Please hear the Word of God as I read Psalm 24 in its entirety. A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord's in all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands, and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face. Selah. Lift up your heads, O you gates, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates, lift up you everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of Glory. Selah. This is the Word of God. And may God, by His Spirit, teach us and convict us according to His will. You may be seated. Well, Psalm 24 is the last of a trio of shepherd psalms. We've looked at Psalm 22 and 23. Now we look at Psalm 24. And we've seen already that the New Testament Scripture specifically portrays Christ as a shepherd in three ways. He's the Good Shepherd who gives life for the redemption of His own sheep in John 10. He's the Great Shepherd who rose and now lives to direct His sheep in all good works. That's Hebrews 13. But now today we'll emphasize that he's the chief shepherd, 1 Peter 5. He's the chief shepherd who ascended and will return to reward his faithful sheep. And there in 1 Peter 5, It's actually in a passage that's speaking on an instruction and encouragement to shepherds of a local church, pastors of a local church. And Peter writes, "...shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted or allocated to you, but being examples to the flock." And then verse 4, And when the chief shepherd appears, that's the Lord Jesus Christ, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. And we've said at least twice before, so we'll belabor the point, but Psalms 22 and 23 and 24 show a similar progression where Psalm 22 is a song of the dying shepherd who's crying out to his father from the cross, but also looking to the triumph of the cross. Psalm 23, as we saw last week, is a song of the risen shepherd who's guiding and providing for his sheep. And today we'll look at Psalm 24, which is a song of the ascended shepherd who will reward his faithful sheep, and he is returning. Psalm 24, more than the other two, reminds us and emphasizes that our shepherd, who is good and great and the chief shepherd, is a and even the king. The shepherd is the king. This psalm is clearly divided into three sections with the last section prophesying of the gates of heaven being flung wide open to receive the ascending conquering king of glory. I think there's three things to consider in the introduction of this psalm to help us have a bearing What would be the historic occasion of this psalm? What would this psalm be written for in the first place by David? It's speculated, but we don't know. But the historical occasion may be David's returning of the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem. And you can look in 2 Samuel 6 to see where the Ark of the Covenant was taken from Obed-Edom to then be brought into the city gates of Jerusalem. And this was symbolic of the presence of God, the ark representing the presence of God being brought back into the city. And the gates of the city then would be flung wide open to receive the ark or the presence of God on that day. But the personification of the King of Glory, the Lord God of Hosts, which means the Lord of Armies, or the Lord Sabaoth, if you think about mighty fortresses or God, that points to something greater than just the ark, I think. So that a partial fulfillment, that's the historical occasion, but a partial fulfillment of the psalm would be when Jesus triumphantly entered into Jerusalem on what we would call Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday in Matthew 21 and John chapter 12, when you see Christ coming in on the donkey in the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And we're in Matthew 19 now, and so we're getting that way. We're moving towards Jesus coming back to Jerusalem. But on that day when Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem, which eventually would be Him going to the cross for His people, on that day the priest, because of their reading schedule of the Scriptures, on that day when Jesus was coming into the city, the priest inside the temple would be singing Psalm 24. And outside the temple, we know because it's recorded in Matthew 21, that somewhere outside saying, who is this? Who is this that's riding into the city and all this fanfare? Which should remind you of Psalm 24 where David says, who is this King of Glory? Who is this King of Glory? And others went out to meet Jesus and they cried, it says in John 12, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. So I think a partial fulfillment, and it happens in Scripture, we have a partial but then a full fulfillment of something. Partial fulfillment would be Jesus' triumphal entry on a donkey on Palm Sunday. But still the description in Psalm 24 of the everlasting doors, and some of your versions would say the ancient doors, the timeless doors, tells us there's something even greater that this psalm is pointing to. And I think the ultimate fulfillment of the psalm, which is what we'll focus on today, is the ascension of our shepherd as conquering king. After he rose from the dead, he then ascended into heaven and took his rightful place at the throne of God, and he sat down, saying, it is finished. He's coronated as king, and he's coming back again. The God-man who, by his righteous life and death and resurrection, conquered sin and death and hell, and ascended to the throne, and was then welcomed with the gates flung wide open, which is being described here in Psalm 24, to receive and to coronate him as victorious king. I think that's what this points to. And in fact, the entire psalm exalts Christ as king from creation, which will be our outline, from creation to his incarnation, to Him being the conquering King in the end, who ascends and takes His rightful place. So if you look in your bullet, you will see a more detailed, slightly more detailed outline of Psalm 24. But the three main points would be in verses 1 and 2, we'll see the Creator King. Verses 3 through 6, we'll see the Incarnate King. In verses 7-10, we'll see the conquering King, which is the whole focus of this psalm. The ascending, conquering King who's welcomed with the gates of heaven flung wide open for the victorious King. So first of all, in verses 1-2, the Creator King. Let's read those two verses. The earth is the Lord's in all its fullness. The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. And when you look at that, we're talking about ascending and gates flung wide open. It doesn't seem a little bit out of place to start this way. We're talking about the earth and its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it. It's founded on the seas, established on the waters. Why are we starting off with these two verses in this way? I think it makes sense if you'd be patient with me. I do think we're looking at the Creator King in these first two verses. Verse 1 states clearly that the Lord, and again, this is the Lord, I am Jehovah, Lord God Almighty, just like we saw in Psalm 23. The Lord is the owner of all creation. David says the earth in all its fullness, that means everything about the earth and everything that's in it is the Lord's. He owns it. And David says, in the world and those who dwell therein, He's the owner of them as well, of everything that He has created. He's the owner over it and the ruler over it. The Lord God has the title deed to creation and to all the creatures therein. But why is that? Well, verse 2 gives an answer. Because God has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. God is the Owner and the Ruler over all creation and over all His creatures. Why? Because He is the Creator and the Sustainer of it and them. He founded and He established it. He created it and He sustains it all. And since God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, He's therefore the Owner and the Ruler of all things. And the Scripture's clear that thus, all His creatures are accountable to Him and His holiness. That's a key point because He's the Creator, the Owner and Ruler over all, that all His creatures are accountable to Him and His holiness. And you know where we're going. Romans 1 makes it very clear to us that mankind in particular, being made in God's image, He's created with the knowledge of His righteous Creator God, and His need to obey and to worship and to glorify God and God alone. That's the purpose of man being made. And it's the only way for temporal and eternal joy is to bow before His God and Creator and Owner, and to serve and to worship Him, understanding His holiness and His priority. But what does Romans 1 say that mankind does? Well, they worship the creation instead of the Creator, and they worship themselves and their own desires rather than the righteous will of their Creator. And so verses 1 and 2 should probably remind us of Genesis chapter 1, and maybe even all the way to Genesis chapter 3, but at least Genesis chapter 1. You know in Genesis chapter 1, how does Genesis chapter 1 start? In the beginning, I think it starts, God created the heavens and the earth. Then we have six 24-hour days followed by a seventh day of rest. We see that then God created light and He divided the light from the darkness. There's all sorts of dividing going on in these early days. Then He divided the waters from above and below the firmament. And then on the third day He gathered the waters on the earth together to establish the land and to separate the land and the waters. You see the emphasis on the waters. And then from that point on, he creates and places all his creatures and all things properly, placing them in his creation. I think this is what is being pointed to in Psalm 24, verses 1 and 2, that God is the creator, the owner, the ruler, king of all. But what we know from the New Testament is that Christ is the creator, king, and God of all. When we think of Genesis chapter 1, and then we think of John chapter 1, we can see a clear reference that John is trying to make us think of Genesis chapter 1 when he begins his gospel. And in John chapter 1, he begins with, in the beginning was the Word, this is Christ, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, He was in the beginning with God. And John continues, all things were made through Him. And without Him, nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." And then in verse 14, we clarify even more so who this Word is. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. And so according to John, Therefore, in this case, according to the Word of God, Christ is God and Creator of all things. He was the King of Glory before creation. He entered His creation as the God-Man, and His glory was beheld. Christ is the Creator King. And it's even more apparent if you would turn to Colossians 1. And it's really hard to decide where to start and to stop in Colossians 1. The whole point of the letter to the Colossians was to show the preeminence of Christ and His salvation. Preeminence means He has a priority over all things. And so in Colossians 1 we see, starting in verse 13, that God has delivered us from the power of darkness This wonderful plan of redemption that takes us from the world and then collects us into the church. He delivers us from the power of darkness and conveyed or transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, the Lord Jesus Christ. And now we're speaking of Christ, in whom, in Christ, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Christ is the image of the invisible God. He's the firstborn over all creation, Paul tells the Colossians. To be the firstborn means you have priority, the rank, you're above all. It's not just being born first. In fact, it doesn't have to be being born at all. But in this case, it's the priority, the preeminence over all creation. He created it and he rules over it. For by Christ all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him." That's preeminence. And Christ is before all things, and in Him all things consist. In other words, He's the Creator of all things, and He keeps it all together. He's the sustainer of all things, the Lord Jesus Christ is. And, much like our shepherd will supply our needs, the Lord God Almighty is our shepherd, this Lord Jesus Christ who is preeminent over all things. Verse 18, He is the head of the body, the church. Isn't that a marvelous thing? The head of the church is this Lord and King of glory. We have no need to fear. who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, he's preeminent over the dead. Why? Because first of all, he's God, but then he became man and he was the first one raised with the glorified body and those who are in Christ will follow him in his train. Then in all things, he may have the preeminence, Paul says. So just like according to John, according to Paul, which in this case means according to the Word of God, Christ is God, and Creator, and Sustainer of all things. All things were created by Him, and through Him, and for Him, and in Him all things consist. He sustains them all. Therefore Christ, as the Owner and Sustainer of all creation and all creatures, is before and preeminent over all things, as Creator-King. And thus verses 1 and 2 look forward to Christ, and we rejoice in it. And so we see the Creator King in verses 1 and 2, and ultimately it's Christ who's the Creator King. Now we move in verses 3, 4, 5, and 6 to emphasize Him being the Incarnate King. This also might seem a stretch. How do you get that in these four verses? The point is that it's necessary for Christ, who is God, to have become man, so that what follows in verses 3-6 could be fulfilled in themselves. Only Christ could do this. And it took the incarnate King to do so, that we might be saved, and that He then might ascend as the victorious shepherd King in the end. So in verse 3, we see the right request, Of course, then we'll see the righteousness required, and then the righteousness that's received before we see a righteous race that is produced. The right request in verse 3 is this, "...who may ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who may stand in His holy place?" Again, doesn't that seem like an abrupt turn? Seas, established, creatures, those who dwell within, but who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? Who may ascend to His holy place? But in light of what we've just said of the first two verses, in light of the owner and the creator and sustainer of all creation and all creatures, and the accountability and submission that's required of his holy and righteous character, if this is the creator God in verses 1 through 2, then this is actually the most important question that anyone can ask, especially one who's reading this psalm. Then who can come before this God, who's the owner and the ruler and the holy one over all? And again, we speak of Romans chapter 1, we did in the first section. Romans chapter 1 not only confirms what logic would tell us, that creatures who are made in the image of the Creator are accountable to His holiness and His righteousness. I hope we can see that. But also Romans chapter 1 tells us that all mankind willfully lives in unrighteousness and sin, and all mankind because of their sin are unable to adhere to God's perfect righteousness that His name and His character demands. We're guilty. Romans chapters 1, 2, and 3 tells us that all mankind is guilty before this righteous God. And God's just wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness is being stored up to be fully revealed in the final judgment. And Paul says in the opening of Romans that mankind is without excuse, we know. And God rightly demands no sin and perfect righteousness and we fail, left to ourselves on both accounts. Since the fall of Adam, mankind has been unable to enter into the presence of holy God. The unrighteous ones cannot approach the righteous Creator lest they die. With Adam and Eve, when they sinned, they were removed from the garden with the cherubim, with the fiery swords, keeping them out. Because they had to be removed from His holy place, this hill of the Lord. They could not be in the presence of Holy God. And then in the Old Testament we have the tabernacle, then we have the temple. And one of the pictures of the tabernacle and the temple was that there's a separation, and even separation after separation, keeping sinful man from holy God. If we could have a picture on a screen, Baha'is, we could walk through what you had to do to actually go to where the presence of God, the glory of God would be represented in the middle. You'd be outside the fence and outside the gates, outside the camp. Then you'd be in the courtyard. You'd have to walk through the door of the gate and be in the courtyard. And there'd be the altar and the laver where the priests would wash and give sacrifice. So you'd have to walk through that. And then there'd be the tabernacle. There'd be the holy place. It'd be the first part of the tabernacle. You'd walk in there. You'd have to walk through another door. There'd be the incense, and the showbread, and the light, the candelabra. All of these are pointing to Christ, by the way. But then you have to go behind the veil, the six-inch veil, that then you'd have the Ark of the Covenant, which would have the Law of God inside the Ark of the Covenant, covered by the mercy seat and the angels over the top representing the holiness of God with His Law, but we have broken it. And the mercy seat being a place where only once a year the high priest would go in to sprinkle the blood for the forgiveness of sins, to cover the sins of the people. And the priest had to cover his own sins as well because he himself could not even enter into the holy of holy place on his own merits lest he would die. And so it's a wonderful picture, and a stark picture, of the separation between holy God and sinful man. So the question of who may ascend and stand before God in His holy place is the most important question of this psalm, but really the most important question of life, especially following the declaration of the Creator King in verses one and two. Then in verse four, We see the righteousness that's required. Okay, what's the answer to the question, who may actually be before holy God? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. God's righteous and just demands for those who would stand before him are both external and internal, as seen in hands and heart, and in trust and truth in this one verse of verse 4. Both internal and external, and seen by having hands and hearts being mentioned, and in trust and truth in the first part of verse 4. He who has clean hands and a pure heart. If you have clean hands and a pure heart, you can come before the presence of God. Well, clean hands indicates the external righteous works and behavior that are required to stand before God. The pure heart indicates the internal righteous heart from which those external works would flow, however. And that's even harder, isn't it? You can turn to Psalm 15, if you'd like, if it helps keep you awake. In Psalm 15, it actually is an exposition, I think, of this idea of only those who have clean hands. You have a whole psalm that talks about this. In Psalm 15, another psalm of David. In Psalm 15, David writes, "...Lord, who may abide in your tabernacle, or who may dwell in your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend, in whose eyes a vile person is despised. But he honors those who fear the Lord, he who swears to his own heart and does not change, he who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things, and notices both hand and heart, shall never be moved. And Jesus taught that only the pure in heart, in Matthew chapter 5, in the Beatitudes, only the pure in heart can see God. And he says, for it's out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, and blasphemies. So there's hands and heart. And David goes on in verse 4 and he says, "...who has not lifted up his soul to an idol." In other words, you have not lifted up your soul to what is false. Your heart is not trusting what is false. Your heart is trusting in God and God alone, else it's idolatry is what that's saying. So when it says, "...he who has not lifted up his soul to an idol," it means those who are going to actually stand before God are those who actually trusted in God and God alone with a right heart, nor sworn deceitfully. indicates the truth and integrity that flow out of the mouth of one who has a trusting heart. So again, we have heart and hands, trust and truth. It's the whole sphere of who we are. So then the question might arise from that, which is why the question was asked, I think, in verse 3, who can meet these righteous requirements? And the answer is nobody. And Romans 3 says, not one is righteous, not even one. That's the conclusion of Romans 1, 2, and 3. So where do we get this righteousness that God requires? I think you know the answer. It's only through Christ, the Creator King, who became the incarnate King for the righteousness of the Father and for the righteousness of His people. We can only know this righteousness through Christ. Only Christ, the God who became man, only He can stand before Holy God without sin and without a perfect righteousness. He lived a perfect life with clean hands and a pure heart according to the law and before God. He trusted His Father perfectly and He not only spoke only truth, but He is the truth and the way and the life. And he only lived a righteous life, that he alone might die a righteous death, that he might suffer the righteous wrath of God for the sins of his people, those who repent and believe in him. And then he might then impute to his sheep, those sheep that he's already given life to, the righteousness of God that is required. At the end of Romans chapter 3, it's pretty depressing until you get to the end. At the end of Romans chapter 3, though, it says, no, but there's a righteousness of God. Cheer up! There's a righteousness of God through faith in Christ. That's what saves sinners. That's what allows them to stand before God freely, justifying them before the just and justifying God Himself. So we've spoken of the tabernacle when Christ died and he cries out, it is finished at that point in time, as he gave up his spirit. This veil of separation was ripped in two, you know this, from the top to the bottom, representing it. Now there's access from man to God through Christ Jesus. And Peter says in 1 Peter 2, Jesus committed no sin, nor was there deceit found in His mouth. Verse 23 of 1 Peter 2, Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but He committed Himself to Him who judges righteously, who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls." As Christ's veil of flesh was torn, and Hebrews speaks of this, that His flesh being torn on the cross was symbolic of the veil of separation being torn so that access could then be given to God through Christ. Christ the Creator King humbled Himself to enter His own creation to redeem His own sinful creatures as the incarnate King, the dying, risen, ascended Shepherd of their souls. So in verse 5, we see the righteousness received. How do I get this? Verse 5, He shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of His salvation. Verse 5 explains that only the one who could have clean hands and a pure heart would receive the blessing of righteousness from the God of his salvation. But glory to God, we know fully in the New Covenant we can receive the righteousness of God. Receive, not earn, but we can receive the righteousness of God through the one, the Lord Jesus Christ, who does have clean hands and a pure heart. through repentance of sin and trusting in the truth of Christ and His righteousness, the unrighteous sinner exchanges his sin for the righteousness of Christ. With the blessing of his sins forgiven and the righteousness of Christ given to him, imputed to him, that in Christ, in Christ alone, he may stand in God's holy place forever." And have access to holy God. And if we were Baptists at this point, you'd say, Amen! But you don't have to say that. So then in v. 6, we see the righteous race, the righteous people then that are produced by the righteousness of Christ and imputed to His people. It's a difficult verse in v. 6. It says, this is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face. Sela, which means rest, pause, think on this. And according to your translation, that might be worded a bit differently, because it's a difficult verse. What this could mean is that Jacob could either be the righteous king himself, that Jacob could be referring to God and the king we're speaking of, or the name Jacob could refer to the people that the king has made righteous. It's either the king or his subjects. Either the righteous king or the people that he's made righteous. That's what Jacob would stand for. In other words, Jacob could be another name for God's people, like when you use the word Israel to represent the people of God, or Zion. If Jacob, here in his verse, this is Jacob, if it refers to the king, that would be like saying, this is the generation of those who seek your face, Jacob. That would mean that God, or in this case, Christ the king, is identifying himself with his people so much to take their name. Didn't we see that in Psalm 22? And you see in Hebrews chapter 2, He's not ashamed to call His brethren to be identified with us. This is a glorious truth that He identifies so much with us that He would take our name, reminding us that Christ identified with His sheep so much that He became sin for them, that they might become the righteousness of God. And He's not ashamed to call us His brethren. My thought is, it's actually referring to the people. Jacob is referring to the people. And if it refers to the people in this case, then it's like saying that those who have received Christ's righteousness are the true Jacob. The true Israel, which we see that in the New Testament. It would be like saying, this is the generation of those who seek your face. They are the true Jacob. I think that's the point in verse 6. I think it reflects what we see in the end of Romans 2, verses 25-29, where eventually Paul writes, For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew, speaking of a spiritual Jew, who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God. I think the point is that those who dependently lift their soul up, not to idols, but to the Incarnate King in repentance and faith, they've received the blessing of righteousness from God, the God of their salvation. And the Spirit has applied the work of Christ to them so that they now have a new heart, and are now able to stand in the presence of Holy God. They've died to sin in Christ, and now they live to righteousness with cleansed hands. And again, they're able to stand in the presence of Holy God in Christ alone. Those redeemed sinners alone are the true Jacob, the true people of God. And again, not because of themselves, but because of Christ, in Christ alone. So if we've got the first part right, those first six verses in the last half of the psalm, it really makes a lot of sense. We've gone there from the Creator King, who then is the incarnate King to actually then fulfill the demands of righteousness for His people. And now this last section I think is speaking of the conquering King, the ascending Shepherd who now has conquered sin, death, and hell. He's risen from the dead and He ascends to His throne. The rest of the psalm is a full-throated praise welcoming the conquering King to His throne. The Creator King became Incarnate King to conquer death, sin, and hell, and even Satan himself to redeem His people, His sheep, from their sin and unto God. And after His resurrection won the final victory and proved His work was accepted, He ascended from earth into heaven to be coronated as the conquering King over all. And all of heaven shouted for joy at the welcome of His return, and the gates of heaven were flung open to receive Him. Let's actually read v. 7-10 to see this. Lift up your heads, O you gates, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates, lift up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of Glory, Selah. Like David, Christ was a shepherd who was crowned as King. But unlike David, He was always King, and now He is crowned as the God-Man-Redeemer King who rules forevermore. In the pictures of the gates of heaven being swung wide open for the King and His glory, But like Solomon said in his dedication of the temple back in 1 Kings 8, he said, Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain you. The gates could not be flung wide open enough. I think the doctrine of the ascension of Christ is one of those doctrines that we just neglect. Kind of like adoption. What a glorious thing is that we're no longer a stranger, but now we're like a child at home. I love that line in what we sing in Psalm 23. That's a wonderful doctrine, but we don't think of so much. I think the ascension of Christ is one great aspect of Christ's work that we just neglect. I think Hebrews speaks much of Christ's ascension. Hebrews 1. Hebrews 1, verse 3 says, Speaking of Christ, who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He, Christ, had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Christ's ascension was proof that His work was accepted. He sat down at the throne of God. It is truly finished. The priest would never sit down in the Holy of Holies. He would not. He would die. He had to get in and get out. The work was never done. The work is done. And his ascension proves that. Hebrews 8. Hebrews 8 verse 1 is another place. Hebrews 8 verse 1. Here the writer of the Hebrews says, Now this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. That's the result of his ascension. So Christ's ascension is the start of his high priestly ministry from the throne of God, where he continues to intercede for and to nourish his people day by day and moment by moment. It's a good thing to have the head of the body and the Savior of our souls be on the throne of God with all the power and authority that that represents and that actually is. Then in Hebrews 10, starting in verse 11, Hebrews 10, verse 11, the writer of the Hebrews says in Hebrews 10, starting in verse 11, And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. I spoke of that earlier. Just continually, blood being shed for forgiveness of sins. Even for the priests themselves, it would never actually take away sins. But this man, v. 12, but this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, and from that time, waiting till his enemies are made his footstool, For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." I love that phrase. You can never have any greater favor with God, or be more secure in God than the days that you were saved. It's not a by-merit walk with Christ. You're perfected forever in Christ Jesus. You're declared righteous, but you're being sanctified. You still sin. But the point of that passage being brought up is not that. The point is that Christ's ascension begins His waiting in His exalted state for the consummation to come. He's on His throne. There's no more sacrifice to be given. He's sat down at the right hand of God, and from that time He waits till His enemies are to be made His footstool. He's coming again. His ascension, His rightful place on the throne, begins His wait for His return to complete what He began in the first visit to the earth, if you will, His incarnation. And then finally, the last one is Hebrews 12, verse 2, which is interesting. We mentioned that when we talked on Psalm 22. Hebrews 12, verse 2. We said Psalm 22 helps us to understand why He can say this in Hebrews 12, verse 2. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, do you think the joy that was set before him? Endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The ascension of Christ, in a sense, brings the Shepherd Psalms to a close. the dying, risen, now ascended, shepherd, king, savior. He sits down at the right hand of the throne of God. And Hebrews chapter 10 reminds us, as does our catechism. You remember, normally we'd sing this, but I'll just read it. In our catechism, the question is, what is Christ's exaltation? Well, Christ's exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead on the third day and ascending up into heaven in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day. Hebrews 12 reminds us of this, that the Creator incarnate conquering King will necessarily return as the consummating King to consummate the redemption of all creation, including the final glorification of His people, and the final eternal judgment of all the rest. And so in closing, for the Christian, the redeemed sheep of this dying, risen, and ascended shepherd, this final day at the consummation of all things will be a day of glory for the Christian, as we will be made like our King and be able to worship and to serve and to love Him without any sin, and to love one another in perfect fellowship. So, Christian, let this be an immense source of encouragement and joy to you to see your Creator incarnate conquering King and all this leads to. For the non-Christian, for those who are still saddled with no righteousness and only with unwashed hands and a wicked heart before Holy God, this final day will be and should now be a terror. But won't you let the goodness of God and His Son bring you to repentance? We plead with you to be conquered and subdued by this King of Glory. Take your filthy hands and your dead heart to Christ, who lived and died in the place of sinners like you, that you might ascend with Him, following Him, and be received in the Beloved. Seek His face and His righteousness. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Son. We thank you for your love that would be willing to send your Son in such a way. We thank you, O Spirit, for applying the work of Christ to our hearts, and the promise that you would apply the work of Christ to the hearts of those even now who have not yet received Christ, that you would lead them to repentance and faith in Him. Lord, help us to rejoice in our dying, risen, ascended shepherd, who is the victorious, conquering King, who reigns even now, who has created all things, who owns all things, who rules over all things, and He will make all things right. Help us rejoice and be in awe of His sacrifice, His stooping low, although He is Lord God Almighty, to become a shepherd in this way, The shepherd would become like the sheep. The master would become like the servant. God in some sense, I want to be careful how I say it, but God in some sense would become like His people to redeem them from their sin. The Creator would enter into His creation to do so. That's beyond the size or the number of wrinkles in my brain. Help us understand, but help us to have our hearts inflamed, Lord, with love for you and gratitude, and Lord, that we would trust in you and follow after you and rest in such a risen, conquering, shepherd, king. Lord, I pray, Lord, for those who are outside of Christ, that today would indeed be the day of salvation for them, that you would show them by your Spirit in their heart and in their head as well, Lord, their need for Christ, but that he has done all the work, and he bids them to come. In Jesus' name we pray these things, Lord. Amen.