Psalm 24:7-10
Open up, ancient gates!
Open up, ancient doors,
and let the King of glory enter.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty;
the Lord, invincible in battle.
Open up, ancient gates!
Open up, ancient doors,
and let the King of glory enter.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—
he is the King of glory.
How do you prepare yourself to meet with God? Worship in most churches, along with much of modern life, has become more casual than formal, more comfortable than reverent. In some ways, these are good changes that help more people feel welcome in worship. But the question remains, how do you – and how do we as a church family – prepare to enter God’s holy presence? What if we knew that God’s Spirit was going to show up in a gloriously manifest way one Sunday morning: How would we make ready our sanctuary? And even more to the point, how would we prepare our hearts?
David may have written Psalm 24 for the procession that carried the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. If so, these words belong with other Psalms of Ascent, that is, songs that were sung as God’s people ascended the hill up to the royal city and, in later days, up to the Temple that David’s son Solomon built at the highest point of the city. As they entered Jerusalem, the city gates had to be opened, the doors into the heart of David’s citadel had to give way before the King of glory.
The Lord’s glory has not diminished over the past 3,000 years. His might and majesty have not waned. While we are blessed to have the Spirit dwelling in our hearts instead of hidden away in a temple of stone, we should remember the honor and awe due our great God. We are blessed to know and love God personally through faith in Jesus, but our closeness with God does not cause his glory to fade. So, how do you open the gate of your heart? How do we lift up the doors of the church to let the King of glory enter? Our worship may be loud or quiet. Our churches may be ornate or simple. Our music may be classical or contemporary. These outward forms can each be appropriate in their own way. What matters for us and for our church is that we welcome God with hearts of faith, devotion, love and humility. Our God is still the King of glory. He is still strong and mighty. We bow before him in private moments of devotion and in corporate gatherings of praise. We lift up our voices and throw open our hearts to welcome the Lord, through the wonderful name of Jesus our King.
King of Glory, I welcome You into my heart. Thank you for drawing near to me and to Your church. Help me to worship You, by Your Spirit and in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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Pastor Mike Mirakian
