Gospel Reflections #1057: The earnest longing

Psalm 24:7–8 ‘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.’

This depicts a scene of victory and blessing, in which God, the ‘King of Glory’, makes His majestic entry into the Temple in Jerusalem.

Historically, this psalm is believed to have been composed by King David to express his joy at welcoming the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ into the city of Jerusalem.

It is a symbolic moment when the Kingdom of God and His rule are established amongst the people.

As the standard height of the gates is insufficient to welcome the ‘King of Glory’, who is so great, the psalm calls out: ‘Lift up your heads, O gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may enter.’

This is also interpreted as a lesson that we should throw open the doors of our hardened hearts wide to welcome God.

Furthermore, the psalm adopts a ‘responsive’ style, in which the choir responds to questions posed by the gatekeepers and the people.

The answer to this question is ‘the Lord (Yahweh), strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle’; it praises the ‘God of Victory’ who triumphs over all enemies and the forces of evil and reigns over the world. It depicts the image of a mighty God who fights on the front line to save humanity from sin and suffering.

This passage is interpreted as prophesying two significant events. It refers to the event at the beginning of Holy Week when Jesus entered the gates of Jerusalem as the ‘King of Peace’.

Furthermore, it symbolises the return of Jesus Christ—who, through His death on the cross and resurrection, triumphed over Satan and the power of sin—to the heavenly temple as the King of Glory.

Do we truly long for the coming of the Lord of Glory?

Can we express that joy in such a way?

It is precisely because we have this joy and this certainty that we are able to look forward to His Second Coming.

Let us all rejoice together with great joy.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.