Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall 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 ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.
Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10a That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
MEMORY VERSE: Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. —Psalm 24:8
CENTRAL THOUGHT: Because Jesus Christ was so faithful and pure and obedient to the will of God, and was mighty and triumphant in His battle with Satan and sin, He was given the power to ascend up into the eternal heavens and was given entrance through the everlasting doors into the presence of the almighty God.
WORD DEFINITIONS
Psalm 24:1 “The fulness thereof”: everything and every living creature, including man, who is absolutely the sole property of the Creator.
Psalm 24:2 “Founded it upon the seas”: properly, “above the seas and the floods.” In the beginning, God, as Psalm 104:6-8 describes it, “covered the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.” The Hebrew expresses it, “the mountains rose and the valleys sank.” There was nothing but water at first, but God made an expanse in the midst of the waters and caused dry land to appear. II Peter 3:5 expressed it: “By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.” Then in verse 6 Peter added, “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” This was speaking of the destruction of the earth by the flood in Noah’s day. Carnal man is not aware that this earth is supported above and protected from the overflowing of the seas only by the command of the Almighty.
Psalm 24:4 “Vanity”: evil (as destructive and bringing to ruin); guile; idolatry and uselessness or vanity” (Hebrew).
Psalm 24:6, “Seek thy face, O Jacob”: an expression which Adam Clarke is certain should read, “O God of Jacob.” Several translations, including the Septuagint, express it this way.
Psalm 24:7 “Your heads, O ye gates”: the controls or keepers of the gates. The command is: “Unlock and open up the entrance to eternal habitation and life!” “The King of glory”: The King crowned by God with honor and majesty to reign in eternal life. This is a prophecy of Jesus. He was God in the flesh, the Lord of all.
Psalm 24:8 “Strong and mighty in battle”: Christ as the Conqueror of Satan and sin. By His faithfulness and obedience to the death of the cross, and, more wonderfully, His resurrection from the dead, He overcame the world and the Father subdued all things under His feet. He is the Conqueror and now ascends to the realms of glory and calls for the gates to swing wide and permit His entrance.
Psalm 24:I0 “The Lord of hosts”: more properly expressed, “The Lord of armies,” referring to Jesus Christ and the innumerable host of angels who attend Him and the triumphant throng of His holy saints who are redeemed by His blood.
LESSON BACKGROUND
The 24th Psalm is generally believed to have been composed on the occasion of the bringing of the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to Zion (II Samuel 6:12). It is also a very fitting type of Christ; although it is not quoted directly by the New Testament writers, we see a mirrored image of Christ overcoming the powers of sin and death, ascending up the hill of the Lord and calling for entrance to the eternal world above.
The Psalm starts out by declaring the sole ownership of the Lord over all the earth and its inhabitants. It then questions who is worthy to ascend up to stand in God’s holy place. The answer is given by pointing to the cleanness of hands, purity of heart, and holiness of life and character that one must have to stand before God. It is very evident that no man in all the earth was able to prevail with God in this way. This is similar to the scene in Revelations 5, where no man in heaven and earth was found worthy to open the book in the right hand of God and loose the seven seals thereof. Praise God, we know that One was found who was spotless and without sin. He was counted worthy to open the book, to loose the seven seals thereof, and to stand before God, undefiled and holy. He alone was found worthy to receive the blessing of the Lord and righteousness from the God of His salvation!
In verse 6 the blessing is applied to all who follow after and seek Him; they would be His generation and His Church. This brings us to His approach to the heavenly portals of glory and the call for the gates to swing wide open to permit His blessed entrance therein. We have the heaven-borne witness in our souls that this is really true; this is what took place with our blessed Savior, the King of everlasting glory.
We have also included a passage from Paul’s epistle to the Philippians that echoes the message found in our lesson from the 24th Psalm.
—Bro. Leslie Busbee
DISCUSSION:
- Why is the earth and all therein rightly the property of the Lord?
- What are the qualifications of the one who would stand before God?
- Who alone could meet these qualifications?
- How may we likewise be acceptable before Him?
- Who is this King of Glory and why should He be given entrance?
COMMENTS AND APPLICATION
Jesus Christ fulfilled all the requirements of being found worthy to ascend up on high as the King of glory. He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners (Hebrews 7:26). He offered Himself as an “offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” (Ephesians 5:2). He “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (I Peter 2:22). He was rewarded for His humility and obedience to God in that He was brought back to life and given the power to ascend up to the highest heavens and to sit at the right hand of God. We who believe in Him and follow Him are likewise given access to sit and reign with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). Oh, the glory and blessing of reigning with Christ! He was strong and mighty in battle, overcoming this world and all of its sin and evil, and sharing His blessedness with us who trust and obey Him!
How wonderful that we can be delivered from the power of sin to live holy and righteous before Him, and have the blessed hope of sharing in His resurrection! He is our King, the King of glory. He is the Lord of hosts, and we are numbered in that great multitude that no man can number (Revelation 7:9)! Some blessed day, we, too, shall enter through those everlasting doors to dwell with our gracious King and all of His holy saints who have believed in Him down through the ages. What a day—glorious day—that will be!
—Bro. Leslie Busbee
REFLECTIONS
An atheist was asked what she thought God would say to her upon her arrival in heaven. She surmised that God would say, “Well, I guess you were wrong! I do exist.” What a flippant answer, and it will fail miserably on that final Judgment day of Jesus’ return!
Every atheist and believer will bow before the majesty of God. The rich and the impoverished will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords on that day. The saint and sinner alike will bow before Jesus, the Judge of all.
Our only hope of eternal life will be if we have repented of our sins and applied the blood of Jesus to the doorposts of our hearts. Bowing our knees in repentance and submission to the Lord before Christ’s return will keep us in good working order for that final Judgment Day.
—Sis. LaDawna Adams
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