You now turn in your copy of the scriptures to Psalm 24. Psalm 24. This is a good one. I mean, they're all good. I mean, I start working on like at least thinking through how I'm gonna preach sermons before the week that I'm preparing for a sermon. But I opened my Bible on Monday morning. I smiled when I saw this one. I don't even know why I'm telling you that. So hopefully, prayerfully, you will have a smile in your hearts in the same way as we go through this. So Psalm 24, this is the word of the Lord. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. For he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. he will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up. O 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, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. Now the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever. Let's ask for his blessing. Heavenly Father, you have set your Son, Jesus Christ, upon your holy hill. You have given him all authority and power, all majesty. Lord, I pray that we would see him in this text. Though David wrote it long before Jesus came on this earth, we pray that we would believe and we would know that you do all things well. And because Christ reigns there, that we will be saved and saved to the uttermost. So speak, Lord Jesus, by your spirit to us this evening. Lord, let the words in my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. When I was a little boy, whenever I saw something climbable, like a boulder or a hill, a playground, even a car, you name it, I would do my utmost, I would climb that bad boy. Much the chagrin sometimes of my parents because as you all parents know or of those who've worked with kids, there's a time for climbing and there's a time for sitting still, or a time to keep going. I often ignored those cues and I would climb. The one exception to this rule would be if there was an actual mountain to climb. My brother, who is similar in this way to me, whenever he sees a mountain, he's like, yes, let's climb it. But why do I not like to climb a mountain? Why the younger brother who liked to climb everything else, why not the mountain? I'll tell you why. Because the things that are right there that you can climb, you can just go climb them right away. There's no preparation involved whatsoever. No boots needed. When you see a mountain, you actually have to plan to climb it. You gotta get all your gear together. You gotta get all the sacks. You gotta know how long the trail is gonna be. And then when you actually do it, it'll take hours and hours and hours before you finally get that reward of climbing it. Now, I've climbed mountains because my dad and my brother would drive me along, perhaps, but it takes time and effort to do so. We see here there is a call in this psalm by asking the question in verse 3, who shall ascend the hill of the Lord for us to climb? Now, to climb the hill of the Lord, that is to go into his presence, that is to worship him and to see him perhaps face to face. And of course, the immediate problem to this is that we are sinful. We cannot enter his presence. We're going to see that more clearly in our psalm. Yet there's a call to do so, but also an inability to do so. Nevertheless, in our psalm, God is calling us to ascend the hill. We must ascend the hill. If we have the inability, but the call remains, What is to be done? Well, we may ascend the hill with three pieces of grace. First, we ascend the hill by Christ's command. He's commanded it. It's a grace, which means he will provide the way because we also ascend the hill by Christ's merits, what he has done for us, and we will finally ascend the hill by Christ's power. So we must ascend the hill. Who shall ascend? Well, we must. when we must follow Christ in so doing, by his command, by his merits, and by his power. Ascend the hill. Now, why should we ascend the hill? Well, we see that there's a command for it from Christ himself. Verse one says, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. the world and those who dwell therein. For he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers." Now you may be thinking to yourself, I don't see a command from Christ in there. What we see is a review of creation, of course. The earth is the Lord's. He made light and darkness, day one. You know, he made a separation between sky and sea on day two, and the firmament, dividing it, and then dry land on day three. And then he filled the sky with moon and the stars, and then filled the sea and the air with birds and fish, and then the dry land with animals and with man, the earth, the form of it, and the fullness in it, the contents, the world and all who dwell in it. So he made it all, which we know, and we know that Christ had something to do with it. From Colossians 1, it says, all things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things in him, all things hold together. So Christ had his part in making it, but the God-man, Jesus Christ, he is sent to earth to accomplish salvation. He obeys, he delivers his life over to the cross to die for us. He rises again and he ascends into, or actually right before he ascends into heaven, he tells the disciples this. He says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, or lo, I like the King James, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So Christ made it. He made the world by virtue of being the Son of God, but as the God-man, he reigns. All authority has been given to him. The One who sits in the heavens is not only God, it is God clothed in human flesh. That should be astounding to us, and has been given to Him. So if all authority has been given to Him, this created order that we see here in verses 1 and 2, It shows us that his command to make disciples, to fill the world with his image and his knowledge of his righteousness and his holiness is upon us as well. So we are to be disciples in this case. There's a command, and if we're gonna be disciples, there's a command to ascend that hill. Now that's a good thing. Because it means that if Christ expects us to, as Christians, to ascend the hill, that he'll provide a way. And he has provided a way. So we ascend by his command. We also ascend by his, that is Christ's, merit. Verse three says, who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? This question in verse three is the same question the psalmist David asks in Psalm 15. That was last fall. If you don't remember it, that's okay. You can go back and read it. But the same question is asked. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And it lists the holy standard of God's law, point by point. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? One who is pure in regards to that law and will fulfill it. And we talked about how it was Christ. We see something similar here. He who has clean hands, a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, who does not swear deceitfully. It is a pure soul, a pure heart, a pure mind, pure speech, pure act. Last time I checked, none of us here meet those description. You know, it's like if you have, I always find the fact that the profiles, maybe in the big cities, where the people who were witnesses, they're describing the assailant or the criminal, and they'll draw them, and they're actually pretty good at it. You have to be pretty good to get a job like that. I don't know what they call that. Name escapes me. But it's almost like when you draw this sketch, and you hold it up to each and every one of us, maybe hold it up to a mirror, you go, nope, not here. but it does match Jesus Christ. Verse three is asking the question, who shall ascend? In other words, who is our hero? Verse four answers that question and we see it to the full in Jesus Christ. It is one who accomplishes it. We see that verse four says, he who has this, who has this, who has this, it is a he who shall ascend. You know, it does talk about a generation ascending after him in verse six, but before we get there, we see that it is a one who must ascend. He, we are counting on that he, we are counting on the person and the work of Jesus Christ. And as he ascends, he received blessing from the Lord, verse five, the righteousness from the God of his salvation. There is reward for his work. He earns everything that he is given in the heavenly places, his crown, his authority, the sash, the belt, the sword, you name it, all by virtue of what he has done on this earth for us, but also to vindicate the holiness of his heavenly Father. You know, even if Jesus came to die for just one person, and you think, why would he go through all the effort for one person? Well, because he loves them, if that is what he had decided to do, and it would have required the exact same thing. But at the same time, if you could imagine a world in which Christ came to save not anybody, not a world I want to live in, but let's live there for a second. If Christ came to not save anybody, he would still have come to live according to the law perfectly, to vindicate the holiness of his Father, of the Godhead itself. But we praise the Lord that even as he did those things to give glory to the Father, that the glory of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit includes our salvation. We are caught up, as it were, in the heavenly dance of righteousness. We see that in verse six, such as the generation of those, now to plural, those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. There's a sense in which as the one, Christ ascends the hill as he accomplishes salvation on our behalf and ascends into heaven, there we shall too follow him. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. But they cannot seek him without his merits. They cannot be in that generation unless they have joined themselves to him by faith in him. It's a simple thing, yet a hard thing. None of these things belong to us without faith, but faith is present in the text from start to finish, even a sort of faith that Jesus has to, as Philippians says, to empty himself of his glory, to avail it, to go and accomplish salvation, to not be in the presence of his father, that he enjoyed the glory that he enjoyed from the beginning, to go and do it. And so in that faith, in him, we follow and we will follow him up. We must ascend the hill. We do so first by his command and also by his merit. The best military leaders do not ask soldiers to do things that they themselves are not willing to do. You know, think about the guy, perhaps the, think about a, you know, a fat lieutenant colonel. So 05, for those of you who don't have lieutenant colonels in the Navy or the Coast Guard. But think about a fat lieutenant colonel sitting in his office chair and he tells the captain, all right, go do that. Okay, so waiting and the captain's doing it. He's working really hard to get it done, but it's going to be a late night at work, maybe a late night in the field, an early morning. But that lieutenant colonel goes home at five o'clock to his nice, warm, comfy house while the captain and all of his lieutenants and all the sergeants and privates are out there suffering. No. The very best military leaders are always the men who say, we are going to do this. We are going out to the field. We are going to run these maneuvers. Now, of course, in a wartime situation, the general is a hot or the colonel or the general is a hot commodity. They can't necessarily expose themselves to enemy fire. But it is important for those generals, those colonels to instill the fact in the men that I am willing to suffer with you. I will not give this order. I will not waste your life. And I'm not going to order something to do that I would not be willing to do myself. There's a story about General Mattis, who then became Secretary of Defense Mattis, who, in order to give a poor lieutenant a break from guarding, there was a particular post where they had to be on the hot seat to answer important phone calls. And it was one of those really annoying deals where you could get scheduled to do it over the holidays, like Christmas. But of course, this general, I think it was a three-star general, I'm actually not sure what the level of general is. The story just popped into my mind. General, but he called to make sure the lieutenant was there on a Christmas morning, early, like 7 a.m. or so. And who answers the phone? You know, Brigadier General Mattis, sir. General Mattis, that man's commanding officer of his commanding officers, went and he laid in that uncomfortable bed. He stood at that post to answer. and so prove that he was a man willing to do hard things for his people. How much more the king of kings and the lord of lords, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law. Ultimate sacrifice in leadership. Now men might sacrifice all sorts of things in military, family, community contexts for some sort of return But Christ went out of love. He went for love. He ascends the hill out of love for his people. It's almost, you see, in asking the question, who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? You can imagine Israel, you know, maybe a reprise of Sinai. Now you see the Mount Sinai in front of you, you see fire, you see darkness, you see smoke, you see fear in the eyes of everyone around you, and someone asks the question, who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Well, Moses had to go up the first time, but this time it is Jesus Christ to enter the holy places. The writer of Hebrews says this, In Hebrews 10, starting in verse 12, he says, When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Out of love he has come down, but out of love he goes up. He shows the Father his hands and his feet and he says, I have redeemed them, Father. It is finished as I said it was on the cross. Let us save them. Let us bring them to ourself. William Plumer says that sin has dug every grave, but it takes one man to undo sin. That's what he says. Now I say, it takes one man to undo sin and to fill every grave with the sins that we committed to leave them there, like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress, the burden falling off his back and rolling into the tomb. Our sins are left in that tomb. Sin has dug every grave, but Christ leaves our sins in that grave on our behalf. Have you thought about that? Those of you, we know one knows the day of our death. Each one of us is closer than someone else in this room to it. Have you considered that when you die, your sins will remain in that rotting body and never to stick to you ever again. When you are raised, you will be raised without that sin. It will be gone, cleansed forever. And you will ascend that hill, pure in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We ascend the hill, first by Christ's command, second by Christ's merit, and third by Christ's power. That's where we are now. Verse 7. Actually, I'll just read the whole rest of it. 7 through 10. Lift up your heads, O gates. Be lifted up, O 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, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. We almost feel a sense of anticipation beginning in verse three. When the question is asked, the qualifications are given, that there is hope given in fulfilling it. And then it's a crescendo, like the symphony rising with the energy of the music. Lift up your heads, gates, ancient doors. The King of Glory comes in. Who is the King of Glory? The Lord of hosts. Jesus Christ himself, the Son of God. This psalm was likely written, and people make a bigger deal out of this than I will, but I'll mention it, for the coming of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, into the Holy City. And they would say, the Lord of hosts, you know, lift up your heads, Lord of hosts, he comes in. But how much more? The he who bears the covenant in his own body, through the scars on his hands and his feet, who bears God and man in one person, the mediator between God and man, the only mediator, the man in Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is testimony given at the proper time. The Ark was the Ark of a Covenant because it held the manna, it held Aaron's staff that blossomed, testimonies of God's covenant, and Jesus Christ holds the testimony in himself. And as he ascended into heaven, you could imagine the angels, and maybe one particular angel yelling, lift up your heads, O gates, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in, this conquering King. The psalm begs us to look to Christ. strong and mighty in battle, defeating the devil, sin, death, and hell, all for us. Where are we looking if not Christ? I almost feel like we waste our time if we do not look at Christ. Lift up your heads, look, see ancient doors, saints, long past angels, and even us by the eyes of faith. Lift up your heads and gaze upon the God-man as he enters into his glory. These victories he gives to us in the meantime. Victory over the devil, over temptation, over our lack of faithfulness, where the devil tempts us and we fold like a house of cards sometimes. We fold like we know nothing in Vegas. Forget it, I don't know how to play this game anyway. Christ does not fold. He withstands the full measure of temptation. He knew the full strength of temptation because he never bent toward it, not once. Victory over the devil, victory over our sin on the cross, victory over death by rising again from it, and victory over hell by ascending into heaven. All of our enemies have been defeated by the work of Christ. So when we look at those things, temptation, sin, facing down death, getting closer every second, we must apply the cross of Christ to ourselves. Christ was only qualified to hang on the cross because he never bent to sin one moment. That same strength, that we will not be perfect in so doing, that same strength belongs to us by virtue of the Holy Spirit, His Holy Spirit living inside of us. All of my sins and their guilt and shame have been rolled into the grave out of which He came, and I too will rise out of my own at the end, and I will ascend the hill. The life that we live for Christ as disciples, though imperfect it may be, the holiness, the purity that he is working in us is our act of getting ready to ascend that hill. It is the gathering of the packs of the water, you name it, for that final trip. There's grace from Christ on this hill. It is by his command that we rise up to it. It is by his merits and by his power that we will. Faith is necessary. Faith, Thomas Chalmers says, is the starting post of obedience. If you have a pack of horses in the starting gates and they're getting antsy, you think about the Kentucky Derby, you name it, they're blowing out of their nostrils like crazy. You have to win the Kentucky Derby, you have to start at the post, the right place. We start somewhere else, we will never win that race. So as we climb, as we ascend that hill, one of the scariest, speaking of mountain climbs, one of the scariest hikes I ever did like that was one where you had to hang on to a rope. Well, it was really a cable. You had to hang on to a cable and climb while you were grabbing onto the cable. And it was not necessary in this case to have a harness to strap onto it. But the more intense they get, they say, you cannot go past this without a harness. And you clip in and you do the same thing. But that's what we're doing. The climb is hard, but we are strapped in the carabiner to a cable, and the cable that leads us to heaven. And we ascend that hill, not looking down, Big mistake when you're climbing tall things, not looking down, but keeping our eyes on the prize. The upward call that is found in Jesus Christ. We must ascend the hill, beloved. It is our call, because Christ has called us, and he has bought us, and he has claimed us for himself. Christ is for you. And be considered that if Christ is for you, nothing can be against you, as Paul says. Nothing. That's a huge nothing. There's all sorts of things that we perceive are against us. And Paul knows that. He lists them throughout his letters. And he just spent all of chapter six and seven talking about putting sin to death in Romans. But he says, nothing is against you. If Christ is for you, who can be against you? As if these things are nothing. They don't have any weight. They cannot stop you. Nothing can snap the cord of the love of Christ. His life is greater than our death. His righteousness, his blood is greater than our sin. And his ascent into heaven is greater than hell itself and all of its powers. Saint Augustine says this, about the psalm. He says, the king will make his entrance. Let us boast of him without fear or pride, for he overthrew the gates of mortality and flung before him the gates of heaven, making good his claim. And he ends with the words of Jesus. And that's where I'll end as well. From John 16, 33 says, in this world, we have many troubles, but take heart. I have overcome the world. If he has overcome the world, he has overcome the world by ascending the hill, and if we are to overcome the world with him, we must ascend after him. By his grace, we can do it. By his command, by his merits, and by his power. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, or love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen, let's pray. Heavenly Father, you have given us these good, pure, and precious promises in your word. And Lord, by faith, we believe them. And when we do believe them, it is like putting the most precious treasure in a jar of clay. And yet you has bidden your wisdom and your pleasure to do so. So Lord, by your wisdom and your pleasure and your love, I pray that you would bind our hearts to you all the more, that you would tighten the knot that none can break and bring us to yourself. Help us to believe it more and more that the doubts that we have of it would be dispelled and chased away like a dog chasing away a cat, never to be seen again. Lord, we ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.