Psalm 24

24 ¹ לְדָוִד מִזְמוֹר לַיהוה הָאָרֶץ וּמְלוֹאָהּ תֵּבֵל וְיֹשְׁבֵי בָהּ׃

2     כִּי־הוּא עַל־יַמִּים יְסָדָהּ וְעַל־נְהָרוֹת יְכוֹנְנֶהָ׃

3     מִי־יַעֲלֶה בְהַר־יהוה וּמִי־יָקוּם בִּמְקוֹם קָדְשֹׁו׃

4     נְקִי כַפַּיִם וּבַר־לֵבָב אֲשֶׁר לֹא־נָשָׂא לַשָּׁוְא נַפְשִׁי וְלֹא נִשְׁבַּע לְמִרְמָה׃

5     יִשָּׂא בְרָכָה מֵאֵת יהוה וּצְדָקָה מֵאֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעֹו׃

6     זֶה דּוֹר דֹּרְשָׁו^ק̇ מְבַקְשֵׁי פָּנֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב סֶלָה׃

7     שְׂאוּ שְׁעָרִים רָאשֵׁיכֶם וְהִנָּשְׂאוּ פִּתְחֵי עוֹלָם וְיָבוֹא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד׃

8     מִי זֶה מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד יהוה עִזּוּז וְגִבּוֹר יהוה גִּבּוֹר מִלְחָמָה׃

9     שְׂאוּ שְׁעָרִים רָאשֵׁיכֶם וּשְׂאוּ פִּתְחֵי עוֹלָם וְיָבֹא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד׃

10     מִי הוּא זֶה מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד יהוה צְבָאוֹת הוּא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד סֶלָה׃

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“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2)” begins the first book of the Bible.  This Psalm begins by reminding us that while the earth began as ‘waters’ – a spoken word made land.  “Let dry ground appear” the Lord said, and it was.  I love this fact – and I love what it means regarding the power and ownership God claims by being Him.  He is all-consuming and powerful, and can be nothing else.  He is possessor of all on this planet because He spoke it into being.  If you built a house, you would claim it as yours – unless someone paid you for the rights to own it (but it was yours to begin with).  As I read the first 2 verses of this Psalm, I am reminded of Satan’s talk with Jesus during Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness.  He offers Jesus the kingdoms of the earth – something Jesus can reclaim at any moment if He wanted to.  Why offer God something that is really His?  It seems dumb, huh?  It is. 

I feel the same way about my life.  I try to offer it to Him from time to time – but it really is His to begin with.  Granted, I don’t live like I should and I fail Him, but He possesses it – He bought it with a price.  This is what allows us to be clean and holy enough to be in His presence (verses 3-6).  Granted, David did not know this at the point he wrote this, but we can look at it and see the truth of the gospel there.  Verses 7-10 are talking about some gates opening up for the Lord of glory – in reverence of who He is.  Some think this is Jerusalem – others don’t.  Either way, it is true and amazing to think that one day Christ will march victorious – claiming what He already owned and declaring the faithful righteous.

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^ק̇Ԡדֹּרְשָׁי׳

^[1]The Hebrew Bible : Andersen-Forbes Analyzed Text; Bible. O.T. Hebrew. Andersen-Forbes. 2006; 2006 (Ps 24:1-10). Logos Bible Software.