The King of Glory
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah
(Psalm 24:10).
Psalm 22, 23 and 24 are psalms of glory. They have sometimes been titled: the Cross, the Crook and the Crown. Psalm 22 describes the sufferings of the Saviour: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (v. 1). Psalm 23 brings before us the Saviour’s shepherd care: “The Lord is my shepherd” (v. 1). And Psalm 24 contemplates the sovereignty of the Saviour: “He is the King of glory” (v.10).
We often think of the sufferings and glory of the Saviour. Psalm 22 prophetically speaks of what the Lord endured at Calvary. The Holy Spirit brings into the mind and heart of David words that express what the Lord of life would pass through as He gave Himself for us. The sufferings of the Lord bring before us the glory of His work of salvation and the wonder of His love. We see through the words of Psalm 22 the depth of what it meant for the Good Shepherd to lay down His life for the sheep.
In Psalm 23 we are reminded of the Great Shepherd in the glory of His resurrection. He lives for us on high. In Him we have everything we need: His person, His pastures, His paths, His presence, His provision and His purposes. This glory links with His ministry as our great High Priest, living for us, sympathising with us and sustaining us as we seek to follow Him on the path to glory.
When we think of the King of glory in Psalm 24, we think of the Great Shepherd and His appearing to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Then there will be no rejection or resistance to His power and glory. Every knee will bow to Him, and every tongue will confess the Lordship of Christ, to the glory of His Father and our Father. The Lord suffered outside the gates of Jerusalem. In that day, the gates will lift up their heads (vv. 7, 9) and the King of glory will come in.
These remarkable Psalms reflect on the glories of the Son of God. Psalm 22 refers to a day when “All the ends of the world / Shall remember and turn to the Lord, / And all the families of the nations / Shall worship before You” (v. 27).
This morning, it is our hearts that are lifted up in remembrance and worship of our Saviour. We look back to the love of Christ in Psalm 22. We look up in faith to see our Saviour crowned with glory and honour in Psalm 23. And we look on in hope to our coming Saviour, the King of Glory, in Psalm 24.
O Thou great all-gracious Shepherd,
Shedding for us Thy life’s blood,
Unto shame and death delivered,
All to bring us nigh to God!
Now our willing hearts adore Thee,
Now we taste Thy dying love,
While by faith we come before Thee –
Faith which lifts our souls above.
