Let us turn once more to God's
Word, turning to the book of Psalms, and Psalm 24. Psalm 24, I'll read the Psalm. Psalm of David, the earth is
the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the world, and they
that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the
seas, and established it upon the floods, who shall ascend
into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in his holy place,
he that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted
up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive
the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of
his salvation. This is the generation of them
that seek Him, that seek Thy face, O Jacob, Selah. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory
shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The
Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your
heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors,
and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts. He is the
King of Glory, Selah. I want tonight in particular
to center your thoughts upon the words that we find in verses
3 and 4. And the question that we have
there in the third verse, or the questions in the third verse,
and then the answer that we find in the fourth verse. Who shall
ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy
place? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor
sworn deceitfulness. In some ways, isn't that answer
that we have in verse 4 tormenting words to the sinner? We are reminded here of the need
of that holiness. Holiness without which no man
shall see the Lord. The Word of God then is that
that does come very close to the sinner. and it searches him in the depths
of his heart causes him to see that really there can be no hope
at all in himself and his own works. But then when we ponder
this psalm we have to recognize that it is truly a messianic
psalm. It is a psalm of David. and it
is a psalm that speaks to us of David's greater Son. Certainly there at the end in
those last four verses, Lift up your heads, O ye gates, be
ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come
in. It is that One who does truly
ascend the hill of the Lord. It is the ascension of the Lord
Jesus Christ that is being spoken of in this particular psalm. The ascension of the Lord Jesus
Christ. and the Ascension is a vital
part of the ministry of the Saviour. When we think of that ministry,
when we think of the record that we have in the Gospels and God
in His wisdom has not just given us one Gospel, we have a fourfold
Gospel. And how significant that is,
that these things, these truths are repeated to us so many times. And what do we read of there
in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? We read of His life.
We read of that birth. We read of that death, that He
died. We read of His resurrection. We read of His ascension. and
then we read of his session in glory at the Father's right hand. That is really the subject matter
of the Gospel, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and that
great work that he came to do. There, at the end of John's Gospel,
he says to Mary, I ascend unto my Father and your Father and
to my God and your God. Again, Mark tells us, after the
Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven and
sat on the right hand of God. or his ascension there and his
session in glory seated at the right hand of God. And remember
how Paul speaks of all these things in that great Christological
passage that we have in the second chapter of the Epistle to the
Philippians. Or he speaks there of the humiliation
of the Lord Jesus Christ, how he humbled himself. But he also
goes on to speak of his exaltation. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and in
earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that he
is Lord to the glory of God the Father. the ascension of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And thou, Christ, is that one
who was ascended as a sinless and a perfect man, he that hath
clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul
unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. when the Lord Jesus Christ ascended
he no more ceased to be truly man a holy man, a righteous man
ascended into heaven just as when the Lord Jesus Christ descended in descending he didn't cease
to be God it was God who was manifest in the flesh and it
was man, it was the God-man who after the resurrection ascended
into heaven. Tonight I want us to consider
something of the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ in his ascension
as it is spoken of here in this psalm and particularly in these
two verses, verses 3 and 4 of Psalm 24, who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or
who shall stand in his holy place. He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor
sworn deceitfully." Three things we're to consider then. First
of all, I want to say something with regards to Christ's purity
of heart and of soul. Here in the middle of verse 4
we read of a pure heart. A pure heart who hath not lifted
up his soul unto vanity. Think of that heart and that
soul of the Lord Jesus Christ. The human nature of the Lord
Jesus Christ is not sinful. The human nature of the Lord
Jesus Christ is not mortal in that sense. mortal, of course,
would indicate to us the inevitability of death. Now, the souls of men
are immortal. The soul doesn't die. When a
person dies, it's absent from the body. When the believer dies,
it's absent from the body, present with the Lord. Well, the human nature of the
Lord Jesus Christ, you see, was not a mortal human nature. Where there is that that is mortal,
there is a certain inevitability of death. But Christ did not
have to die. Christ would never have died.
His death was a voluntary death. He could die, but he must not
necessarily die. The reason why he died was because
he willingly and voluntarily sacrificed himself. Therefore
doth my father love me, he says, because I lay down my life that
I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, I lay
it down of myself. This commandment have I received
of my father. and he is obedient, obedient
to the will of the Father. That human nature of the Lord
Jesus then, is it not referred to in the opening chapter of
Luke's Gospel as that holy thing, when the angel comes to the Virgin
Mary and tells her that she is going to be with child. It's
the Holy Ghost that will come upon her, the power of the Highest
that is going to overshadow her and that Holy Thing that shall
be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. All there is
that in the human nature of the Lord Jesus that is pure with
Him there is nothing of the taint of original sin. And though these things are spoken
of prophetically, there in this psalm he is the one who is of
a pure heart and hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity. And then again we have the language
of David in the 40th psalm. What does he say there? Verse 7, Then said I, Lo, I come,
in the volume of the book it is written of me. I delight to
do thy will, O my God, yea, thy law is within my heart. And now those words of Psalm
40 are taken up by Paul writing to the Hebrews there in chapter
10. Christ is that one of whom David
is speaking in the 40th Psalm, as he speaks of Christ in the
24th Psalm. Sacrifice and offering thou didst
not desire, mine ears hast thou opened, burnt offering and sin
offering hast thou not required. Then said I, lo I come, in the
volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will,
O my God. Yea, thy law Thy law is within
my heart." Lord, the Lord Jesus, as He was born into this world,
was free from every taint of original sin. When we think of
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, He is impeccable. He
is not liable to sin, and He does not sin. He is that while
He was of a pure heart. God's law is so written upon
his heart. Remember how the Lord Jesus speaks
of that sin that is in man. Where does sin come from? How
the Lord makes it plain, it proceeds out of the hearts of fallen men,
wicked men. How he is dealing with those
scribes and Pharisees who think only in terms of externals and
washings. and they are accusing His disciples
of eating with unwashing hands as they come from the market
and they don't go through the rituals. What does the Lord say? Do ye not yet understand that
whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly and
is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed
out of the mouth come forth from the heart and they defile the
man. For out of the heart proceed
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies. These are the things which defile
a man. But to eat with unwashing hands
defileth not a man. For this one is pure of heart,
he that hath a pure heart. who hath not lifted up his soul
unto vanity. What does he say there in John
14 as he comes to the end of his earthly ministry? The Prince
of this world cometh and hath nothing in him. There is nothing
in the Lord Jesus that Satan can take any advantage of. How
different it is with us. Our nature, you see, is a sinful
nature, a corrupt nature, but He is pure. The Hymn writer says, Thy life
was pure without a spot, and all Thy nature clean. All Christ
is that only truly sinless man. Adam, Eve, they were created
sinless, yes. But now Adam and his wife Eve,
they sinned, they transgressed, they disobeyed, they fell. That
is the first man, the first man is of the earth, the earth is
the second, is the Lord from heaven. And this is the man that
is being spoken of in our text, the man who ascends into the
hill of the Lord, the man who stands in that holy place, it's
the Lord Jesus. and one who is pure of heart,
pure of soul, and one who is truly impeccable, he is not liable
to sin. But besides that purity of heart
here, we also read that the life of the Lord Jesus was outwardly
an holy life. He that hath clean hands. He that hath clean hands. What
is the hand associated with? It's associated with the things
that we do. We work with our hands. And all
that the Lord Jesus Christ did was good and holy. Now Peter
before Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 speaks of the Lord Jesus how
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with
power and he went about doing good. He went about doing good. He was a good man. And all those
hands, those clean hands why the Lord Jesus Christ can go
and touch the leper and Christ touching the leper cleanses the
leper Christ can go and put his eyes his hand upon the eyes of
the blind and the blind receive their sight in all that he does
you see we see him to be that one who is holy ever doing the
work of God, always obeying the will of God. I came down from
heaven, he says, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him
that sent me. Oh, how as a man his will always
acquiesces in the will of God. Always. My meat is to do the
will of Him that sent me, he says. and to finish his work. All that meat, that food that
we partake of, meat there is simply referring to the need
for daily food, for that that will sustain our bodies, that
will keep us alive, we have to eat and drink. And what is the
Lord Jesus Christ saying? What sustains Him in life is
that He is always doing the will of the Father. always about his
father's business always accomplishing that work
that the father has given him to do he is not only pure in
heart but this one is also whole in that life that he lives he
that hath clean hands How does the Apostle speak of
Him? He is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher
than the heavens. That's the Lord Jesus Christ,
the man spoken of here in the Psalm, the one by and through
whom alone we are able to come and to appear in the presence
of God. Or what does Paul say? We have
not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of
our infirmities, but was tempted in all points like as we are,
yet without sin. Let us therefore come born into
the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and obtain grace
in time of need. It's by the Lord Jesus that we
are to come before God in our prayers, appearing at the throne
of Christ, ascending into the hill of the Lord, standing in
his holy presence. It's in and through the Lord
Jesus Christ. And he was touched with the feeling
of all our infirmities. and yet he was without sin. He knows our infirmities. He's
a real man. He knows our sinless infirmities. He knew what it was to grow weary
and to need rest. Do we not read that in John 4
when he must need to go through Samaria? And he comes there to
the well at Syca. There's a purpose of course to
be fulfilled in this journey. He must meet that woman of Samaria
because God has a gracious work to accomplish in the soul of
that Samaritan woman. But what do we read there in
John 4? How the Christ was wearied in his journey and he sat at
the well. There was a physical reason. He's a real man. but he is a sinless man, touched
with the feeling of our infirmities tempted in all points like as
we are in many ways were not his temptations the most acute
when Satan comes there's nothing that he can take advantage of
in the Lord Jesus as he can take advantage of our fallen nature
and so quickly ensnare us but the devil comes at the Lord Jesus
and he takes all that he has in his wicked armory and he throws
it at the Lord Jesus Christ and Christ resists him at every turn. Oh what temptations the Lord
Jesus Christ had to endure and yet he was without sin. And so
we can come to the throne of grace we can ascend the hill
of the Lord, we can stand in that holy place when we come
as those who are trusting in Christ. Here we see him then
as that one who is pure, pure in his heart, pure in his soul,
he has not lifted up his soul unto
vanity. We see him as that one who is
holy, in all his life he has clean hands, And then thirdly,
nor sworn deceitfully. Oh, what does this remind us
of? Nor sworn deceitfully. Surely here we see His covenant
faithfulness. The Lord Jesus Christ is faithful
to His words. The righteous man sweareth to
his own hurt. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ
has done. And that's our calling, you see,
we should be men and women of our word. Christ is faithful
to all His words. He executes all that that He
engaged to fulfill in the eternal covenant, nor sworn deceitfully. And what a comfort their friends
He is that one, you see, in whom all the promises of God are yea,
and in Him are men, to the glory of God by us, says Paul. All that covenants, that blessed
council, that eternal purpose of God, we're told how the council
of priests shall be between them both. There was a council. between
the Father and the Son. There's a covenants between all
the persons in the Godhead. That great purpose of the Father,
it's unfolded, you know, there in Ephesians chapter 1. So, wonderfully,
that great opening chapter of the Ephesian epistle, the eternal
purpose of the Father, And then we have that description of the
coming of the Son and the work that the Son executes, or the
will of His Father. And then there's that work of
the Spirit, the sealing of the Spirit. Why? That that was purposed
by the Father, that that was procured by the Son, as God incarnates,
it must all be applied and sealed in the souls of sinners. That
is the covenant and the Lord Jesus in that covenant though
He be the eternal Son of God and though He be equal to the
Father yet He makes Himself of no reputation He takes upon Him
the form of a servant And what does God say? Behold My servants
whom I uphold, Mine elects, in whom My soul delighteth. I have
put My Spirit upon him. All the Spirit is upon him. He has the Spirit of God without
measure. He is the Anointed One. He is
the Messiah. But He is the Servant, the Servant
of God as He comes into this world. And as I said, those words
in Hebrews chapter 4, sorry, those words in Psalm 40, those
words in Psalm 40 are taken up in Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter
10. And you see there how the Apostle
quite clearly is referring to that particular Psalm in what
he says. Hebrews 10, verse 5, Wherefore,
when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not, but a body, as thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come in the
volume of the book it is written of me. to do Thy will, O my God."
What is the volume of the book? What is the volume of the book
in which it is written of the Lord Jesus Christ? It is that
book of the Covenant. It is that that He has engaged
with the Father to do from all eternity. I came down from heaven
not to do mine own will but the will of Him that sent me." And
the Father prepares him a body. The Father prepares him a body.
He appears in the fullness of the time, made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law, being
found in fashion as a man, we're told. He became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. Oh, how He is faithful.
How He is faithful to His Father, faithful in all His covenant
engagements. He has not sworn deceitfulness.
What He has promised, He will accomplish and fulfill. But here
is the great blessing, friends, He is not only faithful to the
Father, He is faithful also to all those whom the Father gave
to Him in that covenant. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is faithful to all those that the Father gave Him. He loves
the Father. He obeys the Father. but He also loves those that
the Father has given to Him, having loved His own which were
in the world. He loves them to the end. Or what does the prophet say? Isaiah 55, I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have
given him for a witness to the people, a leader and a commander
to the people. That's the ministry of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is given of the Father to
be a witness to the people, a leader, a commander. Who are the people? They are those people that were
given to Him in that eternal covenant. when we come to the
very last book and we see the glorified Christ there that glorious
vision that is granted to the Apostle John in exile on the
island of Patmos, it's the Lord's Day and blessed John, dear beloved
John is in the Spirit on the Lord's Day ought to be in the
Spirit on the Lord's Day and what does he do? He hears a voice
and he turns To see the voice, and what does he see? Seven golden
candlesticks. The candlesticks of the seven
churches, it says. He turns, hearing the voice,
and he sees that that represents the churches, the people of God. The election of grace, God's
covenant people. But there in the midst of the
churches, he sees the glorified Saviour, the Lord Jesus. Jesus
Christ who is the faithful witness and the first begotten from the
dead. And he sees him. And he sees
him as that, the faithful witness, the one that God has given, a
leader, a commander, a witness, a faithful witness. He doesn't swear deceitfully.
and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done here upon the earth
all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done and I spoke at the beginning
we have the record in the Gospels of His birth His life and ministry
His death, His resurrection, His ascension and there is session
there in glory at the right hand of God In all that he did, he
is a public person. Everything he does is for his
people. And here we see him ascending.
Look at the language in verse 8, the question, Who is this
King of Glory? O the Lord of hosts, the Lord strong and mighty, the
Lord's mighty in battle. Then in verse 10, who is this
King of glory? The same question, the Lord of
hosts. He is the King of glory. We see Him, you see in verse
8, as that One who is strong, mighty in battle. We see Him
as that One who is a great conqueror, a leader, a commander of His
people. And now, as that conqueror, what
has he done? He's vanquished sin. He's vanquished sin. In the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the death of death. To use
that expression that is used in John Owen's great work on
the atonement, the death of death in the death of Christ. He has
vanquished sin. and death and the grave, how
He has triumphed over Satan and all the works of that great adversary
of sorts. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, the
strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is strong and
mighty. He is able to save to the uttermost. To save to the uttermost all
that come to God by Him. Oh, if we will but come, you
see, in His Name. We will but plead His Name. He
is the Saviour of sinners. He loves sinners. He loved them
even to the end His life terminating in that cruel death of the cross.
But then in verse 10, who is this King of glory? The Lord
of hosts. Again, are we not clearly being
reminded here of the Covenant? Lord, Jehovah. As we have it here in our authorised
version, you know the significance of that name when we see it spelt
in capital letters. It's the great I AM that I AM.
He is the God of the Covenant. And He has accomplished all that
work that the Father gave Him to do. And having risen, He has
now ascended. Thou hast ascended on high, says
the Psalmist. Thou hast led captivity captive. Thou hast received gifts for
men, yea, for the rebellious also." All the glories that belong
to Him as the Ascended Saviour. How God has exalted Him with
His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance
to Israel and the forgiveness of sins. These are all the great
works of the Lord Jesus Christ. as accomplished and how He is
that One who is faithful to His word how He is still executing
all that He promised in that eternal covenant He is to save
the travail of His soul and He shall be satisfied who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord For who shall stand in his holy place, neither doth
clean hands, and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul
unto vanity, nor sworn deceitful? Oh, it's that man, the man Christ
Jesus. Of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption, that as it is written, He that glorieth. Oh, let us glory in the Lord.
We are to glory in this one, the ascended Christ. that one
who bestows repentance and forgiveness of sins, that one to whom we
are to look, who is the author and finisher of our life. All
the blessings of salvation, they center in Him, in His person,
and in His work. Oh, the Lord grant then that
we might know Him, and know Him as that one who is now risen,
and ascended on high, whoever lives, or His session there in
glory, His very appearance, a constant plea on behalf of all His people. Well, the Lord grant that we
might be favoured with faith in such a Christ as He set before
us here in the psalm. The Lord bless His word.