My Captivator

and let's pray.

Lord, we thank you that you've called us

into your presence this evening

to declare your praise and to hear your word.

We ask now, I ask now,

that the meditations of my heart,

the words of my mouth

and the meditations of all our hearts

would be acceptable in your sight.

Oh Lord, our rock and our redeemer.

Amen.

Well, this is the third of our series

in soul-bearing psalms.

Soul-bearing because on one hand,

they lay our souls bare before God,

the one who knows our hearts.

Soul-bearing because having had our souls laid bare,

the psalms strengthen us, nourish us

to be strengthened and flourish

as we live in God's presence,

as God's people.

Over the last, the two psalms

over the last three weeks

have woven together some themes

that come together in this evening's psalm

as Peter and Neil spoke to them

over our past couple of studies

with seeing how Psalm 19

brings together creation

and the command of God

and how last week we saw

how praise is woven into the life

of God's people.

And both of these come together

as we've seen already

as we've read and sung Psalm 24,

our psalm for this evening.

But as the psalms do,

there's many ways,

many facets for looking at these themes.

And so we'll see this evening

a different glimpse

of how these things come together,

of how it is that

one who creates all things

is also the one who saves,

that the one who saves

is the one in whose presence

his people live.

Well, we've read the psalm.

I won't read it again,

but we'll be picking it up

point by point

as we go along this evening.

So I'd encourage you

to open your Bibles

and have them open in front of you.

It's a short psalm,

beautiful, powerful psalm.

And there's just two things

I want to note before we dig in.

Thing number one

to note before we dig in

is that psalms have contexts.

Those of you who are here

in the lead up to Easter

will remember the time

that we spent in Psalm 22.

And as part of that series,

Christian Hofstra stood in this spot

and mentioned to us

how Psalm 22 came

in a sequence of psalms,

which actually starts

in chapter in Psalm 20

and runs through to our psalm

in Psalm 24.

Psalms 20 and 21

are the prayer

for the anointed king

and rejoicing

in that king's strength.

Psalm 22 tells us

of the afflicted king

who is vindicated.

Psalm 23 speaks to us

of the shepherd king

who provides.

And so we come this evening

to Psalm 24,

the glorious king,

the king of glory.

And all of these five psalms

then weave together for us

a picture of the king,

who his people are

under the king

and how we all live together

in the presence of God.

How that longing,

perseverance,

provision,

trust,

faith

inform our minds

and hearts

as we come to Psalm 24.

Well, we won't be

picking up all of those themes

this evening,

but as you reflect

on the psalms,

I'd encourage you

just to have an eye out

for how the psalms

weave together

a picture for us

of God and people

in the world

to which he calls us to live.

Second thing to note

as we dig in

is that psalms,

in case you haven't noticed,

are poems.

They're poems.

And we see in the psalms

the discipline

and delight

of the poet's art

as the words

are woven together,

not just thrown together,

not that any of the words

of Scripture

are thrown together,

but woven with care

and sometimes

in striking ways.

And we want to just pause

and read a little bit slowly

as we see

the art and craft

of the poet employed

in the service

of the communion

of God.

It reminded me

as I was reflecting on this

of a modern hymn writer's line,

a hymn we sometimes sing,

come now fount

of every blessing,

tune my heart

to sing thy grace.

I think as we attend

to the poetry

of the psalm,

it's art and craft,

we have our hearts

tuned

to the psalmist's key.

So that's partly

what we want to do tonight

is spend a little time

reading the psalm

and then spend a little time

having the psalm read us.

So that's our two-point structure

for this evening's sermon.

We read Psalm 24.

And point two is

Psalm 24 reads us.

As is sometimes the case

with a few points,

there's a few sub-points

to go with that.

That's 15 sub-points

and you laugh.

Susan and I were watching

a conference sermon this week

and a terrific sermon.

It was really helpful.

And the speaker said,

well, it's the end of the day.

This is a hard slot to fill.

So just one-point sermon

this evening,

22 sub-points.

And people laughed,

but there were.

And so there are tonight,

not 22,

no,

just 15.

But in Psalm 24,

if you've got your Bible open,

you can see quite readily,

you can probably even see from there

that it falls into three

quite neat sections.

Verses one and two

speak of the creator.

Verses three to six

speak of the creature

who is also a worshiper.

Verses seven to ten

speak of the king.

And we often see these,

commentaries often see these

as three quite distinct sections.

And they are distinct,

but we'll want to revisit

this judgment

when Psalm 24 reads us.

How do these three parts

of the psalm connect together?

And we'll be able to make

a judgment about that

when we see what each part contains.

So,

we read Psalm 24,

we start at verse one,

and here's sub-point one.

God owns the world.

God owns all there is.

And already as we look at verse one,

we see the poet's art and craft

in the service of communion with God.

How is it that the earth

and the world are related?

And if we just pause for a moment

on this first line of the poem,

I think we'll already get to a sense

for the journey

that this psalmist is taking us on.

The earth.

We've heard of that before,

haven't we?

In the beginning,

God created the heavens

and the earth.

The earth is mentioned,

I've got it here,

approximately 2,508 times

in the Old Testament.

That's very common.

In fact,

it's the most inclusive way

of speaking

of the world

in which that God has made.

It's the earth.

And what about the earth?

It's fullness.

Say the old translations,

which I happen to like

from time to time.

Everything in it.

The earth is the Lord.

So the psalmist starts

by drawing the sphere

of God's ownership

as large as possible.

What's the next line?

The world

and all who live in it.

Now we might think,

well,

we've seen that already.

It's in the first part.

Ah,

not so fast.

We have a poet

at work here.

And in fact,

the word for world

is quite a special word.

It's only used

36 times.

It's only used

in poetry.

It always refers

to the ordered world

in which human beings live,

in which God sustains

by his power.

It's the place

that we inhabit

that God makes for us.

It's a very special place then.

And it's not just everything.

It's all who live in it.

It's every living being.

And in fact,

the way this is phrased,

it's a little bit like

being a citizen of the world.

It's the inhabitants.

It's you and me.

It's the people

who God has made

to live in this world.

So let's just step back

from verse 1 for a second.

So what do we see here?

The poet starts with

the largest imaginable

claim about what God has made

and what God owns

and then starts to focus in

on the world that God creates

for us

and for his human creatures

to inhabit.

So we get a sense already

of how the poet

is starting to use

this poem

to focus in

something about God

and people.

Not all the sub-points

will take that long.

Some of them

will be very short indeed.

But we've started a journey

in this case.

Point 2,

still in verse 1.

The Lord owns

all there is.

Well,

we'll see a question

and answer strategy

emerge in the later part

of the psalm.

But in a sense,

this first verse

also answers a question.

Now,

if I read it

two different ways,

you'll see what the questions are.

Let me try it.

the earth is the Lord's

and everything in it.

The earth is the Lord's

and everything in it.

Okay.

That's a subtle distinction.

But one question is,

what does the Lord own?

Well,

the Lord owns the earth

and everything in it.

The other question is,

whose is all this?

All this?

This is the Lord's.

And in fact,

the way the psalmist

sets it up,

it's pretty clear

that it's the second of these.

Who owns all this?

Do you own it?

Does some alien deity own it?

Who owns this?

The Lord owns this

and everything it contains.

Now,

it might seem a subtle point

just to focus

our attention there.

But I think,

I hope,

it will bear some fruit

as we read on.

Point three.

In verse two,

he founded it upon the seas

and established it

upon the waters.

Verse two gives us

the title deeds.

Why is this the Lord's?

Quite simply,

he made it.

It's his.

But we're quite used

to seeing and saying

these words

and we might miss

some of the oddity

that they bring us.

What kind of piece of work

is this?

Some of you will know

the song,

The Wise Men Built His House

Upon the Rock.

The Wise Men Built His House

Upon the Rock.

What's the Lord build on?

He founded it upon the seas

and established it

upon the waters.

Now, we've got architects

and builders

in this congregation.

I think they'd recommend to you

not to use this building strategy

yourself.

So what does the psalmist see

when he says

the Lord founded it

upon the seas

and established it

upon the waters?

Well, we need to get

a little sense

for a world

that we look out on

that is not ours.

I mean, we look up

and we look into

infinite space.

We see stars,

the closest star

light years away.

We see and know

that some of those stars

are galaxies

of billions of stars.

And we look down

and we see beyond

this platform

the Earth's crust,

magma,

tectonic plates.

If we keep going

in the neighborhood

of New Zealand,

come out the other side

in more infinite space.

that's not what

the psalmist saw.

The psalmist saw

a firmament

that God had put in place

and in that firmament

had placed stars

to be lights.

Looked down

and saw

the Earth

beneath

and saw

in that

ground

underneath it

the waters

of chaos

that threatened

human existence.

It's why we see

lines like this

in the Psalms.

This is Psalm 29,

Psalms 29:10

verse 10.

The Lord sits

enthroned

on the flood.

Why is the Lord

enthroned

on the flood?

Because it's

in setting bounds

on these

subterranean

chaotic waters

that the Earth

can emerge,

that there can be

ordered life,

that there can be

agriculture,

that there can be

a flourishing

human society.

There's

dozens of passages

like this

in the Old Testament

once we start

to see them

in the book of Job

and in the Psalms

and in Isaiah

in particular.

So the work

of creation

that entitles

the Lord

to ownership,

this is the point

in verse 2,

is that it brings

about the possibility

of human flourishing

for our lives

to be lived

in this world

that is the Lord's

for he made it.

Point 4.

If verses 1 and 2

say that there's

an everywhere

that belongs

to the Lord,

verse 3 says

that there is

a here

which especially

matters.

Who may ascend

the hill

of the Lord?

Who may stand

in his holy

place?

There isn't

everywhere,

but there is

a here,

there is

a watery

foundation,

but there is

a mountain

of God.

And we

as pilgrims

now stand

at the bottom

of that mountain

looking up

and wondering

what it is

to be

in the presence

of God.

Point 5,

still in verse 3,

this assumes

that the mountain

of God

is a place

for human

habitation too.

And the language

does suggest

the journey

of the pilgrim

as the pilgrim

goes up

to Jerusalem

to the house

of God.

You'll remember

the set of psalms

that begin

in Psalm 120

and go through

to Psalm 134

and each one

of them

is called

the Song

of Ascents,

the Song

of Pilgrims

going up

to Jerusalem.

Probably the

clearest of these

that reflect

our theme

is in

Psalm 122.

I'll just read

you a couple

of verses

from it.

Jerusalem

is built

like a city

closely compacted

together.

That is where

the tribes

go up,

the tribes

of the Lord,

to praise

the name

of the Lord

according to

the statute

given to Israel.

It's that

impulse

to be a

pilgrim

to the place

of God

that we see

here in

this verse.

But who

may ascend

the hill

of the Lord?

We see

this question

asked.

Who can

stand in

his holy

place?

But we're

going up.

We're going

up.

Verse

4.6

if you're

keeping track

gives us

the moral

requirements

fitting for

the Lord's

holy place.

He who

has clean

hands

and a

pure heart.

That

answers the

question of

who.

The one

with clean

hands,

a pure

heart,

who does

not lift

up his

soul to

an idol

or swear

by what

is false.

Now there's

two other

places in

the Old

Testament

where we

read this

kind of

question and

answer.

One is in

Psalm 15,

just a few

psalms back.

If you want

to read it

later,

the whole

psalm fills

out some

of the

things that

we see in

these couple

of verses.

Another place

is in Isaiah

33, in

fact.

Isaiah 33

Isaiah 33:14–16

verses 14

to 16.

Where again

the question

is asked,

who can

stand in

this place?

God is a

consuming fire.

And the

answer comes.

And it's a

remarkable answer.

And again,

at the risk

of thinking

we're going

really slow

here.

Let's just

take a

lingering look

at verse

4.

He who

has,

or just

says,

if I

were giving

you sort

of my

version,

who may

stand in

his holy

place,

the clean

handed,

the pure

hearted.

Very

terse

language.

And what

do we have

then with

hands and

heart?

that are

clean and

pure?

Well,

we have

hands,

the external,

what we

do.

In Hebrew

thinking,

the heart,

not an

emotive

faculty,

but a

cognitive

faculty.

It's what

I think

with.

So we

have our

thoughts

and our

deeds

here,

positively

framed.

It's what

we do

with

cleanness,

with

purity.

And we

might think

this is a

very obvious

set pair,

comes up

everywhere.

Well,

it's pretty

unusual,

in fact.

We see it

one other

place in

the Psalms,

Psalm 73,

which,

as some

of you

might know,

is a

fairly

downcast

song.

I'll

just read

a couple

of verses

from it

for you.

Surely

God is

good to

Israel,

to those

who are

pure in

heart.

But as

for me,

my feet

had almost

slipped,

for I

envied the

arrogant when

I saw the

prosperity of

the wicked.

Something,

it seems,

to this

psalmist

has gone

wrong.

And in

verse 13,

Surely

in vain I

have kept

my heart

pure.

In vain I

have washed

my hands

in innocence.

Echoing the

words of

our song,

implying that

if I'm

leading this

kind of

life,

there's

something I

should be

getting back

from God.

Well,

there's one

other place

then where

this language

also comes

in the

Old Testament.

There's one

person of

whom it

is said

he had

clean hands

and a

pure heart.

Should I

have a

prize?

Anyone?

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

Genesis

20 gives

us the

second story

of Abraham

passing off

his wife

as his

sister.

Well,

she was

his

sister,

but

nonetheless,

in a

kind of

way,

we won't

be going

there

much.

But there's

a Canaanite

pagan king

named Abimelech

who takes

Sarah into

his household

and God

comes to

him in the

night and

says,

you're a

dead man.

you've got

another man's

wife.

And Abimelech,

that's the

name of the

king,

says,

but it was

in the

cleanness of

my hands

and the

purity of

my heart

that I

did this

thing.

I had

integrity

when I

did this.

And God

says in

the dream

of the

night,

I know,

that's why I

prevented you

from doing

anything wrong.

It's fascinating

to think that

the one

person in the

Old Testament

that has

this character

is a little

bit like we

saw in this

morning's

sermon,

one who

is not

numbered among

the people

of God.

But we

have then

in these

first few

words the

positive side

of what it

is to be

one fit for

the presence

of this

God.

In the

next couple

of lines,

who does

not lift up

his soul

to an

idol or

swear by

what is

false,

we see

again the

internal and

the

intentions

of the

soul,

the

swearing,

the speaking

of the

mouth.

But in

negative

terms now,

what is

purposed

towards

false

gods

and

false

ends

ought not

to be

for the

person who

comes into

the presence

of this

God.

So we

see a

remarkably

complete

picture in

just this

very short

verse of

things framed

positively and

negatively of

our thoughts,

our words,

and our

deeds as

directed to

God, our

neighbor, and

ourselves.

It's a

remarkably

comprehensive,

ethical,

moral

guideline in

a very

small compass.

God, our

love, and

it's who

can stand

in the

presence

of God.

One who

has clean

hands, pure

heart, does

not lift up

his soul to

an idol or

swear by

what is

false.

Point

seven brings

us to

verse five.

This one

will receive a

blessing from

the Lord and

vindication from

God, his

savior.

And here we

see the ends

of actions,

not in terms

of payoff, as

the psalmist of

Psalm 73

began to

think.

Of course, the

thing is resolved

in a slightly

different way in

Psalm 73.

But here, as it

comes to be

lived out in

the life of

this worshiper

fit for the

presence of

God.

I'd like to

slightly tweak

the translation

here for us.

He will receive

a blessing from

God.

I think better

put here would

be he will

bear.

in his

life.

A blessing

from the

Lord and

vindication,

that is the

righteousness of

God.

So it's not so

much that do

this and you

get receive

payment in

kind, but

it's do this

and your life

bears in

it these

divine qualities

of blessing

and of

righteousness

that come

for the one

who is fit

for the hill

of the Lord

and his

holy place.

verse 6.8

it says here,

such is the

generation of

those who

seek him,

those who

seek your

face,

O God of

Jacob.

And it

might not

strike us

until we

pause to

see this

poet at

work that

this is the

first time

in the

psalm we

hit a

plural.

It's not

about a

singular you

or a him

or a her.

It's about

a them

and a

those.

It's not

just about

an individual.

This is the

generation of

those who

seek the

Lord.

Not only a

pilgrimage

undertaken by

the individual,

but undertaken

by all those

who would

belong to

the God

of Jacob.

point nine

brings us

to the

latter part

of the

psalm.

Lift up

your heads,

O you

gates.

And in

verses seven

and verse nine,

lift up

your heads,

O you

gates.

This very

clear,

repeated

pattern.

Perhaps

one of the

most famous

or at least

one of the

most resonant

portions of

our psalm.

If there's

any Messiah

fans here,

I mean,

Handel's

Messiah now.

Lots of

Messiah fans

here.

You might

know that

in part two

of the

Messiah,

scene two,

movement 33,

these are the

words that

Handel uses

to sing the

declaration of

the ascension

of the

resurrected

Christ.

And this

is the

section that

leads some

people to

believe that

the words

of Psalm

24 have

to do

with

perhaps

a

celebration

of the

procession

of the

Ark of

the

Covenant

into the

temple,

even though

we have

no evidence

for a

celebration

of the

procession

of the

Ark of

the

Covenant

into the

temple.

But it

just,

it has

that kind

of evocative

language,

doesn't it?

Here again,

we need to

make the

psalm just

a little

bit strange.

lift up

your heads

or you

gates,

be lifted

up your

ancient

doors.

We picture

the port

collis being

flung up.

Is that

what you

picture?

Don't

picture that.

The gates

of ancient

Near Eastern

cities,

temples,

all of

them,

swung on

hinges,

just like

our doors

do.

I think

it's kind

of important

to get

that picture

in our

minds,

because these

gates aren't

going to keep

out this

king.

It's not

a question

of requesting

them to

be open.

So what's

going on

when it

says,

lift up

your heads

or you

gates,

be lifted

up your

ancient

doors?

Well,

here in

this world

that God

has made,

there seems

that there

is something

of human

fabrication

too,

but

personified.

Lift up

your heads.

It's inviting

the entranceway

to the king

of glory

to be

jubilant,

to be

exultant,

to be

joyful,

to be

proud,

because of

who's going

to come

through those

gates.

Stand

tall,

be exultant

at the

coming king.

And finally,

in verses

8 and 10,

who is this

king of glory?

And we

have an

answer that

again might

strike us

as a little

bit surprising.

Who is this

king of glory?

Well,

it's pretty

military,

in fact.

The Lord

strong and

mighty,

the Lord

mighty in

battle.

In fact,

we could

say a

battle-hardened

warrior for

that second

line.

And in

verse 10,

who is this

king of glory?

The Lord

Almighty,

which older

translations will

give us as

the Lord of

hosts,

and which we,

some of us,

become used

to singing

in Chris

Tomlin's

yet more

literal translation

of this

phrase.

I know

who goes

before me.

I know

who stands

behind.

The God

of angel

armies

is always

by my

side.

This is

the king

of glory

who's

entering

in.

Well,

that's the

ten sub

points,

and there

is yet

more that

could be

said,

but we'll

leave it

there.

I hope

that's been

a help,

just reading

Psalm 24

and seeing

perhaps some

facets of it

that we

might not

have contemplated

before.

But having

read Psalm

24 and

with some

of those

thoughts in

mind,

we want

to let

Psalm 24

read us.

You'll be

glad to

know we've

got only

five sub

points now.

First of

all,

then,

I want

to revisit

that question

we posed

about the

three sections

of the

Psalm at

the beginning.

We can

see them

quite clearly.

Creator,

creature,

king.

But I

hope you

can see

now how

they work

together to

give us

one

interdependent

picture as

we start

with the

very foundations

of God's

created

order.

And then

work up

to the

world that

humans

inhabit.

And then

stand at

the bottom

of the

mountain of

God and

look up.

And as

we look

up,

ask,

can we

go up

this

mountain?

And as

the king

comes,

the cry

goes out

to the

gates on

the pinnacle

of the

mountain to

be lifted

up.

And you

can see

that we're

going up,

up,

up,

up.

who can

go up

the hill

of the

Lord?

Who can,

the word

isn't

actually

stand,

I'm afraid

to tell

you again,

it's who

can arise

in his

holy place

as if

standing up

from kneeling?

Who can

ascend it?

And then you

have the

gates

themselves

proud,

exultant,

rejoicing

at the name,

at the coming

of the

creator king.

I think we

see one

movement from

bottom to

top.

And I

think there

is one

other place

in the,

if this

helps,

in the

Bible,

where we

see a

dynamic like

this one.

And it

was when a

king came

into Jerusalem.

In Luke's

account of

the triumphal

entry,

Jesus is

being acclaimed

as the

coming king.

blessed

be the

king who

comes in

the name

of the

Lord.

And the

disciples who

are saying

this are

rebuked.

And Jesus

replies,

I tell you,

if these

were silent,

the very

stones would

cry out.

And it's as if

Psalm 24 is

giving us this

picture where

actually the

stones are

crying out,

the stones are

standing erect

at the coming

king as

God's people

gather,

to worship.

So that's,

I hope,

gives us a

sense for

the shape of

this psalm and

maybe starts to

suggest how it

claims us.

So briefly,

a second point.

What is the

setting for

this psalm?

I hinted a

little bit

earlier that

there are some

speculations about

where this

psalm comes

from.

Is it part of

a liturgical

movement?

Is it part of

a seasonal

celebration?

Was it used

as an

enthronement

psalm?

How was it

used?

And the

very short

answer is,

we don't

know.

It doesn't

say.

So what

does the

psalm tell

us about

itself?

What's this

psalm about?

God?

It affirms the

basis on

which God

and people

live together,

quite simply.

The

creator king

comes to

his people.

Who are

the people

fit for the

creator king?

It's just

one thought,

really.

It affirms

the basis

on which God

and people

live together.

other.

So how

does that

claim us?

Third thing,

how does

creation claim

us?

In verses

one and

two.

We have

a very

understandable

tendency to

think that we

see in

creation a

powerful God

and that's

amazing and

that's true.

But that's

one of the

reasons why

I spent a

little bit of

time trying

to give us

another view

of the

universe that

isn't ours.

It's the view

of these

pre-scientific

psalmists.

They look at

the ordered

world,

the firmament

above,

the ground

beneath,

see that the

world flourishes

and this is the

response that

they have.

Fearing the

God who can

subdue chaos.

loyal to

the one who

made it

possible for

me to

live.

Trust in

the one who

sustains the

world so

that life can

flourish.

In fact,

this is exactly

Moses' logic

as he's

instructing the

people of

Israel before

they enter the

promised land

in Deuteronomy

10.

Just a couple

of verses

there.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 10:14

10,

verse 14.

Moses says

to the people,

to the Lord

your God

belongs the

heavens,

even the

highest heavens,

the earth

and everything

in it.

Sounds familiar,

doesn't it?

So what's the

corollary?

What's the

implication of

that?

He continues,

Moses does,

fear the

Lord your

God and

serve him.

Hold fast

to him

and take

your oaths

in his name.

He is the

one you

praise.

He is

your God

who performed

for you

great and

awesome wonders.

In a sense,

that's our

Psalm 24

in a nutshell.

That's how it

claims us.

By

demanding of us,

if we see it,

once we see it,

demanding of us

our loyalty,

demanding of us

our trust,

demanding of us

our obedience,

obedience.

Which leads

us forth

to consider

a little bit

more this

response in

verses 3

to 5,

the identity

of the one

who's able

to stand

on the hill

of the Lord.

Now,

there is one

way of thinking

about this

question and

answer that

could go like

this.

Who may

ascend the

hill of the

Lord?

Well,

he who has

clean hands

and a pure

heart.

Forget it.

no one

can stand

in the

hill of

the Lord.

I understand

that reading,

but I don't

think that's

what the

psalmist wants

us to see

here.

I don't

think that's

what Psalm

15 wants

us to see.

That's not

what Isaiah

33 wants

us to see.

Unless this

seemed like

an Old

Testament thing,

let me just

point to the

one place in

the New

Testament where

this language

comes together

in quite a

striking way.

we pointed

out the

hands and

heart in

Psalm 73

and in

this pagan

king.

Well,

there's one

hands and

heart passage

in the

New Testament

and it's

in James

James 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

and I'll

just read

you the

key bit.

James

James 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

at verse

8.

Come

near to

God and

he will

come near

to you.

In a

sense,

that's our

psalm.

The

creator

king comes

to his

people.