Psalm 24 Continued…
Psalm 24:8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
There is a pause; then from within the temple booms the sound of the priestly choir:
Who is this King of glory?
And the throng without, with exultant enthusiasm, thunder forth the answer:
The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle!
Then again there is a pause, and in a moment the appeal is renewed by the seeking pilgrims:
Psalm 24:9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
“Lift up your heads, O you gates” may refer to the archways above the gates which is too low to receive the “high and exalted One” who is about to pass through them, or that the gates built by the hands of men are not adequate to admit the mighty God. “Ancient doors” implies that the Temple and its gates have stood unharmed for a long period of time.
The challenge comes once again from the priestly choir within:
Psalm 24:10 Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty — he is the King of glory.
When the response comes, the ancient name of God, already current in Judah at least as early as the eighth century B.C. (Isaiah 6:3), is thundered out by the entrance-seeking throng. It is a strain out of Israel’s ancient militant faith: Yahweh Sabaoth! He is the King of Glory!
And at the first mention of this distinctive name of Israel’s God the Temple gates swing open, and the worshipers enter, led by the sacred symbol of His presence.
I think this passage illustrates two events. First of all this is a picture of when the Lord returned to heaven. It is also a picture of Him coming to earth again. Who is He? The world does not know, but this psalm gives us the answer. The King of glory is “The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle” (v. 8b). Then the gates are told to open up so that the King of glory might enter in. Well, He is not “in” today. The world has rejected Him. “Who is this King of glory?” (v. 10a). He is the Lord of hosts, He is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. And He is the King of glory, and the “hosts” are the armies both of Israel and of the heavenly beings. The psalmist writes “Selah” at the conclusion—that is, think on this for a little while.
As children of God we belong to three worlds: the world of creation around us, the world of new creation within us (2 Corinthians 5:17), and “the world to come” of the wonderful final creation that will be our home for eternity (Revelation 21-22). It would be a good experience in our understanding of the grace of God if we were to portray these ancient words outside the closed doors of our own local church. In doing so, moreover, we would be reminding ourselves that this psalm also points forward to the time when the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem, to use the picture language of the Book of Revelation, will be thrown open in eternity and the whole world of men, women and children alike will be invited to enter in.
Someone has said:
“This psalm is accomplished in us when Jesus enters our hearts as our King to reign, and it will have its full realization when the earth and its population welcomes Him as its Lord.”
PRAY
Father I open my heart to you! Come reside fully within!