Psalm 24 – Hill Guy Redux feat. the King of Glory

Today’s passage: Psalm 24

Today’s chocolate: Alter Eco Blackout Dark Chocolate (85% cacao)

We’ve got another psalm of orientation on our hands today. There are no marauding liars, no sleepless nights: just another song extolling the virtues of the king. But hold on–this isn’t another nationalistic ode to the king of Israel. David’s not talking about himself here, but about the King of the World: the Creator of heaven and earth.

God claims his right to the world by virtue of making it. David writes, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains…for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers” (1-2). He made it, he laid it down, he put it together; it’s his kingdom. Moreover, he privileges those who remain pure with access to his sacred hill. In one breath David poses and answers the question: “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (3-4). Those who seek God in purity may come into his presence.

The psalm shifts gears for the second half, with a scene of God as the King of Glory entering the gates of Jerusalem. It begins, “Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in!” (7). Gates and doors got heads, fam! The personification underscores God’s glory; he’s so amazing, even inanimate objects want to see him when he returns to his city in triumph. It’s also notable that King David is this psalm’s composer, and he doesn’t even mention himself. When he says, “Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory” (10), the unspoken message is “We all know who’s the real king here.”

A few notes on the chocolate of the day: while restocking my chocolate this past weekend, I bought two Alter Eco bars for variety, and also because they were on sale, and furthermore also because I like my chocolate ferociously dark. And Alter Eco’s Dark Blackout delivers! My favorite super-dark bar remains Green & Black’s, but Alter Eco is also quite good. If you want to pick up a bar for yourself, just look for the packaging seen to your left.