Read Psalm 24

The King of Glory

Perhaps this song was sung by the people when David brought the ark from Obed-Edom back to Jerusalem, but there can be no denying the Messianic implications contained within. Observe that the subject of the first two verses is God, and in the next four verses, the subject is the man who stands before God. It would make little sense for the final four verses to then refer to a human king; David’s inspired psalm is nothing less than a prophetic declaration of the Messiah as the King of glory.

God’s rule over the world is established in the first two verses. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters” (Psalm 24:1-2). He “founded” it and “established” it, thus He rules over it!

Who can stand before such a powerful Being? David describes the man who is not worthy (for none truly are worthy of such an honor), but nevertheless is permitted to “stand in His holy place” (Psalm 24:3). “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully” (Psalm 24:4).

“Clean hands” has no reference to the dirt and grime that can be removed with soap. Such things concerned the Pharisees in the first century, but Jesus explained that “to eat unwashed hands does not defile a man” (Matthew 17:20). Rather, it is a reference to one’s behavior and activity. Are you doing sinful things? If so, your hands are not clean.

If your hands are not clean, then you lack the “pure heart” that David mentions. Again, the words of Jesus sheds light on what is meant: “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 17:18-19).

The Psalm concludes with the identification of the King of glory. It is not David, who ruled Israel well with God’s blessing. “Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory” (Psalm 24:10). May we acknowledge Him and show Him reverence as our King!

Read Psalm 8

The Excellency of God

This Davidic psalm touches on the themes of the expanse of the universe and on the dignity of man, but neither subject fits the overall theme that is the excellency of God. David begins and ends with the words, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:1, 9). The skies are beautiful, and the dignity of man is glorious, but both are only used as proofs of the Lord’s excellency.

David writes, “Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger” (Psalm 8:2). The story of Moses begins when he was but an infant, placed in the Nile and discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter. It was through that baby that God would eventually deliver His people from the slavery of Egypt.

Likewise, the history of God in the flesh begins in Bethlehem when Jesus is born of Mary. It was through that baby that God would eventually deliver His people from man’s greatest enemy, Satan, and the slavery of sin via the crucifixion. Thus, this Psalm looks both backward to the historical deliverance of Israel through Moses, and prophetically looks forward to the deliverance of all mankind through Jesus.

David looks at the sky above him and acknowledges the smallness of man in relation to heavenly bodies. “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:4). What makes man significant in the eyes of God, considering all the beauty of His creation?

The answer comes in the next line: “For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:5). It is nothing that man has done, but what God has done. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’” (Genesis 1:26). What an awesome standard for which we should strive: to be like God! His righteousness, His graciousness, His mercy. A lofty and noble goal for His creation!

Man has dominion over all creation because God has granted such to him. May we ever remember that we are stewards of the nature He has made and that we have done nothing to deserve that honor. Indeed, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!”

Read Psalm 110

A View of the Messiah, His Rule, and His People

Writing by inspiration, David prophesied about the coming Messiah in Psalm 110. We know that this Psalm was written by David because Jesus Himself said that it was (Matthew 22:41-45). Peter also, by inspiration, ascribed the Psalm to the pen of David when the apostle quoted from it in Acts 2:34-35. Paul alludes to it in 1 Corinthians 15:25-26 in reference to Christ’s enemies, and the Hebrews writer quoted from the Psalm in making the point that God never said these things to any of the angels but to the Son only (Hebrews 1:13).

Christ is the King; He rules over His kingdom. That kingdom is currently in existence; it is not a future institution, but a present one! Paul says that God has “conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13). The kingdom is none other than the church. Jesus Himself equates the two in Matthew 16:18-19.

Not only is Christ the King, but He is also Priest. Only one other man in history served as both king and priest—Melchizedek. Indeed, David writes, “The Lord has sworn and will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’” (Psalm 110:4). The Hebrews writer quoted this verse as well in Hebrews 7, pointing to Jesus as One who “has become a surety of a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22).

In Christ’s kingdom, His followers are “volunteers” (Psalm 110:3). Christians become Christians by choice, and that choice often comes with consequences in this life. Jesus must have the preeminence in one’s heart and mind. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciples. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple….So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

Do you serve Jesus as your King, knowing that He gave His own life as a sacrifice as your High Priest? Are you willingly following as a volunteer? He is the One appointed by the Father to rule.

Read Psalm 21

God – The Source of Strength

David was the king over all Israel, yet even with all the power and might he possessed, he recognized there was One even more powerful. “The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!” (Psalm 21:1).

Notice the gratitude of the king toward God in this Psalm. He is thankful that God has not only heard but granted his requests. “You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips” (Psalm 21:2).

He recognizes that God is the source of “blessings of goodness”; it was God who even “set a crown of pure gold upon (the king’s) head)” (Psalm 21:3). God would lengthen the king’s rule and provide salvation, honor, and majesty to the throne (Psalm 21:4-5).

God’s blessings created steadfast joy in the heart of the king, knowing that He would guard and protect His faithful followers and execute justice upon those who oppose Him and His people. “For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved. Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You” (Psalm 21:7-8).

Those who set out to oppose God will not succeed. He “shall swallow them up in His wrath” (Psalm 21:9). “They devised a plot which they are not able to perform” (Psalm 21:11).

No man’s strength can ever overtake the Almighty; He is the One who provides strength to men. “Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power” (Psalm 21:13).

Do we not serve the same Almighty God today that David served while he sat on the throne? Our wildest imaginations cannot match the power, the strength, or the blessings that are available to the children of God. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).