Read Psalm 24.
The LORD, our God, is to be worshiped.
George Washington and many of his fellow colonists believed there was only one king, and it was not King George III. Their faith in Jesus is illustrated in a couple Revolutionary war incidents.
On April 22, 1774, a report was sent to King George III from the governor of Boston, who wrote, "If you ask an American who is his master, he will tell you, he has none, nor any governor but Jesus Christ."
A year later, in April 1775, when a British major called the colonialists “villains” and told them to "lay down your arms, in the name of George, the sovereign king of England." The Americans responded with "We recognize no Sovereign but God and no King but Jesus."
The battle cry and motto of the war became “No king but king Jesus.” (Michael Deutsch)
After the war, some colonialists wanted to make George Washington king. But he refused, saying, “I didn’t defeat George III to become George I.”
In another instance, an American officer named Lewis Nicola wrote to Washington in 1782 suggesting that, if the young nation were to survive, Washington had to take on the title of a king.
Washington wrote back, “if you have any regard for your Country, concern for yourself or posterity, or respect for me, banish these thoughts from your Mind, and never communicate, as from yourself, or anyone else, a sentiment of the like Nature.”
While there’s very little chance any of us will receive an invitation to be king or queen, we all face a daily temptation to put ourselves on the throne of our lives. Self-centeredness has its uses, but it is ultimately deadly to make an idol of self. The only person qualified to sit on the throne of our lives is God, our Creator and true King. This psalm calls us to celebrate God as our King and live our days with attitudes and actions that keep us OFF the throne!
1. The LORD is our Creator. (vs. 1-2)
As Creator, all parts of creation belong to Him. Unlike pagan idols, God has the only complete claim on the Earth as He is our true Creator. Verse one is poetic and thorough: the EARTH and EVERYTHING in it, the WORLD and ALL ITS PEOPLE removes all doubt: all that exists is His.
Verse two explains how the LORD created the Earth. This is a repeat of the order of creation in Genesis 1:1-2, with the Spirit of the Lord hovering over the dark waters.
- On Day One (1:3-5), God created light as a boundary to the darkness, calling the light “day.”
- On Day Two (1:6-8), God created a barrier between the heavenly waters and the earthly water. He called that volume of air the “sky.”
- On Day Three (1:9-13), God created earthen barriers dividing the sea. On the land God caused all kinds of vegetation to grow.
- On Day Four (1:14-19), God created lights in the day and night skies to organize the light and darkness into seasons and years.
- On Day Five (1:20-23), God created creatures that live in the water and fly through the air and caused them to multiply.
- On the sixth day (1:24-31), God created animals that live on land. He created a man in His own image to live in that land.
- On the seventh day (2:1-3), God ceased His labors on creation because it was complete and He pronounced all of it “good.” He blessed that day and declared it holy. Generations later, God would command that His people set aside the seventh day for rest, worship, and family.
2. The LORD is the King of Glory. (vs. 7-10)
(These verses are a kind of responsive reading set to music, where the priests sang the odd-numbered verses and the people sang the even-numbered ones.)
In verses seven and nine, the priests invited the KING OF GLORY to enter the city or temple; to dwell with His people. The GATES were called “the doors of eternity.”
The occasion being remembered and celebrated in this psalm may’ve been...
- Any time the Ark was brought back to the sanctuary after a battle.
- David bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
- Solomon dedicating the temple.
Whatever the occasion, the people sang these verses as they ascended the steps to enter the temple.
Verses eight and ten identify the KING OF GLORY as the Divine Warrior who fights for His people. He is described in military terms: STRONG, MIGHTY, INVINCIBLE IN BATTLE, THE LORD OF HEAVEN’S ARMIES. The GATES must “open wide” to admit a figure of this magnitude. The Divine Warrior is a depiction of God that appears frequently in the Psalms. When the LORD is with them, the armies of Israel were unbeatable. When the army went to battle without the Lord’s approval, they were utterly defeated.
3. Because He is Creator and King, the LORD deserves our righteous worship. (vs. 3-6)
True worshipers are righteous people. Where Psalm 23:6 expressed a longing to dwell in the house of the LORD forever, this Psalm led the worshipper up to the Lord’s house. Appreciating what we’ve been told about the LORD in this Psalm, the question in verse three makes perfect sense. A healthy fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Verse four answers the question, noting three virtues that characterize someone worthy to enter into God’s presence.
- Purity. The reference to HANDS symbolizes actions, the reference to HEARTS to emotions, thoughts, and motives. This covers all our ethical decisions.
- Loyalty to God, not idols. God has identified Himself as extremely jealous. He will not share any part of us with false gods. There is no room for a divided heart, no excuse for evil actions.
- Honesty. “NEVER TELL LIES,” sets the highest standard for telling the truth. Any form of dishonesty sets the stage for hypocrisy. Only a perfect telling of the entire truth will satisfy Him.
The LORD blesses righteous worshipers. The kind of people described in verse four are rewarded in verse five with being allowed to worship God and two other benefits.
- The Lord’s BLESSING can take various forms, depending on our circumstance and what we need most. Thankfully, the LORD knows all things, including us, and He is always working with perfect wisdom and total power to do what is best for us.
- A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THEIR SAVIOR encompasses a daily walk with God and because He has saved us, an ongoing relationship with Him after this life is over.
Verse six says it in a slightly different way; folks who obey God and demonstrate it in the three ways mentioned in verse four are granted two privileges.
- To SEEK God.
- To WORSHIP God in His presence (in the tabernacle/temple).
To describe the LORD as the GOD OF JACOB simply establishes Him in their national history, acknowledging that the nation of Israel would not exist at all if God had not won the battle for them.
The LORD, our King, is to be worshiped.
Andy Cook told the story a boy who stood on a sidewalk, waiting on a bus. A man walking by spotted the boy and offered him some gentle instruction. “Son,” he said, “if you’re waiting on the bus, you need to move to the street corner. That’s where the bus stops for passengers.”
“It’s OK,” said the boy. “I’ll just wait right here, and the bus will stop for me.”
The man repeated his instruction, but the boy never moved.
Just then, the bus appeared. Amazingly, the bus pulled over to where the boy stood, and the child hopped on. The man on the sidewalk was speechless.
The boy turned around in the doorway and said, “Mister, I knew the bus would stop here, because the bus driver is my dad!”
“When you’ve got a family relationship with the bus driver, you don’t need a bus stop. If your mother is a US Senator, you won’t need an appointment to slip into her office. If you’ve given your heart to the King of Kings, you’re in a royal family of unspeakable proportions.”
While our relationship with the King of Kings is the most beneficial relationship we know, we can’t really put Jesus on the throne and remain selfish. If we serve Jesus as King, then our focus is on Him, our ambition is to give Him glory, and our greatest joy to do His will.
What needs to be done? We need to ask God for pure hands and heart so we can worship Him. We must ruthlessly expose and haul down everything that we have made into an idol, including the subtle but common idolatry of self. We must be honest, starting with ourselves. This means forsaking all kinds of manipulation of words to influence others or make excuses for ourselves.
When we have tended to these things we receive permission to CLIMB the holy mountain to commune with our King. When our inner lives and outward deeds are in conformity with His will, we will be invited to stand in His holy place. There is no more joyous place to be.
RESOURCES:
Revolutionary war anecdotes taken from a sermon by Michael Deutsch, “The Beginning of the End,” preached on 8/29/2011, retrieved from https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/81338/no-king-but-jesus-by-sermon-central on 23 August 2024.
George Washington quote from https://www.quora.com/Did-George-Washington-ever-refuse-to-become-king-If-so-why-would-he-turn-down-such-a-position-of-power-after-leading-his-country-through-war-successfully retrieved on 23 August 2024.
C.F. Keil and F. Delitzch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 5, Psalms, 1982, pp. 332-339.
Willem A. Van Gemermen, the Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, Psalms, 1991, pp. 219-225.
Andy Cook’s bus stop illustration retrieved from https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/sermon-jesus-king-of-kings-palm-sunday-hebrews-3-12 on 23 August 2024.
Comments