Psa 24:9 | KingComments | STEP | After the conditions for dwelling with the LORD are given in , in both the city and the people are called to receive the King of glory. His great majesty as the One Who possesses everything because He created it ( ), obviously also gives Him the right of entrance into Jerusalem. Every gate must be opened to Him with a dignity appropriate to that Majesty. In some cases it was necessary to make the lintel of the gate higher. Here the lifting up is done because of the greatness of the majesty of the King of glory. The poetic language represents the gates and doors as persons. The gates and doors of the city have long let their heads drop because of the sad state the city had fallen into because of its sins. But when the King of glory appears, it can be said that they lift up their heads. With the coming of the King, the time for mourning is over and the time for celebration has arrived. In we hear the question: “Who is the King of glory?” The answer immediately follows: It is “the LORD”, the faithful God of the covenant. That He is the Messiah, that is, that He has become Man, is evident from the fact that He enters through the gate of Jerusalem. The expressions “strong and mighty” and “mighty in battle” describe the Messiah as the Divine Warrior Who fights on behalf of His people (cf. ; ). He is the strong God ( ), Who uses His power in battle against His enemies and on behalf of His own. He appears in a totally different way than when He first appeared on earth. The first time He came to earth in humility and went His way in humility. When He went to Jerusalem as King, He was addressed as follows: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout [in triumph], O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey” ( ; ). The call in is a repetition of , with an even slightly stronger exhortation. The repetition emphasizes the importance of giving this high Majesty ample room and a dignified reception. The question asked in is also a repetition (cf. ). That the question is asked twice emphasizes the Person of the King of glory. As in , the answer is “the LORD”, but now with the addition “of hosts”. He is Yahweh Zebaoth , this is the warrior name of the LORD. He is the Supreme Commander of all the heavenly and earthly hosts. He has authority over all angelic and earthly forces, both good and evil (cf. ). This means that they never act on their own initiative, but only at His command. He directs them in such a way that they cooperate in the execution of His plan, sometimes against their will. For the believer, this knowledge is a great comfort. In the spiritual application, this psalm is fulfilled in us when we open our hearts to the Lord Jesus and give Him dominion over our lives. In the prophetic application, we see the fulfillment when the whole earth and all that it contains is subject to Him, giving Him the glory due to Him.

‏ Psalms 24:9

The King of Glory

After the conditions for dwelling with the LORD are given in Psa 24:3-6, in Psa 24:7 both the city and the people are called to receive the King of glory. His great majesty as the One Who possesses everything because He created it (Psa 24:1-2), obviously also gives Him the right of entrance into Jerusalem. Every gate must be opened to Him with a dignity appropriate to that Majesty. In some cases it was necessary to make the lintel of the gate higher. Here the lifting up is done because of the greatness of the majesty of the King of glory.

The poetic language represents the gates and doors as persons. The gates and doors of the city have long let their heads drop because of the sad state the city had fallen into because of its sins. But when the King of glory appears, it can be said that they lift up their heads. With the coming of the King, the time for mourning is over and the time for celebration has arrived.

In Psa 24:8 we hear the question: “Who is the King of glory?” The answer immediately follows: It is “the LORD”, the faithful God of the covenant. That He is the Messiah, that is, that He has become Man, is evident from the fact that He enters through the gate of Jerusalem. The expressions “strong and mighty” and “mighty in battle” describe the Messiah as the Divine Warrior Who fights on behalf of His people (cf. Mic 2:13; Rev 17:14 ; Rev 19:11-16). He is the strong God (Isa 10:21), Who uses His power in battle against His enemies and on behalf of His own.

He appears in a totally different way than when He first appeared on earth. The first time He came to earth in humility and went His way in humility. When He went to Jerusalem as King, He was addressed as follows: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout [in triumph], O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zec 9:9; Mt 21:1-11).

The call in Psa 24:9 is a repetition of Psa 24:7, with an even slightly stronger exhortation. The repetition emphasizes the importance of giving this high Majesty ample room and a dignified reception.

The question asked in Psa 24:10 is also a repetition (cf. Psa 24:8). That the question is asked twice emphasizes the Person of the King of glory. As in Psa 24:8, the answer is “the LORD”, but now with the addition “of hosts”. He is Yahweh Zebaoth, this is the warrior name of the LORD. He is the Supreme Commander of all the heavenly and earthly hosts. He has authority over all angelic and earthly forces, both good and evil (cf. Jn 19:11a). This means that they never act on their own initiative, but only at His command. He directs them in such a way that they cooperate in the execution of His plan, sometimes against their will. For the believer, this knowledge is a great comfort.

In the spiritual application, this psalm is fulfilled in us when we open our hearts to the Lord Jesus and give Him dominion over our lives. In the prophetic application, we see the fulfillment when the whole earth and all that it contains is subject to Him, giving Him the glory due to Him.