Psalm 24 – Day 1
“Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty; the Lord, invincible in battle." – Psalm 24:6 NLT
Ultimately, this song is about God. It speaks of His holiness, power, glory, and transcendence. God is not like us. We are not like God. We can't just come into His presence any time we want – flippantly or arrogantly. We must recognize His holiness and our own sinfulness. God is separate from us. He is the creator and we are His creation. Everything, including us, belongs to Him. We exist by Him and for Him – not the other way around. God is not our personal valet. He is not our life coach or personal trainer. David reminds us that God is not someone who is to be treated lightly or with disdain. Those who seek God and enjoy the benefits of a relationship with Him are those whose deeds are blameless, whose hearts are pure and innocent, and whose lives are not marked by worthless, vain conduct. They recognize that their behavior plays a big part in their ability to enjoy God's blessings.
God is the King of glory. He is deserving of our praise, adoration, worship, wonder, awe, reverence, fear, and respect. He is strong and mighty. He is holy and righteous. He is set apart. He is above all and deserving of all glory and honor. It is God's separateness and our own sinfulness that make the cross of Jesus Christ special to us. It is Christ's sacrificial death on the cross that allows us – as sinful men and women – to have access to the very throne room of God. It is what He has done that allows us to share in His righteousness and be viewed by God as holy. We have access into His presence not because WE are blameless and pure in and of ourselves, but because Jesus Christ was blameless and pure. Because He took all our sinfulness on Himself at the cross, we inherited His righteousness. We are seen by God as blameless, innocent, clean, pure, holy and righteous.
And God has given us His Holy Spirit to indwell us and empower us to live holy lives. We have the ability to live righteously and rightly – in spite of the presence of our sinful natures. We can live by the Spirit or we can live according to the flesh (our sinful nature). We can live in obedience or disobedience. The choice is up to us. Each day we must recognize God's holiness and our own sinfulness. We must remember what Christ has done for us on the cross. We must rest in the fact that we have the same power that raised Christ from the dead living within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. We can live holy lives. We can say no to sin and yes to God's transformative power in our lives. Our daily desire should be to come into God's presence – recognizing His holiness and our responsibility to treat Him with dignity, honor and respect. Paul put it this way, "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him" (Romans 12:1 NLT). We belong to Him. He paid for us with His own Son's life. We are to give our lives to Him and allow Him to transform us into the likeness of His Son – and in so doing, honoring Him for who He is – the King of glory.
Father, never let me treat You with anything but respect, glory, and honor. Never let me get so casual with You that I lose sight of your holiness. Never let me take for granted that I have access into Your presence because of what Jesus did for me on the cross. You are the King of glory and You deserve my respect, honor, and awe. Amen