I invite you this morning to
turn back with me to Psalm 24. While you're turning, I want
to ask you a question. Do you know what a psalm is? What is a psalm? This is an entire book written
by the prophet David. called the psalms. What is a
psalm? Well, a psalm is a poem set to
notes, set to music. In Ephesians 5, verses 18 and
19, we're told to be filled with the spirit, speaking to ourselves
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs making melody in your heart
to the Lord. In Colossians 3.16, he said,
let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom,
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord,
the song. What we have here this morning
that we're going to look at is a song. It's a poem from the
heart of a man who's after God's own heart. This is what made
melody in his heart to the Lord. This is what he sung about. James, in setting before the
church the proper attitude and actions of the believer, he said,
is any merry? Anybody out there merry? We get a check in the mail that
we weren't looking for, we get merry, don't we? I always hold on to mine. I know
the IRS is gonna get it sooner or later. But James, in setting before
the church the proper attitude and actions of the believer,
he said, Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Let him sing psalms. Now I said
all that to say this. This psalm is a psalm of worship. Now, I'm gonna tell you something.
It's gonna make all the difference in the world in your understanding
of this psalm if you realize that this is the psalm of the
believer. These are questions that the
believer's asking, not that the world asks. It's a psalm of worship. It's a psalm of love and affection,
a psalm sung in wonder and awe of our Savior and Lord. Now both
my text and my title I've taken from verses eight through 10
of Psalm 24. In Psalm 24, eight, he said,
who is this king of glory? That's my title this morning,
that's my subject. Who is this king of glory? Who is this man of whom he just
spoke saying that the Earth is his, and the fullness thereof,
the world, and all they that dwell therein. Who is this king of glory? And he answers, the Lord strong
and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O
ye gates. Now he's to, gates to what? Gates to the Kingdom of God.
Gates to that which man cannot see. The Kingdom of God cometh
without observation. Lift up your gates, even lift
them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come
in. Who is this King of Glory? He's
the Lord of Hosts. He is. the king of glory. Let me say this at the outset,
this question's not being raised in contempt or being asked by
unbelieving rebels. Pharaoh was ignorant of the king
of glory and in defiance of him, he said, who is the Lord that
I should obey his voice? That's not what's being asked
in this song. I'm Pharaoh, I'm the sovereign,
I'm the God of all Egypt. This question's not being asked
in contempt as the daughters of Jerusalem when they heard
of the bride's beloved and they said, who is your beloved more
than our beloved? This question was not asked in
unbelief and ignorance like the city of Jerusalem when they watched
the Lord riding into town on a wild ass's coat and people
throwing palm branches and clothes and things in front of Him. And they said, who is this? Who does he think he is? Questions not asked by ignorant,
blind religionists like the Pharisees who said, is not this Jesus,
the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know, whose brothers
and sisters we know? This psalm is sung of the generation
that seek him, who seek his face. And listen to this. This is in
verse 6. This is the generation of them
that seek him, that seek his face. Now watch this, Old Jacob. Why does he add Old Jacob? Because Jacob is the one in whom
God manifested and based his election. He manifested his election
in Jacob. You know, all Israel was referred
to as the sons of Jacob. Huh? He said in Romans 9 verse 11,
for the children being not yet born, neither having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, might be established, might be
manifested. Not of works, but of him that
calleth. It was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved,
and Esau have I hated. This is the generation of God's
elect that seek him. This is a psalm sung by God's
elect. It is a psalm sung by the people
whose hearts and minds have been delivered from darkness and the
ignorance and the deception of this present evil world. They
know something about the King of Glory. They know something
about that power and authority over this invisible kingdom. You may not know it, but man's
in trouble. He's in trouble Man that's born
of a woman, that's all he knows is trouble. That's what he is,
is trouble. Big trouble, trouble he can't overcome. He's a ruined
sinner, but he don't know it. He's one who has inherited the
fallen nature of his father, but he don't know it, not yet.
His mind is enmity against God, but he won't justify that. He
won't agree to that. I don't hate God. I haven't always
done the right thing, but I don't hate God. I've had people tell
me that. You hate God if you don't obey
Him. And they don't hate their God.
They hate the God of the Bible, the living God, the sovereign
God, the holy God. Man cannot save himself. He said with man, this is impossible. And in spite of what men say,
God has not, does not, and will not leave salvation into the
hands of men. He never has, he never will. Not only has He accomplished
our redemption, not only has He wrought out for us a perfect
righteousness, but He arranges all things and oversees all things
necessary, all these means necessary to the salvation of our souls. And even His Spirit who makes
us meet, meet to be heirs, with the enlightened saints. This
is a psalm sung by enlightened saints to encourage all men and
women to receive the king of glory, to see him, to see him
as he is, not how the world depicts him, but as he is. He's the king
of glory. And to bow to him and to trust
him and to rest in his loving reign. They raise this question
because it must be asked and it must be answered. Who is this
King of Glory? Who is He? If God ever set your heart to
ask that question, you'll seek Him until you find it. Who is
this King of Glory? We say that to men and women,
among whom there's none that understandeth and none that seeketh
after the God, the way of peace they've not known, destruction
and miseries in their way, no fear of God before their eyes. In whose heart will the Lord
intervene? In whose path shall the Lord
cross with his ambassador? Whose person shall the Spirit
of the living God quicken from the dead? and show the exceeding
riches of his grace in Christ. It's his elect. That's what he's
talking about here. This is the generation of them
that do seek him, but none seeketh him. You'll seek him when he
enables you to. Yeah, you will. You'll seek him
with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength when he enables
you to. It's to His elect, the generation
of them that seek His face. All of God's elect desire to
know Him. To know Him is life eternal,
and they know it. To know Him. To know Him is to
know God. To know Him is to know the truth. To know Him is to know the way.
To know Him is to have fellowship with the Father. To be fellow
citizens with the saints and of the household of God. And so He says, lift up your
heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors,
and the King of glory shall come in. A preacher, everybody and his
brother talks about Jesus. Boy, you don't think that's so,
you just keep your eyes on the houses and on the signs and on
the billboards and in the stores. Everybody I've ever known has
some opinion about Jesus. And I'm gonna say you'd be hard-pressed
to find anybody in our day who don't think they know Jesus. But who is this king of glory?
Who is this one of whom all God's elect sing of? Who is it that makes their hearts
merry? Oh, there's nothing in this world
I want to see more than when you come in here for me to be
an able of God to say something that'll cure your hearts and
I can look into your faces and see you worship God and love
Him and move to serve Him. Who is this king of glory? Who is this one of whom all God's
elect sing of? Well, our text clearly tells
us in verse eight, he's the Lord. He's the Lord. You know who that is? We sang
about him a few minutes ago. Jehovah. Huh? This is Jehovah. He's Jehovah
our provision, Jehovah Jireh. He is the Lord that healeth thee.
He's the Lord our banner. He's Jehovah our sanctification. He's Jehovah our shepherd. He's
the Lord our master, the Lord our peace, the Lord our God,
the Lord our righteousness, the Lord our maker. He's the Lord. He's the Lord. Now the term Lord
is a term used for thousands of years in connection with nobility. Kings and princes and so on. And it's also assigned to the
head of a household. Women are encouraged to obey
their husbands even as Sarah called Abraham Lord. And so the head of the body of
the church, the firstborn from the dead, is called by all who
love him, Lord. Lord. Very, very few times, and
that on purpose when they did, but very few times will you ever
hear the apostles refer to Jesus of Nazareth as Jesus. They call
him the Lord Jesus Christ. You listen to religion and see
if I'm not telling you the truth. Every one of them talk about
him as Jesus. Y'all know that song, Jesus,
Jesus, huh? No, he's the Lord. He's the Lord
Jesus. Who is this king of glory? He's
the Lord, he's the mediatorial king. What's that mean? That means everything that God
willed to do, He took and trusted it into the hands of His Son.
He's the one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Huh? He's the Lord. Now I know that to be a mediator,
we're told that that this is one who makes peace between two
parties. But that word mediator goes far
beyond that. He did that, but that was just
a portion of what he was sent to do. A mediator is to mediate
the will of his master. And that's what Christ did. He's
the one mediator. Everything God has determined
to do, he does through his son. It pleased God that in him should
all fullness... and fullness dwells in him. He's the Lord. As Joseph was in charge of Pharaoh's
house, so Christ alone mediates the Father's will. Pharaoh, we
need some corn. Go see Joseph. Go see him. Whatever he tells you to do,
you do. He's the Lord, he's not running
for office, he's not waiting to see who wins the battle, he's
not waiting on someone to accept him or make him Lord. God hath
made that same Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. In Romans 14, 7. It says, none
of us live it to himself and no man die to himself. For whether
we live, we live unto the Lord. And whether we die, we die unto
the Lord. He's the one in whose hands is
mercy. It's in His hands to dispense
or to withhold. Virgin preached the message on
that demoniac that I was talking about this morning and the title
of his first message was he ran and he ran and he ran. And he said why did he run? He ran because he was so far
off. He had to run. And he ran because
he didn't know how long the Lord was going to stay there. I talked to you about that last
week. That day of salvation. When is it? It's now. Now's the
accepted time, right now. I don't know when he's gonna
withdraw his presence. But he does. I do know that. He came to a place and he preached
and he healed many and he cast out devils and he did his work
in this place and preached the gospel to them and then he left.
Just as quickly as he come, he left. Preacher, can you tell me something
about the Lord? I could if God will permit me.
If you'll permit me. It says here, He's the Lord strong
and mighty. Mighty in battle. In the book
of Revelations, it declares that this man, the King of Glory,
came down with a chain and put it around Satan's neck and holds
that chain. You know how far Satan can go?
As far as the Lord allows him. He got him on chain. Who else
could defeat him in open battle but the Lord? In his weakest hour as a man,
he hadn't eaten anything, he hadn't drank anything, he was
out in a wilderness. In the hot sun, in his weakest
hour as a man, he defeated Satan on his own ground. Satan came to him before he went
to the cross and it said he found nothing in him. Nothing he could use. No common ground. He's the Lord, strong and mighty.
It says, by himself, he purged our sins. He didn't have any help from
anybody. By himself. He's strong and mighty. The scriptures
tell us, not only did he purge our sins, but he sits at the
right hand of God, expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. Who's gonna challenge him? He's already defeated the
most mighty enemies there ever was, and now he sits. He's not standing, he's not pacing,
he's not hoping, he's expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. We have in heaven a reigning
king, one who sits and actively reigns over everything that is.
He arranges his providence, he's the Lord of it. He preserves this universe and
directs everything in it and about it. So great is our Lord
that he tells us in verse one of the text that the earth is
his. Oh my soul. He sitteth upon the
circle of the earth and all the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers. The isles are a small thing in
His sight. All things were made by Him,
the Scripture said, and for Him, and He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist. You still want to question His
Lordship? It says, for he hath founded
it upon the seas and established it upon the floods. The Lord
judged this world and destroyed this world with a flood. And
he called into accountability all those whose concepts of God
were only evil continually. And he caused whatever how he
did it. I don't know how he did it. Scientists
tell us that the ice caps hold most of the water. Whatever he
did, he flooded this world. He caused the skies to unload
their water and the great aquifers of the ground to spring up. But in our text, he doesn't say
he founded it upon the flood, he said he founded it upon the
floods. Every so often, God will bring
about a hurricane, or a tornado, or a rogue wave, or a floody
river, or a catastrophe of one kind or another. And every
time He does, He's establishing His Lordship. Who is this King of Glory? He's
the Lord! He's the Lord of hosts. Multitudes. Oh, He's the Lord over His people,
and He's king over His kingdom. And when God saves a sinner,
He translates him into the kingdom of His dear Son. The kingdom
of God is the kingdom of His dear Son, and His kingdom is
established in His heart. It's His loving, wise, and righteous
rule under which the believer is willingly in subjection. His kingdom's made up of men
and women who know him, love him, worship him, obey him, throw
the gates wide open. His kingdom, it says in the Bible,
suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. In the promised
land, which is typical of God's promised kingdom, those heathen
nations who occupied the land didn't go peaceably. They didn't go peaceably. Told
Israel, strap on the sword. The sword? The sword. What we
gonna do? You're gonna take that which
I promised you. Now I'm going with you. I'm going
with you. But you're still gonna strap
on the sword. They were removed by force. There
was a warfare that ensued. And the Lord plainly tells us
that a strong man arm keepeth his palace and his goods are
at peace until one stronger than him comes upon him. The kingdom
of God suffereth violence, not how men see it, but in the spiritual
realm, by violence. There's a warfare that goes on
in the hearts of believers. It's warfare, it's real. dwell in God's kingdom, all other
ways and religions and idolatry and ignorance must be put away.
Isn't that what he told them when they took that land? Who is this King of Glory? He's
the Lord of all. Oh, how religion begs and pleads
and goes on and on and on about letting God. It's not what you
can do for Him. He's the Lord. It's what He can
do for you. And perhaps what He's going to
do with you, what will He allow you to do? See, that's the question. Will He enable me to see? What
would you have me to do, Bartimaeus? All that I might see. Huh? You been there? The Lord said to the unbelieving
Pharisees, leave them alone. Oh my. This is the Lord. Leave them alone. Leave them in their ignorance.
Leave them in their blindness. Leave them under the deception
of Lucifer. If the blind lead the blind,
they'll both fall in the ditch. Leave them alone. Oh, my soul, what if the Lord
looked on my indifference? What if the Lord looked on my
complacency and my self-satisfaction and said, leave him alone? I, all of my soul, I'd have no
hope. I wouldn't have any hope. What then, beloved? What would I do? What could I
do? He's the Lord. He's the Lord. He alone has the right to intervene
in your life and in your mind and in your heart and in the
very providence that set your path. No one else has what he
has. He's the king of glory. All the glory is his. He's king of it. God has given to him a name above
every name that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and
every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Now listen,
to the glory of God the Father. He's the King of glory. None other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved. I wanna hear who your Savior
is. I wanna hear who your Lord is. Tell me who your Lord is
and I'll know who your Savior is. He's the Lord. Oh, he's able to save to the
uttermost those who come unto God by him. He's the King of
Peace. Isn't that what they said in
Melchizedek? And he's the King of Righteousness.
He's King. Who is this King? He's the Lord, mighty in battle,
able to subdue, able to tear down all these false refuges
and bring every thought in subjection to Him. He's the Lord of hosts,
a number no man can number. Old Elisha was down in Dothan,
and the Syrians were all around him. They came in at night and
surrounded him. Completely encompassed the city,
a great army. And the next morning, Elisha's
servant went out of the tent, and he looked up on the hillside,
and the army had completely surrounded him. And he ran back into Elisha's
tent, and he said, Master, a great army has surrounded us at night.
They're all around us. They've got chariots and horses
and men of war. How shall we do? And the prophet said, fear not. They that be with them are fewer
than they that be with us. And he said, go out and look
again. And as he went out, Elisha prayed that the Lord would open
this young man's eyes. When he peered out of the tent,
and all around the Syrians was horses and chariots and men of
war. He's the Lord of hosts. He said,
your angels do always stand before your Father. We don't think about
him commanding the angels, do we? Those angels which he's ordained
to watch over us, to minister to those who shall
be heirs of salvation, they do always stand before your Father,
waiting on the Lord's command. He's the Lord. He commands the
frogs and the lice. He doesn't need armies. He sent
frogs into Egypt. He sent lice. He sent hornets. He commands diseases. He sent
emeralds. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
the Lord was made effectual in the hearts of the Thessalonians.
Partakers, it says, of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Partakers
of the glory of the King of glory. They abode in the benefits of
their Lord. They were freed by his accomplished
redemption and accepted in the beloved. I tell you, the man
that knows this, here's what he's gonna sing. Lift up your
heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, you everlasting doors,
and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? He is the Lord of glory. Glory to his name.