We have no comparable ceremony to celebrate the arrival of the reigning King.  Perhaps the closest ceremony we have occurs when the United States President officially welcomes a visiting head of state from another country.

America tends not to be big on the importance of ceremony.  Only occasionally is ceremony associated with a person’s worth.  We are more likely to use ceremony to express appreciation than to declare worth.

This ceremony occurs on the South Lawn of the White House.  Assembled will be a color guard, flags of each US state, and up to 4,000 invited guests.  Small flags of the US and the visitor’s nation have been distributed to the guests, and an official program exists to be followed in detail.

At the appropriate moment, the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets perform four “ruffles and flourishes.”  The President and first lady appear, and a service band plays “Hail to the Chief.”  Then in the same attention to detail, the head of state is welcomed.

This occurs to say, “Someone of great importance is welcoming someone of importance.”  If we are capable of paying such tribute to our President and another head of state, how should we pay tribute to God?

Typically, Churches of Christ have an aversion to use ceremony to emphasize God’s worth.  This aversion is so strong that it often would be counterproductive to combine ceremony with a declaration of God’s worth.  Israel had no such aversion.

This Psalm pays tribute to God.  Much conflicting discussion still occurs as to what the occasion was and when this occasion occurred in Israel.  The questions: When did God arrive?  What actually prompted this celebration?  This study will not focus on those unanswered questions.

The basic focus of this Psalm is on honoring God who deserves honor.

Israel was a theocracy.  The recognized actual ruler of the nation was God!  Americans are unfamiliar with ruling (a kingship) or God being the King.  There is a vast difference in people acknowledging God’s power and presence in government and God being the government!  God was being welcomed by his people in the same manner a conquering King returned from battle to his residence.

In a theocracy, laws are determined by divine decree and divine values.  The problem with a theocracy (there is a troubled area in every form of governmental leadership) is in making application of divine decrees and values as situations change.  Time passing always produces change.  How does a theocracy address change in things as simple as what is an act of work?

The Creator God was honored for all He had done.  God possessed the earth and everything living on earth because He was the origin of all that existed.   The foundation for His creation was the seas and the rivers.  This was perhaps a reference to the concept in passages such as Genesis 1:9.

The understanding that God created is neither questioned nor defended.  It is an accepted as the basic reason God is deserving of praise.  God is the source of all that exists, therefore He is worthy of our praise.  The role of God as Creator is extremely important throughout scripture.

Note God brought what we would call stability out of what we consider instability.  What human could or would use water for a foundation?  God’s achievement was not based on a human accomplishment!  God deserved the welcome!

The fact that God produced order out of disorder, the fact that He could produce stability from the symbol of instability, was regarded as basic tribute to God.  It was a demonstration that God was far superior to the human.  Therefore, God deserved human praise.

Question: What people should accompany the King to His residence?  Who should go with Him?

Who did the King God want in His presence?  Not just anyone should associate with the King.

Accompanying the King God to his residence involved far more than being at the correct place at the appointed time.  When Israel was led from Egyptian slavery as a non-nation to become a nation ruled by God, they, as a people, had to break away from idolatrous concepts of divinity.  Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, and 13-14 involve one of the breakaways—the nation of Israel would not perform sacrificial worship anywhere and everywhere. God would select one place—the people of Israel would not select the place.

From the beginning of the Israelite nation, the place of sacrificial worship was quite important. The sacrifices were a human expression that acknowledged God’s importance.  The human, through sacrifice, acknowledged the importance of God.  The question: What type of human would God choose to be in His presence?  Would His selection just be made on being in the proper geographical place?

From that time forward “the place” became extremely important to Israel.  Proper religion too often was reduced to the correct place at the appropriate time.  In becoming a self-declared righteous person, being at the right place doing the right thing became more important than who you were as a person.  In common language, where you were became more important than who or what you were.  Too many thought that in righteousness, place was more important than personal behavior.  How one acted in his/her personal life was insignificant if he/she were at the correct place doing the appropriate things.

Righteous not only involved the place of sacrifice, but it also involved the values and behavior of the person.

First, note the qualities of those who the King God wished to accompany Him to His residence.

1. These would be people with clean hands—their hands were not spotted with the filth of evil.
2. These people would have a pure heart—their righteous acts expressed an internal reality.
3. These people did not compromise life by telling lies.
4. These people did not exploit other people through deception.

Who they were was as important as being at the right place.

Note and emphasize the qualities.  The behaviors that produced the qualities were based on specific values.  Those values recognized the worth (in God’s priorities) of people.

Second, note the active role the King God took.  He blessed; He made it possible to be righteous; He delivered from danger (saved) those who had clean hands, pure hearts, did not lie, and did not deceive.

God actively benefited those people who honored His values in their behavior.

It was inappropriate for the King God to bow to anything!  He was too deserving, too worthy to bow to anything.  So the huge doors (gates) to the city were wide open to receive the King God (the Protector had arrived—closed gates were unnecessary). If necessary the entrance was raised so the unbowed King God could enter His city.  He was the strong one, mighty in battle, and filled with glory.

This could not happen, but was an illustration of how much they valued King God.  When a wall was built around the royal city, the entrances were designed to be restrictive to an invading force.  The wall at the gate commonly had an overhead structure for defensive purposes.  If the entrance into the city was too low for the riding King God to enter without bowing, then it was better for the overhead of the entrance to be raised than for King God to bow. This is a declaration of profound respect for King God.

May you see and sense the honor these people felt for their King God!  They did not praise God because they had to; they praised God because they wanted to.  God was deserving of all honor they could give Him!

The point you must sense is the profound respect the people had for King God which had to be expressed in praise and honor.

For Thought and Discussion

1. We have no comparable what?  What, perhaps, is the closest American ceremony?

We have no comparable ceremony.  The closest is, perhaps, when the president officially receives another head of state.

2. To whom does this Psalm pay tribute?

This Psalm pays tribute to God.

3. The government of ancient Israel was what?  What does that mean?

Ancient Israel’s government was a theocracy.  That means God was the King.  Their laws were to be based on God’s decrees and values.

4. God brought stability out of what?

God brought stability out of instability.

5. Who were the people that should accompany King God to His residence?

a)    Those with clean hands.

b)    Those with pure hearts.

c)    Those who did not tell lies.

d)    Those who did not deceive.

6. Discuss the importance of the correct place in Israel’s sacrificial worship. What mistake was easily made?

a)    The discussion should include sacrificial worship was to occur only at one place—Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, 13-14.

b)    Many Israelites made the mistake of thinking righteousness only involved doing proper things at the correct place instead of involving both place and personal behavior.

7. What active roles did King God take?

He blessed, made it possible to be righteous, and delivered from danger (saved).

8.  What did they consider inappropriate for King God?

He should not bow to anything.

Link to Student Guide Lesson 9

Copyright © 2010
David Chadwell & West-Ark Church of Christ

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