The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

1 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
    the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
    and established it upon the rivers.

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not lift up his soul to what is false
    and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! Selah – Psalm 24:1-10 ESV

Ultimately, this Psalm is about God. It speaks of His holiness, power, glory, and transcendence. God is not like us. He is transcendent and wholly righteous in all that He does. He is the creator of everything and operates outside the limits of time and space. God is eternal and omnipresent. He sees all, knows all, and is obligated by His holiness to mete out justice to all those who fail to live up to His rigorous and unbending moral standards. Sinful men can’t just come into His presence any time they want – flippantly or arrogantly. They must recognize His holiness and acknowledge their unrighteousness.

David understood and revered the otherness of God. He begins his Psalm with a declaration of God’s status as the maker of the heavens and the earth. He is the uncreated, ever-existent one who exists outside His creation and rules over it from “his holy place” (Psalm 24:3 ESV). From his limited, earth-bound perspective, David envisions God’s abode as a mountain. He is inaccessible and unapproachable. David may be referring to Mount Sinai in the wilderness, where Moses met with God and received the Ten Commandments. Moses described God’s glorious presence on Mount Sinai in startling and intimidating terms.

On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply. The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain. – Exodus 19:16-20 NLT

Not only was this manifestation of God’s glory frightening to the people of Israel, but they had been warned about the danger of coming anywhere near His presence. In preparation for Yahweh’s appearance on the mountaintop, the people were commanded to purify themselves.

“Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death. No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’” – Exodus 19:10-13 NLT

God was holy and they were not. They could not just barge into His presence unprepared and with an attitude of entitlement. David seems to have this incident in mind when he asks, “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3 NLT). And he answers his own questions. 

Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
    who do not worship idols
    and never tell lies. – Psalm 24:4 NLT

God’s holiness demands that His people be righteous and faithfully keep His commands. David seems to truncate God’s law into two simple imperatives. The first is God-directed, demanding that men worship Yahweh alone, which is in keeping with the first of the Ten Commandments. David’s second injunction is man-oriented, prohibiting the speaking of falsehoods. His simplification of God's moral code is in keeping with what Jesus said when He was asked what the greatest commandment was.

“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40 NLT

Love God and love others. That was the core issue behind the Mosaic Law, and David seems to have understood that long before Jesus explained it to the Pharisees. Only those who love God and others well “will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior” (Psalm 24:5 NLT). According to David, only those kinds of people can seek God and worship in His presence.

This high view of God runs counter to the current trend of seeing God as our friend or the kindly old grandfather in the sky. Far too many treat God like He’s their personal valet, 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 deserves 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 makes the cross of Jesus Christ so amazing and life-changing. It is Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross that allows sinful men and women to have access to the very throne room of God. It is what He has done that enables us to share in His righteousness and be viewed by God as holy. We have access to 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 were imputed His righteousness. We are seen by God as blameless, innocent, clean, pure, holy, and righteous.

And as if that was not enough, God gave us His Holy Spirit to indwell us and empower us to live holy lives. We can live righteously and rightly – despite 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, honor Him for who He is – the King of Glory.

The final three verses of this Psalm provide a prophetic vision of the second coming of Jesus Christ when He appears as the King of kings and Lord of lords. He will be Jehovah-Sabaoth, the LORD of Hosts, who returns to earth to complete God’s grand plan of redemption that includes the restoration of all things. David describes the gates of Jerusalem being opened wide so that the LORD of Hosts can enter and rule in righteousness from the throne of David.

These closing verses present a stark contrast to David's opening questions: “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” Rather than a man attempting to enter God’s presence based on his own righteousness, this closing scene pictures the King of Glory coming to dwell with men on earth. The righteous one will make His home with us. 

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

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jehovah-Sabaoth

33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; they refuse to let them go. 34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon. – Jeremiah 50:33-34 ESV

YHWH-Tsabaoth – the LORD of Hosts. This name occurs 71 times in the Book of Jeremiah. The book’s author repeatedly refers to Yahweh by this distinctive designation to remind his audience of God’s sovereign power and authority. The people of Judah were guilty of turning their backs on God by violating their covenant commitment to Him. Rather than worship Him as the one true God, they had committed spiritual adultery with the false gods of the surrounding nations. As a result, God gave Jeremiah a commission to deliver His message of pending judgment to the disobedient nation of Judah.

“Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.” – Jeremiah 1:14-16 ESV

God warned Jeremiah that his job would not be easy because his audience would not be receptive to his message.

“They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.” – Jeremiah 1:19 ESV

Jeremiah would deliver God’s message of repentance but would have few takers. Despite his warnings of pending judgment, the stubborn people of Judah would refuse to change their ways. Hundreds of years earlier, the northern kingdom of Israel had received the same message and failed to take God’s warning seriously. The result was their destruction at the hands of the Assyrians. Now, it was Judah’s turn to heed God’s call or face similar consequences.

Jeremiah attempted to use Israel’s fall to motivate the reluctant people of Judah. He delivered God’s stinging indictment on Judah’s refusal to learn from the demise of their northern neighbor.

“I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted. But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Jeremiah 3:8-10 NLT

Just as God used the Assyrians to mete out punishment on the disobedient nation of Israel, He would call on the Babylonians to serve as His agents of judgment against Judah.

Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts…
“Behold, I am bringing against you
    a nation from afar, O house of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an enduring nation;
    it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
    nor can you understand what they say.
Their quiver is like an open tomb;
    they are all mighty warriors.
They shall eat up your harvest and your food;
    they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
    they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
your fortified cities in which you trust
    they shall beat down with the sword.” – Jeremiah 5:14, 15-17 ESV

It is important to note that God refers to Himself as YHWH-Tsabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. The second part of His name is tsᵉbâʼâh in Hebrew and carries various meanings, including “that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.” In some modern translations, it is rendered “the Lord of Armies.” The New Living Translation adds a further distinction by rendering it “the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

However, within the context of the Book of Jeremiah, it makes more sense to view this name as a reminder of God’s sovereign control over all the armies of the earth. He has the power and authority to command kings and nations to do His bidding. As the Lord of Armies, God can orchestrate the actions of foreign powers and utilize their vast resources to accomplish His divine will. Once again, using the name YHWH-Tsabaoth, Jeremiah delivers a power message regarding God’s sovereign power.

But the God of Israel is no idol!
    He is the Creator of everything that exists,
including his people, his own special possession.
    The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!

“You are my battle-ax and sword,”
    says the Lord.
“With you I will shatter nations
    and destroy many kingdoms.
With you I will shatter armies—
    destroying the horse and rider,
    the chariot and charioteer.
With you I will shatter men and women,
    old people and children,
    young men and young women.
With you I will shatter shepherds and flocks,
    farmers and oxen,
    captains and officers.” – Jeremiah 51:19-21 NLT

God would use the Babylonians as His instrument of judgment against His own chosen people. The forces of King Nebuchadnezzar would operate under God’s command, carrying out His will and accomplishing His divine plan for Judah’s destruction. But, as the Lord of Armies, God would also carry out His vengeance against the Babylonians for their role in the fall of Judah.

“I will repay Babylon
    and the people of Babylonia
for all the wrong they have done
    to my people in Jerusalem,” says the Lord. – Jeremiah 51:24 NLT

Neither Nebuchadnezzar nor his people did what they did out of coercion or against their will. God simply used their desire for global conquest to carry out His judgment against the nation of Judah. But they would pay dearly for their will destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the deportation of God’s people.

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground,
    and her massive gates will be burned.
The builders from many lands have worked in vain,
    for their work will be destroyed by fire!” – Jeremiah 51:58 NLT

Jeremiah was one of the few prophets who lived to see the fall of Judah and the deportation of the people. He had to watch as the city of Jerusalem was ransacked and the Temple destroyed. He witnessed the captives being led in chains as they made their way to Babylon. Through it all, he continued to serve as God’s spokesman. When the captives were led away, he gave them a scroll containing all of the judgments YHWH-Tsabaoth would bring against the Babylonians. The Lord of Armies was not done.

Jeremiah had recorded on a scroll all the terrible disasters that would soon come upon Babylon—all the words written here. He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, read aloud everything on this scroll. Then say, ‘Lord, you have said that you will destroy Babylon so that neither people nor animals will remain here. She will lie empty and abandoned forever.’ When you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone and throw it into the Euphrates River. Then say, ‘In this same way Babylon and her people will sink, never again to rise, because of the disasters I will bring upon her.’” – Jeremiah 51:60-64 NLT

God would repay the Babylonians for their role in Judah’s destruction. He would muster other earthly armies against them, bringing the once mighty nation of Babylon to its knees. But more importantly, YHWH-Tsabaoth would restore His people. The prophet Isaiah records God’s message of Babylon’s destruction and Judah’s deliverance.

“Come down, virgin daughter of Babylon, and sit in the dust.
    For your days of sitting on a throne have ended.
O daughter of Babylonia, never again will you be
    the lovely princess, tender and delicate.
Take heavy millstones and grind flour.
    Remove your veil, and strip off your robe.
    Expose yourself to public view.
You will be naked and burdened with shame.
I will take vengeance against you without pity.” – Isaiah 47:1-3 NLT

Then Isaiah adds these comforting words:

Our Redeemer, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    is the Holy One of Israel. – Isaiah 47:104 NLT

God is powerful and sovereign over all. He controls kings and nations. He orchestrates the affairs of the world and uses earthly powers to accomplish His divine will. As Isaiah puts it, “The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing— mere emptiness and froth” (Isaiah 40:17 NLT). Interestingly enough, it was Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who made the following insightful disclosure concerning God’s power and sovereignty as YHWH-Tsabaoth.

“His rule is everlasting,
    and his kingdom is eternal.
All the people of the earth
    are nothing compared to him.
He does as he pleases
    among the angels of heaven
    and among the people of the earth.
No one can stop him or say to him,
    ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’” – Daniel 4:34-35 NLT

Jehovah-Sabaoth is, as Nebuchadnezzar concluded, “the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud” (Daniel 4:37 NLT). He rules and reigns over all, including the armies of heaven and the armies of this world. He has the power to rebuke and redeem, destroy and restore, and to judge and justify. He is sovereign, all-powerful, all-knowing, and always in complete control of all things at all times. He is the Lord of Armies and He can always be trusted to use His power to accomplish His purposes for the glory of His name and the good of His people.

Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! – Psalm 24:10 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.