Wednesday Advent - November 30, 2011 - by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Psalm 24
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty - he is the King of glory.
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Ancient Jerusalem was a walled city with a number of gates. The gates were there to keep out some people, soldiers, armies the city did not want. They were there to welcome others by opening them up. The reference in our Psalm to gates lifting up their heads is what we call an anthropomorphism. The gates are pictured to be like people who lift up their heads, look up with happiness when they see someone coming whom they like, who is important to them.
While I can tell you what an anthropomorphism is - applying human terms to something not human, I don’t think I can tell you exactly how they opened the gates of Jerusalem that had to be very heavy. But I do know something about opening garage doors. You see, I’ve had a number of experiences with garage door springs breaking. Those garage doors are heavy. Trying to lift them alone is asking for trouble for your back.
But let’s move now from the picture of opening a garage door for a car to come in to the picture in our Psalm of gates lifting up their heads, or opening up, to welcome the King of glory in. Let’s look at
THE GLORY OF A KING
I A KING WHO IS ALMIGHTY (1-2,8,10)
1. That almightiness is seen in creation. (1-2)
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
a) What a world we have! It has dry land and seas. It has vegetation - all kinds of trees, fruits, vegetables. It has the tiniest creatures that are so complex, and animals, from little to big, that roam the land. It has water life in the oceans and lakes, from minnows to the largest whales. It has birds of all sizes flying in the air. And it has people, male and female, to populate and manage the earth.
b) We know what the world says about this. It says that all of this came by itself, that the intricate designs of nature and creatures are by evolution from nothing, that there is no god, no supreme being. But we believe what God has revealed and what our Psalm says:
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
2. That almightiness is seen also in the Lord’s control. (8)
Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
a) God has not stepped out of the world He created.
b) Whether people accept it or not or believe it or not, the fact is that history is under God’s control. We often may not understand why God controls the world as He does. Yet we believe He is strong and mighty and in control.
3. Could this apply to Jesus?
a) It’s Advent. We’re celebrating Jesus’ coming. When He came in Bethlehem He was seen as a helpless baby needing His mother’s attention. Lift a garage door? He couldn’t even walk yet.
b) Then how can we say He is the almighty King of glory? At Christmas time many see a baby. But do they lift their heads and see a King who is almighty to whom belongs the glory of creation?
4. Yes, Jesus is the King of glory. (1-2,10)
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. --- Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty - he is the King of glory.
a) Does this describe Jesus? Is He the almighty Creator?
b) Listen to what John in the opening words of His Gospel says about Jesus, the Word made flesh for us: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
c), Yes, Jesus - with the Father and the Holy Spirit - is
the LORD Almighty - he is the King of glory.
II A KING TO BE WELCOMED (7-9)
1. He was welcomed on Palm Sunday. (7-8)
a) Psalm 24 is regularly used in our Palm Sunday services.
Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
b) You can easily see why, thinking of Jesus nearing the gates of Jerusalem, remembering the people lifting their heads in welcome.
2. But then what?
a) Yes, Jesus was acknowledged as coming in the Lord’s name.
b) But by the end of the week He was totally rejected.
3. Can we, like on Palm Sunday, welcome only outwardly?
a) Children, can you hear about Jesus, say that you believe in Him, but then forget about Him? Can you come to church but then pay no attention to His Word, not ask what you can learn about your Savior today - or maybe not even want to come to church at all?
b) All of us, can our church membership be outward only? Is it easy to call ourselves Christians, outwardly acknowledge Jesus, but find all kinds of reasons to open the gates or doors of our cars and drive elsewhere instead of opening the gates of our church to hear God’s Word and praise our Savior?
4. Please remember: the King of Glory is worth welcoming. (9)
Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
a) I wonder how many have had trouble lifting a garage door.
b) I hope not too many. But there is a problem we all have, and that is opening the gates of our hearts the way we should.
c) Remember that the King of Glory is a King to be welcomed.
III A KING WHO WELCOMES US (3-6,10)
1. Why would He welcome us? (3-4)
Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.
a) Clean hands and a pure heart, not putting anything ahead of the true God - who of us qualifies for that? None of us.
b) Sinners that we are, why would the Lord welcome us? An accurate description of us would be that our heart springs are broken, that because of our sin we can’t and don’t lift up the garage doors of our hearts the way we should to let the King of Glory come in. Welcome us? We deserve to be rejected by the Lord.
2. But we are welcomed because He is our Savior. (5)
He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.
a) To welcome us the helpless Baby born in Bethlehem became our Savior. Our sins were like a garage door too heavy by far for us to lift. But Jesus lifted that load, lifted it up on the cross with Him.
b) And there, with His innocent death for us the guilty, He vindicated us, justified us, exonerated us, set us free from the punishment we deserve for our sin. That is the message of salvation the Holy Spirit uses to give us faith in the Lord of glory, our Savior.
3. What glory He thus gives us. (3-5)
Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.
a) Because we are vindicated, forgiven, we are clean and pure in the eyes of God.
b) Because of our Savior we receive blessings from our Lord.
4. May we always seek him. (6,10)
Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
a) Seek Him who invites, "Come unto Me."
b) Fellow sinners, no matter how bad we are, how heavy our sins, there is a Savior who welcomes us, who came to this earth to lift our load of sins from us, to forgive us, to vindicate us.
Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty - he is the King of glory.
c) And that glory He welcomes us to share with Him.
As the first Christmas came, so the time of sharing glory with our Savior is daily drawing closer. Whenever our last hour or the last day comes, Jesus will not tell us to lift up our garage doors. But He will say what He said to His early disciples, "Lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Yes indeed, heed these words:
Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty - he is the King of glory.
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