Turn back to Psalm 24. Psalm
24. Who is this King of Glory? I read this psalm often. It is
one of my, I don't like to say favorite, but it is. You know, I think our favorite,
when we say these things are our favorites, is when they speak
to us the most at the time we need them. And we say, well,
that's a favorite. And then we live a while, go
through some experience, and we say, well, that's a favorite. It just meets the need of the
hour. And I was looking at this, thinking
about this. I've been thinking about this for the last week
or so. I've been reading this. I preached
from this. I preached from it not too awful
long ago. It was on the radio. Of course,
I guess that's been a while ago. It took 13 minutes to go through
this outline. I think it will take me a little
longer than that tonight. Who is this King of Glory? He
starts out here, Psalm of David. It says, in a lot of the writings
that I've read, that they would sing this psalm. This psalm was sung when the
ark was brought back from the house of Obed-Eden. They sung
this. That's supposedly when this happened. So he says, the earth is the
Lord's. That's comforting. Oh, how comforting
that is. I was watching a science program the other day
and they were showing shots of the earth hanging out there in
space and all these meteors, they call them space junk, floating
around out there talking about how they could hit the earth,
you know, and how much destruction they could do. But I was just
amazed. I sat there as I watched it.
Here this big globe, ball, hanging upon nothing but the Word of
God. And I sat there and just, I wasn't even listening to what
they had to say. I was just looking at this earth hanging in outer
space upon the Word of God. The earth is the Lord's. It's
His. He's the owner The first thing
we have is a declaration of ownership. It's His. There is no dispute
as to the ownership of this world and who it belongs to. It belongs
to Him. You and I are on it for a little
while, and in a little while, someone else... I was thinking
about this the other day as I went out back to mow the grass. I
thought, in a little while, someone else is going to own this place.
I was thinking about my grandparents, and there's someone else now
lives there. Don't know who they are, but
there's someone else lives there. And for years, we would visit
my grandparents over in Huntington, see them, talk to them, you know.
But now, gone. Someone else owns it. And then, in a little while,
they'll be gone. Someone else will own it. In a while you and
I will be gone and someone else will own where we are, what we
own. But the Lord has never, ever
given up ownership of it. He's never given up ownership
of it. It's the Lord's. It belongs to
Him. He's the one who created it.
And seeing that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
then we need to take care of it. He told Adam, he said, Adam,
you dress the garden and keep it. And when you consider that
what you have belongs to the Lord, that's a whole lot more
incentive to take care of it. Take care of it. Using it, not
abusing it, but using this world. Our Lord has given it to us to
use. Not to abuse, but to use it and enjoy it. and take care
of it. Because it's His. It's His. It belongs to our Lord. And He
says here, "...and the fullness thereof." The fullness of it. Look at all the oil reserves.
Look at all the coal reserves. Look at all of the natural gas. Who gave the earth its fullness? Our Lord did. Our Lord gave it
its fullness. I'm not worried. I'm not the
least bit worried about this earth running out. I'm not worried
about running out of oil, running out of gas. I'm not worried about
those things. Because the fullness of it is
His, and He's the one who keeps it full. He replenishes it. It's His. And the fullness of
it is His. He owns it all. And the world, and they that
dwell therein, there's nothing in this world, not a person, not a creature,
that does not belong to the Lord. That does not belong to our Lord.
It's His. All of them. Lock, stock, and
barrel. The fullness of it. For He hath founded it upon the
seas. and established it upon the floods. He had founded it. He's the One
who created it. The Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
One who created it. All things were created by Him
and for Him. It's His. He created it. He called
it forth. He called it out of the waters.
We looked at that in Genesis chapter 1. We first started in
Genesis. He called it forth. By His Word. By His Word, He called it forth.
And He established it upon the floods. He's the one who commands. He's the one who commands the
water courses. He's the one who designed them. Look at this globe. Look at this world. It's round.
And yet, water flows in all directions on this earth, doesn't it? All
parts of this earth are watered. He's the one who designed it.
This is our Lord. This is our Lord. This is the
wisdom of God. This is Him. And He created it and established
its goings and He'll take care of it. Our Lord will take care
of this. That's not to say that we don't
dress and keep it. As I said, He gave it to us and
we take care of it because it's His. But when you and I are gone,
it'll still be here. Six thousand years have rolled
by. And I'm telling you, a lot of sinful people have walked
on this earth. A lot of wretched people have walked on this earth,
trampled all over it, and it's still beautiful, isn't it? And
it's still full. Because it's still His. It's
still His. Now, seeing that this One is
so great, seeing that He is the owner of all things, He's the
owner of the universe, owner of the world, owner of the fullness
of it, He is the one who founded it. He is the one who established
it. When you consider His greatness, who shall ascend? Who shall ascend
to the hill of the Lord? Who shall ascend into His presence? Or who shall stand in His holy
place? Who among the sons of men is
able to do that? to approach such greatness and
such holiness and stand there accepted? Seeing He's so great and glorious,
who can ascend up to the place where He abides? Who's able to
do that? You know, there were some people
who built a tower one time. They thought they could. They
thought they could ascend. They thought they could climb
up to heaven. They thought so highly of themselves and so lowly
of God that they thought they could do it. But they didn't. They didn't. He had to cast them down and
confuse their language. For who shall stand, he says
here, in his holy place? Well, there have been a lot of
fools who thought they could do that. There have been a lot
of fools. who thought they could ascend
into God's presence by their own merits, by their own works,
by their own ancestry? The Jews. We'd be Abraham's. We've never been sinners. What
are you talking about? We got it made. Only to find out, only to find
out that they can't stand. Only to hear Him say, depart
from Me. Depart from me, I never knew
you. Someone said this, men consider
heaven, but not the holiness required to stand in that place. That's a powerful statement.
They consider heaven, they want to go to heaven, but they don't
consider the holiness that is required to stand in His presence. In His presence. How can I, how
can I, a sinful creature, get from this sinful place to such
a holy place? That's a question of questions,
isn't it? That's like saying how can God
be just and justify the ungodly? How can God be a just God and
save me? How? Well, he gives the answer. You
notice here, he'll ask the question and he gives the answer. And he gives the answer here
as a description of a person. He doesn't describe a way in
what religion would call the Roman road and you know that.
No, we don't get that here. We get the description of a person.
That's what we get. He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart. This is who will stand there.
This is who will ascend to the hill of the Lord and stand in
His holy place. This is the one. He that hath
clean hands and a pure, a holy, a righteous heart, who hath not
lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. Well, he doesn't describe a particular
race of people, does he? But what he does describe is
a particular character of people. You see, it's not a matter of
distance. It's not a matter of how I get
from here to there. It's not a matter of that. It's
a matter of character. Holy. Clean hands and a pure
heart. Religion preaches how to get
to heaven. I always tell you how to get
to heaven. But the Word of God tells us who is going to get
to heaven. Who's going to get there? He
that has clean hands and a pure heart. The person who can ascend
the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place must be as
pure and as holy as God Himself. That's what he's saying. He that
ascends the hill of the Lord, he that's going to be there and
stand there and stay there has to be as holy as God Almighty. Has to be. There's no options. Has to be as holy. God will not
be served. He will not be worshipped by unclean hearts, filthy hearts, filthy hands. He'll not be served or worshipped
that way. And it says here, who hath not
lifted up his soul unto vanity. I tell you, that's convicting
when you read it. Because I know I've done it. I know I've done it. I know that
I was born in sin and shaped in iniquity. I know that. I know
that I'm guilty. I know that I'm guilty of dirty
hands and an unclean heart. I know I've lifted up my soul
to vanity. I know that. But I tell you what, I also know
I also know that there is a man who fits this description. There
is a man who is holy. There is a man who did not lift
up his soul into vanity. There is a man who has never
sworn deceitfully. And that man right now is seated
at God's right hand. And that man is my representative
and your representative if you believe the gospel. So in him,
in that man, I have clean hands. In that man, I have a pure heart. I have it. And I have it now
in the new birth. God said, I'll give you a new
heart. And that new heart is a clean
heart. I have it now. God's people are a people who
have clean hands and a pure heart. Oh, we still have that old nature. We still have those old hands
and we still have that old heart with us. We still have that old
nature with us. We fight it and struggle with
it every day. But now we do. We do have clean hands and a
pure heart, even now. Even now. God's people are truly
honest people. Because He made Himself. He makes
Himself. Henry said years ago, and I remember
this one, honest people don't go to hell. I've never forgotten
that. Honest people don't go to hell
because God made them honest. He's given them clean hands and
a pure heart. Wisdom is justified of our children. They are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus under good works. They are a new creation. And
in that new creation, they have clean hands and a pure heart. They have it in Him, through
Him, by Him. They have it. We are not saved by these things,
but we are known by them. We are known by them. He, this man, shall receive the
blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. What's that blessing? What is
that blessing from the Lord that he shall receive? This man whom
the Lord has saved in Christ. This man whom the Lord has blessed
in his Son. What is the blessing? Well, first
of all, it's forgiveness. Is that not a blessing? If you
know what guilt means. Forgiveness. Cleansing. Most of all, he says here, righteousness. Righteousness. He shall receive
the blessing from the Lord. He shall receive eternal life.
He shall receive forgiveness. He shall receive pardon. He shall
receive justification. He shall receive righteousness. And you'll notice, and righteousness
from the God of his salvation. It's his righteousness. that
we receive His righteousness. The righteousness by which we
are saved is of the Lord and from the Lord. It's His. It's
His. And he says here in verse 6,
This is the generation of them that seek Him, that seek Thy
face, Old Jacob. These are the ones, the ones
just described above, with clean hands and a pure heart. They
have received the blessing from the Lord and righteousness. They
are the ones who seek the Lord. They seek the Lord. He calls
and they answer. They seek Him. That's an evidence
of sonship. That is an evidence of sonship.
Seeking the Lord with the heart, from the heart. Seeking Him for
mercy. Seeking Him for grace. Seeking
Him for guidance. Seeking Him to have Him. And then he says here in verse
7, Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting
doors, and the King of glory shall come in. When Adam fell, The way to God
was shut. He was driven out of the garden.
Everything looked hopeless. But there is one, there is one
who fits the description of the character described here. There
is one. There is one who fits this description,
who has not lifted up his soul to vanity nor sworn deceitfully,
and he has come and magnified God's law and made it honorable. There is One that has done this.
There is One whom God is pleased with. There is One. And this One here is the King
of glory. This is no ordinary man. Jesus
Christ is no ordinary man. And you know this, you've been
taught well. He is the King of Glory. He is the King of Glory. He's not just, as I said, He's
not just a King with some glory given to Him. He's the King and
the owner of all glory. It all belongs to Him. It all
belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is this King of Glory? The
Lord Strong and Mighty. The Lord Mighty in Battle. I
want you to look over in Matthew chapter 21. Who is this King
of Glory? He answers it by saying, The
Lord Strong and Mighty. The Lord Mighty in Battle. In Matthew 21, he says, And when
they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto
the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus to disciples, saying unto
them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway
ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her. Loose them,
and bring them unto me. And if any man say odd unto you,
ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will
send them. And all this was done, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy king cometh." Who is the king of glory? That
Nazarene, that despised, rejected Nazarene. Behold, thy king cometh unto
thee, meek and sitting upon an ass, and a coat full of an Who
is this King of Glory? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the King of Glory. That's
who it is. When they saw Him, they didn't
think much of Him. When they saw Him, they would
have never, and you and I would have never, seen the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ. We would have never seen kingship.
We would have never seen royalty. When they saw him, they saw a
poor man. They saw a man that you would be unimpressed with,
physically, outwardly. No beauty that we should desire
him. But that man, that man is God. And that man that was despised
and rejected, spit on, crucified, is the King of Glory right now.
He is the one running all things. All things have been put into
His hands. He is the Lord strong and mighty.
That's who He is. They thought He was nothing but
a weak carpenter. That's all they thought He was,
a weak carpenter. When they took Him to the cross
and they nailed Him to the cross, They thought they'd whipped him.
They thought they had defeated him, not realizing that all the
time he's winning. Every time they took that whip
and lashed his back, he wins. Every time they slapped his face,
he wins. Every time they drove a nail,
they strike that nail to drive it into his hand, he wins. When
they took that cross and dropped it in the ground and He's hanging
there between heaven and earth, He's winning. The Lord is strong
and mighty. Mighty in battle. He's no weak
man. He's no weak man then and He's
no weak man now. Look at the universe. Look at
creation. Look at the human race. The older I get, the more I realize
this thing is way too complicated for us. Someone the other day
was saying something about, you know, the president. I said,
I don't care who's president, it's too complicated. This whole
thing's too complicated. And the older I get, the more
I realize when I look at government systems and world systems and
all the economy and everything that has to function Everything
that has to happen for things to work in harmony. For you and
I to have jobs and for you and I to eat. Do you realize what
has to happen? It's over our heads. We are not
intelligent enough to run this thing. The other day I was watching
a program and it dawned on me. I thought, man, we are not intelligent
enough to do this. Who are we going to choose? Who
are we going to elect that's smart enough to see tomorrow? That's intelligent enough to
figure this thing out and has enough foresight to see what's
coming? Oh, but we have one. There is one
that is the wisdom of God. There is one right now that's
running, ruling, guiding, directing every minute detail that's going
on right now. And it's the King of Glory. Our
King. Our King. Therefore, lift up your heads,
all ye gates. Lift them up! Don't hang down. Don't be in despair. Don't be cast down. I know a person who claims to
believe the gospel, but he is so tore up over this economy,
over the way things are going. I mean, just tore up over it. Lift up your heads. Lift up your
heads. It's not in the hands of men.
It's in the hands of our Lord. Lift up your heads, O ye gates. Even lift them up, ye everlasting
doors. And the King of glory shall come
in. And He won't just creep in. He's
not going to crawl in. We see Him over in Matthew 21,
fulfilling the Scripture, riding on a donkey into Jerusalem. That's fulfilling the Scriptures. And it is said, He's the King.
Thy King cometh. But here, here, my soul, the
work is done. It's finished. Now lift up your
heads. Rejoice. Open wide the gates. He's conquered. He's led captivity captive. He's
overcome all principalities and powers. Now lift up your heads. Live like you believe it. This declaration is good news.
It's good news. It's good news. Don't walk around
with your head down. Lift up your head. Who is this King of Glory? It
says it again in verse 10. Who is this King of Glory? The
Lord of Hosts! The Lord of Hosts. When you think
of the Lord redemptive work, thank the Lord. Thank the Lord. The Lord of Hosts. I said this down in Danville.
Have you ever known God to do anything on a small scale? Nothing. Nothing. Who is this King of Glory? The
Lord of Hosts. He is the King of Glory. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the King of Glory. He is the Lord of Hosts. I want to close by reading Revelations
19. I'm going to read you the 16
verses, starting at verse 1. And after these things I heard
a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia,
salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God,
for true and righteous are His judgments. For He hath judged
the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication,
and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. And
again they said, Alleluia, And her smoke rose up for ever and
ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell
down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen,
hallelujah. And a voice came out of the throne,
saying, Praise our God, all ye his saints, and ye that fear
him, both small and great. And I heard, as it were, the
voice of a great multitude. and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord
God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and
give honor to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His
wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine
linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he saith unto
me, Right, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are
the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship
him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not? I am thy fellow
servant, and of thy brethren, that have the testimony of Jesus.
Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And I saw heaven open, and behold,
a white horse And he that sat upon him was called Faithful
and True. And in righteousness he doth
judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that
no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And
the armies host Host! How many followed Him? How many
did He have when He walked around for three years in the ministry
preaching and healing? Twelve. He had twelve that followed
Him. Twelve that He called apostles.
And one of them denied Him. And then the armies which were
in heaven followed Him up on white horses. No donkeys. No
donkeys there. White horses. Strong steeds. Clothed in fine linen. White
and clean. This is what they were looking
for the first time. And they missed Him. Because the first
time He came as a Lamb. The first time He came to redeem.
The first time He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister
and to give His life a ransom for many. But the second time,
this is Him. This is Him. And out of His mouth
goeth a sharp sword. that with it he should smite
the nations. He shall rule them with a rod
of iron. And he treadeth the winepress
of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on
his vesture and on his thigh a name written." What did they
have written over the cross? This is the King of the Jews.
Jesus. This is the King of the Jews.
But now what's written? This is King of Kings. This is
the King. This is the monarch. This is
the monarch of heaven and earth. You see, in the beginning, He
said the earth is the Lord's. Not just that little nation.
Not just that little Jewish nation over there. And the rest of it
belongs to somebody else. The rest of it belongs to Satan.
No. It's all His. He's never given it up. It all
belongs to Him. He is the monarch. He is the
King of Kings. He is, it says here, Lord of
Lords. Who is the King of Glory? The Lord Jesus Christ that despised
Nazarene. He is, right now, the King of Glory. And He's our King. He is our
King. What a King! What a King! He's our King.