Psalms 24:7 - Meaning and Application

What is said once is repeated here in this song, and that kind of repetition is common in songs and adds beauty. First, entrance is asked for again and again for the King of glory. The doors and gates are to be thrown open wide to let him in, for he stands at the door and knocks, ready to enter.

Second, there is repeated asking about this mighty prince, whose name gives him the right to enter: “Who is this King of glory?” When someone knocks at our door, it is natural to ask, “Who is it?” Third, there is a full answer, also repeated, about the royal person making the request: it is the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, the Lord of hosts (Psalms 24:8, 24:10).

This likely refers, in the first place, to the solemn bringing of the ark into the tent David set up for it, or into the temple Solomon built for it. When David gathered materials for the temple, it was fitting for him to prepare a psalm for its dedication. The gatekeepers are told to open the doors, and they are called everlasting doors because they would be far more lasting than the curtain of the tabernacle.

They are also taught to ask, “Who is this King of glory?” Those carrying the ark are taught to answer with the words here, and that fits well, because the ark was a sign of God’s presence (Joshua 3:11). Or this can be read as a poetic picture meant to make the truth feel more vivid. God, in his word and his ordinances, should be welcomed by us with great readiness, with the doors and gates thrown open to him.

We should let the word of the Lord come into the deepest and highest places of our souls. If we had six hundred necks, we should bow every one of them to its authority. We should also receive him with deep reverence, remembering how great the God is with whom we have to do in all our coming near to him.

Still, this surely points to Christ, of whom the ark with the mercy seat was a type, that is, a picture pointing ahead to him. We may apply it to Christ’s ascension into heaven and the welcome he received there. When he finished his work on earth, he ascended in the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7:13, 7:14). Then the gates of heaven had to be opened to him, those doors that can truly be called everlasting, which had been shut against us to keep us from the tree of life (Genesis 3:24).

Our Redeemer found them shut, but by his blood he made atonement for sin, that is, satisfaction for sin, and won the right to enter the holy place (Hebrews 9:12). As one with authority, he demanded entrance, not only for himself, but for us. As the forerunner, he has gone in ahead of us and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. The keys, not only of hell and death, but also of heaven and life, must be placed in his hand.

Because his approach is so majestic, the angels are brought in asking, “Who is this King of glory?” For angels keep the gates of the New Jerusalem, the holy city of God (Revelation 21:12). When the first-born was brought into the heavenly world, the angels were to worship him (Hebrews 1:6). So here they ask in wonder, “Who is he, this one who comes with dyed garments from Bozrah?” (Isaiah 63:1-3) He appears there as a Lamb that had been slain. The answer is that he is strong and mighty, mighty in battle, to save his people and defeat both his enemies and theirs.

We may also apply this to Christ’s entrance into the souls of people by his word and Spirit, so that they may become his temples. Christ’s presence in them is like the ark’s presence in the temple, because it makes them holy. He stands at the door and knocks (Revelation 3:20). The gates and doors of the heart must be opened to him, not just as to a guest, but as to the rightful owner, after his claim has been opposed.

This is the gospel call and demand, that we let Jesus Christ, the King of glory, come into our souls and welcome him with joyful praise, “Blessed is he who comes.” To do this rightly, we need to ask, “Who is this King of glory?” We should get to know him, since we are called to trust him and love him above all else. The answer is ready: he is Jehovah, and he will be Jehovah our righteousness, that is, our all-sufficient Savior, if we give him entrance and welcome.

He is strong and mighty, the Lord of hosts. So it is dangerous to refuse him entrance, for he is able to avenge the insult. He can force his way in, and he can break to pieces with his iron rod those who will not submit to his golden scepter. In singing this, let our hearts gladly answer his call, as the next psalm begins: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.”