THE KING OF GLORY

Psalm 24:7-10

A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe

There is in story from antiquity that details the heads of the gates being taken down to allow the passage of a mighty war prize. The city was Troy, and out of pride at having won a long siege, the citizens disassembled the top of their main gate to bring in the parting gift from the Greeks. Afterwards, people always warned to beware Greeks bearing gifts, because the gift as you may remember was a subterfuge to gain entry to the city of Troy. And the soldiers hidden within the Trojan horse brought down the houses of their enemies, destroyed the city and sailed away to find their homes again.

Again, in olden times, it was sometimes the habit to make trophies of the gates taken from conquered cities. And in Shakespeare's play Henry V, when the walls of Harfleur are breached, the Lord Mayor invites the conquering Henry within since the city is no longer defensible. In a similar confrontation, David had taken the Jebusite stronghold and made it his royal city - Jerusalem. In the course of time, he brought the Ark of the Covenant into his own city and in doing so dedicates that which was his to the higher authority and power of the God of hosts. As the Israelite procession pauses at the entrance to Mount Zion, the city is surrendered to the Sovereignty of the Almighty God, ruler of heaven and earth. With rattles, clangs and bangs, the mighty fortress doors would be swung open as wide as possible to admit one who is and was the greatest Son of David.

In a certain solemn way, this earthly city symbolized the earthly presence of our God and King, at least until God came in the flesh and was rejected by His own people. Since then, we have worshipped Him in Spirit and in Truth instead of in Jerusalem. At least once a month I receive an advertisement to visit the "holy land" to walk the streets where Christ and the Apostles ministered. At one time, I might have gone, but as I get older and a little wiser, I am not in so great a hurry to see the tourist traps that have taken over the once "sacred" precincts. Yes, for almost a thousand years, Jerusalem was uniquely the city of our God, but no more. The city which was once surrendered to Him with heartfelt gratitude became filled with lesser descendants who thought they knew better when God appeared in the flesh.

We who have known the greater Son of David should know better. Yes, we are admonished by Scripture to surrender not only our hearts but also our homes, business and treasures to Him as well. And if it were politically possible, we should surrender our government, cities and community organizations to Him as well. You and I all know that this kind of total commitment is beyond the realm of possibility in our day and our time. Even if a tiny little village would make such a public surrender, the self appointed keepers of the gates would take even the God of heaven to one of our worldly courts where they would be able to find a judge to demand that the gates of the village be slammed shut!

Now I do not wish to make much of the repetition here in these short verses, but that which was once done by David is unlikely to be repeated in human history. Yes there were Rome, Constantinople, Geneva, and of course the other lands of hope and glory where the Reformation flourished for a while. But we are considered rebels in the worldly midst in our time. The world will not have our Christian themes for their winter or spring vacations any longer. And the real King of Glory is not welcome.

As we look at the scene in this psalm, there is a certain droll sense that surrender is the only intelligent decision that any generation could or would make. After all, it is the Creator of the whole universe who waits to enter in! As if any legal barring of the gates could ever keep the God of heaven making Himself known to those He is calling to Himself? I often shake my head in bewilderment at any public officials who do not think the public square is a proper place to discuss the Creator God and His sovereign interest in the details of His creation. As if, mere humanity could stand against His will? This is the righteous and holy God who can open up the trunk of a long hidden automobile and expose the contents much to the embarrassment of the politicians who ordered them hidden away in the first place!

In the same way, we would hide things in our hearts, those secret sins, those selfish areas of our life that we would not surrender to the lawful rule of the God of heaven. Yet, like the nominal atheists by whom we are surrounded, we make excuses for sin and choose regularly to ignore the Word of our God where we do not want to admit His authority. Look again at the titles of the One standing at the gate! The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. These are military images and titles here. The Lord of hosts is an older translation. That entitlement declares His supreme sovereignty over the whole created order and every tiny little detail. He would have your heart, He would have your allegiance and your daily obedience.

"Who is he, this King of glory?" He is the eternal God, who put His glory by and came to earth in Jesus Christ. He chose not to break down the gates and demand your subservience, but instead has given us the same invitation that He gave to David and the Old Covenant Saints. Will you open your hearts and surrender more of yourself to the King of glory? It is the only logical thing to do! Amen.

	Resources Used:
Alexander, Joseph A.	Commentary on Psalms.
Kidner, Derek.	Tyndale Oldt Testament Commentaries: Psalms.
Spurgeon, C.H.	The Treasury of David.
The Holy Bible, New International Version. International Bible Society (1973, 1978, 1984)
Psm 24c	23 November 97

Reformation for Today ------ A Presbyterian Psalter