Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Psalm 24
Of David. A psalm.
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. 3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. 5 They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob. 7 Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you 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, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty— he is the King of glory.
We go deeper into the theme of Christ the King by meditating on this important psalm. A few notes. In 24:3-4, it says that only those with a pure heart may enter the holy place. Keep in mind that the only way to have a pure heart is to have Christ in our heart. As Jeremiah 23:6 says, “the Lord is our righteousness.” This means that our ‘goodness’ is not our own, but the goodness of Christ that He imparts to us. When we have faith in Christ, God looks at us and sees Christ’s holiness, not our sin. That is great news, and our only hope to be in the presence of God.