Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

This Psalm is simply titled a Psalm of David.

Most would put the writing of this Psalm around the time when the Ark of the Covenant entered into Jerusalem from Obed-edom, during the reign of David recorded in 2 Samuel 6. Yet Spurgeon aptly commented “The eye of the Psalmist looked, however, beyond the typical upgoing of the ark to the sublime ascension of the King of Glory.”

Psalm 22 showed us the suffering of the Good Shepherd.

In Psalm 23 we saw the depth of His care for His sheep.

Psalm 24 the bookend of a trilogy depicts His return to rule as King.

From the cross to the crook and finally to the crown.

Jesus - the Good Shepherd died for us, and cares for us, and is coming back for us.

In this Psalm David extols and exalts God as the King of Glory.

The procession of the ark would have been accompanied with much singing and music.

This Psalm is about worshiping and inviting the King.

As they sang to invite and welcome the King into Jerusalem we can learn to sing to welcome the King of glory into our life also.

Recognize God’s Sovereign Position

The earth and everything in it - the world and all it’s inhabitants - belong to the LORD.

Paul quoted this line in his letter to the Corinthians to establish the principle that in fact there is nothing that belongs to false gods and idols the pagans made offerings to.

Everything truly belongs to the Lord - the world and its inhabitants - every person - the days, the food, all of it.

God has claim to all of it, including every person who ever lived.

Why does all of it belong to the LORD?

Verse 2 tells us - it He who laid is foundations on the sea and established it on rivers.

We recognize the truth of this, when you create and make something it is yours and belongs to you.

You can do with it as you wish.

We recognize this as truth now, this was true since the beginning before God created.

Since God created, everything He created belongs to Him.

How you view God’s sovereign position determines how you worship Him.

Take for example two different views on our universe and planet.

“The human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies.

We are so insignificant that I cannot believe the whole universe exists for our benefit.”

“Of all the heavenly bodies created by the LORD, the earth is the one He has chosen to be His own special sphere of activity.

Clarence Benson called the earth “the theater of the universe,” for on it the Lord demonstrated His love in what Dorothy Sayers called “the greatest drama ever staged.”

He chose a planet, a people, a land and there He sent His Son to live, to minister, to die, and to be raised from the dead that lost sinners might be saved.

The earth is God’s, everything on it and in it is God’s, and all the people on the earth are God’s, made in His image and accountable to Him.”

The first quote is from Stephen Hawking and the second from the late Pastor Warren Wiersbe.

The one who recognizes God’s sovereign position recognizes the blessed position they themselves share.

God may have said

It came right before He said this

It is all His as Creator and He is sovereign in it all - but in His sovereign choice He has chosen to share it with us in His goodness.

He sovereignly possesses absolutely all of it, and we are His guests on His planet, stewards of all He has given us for our enjoyment.

Praise and worship the LORD for all that you see belongs to the LORD, He created it and is sovereign over all of it!

Remember God’s Requirements

David leads from recognizing God as creator and therefore sovereign and owning everything to acknowledging that such a awesome and sovereign God cannot be approached lightly.

The questions asked “who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?” and “who may stand in His holy place?”

Who is able to be in the presence of such a sovereign LORD?

Who has the right, the ability and the permission to come before God?

We require importance, money, power, etc to have the audience of “powerful men”.

Influence and the ability to give and return favors are what’s required by men, but what does God require to stand in His presence?

Who can be in the presence of God?

Used to be men were far more concerned with the answer to this question than they are - especially in our time and generation.

What is required to be right with God and be able to stand before Him in His presence.

Nowadays it seems the question is “how do I add God so I can be happy?”

Not anyone can stand before God, but there are four requirements given for the one who is able to have the presence of the LORD God.

The one who has clean hands

Clean hands means more than having good hygiene.

Clean hands speaks more than merely washing your hands in water.

Pontius Pilate washed his hands yet they remained unclean.

Clean hands means right actions.

The one who has a pure heart

Clean hands must be joined with a pure heart.

Actions are a good beginning but one must keep clean hands by maintaining a pure heart.

Jesus spoke towards this as hard as it was to keep from committing the sin Jesus taught that murder begins in the heart.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God!

The one who does not appeal to what is false

To appeal to what is false is to call upon, trust in or seek out idols.

All idols are false and there is only one true and living God who is creator and sovereign.

God is a jealous God - jealous for what is true and He will not share His glory with another - let alone with what is false.

The one who has not sworn deceitfully

The words we speak are an indication of the state of our heart, our inner man or woman.

One who makes deceptive promises has no welcome before God.

These answers from David may cause one to despair, for who can fulfill this and stand before the LORD.

It is usually the priest and in particular the High Priest, who could enter the presence of the LORD.

I look at this list and I know my hands arent always clean, my heart not always pure.

Idolatry in our heart is often sneaky, subtle, as well as stubborn.

Under this list I fall short and I could not stand in the presence of God - if we are honest and truthful none of can, and no one who has lived or will live ever could either, except one man - Jesus.

God established a better covenant through His work and person.

Jesus has the clean hands, pure heart, He has never looked to another, and has never sworn deceitfully.

Our Lord Jesus could ascend the hill of the Lord His hands were clean and His heart pure.

In HIS righteousness given to all who believe we can ascend His holy hill and stand in His holy place

The Old covenant a righteous walk was a precondition for fellowship with God and in the New covenant our righteous walk is the result of fellowship with God that comes from faith.

Make no mistake however in both covenants God remains concerned with the moral conduct of man - especially those who identify as His.

He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation - such is the generation of those who inquire of him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Those who seek after God will be blessed with righteousness.

This is something that each generation must do.

It is a continual seeking with the element of a pursuit.

This indicates something closer than just presence for this seeks the face of God much more intimate and close.

David compares the seeking to that of Jacob and his match with the Lord.

Jacob held on by faith until he received a blessing from the Lord.

Jacob being far from perfect was the Lord’s and now God is referred to as the God of Jacob.

Worship the King of Glory, because while no one is worthy to stand in His presence righteous, He has sovereignly through Christ, made us worthy as we seek His face.

Receive God’s Reign

This psalm ends with a repetition.

In Hebrew repetition communicates emphasis.

The ideas found here are marvelous and important enough to warrant repeating.

Lift up your heads, you gates and rise up ancient doors - this line is repeated twice.

This is a call for the city to open and be ready to receive the ark.

The ark represented the presence of the Lord.

Lift up your heads refers to the practice of making a wider entrance - gates opened wider, or even pulled off their hinges.

Could also refer to headdresses or helmets.

A metaphor for readying oneself for worship.

Lowering you head in humility and raising one’s head in rejoicing and praising.

Gates are the entrances of places of worship where the reminder is where they are.

Focus your thoughts be mindful and ready to offer up true praise.