Psalm 24 Devotional. [6]

Psalm 24: 1 Albeit the Lord God hath made, and governeth all the world, yet toward his chosen people, his gracious goodness doth most abundantly appear, in that among them he will have his dwelling place. Which thought it was appointed among the children of Abraham, yet only they do enter aright into this Sanctuary, which are the true worshippers of God, purged from the sinful filth of this world. 7 Finally he magnifieth God’s grace for the building of the Temple, to the end he might stir up all the faithful to the true service of God.

A Psalm of David.

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all that therein is; the world, and they that dwell in it.

2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? and who shall stand in his holy place?

4 Even he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall 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 ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

We saw before the transition from the second and third verse, how that God, by declaring to His people that He reserves all things for judgment on the last day, founding the earth on the seas, and floods, points them at last to that great day which should be the focus of their every day life. For how else did Noah condemn the world, but by the building of an ark to outlast the storm? Therefore our own building of a house against the storm is twofold, first we build to keep out the ungodly. As it is written, “

The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.” and, “

I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.” but when God is made a refuge to His people by faith it is written, “

The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.” and again, “He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.” and again, “For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.” So we see that as God keeps the world in its current order by His own mighty word, and according to the secret counsel of His own will (let no man pry into the secrets of God) so we are behooved by this to worship Him and build Him a house, spiritual and covenantal that may withstand the floods, both of the wicked, and the violence of their waves, tempting us to sin, doubt, despair, or envy and also of the wrath of God. As it is written, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” and again, ” And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” and again “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Therefore as we are commanded in scripture to build a house in our souls for the sake of the holy God who dwells in us by His Spirit, both in opposition to wicked men, and in preparation for the day of judgment, so let us build, both personally and covenantally, as many as are heads of a house, teaching and communicating this most holy and precious faith to the members thereof, that they may be edified and would not be counted as loss on that day.

Matthew Henry,
Now, (1.) The general scope of this parable teaches us that the only way to make sure work for our souls and eternity is, to hear and do the sayings of the Lord Jesus, these sayings of his in this sermon upon the mount, which is wholly practical; some of them seem hard sayings to flesh and blood, but they must be done; and thus we lay up in store a good foundation for the time to come (1 Timothy 6:19); a good bond, so some read it; a bond of God’s making, which secures salvation upon gospel-terms, that is a good bond; not one of our own devising, which brings salvation to our own fancies. They make sure the good part, who, like Mary, when they hear the word of Christ, sit at his feet in subjection to it: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.

(2.) The particular parts of it teach us divers good lessons.

[1.] That we have every one of us a house to build, and that house is our hope for heaven. It ought to be our chief and constant care, to make our calling and election sure, and so we make our salvation sure; to secure a title to heaven’s happiness, and then to get the comfortable evidence of it; to make it sure, and sure to ourselves, that when we fail, we shall be received into everlasting habitations. Many never mind this: it is the furthest thing from their thoughts; they are building for this world, as if they were to be here always, but take no care to build for another world. All who take upon them a profession of religion, profess to enquire, what they shall do to be saved; how they may get to heaven at last, and may have a well-grounded hope of it in the mean time.

[2.] That there is a rock provided for us to build this house upon, and that rock is Christ. He is laid for a foundation, and other foundation can no may lay,Isaiah 28:16; 1 Corinthians 3:11. He is our Hope,1 Timothy 1:1. Christ in us is so; we must ground our hopes of heaven upon the fulness of Christ’s merit, for the pardon of sin, the power of his Spirit, for the sanctification of our nature, and the prevalency of his intercession, for the conveyance of all that good which he has purchased for us. There is that in him, as he is made known, and made over, to us in the gospel, which is sufficient to redress all our grievances, and to answer all the necessities of our case, so that he is a Saviour to the uttermost. The church is built upon this Rock, and so is every believer. He is strong and immovable as a rock; we may venture our all upon him, and shall not be made ashamed of our hope.

[3.] That there is a remnant, who by hearing and doing the sayings of Christ, build their hopes upon this Rock; and it is their wisdom. Christ is our only Way to the Father, and the obedience of faith is our only way to Christ: for to them that obey him, and to them only, he becomes the Author of eternal salvation. Those build upon Christ, who having sincerely consented to him, as their Prince and Saviour, make it their constant care to conform to all the rules of his holy religion, and therein depend entirely upon him for assistance from God, and acceptance with him, and count every thing but loss and dung that they may win Christ, and be found in him. Building upon a rock requires care and pains: they that would make their calling and election sure, must give diligence. They are wise builders who begin to build so as they may be able to finish (Luke 14:30), and therefore lay a firm foundation.

[4.] That there are many who profess that they hope to go to heaven, but despise this Rock, and build their hopes upon the sand; which is done without much pains, but it is their folly. Every thing besides Christ is sand. Some build their hopes upon their worldly prosperity, as if they were a sure token of God’s favour, Hosea 12:8. Others upon their external profession of religion, the privileges they enjoy, and the performances they go through in that profession, and the reputation they have got by it. They are called Christians, were baptized, go to church, hear Christ’s word, say their prayers, and do nobody any harm, and, if they perish, God help a great many! This is the light of their own fire, which they walk in; this is that, upon which, with a great deal of assurance, they venture; but it is all sand, took weak to bear such a fabric as our hopes of heaven.

[5.] That there is a storm coming, that will try what our hopes are bottomed on; will try every man’s work (1 Corinthians 3:13); will discover the foundation,Habakkuk 3:13. Rain, and floods, and wind, will beat upon the house; the trial is sometimes in this world; when tribulation and persecution arise because of the word, then it will be seen, who only heard the word, and who heard and practiced it; then when we have occasion to use our hopes, it will be tried whether they were right, and well-grounded, or not. However, when death and judgment come, then the storm comes, and it will undoubtedly come, how calm soever things may be with us now. Then every thing else will fail us but these hopes, and then, if ever, they will be turned into everlasting fruition.

[6.] That those hopes which are built upon Christ the Rock will stand, and will stand the builder in stead when the storm comes; they will be his preservation, both from desertion, and from prevailing disquiet. His profession will not wither; his comforts will not fail; they will be his strength and song, as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast. When he comes to the last encounter, those hopes will take off the terror of death and the grave; will carry him cheerfully through that dark valley; will be approved by the Judge; will stand the test of the great day; and will be crowned with endless glory, 2 Corinthians 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:8. Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he comes, finds so doing, so hoping.

[7.] That those hopes which foolish builders ground upon any thing but Christ, will certainly fail them on a stormy day; will yield them no true comfort and satisfaction in trouble, in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment; will be no fence against temptations to apostacy, in a time of persecution. When God takes away the soul, where is the hope of the hypocrite?Job 27:8. It is as the spider’s web, and as the giving up of the ghost. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand,Job 8:14; Job 8:15. It fell in the storm, when the builder had most need of it, and expected it would be a shelter to him. It fell when it was too late to build another: when a wicked man dies, his expectation perishes; then, when he thought it would have been turned into fruition, it fell, and great was the fall of it. It was a great disappointment to the builder; the shame and loss were great. The higher men’s hopes have been raised, the lower they fall. It is the sorest ruin of all that attends formal professors; witness Capernaum’s doom.

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Opening Prayer.

Our gracious and glorious Father in heaven, thou who hast all wisdom, power and knowledge vested in thine own person, thou art perfect in wisdom and knowledge and hast the power to grant it to whom thou wilt, be thou merciful unto us O Lord, thy meek and feeble flock, for we offer not our request vainly, or with hypocritical mouth, we confess that through sin we have become defiled and are in need of spiritual renewal through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. We confess that apart from Christ our works are defiled and corrupt before thee, and thou wilt not accept them from our hand, as it is written in the prophets. Therefore do we bless thee and give thee exceeding praise and thanks for the knowledge of thy blessed work of redemption, which is not only a work which benefits us, raising us from a miserable condition to a comfortable, or from one good position to a better, but from the greatest of all evils which is separation from thee, unto the greatest of all benefits, that is fellowship with thee through the Son of God dwelling in us by His Holy Spirit. Let us never forget these incomparable benefits, O Lord and praise thee for them daily, for thy name is greatly to be praised, and greatly to be feared and reverenced above all names. Grant us a higher knowledge, and a greater degree of faith, that we might evermore bless thy name purely and without hypocrisy through Jesus Christ in whose blessed and holy name we pray, Amen.

Lesson 13. [1.2.] God reveals Himself to His Church.

“Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation; therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his Church.”

Intro. John Owen comm. Heb. 1:1

1. God ever revealed himself in times past to His Church, not to the world.

2. By the mouth of the prophets who spake in the name of the Lord. Thus saith the LORD.

3. By degrees, although the substance was ever the same. See Matthew 19-20

4. All the revelation given in old times pointed to Christ.

5. Things that were to be done away with were so by commandment. (Epistle to the Hebrews)

6. Infant Baptism, the keeping of the Lord’s day as the Sabbath not abrogated by commandment as other ceremonies. (see 4th commandment, Sabbath, not seventh)

Lesson.

1. God is to be worshiped.
Mal. 1:14, Rom. 1:21. They glorified Him not as God.

2. God’s worship is very particular.
Heb, 8:4-5, Rom. 3:19-28

3. Those who worship in a false manner are not accepted.
Gen. 4:3-7, Lev. 10:1-11, 1 Sam. 13:8-14, ch 15.

4. Man has fallen from his original condition of peace with God, and is not capable of worshipping Him according to the precise manner required.
Rom. 3:12,17,18 John 14:6

5. Concluding application.
God’s own will revealed to man is necessary for his salvation.
Ex. 33:19
The knowledge of God is intimately and inextricably linked to salvation.
God reveals Himself to whom He will.
Not the world but His church and people through preaching.

Conclusion.

Closing Prayer.

YouTube Audio: https://youtu.be/W7D8fC-enxM