From the Organ Bench

Psalm 24
Let the Lord enter; the Lord is king of glory.
I had forgotten about Jacob until I looked at this psalm. He must have made an
impression on the author of this gate song. The psalmist evens identifies God by
Jacob’s name: The Lord…the face of the God of Jacob. I was intrigued by this
biblical character, whom, at the present time I could only remember as being the
grandson of Abraham, the son of Isaac and the papa of the boy with the multi-
colored jacket. The only other thing I could recall about Jacob was the African-
American spiritual hymn, We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder. I started humming that
old tune with my grandson, Isaac Joseph, sitting on my lap. I think he relates to
spirituals because he started bouncing on my lap. We turned on the computer and
“googled” a biblical patriarch. Bedtime bible stories just entered the age of cyber
space.
Jacob is the “heel grabber” of Gen. 25:26. His twin brother, Esua was tricked
out of his birthright by Jacob. Jacob becomes the “supplanter” of Gen.27:36. He
was quite the family man: the father of Dinah and the father of twelve sons, whose
names are the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob’s name was later changed to “Israel”
meaning, “May God Supplant” (Gen. 32:28 and 35:10). Jacob’s persona represents
the nation of Israel. He is the benevolent father, the penitent brother and a
successful herder. He is the typical settler-farmer of the period. He is also a
trickster, a gallant man and a devout worshipper. Tradition places Jacob at northern
sites in Israel: Shechem, Bethel, and Transjordan. Some historians date Joseph in
the Middle Bronze Age (1950-1550 B.C.) because of the Hyksos movement in
Egypt (1720-1570 B.C.) Others place Jacob in the early Iron Age (1200-900 B.C.)
when an extensive invasion of Aramaeans took place in northern Mesopotamia.
Jesus would later visit these northern points of interest, including
Jacob’s Well where his feisty conversation with a Samaritan woman took place.
More importantly, Jacob is the recipient of the Lord’s promise of progeny and
land. On multiple occasions, Jacob encounters the theophany of the Lord’s
Presence. Perhaps this is the reason for mentioning Jacob’s name in this liturgical
psalm.
Psalm 24 is divided into three sections. Verses 1-2 begin the theme of the Lord’s
kingship over all of creation. Beautiful examples of synonymous parallelism are
found in these verses. The earth and its fullness is the generalized idea. The writer
then zooms in on the “fullness” and expands this particular thought: the world and
those who dwell therein (1). Parallelism continues in verse two. The earth was
founded upon the seas; And the earth was established upon the rivers. This verse
is reminiscent of the Creation Story, in which the Lord engages in creativity over
the chaos of the deep, and with the firmness of permanency, creates a habitat. The
Lord put chaos in its place.
By using the writer’s tool of synonymous parallelism, the author of Psalm 24
paints a theological portrait of the subject of the compared verbs. The Creator has
no parallel. The earth and the fullness or completeness of the earth belongs to the
Lord. The world and everyone who lives in the world belong to the Lord. Why?
Because the Lord created all of it.

This verse finds its way into the New Testament. In his letter to the Corinthians
(I Cor 10:26), Paul quotes Ps.24:1 as the springboard for his teaching on the issue
of eating prohibited foods. At that time in church history, Paul was addressing the
liturgical crisis-plat du jour.
Verse 3 opens the next section of the psalm with a parallel question:
Who shall go up to the mountain of the Lord,
And who shall stand in the Lord’s holy place? (2)
The mountain of the Lord is Mount Zion. Zion is the holy place of the holy God.
This mountain is where the Lord dwells. On this mountain stands the “house of the
Lord” or the Lord’s holy temple. Within the temple was the inner sanctuary, which
in pre-exilic times housed the Ark of the Covenant. The liturgical nature of the
question indicates that this psalm was used during festivals of pilgrimage. The
worshippers, gathered at the temple gates, are called to examined their lives in light
of Torah obedience. Obedience is the key for access to the Lord’s Presence.
In verse 4, the priest answers the question in this gate liturgy:
The one, whose hands are clean (a person who is innocent)
The one, whose heart is pure (a person who is righteous).
Reflection on the Torah continues:
The one, who does not lift up their soul to what is false (the worship of false gods).
And does not swear deceitfully against the neighbor.
Lying or perjury is specifically mentioned here. Since the Temple was also the
tribal courthouse where legal disputes were settled, truthfulness was commanded.
Further, truthfulness is an attribute of the Lord’s holiness.
 Spiritual integrity and moral integrity characterize the relationship between the
worshipper and the God of Israel. The one who lives in a right relationship with the
Lord will:
Receive a blessing from the LORD,
A reward from God who is also that person’s Savior,
Such is the race that seeks for him,
That seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
Little Isaac is now sleeping across my lap. We will save the theophany of the
Lord in the sanctuary (verses 7-10) for another day. Those verse would make a
great action film. If I can google a spiritual giant from the Middle Bronze Age, just
think what a special effects film artist could do unlocking the divine imagery of
theophany - in 3D. That would give high definition a whole new meaning!

Psaume 24
La terre appartient a l’Eternel,
Avec tout ce qui esten elle,
La terre habitable,
Et ceux qui y habitent: (1)
Car il l’a fondee surles mers,
Et l’a posee sur les fleuves.
“Qui est-ce qui montera en la montagne de l’Eternel,
Et qui est-ce qui demeurera dans le lieu de sa saintete?” (2)
Ce sera l’homme qui ales mains pures et le coeur net,
Qui n’aspire point de son ame a la faussete,
Et qui ne jure point en tromperie.
Il recevra benediction de l’Eternel,
Et justice de Dieu, son Sauveur.
Tels sont ceux qui l’invoquent,
Ceux qui cherehent at face en Jacob.
Portes, elevez vos linteaux,
Et vous, portes eternelles,
Haussez-vous, et le Roi de gloire entrera.
Qui est ce Roi de gloire?
C’est l’Eternel fort et puissant,
L’Eternel puissant en bataille.
 Portes, evevez vos linteaux;
Elevez-les aussi,
Vous, portes eternelles,
Et le Roi do gloire entera.
Qui est ce Roi de gloire?
L’Eternel des armees:
C’est lui qui est le Roi de gloire.

Endnotes
(1) Psalm 50:12, Exodus 19:5, Deut.10:14, Job 11:2, I Cor. 10:26,28
(2) Psalm 15, Ps 118:19, Is. 26:2, Is. 33:14-15.

Delma Rouleau
4th Sunday of Advent, 2010