Psalms 24

Psalms 24:1

Psalm 24: Who Is the King of Glory?The Twenty-Fourth Psalm looks forward to a glorious event which occurs at the end of the Great Tribulation. The thunders of God’s judgments have ceased, the Lord Jesus has returned to earth and has put down all His foes, and Christ is now marching to Jerusalem to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. This is a triumphal procession such as the world has never seen. Even as onlookers were once startled by the depths of the Savior’s suffering, so they are now speechless at the height of His glory. 24:1, 2 As the throng nears the city, the announcement rings out that the earth and everything in it belong to God. It is a statement of divine ownership and of Christ’s full right to reign. Then the reason is given. Christ is the One who made the world. It was He who gathered the waters together in one place and made the dry land appear. It was He who formed the rivers, some on the surface of the earth and some beneath the ground. So now He is coming to claim what is really His own but has been denied to Him for centuries. 24:3-6 The next four verses describe the kind of people who will enter the kingdom and enjoy the thousand-year reign of peace and prosperity. These are the believing remnant of Israel and the redeemed Gentiles who will go up to the temple in Jerusalem to worship. It might seem that these people qualify for the kingdom by their good character, but this is not the case. Their character is the result of their new birth from above, for unless a man is born again he can neither see nor enter the kingdom of God (Joh_3:3, Joh_3:5). These people, then, are the noble saints who have come through great tribulation and have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. Four traits of character are specified. They have clean hands; in other words, their actions are righteous and blameless. They have a pure heart; that is, their motives are sincere and their minds uncorrupted. They do not subscribe to falsehood in any form. And finally, they do not pervert justice by testifying to what is not true. Their hands, their heart, their soul, their lips are all righteous. These are the kind of people who will be subjects in Christ’s Millennial Kingdom. Though formerly ridiculed and despised by the ungodly, they will now be vindicated by the God of their salvation. Yes, these are the citizens of the Millenniumpeople who seek God’s face, people who have received grace from the God who loves the unworthy. 24:7, 8 I like to think that the procession has been singing the words of verses 1-6 as they cross the Valley of the Kidron. But now their singing is interrupted by the clarion call of the herald at the head of the parade. He calls out to the watchmen at the gates of Jerusalem: “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.” A sentry on the wall of the city calls back in loud, impressive tones, “Who is this King of glory?” The answer comes back in clear, stentorian words, “The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.“24:9, 10 They are closer to the city now, and the gates are still hesitating. So the herald commands again that the doors be opened to the King of glory.

Again he is asked to identify the King. He responds, “The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory.“Then the King enters the city with His loyal subjects to take the scepter of universal dominion in His nail-pierced hand. F. B. Meyer says: 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 welcome Him as its Lord.