The King of Glory - Brandon Scalf

Psalm 24 and the Meaning of God’s Glory

All right, everybody grab your Bibles and turn with me to psalm 24 Psalm 24 and as you're turning there, please allow me to pray for our time together father. We need you. We need you every day, but we need you.

Especially this evening as we open up your word. We need you to point our eyes to your truth Our eyes to your son and we need you to cause our heart to swell with affection for you. And we need your help to see your glory.

And so I ask with boldness This evening that you would Send your spirit To do just that To help us in all of the ways that we need your help. Lord I thank you for this opportunity to open this psalm With and for your people.

I ask that you would help me to utter only true words and helpful words. And that you might give us a glimpse of your glory we ask this in Jesus meritorious name Amen. The question that we are seeking to answer today is what is God's glory.

Now the article that you read Made a very good point namely that defining glory is largely impossible, it's impossible one because it is both intrinsic in God and Because it's like the word beauty the author of the article that you read pointed to the reality that The word glory is not like The word basketball if I were to say for instance What is a basketball you could tell me?

That a basketball is something made of rubber you it bounces on the ground. You can throw it in a basket, but the word beauty on the other hand is not something we can easily define. It's just something that we see and we attach a word to it because if we see it enough and we point to it using this word we can actually Begin to understand a little bit of its nature and glory is like that.

Of course when you look at the term glory used throughout the Old Testament The gloss is something like weightiness or heaviness. The idea of glory is something that is being pushed down upon you or something else.

In the English vernacular we say something akin to man, that's Heavy or that's weighty. Can you believe how? Hard maybe that situation is. That's kind of the idea of the word glory itself, but when it is applied to God specifically it is really The things that make God God.

So what is glory? Well glory is is God in his godness. It is his infinite beauty or his Greatness it is the specific awe-inspiring nature of his manifold perfections, or you could say it is The weightiness or the heaviness of all of his attributes as they are put on Display which brings me to something that I think we need to parse out before we begin thinking about God's glory.

Which is that there are essentially biblically speaking two types of glory. There is God's intrinsic glory, which is the glory that exists within himself. It is the glory that we cannot Essentially get to the bottom of we cannot get to the depths of his glory we It's who he is and of course if we knew exactly Who he was?

Completely well, then he wouldn't be much of a god to begin with maybe we would be gods as well. It is who God is behind the scenes as it were. But then there of course is a scribed glory a scribe glory.

Is that glory which we assign to him based on that which we see or you could say it this way a scribe glory is The glory that we ascribe to him based on what he has revealed about his glory or his gloriousness and One thing that you have to Settle in your own mind and in your own heart no matter how much glory we ascribe to God He is even more glorious than that.

In other words friends God is more glorious than you think he is. And you might be saying Oh God is God is so beautiful. God is so awesome. God is so glorious. Yeah, but he's so much more beauty beautiful so much more amazing and so much more glorious Than you can ever paint him.

To be so in some ways the journey that we are embarking upon this evening is a fool's errand. Because we cannot and we will not plumb the depths of God's Glory, nor can we rightly Define it in one sense.

But of course we can define it rightly in a sense because we can define it based on what he has revealed to us. Now when God reveals his glory to us it is his going public of his intrinsic worth. I'll say that again when God reveals his glory.

He is revealing to us his intrinsic worth his amazingness if you will and Displaying that glory that is intrinsic to him is his chief end. Now, I don't know if any of you guys pay attention to a lot of the chatter that happens online.

But here recently there's been quite the debate as to whether or not God Saves people or does what he does for his glory first and foremost. Because as Ecclesiastic says nothing new under the Sun so there's repeated Controversy over and over and over though.

It's controversial. It's true. We've seen this throughout Ephesians 1 as we've journeyed through it as a church that God saves sinners to the praise of the glory of his grace. Or to the praise of his glory.

This is a repeated refrain throughout the entire book of Ephesians. God doing things so that he would be glorified is The heartbeat of the Old Testament Scriptures. And so if we are to be Bible believing God honoring and God glorifying people we must understand that God is a God glorifying God and thank God for it and Since God does all that he does for his own glory to glorify himself to show forth his glory.

Then glorifying God that is pointing to the inestimable worth of God Should be our chief end as well. And of course Biblically speaking that is what we are to do. 1st Corinthians 1031. This is whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do do all to the glory of God.

There is nothing that you can do here and now on this earth That should be devoid of glorifying God. As a matter of fact, we were created to glorify God therefore If we do not glorify God if we do not seek to be a God glorifying people.

Knowing that God is a God for glorifying God, then we merely exist. We are not living as we were created to live. Now if you would turn your gaze to Psalm 24 Psalm 24 is Is Called if you are looking at the title that your legacy standard Bible gives it the king of glory it is a Psalm of David.

And I believe that it shows us a bit of though. It's not capturing the whole thing of his glory now this psalm Specifically is debated and what I mean by that is we don't really know exactly Why this psalm was written some believe that It couldn't have been written in the time of David therefore it was a general kind of liturgical psalm set aside for the conquering Army when it got back from war a procession liturgical kind of a thing if you will.

Some believe it was David bringing back the Ark of the Covenant which held God's glory Back into Jerusalem, and I think both of these are true, and I think both of these Really shared the same sentiment, which is that?

God in displays his glory for the helping of his people and they ought to welcome this king of glory upon him showing his glory and receiving him as glorious one thing is certain of this it is most certainly whether or not David was involved a victory procession That was historically used as a liturgical song that might encourage people By way of receiving the Lord of glory and as we will see by the end of it It's really all pointing as all scripture does To the king of glory King Jesus.

And so if you would please stand with me for the honoring and reading of God's holy infallible in all sufficient word I will read Psalm 24 in its entirety. This is the word of Yahweh the earth is Yahweh's as well as all of its fullness Of the world and those who dwell in it for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

Who may ascend into the mountain of Yahweh and who may rise in His holy place he who has innocent hands and a pure heart Who has not lifted up his soul to worthlessness and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall lift up a blessing from Yahweh and a righteousness from the God of his salvation.

This is the generation of those who seek him who seek your face. Peheed. Oh Jacob. Lift up your heads. Oh gates and be lifted up. Oh ancient doors that the king of glory may come in. Who is the king of glory?

Yahweh strong and mighty. Yahweh mighty in battle. Lift up your heads. Oh gates and lift yourselves up. Oh ancient doors. That the king of glory may come in. Who is he this king of glory Yahweh of hosts?

He is the king of glory. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever. Amen. Amen. Have a seat. As we look at this text, I want you to see a few Things I want you to note.

Firstly that the king of glory owns everything beginning in verse 2 or verse 1 rather Getting ahead of myself verse 1 it says the earth is Yahweh's as well as its fullness the world and all those Who dwell in it?

The thing that you need to understand the thing that you need to really put in the front of this entire train is that the world is Yahweh's the world is Yahweh's. In Exodus 19 5 this same truth is put forth clearly.

This isn't so now then if you will indeed listen to my voice and keep my covenant. Then you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples for all the earth is mine. And Deuteronomy 10 14 God says behold Yahweh your God to him belong heaven and the highest of heavens the earth and all.

That is in it. Do you know why we press forward in what we call the cultural mandate to push back darkness in the world. Because it's God's. God owns absolutely everything there is not one square inch not one mile that God does not own.

But not only that it says that he doesn't just own the world. He owns all of the people in it. So he owns humanity. He doesn't just own the trees and the cattle on a thousand hills. He owns You and me and every unregenerate person as well.

He creates and forms humanity biologically. We can see this beginning in Genesis chapter 1 when he forms man and he forms woman into his image. Creates them out of the dust of the earth and in Psalm 139 David cries out for you formed in my.

You formed my inward parts. You wove me in my mother's womb. Now this is why for instance that we Stand so opposed to the Holocaust that is human abortion here at heritage. You know this. But it's not because we want to be aligned with a certain political party.

It's not because we have some sort of right and wrong that we deem to exist. It's outside of the nature and character of God outside of his glory if you will. It's because God made Human beings he created and formed them.

Biologically. And of course with the dust supernaturally, right? He's the only one who can create ex nihilo out of nothing like he did the universe. But not only does he create and form humanity by all biologically he helps humanity salvificly.

So he owns the world and everything in it and he owns humans when he created them as well. And he can save them. In Genesis 3 after he created man and woman. They fell into sin and he stepped in as we have learned throughout the book of Ephesians specifically Ephesians chapter 2 and saved humans.

He chose them as Ephesians 1 4 says before the foundation of the world so that they would be holy and blameless. So not only does he create and form humans biologically he helps them salvificly and he Sanctifies them that is he changes them and conforms them to the image of the Sun.

Why. Because he owns them. Not only that but he also controls humanity historically. Why. Because he owns it. Proverbs 21 11 says the king's heart is like channels of water in The hand of Yahweh he turns it wherever he pleases.

Now, of course, we ought to care about what's going on in the political realm. Well, we ought to try to push Christ's banner into the world and Press his cry crown rights on to our nation. I believe that with every fiber of my being while simultaneously I also understand that nothing is happening outside of that outside of these doors.

That is not according to the will of God and glorifying him whether or not for instance. It is going really well in our opinion or really bad in our opinion. The Biden may have plans there may be all sorts of malice being planned behind white buildings for the people of America.

But this proverb tells us this part of scripture tells us that it's all According to the plan and the will of God, what does that mean for you fear not? Because whether or not America Repents and believes the gospel of Jesus Christ and presses Jesus Christ's Rule and realm on to the rest of this nation or whether or not it burns to the ground.

It still exists to glorify God the king of glory. What does this all mean? Well, the next verse tells us. For he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon The rivers he created it and he is sovereign Over all of it.

He has sovereign authority. Everything exists underneath his thumb and everything exists to glorify him. Colossians 1 16 Through 17 says for in him all things were created both in the heavens and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created through him and for him and he is before all things and In him all things hold together.

He's sovereign over creation. Why does he own everything? Because he created it and it was created for him. Isaiah 45 7 through 9 says the one forming light creating darkness. He's talking about God here producing peace and creating Calamity.

I am Yahweh who does all these drip down? Oh heavens from above and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit and righteousness spring up with it. I Yahweh have created it.

Woe to the one who contends with his maker and earthenware vessels among whom the vessels of earth are. Well the clay say to the Potter What are you doing or the things you are? Making say he has no hands in other words.

What this is saying is that God has Potter's rights over absolutely everything. He created it. He formed it. He can crush it. He can build it up. And in fact, this scripture says that he does that. Does it not.

It says that he creates light and darkness he produces peace and calamity. And he does all of this friends for his own glory. Another Interesting text in the Bible comes from Proverbs 16 33 that says the lot is cast into the lap.

But it's every judgment is from Yahweh. In other words every time you flip a coin to settle an argument God settled it for you. Why. Because he owns everything Including humans and everything else in it and he is completely and utterly sovereign over it and therefore glory belongs to Yahweh,.

I Love that he begins talking about creation here. Because the Bible is littered with pairing both God's glory with creation and it helps us to understand at a very base level what it means to be God and What it means that he is glorious.

Because we have eyes to see glory like we have eyes to see beauty. Creation Displays God's glory. It doesn't just have glory and it displays God's Glory. Psalm 19 once as the heavens are telling of the glory of God and the Expanse is declaring of the work of his hands.

Now every time you lay hold of nature and all of it. It's exquisiteness. God's glory is on display as a matter of fact. Romans 1 Makes the same argument, but it tells us that we suppress the truth and unrighteousness and refuse to acknowledge his work as glorious.

And Romans 1 verse 20 and 21 Paul says. For since the creation of the world his that being God's invisible attributes. Both his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made everything that's out there.

So that they are without excuse for even though they knew God they did not glorify him as God or give thanks. But they became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened. So if we do not understand that God has made everything and God owns everything and it reveals his glory.

Then we reject his glory. Though we do not get rid of it or dispense it it's still there. We're just idiots for not Recognizing it not only that but salvation as I have said reveals and displays his glory.

When we see a dead sinner brought to life when we Saw Brian for example this past weekend buried in the waters of baptism and brought up into a newness of life. We stand in awe of God's. So the earth is Yahweh's as well as its fullness everything in it the world and those Who dwell in it every human being that's ever been made?

For because he has Founded it upon the seas and established upon the rivers. He has great sovereign authority over it. He created it. It's his and so for following the theme of the psalm as a liturgical victory procession That beckons people to welcome the king of glory and to praise him for his marvelous works the question becomes How do does a sinful?

Human or human in general approach such a glorious God. How? Because that's what we do in worship we come to him. What is the type of person that can approach such a God he tells us in the next verse.

The King of Glory Requires Purity

Which is my second point the king of glory requires Purity. The king of glory requires purity. So we see that the king of glory owns everything and Now we will see what he requires. Look with me again here at our psalm and verse 3.

Though the psalmist continues on who may ascend into the mountain of Yahweh. He's asking that very question who in the world Can come to this God in worship. The mountain here, of course is talking about mine Zion Mount of Zion.

I don't know why I said that like an alien Mount of Zion Jerusalem and who may rise in his holy place. That's the question. And Friends that's the question that you ought to ask yourself every single Sunday morning before you arrive through these doors.

How can I? Walk through this doors to worship this glorious God. Well, this is how he who has innocent hands and a pure heart. That's him Who has not lifted up his soul to worthlessness and is not sworn deceitfully.

He shall lift up a blessing from Yahweh and a righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek him who seek your face pay heed. Oh Jacob. So what is the king of glory require?

Well, he requires purity purity of hands purity of eyes. Purity that we would understand this the psalmist here splits these Into two categories by saying innocent hands and a pure heart or clean hands at a pure heart if you have the new American Standard in 1995 and Probably some other made-up words if it's the CSB, but the first one is that he requires clean hands.

What does he mean by this? Well, of course it is speaking of the outward expression of holiness. The outward expression of holiness the things in which you do. The external if you will. God requires his people that come to him and worship to externally be holy and according to other scriptures perfect and so you do the things on the outside that are.

What? Pleasing in the sight of God so much so that Jesus says If your eye Causes you to sin. What do you do you pluck it out your hand causes you to sin? What do you do you cut it off you build your life in such a way that you are outwardly being holy and.

So yes, that means if you are struggling with lust, yes do everything you can to chop that off at its head. If you are struggling with trying to cheat someone financially, yes, you cut that off. You build accountability practices around that.

If you're angry you do the same thing. You talk to your brothers and your sisters you give people permission to speak into that sort of situation. You do what you can to make sure that your outward purity is There you're not cheating people.

You're not cheating on your spouse. You're not right, of course, not many of you are struggling with these sorts of things. But you hear what I'm saying, but it's not just enough to have clean hands. It's not just enough to paint the outside and to chop off the things around you.

This is one of the biggest attacks that Jesus had against the Pharisees. That's why he called them whitewashed tombs. They looked really pretty they had clean hands. As a matter of fact, they'd get done hanging out with the Gentile and they would Wash their hands ritually to let everybody know.

I didn't get any filth on me. And if I did it's gone now and we do the same thing. I'm torn on the one hand about social media. On the one hand I very rarely post anything of personal nature on my Facebook.

Like I'm not posting like today. I woke up and you know, I had a really good day. And you know, my family came over and like hey, here's a picture of what I had to eat today. You know, I don't do that kind of thing.

I Try to make it more ministry oriented. So I I put quotes or I or I say anything about. Or I'll say like a snippet from my sermon or I'll post something about the church that way people Will begin to see.

Kind of what heritage is up to or whatever the case may be but the risk that runs with all of that and for all of us who use social media is you begin to project yourself as This holier-than-thou person that is perfect beyond all belief.

But the inside can still like people on Facebook don't know what I struggle with. They don't know the sins that eat away at my heart. So we have to be pure in heart as well. The things that we do externally have to come from an internal heart that loves God seeks his glory and comes to him.

Without blemish. I hope this is beginning to sound impossible. It's someone who does not swear deceitfully it says not dishonest who has not lifted up his soul to worthlessness. What is worthlessness?

It's everything that stands opposed to God's character nature and glory friends the sins that you engage in. All the way from what says here right swearing deceitfully lying all the way to lust. Engaging in sorts of everything out there anger.

They're worthless. They're not just mistakes. They're not just sins though. They are. They're worthless. They cannot they will not Satiate the soul that God has created and given you it will not satiate Your affections and your heart longings it will not bring you in closer communion with the king of glory.

So in order to come to the kingdom king of glory, you must be free of all of these things. It's a tall order the New Testament says be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. So you could say Actually, what's being said here is who is the one who can come to God and worship?

Who is the one who can come to the mountain of Yahweh? Who is the one who can come to Mount Zion. Who is the one who can come to Jerusalem headed for the temple? The man who is perfect. The man Who is perfect?

Do you feel? The weight of that. I hope you do. The third thing that I want you to notice we look at this text. The king of glory is due his praise. The king of glory is due his brace. Look at me with Eyes to see at verse 7.

The psalmist continues and says lift up your heads Oh gate and Be lifted up. Oh ancient of doors that the king of glory May come in you see here. This is speaking of Receiving this king into the city after a victory has been won.

Maybe it was some battle against the Canaanites. It probably was the gates and the doors are being called upon to open. Lift up your heads Oh gates it says and be lifted up. Oh ancient doors. Be ready to receive the king of glory.

Right that the king of glory may come in this sovereign. He owns everything. God requires purity to meet him in the temple and he's coming. Let the doors swing open he says but the city receive him. And who is this king of glory?

Well, of course, it's Yahweh strong and mighty. Yahweh mighty in battle. You see here. There is an attribute being lifted up as if there hasn't been attributes that have been littered throughout this entire thing.

That he is all powerful. He is strong. He is mighty. He's not weak. He's glorious he's not puny. He's glorious. He's not a loser. He's glorious and he's mighty in battle. Mighty in battle he wages war.

He doesn't sit idly by hoping that people would see his glory. He reaches into humanity into the earth that he owns and he creates God glorifiers by displaying his glory to everyone his intrinsic worth his Intrinsic value.

All of the things that make God. God are on display and we are to meet him. As the city meets him here in Israel. He repeats himself in verse 9 lift up your heads. Oh gates and lift up yourselves. Oh ancient of doors, but the king of glory may can't come in.

He's wanting to reiterate here this same reality that I literally just spoke about. Swing open be ready for your king be ready for this king of glory that he might come in and that he might satiate us with his presence.

Because this king of glory is not just any king of glory. He's not a king of glory that walks around Israel in ropes. He's not one who puts down forth edicts throughout the land although he does put out edicts throughout the land through his word.

He's not one that goes to special meetings. He's not one that looks down upon the peasants. He's not he's not Flawed he's not human. He's God Who is glorious and completely other other he's holy. He's beautiful.

He's compassionate. He's slow to anger abounding and steadfast love. And yet he will be no by no means leave the guilty. Unpunished is Yahweh of host. He is the king of glory. There's no other king of glory.

There is one king of glory and it's to him that praise is due. And of course it is due because he is the sovereign creator. We saw this in verses 1 2 that he is strong in battle. We see that here in verse 8 and that he saves to the uttermost.

We see a little piece of this if we look back here at verse 5. The man who is said to be innocent of hands and pure of heart will lift up the blessing from Yahweh and righteousness very important word here from God.

From not just any God, but the God of his Salvation. God is a saver and because he's a saver. He's a God glorifying producer. What the psalmist is trying to do here is to get you To lift your head with those doors in your gates and to look upon the king of glory and to rejoice in his salvation.

The last thing that I want you to know as we look at this text is the king of glory produces God glorifiers. Now you remember when I said that the one who comes to worship the king of glory must be Perfect.

I hope that hits you hard, but the truth is and you know, it's true That not one of us in this room Fits that bill not one of us in this room can say that we have innocent hands or we have a pure heart.

Which then logically follows What We can't come to God in worship. He would reject us outright and he would be right to do so he would be righteous to do so he would be glorious to do so and he would Completely tarnish his glory if he allowed us to enter into the worship of him with complete and utter rejection of the holiness and Perfection that he requires.

Which is why he provides for us Salvation which is why he provides for us as verse 5 says righteousness and so who is this king of glory this Yahweh of hosts. Well, of course, it's Jesus. It's Jesus. It's Jesus who and interestingly enough in God's providence because we're so close Who rode in to Mount Zion into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday before Easter.

It was really a summons for these people to receive the Christ when he comes to receive him and his glory. Because Jesus is the glory of God and the most perfection of display. We know this because that's what Hebrews chapter 1 tells us in the first three verses.

God it says in verse 1 having spoken a long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways and These last days spoke to us in his son Whom he appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the world's.

So hold on real quick. All of the stuff that we've already talked about how God Was glorious and creation and so on and so forth. He did it through Jesus Who is and here it is The radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature and Upholds all things by the word of his power.

Who having accomplished cleansing for sins sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Having become so much better than the angels as he has inherited a much more excellent name Than they you want to know what God's glory looks like friends.

Study him you learn him you love him. You let yourself be chiseled and molded into his image because he is the radiance of the glory and the exact representation of God's nature. God sent forth his son to be his glorious Representation of glory in the world that we might see God's glory appreciate God's glory and love God's glory because God loves his glory.

If you don't see Jesus as Glorious as representing the glory of God and as much display as can be offered. Your Jesus is too small if Jesus is not the king of glory that Created a people in the book of Genesis sustained a people of Sustained of people throughout the entire Old Testament who brought them as Jude says through the wilderness.

If you do not see Jesus as the Yahweh of hosts of the Old Testament As the God who created all for all and everything was created through him and for him and to him. Then your God is too small. Your Jesus is too small.

He is the radiance and the glory of God because he is God and it's him Who traveled down? The way who went up to Mount Zion who rode into that city to accomplish salvation On our behalf which was what another display of God's inestimable worth his glory on Display and his hands were pierced his feet were pierced.

He was bludgeoned beaten and broken and he was thrown on a cross to display more of God's glory and to save sinners from Satan death and hell and he stood and the stead of people who would rather D God.

God then glorify God and he so glorified God in his life in his ministry and in his death that God as Colossians says gave him a name above every other name. So much so that this book of Hebrews just right there that we just read says that he has a much better name than the angels and he made it possible in his penal substitutionary death his atoning work on the cross for us and now To glorify God by coming to him in worship Having been saved by this Christ this king of glory who will bring who has brought us and will bring us From death to life into everlasting life.

It's why for instance Romans 8 28 leaning in to his sovereignty that is glorious. He can say. We know Paul says for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.