Psalm 24. These ten verses tell us three things. I have
thoroughly enjoyed studying Psalm 24 this week. Three wonderful
things. They tell us of the true God. They tell us who the true God
is. They tell us of the true elect. God's chosen people, who God's
people really are. And they tell us of the true
Redeemer, who the true Redeemer is. First is the true God. Look at verses 1 and 2. They
say, 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. The earth is the
Lord's. The earth belongs to God. And the fullness thereof. The
earth belongs to God and everything in it. Every single thing in it belongs
to God. It says the world, the world
itself, the ball, And everything that makes up
the ball, the minerals, the things above, the things beneath. And it says, they that dwell
therein. Every person in the world is
the property of God Almighty. Verse 2 says, for he hath founded
it upon the seas and established it upon the floods. God is the
creator of everything. In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth. He is the potter and we are the
clay. The true God is the creator of
all things. The true God is the owner of
all things. He said all souls are mine. He said all the cattle is mine. He said all the gold is mine. All the silver is mine. It's
all mine. Go with me back a few pages to
Job 41. Job 41, look at verse 11. Who hath prevented me, the Lord
says, that I should repay him? Who do I repay? Who have I borrowed
from that I should repay him? He says, whatsoever is under
the whole heaven is mine. It's mine. It all belongs to Him. He is the owner of everything. He is the owner of me. He owns me. And hath not the
potter power over this clay? He can do whatever He wants with
me. The true God He is the doer of
all things. Verse 2 says in our text, Psalm
24, He founded it and He established it. He's the doer of all things. Turn over to Colossians chapter
1. Colossians chapter one. Look at verse 16. It says by him were all things
created. That are in heaven. And that
are in earth. Visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones, or dominions,
or principalities, or powers, all things were created by Him
and for Him. And He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist. God is the Creator. God is the
owner. God is the doer. And man is nothing
but his creation. Well, that's it. Man owns nothing. What do you mean I don't own
anything? I own a car and I own a house. No, you don't. Everything we have We bought
it with God's money that's backed by God's gold. Our cars are made
with God's metal. And our houses are made with
God's trees. I read an article in a bulletin, it was in Madisonville
a few months back. It was written by Brother Henry
and it was called, He that sits in the heavens shall laugh. He
said, God is sitting on the throne looking at the world he created
and those that are therein as they grid up his property that
he created. And they buy it and they sell
it and they survey it and they draw lines and they plant stakes
in the corners and they say, this is mine. When he created it, he created
them. And soon they'll be gone, and
they leave it to another, and they'll be gone, and they'll
be gone, and they'll be gone, and this is mine. He that sits
in the heavens shall laugh. Man owns nothing. Man does nothing. Man decides nothing. Well, you've got to make a decision
for God. Well, you can't. The Scripture says, man by nature,
all of us are born into this world spiritually dead. And a dead man can't do anything. Man does not have a free will. He does not have a free will
to do anything but what God allows. Let me show you that. Go to Luke
chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12, look at verse
16. The Lord God spake a parable
unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought
forth plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do? Because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits. And he said, This will I do. This is my will on what I'm going
to do. I will pull down my barns and
I'm going to build greater. I'm going to build bigger barns.
That's what I am going to do. And there will I bestow all my
fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease. I'm going to take my knees. I'm
going to eat, I'm going to drink, and I'm going to be merry. But
God said unto him, Thou fool, tonight thy soul shall be required
of thee. Then whose shall those things
be which thou hast provided? Man cannot do anything but what
God allows him to do. God is God. He's God. God is the king of
all things. God is the judge of all things,
and man will answer to God. Man will bow to God. Because
he's subject to God. Turn over to Job 38, Job chapter 38. This is the true
God, Job 38, and we're just going to skim a few chapters. Job 38 verse 1, Then the Lord
answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth
counsel by words without knowledge? Who has shown up to say something
to this counsel with no knowledge? Verse 3, Gird up now thy loins
like a man, for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare,
if thou hast understanding, where were you when I made this earth? Verse five, who hath laid the
measures thereof, if thou knowest, or who hath stretched the line
upon it? Whereupon are the foundations
thereof fastened? How does it stay together? Well,
gravity. Or who laid the cornerstone thereof?
Look at verse 17. Have the gates of death been
opened unto thee? Or hast thou seen the doors of
the shadow of death? Do you know what's coming after
death? Hast thou perceived the breadth
of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all.
Where is the way where light dwelleth? Where does light come
from? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof that thou
shouldest take it to the bound thereof and that thou shouldest
know the path to the house thereof? No, it's now because thou was
then born, were you born back then or because the number of
that days is great? Are you old? Are you that old?
Has thou entered into the treasures of the snow or has thou seen
the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time
of trouble, against the day of battle and war? By what way is
the light parted which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
Look at verse 34. Canst thou lift up thy voice
to the clouds that abundance of water may cover thee? Can
you demand it to rain? Verse 35. Canst thou send lightnings
that they may go and say unto thee, here we are. That means
behold us. Can you tell the lightning where
to strike? Chapter 39, verse 1. Knowest
thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or canst
thou mark when the hinds do calf? Do you give life? Give conception? Do you demand time of delivery? Look at verse 26. Doth the hawk
fly by thy wisdom and stretch her wings toward the south? Do
the birds fly south because you told them to? Verse 27, death, the eagle mount
up at that command and make her nest on high. Verse 40, moreover,
the Lord answered Job and said, Shall he that contended with
the Almighty instruct him? He that reprove if God let him
answer it. Then Job answered. The Lord. And said. Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my
mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will
not answer. Yea, twice, and I'm not going
to proceed any farther. You have shut me up." That is the true God. Psalm 24
says, 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." Now, let's look
at the true elect, God's true people. Verse three says, Who
shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand
in his holy place? It's His holy place. It belongs
to Him. Now, who's going to be there? The Scripture says 27 times that
this great God has elected a people, chosen a people to be with Him
forever in His holy place. And He told those people in John
15, you have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you. It was my
choice, and that's what makes you elected. I chose you. Now the question is, who are
these people? Who are the true elect? Verse 4 in our text says,
He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted
up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully, Whoever has
clean hands, never done anything wrong, and an absolutely pure
heart, never had a bad motive, never thought a bad thought, who hath not lifted up his soul
unto me covetousness, nor sworn deceitfully, Verse
five says he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness
from the God of his salvation. If that is the case, if that
describes who he chose. Then he didn't choose me. He did not choose me. As a matter of fact, if that
is the case and he didn't choose any of us. Turn back to Psalm
14. A few pages to Psalm 14. Psalm
14, verse one says. The fool hath said in his heart,
there is no God. They are corrupt. They have done
abominable works. There is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven
upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand
and seek God." That's a key word. Verse 3 says, they are all gone
aside. They are all together become
filthy. None of them have clean hands.
They're all filthy. There is none that doeth good. No, not one." Now turn with me
to Isaiah 64. Isaiah 64, and look at verse 6. But we are all as an unclean
thing. And all our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags. And we all do fade as a leaf. And our iniquities, like the
wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth
upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee.
No man does anything. For thou hast hid thy face from
us, and hast consumed us because of our iniquities. But now, O
Lord, thou art our Father. We are the clay, and thou our
potter, and we are the work of thy hand. Romans 5, 12 says,
By one man's sin entered into the world, And death came by
sin. That's why people started dying. And so death passed upon all
men. For that, all have sinned. Now, if this is true, as our
text says in Psalm 24, verse 3, who shall ascend into the
hill of the Lord? Honestly, who shall? Who is worthy to walk through
the gates of heaven? Is there anyone worthy to stand
in the presence of the true God? Is there anyone of whom it can
be said, I find no fault in this man? This brings us to the gospel.
Here is the good news that we love to hear. There is one. There is one man who knew no
sin. There is one man who has perfectly
clean hands. He never did one thing wrong. There is one man who has a completely
pure and innocent heart. He never had one bad thought. You know, all those things in
this word that they did to him and that he saw them do, he never
had one. Forgive them. Forgive them. There is only one man who has
never lifted up his soul to vanity, I'm going to give it all to them. And there is only one Man who
has kept every single promise He ever made. He is the God-Man,
and His name is Jesus Christ. Listen to Matthew 3, verses 16
and 17. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway
out of the water, and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him. And He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove, and it lighted upon Him. And, lo, a
voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am
well pleased. Now, I'd like you to look at
something with me. Turn to John 3, verse 13. John 3, verse 13 says, No man hath ascended up to heaven. but he that came down from heaven,
even the Son of Man which is in heaven. Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? No man has, but the one who came down from the
hill of the Lord. No man has ever been worthy,
but one. Now go to Colossians chapter
1. Colossians chapter 1, and look at verse 19. For it pleased the Father that
in Christ should all fullness dwell. And having made peace
through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things
unto Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven and you that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works. Yet now have He reconciled. in the body of his flesh through
death to present you holy. And unblameable and unreprovable
in his sight. Now, who are the true elect? Go to Philippians 3. Turn back
a couple of pages to Philippians 3. Verse 3 says, We are the circumcision. We are the called of God. We are true Israel. We are the
chosen which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ
Jesus and have no confidence in our flesh. Those three things
are the result. That is the response. Those three
things are the evidence in a person that God has chosen that person. That's how you know God's true
elect. The elect worship God in spirit,
the true God, when we hear how high he is And how low we are,
we worship that. We do not fight it. We do not
get mad at it. We actually love it. And we worship
that. That's in evidence. The true
elect rejoice in Christ Jesus. All our happiness, joy, hope,
goodness is in Christ Jesus. And nobody else. And nothing
else. It's in His work and it's only
in His work. And the true elect have absolutely,
positively no confidence in this flesh. There's nothing that I
have ever done that could get me to glory. Nothing. I have no confidence in me. I have zero confidence in me. Maybe he chose me. If I honestly
agree. With these three things, and
if I honestly experience these three things, maybe I'm one of
the elect. Those are the evidences. Now,
let's go back to our text. Psalm 24. Who are God's true elect? Verse
six says. This is the generation of them. That seek him. That seek thy
face. My margin for O Jacob says, O
God of Jacob. This is the generation of them
that seek Him, that seek Thy face, O God of Jacob." Jacob
was a sinner. He was a trickster. He was a
supplanter. He was a liar. He was a thief. And all those who say, that is
me. And my only hope is to seek the One with clean hands and
a pure heart, the One who's never lifted up His soul to vanity
or sworn deceitfully. That's my only hope. And I'm
seeking Him. How do you know God's true elect?
They seek Him. That's the evidence of a child
of God. God's elect are seekers. They seek His goodness. They
seek His mercy actively. They seek Him to call upon Him. They seek Him to come to Him.
Well, I thought no man could do anything. I thought man could
do nothing. He can't. With man, it's impossible. The
Lord God said, I am sought of them that asked not for me. They were never even asking for
me in the first place. David said, when you said to
me, seek my face, that is the moment that my heart said, my
face was. Seeking God is a result of God's
call. If a person goes searching for
the true God, That is a result of God's call. The true God who
has a true elect truly saves. The world talks about Jesus.
They talk about baby Jesus. They talk about sweet 12-year-old
boy Jesus. They talk about kind humanitarian
Jesus. And they talk about weak Jesus,
whom they captured, they hung on a tree, and they crucified. But they have it all wrong. Call
His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. This is who the true Redeemer
really is. If a person wants to know who
Jesus Christ really is, our text, verse 7, says, 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. The Lord Jesus Christ, strong
and mighty. The Lord is 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. Many, many,
many people. He's actually Lord of all. He is the King of Glory. A mighty fortress is our God. He is a bulwark. Never failing. His death on that cross was no
failure. It was actually his entrance
to the battlefield. The world has no idea what he
was doing on that cross. He was in battle on that cross. Exodus 15.3 says, The Lord is
a man of war. He came for one reason only,
and that reason was to go to war with death. He said, Satan
will bruise my heel, but I am going to crush his head. And
after three days of battle, up from the grave he arose victorious. And now that he has conquered
all, death has no sting. The grave has no victory. The victory belongs to Him. Now
He says, go unto all the world and tell mine elect, tell all
my seekers, your warfare is accomplished. It is finished. The battle is
over. It is finished. There will be
no more war. It is finished. The end of all
conflict. It is finished and Jesus Christ
is the Lord. That's who the true Redeemer
is. Who shall ascend? The answer is all whom he descended
for. Who shall stand? All whom he
laid down in that grave for. Who has clean hands? All whom
he became filthy for. Who has a pure heart? All who
have his heart. Who has not lifted up his soul
unto vanity? All who have lifted up their
soul unto him. Who has not sworn deceitfully? All who hold to and speak of
only His promise, not mine, His. That is the true God. That's
the true elect. That's our true Redeemer. May
the Lord bless His Word.