“Songs of Messiah—The Sovereign” (Part 2)

Having considered on Monday that Christ our King is sovereign over creation, Psalm 24 now becomes intensely personal as He is declared to be…

Sovereign over the Heart (vv.3-6)

Who May Worship? (v.3) Some say that this was sung antiphonally by the people in the ascent to worship. Hear their questions, as they contemplate the greatness of the Creator God-

• Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
• Who may stand in His holy place?

To “ascend” or “stand” present a great picture of worship, balancing the other OT worship reality, “to bow down.” This takes worship into another dimension of life, translating it into a spiritual pilgrimage or quest. It is the adventure of climbing the heights in worship and standing before Him.

How Do We Worship? (v.4) Now the other choir responds to the musical questions.

• Clean hands (Isa.1:13,33:15; James 3)- symbolizes purity of conduct and life
• Pure heart (James 3, Phil.4)- symbolizes purity of motive and mind. As Jesus said, cleaning the outside of the bowl is not enough!
• Not given to idols- an idol is a false object of trust that cannot deliver on what it promises. To bow to an idol is to be spiritually adulterous, and in need of cleansing before God.
• Not deceitful in speech (James 3)- why? Because the mouth speaks the abundance of the heart!

Notice the areas of examination are consistent in God’s evaluation of the life of a believer. He is always most concerned with personal purity in four areas, and those four areas never change. His concerns?

Purity of life, motive, worship, speech

The are always viewed as the indicators of the true heart and life of a person- and God sees them as the best indicator of whether or not a person is truly capable of worship.

What Are the Results of Worship? (v.5)

• Blessing from the Lord- this is the person that God smiles upon, for he is accepted, enabled to live a righteous life, and submitted to the God of all blessing. This blessing is the status of God’s favor extended to faithful and loyal servants.
• Righteousness from the God of Salvation- literally, it is vindication and justification! It is the judge’s pronouncement in favorable response to a plea that declares a person free of guilt!

Who Is the Object of our Worship? (v.6) Not Jacob! Like him, we are those who…

• Seek Him- through the testimony of His Word
• Seek Your Face- through true, spiritual worship to the King of Glory!

Friday, we will conclude our examination of this psalm, and the trilogy of the Psalms of the Messiah.