Psalms 24:1

The Bible says in Psalms 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” This verse is a good reminder of who is in charge in this world. People fight, and lie, and even kill to gain power and authority on the earth. But the joke is on them all. God is in charge because He owns everything and everyone. God raises up certain individuals and puts them in power, and God shuts the door on other people and keeps them out of power. It all depends upon what is God’s will. It is not really good to be in power anyway because the judgment is coming and they will have to give an answer to God as to how they used their power. Some will burn hotter in hell because of how they misused it.

Christians should be the best citizens of any country no matter what is the form of government or what kind of individuals are in power. Read what was written to Christians living in Rome under the Roman Empire. It says in Romans 13:1-5, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.[2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.[3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:[4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.[5] Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.”

The Bible says in Psalms 24:2, “For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.” This verse explains why God can do whatever He wants with the world and with whoever lives in this world: God created it and it belongs to Him. Just like anyone else, God can do with His own possessions what He so chooses. And by the way, God has a plan for this world and for everyone in it. You can read about part of His plan for the future by reading the prophesies of the Bible in books such as Daniel and Revelation. Perhaps the greatest event of the future will be the Second Coming of Christ.

The Bible asks a question in Psalms 24:3, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place?” Another way of saying this is: “Who is going to make it to heaven?” That is a very important question, because we must live somewhere forever, and there are only two places. A wise person will want to go to heaven. The problem that we have is that heaven is a “holy place,” and we are not holy. We are sinners. Thankfully, God has a solution to that problem.

The Bible says in Psalms 24:4, “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” You must turn your heart and life to Jesus. It is not enough to say that you believe in your heart, but then have no actions to back it up. It says in the scriptures, “Faith without works is dead.” When a person honestly turns to Jesus for salvation and forgiveness, that person has also made a decision to start following Jesus. That person has not “sworn deceitfully.” They have made an honest confession of faith in Christ.

The Bible says in Psalms 24:5, “He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” This is the greatest of all blessings: to be given righteousness and to have righteousness credited to your account. That is what happened to Abraham. It says in Romans 4:3, quoting from Genesis, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” God keeps an account of every person, whether we are righteous or not, and God changes that accounting from unrighteousness to righteousness as soon as we believe and trust in Jesus as our Savior.

The Bible says in Psalms 24:6, “This is the generation that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob.” What attitude does a human being need to have in order to find the righteousness and salvation that only Christ can give? He or she must “seek” the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, “Seek and ye shall find.” It is a question of what you really desire. If you want to know the Lord, if you want to be forgiven of your sins, and if you want to go to heaven instead of hell; then you will seek Him.

The Bible says in Psalms 24:7, “Lift up your heads, all ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” The emphasis in this verse is the same as the previous verse. There are many ways of describing salvation. The previous verse used “seeking” the Lord. This verse uses “looking” to the Lord. “Lift up your heads” means take your eyes off of things on the earth, and look up to the Lord. That is all it takes: Look to Jesus all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved. Once you have put your eyes upon Jesus, this is the result: “the King of glory shall come in.” Jesus said the same thing in Revelation 3:20, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him and he with me.” You need Jesus in your life. Look to Him and invite Him in, and He will save you and become a part of your life.

The Bible says in Psalms 24:8, “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” Of course, Jesus is strong and mighty because He is all-powerful. David was especially thankful for this truth. We all have many problems and difficulties in life, and so one of the many benefits of believing in Jesus is that we have access to this His great power.

The Bible says in Psalms 24:9, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” This verse is a repeat of verse seven. Of course, any time that the Bible repeats something, a great emphasis is being made. There is nothing more important than letting Jesus “come in” to your heart and life. Jesus said in the New Testament, “What should it profit a man should he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul; or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

The Bible says in Psalms 24:10, “Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.” We know that Jesus is the King of glory. Jesus is the King of heaven, and the King of earth, and the King of kings. Because Jesus is the King of glory, He decides who gets into glory. We cannot earn glory by our own deeds. It says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” That is why we need Jesus to get into heaven. And so it says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

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