Who is this King of Glory?

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.

Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.

They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.

Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.

The closing of this Psalm pictures a royal procession. It pictures the King of the Universe marching into that which is his own. The Holy One triumphantly entering, through the Gates of His walled city, Jerusalem. It's a breathtaking picture. The King of Glory entering in dignity, armed in strength and victorious over His enemy.

Of course, the gospels too speak of a royal procession into the city of the King. Except the New Testament adds to the psalmist's ancient prophecy an unexpected twist.

The gospels record that in Jesus Christ, the King did indeed enter through the gates of Jerusalem. And, upon His arrival, he was rejected by his loyal subjects and immediately led outside the ancient walls of the city He had built.

We are told that this King of Glory was crowned not with gold, but with thorns that tore into his flesh. This King was not only robbed of his glory, but of every strip of clothing as well. Naked, the king was elevated above the crowd, ironically heads were lifted up. But, not to honor him, but dishonor, smirk and jeer at him.

The Psalmist cries "who can ascend to the holy hill of God? He who has clean hands and a pure heart". Well, there were no clean hands or pure hearts that day. Only two pierced hands and one broken heart. Broken by love for a people who esteemed him not.

The King of Glory was led outside the city gates, precisely so we could be brought in. He climbed the Hill of scorn and rejection, so that we could could ascend to the hill called Holiness.

You see the New Testament twist to the psalmist story is precisely this: No one can ascend the holy hill. There is none righteous, no not one. And, in a move of divine paradox, in Jesus, the King of Glory Himself ascends a hill. But, not the hill called Zion, but the one called Calvary.

Who ascended to the hill of the LORD? None but Jesus Christ. But, graciously his courageous ascent, guarantees, by faith, ours as well.

What an amazing love.

Who is this King of Glory?

The LORD Jesus Christ--

He is the King of Glory!

Technology and Wisdom

Neil Postman over the years has been very helpful to me in thinking through how technology impacts culture. Postman's article on "Five Things we need to Know on Technological Change" is worth the read. Pastor Jeremy and I had a great conversation last night about how technology is not bad. . .but, technology without wisdom can be like an "ax in the hand of a psychopath" (to quote Einstein). I encourage you to read Postman's whole article (if this topic interests you. Below are the five basic ideas. The article fleshes each of these out in insightful and thoughtful ways.

First Idea

All technological change is a trade-off. Technology giveth and technology taketh away. This means that for every advantage a new technology offers, there is always a corresponding disadvantage. The disadvantage may exceed in importance the advantage, or the advantage may well be worth the cost.

Second Idea

The advantages and disadvantages of new technologies are never distributed evenly among the population. This means that every new technology benefits some and harms others.

Third Idea

Embedded in every technology there is a powerful idea, sometimes two or three powerful ideas. These ideas are often hidden from our view because they are of a somewhat abstract nature. But this should not be taken to mean that they do not have practical consequences.

Fourth Idea

Technological change is not additive; it is ecological. A new medium does not add something; it changes everything.

Fifth Idea

I come now to the fifth and final idea, which is that media tend to become mythic. The word "myth" to refer to a common tendency to think of our technological creations as if they were God-given, as if they were a part of the natural order of things".