they practiced when entering the Temple and it is part of our liturgy too. Only we do not have a sacred space to enter because of the work of our King who fought a battle for us, we are the gathering place of God as his people! We are his temple not this building.
1cor
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
but not just us as individuals… no we have a greater expression of this truth as well
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
So as they sang and reminded themselves upon entering the Temple of the truth of God and their position we now are that Temple for God and we offer our liturgy as worship to God.
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
May our Liturgy be acceptable to God through Jesus our Lord and Savior and may we join the ancient worship of God as a distinct people whose liturgy and songs remind them of real truth found only in Jesus Christ who died for our sins to be forgiven!
Let’s pray!